I am a Kiva-Lender since january 2010 and I still think, it is a great project! To get more informations about Kiva, just watch this great video and take a look at the Kiva press material and statistic informations.

For me the concept behind oldjewstellingjokes.com is great. Some young media-folks are using modern technology to capture and preserve the fascination of charismatic people giving everyone a laugh with their favorite jokes. Sometimes I am asking myself if the general average of jewish jokes is really so much about sexuality like within the ones presented in this project, but never mind. The people are just great and it is very much inspiring to read the short cv underneath every clip and learn about their carrers and achievements. The technical background is ok as well, so guys, if you want to have a laugh, give oldjewstellingjokes.com a try!

(More Information about Sundown at Hamburg Harbour)

Sad but true. Everyone who works in media business knows that meanwhile a lot of the aspects shown in the video above are becoming standard within the industry. So even though for some of you it may be close to gallows humour I hope you will have at least a little fun with that video and perhaps even laugh about how crazy the whole situation has become.

comedians.comedycentral.com hosts a gigantic archive of clips from stand-up-comedians! At least by my taste you will find a lot of unknown but excellent people there.

My favorite is Patton Oswald’s take on US-politics. He shows us how real historic developments may seem quite strange through the eyes of a person living a decade ago:

Barack Obama (Wikipedia) already has a guaranteed place in the history books, no matter how many of his aims he will be able to reach. He has – with a little help from his supporters and voters – already made this world a bit more tolerant and better. He is the first “black” president of the US. He is an intensive user of new forms of communications for political processes. And last but not least he has become an idol of the loving father and modern husband, who sees his wife not only as ornament but as equal partner.

“Exact!”, will be the answer of like-minded Obama fans. “Again a pitiable naive, caught by propaganda”, the conservative critics will comment. But what makes me so sure that the harmony shown by the presidential couple isn’t indeed fake? What if Barak in reality is an asshole, who smiles in the lenses of journalists and otherwise loves to be served by others? In this case I would like to point to a picture shown on the official Flickr account of the White House.

Meanwhile everyone has seen the clip on Youtube, in which the president kills a fly during a interview on television (Link to the clip on Youtube). Not so known by far is the picture, taken after this in which he collects the dead insect from the floor (Link to the picture at Flickr).

I love symbolic pictures. And this one shows alongside other things that the president of the United States of America even beside all his responsibilities and everything he has to bear in his mind, instinctively needs to go down in this expensive suit for a dead fly. I don’t care, if he did it out of respect for the creature, out of respect for the cleaning staff of the White House or just because his wife trained him this way.

I like the picture. And I like Obama

Leading to War” is a documentary about the prologue of the recent war in iraq. You can download it for free, stream it or watch it on Google-Video.

Wikipedia says:
“Presented chronologically from President Bush’s State of the Union Address in January, 2002 (the Axis of evil speech), and continuing up to the announcement of formal U.S. military action in Iraq on March 19, 2003, the film presents selected interviews, speeches, and press conferences given by Bush and his administration, including Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. Non-U.S. sources include British Prime Minister Tony Blair.”

The topic is interesting anyway, but the film and its internetpage leadingtowar.com are as well a good example for political communication in our times.

Roland Brückner from Berlin draws. For his art he chose cards, like the ones other people are using to learn words or organize informations. The best is: When you write about Roland on your blog, he will sent you a card, that he has made specially for you. And it cleary shows that this is not some fast – like we would say in Germany – Krikelkrakel – but a picture based on quite some thinking about you and who you are.

I was taking part in this on march 25th. with this post and already forgot about it. Now I have found this in my postbox:

Well, on my german blog I was giving myself a try to do a proper interpretation of the picture and the ones of you who are able to understand German should read it there. But to keep it short: The person shown in the drawing is surrounded by duties which are symbolized by the little checkmarks around its head. Even though his inner self – the face on the stomac – is positive and optimistic – the person stands hunched and whishes to have a third arm, that could stand for things like “help” or “new power”. I enjoy this picture very much and to be honest also recognize myself a little in it.

So, if somebody is interested to know more about the artist and his work he should move along to the blog of the project recordsheet.blogspot.com as well as to his personal blog roland-brueckner.blogspot.com.

