So...criticize the agency for improving success rates, streamlining and reducing budgets, introducing private industry to reduce costs and meeting agressive timelines. Good thinking budget minded politician!

Earth sciences budget increased 41%? What percentage of the total budget is it now? Is it now larger than the money allocated for space exploration or is it still a small percentage of the total NASA pie? Not a misleading chart at all. Of course, charts is book learnin' and learnin' is what them elitist socialist do!

Go home to Canada senator, you're a tool.

Looks like Bethesda still hasn't mastered smooth animations. Still, it was never the graphics that made their games so popular; it was the joy of exploring a huge and open world. I doubt Fallout 4 will satisfy anyone who disliked their earlier titles, but for fans of Fallout 3 and Skyrim, this looks to be a blast, even if ultimately it is just "more of the same".

OMFG... really bob... really... It's people like you that made me ashamed of being a Christian when I was a Christian. Completely believing anything they are told or read from someone with supposed authority without actual critical thought of the original source themselves.

I've hear that Jefferson never meant to exclude religion from politics and believed and repeated it myself for years. Then you know what I did? I actually read the letter that Jefferson wrote. I could have my son, who's going into 6th grade read it and he'd tell you the same thing I'm about to tell you. It's about keeping religion from unduly influencing politics. Especially when you read it in context with the letter that the church sent him that he was responding to, and it becomes more apparent if you read his drafts which were much more to the point.

Yes the phrase "wall of separation" does come from the letter and not the Constitution, but the 1st Amendment includes an establishment clause that prevents the government from favoring one religion over the others. Remember the pilgrims came here to escape a Christian nation that favored one form of Christianity over all others. Admittedly they were more about the fact they couldn't persecute others the way they thought they God wanted them to, but it was the government's church that prevented them from doing so. You can't even be King or Queen of England unless you belong to the Church of England, and if you were Catholic at some point in your past, you are disqualified, even to this day. Yeah, the Church of England no longer has as much influence over the laws as it did when the pilgrims and other early settlers escaped England to come here,

And if the only reason Christians are good is because of fear of punishment or hope for reward, then they are horrible people. Millions of people are good because they are good people without their faith dictating to them to be so. Most people of other faiths are good without the racist brutal Abramic God of the Bible. Most atheists are good without any god. Most pagans are good with their various gods. This insane all morality comes from God alone didn't make sense even when I was at my most evangelical, Fox News watching/defending mode. There were too many people in the world who's good without God and even in those days the concept that somebody would be good only because the Bible tells them so, or they are afraid of God's wrath if they don't is backwards. And as I read the Bible more and more, it became apparent that the far rights obsession with people's sin over love was misplaced (though the far right's sickening defense of Dugger shows a great deal of hypocrisy since if Dugger was on the Left, they'd be all about his sin rather than showing any sort of love, it's when others sin differently than they do they get upset, like at the gays). It was reading the Bible that moved me to the left as the clear Christian way, since the right defends and loves the people Jesus condemned and shames the people that Jesus defended and told us to love and help. It eventually got to the point I couldn't hold onto faith when over half the Christians of this Nation just blindly follow what they are told in church and on Fox News over the truth that Jesus and the Bible was teaching and thinking they were doing the Christian thing at the same time. I then began to do a critical analysts further and eventually became an atheist, because they are all equally bad/good. There is nothing new or original in the Abramic faiths that wasn't there before or since either in the same region or elsewhere... all those other elsewhere's where Jehovah somehow couldn't make himself known, as if he was just a figment of one small regional tribe or worse a racist jerk not worthy of following.

Anyhow, the best way to maintain Christianity is to keep it out of politics. Because what happens if you set things up to let religion influence politics and the Muslims gain power? Then you'll be crying how religion shouldn't influence politics. Or perhaps not that extreme, perhaps some form of Christianity that other Christian's don't agree with gains power and influence? Perhaps the Morman's or the Catholics or the Jehovah Witness? At what point does religious influence stop? When laws are passed that any church that doesn't practice or allow the speaking in tongues is outlawed? The 1st Amendment is designed to keep religion out of politics in order to protect religion.

