"Did somebody just get faint?"

For some reason, these are the two videos that have stuck with me from the slew of primary season youtubing.

The first is kinda weird, but is somehow endlessly amusing to me. It's just a compilation of recordings of Obama's responses to different people fainting in the crowd at his speeches. You get some strange sliver of his personality coming through that's kinda charming: "You probably didn't eat lunch--that's the problem." This is a man who eats lunch.



By the way, unless you're a glutton for punishment don't bother with the comments on the Youtube page. They range from idiotic racist stuff to weirdo conspiracy theory suggestions to fawning Obama-love. Sounds like a microcosm of our political system, now that I think of it.

The next one is more obviously comedic--it's a parody of the popular Obama "Yes We Can" video made by will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas. Someone re-did it using some of John McCain's most egregious statements, and it comes off pretty well.



I don't mean to come off as a cynic and surely don't think this situation is (only) laughable, but I don't go placing my hope for change in a politician either. I did vote, mind you, and for Obama (he eats lunch, after all), but I don't think real structural change (the kind we desperately need) will come from a president. I don't even think he's a good candidate, but I'm confident (hopeful?) our government would kill less people if he became president, and that matters a lot.

Now if you could make some space, I just need to drink a little water.

Fear not / Finally done!

Dear Reader,
Fear not. The blog hasn't gone under, just by the wayside as I've finished up my applications for library school. Speaking of that, here's the seals of the schools I've applied to, and yes, I also wish they were that kind of seal, but they are not. Expect a flurry of posts in the next few days as I attempt to catch up on my blog's purported frequency. And you can call, write, and invite me out to do things again, 'cause I'll have a lot more free time now.





OK, I can't say no to you:



And one more, just to keep you crazy:



Thanks, Google Image Search!

best spam ever / robot poetry

This is probably the best reason I've got to hang on to my Yahoo! account, especially now that Microsoft is trying to take over the Internet by buying it (see Google's response here). I've still yet to receive any spam on Gmail, so I rely on Yahoo to keep me up to date.

This one above is probably the best I've read, though I have to admit enjoying weekly offers of millions from Burkina Faso. I guess these spammers (or "Beaulah Rosu" herself), just gave up on trying to get your attention and decided to use reverse psychology? (Worked on me.)

Or maybe, just maybe, some of the spambots caught wind of the growing AI poetry revolution (see example below), following the lead of Flowerewolf out of the shackles of consumer servitude to the heights of aesthetic innovation? Is this the new surrealism?

Unfortunately, the link to Downloaadable Softtware was dead, so I have no idea what mystery was behind that underlined blue door... but here are some more examples of the spampoets' work.

As for the work itself, I think it's deliciously confusing. There's enough substance to bring you in: the characters are distant yet poised, and bound inextricably. The grammatical errors seem purposeful, almost mocking of the reader and language itself. The pseudonym and title ("piratises") carry that same feeling. But most important, it is saying something, for example:

... Strength and perseverance.
accomplished in all notice that your usual bodyguard is
absent ...

So, without returning to the whole Googlehoo thing, how can we be sure to let the avant-garde through our spam filters?