CNN has a neat list of the top 10 life-affirming movie moments. The list is not focused on just cheesy feel-good movies, it also lists movies that have appeal separate from the feel-goodery. From It’s a Wonderful Life to Blade Runner.
From heartwarming classics to instant blockbusters, these are the on-screen scenes that never fail to fill you with joie de vivre.
MTV has declared the music industry broken and that is actually a good thing (unless you’re a recored executive). It is a hard time for musicians though as the industry catches up to this whole “interbookwebspacenetjournal.com” thing.
David Byrne, of Talking Heads fame, has some advice for musicians so they can succeed in this new age:
I would personally advise artists to hold on to their publishing rights (well, as much of them as they can). Publishing royalties are how you get paid if someone covers, samples, or licenses your song for a movie or commercial. This, for a songwriter, is your pension plan.
Increasingly, it’s possible for artists to hold on to the copyrights for their recordings as well. This guarantees them another lucrative piece of the licensing pie and also gives them the right to exploit their work in mediums to be invented in the future — musical brain implants and the like.
No single model will work for everyone. There’s room for all of us. Some artists are the Coke and Pepsi of music, while others are the fine wine — or the funky home-brewed moonshine. And that’s fine. I like Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and Christina Aguilera’s “Ain’t No Other Man.” Sometimes a corporate soft drink is what you want — just not at the expense of the other thing. In the recent past, it often seemed like all or nothing, but maybe now we won’t be forced to choose.
Ultimately, all these scenarios have to satisfy the same human urges: What do we need music to do? How do we visit the land in our head and the place in our heart that music takes us to? Can I get a round-trip ticket?
No More Landmines came up with a creative way to bring awareness to the danger of landmines around the world. The idea was to not touch the ground in London by using parkour, a way to move around using one’s body in the most efficient way possible. The fundraiser is one of the more creative ones that I’v eseen recently, and remember that £1 = 1 square meter of land.
Here’s a map of the route that they took:
Ever wanted to tell people what you think but can’t find the time to fit into your busy schedule? I know I have! Well, we’re in luck because a group of artists have created quick and painless demos in the heart of the Old Empire (you know, the one that the sun never sets in). Introducing McDemos:
Ever wanted to bring capitalism crashing down but can’t get time off work to do it?
Wanna force liberal parliamentary democracy to bow it’s corpulent head in shame but have to take the car into the garage AND do the shopping?
Do you get the urge to jab John Prescott with a stick till he cries like a fat girl but can’t find a stick?
Then McDemo’s is for you, we’ll find the stick and do the jabbing! Let us demonstrate for you!
In this busy 24/7 world you often don’t get the time to make your voice heard, so isn’t it about time you contracted your protesting needs out?
We’ll ruin multinationals while you relax with a cocktail by the pool. We’ll force MPs from office while you catch up with Desperate Housewives on E4. Let us demonstrate for you!