December 2002 Archives
December 31
Ringed Uranus with its moons
Happy New Year
Happy New Year[in the language of your choice] Happy new year, my friends. See you on the other side.
Evolution continues
Evolution is a process that hasn't stopped just because humans now rule the planet. What will animals look like in 200,000 years? The Discovery Channel's Animal Planet asks experts to predict the future of life on Earth.
Decasia: a symphony in decay
Decasia: A symphony in decay. Via a NYT article, via /. The decasia site is Flash, the NYT article is words. The images are arresting.
Overrated and underreported stories of 2002
2002 media follies. The most overhyped and underreported stories of the year.
forget cola wars. this is a cola jihad.
`Papa, I agree not to drink Coke, but you have to give me something.'
so what do you do when the populace calls for a tall glass of fizzy sugar water, but the primary suppliers are bonified infidels? you make your own...
and you call it Mecca-Cola.
so what do you do when the populace calls for a tall glass of fizzy sugar water, but the primary suppliers are bonified infidels? you make your own...
and you call it Mecca-Cola.
"Be one with your sense of humor."
The magazine industry's oddest moments this past year include a very "Bird Talk" September 11 and Detroit (among other cities) being named Maxim's "The Greatest City on Earth".
Hogmanay ya Bass !
5-7-5-7-7
Tired of haikus? Then it might be time for tanka. Older than haikus, tanka is 31 syllables divided into lines of 5-7-5-7-7. There's been a World Tanka Competition (mostly in Japanese, but the poems are translated into English) and a modern tanka poet, Machi Tawara, has had her work turned into movies, television shows, and a musical revue. All that's needed now is to make it popular in the English-speaking world...
Obscure Animal Quiz
You're an animal and you're obscure - that much is clear. But which one are you? Perhaps you're an obscure band? Or a strange being? Or just some punk? Either way, I think we should know. ;)
December 30
Rumsfeld met Saddam in late 80s
Rumsfeld helped Saddam during war with Iran, while they had precise information about daily use of chemical weapons such as mustard gas, nerve gas, anthrax, and sarin. He met Saddam Hussein in Baghdad and passed on the US willingness to help his regime and restore full diplomatic relations, in order to help Iraq win the war. [source: Guardian]
"Where is Raed?"
Samuel Pepy's weblog
Samuel Pepy's weblog. Starting on January 1, 2003, Phil Gyford will be running Samuel Pepy's diary entries (who's he?), starting with January 1, 1660. [via Interconnected]
The Baader-Meinhoff gang
This is Baader-Meinhoff. Extensive info about the West German terrorist phenomenon of the 1970s, compiled by a guy whose father was head of the US Army's Bomb Disposal unit in Berlin while Baader-Meinhoff (aka the Red Army Faction) was on the run. Other leftist "urban guerillas" included Movement 2 June and the Socialist Patients collective. The detailed timeline, art criticism, terrorist bios and info about 1970s terror groups in the Mid-East and South America make fascinating reading. There's also the Joe Strummer connection, of course.
Och, It's Wee Jonnie Updike
Och, It's Wee Jonnie Updike. A verging-on-the-Brigadoonish rewrite of Scottish national bard Robert Burns (you'll be singing his "Auld Lang Syne" in about 24 hours), by the scrofulous old Joyce of the 'burbs himself. The original verse is "To a Mouse", rewritten after the news that geneticists find a lot in common between the DNA of mice and men.
Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie,
Braw science says that at the leastie
We share full ninety-nine per cent
O' genes, where'er the odd ane went.
'At the leastie'!? Jings, crivens, help ma boab, I think he's jeopardised his joab.
Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie,
Braw science says that at the leastie
We share full ninety-nine per cent
O' genes, where'er the odd ane went.
'At the leastie'!? Jings, crivens, help ma boab, I think he's jeopardised his joab.
The King As Art
The King As Art. Artist Naoki Mitsuse writes, "I remember reading an article in the morning paper about a local teenage girl who had thrown herself out of a balcony of a tall apartment building, leaving a note that said something like, 'now that Elvis is dead, I have nothing to live for and goodbye.' This had a profound impact on me and I realized then, that Elvis was a very powerful man." So the artist created two series of Elvis paintings that are way better than any Elvis on black velvet you might find on eBay.
Misconceptions about the Welfare State in the U.K.
Poverty and the Welfare State: Dispelling the myths This working paper (PDF file) states that "debates on poverty and welfare in Britain are full of myths." Among them (culled from the exec summary, since I'm still reading the paper):
1. The belief that poverty is long term and is passed from generation to generation is not consistent with the evidence.
2. Poverty is not caused by people behaving differently (although people act differently after they become poor), or by people having too many children, or by racial differences.
3. Scare stories about spiraling costs and abuse are greatly exaggerated.
4. Welfare does not encourage dependency.
Just in case anybody's writing a major paper over the holidays or anything.
I found this via the fantastic Canadian Social Research Links web site.
(And if this came up in a previous post, I apologize; I searched on just about every relevant term I could think of.)
Rubbish
Rubbish Portland's top brass said it was OK to swipe your garbage--so this weekly newspaper grabbed theirs. Informative and adventurous story results.
dead ... completely
list of deaths in 2g2 -win a few of those 'are-they-dead?' arguments in 2g3.
Vegetarianism.
Chickens are "natural born killers". This is the basic message of a recent ad from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. This organization has filed a lawsuit against Tyson Foods for making false health claims. I came across this organization and its campaign on an entertaining C-Span program[Did anybody else watch this program?]. On the program, Neal Barnard, the leader of this organization, said that when you heat chicken(and other meats) certain carcinogenic amines are created. But, when you heat a veggie burger, it just warms up. Therefore, he recommends a 100% vegetarian diet. It looks like the organization's next move is a TV ad with this message. Your reactions?
The Best Thing on Television in 2002
The Best Thing on Television in 2002 The WPIX Yule Log makes its triumphant return.
Images, Reputations and Sounds of Patti Smith
Is It Better To Look Marvellous Than To Sound Marvellous? Like The Velvet Underground, Iggy Pop and (controversially) David Bowie, Patti Smith, specially when photographed by Robert Mapplethorpe, looked way cooler than she sounded, imho. What other rock legends were more beautiful than the music they made? And, conversely, which artists' music was better than the image they projected?
December 29
Dow Fights Parody Site
Dow Chemical takes over a parody site Long time reader, first time poster... So what's the lesson learned here? If you make a parody, don't register your domain with a faked name?
The summation....
Dave Barry's Year in Review is a hilarious month-by-month recap of 2002. Always funny, and sometimes rather poignant, for Dave. Also, a great UK Year-in-Review satire. Enjoy.
Should military service become mandatory?
Should military service become mandatory? New York's Democratic representative Charles Rangel thinks so. Would this help curb the enthusiasm our elected leaders have in using our armed forces? Obviously, the details need to be explained and hashed out... but does this effort have any substantial support?
Québecers take on America.
Plein Sud - 'A unique vision of the Americas on the Web.' If you enjoy travel documentaries, this is for you. Two French Canadians take on the Americas in this epic site cram packed with videos (for 56k and broadband), interviews, and travelogues. Originally produced for TV, you can now watch the full episodes from the site.
Kalmykia and Takla Makan migrations
The republic of Kalmykia is a unique place. A member of the Russian Federation, it was settled in 1608 by Mongols from what is now the Chinese province of Xinjiang. It is the only state in Europe where Buddhism is the dominant religion, and probably the only state in the world whose president claims to have created an "extra-sensory field" around it. Kalmykia's spiritual leader, Telo Rinpoche, is an American from Philadelphia who was appointed by the Dalai Lama. There has been a long history of migrations between Europe and Asia. In one really intriguing case, 3000-year-old mummies with reddish-blond hair, Caucasian features and wearing tartans similar in design to Celtic ones, were discovered in the Takla Makan Desert in Xinjiang. If these ancient Caucasians were absorbed by the population of Xinjiang, then perhaps the Kalmyk migration might have unknowingly been a return to their ancestral lands. [First link via plep].
Asbestosis
White House halts asbestos alert WASHINGTON (AP) - A warning from the Environmental Protection Agency, informing millions of Americans their homes might contain asbestos-contaminated insulation, has not been issued because of White House intervention, a newspaper reports.
The EPA was expected to announce the warning in April, and declare a public health emergency concerning Zonolite insulation, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in its Sunday editions.
oh no.
The sky is a color of television, tuned to a dead channel, and there's a hole in the sky above Chile. The widening gash in the ozone layer is now over Punta Arenas, Chile, the southern most city in the world.
Another bights the dust
Cinergy Stadium Goes Down. The odds are that the Vet in Philadelphia is next. Watching these ball parks is destroyed is something else. Anyone witness it? Do you miss those places and what would you like to see fixed up? Is this the answer rather than Soldiers field or Lambeau fix it up? Some are worth keeping (Wrigley) but maybe Fenway and Yankee stadium need to go.
Alternate realities
Alternate realities - as we approach a new year, you may want to measure some things differently - your age or your weight, for example. Some calculations may be flattering, others rather alarming. Even "wasting time" apparently can have some value. No matter what your age, there are some calculators that will help ensure longevity.
useless inventions
Industrialised society's fascination with useless invention: as a kid I used to love the work of Heath Robinson, inventor of (among others) a method of testing safety matches, the potato peeler, and an inoffensive method of weighing a lady friend. His American equivalent was the slightly more scientific Rube Goldberg. Occasional attempts of the patently useless to make the leap into the real world have been furthered considerably by the Japanese art of Chindogu, made popular by Kenji Kawakami, inventor of (among others) the Hay fever hat, the portable road crossing, and dusting shoes for cats. Maywa Denki seems to transcend earthy Chindogu with fish-based and musical (via sharpeworld) inventions.
December 28
Brigitte Boisselier, Raelians, appearance and credibility
The Clone Crone: Is Brigitte Boisselier the scariest woman of 2002? Will she replace the Bride of Wildenstein in our epidermic disaffections? The Sunday British tabloids seem to think so. How much does protagonists' physical appearance influence our perception of public events, such as the alleged cloning of a human being? [ See MeFi's recent thread.] Are rampant male chauvinism and female cattiness making a comeback? In other words, would people take the other, more famous Brigitte more seriously if she were still beautiful? Or a man?
moo moo moo moo moo moo moo moo moo moo moo moo moo moo moo moo
Betting on Mini-Cows "ROCKWELL, Iowa -- Dustin Pillard is betting his farm on compact cows...Pillard has 50 tiny cows on his northern Iowa farm" MEANWHILE..."In a May dispatch from Cuba, the Wall Street Journal reported that Fidel Castro proposed in 1987 to alleviate a chronic milk shortage by trying to get his scientists to clone the most productive cows, shrunk to the size of dogs so that each family could keep one inside it's apartment. The cows would feed on grass grown inside under fluorescent lights." Now I'd like a mini-polar bear, please, and a mini-elephant, while you're at it...
Billboards of Tehran
By their billboards ye shall know them: the Tehran street advertising collection. See Western luxuries, goofy icons and hardline Islamist and reformist propaganda compete for Iranian minds. Watch out for those changing Iranian ad standards, though. [via hoder]
Young-hae Chang flash pieces
Beckett's Bounce and Riviera in English, and another version in Chinese.
The latest from Young Hae Chang.
The latest from Young Hae Chang.
Girl to sue over detention
Girl to sue over detention "The family, who want compensation, will argue that the detentions were unlawful because they took place in Freya's free time. " If you can't give kids detention, how else are they going to be punished for breaking school rules?
Oh, those wacky Japanese animators!
Pinpin Lelapin ...While surfing on a Singapore site called FlashMove, I came across a zany Flash site: A wonder bit of inscrutable Japanese-inspired French animation from Studio Tanuki in the form of Pinpin Lelapin, an adorable pink balloon bunny rabbit who farts on people. In addition to the giddy animation and stylised artwork on the site is the unique "Super Mario"-type run-and-jump navigation. (Note: Mostly in French, with some Japanese and broken English. Contains Flash, music, farts, giant mecha battles and a Sailor Moon parody.)
December 27
Joel Roberts Poinsett
Joel Roberts Poinsett was the first American ambassador to Mexico, Martin Van Buren's Secretary of War, and a founder of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science and the Useful Arts, which later became the Smithsonian Institute. But his most lasting legacy at Christmastime is as the namesake and American "discoverer" of the poinsettia.
New Year's Gastronomy
Black-eyed peas before noontime is a good luck custom in the U.S. southern states, often served in Hoppin John. Spaniards favor twelve grapes at midnight, Greeks munch on a slice of vasilopita bread baked with a foil-wrapped coin, the Dutch breakfast on hot oliebollen, while the intrepid Japanese defy death by snacking down on mochi rice cakes. Every culture seems to have a traditional food or beverage to celebrate the New Year - do you have a gastronomical favorite to mark the occasion?
Canada Guns
Jan 1 - 100% Canadian Gun Registration. I'm surprised that the London gun crime epidemic, after they outlawed guns, hasn't slowed down gun control elsewhere. I know it's a contentious issue, so I'll just try to keep the question focused: will gun registration work in Canada?
Ice-T to promote Ice-C
Ice-T to promote ice cream I wonder if they'll have an Ice Tea flavor.
The tragedy of private zoos in China
Private zoos in China. This is one of the saddest pieces I've ever read--all the stories are terrible but especially the one on the bears. I thought the article made a good point on the focus on human right violations in China with a lack of attention on the treatment of animals. There should be some kind of organization either from outside or internally that addresses this issue.
Monkey Painting
Monkey Painting. No, it's not monkeys that paint, but rather a new fad in low-rent art circles. They're selling like hotcakes on ebay. But don't forget sock monkeys, sea monkeys, and of course, those monkeys typing out Shakespeare.
e Fly Guy
The Fly Guy is a Flash toy/game/greeting card with lots to explore and a seemingly (but not actually) endless number of things to interact with. Nothing groundbreaking, just cute and amusing. Enjoy!
Step in the right direction for the War on Drugs?
Michigan to Drop Minimum Sentence Rules for Drug Crimes. Although many people have known for years that minimum sentencing rules for drug offenses are seriously flawed, some states seem to be finally doing something about it.
FDA now officially useless?
FDA now officially useless? Well, it's looking that way.. They are now about to allow unverified health claims on food labels. They say this is a good thing. I wonder... What function does the FDA have now if it's not to protect the consumer from wild and potentially false claims on their food products?
corporations as persons
Are Corporations Legally Persons?
Orthodoxy has it the Supreme Court decided in 1886, in a case called Santa Clara County v. the Southern Pacific Railroad, that corporations were indeed legal persons. I express that view myself, in a recent book. So do many others. So do many law schools. We are all wrong.
Mr. Hartmann undertook instead a conscientious search. He finally found the contemporary casebook, published in 1886, blew the dust away, and read Santa Clara County in the original, so to speak. Nowhere in the formal, written decision of the Court did he find corporate personhood mentioned. Not a word. The Supreme Court did NOT establish corporate personhood in Santa Clara County.
Pardon me while I go to the bookstore. This looks to be a book well worth reading. Imagine the US government controlled by the best interests of real people instead of corporations.
Orthodoxy has it the Supreme Court decided in 1886, in a case called Santa Clara County v. the Southern Pacific Railroad, that corporations were indeed legal persons. I express that view myself, in a recent book. So do many others. So do many law schools. We are all wrong.
Mr. Hartmann undertook instead a conscientious search. He finally found the contemporary casebook, published in 1886, blew the dust away, and read Santa Clara County in the original, so to speak. Nowhere in the formal, written decision of the Court did he find corporate personhood mentioned. Not a word. The Supreme Court did NOT establish corporate personhood in Santa Clara County.
Pardon me while I go to the bookstore. This looks to be a book well worth reading. Imagine the US government controlled by the best interests of real people instead of corporations.
Paul Martin --or-- Sayed Anwar
Is the Washington Times perpetuating a fraud? the Palestine Media Watch is reporting on a rumour that has been floating around for a while, that the Washington Times' "Sayed Anwar" is actually Paul Martin, a correspondent out of their London office. Now while this Times doesn't boast the circulation of the NYTimes or even the LA Times, it still lands on the doorstep of the President of the US every day. How's this for journalistic integrity?
Affordable Housing vs. Property Values, what to do?
DC Suburbs slowly getting denser I've been a participant for the past 5 years in what is easily the 2nd-3rd most insane housing market in the US: Washington DC. Apartment occupancy is 99% in the desirable areas, and "affordable starter homes" (in finger quotes) are priced at $250-$350k. People with good jobs can barely afford this. So what happens to folks who are just getting their feet on the ground in the country? More the merrier. How do you strike a balance between providing affordable housing that is accessible to living-wage jobs without running out the existing neighbors?
Persons of the year?
