Here’s How You Can Be The Change – #UpgradeYourWorld
To celebrate the launch of Windows10, Microsoft is launching a really exciting campaign, #UpgradeYourWorld. I’m really excited to have my very first guest blog post on this site – my 12-year-old daughter Hannah Alper has been asked to help spread the word because everything about #UpgradeYourWorld fits with my, and her, vision of changing the world.
Here it is, and take it away, Hannah.
My blog and everything that has grown out of it, is founded on the idea that we can all make a difference every single day and that all of the things that we can do – big and small – add up make a difference in the world. Through my work with Free The Children and We Day, I have grown to understand that change is urgent locally and globally. When we come together as a community to share and celebrate the change that we are making, we inspire others to join us in their own way. These things are all part of Microsoft’s #UpgradeYourWorld.
#UpgradeYourWorld is a new year-long initiative to celebrate those who inspire and empower others, led by Microsoft’s vision to help people achieve more through technology and in celebration of the Windows 10 launch.
The #UpgradeYourWorld initiative has a few different components and ways for you to get involved and share the ways in which you are taking action to #UpgradeYourWorld.
1. Social Media
Share what you are doing to make a difference in the world – locally or globally – on social media. Remember – everything makes a difference and no act is too small to share. Are you working with an organization that helps people? Do you do random acts of kindness daily? Share them and don’t forget to use the #UpgradeYourWorld hashtag and tell @WindowsCanada so that all of our actions add up. Microsoft will bring a few of these ideas to life in the coming months.
2. Help choose #10
Microsoft is investing ten million dollars to support global non-profit organizations. They have selected 9: CARE, Code.org, Keep a Child Alive, Malala Fund, Pencils of Promise, Save the Children, Special Olympics, The Global Poverty Project, and The Nature Conservancy. They are looking to us to choose #10. Starting July 29th, you can vote for the 10th non-profit to receive $500,000 in funding from Microsoft here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/upgradeyourworld/
3. Go Local
In addition to these global non-profits, starting in September, Microsoft will be crowdsourcing nominations for 10 non-profits in each of the following 10 countries: Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States. The 100 local winners will each receive a cash investment to support their work to upgrade the world. Stay tuned and share your pick to receive this generous help.
This is a great video from Microsoft to launch #UpgradeYourWorld. I love this: Making our neighbourhoods, communities…there has never been a better time to make a difference. #UpgradeYourWorld
https://youtu.be/1yksa_z8jU8
Cool fact: Around the world, tens of thousands of Microsoft employees will participate in the Upgrade Your World initiative by taking a day off to volunteer to upgrade their community, many of them on July 29, in celebration of the Windows 10 launch.
I’m a big user of Windows for school and for my blog, presentations and speeches and I’m excited about the new Windows 10. There are a lot of cool new features and the upgrades are based on feedback and input that they have collected from more than 5 million Windows Insiders. It’s a free upgrade if you’re already using Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 Phone here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows/features
NSFW: Cards Against Humanity Releases Design Pack
Cards Against Humanity announced today that it has partnered with the prestigious Chicago Design Museum to release the “Design Pack,” an expansion pack of 30 fully-illustrated cards created by world-class designers.
The 30 contributing designers interpreted George Carlin’s infamous 1972 monologue, “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” for the pack; they include: Milton Glaser (I ♥ NY), Susan Kare (the Apple Macintosh), Erik Spiekermann (MetaDesign), Paula Scher (The Daily Show), Art Paul (Playboy), Debbie Millman (Design Matters), Scott Thomas (Obama for America), Jessica Hische (Daily Drop Cap), Matthew Hoffman (You Are Beautiful), and legendary printmakers including Jay Ryan, Yann Legendre, Olly Moss, Mike Mitchell, and Sonnenzimmer.
“In our increasingly politically correct culture where the desire to protect people’s sense of identity is paid for by reducing people’s freedom of expression, I commend any chance an artist gets to fully express themselves,” said Kelly Carlin, George Carlin’s daughter, before adding: “This shit is great!”
All profits from the Design Pack will benefit the Chicago Design Museum, a grassroots, not-for-profit gallery that exhibits contemporary design. Similar non-profit packs by Cards Against Humanity have raised nearly three million dollars for non-profit partners DonorsChoose.org, the Wikimedia Foundation, and the Sunlight Foundation.
“The Chicago Design Museum has been my dream for the last five years,” said museum co-founder Tanner Woodford. “With this pack, we will become a sustainable part of Chicago’s design culture for years to come.”
