posted by Zach Patton
I wrote a couple weeks ago about overcrowing on U.S. cities' transit systems.
But let's all take a moment to give thanks that our systems aren't nearly as overtaxed as Japan's. Here's a video of people literally being crammed onto a train -- by the transit officers themselves!
Kinda makes me claustrophobic just watching.
You can watch a whole bunch of videos like this on YouTube, if you have the desire.
posted by Zach Patton
The state of California this week launched its own YouTube channel. It brings together videos from several different state agencies -- including, as this San Jose Mercury News story points out, some that are actually pretty entertaining. Like the videos promoting the state's free Ready Return tax preparation service.
Of course, California isn't the first government to start a YouTube channel. Officials like Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, localities like the city of Norfolk, VA; and other government entities, like the South Carolina State Library and the Virginia Dept. of Emergency Management, have all staked their claim with a dedicated YouTube channel.
But the California site still seems like a big-ish deal. I mean, I can't seem to find an example of any other state -- or city government -- with such a broad, organized channel that incorporates different agencies' videos the way California's does.
If there's one out there, let me know.
posted by Christopher Swope
I've got Knight Rider on the brain. Really, I can't stop thinking about it. I didn't even watch the show much growing up. And I don't own any David Hasselhoff records -- a punishable offense, as I understand it, in Switzerland.
The reason for my new obsession is because our buses here in Washington are getting equipped with these zippy yellow safety lights. The lights flicker back and forth, much the way the red light on KITT's hood did.
I don't think the bus lights posess any infrared vision capabilities, as KITT's did. Instead, they're intended to make buses more visible, in order to prevent collisions with pedestrians. Seriously, you can see these things coming from half a mile away.
It's the public transit version of this.
posted by Christopher Swope
Forget all those legislative issues to watch we told you about. The big issue in legislatures this year is going to be YouTube, or more specifically, guerilla video tactics at the statehouse.
The video pasted here shows why. It's from Virginia, the state that brought us the "macaca" affair last year. Apparently, Virginia Democrats learned a lesson from seeing George Allen, caught at his worst, broadcast all over the internet. Their takeaway? Shoot video of everything going on at the capitol. Eventually, you'll catch your opponents doing something embarrassing, or at least something they'd rather not have captured on camera.
According to the Washington Post, Virginia Dems have an operative scouring the halls of the legislature with a webcam. They're posting clips on YouTube and on a Democratic blog called Assembly Access. Some clips, like this one of Republican Delegate Jeff Frederick playing cat-and-mouse with the camera, are cheap shots that only demonstrate in the clearest possibly way why guerilla video is distracting and why legislatures will probably want to impose some rules on it.
Not surprisingly, Republicans are plotting how to fight back.
posted by Christopher Swope
This Old House it's not. But this video and others on YouTube, posted by preservation activists in Houston, does represent something of a breakthrough. The videos show residents of the Sixth Ward on their front porches talking about their old restored homes and how much they love living in the neighborhood.
The subtext: Go away developers. Build your stinking condos somewhere else.
It's a new chapter to a gentrification story that's heating up in a lot of cities as yuppies and empty-nesters rediscover downtown living. The fight has been particularly intense in Houston, as John Buntin wrote in Governing last March. These videos were produced by the Old Sixth Ward Neighborhood Association, whose president calls them an act of "creative desperation."
At nine minutes long (and with a distractingly silly soundtrack), I'm not sure if anyone will watch this video all the way through--let alone four of them. But it's an interesting new path for grassroots activism. I'm sure we'll be seeing much more like it.
More from the Houston Chronicle.
posted by Zach Patton
From the Daily Show, here's an extremely funny clip about Wisconsin Rep. Frank Lasee's proposal to ensure school safety by providing teachers with firearms.
The rebuttal to his argument comes from William Crozier, the 2006 GOP nominee for Oklahoma School Superintendent. Arming teachers isn't the answer, he says. The answer is teaching students how to use their textbooks -- which could be covered in Kevlar -- as shields.
posted by Zach Patton
So these two guys walk into a Virginia DMV office...
Seriously, have you seen this? These two guys painted their faces in disguise and went to get drivers licenses. They got the IDs easily -- surprisingly easily, they said, since it's so obvious they're wearing disguises.
Here's a video of the whole thing.
Warning 1) One guy dresses up as a cartoonish Asian, and it's pretty racist. Seriously, it makes Mickey Rooney's character in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" look culturally sensitive.
Warning 2) The closing credits of the vid are pretty graphic and offensive, as well.
Yeah, yeah, he's running for Prez. But Tom Vilsack is still a Guv for now. Here he is on the Daily Show last night.
posted by Christopher Swope
You've probably heard about "fried Coke," the latest delicacy at the fried-food bonanza that is the Texas State Fair. Well, I had the honor of tasting this culinary innovation at Fair Park in Dallas this weekend. In my eating schedule, it fell somewhere after the Fletcher's corny dog, but before the fried chocolate burrito. I am lucky to be alive to tell the story.
How do you fry Coca-Cola? I had expected to see chefs popping the tops of red cans and pouring the cola into a spattering fryer. I was wrong. Instead, what they do is make up a Coke-flavored batter, roll it into balls and drop those in for a hot-oil swim. Once crispy, the Cokeballs go in a cup, where they are sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, dunked in Coke fountain syrup and capped with whipped cream and a cherry. I shot the video at the finishing station (click twice on the screen).
The whole concoction tasted better than I expected. I know, I know: what's fried tastes good. But really, this was quite yummy. Digging in with a fork, fried Coke at first gave off the airs of a supersweet donut. It got soggier and sweeter the further down into the cup I got, until the very bottom, which was all Coke syrup and shreds of wet dough. This is where more conventional Coke-consuming methods, such as a straw, came into play. The last gulp was a thick deep-brown sludge, warmed by residue from the fryer, and delicious.
The New York Times says state fairs are dead, but I can see why the Texas State Fair remains profitable. Every year there are new foods to go along with the giganto cattle, which must get old after a little while. Not everybody who visits the Texas fair is going to catch the Marilyn Monroe impersonator, the pig races or the card stacker. But everyone eats. Give them something new to chew on, and they'll keep coming back for more.