Time Magazine's 2002 Persons of the Year. A distinction that has been given to such newsmakers as Gandhi,
Hitler,
Jeff Bezos, a machine, and a planet, now belongs to three whistleblowers at Enron, WorldCom, and the FBI. Is Time magazine way off or right on target?
December 26
Cult has first human clone
Cult says it has first human clone, and it's a girl. Clearly this is an incredible achievement for science, but what consequences will this have on the near and distant future? Is cloning technology being utilized by the wrong people? Some consider the fear of human cloning to be superstitious. But what if somebody taught the clones karate?
in the end, it would make a great photograph
a bleak moment for beauty: herb ritts has died. nytimes link.
metropolis
metropolis, on kcrw (previously mentioned here) is a radio show i've been listening to since 1996.
it's on most weeknights from 7:00 to 10:00 for those lucky enough to be within broadcast range, for the rest of us it can be found at here starting 7:30 pm (realplayer, mp3 or windows media).
if you like electronic music (i hate the limitations of that label) check it out. jason bentley mixes records and hosts the show (among other things) and does an excellent job of combining new music, out-of-the-way stuff and interviews . it's not hyperbole to say that this show changed my life by introducing me to the music of ltj bukem (warning: flash, frames, bad design, all manner of horrors)
if you like electronic music (i hate the limitations of that label) check it out. jason bentley mixes records and hosts the show (among other things) and does an excellent job of combining new music, out-of-the-way stuff and interviews . it's not hyperbole to say that this show changed my life by introducing me to the music of ltj bukem (warning: flash, frames, bad design, all manner of horrors)
Monolithic Pods; Affordable Housing And New Architecture
Hot Little Igloos And Tutti-Frutti Toadstools or Living In Your Own I-Pod: Affordable housing gets seriously cute and makes Hobbits or Bubble boys and girls of all of us. The floor plans are versatile and the rentals (from $68 to $110 a week) are enticing. The "idea that governed the whole planning of Dome Park Lane and really became our goal was to provide clean, secure and -- most importantly -- affordable housing for low-income individuals." Are monolithic domes too good to be true or too weird to catch on? I sincerely hope not. [Via Linkfilter].
Iranian blogger's meeting
15 months after the first waves, Blogging seems to prove so popular among young Iranian boys and girls that now the number of Persian (or Farsi) weblogs has jumped to more than 9,000. Almost half of them are using Blogger.com's free service and other half are using a similar but more Persian-friendly online application, created by Iranian programmers, called Persianblog.com. Tomorrow, they are gathering in a big conference hall in Tehran to meet other colleagues and bloggers and to share what they've experienced during their lovely days of a rare thing in Iranian history: absolute freedom of expression
Bridgeville, CA
Hurry! Not much time left to buy this entire town!
UN finds no banned weapons
UN finds no banned weapons - that's a relief. Now the only "weapons of mass destruction" in the current debacle are owned by the US i.e. 27 stealth bombers, capable of completely destroying much of the world in just a few seconds.
Utah Roundabouts
Roundabouts are growing in popularity, in Utah of all places. It's a good thing there's a website and an official government guide to teach us how to use them, because we really suck at driving.
Du-blog-ious Achievement Awards
Du-blog-ious Achievement Awards Marc Weisblott cannot even keep from slagging himself: “Maintained a personal blog without permalinks, archives, or even dates on the posts, thus preventing the sort of critical scrutiny he performs on others. Barely earned more money at age thirty-one than he did at twenty-one. And – oh, yes – enough of a coward to not be able to compile a Worst Blogs of 2002 list without attaching himself to the end of the list. Or is that just unadulterated self-loathing?”
hundo
"Feith and Luti see everybody not one hundred per cent with them as one hundred per cent against them—it's a very Manichaean world," a defense consultant said. the "Office of Special Plans"????
i thought the new homeland security bill was going to get people to start working together?
December 25
Kenya switches off Internet access
Kenya switches off Internet access Don't let Rumsfeld know about this. Might give him some ideas. If there is a lesson in this it is that putting all your eggs in one basket (GE, Home Depot , energy and phone companies etc) is at best a questionable practise if a government can get a grip on the basket's handle. No fear that it will happen in America? Then notice how the threat of not handing out federal monies gets compliance with what the government wants,ie, education, etc.
Lennon Merry Xmas the War is Over
Happy Xmas (War is over) This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the UK release of John and Yoko's perennial Christmas classic.
A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
War is over, if you want it
War is over now.
Happy Xmas
promised land
I See the Promised Land "Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord"---MLKing Jr.
December 24
Christmas Music that doesn't suck
Christmas Music that Doesn't suck. I know I get tired of all that Christmas music, but I have one CD by Mojo Nixon that I really enjoy all year. Horny Holidays is a fantastic CD with versions of many classic Christmas songs like "Happy Birthday", and "The Grinch", and who really does know all the words to "Good King Wenceslas"?
Donate computers
Donate Your Old Computers The February issue of Woman's Day magazine has an interesting blurb on recycling old computers.
Two places mentioned in Woman's Day were Share Technology and PC's For Schools.
Both have search engines to find local places to donate your computer parts and accessories.
Tis the Season.
January Department Store Sales
"There Is Only One Sale" is the traditional January sales slogan of Harrods' department store in London, where the elbow-fest begins next Monday. With disappointing Christmas retail sales being reported more or less everywhere, it looks like the U.S. National Retail Federation's statement "What's going to be crucial now is the week after Christmas" is not the usual BS. Sales in Europe are still month-long extravaganzas where unique bargains can be had. In the U.S. they seem to be more frequent, shorter and somewhat diluted. Assuming you're normal (a stingy, somewhat gullible and opportunistic shopper like the rest of us), what are your post-holiday shopping objectives? Which department stores will you be hitting? Or is it all just a big con?
Grand Theft Auto video game
Steal cars and kill prostitutes for points The fourth instalment of the popular Grand Theft Auto video game has become the fastest selling title of all time in the UK. In its first five days on the U.S. market, GTA:VC sold 1.4 million copies of Grand Theft Auto. Entertainment Weekly rated it No. 1 on its 10-best-game list for 2002.
But unlike most video games, where the player represents a hero struggling against evil, Grand Theft Auto invites players to pose as a vicious criminal named Tommy Vercetti. Tommy earns money for his crimes, which include running over pedestrians, hiring and then murdering prostitutes, and killing other gangsters with guns, Uzis, swords and Molotov cocktails.
Unsurprisingly, the game has its critics and protestors. Real life crimes have been linked to it.
Well, MeFiers, is a society ever justified in banning something like this video game?
Merry Christmas from Scandinavian Airlines!
Merry Christmas from Scandinavian Airlines! Scandinavian Airlines has offered a special online-only deal for each day of December. You go to the site and open the day's date (like an Advent calendar) and a new European city is offered--you can then fly to that city roundtrip from the US for about $250 US. The catch? You have 24 hours to book, you must travel between January and mid-March, and you must depart from Seattle, Newark, DC or Chicago. It's a neat deal, but today's the last day, and so as a great holiday surprise they've opened up all the past cities. Pick any of the previously offered destinations, get thee to one of the four departure cities, and enjoy a great airfare deal! London, Paris, Madrid, Oslo, Stockholm, Milan and other cities are offered. (Not a plug--I don't work for or have any connection to SAS.)
Men, desperately looking for that last minute Christmas gift?
Men, desperately looking for that last minute Christmas gift? Well maybe your wife would appreciate you not being such a goddamned pervert. (Link safe for work)
he's coming! look out!
The world's most wanted man has embarked on his annual breaking-and-entering spree! Stop him before he reaches your house, using the power of NORAD. Track him as he wends his way around the world...(see! Missile-defense technology IS good for something!)
King William's College Christmas Quiz
King William's College Christmas Quiz - Pupils at King William's college on the Isle of Man have suffered its annual general knowledge quiz since 1905. Until 1999, it was compulsory and the average score was two (out of 180). Nowadays the questions, set by an unidentified islander, are posted to parents with the end-of-term report. See how you fare. Answers will be posted in the new year. (last year, last years answers).
Crackpots and the Nature of Truth
Crackpots and the Nature of Truth If you're a busy guy like me, you take on faith a lot what is promoted as scientific truth. But there's usually a "crackpot" minority who may find a few data points which don't fit the orthodox scientific theory and claim them as evidence of a conspiracy or mass delusion. On very rare occasions (and this is probably NOT one of them), they may even turn out to be right. For this reason, the unaligned unscientific masses find it easy to side with the crackpots.
Those within the orthodoxy often take the position that confronting the minority in a fair and open debate would unduly dignify the minority's position. Unfortunately, the orthodoxy at the same time often loudly denounces the minority's position as "unscientific," but doesn't go much beyond that. To be sure, the minority's position often is truly "unscientific" because, for instance, it's unfalsifiable. The orthodoxy seems to be missing golden PR opportunities in articles like this. If the orthodoxy is truly concerned about winning converts away from the crackpots, shouldn't they AT LEAST take advantage of these opportunities to say a few words about what science is and is not, to inject some of the basic concepts of science (hypothesis, experimentation, theory construction, falsifiability, etc.) into the popular memesphere?
One Less Junco Partner...
Joe Strummer Dies at 50. Not exactly what I was hoping to get for Christmas... I have a feeling that my wife is going to be quite sick of Sandinista! and London Calling after today...
Newsday
What does the Bush Administration want for Christmas this year? An extension to the Nation's Credit Card limit.
"Currently, national debt subject to the $6.4 trillion debt limit stands at $6.3 trillion"
"...warning that it may hit the current limit on the federal debt by late February."
Merry Christmas USA!
"Currently, national debt subject to the $6.4 trillion debt limit stands at $6.3 trillion"
"...warning that it may hit the current limit on the federal debt by late February."
Merry Christmas USA!
African village attacked by vampires.
African village attacked by vampires. I thought this article was an email hoax until I found it at Yahoo news via AP. Bizarre.
Top Ten Web-Design Mistakes of 2002
Just in time for Christmas, Jakob Nielsen unleashes his list of Top Ten Web-Design Mistakes of 2002. [via the k10k]
December 23
What are Pardons good for?
Tis the season to give pardons, fa la la la la la la President Bush decided to give out some pardons for the Christmas season. Pardons for crimes like stealing copper wire, altering an odometer, selling moonshine and not reporting for military induction in the 50s. These are small crimes, most occuring around 30 years ago (on average) with punishment of probation.
This brings up a question, thinking about the controversy over pardons by past Presidents and all that. "How should a President use his pardon power?"
This brings up a question, thinking about the controversy over pardons by past Presidents and all that. "How should a President use his pardon power?"
Dogs die to teach Peru's soldiers how to kill.
This is one the sickest , saddiest stories I've ever read on the net. Can anything be done to stop it, or is it wishful thinking?
2002: The Year in Pictures
2002: The Year in Pictures - as collected by Reuters, UPI, Yahoo [Flash], MSNBC [Flash], CBS, Newsweek, Time Asia, BET [Flash], BBC UK, BBC World, Guardian UK, Corbis News, Corbis Features, Corbis Entertainment, and Corbis sports. You didn't have anything else to do today, now did you?
The Cult of the Gym
The Cult of the Gym Anorexia and obesity have both been beaten to a bloody pulp...but how about "bigorexia", or "muscle dysmorphia."? It has many of the same characteristics as anorexia, such as never being satisfied with the way one looks no matter how big and muscular they get, and it shares with obesity the same propensity for discovering a "quick-fix" mentality. This author likens the cult of the gym to the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment through the church of one's choice.
Arthur Szyk
Artist For Freedom! I'd never heard of Arthur Szyk before I came across him while doing random Google searches today. I really like his artwork! We had a post awhile back with poster art addressing the "current situation. I wonder what Mr. Szyk would've made of the times we live in?
A billboard just for you.
A billboard just for you. A new technology is being implemented in billboards that will pick up what radio station drivers are listening to and calculate what product to advertise. Is this a good thing, like Tivo, or should we call Adbusters? Some people thought the day would never come. What's the next step for marketers? Space Advertising??
Middletown Weapons Plant
For decades, Iowans found jobs making atomic bombs and non-nuclear weaponry at the Middletown Ammunition Plant. Now their bodies are paying a heavy price.. According to today's installment, the US government and other groups denied knowledge of this plants' role in our nuclear history.
coming for us while we sleep
Apparently "Total Information Awareness" doesn't extend to the TIA project's own website.
Best Ideas Of 2002
Best Ideas Of 2002: From 'The Ambulance-Homicide Theory' to 'Women Are Just as Jealous as Men', the NYTM 2nd Annual Year in Ideas details 97 recent Gibsonian additions to life in these modern times.
e-file your home purchase!
"e-filing" your land transactions - could it streamline a process that is quite cumbersome? 11 of the 21 counties in New Jersey are working to convert their current paper-based system of filings to an electronic format. Some say it would lower mortgage costs and time constraints because of the movement of paper. Some say it's a disaster waiting to happen. I think it would be an excellent move and would give NJ some first mover status (I think?) to be proud of.
Worst Car Modifications
The Worst Modified Cars in the UK. Car modification is becoming a way of life for all trendy 17-25 year olds. When you can't afford a decent off-the-shelf car, you can just turn your cheap wreck into a sporty glory! Or check out an American car with a WOODEN body kit! Alternatively, just check out the ugliest cars in Britain or LoserCars, the worst cars in the USA! (Found on uk.rec.driving)
Real Espresso Coffee
Will 2003 Be The Year Of Real Espresso In America? With the wealth of good machines, fresh coffee beans and online knowledge now available, not to mention tempting offers like Illy's subscription (though the pods turn out expensive in the end, it allows absolute beginners to make acceptable espresso) it's surprising Starbucks-style coffee (big, milky, watery and sweet) hasn't yet been dethroned by the pleasure of straight espresso (tiny, thick, creamy and intense), preferably restretto. I should add that, despite many efforts over the years, I've never had a decent cup of espresso in America. In fact, outside Southern Europe. What gives?
If we let anyone fly planes, the terrorists have won...
Buy a Flight Manual, Get a Grand Jury Subpoena? A guy qualified to fly and instruct on the Boeing 737 buys a CD on Ebay that contains the ground course for the same plane. Then the FBI gets involved, and, courtesy of section 501 (d) of the "USA Patriot Act", he can no longer even discuss the issue. [more inside]
military pay raises
"Hang in there, help is on the way."
The director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., recently asked the Defense Department to lower the 2004 pay raise from its expected 3.7 percent to 2 percent. Daniels also wants future raises tied to inflation, rather than basing boosts on what civilians doing comparable jobs in the private sector might make.
Many of our military families already qualify for welfare and food stamps. Pay raises are out of the question when there's NMD and tax cuts to the wealthy needing funding.
The director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., recently asked the Defense Department to lower the 2004 pay raise from its expected 3.7 percent to 2 percent. Daniels also wants future raises tied to inflation, rather than basing boosts on what civilians doing comparable jobs in the private sector might make.
Many of our military families already qualify for welfare and food stamps. Pay raises are out of the question when there's NMD and tax cuts to the wealthy needing funding.
Blogs go mainstream
Washington salutes its new Blog Overlords When Trent Lott finally fell from (g)race last friday, the ensuing MeFi thread discussed how Lott's statements were at first a sleeper in the mainstream media but that the blogosphere forced the story onto the front pages. However, this theory was met with some scepticism
However, the theory of blog ascendancy has legs. In fact, the story is all over the place this morning.
With this level of discussion, right or wrong, Blogs just arguably went mainstream. (It might also be the end of our golden era of blogging.)
There are greater and lesser blogs. Its hard to tell which blog deserves the credit for toppling Lott. How will they determine the alpha blog? The winner could be the next "Drudge".
Palestinian Christians Under Israeli Occupation
"We are singing for peace. We are against war. We are now singing against checkpoints," said Gabi Baramki, one of the founders of the Jerusalem Chorus. "It's a very sad Christmas." One in ten Palestinians is Christian, and Christians such as Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah are prominent among the voices calling for a campaign of nonviolent resistance to Israeli occupation.
Joe Strummer dead
50 is an odd age for a rock star to die. 25 or 75 both seem right. But fifty? That's absurd! And he never got round to reforming the Clash ...
It's that time of year again.
Miniature Earth ... Sure, you may have already seen something like this before... but as we're about to turn the calendar over for another year, it's as good a time as any to thoughtfully reconsider the world we live in. Miniature Earth is a flash presentation that compresses the world's population down to a community of 100 people, and gives statistical proportions. Work with passion; Love without needing to be loved; appreciate what you have; and do your best to make a better world.
December 22
the spirit of hospice care for the terminally ill
The spirit of hospice - from a blogger with heart.
Where do the ebooks come from?
