This is an incredible journey from the always fascinating TED.com led by planetary scientist Carolyn Porco. It shows the latest rounds of ground-breaking findings of the Cassini exploration mission in a way you are not soon to forget. Amazing imagery and some very startling discoveries! (video filmed in 2007)

The original video and details can be found here: “Carolyn Porco flies us to Saturn“

This is a great video I came across on YouTube. Excellent reporting!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Why post this now? Well, there is a lot of chatter about the amazing numbers of Humboldt Squid taking over the California coastline. Here is a popular article on the issue at the Los Angeles Times.

Ever since I watched the incredible adventure-documentary movie Sharkwater I have been profoundly motivated to do whatever I could to help save sharks. In fact, the very same day I watched the movie I purchased a few domains with the intention of creating at least one website to do my part and raise the awareness of shark finning. Well the day has finally come. The site isn’t perfect by any means yet but you can visit AntiSharkFinning.com to get regular updates on shark-related news and the fight to ban shark finning world wide. I hope you like it.

If you find yourself overwhelmed and dying to help out please check out the following websites to learn more about what you can do:

• The official site of Sharkwater the movie
• Save the Blue
• Oceana
• WildAid Shark Conservation

As a member of Scoopt I received the following message this morning announcing that Scoopt is shutting down.

Dear Scoopt members,

I am sorry to inform you, as a member of Scoopt, that we have decided to close the business.   We will not be taking in any more imagery after February 6, 2009 and will close the upload application.   We will also cease licensing any imagery through Scoopt on that date.

Our experience with Scoopt has taught us some very valuable lessons.  We remain convinced that there is a demand for this kind of material as part of an editorial product, but for the moment are choosing to focus our energies within Getty Images on our core products in news, sport and entertainment.

It has been a pleasure working with Scoopt, your pictures have provided a fascinating snapshot of the circumstances in which you find yourselves and have added valuable viewpoints to the news service we provide our customers on a daily basis.

A holding page will remain until March 6, 2009 but from February 6 we will not be accepting any new imagery and so the upload path will be closed, and the galleries shut down, at which point all rights over the photos revert to you, the copyright holders.

All Scoopt content that also appears on Getty Images will initially be reviewed and any Scoopt member that has photos deemed to have longer term value on Getty Images will be offered a separate contract.  To be clear, on February 6, 2009 all Scoopt content will be taken down from the Getty Images website and only be reposted, once the relevant contractual relationship with individual photographers is in place.

If your material is selected for continued inclusion on Getty Images, you will be contacted directly.   We will be posting some FAQ’s on the website to try to answer any questions you may have, so please do refer to this section.

Please note that we will be retaining your contact details in order to service any outstanding payments that are due and in case there should be need for a further communication update.  If you would like your details removed from the database, please respond to enquiries@scoopt.com with the words Remove Details in the subject line, and citing your Scoopt member ID.

Please use the email enquiries@scoopt.com for all correspondence regarding the closure of  Scoopt

Thank you for all your enthusiasm and support which have made Scoopt such an exciting place to work.

From the team at Scoopt

It is sad to see yet another innovative service shutting down but then again that is the nature of a tough economy – it tends to cleanse the industry of poor performers. Of course, I am making a supposition that the economy forced Getty Images’ hand but I think that is a good bet

Until later.

Ross

CFLs (the “squigly” lightbulbs) are the latest rage because they save a ton of energy but did you know they have a toxic level of mercury inside them? Nothing that would kill or anything like that – of course – however, there are some important things you should know about cleaning one up should it break. For example… never use a vaccum to clean up leftovers from a breakage on a hard surface! No explanation for “why” is given but I gather the mercury particulate can get dispersed by the vacuum cleaner because the filter can’t catch it – just a guess though. Anyway, don’t do it!!!

For more info that I would rather not copy (to give the site appropriate credit) check out this excellent and incredibly helpful Going Green blog post called “Take Care with CFLs“.

Big thanks to Bill Slawski at SEO by the Sea for giving me the heads up on this.

Help! I don’t know how I am going to survive having Civilization on the 360… it has been a dream for a while now but now that it is coming to reality… OMG I might as well write off my social life. Here is the announcement from 2K Games of the impending June 3, 2008 release:

2K Games is proud to announce that Sid Meier’s Civilization® Revolution™, the latest entry in the award-winning Sid Meier’s Civilization® franchise, will be in stores beginning June 3, 2008. Developed internally at 2K’s world-renowned and award-winning Firaxis development studio, Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution will be available for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Nintendo DS™.