Let's break that last sentience out again. The 1st Amendment's establishment clause is designed to keep religion out of politics in order to protect religion. The whole point is to keep one form of one faith from dominating all other forms of the same or other faiths. It protects those other forms Christianity and other faiths.

Finally there is no war on Christianity. I admitted that long before my fall from faith. I was there with it all, with how it was targeted, but the reality is there is no war on Christianity here... all that's happening is specific forms of Christianity are loosing their influence on other Christians and society as a whole, and they are very vocal about how it's persecution, because like the pilgrims, they are no longer allowed to persecute others the way they want to. Maybe if the people screaming about how Christianity is being persecuted while they try to deny equal rights to others because they sin differently than us, would actually show the love of Christ and behave the way He actually would have in modern society rather than trying to show how Christian they are, then perhaps Christianity wouldn't be losing the numbers they are. I know I, and many other atheists, likely wouldn't have had at crisis of faith if it wasn't for the far right. I never would have explored the logical and theological problems with Christianity and the Abramic faiths... I'd probably eventually found a more Quaker, left leaning (most the Quaker "Friends" related churches in this area are the far evangelical right Fox News types) type church that seems to be more in line with the Bible and teachings of Jesus, but the far right pushed me into a far more critical mode than I would likely ever have gone to on my own. So keep it up those on the far right, you are the ones destroying and making a war on Christianity. You push more and more people away, and more and more people stop seeing any difference between the far right and radical Islam.

Reminds me of "Dick Like Me" from the first season of 3rd rock from the sun which explored culture and ethnicity as an important part of identity.


"you may see color, but I see people."

"Aren't we fortunate to have someone so enlightened? - O pious one, show us the way."

"This verges on sarcasm."

"You know, my heritage happens to be very important to me."

"As it should be."

"I'm Irish, and I'm very proud of that. And you're what?"

" Me? Uh, I-I-I'm, uh one of those, uh you know, one of the really good ones. You're this big anthropologist. You tell me. What am I?"

" Certifiable."

" Yes, that's what I am-- certifiable.
Certifiable and damn proud of it, as my father was before me and his father before him and his father before him.
Certifiable.
Of course, we no longer practice."

If there are any advanced civilizations that have been around for millions or even billions of years they would have already mastered the technology to explore the entire Universe. If there are such civilizations out there, our existence certainly is not a secret.

I think improv and sketch comedy groups are all springboards from stage to radio, radio to stage, stage yo television, radio to television, television to radio, to other television and ultimately the big screen. Any good YouTube sketch comedy? I've yet to really explore that, I guess Vine is funny sketch comedy. A bit too fast, over and done for me though. Cyanide and Happiness count? Web comics? Cracked? Anyway, on to television, which remains the fascination:

The first years of SNL are phenomenal with Chevy Chase, Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray, and Gilda Radner. And before that a lot of those guys were together on the National Lampoon Radio. (Speaking of radio, Dr. Demento?)

And there's also SCTV, jesus -- John Candy, Martin Short, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, and Joe Flaherty. Flaherty's vampire killed me as a kid. So funny, but really I haven't watched it since I was a youngster.

When I was growing up PBS played a lot of BBC television. Benny Hill amongst them, such a naughty show. I think I was barely allowed watch. But I enjoy the show as much as its mostly about old horny men and women with big tits.

What do I think about Upright Citizen Brigade? I would choose to be an Agent of U.C.B. before S.H.I.E.L.D. Great as both an improv group and sketch comedy for television. Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz are awesome, and I love them on SNL as well. Assssscat

Cast transfers, right? Sketch comedy groups are like sports teams. Mark McKinney on SNL, etc. Daily Show anchors from Upright Citizens Brigade. SCTV to SNL, etc. Every sketch comedy floods into SNL. Did you watch Nickelodeon's All That? Kenan and Kell.

