At times I think myself and my family are hoarders, unable to get rid of things because we just might need them. But then I watched this amazing film - POSSESSED by Martin Hampton - and realised we weren't so bad.

Hampton's documentary looks into the homes and lives of four OCD sufferers, whose symptoms come out as an inability to let go of possessions. It's beautiful, haunting stuff and certainly makes you wonder about things like "who are we when we let everything in our lives go?", and "how much impact do we have on this world in a lifetime?", as well as "how many 3G phones do you really need?"

Labels: culture, life changing, videos

Well thanks to Google and today's hella cute logo, I just found out that today is the 50th anniversary of the Lego brick. Wow. To me Lego is one of those things that is 'just there and always has been', and since it hasn't really changed since its conception (unlike television sets) it seems like a very real part of the world. At least that means I'm not that old... When we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iPod then I'll be upset!

Oh, and my favorite Lego? Well that has to be the Star Wars Snow Speeder - original edition. Whoever came up with the genius idea of mixing Lego and Star Wars should get a frikkin' medal or something. Or at least a bonus.

Labels: culture, cute, History, Toys

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Now we enter the year of the pig, apparently a very prosperous year for all - especially for people who are little piggies themselves. And a big thanks to the Huang clan for another lovely communal soup-bowl cooking experience. Putting vegetables and meats from your plate into the boiling soup, then fishing it out, or possibly someone else's food, a bit later is a great way to eat and share good times.

Labels: culture, food, friends, new years eve

As mentioned the other day I recently succumbed to buying Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) for fun not profit. Having watched this little asian kid bounce around and score AA on a hard song I know I have some ways to go still.

On a different video note: this video of a fat kid screaming on a roller coaster is highly disturbing. I'm not sure if it's the fact that he's falling out of the safety straps on a fairground ride. Or that he's almost choking as the straps go around his neck. Maybe it's because the adult next to him is laughing the whole time, even after the kid cries out for help. Or maybe it's the laughter track from the studio audience, enjoying watching this kid in abject fear for his life - not knowing if he might plummet to his death at any moment. Hilarious.

Labels: culture, games, videos

The South Park creators gave a great interview to Reason magazine, discussing why they rail on everybody from religion, the government and Hollywood. In summary - because it's funny. As usual though, this simple answer doesn't give full credit to their deep genius and understanding of comedy and freedom of speech. So go read what they say. Oh, and they also don't mind if you download their shows and watch them online. Unfortunately their TV bosses probably do. (From BoingBoing)

Labels: culture, freedom of speech, religion