I am really delighted about Roland`s talent, his idea to use the medium blog for it and first of all the constancy and commitment he shows.

Thank you, Roland.

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I was quite suprised to find a fake cam in Hamburg yesterday. From the distance it looked quite real but a look from a closer distance discovers that it is just made from cardboard.

I’m not quite sure whether it’s a scare tactic of the government or just locals, but either way it looks like fearmongering. This isn’t the first story of a fake camera you’re likely to hear, either; fake speed cameras are also an existent threat, and act as a form of social placebo to encourage responsible driving. Responsible walking, though? I think it tends to toe the line between Big Brother and crime prevention.

Imagine if someone had placed a VeriSign logo on Foxy Bingo or Amazon, only for you to find out it was simply a jpeg tacked onto the site? You’d be shocked, and I think the same applies here. The main issue I have with it is, as you can quite clearly tell from the photograph, it’s not the most convincing of fakes when you get close enough. I think it relies on the fact that most people are unwilling to scrutinise their immediate environment. Ignorace is bliss, right?

This lecture of the American brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor is really moving. Taylor suffered herself from a stroke in 1996. Luckily Markus Trapp has pointed to the video of the lecture in his German Blog textundblog.de.

Freetagger Philipp has discovered a great picture on incredimazing.com. It shows the “Road to Success” with all its obstacles.

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On Wortvogel (german link) I have discovered the following news: Now Southpark can be watched over hte Internet. For free, in a legal way, with great picture quality and in original voices. I don`t even want to think about other series to jump on that train as well, because I assume that the productivity in the States and Europe itself would dramatilcy decrease – besides the film industry of course.

But enough words: Enjoy www.southparkstudios.com!

Well first I like to present the blueprint of the new logo of this blog. It should stand for optimism and journalism at the same time and I think, my graphic designer so far did a great job. Now he needs to do just some small changes and give the smiley a face. Then I will have a real cool logo, that I can use with the new template of this blog.

I have found three templates, that I could imagine using for the re-design: “Breaking-News“, “Blue Zinfandel� and “Simple Theme Cosmin“.

So, to get an impression from my readers, I have installed a poll in my German blog in this entry. Please feel free to enter it and vote for the theme that you can imagine to fit the most to my blog. Thanks.

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Roland Brückner from Berlin loves to draw, as you can see on his MySpace-page. Some time ago I found his page recordsheet.blogspot.com and wanted to join as well, putting a card on my blog and afterwards getting a special card from him. Just that meanwhile he started a new page lindas-ex.blogspot.com. So now people, check it out and enjoy the pictures! There is the card. I have done my part. I am curious if I the Optimistic Journalist will get his own card as well and how soon that will be.

As you are reading this text, I assume that you are using the internet. In case you are using it not only to read my blog but also do other stuff, you should really consider to take a look at “The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet”. Author Daniel J. Solove is telling about the chances but as well the dangers of our digital times in which we are vulnerable to until now unknown phenomena like virtual witch hunts in blogs, chats and social communities. Fortunately for us Solove, who is having a blog as well, convinced Yale University Press to publish the book not only as a commercial paper edition but as a free pdf-version, that can be downloaded from the books webpage. So now nobody has an excuse not to take at least a short glimpse in this volume. And I can only suggest to do so, because it contains some fundamental lessons about the internet as we live with it and in it today.

Via viralmythen (german), apophenia (english)

A view in the shopwindow of a pharmacy in Hamburg: Instead of the Easter bunny the Easter bear has taken position

I wish all readers a happy Easter Sunday!

A creative guy from Berlin had a great idea. He made pictures of one hundred food products and their package. The result is an art project that does not want to judge the industry and their products but to inspire us. And for sure it inspired me to think about the illusory world created by commercials. You know, what I am talking about. The place where all the people are happy, healthy and do not even have pimpels. The place where the sun is always shining and the food is not only delicious but also looks perfect.

Honestly I have been suprised how close most of the food has been to the picture on the package – of course with the exception of the microwave-menus. By the way the name of the project is “Werbung gegen Realität” which means “Commercials against reality”.

Here is a presentation on Youtube:

I got the story from Robert (german link), who found it at the Shopblogger (german link as well).