Distributed Proofreaders is a collaborative effort in proofreading ebooks before they are submitted to Project Guttenberg. [more inside]
Donald Rumsfeld quotations competition
Monumentae Rumsfeldiana: A soundbite competition for future tombstone use. [But should a British state-owned corporation like the BBC make official fun of an senior American government minister? Real Audio req. ]
Top 50 albums of 2002
And so it begins: while I've already seen half a dozen "best ___ of 2002" lists, the year end list I look forward to, Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums list is out for 2002. It's just the right mix between "so mainstream there are no surprises" and "so indie even your second cousin's girlfriend's brother in that band hasn't heard of them" though perhaps they're leaning towards the latter this year, seeing how I've only heard about a quarter of all the albums listed.
New U.S-backed radio for Iran
Twas the parody before Xmas
Twas the night before Xmas and all through the net,
The geeks would be googling the ascii character set;
Metafilter refreshed on their PCs with care,
In the hopes that their FPP soon would be there;
Then up in the blue there arose such a clatter,
Mathowie sprang up to see what's the matter;
When, what to my wondering eyes there should be,
The canonical list of "Twas" parodies.
'The Virgin Mary'
Tonight, the BBC took the controversial decision to screen a documentary which investigated the plausability of the life of The Virgin Mary as it appears in The Bible. As someone who's spiritual without commiting to any one religion, it was a fascinating look at a people and a time. But I can understand why Christians would be offended, especially since the programme suggested that Mary (or Miriam) wasn't a virgin at all, that she was a 'mother bringing up a wayward son under difficult circumstances'. Was this the kind of programme which should be shown at Christmas time?
Miss Violet Constance Jessop
The unsinkable Molly Brown Violet Jessop survived three White Star fleet shipwrecks. She was a stewardess onboard the RMS Titanic and RMS Olympic, and a nurses aid on the HMHS Britannic. Violet didn't even know how to swim when her lifeboat was shredded by the Britannic's massive propellers. This amazing woman went on to serve aboard the RMS Olympic after the war and is featured in more than one book.
Volunteer work over Christmas.
Crisis. The homelessness charity Crisis is looking for a few volunteers for work in London over the Christmas/New Year period. There is a list of current vacancies here. This seems to be quite a good thing to do if you are free over the holiday period, and I wonder if any MeFi'ers have considered getting involved in something like this?
It's spanish lottery madness season!
It's spanish lottery madness season! No less than 1.8 billion € Cash Payout for "El Gordo", most of it won today. You didn't have any ticket? Try "El Niño 2003" on january 6th - but only 560 € millions to win. All this makes me wonder: did any fo you ever won anything substancial in a lottery? I once won some stuffed pink bunny at a highschool year end party draw - that's as far as I could go.
Coffee, Tea or should we feel your pregnant wife's breasts
Coffee, tea or should we feel your pregnant wife's breasts? Well, like most of you I've read many personal accounts of the change in air travel since 9/11. But this one packs a major wallop, well written, infuriating and containing one of the best concluding sentences . . . ever. ( via Blogdex )
Wealthy Donors
We will take care of it for you The rich, or at least one rich guy in this article, donate money to their preferred political party out of deference to what's best for their employees. Is your boss looking out for your best interests?
Olduvai Theory,petroleum energyand mineral depletion stone age
The life-expectancy of Industrial Civilization is horridly short according to Richard C. Duncan and his Olduvai theory. Like all of these weird theories it can be found on the outer fringes of the Internet. Duncan's theory kind of tracks the Hubbert Curve model of petroleum depletion that has been posted before on this site. As Isaac Asimov has stated "Indeed, the ability to control energy, whether it be making wood fires or building power plants, is a prerequisite for civilization." Only time will tell if Duncan was on to something we should have paid attention to.
December 21
Election World
PoliSciFilter! Say you really wanted to know how the recent elections in the Seychelles went, or you needed to know the URL for the Turkish Communist Party. Check out Election World, rounding out the trio of recently posted political reference websites with a semi-comprehensive non-partisan database of every national election in every country on earth, including some countries where the results don't mean all that much, and some ominous blank spots where there are no election results worth reporting, plus a massive list of political parties (with weblinks) from virtually all over. Of course, if you want to find out whether these trappings of democracy are actually making a difference in people's lives, it's worth reading the Country Reports in the annual Freedom in the World survey, or just checking out what color country you're in on the PDF Map of Freedom.
US Companies Supplied Parts for Iraq Weapons Program
American and European Companies Profit from Iraqi Weapons What do Dupont, Hewlett Packard, and Eastman Kodak have in common? They all supplied parts for the Iraqi weapons program under Saddam Hussein, according to this list taken from Iraq's newly released weapon programs dossier. The Associated Press also weighs in with this wire report.
Riedel Wine Glasses
Can I Have A Glass For This? Yes, you can. Riedel make the best glasses in the world (well, with a little competition...), painstakingly suiting each drink to the best shape and size of container, for the benefit of nose, mouth, eyes and hold. A very recent addition, not yet found on their official list, is the bourbon glass, made with expert advise from Fred Noe, of the legendary Noe family, overlords of Jim Beam. Form means content indeed! More's the pity that the great majority of drinks are served in inappropriate glasses and therefore never fully enjoyed.
Meet J.C. Leyendecker, American illustrator
Meet J. C. Leyendecker, the Golden Boy of American Illustration. He helped codify the modern image of Santa Claus. His Baby New Year covers for the Saturday Evening Post invented a pop culture icon. He was "the most out front closeted gay man of the twentieth century" - a hugely popular artist whose work was often clearly homoerotic. The young Norman Rockwell used to stalk him and once said, "Leyendecker was my god." In 1905, he created advertising's first male sex symbol, the Arrow Shirt Man, which "defined the ideal American male" for decades, got more fan mail than Valentino and inspired a 1923 Broadway play. A detailed, opinionated biography and 14 pages of gorgeous Post covers.
World New York is back
Ladies, Gentlemen and New Yorkers, this is to inform you that World New York is back.
Who ruled what now?
Rulers.org is the semi-modest page with the task of listing every leader of every country ever. They have sections for Iraq, America, Greenland and every other country. [More inside]
Only 12 were built.
The GM Futureliner It began with the Streamliner and GM’s 1936 Parade of Progress, the brainchild of inventor Charles F. Kettering. The show was a tremendous success. Redesigned in 1941 and again in 1953, the 12 Futureliners and its band of Paraders were ready to hit the road, set up shop in a town near you, and showcase the marvels of science. Of the original 12 built, 9 have been found, 2 are being used for parts, 1 is for sale, and 1 is being lovingly restored by a group of volunteers. [more inside]
choppingblock.org
Have you hugged a psycho killer today? Possibly the best black humour on the whole of the Internet! Jason meets Dilbert... kinda
War on the Drug Czar
The Marijuana Policy Project, after several set backs, is taking a shot back at the Drug Czar, John P. Walters, whom they see as the main opponent to their failed initiatives in november.
rockabye baby
Lelo ledung, pu'va pu'va, eh-e... In honor of the shortest day of the year: Lullabies from around the world. Midis and mp3s, from Bangladesh to Turkey, to send you off to dreamland, wherever it may be.
US wrecks cheap drugs deal
US wrecks cheap drugs deal Many of us have sorely miss VP Dick Cheney. Here is what he has been up to of late. Gosh, we will sure try to help the sick and the dying. Just not for the forseeable future. See Dick act. See Dick block help. See Dick help lobbies.
The Sky At Night
The BBC television show The Sky At Night, which opened in April 1957, is one of the longest-running in the world. Its longevity is undoubtedly due to host and national treasure Sir Patrick Moore. Amongst his other contributions to mankind, the uniquely-voiced bemonacled one plays the xylophone [Flash], is an endless source of inspiration for comedians [MP3], and was, of course, the condescending yet benevolent GamesMaster. But in this festive season, can he explain the Star of Bethlehem [Real]?
December 20
Looking Through A Child's Eyes
Looking Through a Child's Eyes. The historical children's art collection at the very well maintained Papa Ink : the International Gallery of Children's Art features child drawings from many relevant events. Some of particular interest are Witness to Genocide: Children of Rwanda, holocaust drawings from the Jewish Ghetto in Terezin, treatment of women under the Taliban in Afganistan, and remnants from medieval Russia from a boy named Onfim.
Phish to offer SHN downloads of NYE and future shows
Live Phish (for flame's sake, this is not a post about the band itself) is a new service created by Phish through which people can download SHN or MP3's of their upcoming new years eve shows and burn them themselves, for a fee of course. The recordings are due to be available two days after the shows are over. It will be interesting to see if the service is successful and profitable. Assuming it is, will there be an effect on the music industry and the RIAA? Might they realize they can make money on music downloaded on the internet? Only time will tell.
Shooby, Master of the Air Saxophone
Shooby Taylor, the Human Horn, Has Been Found! In 1983, the retired postal worker, William "Shooby" Taylor, recorded a legendary bootleg tape at Angel Studios, Manhattan. After the tape attracted attention from the legendary freeform WFMU radio station, a underground cult of Shooby fans developed, enthralled by his unique scatting style resembling Dadaist sound poetry. Shooby was believed dead, but the dedicated efforts of his fans found him.
There's trouble in River City.
Quite possibly the most fun I've ever had with Flash. Oh, yes, there's trouble in River City, and only Jesus, Hitler, Ryu, and Custom Guy can save it.
Courtesy of the fine folks at Something Awful.
Footnotes to history
Let's cruise though the Footnotes to History which includes independent countries in the US [More inside]
DEA--Phooey!
Further Gov't WOD policy contradiction... Turns out the weel-publicised friendly fire incident in Afghanistan last year may now be attributed to the pilot and bobardier being strung out on speed? Why?
Because in the Air Force, crank is standard issue and refusal to partake can even render a pilot not fit for duty.
This is what they mean by "The War on Drugs"?
When museums were cemetaries
Futurism and the Futurists is a comprehensive (but oddly self-promotional) website showcasing the ideas, biographies, and works of the Italian Futurists. Enjoy the painting, poetry, the fabulous theatre "sentesi," and of course, all those lovely manifestos.
The first online provider of therapeutic cannabis:
Pot in Canada may soon be a click away with the launch of a home-delivery service for medical marijuana over the Internet (more info on Canada's medicinal pot laws here ).
Body image and intelligence
Brains vs. bathing suits. University of Michigan researchers gathered men and women together and had them try on either a bathing suit or a sweater to see which they preferred for 20 minutes. Then they were asked to take a math test to "pass the time." The results? No appreciable difference for men while women scored considerably lower while in bathing suits. Could obsession with appearance be holding our girls back?
Iraq
Iraq and the Arab's Future, by Fouad Ajami Some real background, and analysis.
Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time
Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time ? No Mr Magoo no Atom Ant, although Bugs Bunny, Homer Simpson, and Rocky and Bullwinkle in top spots may well be deserved. What a vast world to choose from in Toonopedia.
Researchers study Playboy centerfolds.
"Researchers" study 50 years of Playboy magazine and determine that the characteristic differences between men and women are becoming less pronounced.
Lott Resigns As GOP Leader
Lott Resigns As GOP Leader. Senator Lott has bowed to internal and external pressure and has resigned his position as Senate majority leader. He will, however, not resign from the Senate altogether. Will Republican be able to recover, or have they been permanently weakened? Will Democrats still be able to capitalize on the scandal?
Ana By Choice
"Ana By Choice". Oh dear. To maintain your christmas cheer, avoid this saddening message board. By the way, for the Brits out there: more people are on anti-depressants today than voted for Pop Idol.
Girl Culture - The Photography of Lauren Greenfield
Girl Culture, the photography of Lauren Greenfield explores the relationship that women and girls have with their bodies. Sometimes to positive effects, and sometimes to negative effects, but always intensely self-aware, as a guy I found myself often wondering how much of this was contrived for cheap effect. There is an underlying current of honesty in it though that makes it very effective.
1000 Miles in 1000 Hours
1000 Miles in 1000 Hours - London Marathon organizers plan to reproduce the feat achieved almost 200 years ago by a legendary sportsman and gambler called Captain Robert Barclay. Five contestants will run 1000 miles in 1000 hours and then compete in the London Marathon to decide the winner.
Leonard Cohen
Let Me See Your Beauty Broken Down: Here's an illuminating song-by-song commentary of the work of Leonard Cohen, along with a slide-show of his "Closing Time" notebook; some dodgy drawings; a lot of grainy photos of the great man, and Pico Iyer's liner notes for the recently released Essential Songs. Yeah, right. As if anything he ever wrote or sang or said wasn't. [Cohen fans will forgive the shabby web design. Thank you woods lot for the heads-up.]
Smallpox Vaccination?
Smallpox Vaccination? The New England Journal of Medicine made available today an early release of articles from their planned January 30, 2003 issue, designed "to help inform the current national debate about smallpox vaccination" [more inside....articles unfortunately available only in PDF....]
December 19
An Exercise in Identity
An Exercise in Identity A group of writers seeks to collaborate under a single pseudonym, not for fear of scorn or ridicule, but presumably because they think it makes for better business. Do readers have a right to know who a work's author really is, or can identity just be another aspect of the fictional work? (via Kuro5hin queue)
Professor Longhair
"Picasso of keyboard funk" - Professor Longhair would be 84 today if he were still alive. His distinctive meld of boogie woogie, blues, funk and Latin makes for piano that is quintessentially New Orleans...Tipitinas, one of the more famous local music bars, took its name from his signature song. "Fess" was a seminal influence on such musical greats as James Booker, Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint, Art Neville, Doctor John and Marcia Ball, one of my current favorites. You can hear a few Fess samples from Crawfish Fiesta, arguably his best recording, issued just after he died in 1980. He was inducted in the R&R Hall of Fame as an early influencer in 1993. Happy birthday, Professor!
Soccer Penalty Shoot-Outs Can Trigger Heart Attacks
Soccer Penalty Shoot-Outs Cause Heart Attacks English reasearchers have determined heart attacks increased shortly after an England/Argentina match that ended in a penalty shoot out. They conclude that in the interest of public health, penalty shots should be abandoned. Are they seriously saying this with a straight face? And what on earth prompted such a study?
F-22 Raptor
The F-22 Raptor is the next generation fighter for the United States. At nearly 97 million each, it will be deployed in 2004.This site gives a remarkably detailed report regarding its design and function. Including such gems as "first-look, first-shot, first-kill capability" and " Humans are good differentiators, but they are poor integrators."
Flash mouse-controlled face
Come up and see me, make me smile. [Flash mouse-over from Bifurcated Rivets.]
Cubs sue rooftop owners
With negotiations breaking down, the Chicago Cubs have decided to sue "rooftop clubs" that sell tickets to watch games on rooftops surrounding Wrigley Field. Apparently the tickets cost between $70-$130. The Cubs are claiming unjust enrichment and public performance of a copyrighted work, due to the "clubs" showing the games to patrons via television. (via the Trademark Blog)
Hairless animals
The Naked Mole-Rat is naturally naked. Conversely, these others are naked for reasons of disease (like this bear with alopecia and
hairless chimpanzee) or mutation (the Sphynx cat; the Mexican hairless dog; the Chinese Crested Dog; the Naked Chicken; the Hairless Rat; a hairless ferret; the Nude Mouse; and the
Hairless Hamster). What is the attraction of encouraging mutations that make normally furry animals furless?
Polyhedra Polymath
Prof. George W. Hart, of the Computer Science Department at SUNY Stony Brook, has an enviable web presence. His Encyclopedia of Polyhedra alone is worth the visit, his geometric sculptures make the nerd in me weep at their beauty, and his trilobite recipe looks mighty yummy.
Blogging about your job.
The job, the blog, and you. Interesting Washington Post article I ran across today that discusses the pitfalls about blogging about your job. Makes some good points, especially how the blogging community needs to take account of things such as non-disclosure clauses in employment contracts.
Senator Says State Sponsor of Sept 11th
On PBS last week, Senator Bob Graham said that there is "evidence that there were foreign governments involved in facilitating the activities of at least some of the terrorists in the United States," but that "It will become public at some point when it's turned over to the archives, but that's 20 or 30 years from now. And, we need to have this information now because it's relevant to the threat that the people of the United States are facing today." Do you trust the government to keep the right informatin classified, or do we need to know?
Sticky Prestige
Photos and more photos from the Nautile’s firsts dives to the Prestige wreck, a single-hulled tanker that broke in two while it was towed to open sea after the discovery of a breach in its hull.
It has been an ecologic and economic disaster for Galicia, Spanish’ northwest coastal region famous for its seafood. But it also has been a political scandal for the PP (Partido Popular), in the government both in Galicia’s autonomic parliament and in the central government, because of its late response and efforts to hide the catastrophe manipulating the public broadcast system (and the friendly private networks). Too little, too late, Jose Maria Aznar.
