Well, more specifically, I just called my congressional representative, Tom McClintock, and explained why Net Neutrality is important. This was my first time calling a member of Congress to voice my opinion on something directly. It was surprisingly easy to do. I might even say it was fun. Read the rest of this entry »
Getting Immortal Technique's autograph for my brother.
Immortal Technique
Second famous rapper I’ve met this week: Immortal Technique — most famous for his political activism and political rap music. This guys’s a realrapper (unlike Chamillionaire, who is a commercial hip-hop artist sellout).
Immortal Technique is legit — he’s turned down half-million dollar offers to sign to major music labels like Sony and Def Jam because he doesn’t want to lose control over the content of his music. He’s often been criticized for the content of his music (listen to some and you’ll see why), but there’s more than a grain of truth to what he raps about.
I don’t have time right now to write a long blog post (I have 2 CS assignments due soon, 1 test on Monday, and 20 CS assignments to grade), so I’ll leave it at that. But, I encourage you to take a look at Technique if you haven’t heard of him before — he’s quite interesting.
There is a surprising amount of wisdom to be gleaned from bumper stickers (you know, those rectangular stickers people like to plaster all over their cars ). Most bumper stickers are meant to support this or the other politician, so they’re not that memorable.
But occasionally, I stumble on a particularly humorous or profound bumper sticker. So, a while ago I decided to start writing down the cool bumper sticker slogans I stumble upon. Read the rest of this entry »
In case you’re unfamiliar with the FSF, they’re a nonprofit corporation founded by free software activist and GNU hacker Richard Stallman. Their goal is to promote free and open source software. Their tactics often include comical publicity stunts to bash proprietary software.
This is the email I received this morning from the Free Software Supporter mailing list:
Hi everyone,
This Wednesday, August 26 at 11am, the Free Software Foundation will be launching its Windows7sins.org public awareness campaign, drawing attention to the threats posed by the adoption of Microsoft’s proprietary operating system. We have a launch event here in Boston on the Boston Commons from noon until 3pm, and we need everyone in the area to come along and help out and join in the ceremony as we conduct a ceremonial trashing of proprietary software.
**We’ll be launching our Windows 7 campaign with pomp and fanfare, with a giant 12 foot trashcan being filled with boxes of proprietary software.**
The event promises to be lots of fun, and with thousands of people passing through the Boston Commons every day we hope you will help us connect with the public by handing out information and explaining the benefits of free software. There will be camera crews and photographers capturing the event and we will be getting these images up online as soon as possible on the day.
Let us know you’re coming and bring along your friends and work colleagues – mail campaigns@fsf.org if you have time to help us set up, or just turn up at the Boston Commons near the entrance to the Public Gardens from noon.
If you’re not in the Boston area, there will be plenty for you to do to help us launch the campaign and get the message out. Stay tuned for upcoming instructions…
Thanks for your support!
–
Peter T. Brown
Executive Director
Free Software Foundation
www.fsf.org www.gnu.org
I think I’d go to the event — if not to dump my proprietary software, then to witness an event unlike any other I’ve heard of. Too bad I’m not in the Boston area.
Hi, this is Feross. I'm a computer science student at Stanford University. I'm interested in Internet technology, web development, and computer security. I like hacking on cool software projects, running, basketball, retro video games, and shiny gadgets.
). Most bumper stickers are meant to support this or the other politician, so they’re not that memorable.
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