Mona Lisa REMIX!

JOSH: Mona Lisa is a well respected piece of art, or whatever. It's alright. These are better.

Mona Modern


Mona Blunt

Mona Bubblegum

Mona Piggy

Mona Banksy

Mona Greasa

I don't know if you guys know this but one of the main reasons this picture is so famous is not only because DiCaprio painted her. In 1911 this painting was stolen from the museum. That's right. Learn about it here: Mona Was Stolen

Reading Rainbow’s End

SETH: We have reached the end of the Reading Rainbow.  The show that practically every child from the 80’s knows with the theme song that practically everyone knows, no matter when they were born, is being cancelled.  Reading Rainbow will soon air its last episode due to lack of funding.  This comes shortly after news that the Sesame Street Workshop will have to cut 1/5th of its work force due to economic downturn.

Concerning Reading Rainbow, Slobhan O’Conner writes:

“We should all feel a  little gross about this: After a 26-year run, Reading Rainbow is done because nobody will pony up the dough to renew the broadcast rights. It’s partially due to a funding crunch, reports NPR, and due to a ’shift in the philosophy of educational television programming,’ that started under Bush. So you can file this as another damning piece of that administration’s legacy.

That shift, it seems, has to do with how we teach kids to read—focusing more on the mechanics of reading and (ugh) phonics. Thing is, Reading Rainbow was not designed to teach kids how to read, the same way we don’t rely on Sesame Street to teach us how to count to 10, or what the difference between ‘near’ and ‘far’ is. (Thanks, though, Grover.) It’s about creating a love of learning, and imbuing that learning with the playfulness that gets kids excited.

Indeed, the show, which won more than two dozen Emmys, didn’t teach hard skills. It taught kids to love books, and, in the words of John Grant, the Reading Rainbow’s home station WNED Buffalo: ‘Reading Rainbow taught kids why to read.’

I’m holding some hope for a last-ditch save.

R.I.P., for now.”

For some reason I feel that it is appropriate to share this video of Fred Rogers appearing before the US Senate to fight against Nixon’s plan to cut funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

PS22 Chorus Belts It Out Real Nice

JOSH: The PS22 Chorus is a group of fifth graders who make pop songs sound spectacular. Enough said.

PS22 Chorus does “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga

“Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac

“The Call” by Regina Spektor
This was just two weeks into forming the group.

Golly gee these kids are great.

Also, I just found out that these kids do backing vocals on Passion Pit’s “The Reeling”

Which is up for a MTV Music Award: Breakthrough Video

View their channel here: PS22 Chorus YouTube Channel
and their blog here
PS22 Blog

There’s An App For That… Dummy.

JOSH: “There is an app for everything, even when there shouldn’t be.”

Here are some of the most useless apps the iPhone offers.
Hold It:

Yes, the object is to hold the button as long as you can. Thankfully, there is a timer attached, so you can see just how long you wasted your time.

Abacus:

Yep.

I Am Rich

Unfortunately, this app was discontinued by Apple near its release, but not in time for 8 people to spend $999.99 on this app. All it does is present this red jewel on your screen. It lets people know you’re rich, and an idiot.

Newton’s Cradle

The best part about doing these things is pulling the actual balls back. Now, with the touch of a finger, you can simulate that exhilarating feeling… ON YOUR IPHONE! WOO! Pathetic.

By the way, thank you to Will who let me look through his current iPhone applications for this post.

WiTricity

SETH: I know, I know.  I have not been around a lot lately, but quit whining or your dad will never respect you.

On to what is really important: WIRELESS ELECTRICITY!

The only thing strong enough to bring me out of hiding.

I have been pushing this idea for years.  Most of the time, people think I am making a joke, because I guess there is something inherently funny about wireless electricity, but I am dead serious.  This, along with the Elevator (also not a joke), Human Genome Project, and the Internet, has the potential to be one of the most important advances in the history of man.

Just watch this video and then afterwards say this out loud:  ”Huh, I guess Seth was right all along, wireless electricity is awesome and something that needs to be developed.  Boy, oh boy, what a guy!”