Mr Show is on my to watch list. I love David Cross in his stand up, as Tobias Funke on Arrested Dev, and as Todd Margaret, which is fucking RIDICULOUS if you haven't seen it. It's not sketch comedy but it might as well be. It's like a British comedy with brash Americans thrown into the mix. Chaos ensues and many, many, many laws are broken, including the usage of weapons of mass destruction and murder. Dark comedy.

Oh, I know a good dark sort of sketch comedy: The League of Gentlemen? It's sort of like if Simon Pegg produced Monty Python. They say things like "Rape our dead mouths". Psychopaths, murderers and crossdressers.

Now that we've ventured off the beaten path, what are your thoughts about the short run comedy central show Stella? Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain. All three from a funny sketch comedy series called the State. I think I've sifted or promoted some sketches from that series.

And I can't not mention MadTV, you know what? Uh uh, a list about sketch comed without MadTV, ridiculous. I'm running out of steam though, because I'm typing too much, but MO Collins, Orlando Jones, Bobby Lee, Phil LaMar (who does DC comics cartoon voice over work), Aries Spears, and Will Sasso. Damn.

And lest we forget (Thanks, Rudyard), Little Britain -- Britain, Britain, Britain, if it weren't for Little Britain I would scarcely know of the country.

I'm sure I've left off some other great sketch (In Living Color!!), but these came to mind and as I started to think of my favorite cast members and comedians, I began to realize how they all fit in the grand scheme of things. I'm going to watch some Fire Marshall Bill clips now.

Haha, I knew I'd open a can of worms....
I enjoy music of all types, trust me. I know the history. I grew up in a radio station, and remember when DJs were the rock Stars of the 70s.

I have no boundaries, and in fact, the more music pushes the boundaries the better, but I still have to feel the groove.
Often, "musicians," get caught up in the medium and forget the composition. I know - I'm an artist, I've been there, created works, not for composition, but to better understand my medium. It's still art, but it's not "ART."

See what I'm saying. There is a whole new generation of not just musicians and composers, but listeners. they have their own new sound, but a lot of the soul is getting filtered out while the artists explore the medium. I know it will come full circle, but I believe we are in a stagnant period of exploration.

And no, I'm not commenting on all those classical musicians, in fact, they are doing the opposite. There are many classical musicians that are taking their instruments in new directions - finally - and breaking out of the Bach & Beethoven standards. (Stereotyping here). My favorite is Stravinsky, who pushed every boundary of his day. and Guys like Rossini, who was the Heavy Metal Rocker of his day. But there comes a time, to break out and use the instruments differently.

And that's what they are doing right now. Breaking out and exploring. Which is great, it will define another period in music. But we're not quite there yet. Publishers and studios, are the bottom feeders, trying to keep the industry alive, but they are manufacturing the lowest common denominator, giving the public some of the most contrived music of our day.

It's okay to criticize music as it evolves and still like it.
If we don't criticize it, then it doesn't evolve. And I think the artists themselves would agree because, once you stop and consider your groves perfect, then there is no point creating more.

You can come to the defense of the genre, but not every piece is perfect. Yes there are better musicians out there, and some worse, and some I like, you won't like, and so on, that's what makes it great. I remember laying on the couch listening to Kraftwork's Autobahn for hours and loving it. That was over 25 years ago. And I've listened to so much more in between. I've heard it, I've studied it in school, spun discs and worked DJ booths, and was literally raised in a radio station. I've heard a lot, and have the knowledge to compare notes.

I'll end this, it's going too long - but suffice to say, this piece here, is okay, but has no crescendo, nothing to keep me on the edge. The grove becomes quite trance, while trying not to be. He's done a great mix up, and I see what he's doing here. He's taken video excerpts and contained and arranged them together. Great... he's experimenting. But it's not perfect, and that's okay. He's worked hard to create something, and as he evolves, he'll create better, that's what it's all about

Yup, thinking they could create all their own standards was a major fault. It was working at first, when people were using Inter Dev and Front Page, couldn't get their sites to run on anything but Internet Explorer (thinking browsers like Netscape was the problem.)

