*beg

*beg

*promote

This is one of my favorite videos. Why didn't it get more votes?

"I know how it looks in here, but it's not always so messy. But I didn't know that you were gonna have a camera and I wish that you had said that you were gonna be here today 'cause I didn't--I didn't clean up. I invited some friends from upstate to come and eat salad so that's...I'm sor--well, that's just how it looks right now."

What I actually said was "doh", not "duh." Big difference. One is a Homer Simpson catchphrase, the other is not.

In reply to this comment by chicchorea:
No duh intended or needed, please. I think there are too many reasonable ways for it to happen so no fail as I see it, respectfully.

You are, of course however, always welcome. Good luck to you and thank you.

In reply to this comment by thepinky:
Doh! Thanks for the heads up.

In reply to this comment by chicchorea:
This is a dupe of http://videosift.com/video/4-year-old-drummer-is-feeling-it.

I think you are closer on his age however.

How did this fail to get sifted? I love this! I was just about to submit it, actually. Beat me to it by a week.

*kill

Doh! Thanks for the heads up.

In reply to this comment by chicchorea:
This is a dupe of http://videosift.com/video/4-year-old-drummer-is-feeling-it.

I think you are closer on his age however.

The artistic side of me appreciates this. You couldn't call it pessimistic, exactly. It's horribly dark, and the creator uses an ad nauseum argument to wonderful effect. We are indeed so sick of the repetition of this extremely dark message that the end is all the more poignant. We are happy to take his side. Overall, a very effective piece.

However, one can appreciate art even if it is a lie. Even if it is amoral (or even immoral). I'm appalled by the implications of such a definite, inflexible doctrine, delivered in such a self-assured way. I think that the concept of death as an end to the self is a lie. That is why I'm disturbed by the extreme nihilism in this video; The type of nihilism that often leads to moral relativism. If our concept of self is purely biological, we do not make decisions. Skipping a few logical and philosophical points, the path of this video leads to the conclusion that we have no agency. That our thoughts are an illusion. That we are biological robots, and that all of our actions have been determined since the beginning of time. Determinism, in other words. And I hate determinism. I refuse to believe that my human experience is a sham. That I am not me, that my life is an illusion, and that I do not determine my destiny. Ick. Maybe I'm deluding myself. I don't care. I agree with the video: There is nothing wrong with that. I choose to be happy and to find something in life beyond the meaning it is given by death. I think that I win no matter what happens.

But if you agree with this video and you're a determinist, why would you blame me for taking this position? It isn't as if I had any choice in the matter.

In other words, I'm going to go with Jean-Luc Picard on this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GLU6wgTvL8

Thanks, Gwiz. Wait...MONOCLE SMILES?! Oh, boy! Things really HAVE changed around here.

In reply to this comment by gwiz665:
Welcome back pinky. We have monocle smiles now!

I just got back from living in Jerusalem for several months. I lived among the people and I took classes from both Palestinians and Israelis on language, history, religion, and the conflict. I became friends with many Isreaelis, including a Holocaust survivor named Elias, as well as several Palestinian families. When I left the United States, I would say that I leaned toward the Israeli side. Now I stand firmly on the side of the Palestinians. There is no question in my mind that Israel is committing war crimes. I do think, however, that some of the repression of Palestinians (the seperation wall, for example) is born out of a genuine concern for Israeli safety. Nevertheless, and without justifying terrorism, Israel has to shoulder some of the blame for creating its own national security concerns by stripping the Palestinians of their rights. These people are powerless and voiceless. When you couple that with ignorance, poverty, and passionate conviction, you've created the perfect recipe for terrorism.

Indeed you're correct that gregorian chant is monophonic, so, strictly speaking, this isn't gregorian chant. However, Biebl most certainly used gregorian chant as an inspiration for the piece. The first 30 seconds or so are gregorian chant, and so are the solos. Thanks for bringing music theory into this with the great comment.

In reply to this comment by Diogenes:
beautiful

not sure about the 'gregorian chant' tag, though... this was a polyphonic performance - and if i'm remembering correctly, gregorian chant is/was monophonic

anyway, nice sift

Indeed you're correct that gregorian chant is monophonic, so, strictly speaking, this isn't gregorian chant. However, Biebl most certainly used gregorian chant as an inspiration for the piece. The first 30 seconds or so are gregorian chant, and so are the solos. Thanks for bringing music theory into this with the great comment.

>> ^Diogenes:
beautiful
not sure about the 'gregorian chant' tag, though... this was a polyphonic performance - and if i'm remembering correctly, gregorian chant is/was monophonic
anyway, nice sift

Did you watch the whole thing? Do you know who Leonard Berstein is? Do you appreciate great music? Have you ever seen West Side Story? If you answered "yes" to two or more of these questions, I have no idea why you think this video is pointless. It's awesome because Berstein is one of the greatest and most influential composers of our time, and you get to watch him conducting music from one of his greatest works: West Side Story. Also, he looks funny when he conducts, it's amusing when he sasses the mix team at the end, and it's cool listening to this great music as it's being made. This is one of the least pointless videos I've seen on the Sift. Maybe you should lay off the weed.

>> ^BoneRemake:
am I effin missing something ? or do you people just have better weed then I do. the video is pointless ? ? ?

"The experts in the video didn't say either."

That isn't true. The first meteorologist in the video said that it was all El Niño.

Why do you think that I doubt the in-between? I didn't claim that there is no in-between. I think that climate change is very likely to change our weather patterns. I'm just annoyed by the people I've heard blaming El Niño weather on climate change, which I see as irresponsible reporting meant to sensationalize the truth. Anyway, I've seen and heard this on local news stations. I'm sorry that I didn't provide quotes/links? I'm not writing a research paper, just commenting on a video on the interwebs.