“We love the Chicago Design Museum because it has a grassroots origin similar to our own,” said Cards Against Humanity co-creator and pack contributor Max Temkin. “They’ve gone from a Kickstarter project to curating the most exciting design shows in the world.”
“Our research shows that today’s youths don’t like to read anything with words, so here’s just a bunch of pictures,” said Cards Against Humanity co-creator Ben Hantoot. “Frankly, I’m glad they’ll never read this press release.”
“We’ve been out of ideas for two years,” said Cards Against Humanity co-creator Eli Halpern. “Maybe people will like this? Who knows. Fuck it.”
“The Design Pack is being published at a critical moment in the museum’s trajectory, and will allow us to expand our efforts to strengthen design culture and build community in Chicago and beyond,” said Woodford.
The designers contributing to the pack include: Laura Park, Shawna X, Chad Kouri, Susan Kare, Yann Legendre, Paula Scher, Jay Ryan, Mike McQuade, Paul Octavious, Erik Spiekermann, Max Temkin, Debbie Millman, Art Paul, Simon Whybray, Mike Mitchell, Scott Thomas, Matthew Terdich, Jez Burrows, Jason Polan, Jessica Hische, Cody Hudson, Nick Adam, Matthew Hoffman, Magdalena Wistuba, Anna Mort, Eric Hu, Olly Moss, Tanner Woodford, Milton Glaser, and Sonnenzimmer.
The Design Pack is available through at designpack.org, or at the Chicago Design Museum, Block Thirty Seven, 108 N. State Street, 3rd Floor.
Cards Against Humanity is a party game for horrible people. It is the top-selling, best-reviewed, and most-wished-for toy or game on Amazon.com.
The Chicago Design Museum strengthens design culture and builds community by facilitating the exchange of knowledge through dynamic experiences.
Should you be a Wife or a Career Woman? A 1950s Magazine Quiz
This quiz comes from The Girl Friend (And the Boy Friend), an early-1950s magazine for young women.
Watch this guy move a parked car out of the bike lane. With his hands.
How many times have you seen a car parked in the bike lane and wanted to either move it, or bash right into it, just because it’ll be their fault? Just me on the last one? Ok, then. Fortunately, this cyclist thought about the former.
https://youtu.be/luNGjffDjCs
Silversun Pickups 4th studio album BETTER NATURE is out September 25
Silversun Pickups have announced that their much-anticipated fourth studio album, BETTER NATURE, will be released September 25th via the band’s own New Machine Recordings. Pre-orders for the album in addition to other very limited items are now available at silversunpickups.com.
BETTER NATURE is preceded by the incandescent new single, “Nightlight,” debuting August 6th. “Nightlight” will also arrive via an inspired video directed by renowned filmmaker Mark Pellington which will premiere simultaneously with the song.
Silversun Pickups’ first new album in more than three years, BETTER NATURE sees the Silverlake, CA-based band partnering once again with producer Jacknife Lee (U2, Two Door Cinema Club, Crystal Castles), with whom they so successfully collaborated on 2012’s visionary NECK OF THE WOODS. The songs were created and crafted in Lee’s Topanga studio, the band spontaneously building out from singer/guitarist Brian Aubert’s deliberately spare songwriting demos (see tracklisting below). The result is fluid and freewheeling, “oozing,” in Aubert’s words, with heavily cranked guitars, propulsive rhythms, and seemingly infinite textures. GRAMMY Award-winning mix engineer Alan Moulder (My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails, Royal Blood) brings maximum sonic power to the proceedings, but at the album’s beating heart is Silversun Pickups’ remarkably intuitive interplay, as ever providing panoramic musical counterpoint to Aubert’s incisive, increasingly self-exploratory lyricism. Richer, warmer, and more evocative than anything in their prior canon, BETTER NATURE is Silversun Pickups’ most human music thus far.
Silversun Pickups will herald BETTER NATURE with a full North American tour to be unveiled soon. In the meantime, the band will make a number of special appearances, beginning with a headline performance at FM 94.9’s Independence Jam, set for September 12th at Oceanside, CA’s Junior Seau Pier Amphitheatre.
BETTER NATURE marks the debut release from Silversun Pickups’ New Machine Recordings. The artist owned label — which takes its name from the PIKUL favorite, “…All The Go Inbetweens”.
Today’s Kids Can’t Work The First iPod
Old Tech is back in vogue, and take a look at kids reaction to 1st Generation iPods. Don’t forget to gently get off our lawns.
