Linkfest - Lying Ryan

Been a while since did a linkfest. This edition is about the odd choice of Paul Ryan as GOP VP choice, links to amusing Calvin & Hobbes animated gifs, Lego's 80th Anniversary, Lego Serenity, movies trailers and a disturbing nursery song.

Mitt Romney Picks Paul Ryan as VP
For reasons that confound me, Mitt Romney has picked Paul Ryan as his Vice President. Usually the VP is designed to fill in a voting gap that the candidate can't achieve to help put them over the top be it a state or demographic. Ryan is a far right conservative with a media profile based desperate to make the election more exciting than it is by simply repeating myths about him. Tea Party/Religious right vote is a lock no matter what, after all not like they can explore the alternative of voting for Obama so not sure why make this extra effort to please them. He will do nothing to help Mitt Romney get moderates and undecided. If anything he will send them screaming in the other direction. Paul Ryan deeply believes in the Ayn Rand philosophy that society only functions best when society is geared towards the goal of making rich people richer. This was very well demonstrated with his Budget Plan that would reduce the top 1%'s tax burden to less than 1%. An example being his running mate Romney who under their collective plan would go from paying around 13% to .082%. To pay for a tiny portion of this $4.7+ trillion cost of his plan, he wanted to cut social security by 20% (or privatize it) and turn Medicare into a voucher program. His big claim to fame is a screw you budget proposal that literally takes from the poor and middle-class and gives to the rich. His other conservative thing is supposedly being a deficit hawk. Despite the fact he voted for the Bush tax cuts, two wars, bank bailout and more that added around $7 trillion and counting to the deficit. He supposedly wants less government in your life yet is happy so support laws that would make birth control illegal and, any abortion illegal even in cases of saving mother's life, rape or incest. Not exactly a small government idea. About the only reason I can think he made the choice is money. Ryan will be a money making machine as conservative flood Romney and Super PAC coffers. In general, the more money you spend on an election, the greater your chances are of winning. That is ultimately the Romney plan - simply buy the election.

Calvin and Hobbes Animated Gifs
Hit the link for a selection of gifs that turn certain panels from the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip into motion.

Lego Secret Vault and The Lego Story
Hit the link to view a video that shows off the Memory Lane vault at Lego. The vault contains at least one copy of all the Lego sets made over the years going back to the 50s. For me it was interesting to see some of the medieval and space sets I use to own as a child. The other link is a sanitized but interesting look at some of the details on the origins of Lego.

Lego Serenity from Firefly
Hit the link to view a huge gallery that shows off a Lego re-creation of Serenity ship used for late but great TV series Firefly. The ship is scaled to the mini-fig size.

The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 Trailer
At the link is a trailer for the first of a two part animated movie from DC Comics that adapts Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. The story takes place in a future Gotham that is worse than it ever was before. The graphic novel had huge political undertones that were against the Ronald Reagan pro-military industrial war complex of the times so it will be interesting to see how they remove that fundamental part of the story and try to retain its themes.

James Bond's Skyfall Trailer
Below is the new trailer for Skyfall, the next 007 film that is coming out this November. It seems the movie will focus on London and the 007 branch with particular interest on the M character (who likely will exit the franchise dramatically).


The Counting Song
Below is an amusing video that seems to start as a nursery song to teach counting but then takes a dark (but amusing) turn.