Built from the ground up solely for console and handheld gamers, Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution features fast-paced, pick-up-and-play action involving strategic global domination and history’s most intrepid leaders, as well as a highly competitive multi-player experience. Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution brings the renowned Civilization franchise to consoles for the first time, delivering the vast re-playability and unmatched addictive gameplay that has become synonymous with the works of Sid Meier. New graphical touches and a streamlined interface will transport the Civilization franchise to a level that fans have never seen before.

I received a bulletin today from Michael Moore announcing to his readers that CNN had just admitted to two errors that were hotly debated on Michael’s recent interview with Wolf Blitzer about the movie Sicko.

First Some Background, Then The News
I will first show you the video of Michael’s interview where, to put it mildly, things got a little tense as CNN called into question Michael’s facts from Sicko. Second I will post the encouraging bulletin that Michael wrote which had enough energy built into it to raise the hairs on the back of my neck.

But Why? Why have I posted all this? I am a huge fan of Michael Moore’s because he boldly stands up for what he believes in and takes on topics that NEED to get more attention. All of the following content can be found elsewhere but I posted it because I feel honored to have his content on my page. Keep kicking ass Michael!!

[coolplayer width="480" height="380" autoplay="0" loop="0" charset="utf-8" download="1" mediatype=""]
Michael Moore interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN
[/coolplayer]

And now, the bulletin from Michael Moore that I highly recommend reading:

“CNN Throws in Towel, Admits to Two Errors”

July 17th, 2007

Friends,

The mighty CNN, in a lengthy and sad online defense of their woe-begotten ‘Sicko’ story of last Monday, has admitted that they did indeed fudge at least two of the facts in their coverage of my film and have apologized for it:

1. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN: “To be clear, I got a number wrong in my original report, substituting the number 25, instead of 251.” — My Conversation with Michael Moore, July 11th, 2007; and

2. CNN: “Moore is correct. Paul Keckley left Vanderbilt in late 2006.” — CNN’s Response to Michael Moore, July 15th, 2007.

Furthermore, CNN confirmed that all of our statistics in “Sicko” are the correct numbers from the sources we cited. Although CNN still prefers to use older World Health Organization statistics, we will stick to using this year’s Bush administration stats and more recent U.N. data. (In “Sicko,” we consistently use only U.N. Human Development Statistics unless it’s for studies they don’t do or have recent numbers for.) CNN did apologize for these two factual errors, but no apology seems to be coming for the rest of their errors. These days, to get the mainstream media to admit they were wrong is rare; to get them to admit it twice, as they have with “Sicko,” I guess should be considered a whopping victory. Will they eventually apologize for the rest, or for their reporting on the war? Will the Cubs win the World Series this year?

So the truce has been signed, the peace pipe has been smoked. And the public is left with a much more cautious and wary eye when it comes to CNN. To be fair, this is what happens when you have to grind out “news” 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with a staff you have shrunk through layoffs over the years (like all the broadcast networks have done). You end up rushed and having interns do your research. You have robots replace live camera operators. And, if you’re CNN, you are constantly dodging the accusation that you are “too liberal.” So when you do a piece on someone like me, you have to make sure you add superfluous and standard ad hominems attacking me simply to prove that you are NOT too liberal. I get it.

Until the last month or so, I have not appeared on a single national TV show for nearly 2 and 1/2 years. After the attacks I had to endure three years ago, from a media intent on questioning my patriotism because I dared to speak out against the war when none in the media would, I decided I had had enough and would simply concentrate on making my next film. I had no desire to participate in networks that were complicit in the war because of their refusal the challenge the commander in chief.

I have to admit, though, I do feel kinda bad taking it all out on Wolf Blitzer. It’s not like he’s the official representative of the mainstream media. I mean, he’s from Buffalo, for crying out loud! He said to me at the end of the show last week to please come back on “anytime you want.” I will take him up on that offer and appear again with him tomorrow (Wednesday). I’m not expecting a dozen roses or make-up sex — I only want a promise that there will be no more distorted distractions so we can have a decent discussion about the REAL issues like why 18,000 Americans die every year because they don’t have a health insurance card. More than 300 of them died this week. As Ehrlichman said to Nixon in “Sicko”: “The less care they give ‘em, the more money they (the insurance companies) make.”

