January 19, 2004
the wonderful world of polls
Exit polls are back from the dead. After a total failure in both the 2000 and 2002, exit polls return to the national election scene, with the Iowa caucus exit poll results (PDF). But can the new team overcome the strong distrust of the previous organization?
The New Cold War
Cheney outlines Bush's vision of the war on terrorism in a January 14th speech, likening it to the Cold War in both scope and duration. Does this represent a change in tenor for the 2004 campaign and a move away from Reagan-esque sunny optimism that defined the 2000 run?
Don't turn around, oh oh! Der Komissar's in town, oh oh!
onehitwondercentral.com I just discovered a song that I haven't heard in twenty years over there: pac-man fever, by Buckner and Garcia. What long-lost tune do you need to remember?
plop plop fizz fizz - champagne chairs
What makes for a great champagne chair? Design Within Reach sponsored a holiday contest to design a chair constructed from the cork and wire cages of champagne bottle. Judges had a difficult time deciding from the 400 entries that poured in. (via Buzz.)
comeback kid
John Kerry suprises Howard Dean, the pundits, and much of the nation with what looks like a solid win in Iowa after being counted out of the race. Perhaps its time to take a second look at Kerry.
The Killing Of Civet Cats
Is It Politically Incorrect To Decry The Eating And Killing Of Civet Cats? Is Western consciousness of hypocrisy (due to the enormous number of animals we kill for food) preventing us from criticizing countries, like China, where practically all animals are eaten? Is sentimentality and the protection of animals we regard as cute better than having no qualms at all? I'm sure that the ratio of animals killed-per-capita is higher in the West than in China. Is there any moral difference? Probably not. Why, then, is it so shocking?
Martin on the Money
Put MLK on the $20 Bill. Conservatives have clamored to put Ronald Reagan on the dime or the $10 bill. One outfit wants to name something after Reagan in each of the US's counties. Why not put one of "the greatest moral leaders of the 20th century" on one of our most commonly used pieces of currency instead? (Better to have King on the $20 than Andrew Jackson, whose unconstitutional Indian Removal policy created the "Trail of Tears.")
Group hug!
Johnny Hart stirs up more controversy
Johnny Hart stirs up more controversy, this time among the Asian community. Back in November it was the Muslims. How does he manage to stay on the comics page? At what point is a mainstream comic no longer acceptable to the mainstream?
Fish & Veggie
Fish & Veggie: Healthy Dietary Life In Japanese Style.
Voices from the Days of Slavery.
Voices from the Days of Slavery. A collection of audio recordings made between 1932 and 1975 of African Americans known to have once been slaves. Hear Isom Moseley describe how he used to make soap, and express his opinion of the "white folks" who owned and ran the plantation where he was held. Wallace Quarterman describes his experience as a freed man in Georgia, and recounts the violent atmosphere of the Reconstruction South. Aunt Phoebe Boyd describes the demands of agricultural work. Even more narratives are available as transcripts from the companion exhibit, Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 (linked to previously on Metafilter here), though some of these were unfortunately edited selectively.
Rongorongo!
Rongorongo! Say it twice -- don't it feel nice? Most people think of the enigmatic maoi when they think of Easter Island but an equally vexing mystery is found in twenty-six wooden objects which contain pictographic symbols comprising...what? A language? A mnemomic system for recording stories now long forgotten? A resource for modern primitives' tribal tatoos? We could ask, but the authors are long-gone -- the victims of hard times -- leaving only a few tablets and a bunch of carved stone to puzzle over.
Deep Springs College
DSC - Deep Spring College is a prestigious all-male (currently) college almost nobody has heard of. It consists of only 26 students and was founded by Lucien Lucius Nunn in 1917. The average SAT score is 1500. There is no tuition; instead the students physically work for their education. It is located on an isolated ranch in Deep Springs Valley and the only way there is a two hour greyhound bus ride that stops at the Cottontail Ranch Brothel, followed by a one hour ride on the college's own transportation. Anyone interested in attending?
What hath Yost rendered?
"I ain’t gon' study war, no more!"
"In Memory of Martin Luther King" [Flash.] The words are excerpted from King's 1967 speech, "Why I am Opposed to the War in Vietnam."
CNN reports that Google is developing email ad service.
CNN reports that Google is developing email ad service. As if I don't get enough spam in my inbox! Google, please don't turn evil... please.
Invitation? What Invitation?
Invitation? What Invitation? Howard Dean says Jimmy Carter asked him to church in Georgia. Carter doesn't think so. Why is Dean so worried about his lead in the last days of the Iowa Caucuse that he needs to lie?
