One of my goals for this summer is to begin learning the programming language known as Python. Although simple, it is interesting to me because of its uses in scientific research, as it is very easy to read, high level, and although not as fast as assembly language it is pretty darn versatile. Also, I like the name.

I will be diving into Python with the help of Dive into Python by Mark Pilgrim, the Python Programming Wikibook, and How to Think Like a Computer Scientist by Allen B. Downey. As time goes on, I hope to weave some of what I have been learning into the construct of this blog.

Additionally, the wonderful Open Course Ware from MIT’s Computer Science department will assist me, as I use the wonderful things that they have provided online. You can find that stuff here, on the online course’s webpage.

Have you learned a programming language recently, and if so, which one?

Dear Readers of Micahville,

I have just recently graduated from high school and returned from an extended trip to Europe with my family. On this trip, I visited the beautiful cities of Barcelona and Paris, and then finished my stay in a hamlet in the south of France.

It was a beautiful trip and I managed to get many books read, much music listened to, and many thoughts contemplated.

Ch-cha-cha-chaaaangees, time to face the strange

Wow, this is a lot of change. But, before I give you time to catch your breath – wait, there’s more.

I have switched to the Dark Side – yep, thats right: I caved in and bought an Apple laptop (Although “caved” would be just an attempt at a lame excuse for why I finally decided to make the change. I will go into the reasoning behind my decision in a later post, I promise.)

On another note, I will be attending college next year at Brandeis University with a major in Neuroscience.

Goals

Now that I have returned intact from Europe – just today, actually – I am looking forward to using my time this summer to once again continue with Micahville.

Some other goals I have planned for this summer are: gaining a more in depth grasp of Python, as well as reading lots more books, and doing flashcards to work on vocabulary – all nerdy things but all hopefully will help with keeping my brain from getting rusty over the summer.

And now, considering that it is already at an hour that is considered late in California – not to mention in France, where I was a short while ago – I say goodnight.

The words “shake that thing” emanate from the speaker as a skinny white dude hops around in a demonstration of “How To Dance Properly,” complete with portrayals of how to awkwardly slow jam in a casual setting as well as quick pelvic thrusts in front of an audience. In the olde days of the Internet, one of the stand out characters of web video was Ze Frank, a white male of average stature who had become addicted to the huge attention he was getting for his filmed dance moves. Quitting his day job, Ze Frank began a five day a week web series, in which he commented on politics and social trends. By modeling his commentary on the likes of artists such as John Stewart and Stephen Colbert, Ze Frank quickly gained an Internet following. Additionally, he challenged viewers to pull off stunts such as making an “earth sandwich” by placing two pieces of bread on opposing poles of the earth and holding a contest for the ugliest Myspace page. Fans were drawn to his comedic and witty one liners, but ultimately many were attracted to his show because of the esoteric personalities and perspectives that it provided. They had never seen anything like it.

The sudden availability of internet TV has allowed many people to diversify their interest. Bandwith has increased exponentially and shows such as Ze Frank have popped up to fulfill a basic desire of many people, a shot at the lime light. Countless stars have emerged on YouTube and other web video look alikes, and the genre has expanded drastically. Although the Internet video scene happened mainly as an unscripted affair, a recent trend points towards increased input from directors and producers. Students at UCLA created a series about their residence hall, a no holds barred guide to college life. By organizing a team of writers and directors from among their friends, they were able to start producing a series of web series episodes that quickly gained popularity. “Through the internet, young people now have a way to see their visions realized from start to finish without corporate backing,” one of Dorm Life’s stars Nora Kirkpatrick said.

However, as internet video has become increasingly more popular, many shows have grown towards the TV network details that were once left out of most web series productions, such as full length scripting and editing. Mainstays of Internet video that were once largely improvisation, such as “Ask A Ninja,” a “Dear Abby” for Ninjas, have been commercialized and fine tuned; the aforementioned receiving notable quality changes as it gained in popularity likely by investing in expensive professional editing software and a high quality camera.
In conjunction with its success, web episodes are hauling in larger fish. By bankrolling web shows such as “Gemini Division,” featuring Rosario Dawson, a star in blockbuster hits such as “Sin City” and “Clerks 2,” NBC for one has begun a major media push towards the information superhighway represents a major strategy shift. With the backing of corporate sponsors, legitimacy is added to web video. Commercial success is being experienced by other series as well. Some, such as the cast of “The Lonely Island” (a web sitcom that has done spoofs on subjects ranging from Hollywood to a teeth whitening service called White Power), are using internet video as a path to main-stream stardom. For example, after garnering attention on the web, three of the four members of the cast were hired as writers for SNL, while the fourth was given a regular acting position on the popular broadcast show. Shows such as “The Lonely Island,” “Gemini Division,” and “Ze Frank” characterize internet Television. These shows have become so popular not simply because of their availability and quick speed of delivery to audiences, but also because of the ingenuity and esoteric qualities. Many shows are producing “content so that it is relatable to a lot of people, specifically college and high school age viewers,” said Pancho Morris, an actor on Dorm Life. Trite and forgettable shows provided by the main stream media do not address many people’s desires for entertainment, and web series are able to fill this void.