While politicians throw shit to each other, a quarter of the 20.5 million gallons of fuel oil already spilled are now spreading through the coastline covering everything with what locals call “chapapote”, a sticky mix of sea water, fuel oil and sand. The Prestige sits now at 3.500 meters of depth, slowly leaking fuel oil to the surface. The Nautile, one of the few mini submarine that has been used to record and take pictures from the Titanic wreck, it’s being hired by the Spanish government to asses the situation (Spanish language link) and try to stop the leakage.
Popular action in the form of a white tide of volunteers has been phenomenal, forcing the government to act and assume responsibilities. But the issue at hand is much larger: will the European Union effectively ban single-hulled tankers? Why the rules that govern the seas permit flag of convenience ships that can elude so easily its responsibility?
See more images (slideshow).
It has been an ecologic and economic disaster for Galicia, Spanish’ northwest coastal region famous for its seafood. But it also has been a political scandal for the PP (Partido Popular), in the government both in Galicia’s autonomic parliament and in the central government, because of its late response and efforts to hide the catastrophe manipulating the public broadcast system (and the friendly private networks). Too little, too late, Jose Maria Aznar.
While politicians throw shit to each other, a quarter of the 20.5 million gallons of fuel oil already spilled are now spreading through the coastline covering everything with what locals call “chapapote”, a sticky mix of sea water, fuel oil and sand. The Prestige sits now at 3.500 meters of depth, slowly leaking fuel oil to the surface. The Nautile, one of the few mini submarine that has been used to record and take pictures from the Titanic wreck, it’s being hired by the Spanish government to asses the situation (Spanish language link) and try to stop the leakage.
Popular action in the form of a white tide of volunteers has been phenomenal, forcing the government to act and assume responsibilities. But the issue at hand is much larger: will the European Union effectively ban single-hulled tankers? Why the rules that govern the seas permit flag of convenience ships that can elude so easily its responsibility?
See more images (slideshow).
Do the Terrorists Care about Teenage Smoking?
Information deemed useful to terrorists is disappearing from government Web sites. I know this is old news, but this article details some of the specifics of whas has been happening. "The previous presumption, that publicly-funded information is the rightful property of the public until proven otherwise, has been replaced by the presumption that the public has to prove to a suspicious government that it deserves the information." I understand that as a nation we are hypersensitive now to terrorism, but isn't this just what the terrorists want? The loss of our freedoms to information?
Auto death ray
Zap those road burners!! Following up yesterday's banal car-talk thread, the Guardian reports that Dubya's Son of Star Wars is already taking out, inadvertantly , its first targets. In this instance hapless BMWs and Jeeps. Excellent I say- go for anything over two tons, 4WD, and moving on on a public thoroughfare.
Isidore-of-Seville.com
Alexander. Hieroglyphs. The Vinland Map. D-Day. Rob Roy. And much more. At Isidore-of-Seville.com, Timothy Spalding has quietly assembled an unusually rich, assiduously maintained collection of web guides and resources on selected historical subjects.
bp's environmental makeover
Beyond petroleum? British Petroleum’s recent $200-million makeover into sunny-logoed bp seems to respond to mounting concerns over pollution, global warming, and wars for oil. By advocating alternatives to the very product that has made it the world’s seventh-largest company, it also seems like economic suicide. In accordance with their environmental goals, they've helped release bald eagles in Manhattan and bring solar power to rural Tibet, but many remain unconvinced. Each bp ad ended with the same tagline: “It’s a start.” Is it?
Snoop
Shizzolate dat sh*t, homey! Snoop can help funkify and shizzolate yo' site, B. That's his word, dogg. (This is amusing for a solid 40 seconds...)
United States Should Lead, Not Dominate
The United States should lead, not dominate. A piece by former U.S. President Bill Clinton. "From the dawn of human society up to the present time, we have been bedeviled by a persistent curse: the compulsion people feel to define the meaning of their lives in positive terms with reference to those who are like them racially, tribally, culturally, religiously, politically, and by negative reference to those who are different"
Familiar layout?
Familiar layout? Most of you know Noah Grey, and most of you will also know how much he values his intellectual property. This makes it even sadder when someone goes through the effort of bypassing Noah's 'please don't steal'-script, rips off his design, and even puts his own copyright information in Noah's disclaimer.
Besides the fact that this is morally wrong, is there anything that someone can actually do about this sort of thing? Suing is probably not the best option as that would be very costly and time-consuming, since the owner of this particular design lives in the US, and the 'thief' lives in Europe
Besides the fact that this is morally wrong, is there anything that someone can actually do about this sort of thing? Suing is probably not the best option as that would be very costly and time-consuming, since the owner of this particular design lives in the US, and the 'thief' lives in Europe
Meet Senator Burns
Meet Senator Burns (R-Montana) "...The senator said the rancher asked him, "Conrad, how can you live back there with all those niggers?"...Senator Burns said he told the rancher it was"a hell of a challenge."...The anecdote was published and Senator Burns apologized...in 1991, immediately after a civil rights bill had been passed, Senator Burns invited a group of lobbyists, some of them white and some of them black, to accompany him to an auction....When asked what was being auctioned, he replied, "Slaves."
Euro Diffusion
Euro diffusion: "On January 2002 twelve European countries [plus San Marino, the Vatican and Monaco] have welcomed the euro as their new coin. The euro coins have a national side, which is different for every country... So there are fifteen different euro coins that can be used in every one of those 15 countries. Therefore, unlike in the past, the coins will not be collected and brought back to their home country. The coins will slowly but surely be spreaded over the 15 countries. This is the diffusion of the euro, the euro diffusion[.pdf file]."
A statistician's playground, this unique historical opportunity, is leading to interesting collaborative internet projects
The richest 1 percent
Are the Republicans the party of the wealthy? According to http://www.opensecrets.org that may not be the case.
Mass arrests of Muslims in LA
Mass arrests of Muslims in LA. The BBC is reporting US immigration officials in Southern California have detained hundreds of Iranians and other Muslim men who turned up to register under residence laws brought in as part of the anti-terror drive.
CNN, FOX News, and the like have extensive coverage.....sort of.
CNN, FOX News, and the like have extensive coverage.....sort of.
Korea DMZ
korea-dmz.com is a site devoted to not only the history of the DMZ, but also some unexpected treats.
Basic Hip Digital Oddio
Basic Hip Digital Oddio - About ten really good Metafilter posts in one place. Way too much good stuff here. I'm going to list a few things that I really enjoyed, feel free to discuss anything else on the site too.
Tony Schwartz: Documented life in NY from a personal wire recorder. Listen to this endearing 20 min winamp stream of his adoption of a dog. For the International Typographic Association, he attempted to produce what type and lettering might sound like.
Brother Bones: Listen to this legend 'play them bones' on the definitive Sweet Georgia Brown (aka: Harlem Globetrotters Theme).
Gerald McBoingBoing: Dr.Seuss tale as told by The Great Gildersleeve.
Kenyon Hopkins: Incredible unsung composer, check out Esquire's Sound Tour series.
Tony Schwartz: Documented life in NY from a personal wire recorder. Listen to this endearing 20 min winamp stream of his adoption of a dog. For the International Typographic Association, he attempted to produce what type and lettering might sound like.
Brother Bones: Listen to this legend 'play them bones' on the definitive Sweet Georgia Brown (aka: Harlem Globetrotters Theme).
Gerald McBoingBoing: Dr.Seuss tale as told by The Great Gildersleeve.
Kenyon Hopkins: Incredible unsung composer, check out Esquire's Sound Tour series.
BBC 7: New Comedy Radio Channel
December 18
Seatguru
Choose your seat wisely. Okay, so you already know what your meal is going to be. But, so much of your travel experience depends on the quality of your seat. Seatguru has not only seat maps, but reviews of most seats on the big 6 US airlines. (For links to more seat maps, brave the pop-ups and go here.)
Did we forget to AD the movie?
Ad this.
After seeing a movie premiere last night my idea of advertising is tainted. The movie was listed to start at 12:01 am. Unfortunately there were some ads to kick off the feature. The first ad was met with an ovation of boo's...followed by the next 8. Then came the trailers...another 6. Ironically, an actor from the movie was present and introduced himself much to everyones enjoyment. However, he preceded to plug his next movie (aaaahhhh). Finally came the movie came...just under a half hour later.
Point -> The whole process seemed to take the wind out of the start of the film.
After seeing a movie premiere last night my idea of advertising is tainted. The movie was listed to start at 12:01 am. Unfortunately there were some ads to kick off the feature. The first ad was met with an ovation of boo's...followed by the next 8. Then came the trailers...another 6. Ironically, an actor from the movie was present and introduced himself much to everyones enjoyment. However, he preceded to plug his next movie (aaaahhhh). Finally came the movie came...just under a half hour later.
Point -> The whole process seemed to take the wind out of the start of the film.
War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning The AC130 video thread yesterday got me interested in this book. The author - a veteran New York Times war correspondent - argues that, to many people, war provides a purpose for living; allowing individuals to rise above regular life and participate in a noble cause. He discusses nationalism, the wartime silencing of intellectuals and artists, the ways in which even a supposedly skeptical press glorifies the battlefield and other universal features of war, arguing not for pacifism but for responsibility and humility on the part of those who wage war.
Tissue-san!
Tissue-san! In direct contrast to the recent IKEA ad campaigns, Japan seems to embrace the concept of product as person, with the same end result -- consumers buy more stuff at an accelerated rate. Both routes utilize the same tact though, using Anthropomorphism to grab the viewers attention. Is this the natural progression of things to come? (link via boing boing)
Not another anti-SUV thread.
"This car isn't meant to be an SUV, a mini-van, or a sedan" ... becuase, of course, it's a station wagon (the body type that dare not speak its name), albeit a sleek new Chrysler Pacifica, now starring in double-page spreads in your finer magazines. The Europeans have never stopped making great wagons, but its been a while since anything less apalling than the Taurus Wagon came out of Detroit or Tokyo.
The Boner Awards 2K2
The Nashville Scene proudly presents the 12th Annual Boner Awards. Named for disgraced Nashville mayor Bill Boner, this is a rundown of all things "goofy, grisly and gnarly" that went down this year in Music City. From nude fender-benders to shop-lifting Vice Mayors, it's local interest, Nashvegas style.
(The previous few years are also available for the truly curious.)
(The previous few years are also available for the truly curious.)
Hell Bent
"Hell Bent" - the title I've given this sculpture, is the culmination of an untold number of hours work. The sculpture depicts a modern Formula One car at speed, mid-turn, and indeed in the wet.
Buffalo Bill
Renaissance Man... Prospector, Trapper, Pony Express Rider, Army Scout, Buffalo Hunter, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, National Folk Hero, Supreme Showman, at one time the most famous and recognizable man on the planet, he was also an anti-slavery fighter, a Peacemaker, advocate for the rights of Indians and women, and a conservationist. 1700 fictional dime novels were written about him, but his real-life adventures made him bigger than life. William F. Cody, aka Buffalo Bill.
Cluster Bombs, The American Gift That Keeps On Giving
Cluster Bombs: The American Gift That Keeps On Giving. "During its air war in Afghanistan, the United States dropped nearly a quarter-million cluster bomblets that killed or injured scores of civilians, especially children, both during and after strikes, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today....Human Rights Watch found that the United States did not take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties, as required by international humanitarian law....As of November 2002, the International Committee of the Red Cross had identified 127 civilian casualties to cluster bomb duds-a number it stressed was only a partial tally of the total killed and injured since many go unreported. An astonishing 69% of the casualties were children."
Gawker.com
Gawker.com has arrived. All about New York, "Condé Nastiness, downwardly-mobile i-bankers, real estate porn -- the serious stuff". It's all good. It also looks like the latest attempt to make a living out of blogging. Will that ever happen?
Golf Protests?
augustadiscriminates.org is the website of choice for Martha Burk and the NCWO's "Hall of Hipocrisy", where they name the CEOs of companies who are members of Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters golf tournament. Burk has protested that Augusta should be banned from holding the Masters because they have not let women into their membership. So far, the Masters will have no corporate sponsorship in its broadcast on CBS. A few execs and pols have exited the ranks of members. Will more happen in the coming months to open the doors to women?
On a side note, you can check out theburkstopshere.com where you'll find a collection of links to websites protesting Martha Burk.
Telemarketers beware ...
FTC creates national ‘do not call’ list While there have been state lists for quite some time, and some organizations (like the DMA) maintain do-not-call lists requiring members to honor DNC requests, the FCC is now talking about a single, federal list that would require compliance from all telemarketers, and levy fines for non-compliance. Is this the end of telemarketing as we know it today?
And this just in, from Germany ...
And this just in, from Germany ... This story is all the rage over there. It's a little too sick to describe, so I'll let you do the reading. What I find odd is that this article (from the English version of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) says he might have been "inspired by Jeffrey Dahmer," and the article in the NYTimes quotes a German saying he would expect this sort of thing in America, but not in his own country.
So I ask you: When did America become the home of ritualistic cannibals?
The Two Towers
At the time of posting, Rotten Tomatoes has 1 'rotten' review and 76 'fresh' reviews for Peter Jackson's The Two Towers. I thought it was a superb film, but I hardly thought it would unite the critics like this. This has got to be one of the most universally praised films of all time!
AOL owns Instant Messaging?
AOL owns Instant Messaging? - MSNBC is reporting that AOL's subsidary ICQ has received a patent for Instant Messaging. I would have thought IRC was enough prior art to invalidate the claim, but the Patent Office knows best. Can AOL put the genie back in the bottle?
There's a lot going on in Venezuela.
There's a lot going on in Venezuela. Today they're marching. Yesterday the president responded to Bush's recommendations. Two days ago, the chief of Venezuela's army "condemned the strike."
Why are they striking in Venezuela? Oil, Oil, Oil, Oil.
(And I thought we could only get it from the Middle East!)
Full Metal Challenge
Pehaps one of the advantages of massive cable channel proliferation is the market for geek sports. Full Metal Challenge is the latest creation of Cathy Rogers(slashdot) who also produced Scrapyard Challenge/Junkyard Wars. (Previously discussed here almost two years ago.) Contestants are given $3,000 and a month to build their own vehicle to compete in a variety of challenges with names "sumo", "wetropolis", and "hall of mirrors." One of the things that makes this show work is the color commentary by Rennaissance punk Henry Rollins.
Lower Manattan Redevelopment
WTC Redevelopment Today at 1pm EST, the 7 proposed new plans for redevelopment of the former World Trade Center site will be revealed. Currently, they're carrying the announcements of the new proposals (with architect descriptions of their projects) live on wnyc.org on the Brian Lehrer Show.
Headless Maggie
Man Beheads (statue of) Margaret Thatcher. His "sense of 'satirical humour' left him no choice but to carry out the attack" on the £150,000 Maggie as 'artistic expression and [his] right to interact with this broken world.' Jury fails to convict and a retrial is scheduled. Perhaps there is a creative solution to replacing the head?
Surely they must be wrong!
All together now: NO! 32 Asian nations tell the Bush admin where to stick its opinions on abortion
Comic Thief Confronted
Comic Thief Confronted Notorious Boston joke thief confronted, makes the Boston Herald, causes buzz, makes the comedy trade magazines. Why is the confrontation of a hack comic newsworthy? Because it almost NEVER HAPPENS.
Jim Crow
No White Man To Lose His Vote In Virginia.
Some background resources for l'affaire de Lott:
Lecture Summary: Reconstruction; Race and Place: An African-American Community In The Jim Crow South; The Rise And Fall of Jim Crow; Jim Crow Laws; Remembering Jim Crow; Behind The Veil; The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia; The Politics of Disfranchisement: White Supremacy and African-American Resistance in Charlottesville, Virginia, 1900-1925; Photographs of Sign Enforcing Racial Discrimination and Jump Jim Crow, or did Emancipation Make A Difference?
Some background resources for l'affaire de Lott:
Lecture Summary: Reconstruction; Race and Place: An African-American Community In The Jim Crow South; The Rise And Fall of Jim Crow; Jim Crow Laws; Remembering Jim Crow; Behind The Veil; The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia; The Politics of Disfranchisement: White Supremacy and African-American Resistance in Charlottesville, Virginia, 1900-1925; Photographs of Sign Enforcing Racial Discrimination and Jump Jim Crow, or did Emancipation Make A Difference?
Local Heroes
There's one man that represents where I was brought up in Lancashire. Steeplejack Fred Dibnah. His interests include industrial archeology, traction engines and wearing flat caps. Recently he has been making history programmes for the BBC where his enthusiasm and interest in what other people are saying is given a fresh twist by his working class perspective and respect for the builders of castles, mills etc.
A great man with his own way with words.
So, who are your local heroes?
