At the Library of Congress, anthropologist Michael Wesch recently presented a talk on the nature of YouTube: how memes spread, how users generate content, and a detailed history of some of YouTube’s greatest hits. It’s the first academic treatment I’ve seen of YouTube and its associated phenomena. Addressed in detail: the nature of vlogs; the webcam and “context collapse”; Free Hugs: a hero for our mediated culture; YouTube’s anthenticity crisis: the story of LonelyGirl15; and much, much more.

If you’re interested in an anthropological perspective on YouTube and online communities, check it out:

(Via Fimoculous.)

The Eagle Scout honor has been handed out in the Boy Scouts of America since 1912. It’s no easy feat – requirements include earning at least 21 merit badges, exemplifying the core Scout qualities and completing a pretty hefty service project.
It’s one of the highest ranks attainable in the Boy Scouts – only about one and a half million people have achieved this, so no doubt some pretty interesting people have earned the title. Here are 10 of them.

10 People Who Have Attained the Rank of Eagle Scout

1. Bill Amend, FoxTrot cartoonist
2. Neil Armstrong, astronaut
3. Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States
4. Michael Moore, director and author
5. Ross Perot, businessman and politician
6. Mike Rowe, host of Dirty Jobs
7. Donald Rumsfeld, former U.S. Secretary of Defense
8. Steven Spielberg, director
9. John Tesh, musician and talk show host
10. Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club

The art of American ex-pat Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839-1924) captures the beauty of spring and summer, as seen with his “At Poissy ‘Your Health’.” Although he lived and painted in France for more than 52 years, Knight is still claimed as an “American artist,” as is his artist son, Aston Knight, despite a birth and life in France.

1. With the support of his grandfather, Daniel Ridgway Knight began attending the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1858, with Thomas Eakins and Mary Cassatt among his classmates. While Cassatt went on to become known as the only American to exhibit with the original Impressionists in France, Knight was actually the first of the Pennsylvania art peers to head to Paris, where he studied at l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts for two years. He also entered the atelier of Marc-Charles-Gabriel Gleyre, under whom Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and James McNeill Whistler also studied.

2. A clear connection exists between Knight and the Philadelphia Sketch Club, of which he was a member until his death. Just what the original connection was, though, is up to some debate. While most Knight resources reference him founding the club in 1861, the club itself states he joined in 1864, four years after the club was formed by six other Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts students. And though he was a life-long member, he apparently wasn’t always fond of attending meetings, since his wife “was commended by President Heaton for her firm insistence on Mr. Knight’s attendance at Club meetings.”

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When we left you last week we were in the midst of some Roseanne behind-the-scenes trivia. We now continue with all the facts that fit…or at least all those we couldn’t fit in the first time.

Entering Season Three with Trepidation

The San Diego Padres invited Roseanne to sing the National Anthem prior to a game against the Cincinnati Reds on July 25, 1990. Perhaps the first finger of blame should point at the Padres management – what were they thinking? Roseanne was a sitcom star, not a singer, and her speaking voice alone should have clued them in that she was no Barbra Streisand (or even no Ashlee Simpson). Nevertheless, Roseanne agreed to the gig and was flown via helicopter along with husband Tom Arnold to Jack Murphy Stadium. In one of his rare lucid moments, Tom peered out of the ‘copter at the crowd below and suggested to his wife (who had already made it clear that she intended to “have fun” with the anthem) that she may want to reconsider. “There are a lot of people out there,” he warned her, “and they probably take the National Anthem very seriously.” Roseanne shrugged off his warning and went ahead to screech “The Star Spangled Banner” off-key and capped off her performance by grabbing her crotch and spitting. She was unanimously trounced by the media the next day, with even then-president George Bush denouncing her performance as “disrespectful.” Needless to say, the producers and sponsors of her show were nervous about the upcoming Season Three, due to start filming in a few days. Would the public remember the National Anthem debacle by the time the first show aired and boycott the series? In typical Roseanne fashion, she had her character poke fun at the situation, with Roseanne Conner announcing at the beginning of the season opener “It’s such a beautiful morning today, it just makes me want to sing!” The spontaneous applause of the studio audience was an indication that all was forgiven. (more…)

Vacations aren’t for everyone. Do you miss the tapping of keyboards, or the cozy comfort of your cubicle? Do you long for a bit of break room chatter? Lucky for you, a few websites offer the perfect virtual fixes. Here are a few staples every office junkie should bookmark right now.

