We're Number 37!

Another YouTube video about the American Healthcare Debate. I suppose the NHS in the UK "could do better", but we do get our system for around half the percentage of GDP that the Americans do.

The French pay 11% of GDP for their highly regarded set-up compared to 8% in Britain.

You Know It Makes Sense

As you know, I don't often find the time to blog these days but the debate about health care reform that rages in the US and simmers in the UK has finally overcome my natural lethargy. This brilliant little animated video spells out in terms that are difficult to argue with why the United States should provide universal health care that is funded by taxation and not by greedy, self-serving insurance companies. When you stand at the top of the Empire State Building in NYC some of the most lavish buildings you can see are owned by insurance companies, which should be telling us something!

These companies and their right-wing supporters have a lot to lose if Obama is successful: hence the vitriol and scare-mongering that is coming forth just now. America makes a big thing of its Christian values, but many US citizens apparently don't see that failing to provide large chunks of the population with health care is inconsistent with this.

On this side of the Atlantic, I am pleased to see that the debate is showing up major fault lines in Cameron's façade of the new "caring, sharing" Conservative Party. The Tories' commitment to the British NHS has been shown to be a total sham, but I don't know if this will be enough, in itself, to lose them the next election, unfortunately! Labour's increasing attempts to part-privatise the NHS in recent years have been shameful, and a genuine commitment to a publicly funded system, free of the need to pander to the demands of shareholders in private companies, might allow voters in the next election to chose a party that appreciates the true values upon which the NHS is based.

Galactic Center of Milky Way Rises over Texas Star Party

Galactic Center of Milky Way Rises over Texas Star Party from William Castleman on Vimeo.

Another Vimeo video: this time with an astronomical theme. The galactic centre of the Milky Way captured with a modified Canon EOS 5D.

Pretty awe-inspiring, huh?

Beards on a Boat

This video is from the World Beard and Moustache Championships (I kid you not) which was held at Anchorage, Alaska on May 23rd.

Maybe I should enter for the one in Trondheim, Norway in 2 years time?

DEADLINE post-it stop motion

I love this little stop motion video. If you want to know how it was made, there is a video of that as well.

Creepy or What?

Carousel from maxime caron on Vimeo.

This is another video from Vimeo. I have no idea how it was done or what it means, but it scares the Hell out of me and certainly provides an explanation why clown phobia is apparently surprisingly common!

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

This is an incredible little video from Vimeo of some totally crazy guys wingsuit base jumping in Norway. I couldn't even stand at the edge of these cliffs, far less throw myself off them like these maniacs.

It takes all kinds to make a World, I suppose...

More on the Graffiti Theme

Papergirl #3 from Papergirl on Vimeo.
This group, rather than spray painting or puting up posters, chooses to cycle round and give their art work away.

Interesting concept...

C215

When we were in Venice recently we came across four brilliant pieces of graffiti with a mysterious logo attached to each one. I uploaded the images to Flickr in the following order: 1, 2, 3, 4. Almost as soon as I uploaded the last picture my Flickr contact Simon Crubellier from London recognised the pictures as the work of a stencil graffiti artist called C215. Simon added the tag c215 to the picture and within minutes C215 had asked me to add the pictures to his group on Flicker devoted to his art.

The video shows C215 giving London the same treatment: simply amazing!

Yet another example of how wonderful the Internet can be...