The Federal Theatre Project
The Federal Theatre Project Collection. "The Federal Theatre Project was the largest and most ambitious effort mounted by the Federal Government to organize and produce theater events. It was an effort of the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to provide work for unemployed professionals in the theater during the Great Depression which followed the stock market crash of October 1929." Arguably the high water mark in the history of live theatre in America, The Federal Theatre Project was a program introduced as part of The New Deal. The production archives for three of the major productions (two by Orsen Welles) are of particular interest. The success of Tim Robbins' The Cradle Will Rock may have influenced other's perceptions about the importance of Mark Blitzstein's lackluster (but controversial) play of the same title.
One-in, one-out: the nominations.
One-in, one-out: the nominations. "Who should be granted honorary British citizenship and who should have it revoked?" The BBC's Today programme has its annual poll and this year, it claims, is a little different. Various celebrities, politicians etc will be giving their opinions and the result will be announced on New Year's Day. Who will you be voting for?
December 17
Christmas Meals Around The World
XXXmas! Wherever and whoever's celebrating, no matter what your religious beliefs are, Xmas (in the Christian-dominated world at least) means over-indulgence and conspicuous consumption. The standard fare and behaviour, however, vary wildly. Here's a standard Christmas menu for Portugal and a glimpse into one of Barcelona's less savoury traditions to start the ball rolling. Just how different are MeFi Xmas experiences? Hey, do they have anything in common at all?
Nowhere girl
Warren Ellis Interviews the author of Nowhere Girl, which is a long running graphic novel on the web. The author refuses to put it into a traditional print format because she whould lose control over her work.
Warren Ellis interviews her and talks about this.
One man's 'Daily Photo Project'
This guy takes a picture of himself every day. A guy takes a picture of himself every day and puts it online in a large montage. A moustache, braces, and mullet all creep in during the proceeds, only for him to now look much like he did when he started. (Found on design portal, NewsToday)
lesbian locker room
Lesbian sues over locker room ban. A 14-year old middle school girl is forbidden from sharing a locker room with the other girls because she is a lesbian. Meanwhile, on the other coast (NYT link): New York gay rights bill passes.
Bombing campaigns - what do you bomb?
"Hitting Home: Coercive Theory, Air Power and Authoritarian Targets" will answer your questions on how aerial bombardment fits into the range of options between coercive diplomacy and total war, questions such as: -- What should be targeted for bombing? -- Exactly how much do you need to destroy to achieve your government's political objectives?
This Kid's Got Talent
Look out Aretha, here comes Joanna Levesque --an eleven year old, R&B prodigy, who has been wowing 'em since age two. She has major recording labels knocking at her door but hasn't signed with anyone yet. I discovered Joanna's music by accident browsing on CD Baby. Her voice is amazingly mature and oh-so-soulful! LISTEN. Do you think she's the next and future Queen of Soul?
"You are now clear to engage the vehicles."
"You are now clear to engage the vehicles." (Warning: 5.5 meg Windows Media video.) This video purports to be the gunsight view of an American AC-130 gunship targetting a compound, and its inhabitants and vehicles, in Afghanistan. Complete with battlefield audio. While I can't guarantee its provenance, it does appear to show what it says. Leaving that aside: How do you react to this footage? Does it change your view of the engagement in Afghanistan? Should more people see this footage? What has the lack of this sort of footage -- didn't we see much more of this sort of battlefield view during the Gulf War? -- meant to the war effort, and the war at home?
Rappers often killed by their own lifestyle?
Rappers often killed by their own lifestyle? Maybe they are right? maybe phillyhiphop.com should call for a boycott of the Metro for printing this prime example of cheap, ill-researched, obtuse journalism (.pdf, html in the phillyhiphop.com article). Yes it is offensive, but is a boycott the only way we can react to piss-poor journalism?
Porcupine porcupine porcupine racetrack Porcupine porcupine porcupine racetrack
Now I know what you're thinking, Barry and Levon, where did you get a quicktime archive of every The State skit? Shhhh.....don't worry your pretty head about it, it ain't your concern. Now if you excuse me I got to whisper sweet nothings to two-hundred and forty dollars worth of pudding.
LAPL's Menu Collection
Christmas Dinner, 1884. A large online database of restaurant menus from the Los Angeles Public Library's collection. Dating from the 1860s to the 1990s, most are from California establishments. Part of this set of LA-related collections.
The search for the perfect adjective
The search for the perfect adjective Everyone wants to become a writer these days, it seems. And why not - with software such as this (wow), you can practically automate the process, or you can hire a novelist to write the novel for you, so you can concentrate on getting paid for touring the country to read out loud. No wonder we now have so many book clubs to sort out what to read. Hope we have enough trees.
E-Government Act
Bush Orders Missile System Deployed
Bush Orders Missile System Deployed. President Bush on Tuesday ordered the military to begin deploying a national missile defense system with land- and sea-based interceptor rockets to be operational starting in 2004.
The decision to begin deploying a national missile defense, which has been criticized by Russia and China, follows North Korea's announcement this month that it will proceed with a controversial program to develop nuclear weapons. Is the sky actually falling?
Listening Post
Listening Post: Giving Voice to Online Communication One of the most realized multimedia installations ever presented, the work of Mark Hansen from Bell Labs and Ben Rubin from earstudio. Essential.
Racist Comments in Canada
Ahenakew Apologizes . In the interests of full disclosure, we Canucks have our own racist boneheads who embarass us as much as Trent Lott embarasses Americans. David Ahenakew is a former leader of the Assembly of First Nations and possesses Canada's highest civilian award, The Order of Canada. And just a few days ago he spewed vile racist comments... (more)
Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto is the founder of the Institute y Libertad Democracia, one of the world's premier think-tanks on economic development, based in Peru. His argument is that development in the third-world has failed because of institutional barriers which prevent ordinary citizens from legally registering their own property. His viewpoint is not unchallenged though, as Robert J. Samuelson challenges that he overlooks significant cultural differences between the West and "the Rest". These differences reward different values than the West's capitalism, and cause development to take a very different course than Western economists predict it should.
802.11b wireless and the Department of Defense
Toad in a Tomb
Animals trapped in stone have been reported many times, but do you believe it? Why has there been so little investigation of these claims? It could be the key to re-animation...
Kitewings
Are you bored with your basic windsports? Grab a Kitewing, and speed along on your favorite skis, snowboard, or skates at speeds approaching 65MPH. Still too tame? Hold the wing horizontal and you'll go vertical. Just make sure to call your mom from the hospital.
2002's worst Americans...are YOU on the list?
2002's worst Americans...are YOU on the list? Whomever could be number #1?
Globalization
Nobel Laureate says it is right to rebel against globalization. "The protests against globalisation are often ungainly, ill-tempered, simplistic, frenzied and frantic, even highly disruptive. And yet, they also serve the function of questioning and disputing the unexamined contentment about the world in which we live." [Exact quote- British spelling]
The Blue Hole
1) See! the mysterious Blue Hole of Castalia.
2) Drive east 524 miles.
3)See! the mysterious Blue Hole, lair of the Jersey Devil.
4) Fly 1600 miles south
5) See! the mysterious Blue Hole of Belize.
2) Drive east 524 miles.
3)See! the mysterious Blue Hole, lair of the Jersey Devil.
4) Fly 1600 miles south
5) See! the mysterious Blue Hole of Belize.
Santa Lives on the South Pole....of Mars?
Santa found living on the South Pole....of Mars!?! Mysterious tracks that look like 250-mile long ski or sled trails have been found near the South Pole of Mars.
Researchers at the University of Colorado have found the broad, sweeping lines cutting through a section of the southern ice caps of the frigid planet, but haven't a clue what caused them. via the excellent laputan logic
USA intelligence agencies revealed
USA intelligence agencies revealed Ok. But we get 5% of our oil from there. You decide.
corkscrews
The Virtual Corkscrew Museum - this extensive site in the "magnificent obsession" genre contains more than 3700 photos of corkscrews and related items. The variety is delightful. Some of my favorites are the Mannekin Pis, the helping hands and the Buster Brown Shoes. Oh, and the holiday greetings from readers. Be warned that some pages have sound and a corny quotient, and you'll have to e-mail the webmaster if you want to see the erotic collection.
Too Long In Japan
You've been in Japan too long when... A) ...you are not surprised to wake up in the morning and find that the woman who stayed over last night has completely cleaned your apartment, even though you'll probably never ever meet her again.
B) ...you are not surprised to wake up in the morning and find that the woman who stayed over last night has completely cleaned your apartment, even though you'll probably never ever meet her again.
C) ...your hair is thinning and you consider it "barcode style".
Or perhaps if you're unsurprised that such a historically isolationist nation is now so uniquely and openly fascinated with the opinions of those who have moved to their land...wow. This is somewhere I must travel to.
December 16
Senator Blanche K. Bruce
Senator Blanche K. Bruce was the first black person to serve a full term in the United States Senate (representing Mississippi from 1875 to 1881), and the first person born into slavery to preside over the Senate. The Senate Commission on Art recently unveiled a newly-acquired portrait of this determined leader.
Touch my bum!
Touch My Bum! This is LIFE!
Santa is REAL!
Yes, Boston, there really is a Santa Claus. After a spate of posts lately, a Boston-area graffiti tagger reassures the city of the jolly old elf's existence. The Phoenix wonders why.
Iraqis want war
Iraqis welcome war to remove Saddam A survey (.pdf) taken inside(!) Iraq says Iraqis would favor a war to topple Saddam. The report itself is more interesting than the Independent piece.
The overall impression...was one of exasperation and even anger after twelve years of uncertainty and international isolation and even more years of warfare, combined with a growing sense that the current regime's days are numbered.
The report is most interesting in the details of Iraqis' expectations: that advanced US technology will somehow anesthetize Iraqi soldiers rather than hurt them, the US will rebuild their country for them, there will be no breakup of Iraq, nor postwar bloodbath, etc.
A fascinating and important portrait of a people at the end of their rope.
The overall impression...was one of exasperation and even anger after twelve years of uncertainty and international isolation and even more years of warfare, combined with a growing sense that the current regime's days are numbered.
The report is most interesting in the details of Iraqis' expectations: that advanced US technology will somehow anesthetize Iraqi soldiers rather than hurt them, the US will rebuild their country for them, there will be no breakup of Iraq, nor postwar bloodbath, etc.
A fascinating and important portrait of a people at the end of their rope.
NYT: Oops
No giant sea sparrow is known to be endangered by the eating habits of goats. ...so quoth the NYT. Funniest correction I've seen in a while; even better than the ones in the Guardian.
Modern Drunkard's Bar Signs
Bar Signs. Modern Drunkard has posted a handy guide for the alcoholic in us all, a set of gestures to communicate your needs when it's too loud to hear, or just because, as the site says, "when words come out, whiskey can't get in."
The world looks wretched from the bottom of a glass
Columnist too hung over to cover case of alcoholic Rosie Di Manno, Toronto Star: “I drank to grotesque excess the other night, waking up the morning after with a double-whammy red-wine-and-nicotine hangover.... The upshot is that I missed a full day of the trial I've been covering the past couple of weeks – a $750,000 civil suit brought by [Thomas] Kerr against nine police officers.... That night... was one of the few, very few, evenings over the past quarter-century when Kerr wasn't sloshed.” Journalist, heal thyself.
Americans Fire Back Over Column
Americans Fire Back Over Column This Toronto Star article comes right at the heels of ealier MeFi post (Canadian American Relations).
Hypothetical Future Value?
Self-fulfilling Prophecy? Enron video says maybe... A video from an Enron company party from 1997 shows executives or other employees playing execs making jokes during skits about how to make "a kazillion dollars" et al. Some of the "methods" they speak of apparently are exactly the things that brought the company down. Looks like the cat was let out of the bag in front of a lot of unsuspecting individuals..
Art inspired by Stevie Nicks
Stand back! Johanna can throw a little something together for the Stevie Nicks fan on your list. Ooh baby Ooh said Ooh. Don't forget to dress up your desktop on the way out. via the lovely and talented Davezilla.
John Bonham lives!
John Bonham lives! Crank up your tiny labtec speakers and rock out in the manner to which you are accustomed.
Laughter capital of the world ?
Laughter capital of the world? "Declining audiences, dull material, complacent comics: a crisis is looming ....London suddenly appears to be in the grip of a recession for the first time since the alternative comedy boom took off at the beginning of the 1980s." From a nation exporting Bill Bailey(live in NYC this week) ,Eddie Izzard, Ali G, can this really be happening? (BTW I always thought Canada tried to lay a claim to this crown?)
LEGOdeath
Even unto the grave, still the little LEGOmen smile. [Flash]
The mind has no firewall
"The mind has no Firewall" A discussion on the development of "Psychotronic" weapons From the US Army publication, 'Parameters': "An entirely new arsenal of weapons, based on devices designed to introduce subliminal messages or to alter the body's psychological and data-processing capabilities, might be used to incapacitate individuals." Ominous? Inevitable?
A Case of Curiousities
A Case of Curiousities - Fine Art Taxidermy and Assemblage "Specializing in elegantly displayed antique, vintage and unusual contemporary taxidermy & entomological specimens for the collector of curiosa." The Walter Potter Gallery creeps the everloving shit out of me (it's.. a kitten.. with eight legs and two tails...), but you have to admit this floral arrangement of kittens is simply adorable.
stolen fancy cellphone
Ruby-encrusted cellphone lost by professional drag-racer at nightclub. Put this item in the pantheon with the gold-plated toilet, glow-in-the-dark volleyball net, and other stuff nobody needs. Maybe it's the Grinch in me...is it cool, foolish, or immoral to spend $20,000 on a platinum-plated gadget? (via obscurestore)
Creative Commons launches
Open Source Copyright. As a follow-up to this thread, Creative Commons has now officially launched. I'm quite interested to see the various content creators who take these licenses and run with them - amateur filmmakers, independent musicians, authors, writers, and technologists .....should have groups like the MPAA and RIAA quaking in their boots.
Ashcroft's Very Chocolate Brownies
"Eat ye that which is good and let your soul delight itself in fatness." Can John Ashcroft find salvation in a recipe for chocolate brownies? Hey, every little bit helps.
The Almighty $
Christians become aquainted with the Almighty. "When the Wheat Ridge man got laid off from his computer-programming job in June, his friends and family asked what they could do to help. He asked them to pray for him and offered a daily reminder: an automated text message on cellphones and pagers.
Now, Wostenberg, a devout Catholic, is offering that same technology to anyone who wants a psalm sent to him each day at 3 p.m. He's selling the service online at PsalmWeaver.com
He charges $19.95 a year, plus a $4 setup fee."
December 15
Essentially, Canadians regard all Americans as morons, unless proven otherwise
Canadian American Relations According to the Guardian: essentially, Canadians regard all Americans as morons, unless proven otherwise.
Republicans and Civil Rights
Republicans and Civil Rights A somewhat opinionated but generally fact- and history-based (which is why I found it unusual enough to post) look at the place of the Republican party in the history of American civil rights.
Not Just Whistling Dixie
The neo-Confederacy movement is a potent force in the Republican Party in today's South, as Trent Lott's comments about Strom Thurmond demonstrate. Trent Lott has neo-Confederate ties, as does John Ashcroft who praised Jefferson Davis in an interview with the Southern Partisan magazine. Associated with the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans, adherents of the neo-Confederate movement can even buy T-shirts gloating transforming the Republican Party into Abraham Lincoln's worst nightmare.
No More Gore in '04
Gore won't run for re-election; Howard Dean, John Edwards respond by asking who the other is.
10 Country Expansion Of European Union
My Union Is Bigger Than Your Union: On May 1 2004 the European Union will become 25-country strong and the most powerful political and economic force in the world. And? [More inside.]
behaviorvitamins
Behavioral vitamins for individuals and the body-social. 1.Maturity Rules
2.Fresh Air & Light
3.Greenery
4.Large Muscle Movement
5. Social Contact
6. Reproductive Opportunity
7. Parental Connection
8. Gender specific Behavior.
Take one a day.
The politics of consumption
The New Politics of Consumption, an excellent article by the author of The Overspent American, examines why so many want so much more than they need, and offers a rough sketch of an alternative consumer ethos. The responses to the article are also quite interesting. Via Sassafrass.
The new math....RIAA style.
Not 421 CD burners but "the equivalent of 421 burners". Now, most agree the RIAA is grasping at straws trying to control something they clearly can't, but this seems to be the most amusing yet. This article offers a suggestion or two concerning the possible music industry slump.
Holiday geek shopping ideas
Last minute shopping? Still looking for the right thing for that special geek in your life? Perhaps you might cater to the fetish for the modern-day Mona? Or maybe a propeller beanie? Some sophomoric seasonal gag gifts? Some retro kitsch? Some religious memorabilia? Some odd surplus? Or if money is no object, gadgets and robots are always a safe bet. But you better hurry - you're down to the wire! thanks, amberglow!