But once outside programers created better authoring software, and everyone realized it was all that MS code that was screwing up all the browsers, people started flocking away pretty quickly...

From teh Interwebs in case you're thinking the octopus is being abused:

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A giant male octopus caught on cell phone video scaling his glass display tank at the Seattle Aquarium and reaching several tentacles over its open top has sparked Internet speculation that the massive mollusk was trying to mount an escape bid.

But aquarium officials say the octopus, named Ink, was not attempting a jailbreak in the video, which has gone viral on the Internet, but simply learning to embrace his new home with all eight arms.

"It was not an escape attempt," aquarium spokesman Tim Kuniholm said of the video, in which Ink inched his way up the cylindrical glass tank to squeals from onlookers. "It's a new exhibit and the animal was exploring his boundaries."

A Seattle aquarium employee later put Ink's arms back inside the case, and a so-called "evening cap" was fastened on top to help keep the curious fellow in place, Kuniholm said.

"Octopuses are very inquisitive by nature, and in this case ... Ink is an overachiever," he said.

Ink is one of two new giant Pacific octopuses on display at the aquarium. Found in Puget Sound, they are the world's largest species of octopuses, weighing on average about 90 pounds (41 kg) and measuring 20 feet (6.1 meters) across.

Kuniholm said the two male octopuses are kept in separate homes at the aquarium because the species is solitary by nature, with males and females coming together only to mate during their short 3-to-4-year lifespan.

In the next year, Ink will be released back into the wild as part of an ongoing education and conservation program for the species, the aquarium said.

(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Sandra Maler)

"What I'm exploring right now is the subject of my own mortality. It's an area that I'm curious about, and I'm researching it to see if there's a photographic essay in it for me. If images don't start to come, I'll go to something else." - Leonard Nimoy

A few of my friends and colleagues have been using psychedelics in their research and practice, both in the white market, as well as the black market, for about a decade now. I'm excited for the changes in the use and exploration of these compounds that we'll see by 2025 or even sooner.

The opt in and opt out buttons, easily accessible on each page, are extremely helpful for comparison and makes me much more willing to view, and attempt to more use/explore the new design. Good call Lucky

So, lets see.. It's been a while since I posted this, but lets try and peg all of cartoons from my childhood.

Avatar
Transformers
pokemon
X-men / Sailor moon
Powerpuff Girls
South park
CatDog
G.I. joe?
Family Guy
Pinky and the Brain
Pink Panther
Dexters Lab / The Rescuers
Spiderman
Inspector Gadget
Adventure Time
Babar
Madeline
Smurfs
Doug / Rugrats
Carebears
Dore the Explorer
Spongebob
Futurama / Magic Schoolbus
Muppet Babies
The Simpsons
Peanuts
He-Man
Dragon Ball Z
Thundercats
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Johnny Bravo
Animaniacs
Tiny Toons
Duck Tales!
Bobbies World
The Jetsons
The Flintstones
Looney Toons

...I know I'm missing a few in there, not sure what they are. Lets see if we can get some people to actually figure them out. *Promote

To optin and optout - just add ?vs6=optin or ?vs6=optout to any videosift link.

I miss the entire "my videosift" menu - my unsifted videos, my recently sifted videos, for not to mention the "submit a video" link.

And - for the video itself:
I miss not only the channels, but the tags as well - and I need the Edit This Video link - I suspect there are other admin links missing too, for those more privileged than this humble sifter.
The NSFW, Short, Long and Blocked are missing, along with the video length, who voted for/against the video, list of playlists the video is in, and links for administering the video in your own playlists.

The share icons are way too large - the channels should be there instead, big and enticing, to get sifters to explore the channels.

People think they can know God, or what he's up to. That's quite laughable.

You can't explain how or where consciousness came from. You have no idea, just as the average person can not know God. And if you knew God, you couldn't explain it.

Even a relatively superficial exploration would help you out, but your cup is quite full.

If you could answer the question honestly 'where did our morality come from' (and it didn't come from us) then you would be on your way.