1. Authentic desk noises

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Produced as part of the Bell Laboratory’s series of educational science films, “The Unchained Goddess” is certainly campy … but spookily prophetic too, considering it was made in 1958. In it, a narrator dubbed “Dr. Research” issues a warning that could be cribbed from an Al Gore powerpoint presentation:

“Even now, man may be unwittingly changing the world’s climate through the waste products of his civilization. Due to our release through factories and automobiles every year, of more than 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide… our atmosphere seems to be getting warmer.”

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Remember those sweet, innocent old Disney cartoons? Well, scratch that sweet and innocent part. In this classic quiz, we found 10 controversial Disney cartoons; can you match the inappropriate content to its source?

Take the quiz.

My old man was a snorer. His snoring was like the plot of a good action movie, with plenty of rising action. About 15 minutes after he’d fall asleep, it would sound like there was a heard of buffalo racing bulldozers and juggling chainsaws in my parents’ bedroom. It would get louder and louder and then cut off when he finally woke himself up. There would be one final snort, and then a “huh?” After that, there was a small window of silence where the whole house could try and get back to sleep before the noise kicked back up.

You’d think it would follow, then, that we would regularly jar ourselves awake with sneezes, too, but that isn’t the case. Actually, it seems I pulled a trick question out of the mailbag this week, because we don’t sneeze in our sleep at all.

The Roots of the Sneeze

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“I was taking a drink just now at Andy Parle’s, when I overheard an individual denouncing you in the vilest manner. He said you loafed on your friends, borrowed money and never returned it, owed bills in every quarter of the city, and were the biggest beat he knew. I inquired who he was and he said his name was Tom Collins. He can be found at Parle’s.”

And so began The Great Tom Collins Hoax of 1874, which begat The King of Cooling Drinks, the Tom Collins. The hoax kicked off with a prankster telling a group that they were being talked about by the loose lipped Tom Collins, and then sending them on an angry goose chase to find him.  (more…)

Once athletes are done dominating on the field, they’re free to take their millions of dollars and go enjoy lives of golf and celebrity restaurant ownership. Some former sports stars, though, eschew this easy life in favor of entering an even more competitive arena: politics. While some achieve great triumphs in the political world, like basketball star Bill Bradley, NFL quarterbacks Jack Kemp and Heath Shuler, and retired Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne, others struggle to find their niche as public servants. Here are a few of our favorite campaigns that didn’t pan out:

1. Jerry “The King” Lawler Tries to Become Mayor

It’s tough to knock anything about Jerry “The King” Lawler’s professional wrestling career. The man boasts over a hundred title reigns across various promotions, has had a successful career as a commentator, and even feuded with comedian Andy Kaufman.  Throughout his career, he maintained strong ties to his hometown of Memphis, and in 1999 Lawler made a bid at becoming the city’s next mayor. His platform was largely predicated upon what he called “common sense,” and included cutting costs, making streets safer, undertaking beautification projects, and improving schools.
Although Lawler’s platform and status as a favorite son may have been appealing to some voters, he wasn’t able to deliver one of his trademark piledrivers to incumbent Willie Herenton, who grabbed 45.7 percent of the vote to win a third term. Lawler came in at a distant third with 11.7 percent of the vote. Of course,  he probably didn’t help his chances when he attacked a police officer during a dispute on airport parking. He did, however, make some terrific campaign ads:

2. Another “King” Tries to Become Secretary of State

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