Cultural Commentary in 10 Easy Lessons
Cultural Commentary in 10 Easy Lessons "....there's an astonishing abundance of cultural criticism these days -- in magazines, newspapers, web sites, blogs, television....if you removed the five or 10 most abused forms of criticism, there would be a deafening silence. Or perhaps room for other kinds of commentary to grow..." With so much published and available these days. it's damn near impossible to sound original.
December 14
Santa needs some sophisticated adult entertainment!
Santa Rampage! Last weekend a horde of Santa's wreaked havoc on Washington DC's clubs, bars and adult establishments. Amazingly only one santa was decked in the entire evening.
win ben stein's criticism
Benjamin Stein, host of the show Win Ben Stein's Money fears that the United States is squelching what gives it an edge.
Modern Character Actors
Oh I Just Love This Whatzisname Guy! Aren't we ungrateful about character actors whose work we so enjoy? Sometimes we only realize what their names are when they die. Yet without them the Cinema would be unbearable.
turning the tables on the snoops
Total Information Awareness begins at home.
RTFA
You are not alone when you comment without reading the original content.
Short-Term Military Enlistment
I hope this isn't a double post. I've searched but couldn't find anything. It has special relevance to me since I am joining the Air Force in five months. John McCain (R-AZ) and Evan Bayh (R-IN) are pushing a bill through Congress that will allow for a short-term enlistment of 15 months into the military. Being 25 and wanting to pay off my loans, I may have taken this route had it been available to me. It would be especially helpful to college burn-outs to step out of college for a little over a year. Unless you are very anti-military, does this make signing "the dotted line" any more attractive?
Here comes the flood
2002 looks like 2nd warmest year on record (since recordkeeping of global temperatures began in 1867, that is) and glaciers are melting faster then ever - 30 years from now, after the great climate catastrophe of '017, when kids ask me what I did to avert it, I'll say - "see, there was this internet blog called metafilter that I'd post bad environmental news to sometimes ...what was the internet? what was a "blog"? why didn't I do more? well, there were these people called "skeptics", and there was this other thing called "the war on terrorism", and it all seemed so distant and speculative and we were all so busy, and it was hard to get around without a car, and the dogs needed to be walked, and I needed to have a cavity filled, and there was all that laundry, and my big toe hurt, and, and..."
the drugs don't work
In some places, they have firing squads or electric chairs.
In Prague, they have defenestration.
Defenestration, or the tossing of people from windows, is a tradition there, popularized first by the defenestration of 1419 and later by the defenestrations of 1618 and 1948.
William Safire name-checked it in in his column a few weeks back, and another mention of it can found in the Houston Chronicle.
Oi! Bond! No!
The film - starring Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry - "clearly proves" the US is "the root cause of all disasters and misfortune of the Korean nation" and is "an empire of evil", according to the Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.
I can't get enough of these people.
I can't get enough of these people.
Goodbye to Kissinger
Harry Kissinger steps down as 9-11 investigation leader. Now lets get someone in there that isn't wanted for war crimes.
Invisibles
Invisibles are scenes from films with the actors removed. Can you guess the film? Its pretty hard actually. I would imagine actually making the images is hard as well - clever colour matching in Photoshop, or is there another way?
So, Mr. Stephenson, what's next?
The Diamond Age begins. Research scientists at the University of Wisconsin at Madison have bound DNA to circuits using a thin film of diamond as a bridge. Pathogens detected by the DNA, trigger it to send an electrical signal via the diamond medium to the circuit. [MORE]
I found no post related to the kid in Bellbrook Ohio being persecuted by his classmates, the high school Principal, and then the Secret Service for wearing a "NOT MY PRESIDENT" T-shirt. The persecution began when he drew crosshairs on the forehead. You can support irony by buying one for $13.00 at Fat Wreck Chords.---I only post it now, three days later, as I see in my weblog's referer log that it's topical enough that that's how a few people found my site.
The EU expands
The EU decides to expand and I am obviously looking forward to reading about and discussing this event when i log in on metafilter this morning, only to find that this story has not been posted. This is probably one of the most important changes in the European political landscape since the Wall came down more than ten yeas ago and I must say I am a little disappointed with you all that it was not linked and discussed last night. Shape up metafilter!
LaRouche
What is so scary about what this American is saying ? Call me all the names in the book you wish but I will admit that I enjoyed this interview that Lyndon LaRouche gave in the Turkish Magazine Yarin! Hear Me, Hear Me I must say that I am not a follower nor have never ever been a follower of our perennial Presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche! I just thought the article pointed out some interesting points and is a worthwhile read!
Why do I feel as an American Citizen that I have to apologize for this? Well go ahead and do a google search- with the name LaRouche along with the words, mind control, fascists, communists, homosexuals, mind-control, CIA, totalitarian, or homosexual etc and you will bring up a multitude of links. What is it about this guy? Why doesn't he get such a bad rap in foreign countries (google search it)
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File a claim if you bought a CD!
Music CD Settlement website now available. You'll get between $5 and $20 back, unless more than 13MM people respond, in which case the $67MM pool goes to charity.
Crossing the Darien Gap
Crossing the Darien Gap. The Pan-American Highway is not quite Pan-American. There are 200 miles of untamed jungle, where Panama meets Colombia, called the "Darien Gap". Today, persistent kidnappings and cartel activity make it unsafe to cross by either foot or off-road vehicle. But it's been done a few times. Here is one such tale, a blog from the mid-seventies. [more inside]
December 13
Gloomy the Vicious Bear
Gloomy the Vicious Bear - we had a recent thread about the teddy bear turning 100. Here's a cute pink Japanese variation that retains a frighteningly feral blood lust. Osaka-based illustrator Mori Chack's innocent cartoon style belies the macabre nature. Just in time for the holidays, get your Gloomy Bear stuffed toys, hightops or other goodies before supplies run out! thanks, gmtPlus9.
Fame Academy comes to an end.
David wins Fame Academy! Mix Big Brother with Pop/American Idol and you get the Fame Academy, where 12 gorgeous under-30s are thrown into a glorified stage school for a few months, and only one emerges an idol. The prize? Supposedly the 'biggest TV prize ever.' A £1 million recording contract, a fancy apartment in London, a personal shopper, chauffeur, and more. All is not lost for the 'losers' though, as they've all gained professional management and Mercury Records is considering them all for solo careers.
In contrast to the 'Idol' shows, being couped up for weeks on end has caused even the wackiest contestants to grow in their singing and songwriting abilities. So will this show reach the US? Probably, given these other crossover shows.
tofte project
the tofte project cool web site. cool project. cool ideas. cool person. cool part of the country. cool use of flash. via k10k.net
Real Cash in a Virtual World
Real cash in a virtual world - a little piece from New Scientist about a new type of massive multiplayer game where you convert real cash in to virtual, and then actually buy things you need to survive in that world.
Segata Sanshiro!
Segata Sanshiro! Why show people the graphics and gameplay of your video game, when you can simply beat them into playing it?
jones soda
Yet another twist to your 15 minutes. Your photo could be on the grocer's shelf next. The one we got sports a 'Tsunami Evacuation Route' sign photo. Just don't suggest rotten celery as a new flavor.
substitute ruins Christmas for kindergartners
"No, Virginia Hayley, there isn't a Santa Claus" A substitute teacher in Florida was reading aloud to her class of Kindergartners when the subject unexpectedly turned to the existence of Santa Claus. Rather than perpetuate a myth, "Mrs. P" chose to come clean with the gathered five year olds, and explained that there was no Santa, and that all presents "come from mom and dad." Well, next thing you know, kids are crying, parents are protesting, and the teacher feels awful. In an effort to "make up for the teacher's lapse," the school district decides to send in a "Santa" to visit the class in order to "set the record straight": "Today's visiting Santa, with a natural, full white beard, should convince even a classroom full of skeptics, said district spokesman Englehart. 'He's the real deal.'"
Great! Well, except for the fact that he's not. (via obscurestore)
Red Alert!!
At InfoSecuity 2002, an annual corporate security conference, new "computer forensics" software is on display, including software "that allows corporate IT folks to research employees' criminal histories, credit information, financial asset details, friends and associates. "
The software is called Red Alert 2.0, and more specifically the research software is an optional subscription based add-on called Intelligent Information Dossier plus. Isn't this tantamount to your employer spying on your private life, in real time?
As I work for a very large military contractor myself, I could easily see something like this being used where I work. Would you feel comfortable working for a company that uses this sort of intrusive software?
The software is called Red Alert 2.0, and more specifically the research software is an optional subscription based add-on called Intelligent Information Dossier plus. Isn't this tantamount to your employer spying on your private life, in real time?
As I work for a very large military contractor myself, I could easily see something like this being used where I work. Would you feel comfortable working for a company that uses this sort of intrusive software?
Best. Documentary. Ever.
Now They Can Stop Making Those Dreadful Documentary Things. Bowling for Columbine has been named the best documentary of all time by the International Documentary Association. Do we agree?
Pudding for frequent flier miles.
Fly the creamy skies. One man’s flash of inspiration (and frantic legwork) translates 12,150 cups of chocolate pudding into 1,215,000 frequent flier miles. Total cost: $2,235 - including an $815 tax write-off to charity. Photo proof here. [via boing boing (via cardhouse)]
What's The Frequency, Moby?
What's the Frequency, Moby? Techno superstar Moby was assaulted by a pair of mysterious assailants last night after a concert in Boston. "He wrote on his Web site that he is not angry about the attack, just mystified about the motive. He has asked the attackers to post an explanation." Moby's journal has been discussed previously, but is worth a look if you've never visited.
Virtual Trailertrash
Microsoft engineer pinched for stealing $9 million worth of software. Not a bright thing to do. Furthermore, why would you post pictures of your expensive toys on the internet? Trying to prove to the folks back home you've made it I suppose.
It's a small world theme park after all
"They're sprouting like mushrooms. And slowly it will become something tourists to most destinations will expect to be part of their itinerary." - Eiran Gazit Welcome to the wide world of miniature theme parks. Have one built to your specifications for just US$ 4,000,000. Or you can build a virtual village for free. Enjoy.
The rise and fall of Supercar!
Sure, we all know the story about how Detroit developed, and then kept under wraps, a 100mpg carburetor is false. However, affordable 80mpg family sedans are real: behold the Supercar! They are the results of a nearly decade-long partnership between The Big Three and the Clinton administration. However the program was quietly shelved last June, the victim of the Bush administration, and corporate backpedaling. Read the whole sordid tale here. [use username/password for login] In the meantime, you'll have to settle for one of these.
You Are My Friend
Metafilter, you are my friend. This made me laugh A LOT. Plus you can replace "metafilter" with your friends' names and win brownie points! (Requires Flash and if you're at work, turn the sound down...)
Blogging to stop the logging.
Treetop Bloggers Protest Logging A group of anti-logging activists are now ready to maintain their own blog 130 feet up in an ancient redwood. I've considered tree sitting, but find myself much more inclined to do so if I could continue working (or reading MeFi, as the case may be). Interesting intersection of technology and activism. Doncha think? (via /.)
Belleville housing inspections
The Overcrowding Police
Belleville inspectors and armed police officers show up without search warrants to check for occupancy code violations, and ticket people who don't let them in -- a practice experts say is unconstitutional.
.....
Invite friends over, babysit your grandchildren or allow relatives to spend the night in Belleville and you risk an armed police officer turning up at your door to search your home and give you a ticket. Enforcement teams consisting of a housing inspector and a police officer do not obtain search warrants before showing up to check for occupancy code violations, a Belleville News-Democrat investigation found.
Belleville inspectors and armed police officers show up without search warrants to check for occupancy code violations, and ticket people who don't let them in -- a practice experts say is unconstitutional.
.....
Invite friends over, babysit your grandchildren or allow relatives to spend the night in Belleville and you risk an armed police officer turning up at your door to search your home and give you a ticket. Enforcement teams consisting of a housing inspector and a police officer do not obtain search warrants before showing up to check for occupancy code violations, a Belleville News-Democrat investigation found.
BOOM chika chika Thbbbppt UHUHUHUHUHUHUH!
Check it out party people its the Human Beatbox! So you're hanging out with pals, and one of them starts throwing out the mad rhymes. You've got this incredible urge to back him up by creating wika-wika-wika noises just like the Fat Boys, but how? Learn how to here, and maybe someday, if you work hard enough... you'll be as good as "That Guy From Police Academy."
Friday the 13th
Are you Paraskevidekatriaphobic? If you think Friday the 13th is unlucky, then you are. But you might not be wrong. Hospital admissions due to road accidents increase by up to 52% on Friday the 13th. And of course the fear is so universal, it even spawned a series of movies.
The 12 Days of Kitschmas.
The 12 Days of Kitschmas. Just in time for Christmas, 12 'Gadgets for God'.
Tornado in a Can
"Tornado in a Can" "To test their theory, the Vortex folks have thrown in rocks, diapers, tomatoes, sweet potato rejects from the farm down the road, 400 pounds of Oreo cookies, frozen pizza dough, even a dead bird.....The jellyfish, however, are a first." picture of "Tornado-in-a-Can" that sure is a big can. don't try this at home, folks
Female Victims of Church Abuse speak up.
Female Victims of Church Scandals Speak. With all the news of Cardinal Law resigning, and the church trying to oust homosexuals from their ranks, I thought this article about the under-reporting of female victims of the scandal was timely.
Monkey Lander.
Monkey Lander. Flash based friday fun.
Faux Foreign Dishes
Good Ol' Foreign Home Cookin': Mexicans, Italians and other foreigners are just as surprised with what passes for Mexican and Italian food in the U.S. as Indians are to encounter chicken tikka masala or vindaloos in the U.K. Americans and Brits visiting the countries whose cuisines they think they know and love must be similarly surprised. Well, purists be damned! Not only is "faux foreign" cuisine sometimes very tasty (less pretentious than "fusion" cooking, for instance), in some cases (e.g. Tex Mex) it can be a damn sight better than the supposed original. And let no one argue these confusions aren't fun... [Apologies it the post looks funny and full of ampersands and the links don't work: my first no-right-clicking post on a mac...]
Keep Grubby Alive! (Flash)
Keep Grubby Alive! This flash game reminded me of some nightmares I had as a child. But that's a good thing . . .I think.
Heritage of Humanity: Sulston's views on DNA patenting
Heritage of humanity This month's Monde Diplomatique features an essay by one of the 2002 Nobel Prize winners in Physiology and Medicine, John Sulston. Sulston "writes about his battle to make the entire sequence of the genome public despite all the commercial attempts to patent it". His basic point is that: "If we wish to move forward with [Human Genome Sequencing], which will undoubtedly translate into medical advances, the basic data must be freely available for everyone to interpret, change and share, as in the open-source software movement."
The public human genome database Sulston refers to, can be found on the Sanger Institute's website.
The John Ashcroft Snow Globe
The John Ashcroft Snow Globe. Make your own punch line. Other merchandise on the site includes a literal Bible Belt, and what I believe to be Newt Gingrich underoos of some sort.
Moblogging!
Moblogging! Yesterday's Guardian Unlimited features a gently snarky piece by Jane Perrone, introducing a wider world to the possibilities of camera+mobile phone+Web publishing, à la HipTop Nation. By my count, that's one month, five days from the word's coining to its first appearance in the major media (if you think the Guardian counts as such, that is). Given such rapid memetic uptake, what do you think: flash in the pan, or new social structure abornin'? (Full disclosure: my site is linked from Perrone's piece.)
December 12
TMNT
The toughest Chelonia to every grace the media. Come on. Everyone had to love them at some point, with their pizzas and funny weapons. This page has some interesting sketch art. This one includes the complete cast of the cartoon and movies, with links to their career since said roles. This site, my favorite, has the entire "Coming out of our Shells" tape for download. Remember the classic, Cowabunga?
Bicycle safety on the Planet of The Apes
One Got Fat "Somewhere along the line, a cute little safety movie for the kiddies turned into a dark journey through a grotesque nightmare world of misshapen monkeys in stupid hats." - Scott Munro
Busy Marquee
Busy Marquee. "The idea behind Busy Marquee is very simple and yet very immature: find signs that have interchangable letters, bring your Scrabble skills, and rearrange omnipresent advertising to form Dadaist bits of landscape." My boner is screaming hello!
They say I'm a dog, but I think I'm a monster
Pupkin is a daily comic strip. Warning: it may get odd.
Feng Shui for Web Designers
Feng Shui for Web Designers Contains such helpful tidbits as "Macromedia Flash encourages curvy images and is therefore blessed with positive chi" and "The messy dithering of colours that occurs with JPEG compression is bad feng shui."