What is your favorite web series?

Clean out 10 of your Facebook friends, and get a juicy, delicious, scrumptiously awesome whopper. For free.

Read more about it here on the advertisement homepage, Whopper Sacrifice (ain’t no kind of ancient Aztec voodoo ritual or nothing like that.)

How will you decide to eliminate your “friends”?

This image from V for Vendetta:

Strange comparison?

Source: Inside Guantanamo

Dear Britney,

Recently, a friend sent me your new music extravaganza, Womanizer. I want to congratulate you on making a snappy tune – I really do find it addictive, and I regretfully admit that it is presently stuck in my head.

But frankly, I think artists like yourself, such as Beyoncé in If I Were A Boy, have given men a hard rep recently. Regardless of whether you made this song, or whether you had a team of pop scientists create it in a controlled music environment, or whether it was just intended to be a quick selling pop song, I feel slightly offended.

I did some more research on the topic of adultery and cheating after listening to your YouTube video, and I found some interesting facts.

MSNBC did a piece on the results of a 70,000 person internet survey. Based upon the time a relationship has been together, the rate of infidelity in a relationship changes, corresponding to gender. When a relationship is between two and twenty years of age, the rate of cheating among women is greater than or equal to that of men’s. After a twenty year period both rates of men and women cheating drastically drops to an inconsequential number – a paltry two and three percent.

You and K-Fed were together two years and one month.

Another article by the New York Times says:

“Notably, women appear to be closing the adultery gap: younger women appear to be cheating on their spouses nearly as often as men.” Although it is preceded by, “Infidelity appears to be on the rise, particularly among older men and young couples.”

Additionally..

“The fidelity gap may be explained more by cultural pressures than any real difference in sex drives between men and women. Men with multiple partners typically are viewed as virile, while women are considered promiscuous.”

So there, Brit. I didn’t even pull the cheap shot of mentioning the irony in you calling him a womanizer, although you seem to be the most scantily clad person in the video.

Did ya see the Nokia phone in Britney’s video? Good product placement, huh? Try 1:28. It gets a total of 7 seconds screen time – someone timed it.

Basically it was installed today by some more Comcast contracted cronies, who clomped around our attic and complained about the menagerie of wires sprawled in the crawlspace. We are starting with a bundle which includes my favorite channels that I had previously experienced only on vacations (where we would sit around the set).

Yes: SciFi, History, Discovery (with Battlestar Galactica, Modern Marvels, and Mythbusters, respectively). I can now be a nerd. On my couch, versus in my bed with my laptop.

Bye Bye Hulu. It was nice being friends. I think Shakespeare said it best: “I wish thou dead.” or.

My love is as a fever, longing still
For that which longer nurseth the disease,
Feeding on that which doth preserve the ill,
The uncertain sickly appetite to please.
My reason, the physician to my love,
Angry that his prescriptions are not kept,
Hath left me, and I desperate now approve
Desire is death, which physic did except.
Past cure I am, now reason is past care,
And frantic-mad with evermore unrest;
My thoughts and my discourse as madmen’s are,
At random from the truth vainly express’d;
For I have sworn thee fair and thought thee bright,
Who art as black as hell, as dark as night.

We can still be friends.

P.S. Huffington made herself sound silly on The Daily Show Tonight

This week’s FFOTW is brought to you with my inspiration from street art around the world. I am sort of a fan of guerilla graffiti, a la Banksy, and Stencil Nation is a great book about community and creativity as expressed through one of the most easily accessible outlets.

P.S. Check out the book at Amazon. Or if you are in to Banksy, I highly suggest Wall and Piece, a collection of his works. Amaze your friends with an anarchistic coffee table book.

by Remi Thornton

Slate published an article today about how busy bodies on the political and scene can hustle up some presidential gusto.

The campaigns will tell you every bit helps, and they’re right. But some tactics help more than others. A lot of it depends where you live and how much money you make. Say you make $10 an hour—should you donate $100 or volunteer for 10 hours? (Quick answer: If you live in Dayton, volunteer; if you live in Berkeley, donate.) For that reason, we’ve divided activism strategies into two categories: If You Have Time and If You Have Money. We then look at the best—and worst—ways to spend it before November.

by Wellstone

I don’t know how many of you are hooked on Spore right now, but it just so happens to be a great game. I was having trouble designing my own characters, and I found this site really helpful. It is like Hot or Not, but with people’s uploaded evolutionary concepts. Yay for Sporn (And if you don’t know what that means, Google it).

Check the link out here.