Apparently David Bowie was asked to perform at some awards show in 2005 called "Fashion Rocks."
Today I learned that he refused to perform unless he could bring indie-supergroup The Arcade Fire, to which the producers replied "Ok...but you have to sing with them," to which David Bowie replied "Sure."
Resulting in this:
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
WILT: The Pledge of Allegiance
"I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."
This was the original phrasing of the Pledge of Allegiance, as written in 1892 by christian socialist, Francis Bellamy.
Another little known fact, "The Pledge" was firstly created as a marketing technique.
It was written for a popular children's magazine called The Youth's Companion for the special 400th anniversary of Columbus Day, in an attempt to sell flags and magazines complete with a subtle indoctrination of nationalism, free of charge.
"The Pledge" has undergone some serious alterations throughout history. Prior to 1924, children would recite this oath to "my flag," and "the republic for which it stands" could have applied to any republic, Banana, for example. And god had nothing to do with the matter until 1954 when the elite Catholic group Knights of Columbus refused to pledge without him.
Another interesting tidbit: Before FDR made the good judgment call of implementing the "hand over your heart" technique for pledging allegiance in 1942 (the date is relevant here), the original "Bellamy Salute" looked a little something like this:
This was the original phrasing of the Pledge of Allegiance, as written in 1892 by christian socialist, Francis Bellamy.
Another little known fact, "The Pledge" was firstly created as a marketing technique.
It was written for a popular children's magazine called The Youth's Companion for the special 400th anniversary of Columbus Day, in an attempt to sell flags and magazines complete with a subtle indoctrination of nationalism, free of charge.
"The Pledge" has undergone some serious alterations throughout history. Prior to 1924, children would recite this oath to "my flag," and "the republic for which it stands" could have applied to any republic, Banana, for example. And god had nothing to do with the matter until 1954 when the elite Catholic group Knights of Columbus refused to pledge without him.
Another interesting tidbit: Before FDR made the good judgment call of implementing the "hand over your heart" technique for pledging allegiance in 1942 (the date is relevant here), the original "Bellamy Salute" looked a little something like this:
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
WILT: シェフの農園
Directly translated by a gaijin who's severely fallen behind on her Japanese studies (me) as: chef's farm garden, this product proves once again that the Japanese have got it right.
The Japanese innovative advertising company, Dentsu, calls this little number "Chef's Garden."
Intended specifically for restaurants, this machine can grow up to 60 heads of lettuce at a time...without any sunlight.
How do they do it? It's actually pretty simple. A dozen 40 watt light-bulbs incubate 5 levels of trays (this means that 5 different types of vegetation can grow at once) containing "nutri-culture" sponges that the plants grow from.
Costing about $90,000, Chef's kitchen can produce 20,000 heads of lettuce per year and Dentsu touts that the indoor farm will pay for itself (including energy and equipment costs) within 5 years of purchase.
I had hoped to end this post with a photo from my own trip to Tokyo, but it appears that I did not find it necessary to eternally capture the image of a vending machine in a foreign land. Thankfully, my friends living there right now don't have the same discretion.
This is from a random gas station in the countryside, which gives you a pretty good idea of the prevalence of vending machines in Japan. From my observation, I'd say that about every 20 feet, a typical Tokyoite could purchase cans of pretty much any beverage, from hot cappuccino (or the Japanese interpretation, at least) to cold beer.
(and, no. I didn't see any vending machines with panties for sale)
The Japanese innovative advertising company, Dentsu, calls this little number "Chef's Garden."
Intended specifically for restaurants, this machine can grow up to 60 heads of lettuce at a time...without any sunlight.
How do they do it? It's actually pretty simple. A dozen 40 watt light-bulbs incubate 5 levels of trays (this means that 5 different types of vegetation can grow at once) containing "nutri-culture" sponges that the plants grow from.
Costing about $90,000, Chef's kitchen can produce 20,000 heads of lettuce per year and Dentsu touts that the indoor farm will pay for itself (including energy and equipment costs) within 5 years of purchase.
I had hoped to end this post with a photo from my own trip to Tokyo, but it appears that I did not find it necessary to eternally capture the image of a vending machine in a foreign land. Thankfully, my friends living there right now don't have the same discretion.
This is from a random gas station in the countryside, which gives you a pretty good idea of the prevalence of vending machines in Japan. From my observation, I'd say that about every 20 feet, a typical Tokyoite could purchase cans of pretty much any beverage, from hot cappuccino (or the Japanese interpretation, at least) to cold beer.
(and, no. I didn't see any vending machines with panties for sale)
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