The BBC World Service World's favourite song
The BBC World Service are searching for the World's favourite song. If hundreds of Irish students have their way it'll be the kitschy rebel song A Nation Once Again but by the look of the contenders they'll have a fight on their hands.
What would your choice be?
What would your choice be?
best book in history
Don Quixote voted best book ever.{more inside}
GameFAQs has got your back!
Need help trying to beat one of your Vectrex or Apple II games? GameFAQs is the place you need to be. Covering just about any system on which one can play a game, this archive is for the serious gamer in you. Also, everyone should begin pronouncing "FAQ" as "fahh-queue". Thank you.
9/11 Congressional inquiry results
The final report of the joint Congressional committee investigating the Sept. 11 attacks was released yesterday, criticizing the intelligence agencies for their failure to prevent the attacks. Senator Shelby also released a minority report, calling for senior officials to be held accountable. But perhaps more provocative is what isn't in the reports: classified information about Saudi Arabian links to U.S.-based terrorists which may not be declassified until the archives are opened in 30 years. [More inside]
Piracy is progressive taxation
Piracy is Progressive Taxation says Tim O'Reilly. Of the 7 lessons in this article, "Free is eventually replaced by a higher-quality paid service" is probably the best model of how things will progress.
Zeitgeist!
I'm pretty obsessed with my sites' stats , but I have nothing on Google's Year-End Zeitgeist. There's an ebb and flow for various celebrities searched in Google, and looks like Iraq became a major issue in August of this year. And looks like "Las Ketchup" is huge in Germany at the moment. There is also a huge (and, quite frankly, cool) timeline of 2002 searches.
I *heart* Google. via google-friends
E-Bay Scammers and Internet Fraud
A Mac user scorned is a dangerous thing... Gotta hand it to this guy: persistence pays off. After being scammed with $3000 in forged cashier checques in an eBay transaction, this seller took matters into his own hands. How secure do you feel making transaction over eBay and related services? What kinds of internet fraud have you faced or fear? And most interesting of all, to what extent have you gone to correct evils done to you?
Henry Raddick
Henry Raddick's Amazon Reviews are among the most insidiously hilarious works I've seen in some time. From his review of "McDonald Happy Meal Toys From The Nineties: With Price Guide": "An essential guide for the fast food promotional toy collector, this fine book lists each and every one of the toys given away with Happy meals in the 90s. If you choked on it, it's in here. It even had listings and recent auction prices for some of that weird "McCrying Game" merchandising. A must. " Indeed.
Is a Christmas Registry a bad idea?
Is a Christmas gift registry a bad idea? WalMart doesn't think so? However, a manner expert warns that it is "very, very tacky."
Robots @ Home?
Have Home Robots become a "thing of the now" rather than "thing of the future"? This company seems to think so. It's even got a list of the Top 25 things to do with their new robot, the ER1.
This is certainly a big step up from the "toys" that The Sharper Image and other shops sold in the 80's and early 90's, which would bring you a drink on your tray via remote control, etc.
NAFTA
It's the ten-year anniversary of NAFTA this week. Has it been a success? [more inside].
Froogle - Google goes Shopping
Froogle - Google launches a new beta site for Shopping. Apparently their spiders have been storing results they think contain items for sale, and now they're gathered and searchable/browsable via Froogle. No paid placements, but Text Ads still seem to be fair game.
Animated chinese characters.
Animated chinese characters. Using the web and a bit of javascript this site draws Chinese ideographs. The site might be useful to some people but I'm just fascinated by watching the characters being drawn and by the idea of usring the web to teach people to use the ancient technology of writing.
Duct Tape Fashion
Duct Tape Fashion sells accessories made of duct tape, of course. Order a billfold, or a backpack, or even roses for that "special someone" for Christmas! (I'm hoping for a hat, m'self)
Entrances to Hell
Entrances to Hell abound throughout the United Kingdom. Who knew?
8 Minute Dating
8 Minute Dating. Start the clock! Is it possible to find your soulmate in under 10 minutes? Forget about those long romantic dinners and slow walks on the beach. The trend now is to just meet, greet, check for a spark and move on. Talk about making a first impression count!
Dastardly dividends of
The Perpetual War Fund - First there was the Vice Fund (covered in Mefi Sept. 3). Now, The Perpetual War Portfolio: "an evenly weighted basket of five stocks poised to succeed in the age of perpetual war. The stocks were selected on the basis of popular product lines, strong political connections and lobbying efforts, and paid-for access to key Congressional decision makers." Somebody's going to profit from the machineries of death. Why not you?
802.11b Survey Map of NYC
802.11b Survey Map of NYC Following the NYC Bloggers Map, what else should mapped in NYC, smoking rooms?
fetishes
How are your project management skills?
You are the training manager in a large, progressive company.
You get 12 turns and a $200,000 budget, which you can spend in six ways...
[more inside]
December 11
Hitler's teeth and other gory regime-change artifacts
How did they die, and why is it important? The Death of the Father is an exhibit tracing the deaths of some modern political villains [Stalin, Ceausescu, Tito, etc.] and exploring the political importance of death-as-closure in the ending of tyrannical regimes. A bit pomo at times, but you get to see Hitler's teeth! Just one of the many fascinating sites from the Cornell Institute for Digital Collections.
Official Page - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Official Page - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea Lots of nation-states have official webpages. But I'd like to single out this one page as an interesting link between the old, pre-internet, communication and this Inter-Web thing as we know it.
Preemptive Funerals
Dress Rehearsal Rag: Well we have pre-nuptials; trial separations; 30-day pre-purchases; secondary virginity and revirginizing and preemptive wars: so why not hold your own funeral while you're still lively enough to enjoy it?
The Freezing of Funds
The Freezing of Funds. The White House is cutting funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in the cold of December.
Blowback from Three Strikes Laws
Three Strikes Laws May Increase Murder Rates A recent article in the journal Criminology & Public Policy suggests that the politically popular "three strikes" laws may have the perverse effect of causing more murders. Because the sentences for murders and "third strikes" are the same, criminals have an incentive to change their M.O. to murder witnesses and police officers. Maybe using baseball metaphors in determining crime policy isn't such a good idea after all.
Mix Tape for Dead Girl
Mix Tape for Dead Girl. Writing a eulogy used to involve hours of revising and a good thesaurus. Joshua Allen opts for a cassette of field recordings and madrigals instead. Found sounds find their way to lost loved ones.
How to prevent theft of your source code.
How to prevent theft of your source code. From Frequent Questions Answered, a list of useful tips in web development. I'm thinking of trying a few of these, especially the <INVISIBLE> tags.
Solresol: The universal musical language.
solresol: the universal musical language. There are many artificial or planned languages. Some were created with the hope of universal communication, while others were nearly accidental creations that went from fiction to fact. Solresol remains, to me, one of the most interesting planned languages of all. It contains only the seven signs of the musical scale and isn't spoken as much as it is hummed, sang, whistled or played on an instrument. Once totally obscure, Solresol is making a quiet comeback.
Mary Hansen (1966-2002)
Mary Hansen (1966-2002) "Mary, vocalist and guitar player with Stereolab since 1992, died in a cycling accident in London on December 9, 2002."
Bodyscapes
BODYSCAPES® are NOT double exposures. Nor are they the result of computer montage. These unique landscapes are created by photographing toys and miniature "people" directly on the human body.
Automotive Literature
McLellan's Automobile Literature covers everything from Alfa to Zeta. You can purchase the advertising which feeds your fantasy even if you did not, or can no longer, camp down live it. They even have the car of tomorrow!
Stupid baby names
Stupid baby names. Parents share suggestions about misbegotten, badly-spelled monikers with which to saddle their innocent offspring for life: I named my daughter Madyson Caite and I regret doing that because every little girl in the last 3 or 4 years has been named Madison. Everyone complements it, but I still hate it. I would rather call her Caite (Kate) but am not sure. Please, everyone, pick something normal for your child. If you choose something different and unique, please don't keep following the trends of Madisons, and Mackenzies, and Taylors, and Destinys. This is getting old.
Freaks and geeks.
Postcard Exchange
Do you know a elementary teacher? Rob from Cockeyed.com wants to create an interstate postcard exchange! If you ask me (no-one has) this is far too good an exercise to go to waste, so if you know a 3rd - 5th Grade teacher, point them in the direction of this!
New Google Toys
New Toys from Google Labs. The Viewer is a slide show of your search results. Google WebQuotes provides third party opinion on your search results. Which one would you find useful?
The barter system lives!
The barter system lives! Trodo.com is a recently unveiled bartering hub where you sign up, list three items you're willing to send away to new owners and start out with three credits for items of the same kind you listed, then accrue more credits every time someone requests one of your items.
December 10
Mefi Friend
youaremyfriend.com presents an entertaining way of using dynamic DNS and shockwave put together! Turn your sound on and Enjoy!
Scraping the bottom of the culture of celebrity
More fallout from the Winona trial: Dr Jules Lusman, a 'celebrity doctor' who (over)prescribed painkillers to Winona Ryder, has had his California medical license revoked. 'The Medical Board said Dr Lusman became known in celebrity circles for his willingness to make out-of-hours calls at homes and hotels and write prescriptions for opiates and hypnotic drugs, as well as syringes...'
The Smoking Gun has also posted the entire Ryder probation report, which details more sad, depressing facts which surfaced during the trial, including these about celebrity basket case Courtney Love.
slugs invade new york
Prepare for the worst ... says Mayor Mike, as NYC faces down a crippling transit strike. For starters, cars carrying fewer than four people could not enter or leave Manhattan over any bridge or through any tunnel on weekdays, 24 hours a day. Commuters wishing to get into the city by car would need to pick up strangers -- and the city will facilitate this with staging areas. Unflappable New Yorkers are at least a little flapped. But the practice of strangers hitching rides with lone drivers isn't new to NoVa: There, they are called slugs and body snatchers. [more inside]
Nobel Price for Literature
Ruby: Galactic Gumshoe
Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe is a funny and inventive science-fiction series that originally aired in three-minute segments on NPR back in the 1980s. I remember listening to my dad's tapes of it when I was a kid. It's a great combination of absurdist humor and classic cyberpunk, and eminently enjoyable for anyone who likes radio drama.
I was delighted recently discover that not only is it available to buy on CD, but the entire thing is online in streaming quicktime to listen to!
I was delighted recently discover that not only is it available to buy on CD, but the entire thing is online in streaming quicktime to listen to!
Ecopsychology
Ecopsychology may be the answer for those driven to distraction by their cubicle-ruled lives. This field of study aims to investigate the relationship between the human mind and our environment. Interacting with nature obviously has positive effects on our happiness, so maybe we just need some more potted plants around the office? How about office wilderness hikes instead of Christmas parties?
Ship intercepted carrying missiles
Ship intercepted carrying missiles North Korea truly is a part of the "Axis of Evil." Question: who was to get the missles in Yemen, and what was to be done with them?
Same sex union
DC church approves same sex union. From the article:
The unanimous decision on Saturday by its board of elders places the 159-year-old congregation, where U.S. presidents James A. Garfield and Lyndon B. Johnson once worshiped, among a small number of D.C. area churches that permit such services, often called "covenant ceremonies."
No leading questions this time, (see saturday's "gun post") just curious if this is happening elsewhere in the U.S.
The History of the Cubicle
Mommy, where do cubicles come from? Ever watch old movies, and feel a deep pang of resentment and envy at the open, spacious offices depicted therein? What ever happened to the human workplace? The ugly truth is finally revealed: it's all Herman Miller's fault. The introduction of their Action Office system in the late 1950s was largely responsible for the office cubicle as we know it today. While things are obviously not as bad as they could be, people could at least learn how to behave themselves in the modern cube-farm.
Canada Ratifies Kyoto
Canadian Paliament ratifies the Kyoto Accord. Someone on this continent had to do it.
Turkish Star Trek
Xmas as a Jewish holiday
Have you ever wondered what Xmas would be like if it were a Jewish Holiday? Precisely defined rules for preparing for the holiday, procuring and decorating the tree, cooking the festive meal, giving gifts, and all other seasonal celebrations. With footnotes! Songs! More footnotes! Riddles! Even more footnotes! [via Making Light] (This is a Geocities site, so don't all rush there at once and overload it, OK?)
Captcha
CAPTCHA is the Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart. The test promises to keep online polls honest, block search engine bots, and end spam as we know it. The program generates and grades tests that (1) most humans can pass and (2) current computer programs can't pass. For example, humans can read distorted text but current computer programs can't. To see if you're human or not, take a Captcha test yourself here. To read more check out this nytimes article.
17 million Latin American people out of work
17 million Latin American people out of work Claimed to be the highest level since 1980. How much longer, or how many more, until nations revert to Che Guevarra or Pinochet and the US to the CIA and intervention? Will history repeat itself, or has history paved the way for an alternative outcome?
Damn you mail tub theives!!
So that's why the economy is so bad. The USPS is looking for $65 million dollars worth of white mail postal tubs. If you work in an office or deal with a mailroom, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The penalty for not coughing them up? 3 years imprisonment and a $1000 fine. (I read it on the side of one of the boxes I have by my desk).
Makin' Bones About Bones
Atapuerca (in Spanish, with incomplete English translation) is the site of the earliest European hominid ancestors yet found in Europe. Two of the most stunning finds are Gran Dolina, where the first Homo antecessor fossils were found, and Sima de los Huesos, site of the most complete Homo heidelbergensis fossils ever excavated. And soon: an exhibit at the Museum of Natural History in New York. I know my plans for January 11th.
Island
Island... Get Your Island Here! This is the sale of the century - everything must go! (and if you believe that's possible, then i've got a bridge to sell you...)
The Letter Project
Fast Food Fever
Thesis - Antithesis - Synthesis. The "You got your ______ in my ______!" concept is taken to new heights, or at least to McDonald's, at Fast Food Fever.
Corporate Freeloader Chief is Bush's Choice to Head Treasury
Corporate Freeloader Chief is Bush's Choice to Head Treasury John W. Snow, President Bush's choice to replace the fired Paul O'Neill as Secretary of the Treasury, is the CEO of CSX.
In three of the past four years, CSX Corporation, paid no federal income tax at all. Instead of paying taxes, CSX supplemented its $934 million in pretax U.S. profits over the four years with a total of $164 million in tax rebate checks from the federal government.
"If the President's goal is to encourage even more corporate tax sheltering, then Mr. Snow looks like a fine choice to help him do so," said Robert S. McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice.
In three of the past four years, CSX Corporation, paid no federal income tax at all. Instead of paying taxes, CSX supplemented its $934 million in pretax U.S. profits over the four years with a total of $164 million in tax rebate checks from the federal government.
"If the President's goal is to encourage even more corporate tax sheltering, then Mr. Snow looks like a fine choice to help him do so," said Robert S. McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice.
Fire and art
Should art be destroyed? Burned, perhaps? David Mach sculpts heads from live matches of different colors, then burns the matchhead. Fascinating movies included. (via SeattleFools newsletter)
Elf, Elf, Baby.
I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it:
I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it: If Ann Coulter published children's literature. There's nothing to discuss here, but the article (from Salon, please don't hate me) provided a good laugh.
The New River. Which isn't either...
When the Romans ran out of fresh water, they built aqueducts. When C17 Londoners ran out, they built The New River. Snaking from Chadwell and Amwell springs to the New River Head, it's not new, it's not a river, but it is the largest body of non-tidal flowing water in Europe and one of few local habitats for dragonflies [geocities].
Over 40 miles in length, and taking just 4 years to complete, the river was opened in 1613. But it ran over budget and didn't make a profit until 1633, two years after it's designer and chief financier, Hugh Myddelton, had died.
Over 40 miles in length, and taking just 4 years to complete, the river was opened in 1613. But it ran over budget and didn't make a profit until 1633, two years after it's designer and chief financier, Hugh Myddelton, had died.
Talking someone down from a bad trip
Playing cards from around the world
Playing cards from around the world. Spanish cards, Swiss cards, Finnish cards, Israeli cards and Japanese cards, for example. Just a small part of the collection at the Elliot Avedon Museum and Archive of Games at the University of Waterloo, Ontario.
Spindizzy?
'At 52x CD-ROM speeds (27,500rpm) disks shatter in a "rain of plastic particles". Is technology spinning out of control?
"I haven't experienced an exploding CD but did have my copy of Neverwinter Nights somehow levitate out of the CD holder and bury itself in the nether parts of my machine with a nasty metallic thunk"
Are these violent video games a danger to society?
Reading, Writing and Speaking Skills
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah: The decline of literacy essay has been a cyclical product since the ancient Greeks. Isn't it funny contemporary doomsayers never mention that reading and writing medium. hot on the heels of text-destroying television, that is the Internet? Or doesn't it count? Hands up those who wish the good Marshall was still around to put us right.
