ban-the-internet

Bloggers In Over-Confident of Own Influence Shock

Pareene · 03/10/08 10:43AM

When we first saw this graph of the recording history of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", we thought, a) god almighty everyone needs to stop covering "Hallelujah", and b) everyone really needs to stop graphing songs. It was all worth it though for this Kottke guest-blogger post, which perfectly encapsulates the blinkered triumphalism of the boutique bloggers. You see, a half-dozen random bloggers were all pretty sure that their posts on this graph launched Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" cover to number one on iTunes—until their one friend who watches TV pointed out that an American Idol contestant sang it last week. [Kottke]

Do Not Go DRMed Into That Good Night

Pareene · 02/27/08 03:10PM

Why let your abandonment of this mortal coil prevent you from continuing to be a self-impressed techno-utopian schmuck? Now you can alert the world that you read BoingBoing ever after death with the "Public Domain Donor" sticker. Put it on your license today so that when you die your Twitter will revert to the Public Domain where fellow Twitterers may build upon it with further Twittering. [Public Domain Donor via Kottke]

A Children's Treasury Of Terrible Videos About Barack And Hil

Pareene · 02/26/08 06:03PM

Earlier today we showed you Barack O'Bollywood and invited you to send in your favorite distracting and discomfiting viral videos about the Democratic candidates. Some of you did! We've embedded some of these videos after the jump. They make for disturbing viewing, you have been warned. There is musical theater and porn and ABBA.

'Slate' Launches Thing That Makes No Sense And Is Upsetting

Pareene · 02/15/08 12:01PM

Slate proudly announces that they're launching their most mindbogglingly pointless and stupid regular feature since Kausfiles (zing!): It's called "the unabridged Encyclopedia Baracktannica, a list of words that have been Obamafied by Slate." To "Obamafy" a word is to combine it with either the first or last name of Barack Obama, and then come up with some sort of vaguely joke-resembling definition. Like "Baracktail, an alcoholic beverage quaffed at an Obama campaign rally." Why? Why would anyone do this? Why is it a "widget"? Why does this exist? Did they think that just because they launched this at 7 p.m. last night no one would notice? There is already this and this, two sites with the benefit of being outright weird enough to actually amuse. But now there is Slate's Obama Word Generator, a thing that exists, and it is a widget, so we have embedded it below, Obamafter therack Jumpama.