THAT’S the only thing we should be talking about. How profit and greed are killing our fellow Americans. How profit and private insurance have to be removed from our health care system. CNN should join me in asking why our 9/11 rescue workers aren’t receiving medical care. Somebody should send a crew to Canada to find out why they live longer than we do, and why no Canadian has ever gone bankrupt because of medical bills. And all of the media should start saying how much it costs to go to a doctor in these other top industrialized countries: Nothing. Zip. It’s FREE. Don’t patronize Americans by saying, “Well, it’s not free — they pay for it with taxes!” Yes, we know that. Just like we know that we drive down a city street for FREE — even though we paid for that street with our taxes. The street is FREE, the book at the library is FREE, if your house catches on fire, the fire department will come and put it out for FREE, and if someone snatches your purse, the police officer will chase down the culprit and bring your purse back to you — AND HE WON’T CHARGE YOU A DIME FROM THAT PURSE!

These are all free services, collectively socialized and paid for with our tax dollars. To argue that health care — a life and death issue for many — should not be considered in the same league is ludicrous and archaic. And trust me, once you add up what you pay for out-of-pocket in premiums, deductibles, co-pays, overpriced medicines, and treatments that aren’t covered (not to mention all the other things we pay for like college education, day care and other services that many countries provide for at little or no cost), we, as Americans, are paying far more than the Canadians or Brits or French are paying in taxes. We just don’t call these things taxes, but that’s exactly what they are.

See you all when I’m back on CNN tomorrow — where the discussion will be not be about whose statistics are right, but rather about the guy without insurance who died while I was writing this letter.

Yours,
Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
www.michaelmoore.com

P.S. Oh… I forgot to tell you about Paris Hilton. Apparently cooped up for too long at home since getting out of jail, she decided to head out for a night on the town. But where does she go? Clubbing? Cruising down the Strip? No! She and her sister decide to go see “Sicko.” Now THAT’S news! So, no more bad words about Paris Hilton!

Okay, I am a total gadget freak… I cannot deny it. I absolutely LOVE technology and *most* of what it has provided. Why *most*? Well, the obvious issues I have with technology stem from major issues like Nukes and polluting materials like overused plastic, etc. That said, there is a whole other type of technology that admittedly gets me pretty amped but more often than not causes the hair on the back of my neck to rise to attention; military technology.

Now obviously military technology is a necessary evil in some cases, after all it can help save lives by putting less allied lives in the line of fire (i.e. drones, laser guided missiles, etc.).  But this, well this article from Wired magazine takes it all to a whole new level; robotic ants overwhelming enemies, poisonous or explosive wasps, precision accurate insect explosives… eeeek!

Anyway, check out this article from Wired (“Military Builds Robotic Insects“) and see if it gave you the same queasy feeling it gave me… man I would hate to be the bad guy… I just wish I always saw a clear delineation of what being the “bad guy” was.

It is rare to find a charitable organization where 100% of your donations is guaranteed to go to the charities. GiveMeaning.com appears to be one of those organizations.

Here is a link to GiveMeaning.com’s “About Page” where this incredible company is well described. In addition, here are some inspirational success stories from GiveMeaning.com.

Normally I am simply not a person who promotes this kind of thing… I guess I am just too busy and a bit suspicious of large charities. I am normally more interested in local charities like the Mustard Seed. This one, however, really inspires me and I felt it was important to share. Here are some recent projects that were completed thanks to the generosity of users:

Most Recent GiveMeaning.com Fundraising Projects

• Sending a Sudanese Refugee to Medical School in Uganda, Africa
• AIDS relief for women and children, through sports and leadership training.
• Orphanage needs minibus to get children to school
• Gigi Climbs Kili for Family – Grandmothers to Grandmothers C
• Sponsor 100 Orphan Children in War-Torn Iraq

What I find really different about this project is that if I wanted to I could create my own project to raise funds for a charity of my choice. Lets say, for example, I felt particularly interested in raising money for Multiple Sclerosis. I could simply create my own project and then GiveMeaning.com (after approving the project) would handle all of the logistics of handling the money, charity receipts, and making certain the funds got to the appropriate charity. So in a sense, GiveMeaning.com acts as a charity administrator thus allowing me to focus on the more important aspects of fundraising – promotion! But it doesn’t stop there! GiveMeaning.com even provides excellent tools to help you get the word out – all free of charge.

Check it out and tell me what you think… personally I think it is an awesome concept. Heh, probably one that has been around and I didn’t even know about it. Well call me enlightened now