VP Records Holds #1, 2 & 3 Spots On US Billboard Reggae Album Chart This Week
This week, the world’s largest reggae label and distrubutor VP Records holds the No. 1, 2 and 3 spot on the U.S. Billboard Reggae Album Chart. Their annual compilation Reggae Gold debuts at the top spot with Jah Cure’s new album The Cure landing the second position (from No. 1 last week) and Soca Gold 2015 coming in closely at No. 3 on the chart.
“We’re pleased with the opening week results for Reggae Gold this year” says Randy Chin, President of VP Records. The compilation which first appeared in 1993 has long been a staple release for VP Records and reggae fans internationally.
REGGAE GOLD 2015
For over 20 years, the world’s #1 Caribbean music compilation Reggae Gold brings the genre’s top hits into one must-have collection for the masses. 2015’s installment is filled with the season’s freshest sounds in roots, dancehall, lover’s rock and pop-fused reggae from a diverse group of talent. From the Canadian pop supergroup Magic’s #1 Billboard single “Rude” to comedian/actor/singer Eddie Murphy’s return to reggae on his latest single “Oh Jah Jah,” – there is no shortage of crossover appeal on Reggae Gold 2015. This year’s installation features a multitude female artists reigning in reggae today – from emerging stars like Jah 9, Toian and Ikaya to Jamaica’s leading ladies like Spice, Etana and Queen Ifrica. The set also delves into new music from the island’s top male artists like Jah Cure, Beres Hammond, Inner Circle & Chronixx, Christopher Martin, Gully Bop, Busy Signal, Romain Virgo, Gyptian and more. Purchase Reggae Gold 2015 on iTunes now: smarturl.it/RG2015.
JAH CURE – THE CURE
Jah Cure – described by NPR as “a voice that sounds as if he’s wringing out passion from every note” and by Los Angeles Times as “a brilliant crooner of Bob Marley-esque love-and-peace reggae” – effortlessly blends street poetry and sufferer’s tales with beautiful love ballads on his new album The Cure. The 13-track set is a return to roots reggae and lover’s rock with R&B and pop-fused elements. The Jamaican born singer co-produced the entire album with the help of reggae producers like Christopher “Sketch” Carey, Clive Hunt, Llamar “Riff Raff” Brown, Justin “Jus Bus” Nation and Trevor “Baby G” James. The Cure features recent hits like his #1 reggae chart-topping John Legend cover “All of Me” (which received over 5 million YouTube views), “Rasta,” “That Girl” and “Life We Live” as well as brand new singles including “Show Love,” “No Friend of Mine,” “Made In California,” “I Surrender” and more. Jah Cure’s multi-faceted story of struggle and love is intertwined into The Cure. “My struggles made me who I am today. That’s why I sing with feelings, it comes from my heart cause I feel the pain. Who feels it knows it,” he states. Purchase The Cure on iTunes now: http://smarturl.it/JCTheCure.
SOCA GOLD 2015
For over two decades, Soca Gold has been has been the ultimate Carnival soundtrack from the Caribbean islands and beyond. This year’s edition of annual top-selling compilation delivers the genre’s top anthems. Soca Gold 2015 features the Grammy winning singer-songwriter Angela Hunte & soca champion Machel Montano on the EDM-influenced collab “Party Done,” the “Viking of Soca” Bunji Garlin on his uplifting anthem “Our Time,” Trinidadian superstar Fay Ann Lyons on her latest crowd pleaser “Raze” and Lead Pipe & Saddis on the smash hit “Ah Feeling” (which brought them to the finals of the International Groovy Soca Monarch Competition in Trinidad this year). The 18-track set is accompanied with a DVD featuring music videos and exclusive performance and party footage that captures the vivacious energy from 2015 T&T Carnival. Purchase Soca Gold 2015 on iTunes now: smarturl.it/SG2015.
A short documentary about the rise and fall of the compact cassette
Cassette: A Documentary from Robert Gray on Vimeo.
A short-form essayistic documentary about the rise and fall of the compact cassette and its impact on culture, communication, listening, and portable sound reproduction.
Since its patenting in the early 1960’s, the compact audio cassette has changed the way that we listen, think, and communicate. From its humble origins as a transcription aid to its eventual loss of popularity after the invention of the compact disc and MP3 player, the cassette tape has come to be regarded a major cultural artifact, both in terms of its lasting impact on society and its current relevance in the Third World and the international independent music scene. Although the cassette tape has mostly faded from mainstream relevance in the Western world, it remains an important cultural touchstone for a generation of music listeners, and its less-direct influence is still felt today.
Produced in the Media Artists Studio program at The Evergreen State College 2011-2012.
