I just watched a gender reveal video on Facebook where a guy puts a watermelon full of blue jello in a live alligator's mouth and then after the "reveal" the man has to wrestle the alligator to stop it from attacking his family https://t.co/jJ1PSLCSQ0

The best thing I've seen all day: @TodaysBestest is a new bot that tweets the best things people have seen all day. https://t.co/DrzD15D43E

Did you know that there is no correct spelling for “Mediterranean”? It just appreciates it if you give it your best shot.

This is genius: Leaving Facebook isn't an option for everyone, so Firefox's new Facebook Container Extension lets you continue using Facebook, but quarantines your identity into a container that third-party cookies and trackers can't touch. https://t.co/8uvZzc3lBy

took them a long time to make it (understandably) but Protomen have pop-up book style vinyl. unbelievable.

Before you immediately close your browser, know that this post isn't some screed against Facebook or a call to arms in the forthcoming Privacy Revolution! I'm not eloquent enough for any of that. However, I do want to post some articles that I found interesting as of late in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. So, here they are:

• ReCode transcript with Zuckerberg - a quality interview with Mark Zuckerberg in which the journalists ask some decently hard questions. The answers are disappointing at best and bafflingly ignorant at worst.
• What the F*** was Facebook thinking? - a good read on the historical context of the data share and what else was going on at the time; lest you forget other data breaches like the huge one at Target. Moreso, it gives some insight on how far reaching and pervasive the data scraping could be from any company at that time.
• Facebook scraped call, text messages for years from Android phones - Facebook denies this one but I'm not really prone to fully believe them, given that in several other interviews they've openly stated that they don't know where all their data went. This collection was clearly happening and shows the depth of information that was gathered.
• The Cambridge Analytica Data Apocalypse was Predicted in 2007 - going back eleven years, MIT Media Lab predicted that such a massive data share was imminent unless measures were taken to prevent it. Clearly, an MIT Media Lab study didn't make it to the masses.

As I stated at the top, I'm not going to try and synthesize all that into some grand theory against Facebook. I'm actually shocked that the #DeleteFacebook movement has come up again - as none of this seems the least bit surprising to me. Social media networks make their money off your data. Furthermore, Facebook and Instagram and Google and everywhere else are pieces of code written by humans that are driven by profits and growth (see: "Move Fast and Break Things").

This fallout is a nice eye-opener for a large audience but I can't imagine this will really change anything. As we move into a more AR / VR driven world, even more granular data will be collected and sold. Imagine what happens when your eye movements can be tracked and what sort of re-targeting ads can be served to you simply based on lingering for awhile on a product.

This isn't all doom and gloom but, frankly, just a reality that we need to get more accustomed to. If you are a part of a social network, you are volunteering that information and taking that risk. Do I think there should be some regulation and safe keeping? Of course but I do think we're seeing the definition of "privacy" change extremely quickly and I'm fascinated to see where it will land.

Did you know David Cross wrote a Sky One series called Bliss? It features Stephen Mangan, Heather Graham and Jo Hartley. Here's the synopsis:

Bliss follows the complicated double life of Andrew, a successful travel writer who, through extenuating circumstances, finds himself living between two sets of wives and children whose existences are unknown to each other.

Andrew, in a constant state of moral crisis, must find a way to balance his time and energies between his wife Kim and teenage daughter, while travelling back and forth across Bristol to his other family, wife Denise and their teenage son.

As Andrew's two worlds become ever harder to contain, so does his sanity. And he finds himself going to increasingly drastic lengths to protect the two families he loves.

The trailer summarizes that scenario pretty well. The scope of this show seems a bit more contained than Cross's last one and I'm looking forward to the chaos that lies ahead.

Good for a laugh about art: Will Ferrell and Joel McHale visit the Hammer Museum https://t.co/t4VIQWvPS2 via @YouTube

I am an unabashed fan of Deth P Sun, so it was very convenient that his latest show at the Grumpy Bert gallery in Brooklyn has been posted in its entirety online. There are a ton of pieces and all are modestly priced. Win win.

There's also a slew of work from Jen Tong available in the same show. So, consider that a total bonus.

Wow, there are some VERY salacious details in the Stormy Daniels interview: https://t.co/KxT3GUxclY

Excited about this record. Live show kicks ass! https://t.co/APcCimGtZR

nice interview

two new tracks, pretty good

Happy to announce that Quichenight is officially joining the roster of artists on my yk Records with the newest release, Cooler Heads. The album will be out in mid-May of 2018 but you can hear the track "Lay Down" right now: Sonically, Cooler Heads is a bit different than a lot of the releases on the label as it features a lot more up-front guitar. This is not a bad thing. The man behind the project, Brett Rosenberg, has been releasing records for seven years and his playing and songwriting has only gotten better and better in that time. It's been described as "Jerry Garcia guitar noodling mixed with Zappa-esque humor" - I think that's apt.

You can pre-order the record over on Bandcamp and even likely catch him playing in your area this summer as there's a pretty substantial tour setup already. In the meantime, listen to "Lay Down."

Coming in hot with another episode of the We Own This Town Music podcast. There's a strong musical diversity on this one with a handful of pop/rock songs, some weirdo keyboard driven songs, a heavy post-rock track and a delightfully strange demo. All and all, I'm happy with this one and how it shows off what Nashville has to offer. I feel that way after every episode but this one does an especially good job. Continue Reading...

Over the weekend I got sucked into the show Boss Keys, a research and explorative series from Mark Brown (best known for his series, Game Maker's Toolkit) that goes through every major Zelda game and breaks down the design of each of dungeons. Why is this fascinating to me? I have no idea. I literally haven't played a Zelda game since the Super Nintendo so almost all of this is entirely foreign to me but I'm captivated by the analytical approach to the game from a design and problem solving perspective.

While I've never yearned to be a Game Designer I am entirely respectful of the massive amount of thought that goes into Game Design. This series really exposes how complex, tricky and intricate such an undertaking can be.

can't wait

list of talent on this album is kinda bonkers

I loved writing for everyone on this show. Roseanne premiers 3/27 (Tues) Also here are more pics I took at work https://t.co/TODWQRzUqC

Ruby calls groundhogs brownhogs and I'll NEVER correct her.