Saturday, May 14, 2011

The German Television Spot circa 2009


On impulse, I just happened to be wandering through Mac's PHB "Triptych 15" comments (see sidebar "memorial" section) tonight when I came upon a most curious thing... a comment I somehow had completely overlooked at the time it was written (somewhere in November, 2009).

The comment was from "Falafel Kid", who wrote:
"Hello everyone. I am a German television journalist and stumbled across this blog after Mac's death. I am deeply moved by the community that is still active here. I was also researching what happens to your online data when you die.
So I included this page in my report.
I chose the Blade Runner Blues as a mark of respect to Mac. Since I no longer was able to ask him and used images from his website as a matter of public record, I at least wanted to show the site in a way that he would have appreciated."

FK provides a link to a German site, but, alas, I could not embed that video. I did find a version on YouTube, however, which appears below. Mac's segment ends with one of his shadow shot's (one that appears in this blog as well...).

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(Update, 2016: Sorry, but both the Youtube video that was featured here, and the link to the streaming video - below - are now obsolete. I'm going to try to find the link to the website in which the video originally appeared... but, in the interim, I've uploaded a Blade Runner Blues video below...)

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I'm afraid I'm a one-trick pony when it comes to language though, so, I don't speak German... but the graphics speak volumes. Very eerie. And, suffice to say, the Germans addressed the topic of "death and the internet" first: the news spot hit German television November 29, 2009.

For the larger, original streaming video, (minus the broadcaster) click here (broken link).

I'm a bit unnerved by all of this... and regret it took me so long to find it... but, Falafel Kid, if you're out there - many thanks!




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Well, I did try... I roamed over to Triptych #15 again (after avoiding it for years) and found the original comment by Falafel Kid, which I am posting here with the links. Sadly, unless some German-speaking person comes to our rescue, the video in question is no longer accessible.
The comment reads as follows:

Falafelkid said...
Hello everyone. I am a German television journalist and stumbled across this blog after Mac's death. I am deeply moved by the community that is still active here. I was also researching what happens to your online data when you die.

So I included this page in my report. You can have a look at it if you click on this link. If you would like to see the video, just click on the link entitled ´Mediathek´ or click right here. Of course, it's all in German. But you can concentrate on the visuals.

I chose the Blade Runner Blues as a mark of respect to Mac. Since I no longer was able to ask him and used images from his website as a matter of public record, I at least wanted to show the site in a way that he would have appreciated.






Friday, May 13, 2011

Mac is News Again!




Literally, that is!

Apparently, inspired by the recent NY Times article, Christina Medina, a reporter for NBC news in Kansas City, created this television spot that aired Thursday night. Mac's Latteland friends, David Peeples, Andrea Ring and Lane Van Ham were interviewed especially for the broadcast, the cover of Mac's Crypto tome appears... and even a screen shot of this blog. (Go figure - but, no, I had nothing to do with it!)

I was somewhat disturbed by the semi-tabloid - and unnecessary - account of his death. but, I guess that's, uh, "entertainment"...

In any event, I really think Mac would've gotten a kick out of this...despite a few inaccuracies. He wasn't necessarily a fan of television, but he was a fiend for meme dispersal - specifically his own - so, you go, Mac!

The accompanying article appears here.