"The Medium Is the Message"

Dang, I cannot extol the virtues of Youtube more highly. James Burke's seminal series "Connections" (and Connections II and III) is amongst my favouritest TV shows of all time, and thanks to Youtube, here it is again! (His other show, "The Day the Universe Changed" was also highly addictive.) Startlingly, the first point he makes echoes the first thing my prof uttered in my "Intro to Communication" class: Marshall McLuhan's infamous dictum, "The medium is the message."

Here's just the first excerpt from the very first episode... such an oldie, but still such a goodie. Is there any shame in admitting that at one point, I wanted to marry this man, or at least adopt him as my grandfather?


James Burke's "Connections" ~ Episode 1, part 1 of 5



James Burke's "The Day the Universe Changed" ~ Episode 1, part 1 of 5



And for something a tad bit more modern but with much less philosophical pontification, I just saw the last half of Bre Pettis' pilot episode of "History Hacker" the other night on the History Channel. It was a lot like Mythbusters in its boundary-pushing, shit-disturbing scientific experimentation, but there was a lot more historical context presented. It was also completely eye-opening and engrossing as it was dedicated to Tesla and his inventions... (And I pathetically knew nothing about Tesla before the show, so thank you, Bre!)

As is the nature of the beast, this trailer is rather silly and disjointed, but the show itself is much more cohesive, fun, and awe-inspiring. Pettis' neon gas-tube experiment in the Theatre of Electricity at the Museum of Science in Boston was absolutely nuts, especially the cage from which he viewed the lightshow. I really hope they turn this into a full-blown series! (Here is his intensely cool blog, which is packed with a lot more cool stuff to check out.)


Bre Pettis' "History Hacker" Trailer



Ho ho ho! While on the topic of cool shows, I can't believe I nearly forgot to post this. Mike Rowe didn't always host Discovery Channel shows like "Dirty Jobs." Oh, no... Like the most of us, he has a history he cannot outrun, thanks to YouTube. So priceless; you can actually hear the production staff killing themselves laughing in the background.

QVC: Mike Rowe vs Merry, the Christmas Doll



QVC: Mike Rowe vs Precious Moments Figurine