Archive for October, 2006

Testimonials are awesome! 0

What people are saying about ivarzantinge.com:

  • “Awesome! ivarzantinge.com is awesome! Thank You!” - Mike Turner
  • “I like ivarzantinge.com more and more each day because it makes my life a lot easier. We’re loving it. ivarzantinge.com saved my business.” - Elizabeth Cox

Not related at all: Testimonial Generator.

Ex-Enron CEO Jeff Skilling gets 24 years in prison 0

Skilling stood stoically, his hands clasped before him, as presiding Judge Sim Lake handed down his sentence. His wife Rebecca, however, sobbed quietly in her seat as victims of Enron’s collapse watched the proceedings stone-faced.

Tragic, but well-deserved. Read the whole story over at CNN.

Come wander with me 1

View this video file

Piercing commercial for Dutch insurance company RVS, symbolizing the continuous availability of its advisor’s. The beautiful song Come Wander With Me by Jeff Alexander is from an old episode of The Twilight Zone and can be downloaded here or listened to below.

Currently 0

As you might have already seen in the menu above, I have created a new page called Currently. On this page my current status ‘and stuff’ is displayed and regularly updated. Check it out, if you want to know what I’m up to. Hopefully this page will satisfy my two fans, who have been craving for this kind of info. As for the rest of you: please just keep reading my blog.

Victor Wooten is a brilliant bass player 0

Enjoy.

(via Fleshy Organs)

Best Friends Is So 20th Century 0

Best friends are a dying species. According to researchers:

longer hours in competitive workplaces and the rise of the internet society have led to a generation of young men almost bereft of close friends.

The research is mentioned in an article in The Sunday Times today.

The researchers find close friendship has been replaced by a multitude of “semidetached” work colleagues and “chatroom chums” met on the internet. What I found particularly interesting is the fact that:

The most lonely include twentysomething men who have lost touch with school or university friends and found nobody to replace them.

I’m 33 and have quite some people I consider friends, of whom a few really close. The level of friendships amongst twentysomethings is declining and future generations will possibly be without friends altogether. When visiting birthdays and such, I notice that the younger members of my family are often completely occupied by their Nintendo’s. They are often just virtual representations of kids, seemingly not much different from autistic people. I sometimes wonder how they will ever be able to grow any relationships.

The future is lonely.

Linkdump - October 22 0

Have A Funky Weekend 0

Soul Sides is über-recommending Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators and has two downloads available. Funky stuff indeed.

While we’re still in the recommending mode, I highly recommend both Soul Sides and Captain’s Crate. Both funky sites, made by people who are truly passionate about funky music. While you’re there, enjoy the many free MP3 downloads of amazing rare groove records.

Fill up your iPods and have a funky weekend!

Andy Kaufman: Comedy Genius 0

Let’s face it. Andy Kaufman (1949-1984) was one of the greatest comedians that has ever walked this planet. Although if you don’t agree with that statement, you probably think he sucked big time. You love him or hate him, or as I prefer: you get him or you don’t.

Kaufman explored the boundaries of humor and often crossed the line, only to show his audience that he was capable of doing so. If you only know him as Latka Gravas on Taxi, watch Man On The Moon (with a brilliant Jim Carrey) or read Lost In The Fun House: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman. These are just starting points. Once you get addicted to Kaufman, you want the real thing. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get any realer than a DVD, since he died tragically of lung cancer at the age of 35. Try I’m From Hollywood, documenting Kaufman’s short but memorable pro wrestling career (mind you, wrestling against women). Below a piece of classic Kaufman (imitating Elvis) on a live show, where he’s announced by a still young Ralph Nader.

Dancing Is Fun: North-Korea’s Mass Gymnastics 0

In my opinion there is nothing quite so fascinating as North-Korea (officially: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or DPRK) and its leader Kim Jung-Il. If it weren’t for the mass killings and starvation of its people, the mind-boggling suppression and the nuclear threat, it would all be very funny. Now and then, I will cover some of North-Korea’s and Kim’s excesses on this blog. Today: mass gymnastics, huge staged performances of which Wikipedia says:

Mass […] gymnastics are a form of gymnastics in which large numbers of performers take part in a highly regimented performance that emphasizes group dynamics rather than individual prowess. Because of the vast scale of the performance, with often tens of thousands of performers, mass games are performed in stadiums, often accompanied by a background of card-turners occupying the seats on the opposite side from the viewers.

This video by British techno band Faithless shows images of North Korea’s mass gymnastics, shot for the documentary A State of Mind:

Of course, there is nothing quite like the real stuff, of which I own several full length DVDs. It’s so over the top, it’s scary. Check out this footage, presumably shot by tourists (who are heard talking and cheering in the background):

It makes me want to get up, dance and cheer. And sit and weep.

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