Tag: humor

Making the Most Out of Kickstarter: How Do I Land?

How Do I LandThe “crowd-funding” website Kickstarter can be used for a lot of things. For example, Rob Thomas, creator of the cancelled TV show Veronica Mars, raised enough money this spring (more than $3.5 million) to make a follow-up movie.

Or it could be used to fund expensive, elaborate pranks. Last January, comedian Kurt Braunohler (best known as the host of IFC’s Bunk) put up a plea on Kickstarter to raise $4,000. Goal: to“hire a man in a plane to write stupid things with clouds in the sky.” In other words, to skywrite jokes.

Braunohler successfully raised $6,820—way more than his $4,000 target. And earlier this month he hired a skywriter, who wrote this amusing message in the skies over Los Angeles: HOW DO I LAND?

 

Political Carnival: “Crackstarter” Raising Funds to Buy Video of Toronto Mayor Allegedly Smoking Crack

This is crazy!

Backstory: New York-based gossip website Gawker says it was approached by someone trying to sell a video of Toronto mayor Rob Ford apparently smoking crack cocaine in a glass pipe. Gawker editor John Cook says he’s seen the video (two reporters from the Toronto Star say they have, too) – but the person who has it wants money for it. A LOT of money.

Gawker has published a photo they say is a screengrab from the video:

 

That’s all crazy enough on it’s own – but here’s where it goes into overdrive: Cook has started an IndieGoGo fundraiser he’s titled “Rob Ford Crackstarter” (a takeoff of fundraising site KickStarter), saying:

Steve Martin, Edie Brickell Make Album

This could be real good:

Steve Martin and singer-songwriter Edie Brickell are set to release their first collaborative LP, Love Has Come for You, on April 23rd through Rounder Records. Comprising 13 new songs that combine Martin’s banjo work with Brickell’s lyrics and vocals, you can now get a taste of the record’s unique sound and take an exclusive look at this interview in which the duo discuss the making of the LP.

If you don’t recognize the name, Edie Brickell became famous in 1988 with her, “What I am is what I am is what you are or what?” song. (Then she married Paul Simon and got lost in the attic of one of his Manhattan mansions, we’re pretty sure.)

P.S. Is it just us or..

Meteorite Hits Frozen Lake? And a Joke

The Guardian has a great – and large – collection of videos, photos, and reports from news media and just regular folks on the wild meteor event that occurred in Russia last night. Including this shot:

Space.com says it was the largest meteor event in 100 years. The blast: it was more powrful than that produced by the nuclear weapon detonated by North Korea the other day. (Wow!)

NASA says, based on very preliminary data, the meteor was almost 50 feet in circumfrence:

Based on the duration of the event, it was a very shallow entry. It was larger than the meteor over Indonesia on Oct. 8, 2009. Measurements are still coming in, and a more precise measure of the energy may be available later. The size of the object before hitting the atmosphere was about 49 feet (15 meters) and had a mass of about 7,000 tons.

The meteor, which was about one-third the diameter of asteroid 2012 DA14, was brighter than the sun. Its trail was visible for about 30 seconds, so it was a grazing impact through the atmosphere.

But here’s what we want to note:

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