George Bush Conspiracy Generator
The George Bush Conspiracy Generator...is long overdue, and will make the lives of certain Mefi'ers just a little easier.
Still, I think it needs some work. It's nowhere near as clever as an old favorite, Web Economy Bullshit Generator,
the output of which I've actually inserted in proposals.
We hope, very shortly, to release a mouse in the elephant's cage.
If you're a fan of the works of J. Michael Straczynski (especially Babylon 5, and let me take this moment to give massive props to The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5, the second website I ever visited (after searching Yahoo! for "Babylon 5")), then you probably already know that he has long been an advocate of online communication as a means of both promotion of his work and communication with the fans of said work. JMSnews.com has an archive of all his postings going back eleven and a half years, a neat accomplishment by ephemeral Internet standards, and it's fascinating reading that gives you a nice portrait of a guy with a story to tell, and his journey to get it told. If you're a geek for "the business" that is Hollywood, this is for you.
America as a One-Party State: The target is not the Democrats but democracy itself.
America has had periods of single-party dominance before. It happened under FDR's New Deal, in the Republican 1920s and in the early 19th-century "Era of Good Feeling." But if President Bush is re-elected, we will be close to a tipping point of fundamental change in the political system itself. The United States could become a nation in which the dominant party rules for a prolonged period, marginalizes a token opposition and is extremely difficult to dislodge because democracy itself is rigged. This would be unprecedented in U.S. history.
In past single-party eras, the majority party earned its preeminence with broad popular support. Today the electorate remains closely divided, and actually prefers more Democratic policy positions than Republican ones. Yet the drift toward an engineered one-party Republican state has aroused little press scrutiny or widespread popular protest. America as a One-Party State
In past single-party eras, the majority party earned its preeminence with broad popular support. Today the electorate remains closely divided, and actually prefers more Democratic policy positions than Republican ones. Yet the drift toward an engineered one-party Republican state has aroused little press scrutiny or widespread popular protest. America as a One-Party State
The Dark Art Of Interrogation
The Dark Art Of Interrogation Excellent article on the ongoing science of interrogation in the post 9/11 United States. For further reading, please consider the following seminal manuals by the CIA: The Kubark Manual [1963], and the Human Resource Exploitation Training Manual [1983 - otherwise known as the Honduras Manual]
Under The Covers
"...Red 5 standing by..."
"...Red 5 standing by..." Kate Horn documents her love and creation of the X-Wing Toyota Tercel. Note the license plate people, she's out on the road, armed with blasters and quiet possibly, the Force.
Mars Colours
NASA is not altering Mars colours It's much less exciting than a conspiracy theory, admittedly.
'You should see my garage. It's a nightmare.' -- from the FAQ
Fantastic Plastic "A celebration of science, engineering, daring and imagination, what follows is a chronicle of Man's highest aspirations as expressed through his flying machines, both real and imagined."
ESPecially for you
China Avant-Garde
China Avant-Garde is a wonderful site for exploring Chinese post Cultural Revolution art, with excellent accompanying texts. Browse the featured artists and see an Exhibition from a Private Collection. Also, Inside Out: New Chinese Art is a beautiful site focusing on this recent "explosion of diverse work that is simultaneously exhilarating and bewildering", and you will find more great examples at Chinese Contemporary (click on the artist's name for information and all thumbnails for that artist), plus marvelous Chinese avant-garde posters at Rene Wanner's poster pages and Who's Who in Chinese Posters, and at the Hochschule der Kuenste, Berlin (view works here).
As the wind blows, we see the anus of a chicken.
Hollywood? Old. Bollywood? That's soooo 2003. Make room for Nollywood, Nigeria's own film industry which is growing by leaps and bounds every year, and is currently worth about $45 million dollars. About 400 Nollywood films are produced every year many on a budget of around $15000 and are distributed almost entirely by VHS and VCD. The stories are very much simplistic and pulpy (check out 419 Stalk Exchange. Yes, 419 as in the email scam) but are much preferred by local residents and emigre's than the usual arthouse fair one often thinks of when talking about African cinema. Now if you'll excuse me there's a bucket of popcorn and a copy of GSM Connection waiting for me in the living room.
Generic drugs are cheaper...sometimes
An AP story says that generic drugs are cheaper than half price brand name drugs from Canada. What the FDA doesn't say is that most of the time, you can't get generics. The FDA acknowledges that there is a 20 year lag time due to patents. So, if you want an old drug, fine, but most of the time, I suggest, foreign drugs are still cheaper, if you can get them from a reputable source that hasn't been bullied yet.
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