It's just a bunch of squares
I hope you find these abstract mosaics as stimulating as I do. But are they NSFW?
The Illustrated Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
The Illustrated Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. An exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. Stunning illustrations of world-class poetry. 'nuff said.
Defamation on the Internet
The High Court of Australia has decided that you can defame someone in Australia by posting an article on a website hosted outside Australia, if that article is read by people inside Australia. I suppose this means that anyone posting on the internet is subject to Australian defamation law. (Unless you decide to block requests from Australian browsers.)
December 9
Hollow Earth?
Is the Earth Hollow? Does this explain why people are abducted by UFOs? Is this too outlandish to be possible, or is it the truth?
Sopranos Season Finale
The therapists are divided and the film geeks are disappointed but I, for one, thought last night's "Sopranos" season finale was fantastic (mostly due to the brilliant Edie Falco). What did you think?
Budget Orgy Calculator
Budget Orgy Calculator - tis the season for festivities, but all those galas can be a bit hard on the wallet. This handy party planner helps you to calculate your costs in advance and keeps you from forgetting important details.
No-Hit Wonders
No-Hit Wonders Ever hear of Thuh Sqwamps? How about Rhinoceros Snot? Perhaps you're familiar with King Solomon's Minds? Not ringing any bells? Of course not. These are all local garage bands from the 1960s that would have fallen into pure oblivion if it wasn't for the My First Band web site. Several of the stories are so bizarre that a very entertaining movie could be made out of any one of them.
Confessions of a SF Pimp
Everything you ever wanted to know about pimping but were afraid to ask "Money is a motivator. Pimping is perfect for a down-and-out freelance writer. Moreover, I do love danger. Not too much danger though, just enough to keep the nerves popping."
A ripping yarn - a San Fransisco treat o< ! (via brutal.com).
Buy a bush?
The Dubya Doll is making its way through commercial America. With 17 slogans and phrases, such as "We will continue putting food on your family." what red-blooded American wouldn't want one?
"My Daddy was President you know." not included.
"My Daddy was President you know." not included.
Score one for the RIAA
Score one for the RIAA. I don't know if this slipped below the Mefi radar, but CD Covers has been successfully targeted by the RIAA.
Enter ... the Rawhide Kid!
Enter ... the Rawhide Kid! Marvel is about to unveil the first openly gay gunslinger. Name's the Rawhide Kid. Its creators say it will likely be campy. With a name like that, how could it be anything but?
The pictures
The pictures Kissinger doesn't want you to see. The book kissinger doesn't want you to read.(via memoryhole.org)
us foriegn aid at work
US foriegn aid at work wtf?!! you think we'll be able to get this straightened out before they get another check?
The Computational Complexity of Air Travel Planning
Do you have problems finding the cheapest flight? Well so do computers.
Carl de Marcken, the man who created the engine behind Orbitz and other travel search engines posits that finding the cheapest fare from one point to another is a NP-Hard problem. Even if you fix the specific route between destinations there can be as many as 1036 combinations.
Carl de Marcken, the man who created the engine behind Orbitz and other travel search engines posits that finding the cheapest fare from one point to another is a NP-Hard problem. Even if you fix the specific route between destinations there can be as many as 1036 combinations.
Galleries of alchemical imagery
Beautiful galleries of alchemical imagery selected and complemented with watercolor by Adam McLean. This is a fascinating collection of bizarre medieval illustration, as well as an interesting window on the proto-scientific worldview. His website features more images and even complete alchemical texts, for those inclined to explore further.
Architectural Construction Toys
Architectural Construction Toys From the art nouveau style of Arquitectura Moderna to the futuristic cities (circa 1969) of Astrolite, this site has it all.
NYTimes Mag: The Liberal Quandry on Iraq
The Liberaral Quandry on Iraq [nytimes reg req'd]. [warning : iraq political story]. As a "liberal hawk", I have had some issues regarding whether to support a war with Iraq or not. In this article, George Packer talks to four liberals (David Rieff, Leon Wieseltier, Michael Walzer and Paul Berman) about what they think, and presents a sort of top ten list of reasons for or not. After reading the article, I'm a little less confused about where I stand, and a little closer to coming to grips with it
News outlets make neutrino hash
What's the real story here? "An international team researching particle physics at Tohoku University has observed a new kind of neutrino." BZZT! Try again."Sun is ok, says latest neutrino experiment." BZZT. Wrong answer. The media sure made a hash out of this one. [more inside]
MikWright:
MikWright: Find old family photos. Slap them on greeting cards with hilarious captions. Sell them. Make many people very happy and entertained. MikWright rules.
Just say I don't know.
chris
oh look. it's chris rock impersonator, chris tucker, up to his old tricks again. ha ha... such a kidder that guy.
Mayan sound engineers
Were the Mayans expert sound engineers? Perhaps we could learn something from them to aid our pursuit of technological solutions to modern noise pollution problems.
Bullet Time Photography
Bullets Frozen in Mid-Impact. This may have been posted before, but I couldn't find it; it's a series of photographs of bullets hitting objects, taken with a VERY high speed camera, frozen in mid-impact. This is NOT, for the record, an invitation to discuss your POV on gun control.
Hidden Underground
Disused Stations on the London Underground - they're there, but we don't see them. This site gives a list of places to spot glimpses of these mysterious stations, as well as details of stations that were almost built. Fascinating for a Londoner, and perhaps something to look out for if you plan on visiting the city.
Who Owns the Alphabet?
Google + Too Much Time on Hands = "Who Owns the Alphabet?" The English-language alphabet gets fully Googled, one letter at a time.
What the world (literally) thinks of America
A monster of a poll (by America's monster pollster PEW) asking 38.000 people (!) in 44 countries what they think of America. VERY interesting!
Ripper Case Closed?
Walter Sickert was a renowned impressionist painter. In her new book, author Patricia Cornwell also claims that Sickert was Jack the Ripper.
Whether you believe her theory or not, Cornwell is certainly getting a lot of press out of this.
If all these links aren't enough for you, you can also watch a documentary on Cornwell and her Jack the Ripper theory tonight at 10 p.m. EST on The Learning Channel.
Human Zoos and Don'ts
In the late 19th and early 20th century, at a time that might be considered the height of colonial exploitation, the regrettable spectacle of human zoos swept through America and Europe. Two of the most popular victims of these ethnological exhibits were Ota Benga, a four-foot-eleven African pygmy with filed teeth, who was successfully (and fraudulently) billed as a wild cannibal, and Saartjie Baartman, a Khoisan slave woman who was exhibited naked in the streets of Paris and London for the public to examine her so-called 'Hottentot apron'.
Iraqi History
The long history of Iraq. Iraq has been ruled by a lot of regimes, ranging from Mesopotamian to British rule. It gained independence on 1932, and has since then seen more regime changes. According to their official site there still is tourism, but other sites have a more practical view of that.
Altough it is not in my holiday plans this year it could be a very cultural rich destination in the future.
Shopping in Europe and America
I'm Afraid Happy To Say We're Out Of Stock: Heh. Shopping in Southern Europe is indeed very much unlike shopping anywhere else in the world... [ More inside.]
December 8
Arsewoman: Art? Sure. Great art?
This is the text of a painting called "Arsewoman in Wonderland," shortlisted for the UK's Turner Prize 2002. Fiona Banner's painting consists entirely of a textual narration of a porn film; specifically, a porn film dedicated to an extended exploration of anal sex, with an "Alice in Wonderland" theme. (Apparently, dwarves are also involved.)
The Turner, which comes with a £20,000 purse, ostensibly recognizes the best British art. Now, I love a good conceptual dig as much as the next guy, but does Banner's painting really challenge the way we "compartmentalise private and public behaviour," let alone represent the best the British art world has to offer?
American slangorama
Not sure if someone wants to beat you, or is asking for a date? Literal vreakdowns of American slang, including explanations of expressions found in movies and pop music. Don't miss the the literally Boschian body-parts slang or the insults, including the classic "I hate you, and if a horse had brought you here, I'd hate it just as much, if not more."
The Men Underwater Reference Guide
The Men Underwater Reference Guide. If you've ever needed THE definitive list of scenes of men underwater, well, thank god for the internet.
Best 404 ever
Is it all about oil?
Is it all about oil? Daniel Yergin (The Prize) discusses Iraq's oil after Saddam. I found it highly informative and somewhat surprising. He emphasizes the small role that Iraq will play in the oil market. By the time production ramps up in five years, Iraq will still be a second tier producer, grouped with Norway and Mexico. Not exactly the petro bonanza some predict. There are more predictions by this veteran oil-watcher.
brain museum
December 7
Philip Berrigan Obit - Prrotest obsolete?
Peace Activist Philip Berrigan Dead at 79 Yes, I know, obituaries are depressing. But this man was one of my very few heros. He fought a good fight, but in this age of corporate sponsored and government promoted dimunation of conscience can a single person "bearing witness" to the immoral actions that go on in this world really make a difference? Or is the idea of citizen protest just a quaint vestige of another era?
[NYT link]
Her! Girl vs. pig. A comic strip by Chris Bishop.
Her! Girl vs. pig. A comic strip by Chris Bishop. Well done. Some are quite funny. Some are just twisted. Some are both.
CDNow cedes operations to Amazon.com
CDNow cedes operations to Amazon.com. While looking up some 'non-traditional' Christmas music, I noticed this site's layout looked oddly familiar. Is there reason for concern about the fact that Amazon is taking over shop for it's rival or is this an example of using what's the 'best' in a competitive market?
Chiengora
Chiengora is the fancy term for dog hair used to make mittens, hats, sweaters, and more. This site will teach you all about chiengora and how to hand spin it into yarn. If you'd rather just brush your dog and send the fur to someone else to knit, check out Rover's Comb.
How much rubbish comes into your head in a minute?
One word posts a word a day. You have one minute to type as much cobblers as you can. It sounds daft, but it's a bit compelling.
global beauties
Global Beauties More info than you would ever care to know about international pageants like Miss World.
Pantyhose! Pantyhose! Pantyhose!
Everybody has a hobby. Mine is collecting images of pantyhose packages, as well as pantyhose ads from magazines and catalogs. (geocities, NSFW? Guess.) We've previously discussed vintage skivvies for men here, but the gallery of packages is kind of interesting. Or maybe you just Hate Pantyhose.
U.S. Writers Do Cultural Battle Around the Globe
U.S. Writers Do Cultural Battle Around the Globe (NYTimes, reg. req'd). So many questions spring to mind... Is it productive for the government to do this, or should it be the role of civil society? Should such efforts attempt to portray an appealing version of the U.S., or an accurate one? Where would you direct people who, in good faith, want to gain insight into the "American mind" through the written word, or others forms of art?
Amazon doctors recommendations
"Customers who bought this product from Amazon also bought fake recommendations? Yes, Amazon just admitted algorithms don't work alone in the recommendations and shopping histories department. What happened is that, besides betraying those of us who thought recommendations were made by objective software, strange things started to happen at the store. Like the one Joshua Allen wrote about on his blog (Better Living Through Software): while trying to buy the book Essential.NET, he received the following hint: "people who shopped for this product also wear clean underwear". It's not an algorithm, it's a super-algorithm with x-ray vision.
Tales of the ironic....
Son of NRA big wig arrested in road rage shooting. How will Chuck Heston spin this one?
The local TV news reported this without a hint of irony, and the post barely covered it. What Happened to the "Liberal Media"? Have they been co-opted?
Has anyone seen more extensive coverage of this?
I realize that the article I linked does not contain much info, but I guess that is sort of my point. Should this not be a catalyst for discussions about gun control in this country?
megapenny project
The Humble Penny? A site to help visualize large numbers with the common US coin. And to think I've been cursing them for so long. If I'd saved 10 million of the little buggars I'd have $100k.
Old Christmas Tree Lights
Another "magnificent obsession" site, seasonally spiced: oldchristmaslights.com is a huge attic space, packed to the rafters with illuminating images and information; history and pre-history, manufacturer backgrounds, timeline, patents, vintage advertising, trivia - it's all here, plus a "Light Set Gallery" and more. Plug in and enjoy.
December 6
Trent Lott shows true colors
What the hell? Republican leader of the Senate, Trent Lott, says that the United States would have been better off if then-segregationist candidate Strom Thurmond had won the presidency in 1948. Wow...I want to hear Fox News, Rush, etc, spin Lott's way out of this. Also, does saying this have anything to do with the election in Louisiana on Saturday?
smokingGun10
The 10 Best Smoking Gun Stories of 2002 from Elvis: army helmet or turtleneck? to Enron's code of ethics. The top 10 smoking gun stories according the Shift. I think the pick of nick should have made the list.
Attention, Wi-Fi users: The Department of Homeland Security sees wireless networking technology as a terrorist threat.
Attention, Wi-Fi users: The Department of Homeland Security sees wireless networking technology as a terrorist threat. That was the message from experts who participated in working groups under federal cybersecurity czar Richard Clarke and shared what they learned at this week's 802.11 Planet conference. Wi-Fi manufacturers, as well as home and office users, face a clear choice, they said: Secure yourselves or be regulated.
Is this reasonable? Is this really a threat to security?
(via boingboing )
Flash Flash Revolution
DDR meets the keypad in this flash game. Interesting adaptation and in my opinion, exceedingly difficult. Watch out for RSI. Couldn't find the title site in search, so apologies if it is old.
The fate of the Parthenon sculptures in Athens
The so-called Elgin Marbles A reminder that many of the objects that you love at your local museum actually came from a place in which they often have an even greater meaning.
the baltimore blues
At least this guy’s not giving up. "I can't quite figure out what's going on at 1704. From the landlord on down, they seem to have a pact with the devil. Other than the roof over there, every other aspect of that building is wrong. Everything. 1704 is a malignancy killing this whole block." Amazing documentation of someone not afraid to take a stand in Baltimore. (more inside)
Cutting-Edge Critique of TV or Just a Lot of Guys with No Shirt On?
Cutting-Edge Critique of TV or Just a Lot of Guys with No Shirt On? Exhaustive website of TV shows from the 1950s to the present with discussion of overt gay and lesbian content. Also a lot of coverage of hidden homoerotic content that could be viewed as a parody of academic interpretive overreaching. On the other hand, that didn't stop Jerry Falwell from denouncing Tinky Winky's alleged sexual orientation.
Beautiful Wind Walkers
Walking on Wind. Theo Jansen is a Dutch artist who creates sculptures that use wind power to walk. They're amazingly lifelike and organic - like a physical version of Sodaplay. More images (and a short video) at his website.
(found on boingboing)
What war looks like.
What war looks like. Susan Sontag has written an important essay on the intricate relationship we have with images of human suffering (e.g., war photography) in the December 9 issue of The New Yorker. A sample:
Perhaps the only people with the right to look at images of suffering of this extreme order [i.e., gruesome combat horrors] are those who could do something to alleviate it – say, the surgeons at the military hospital where the photograph was taken – or those who could learn from it. The rest of us are voyeurs, whether we like it or not.The essay is not online but there is an excellent introduction with links to other galleries of the imagery discussed. With a new war likely on the way, her essay provides a timely set of insights into wartime suffering and how it is usually depicted, often manipulated, and never understood.
If you show up in Reeboks, I will kill you on the spot.
If you show up in Reeboks, I will kill you on the spot. Twenty-two University of Cincinnati students dressed for success for their final exam Wednesday night in "Global Civility." "I told them, 'If you show up in Reeboks, I will kill you on the spot,"' said Linda Ginter Brown, head of the Media and Cultural Studies department. "Trust me, they do not look like this on campus."
Ignoring the unintentional irony of a professor teaching a class on civility threatening to kill her students -- if only jokingly -- is there not a double standard at play here regarding what kind of violence-laced language is acceptable in academic settings? Spoken by a student, whether to a fellow student or to a teacher, such a comment might have different consequences than a puff piece on CNN.
Rejected
"My Anus is Bleeding!" Not for the faint of heart, this film is definitely on the fringe. Don Hertzfeldt's short animations are all a little bit edgy, but then again, I tend to be drawn to these odd, over-the-top kinds of films.
The piercing truth of the One Ring
Enter the Stick Figure!
Enter the Stick Figure! The lastest XiaoXiao stick figure game (Number 9, I believe), a sort of Double Dragonish thing this time around. Three cheers for flash friday.
The matrix creates, the body profligates.
breathe -- the overdose game
breathe -- the overdose game
"You and some friends have been drinking all day and you just scored & cooked some dope. The guy who went first barely got the needle out before collapsing in a weird position. What ya gonna do?"
do you know what to do if someone overdoses, and what resources -- if any -- exist in your community to educate people about overdoses? if there are no such resources do you think there should be, and what would you like to see?
"You and some friends have been drinking all day and you just scored & cooked some dope. The guy who went first barely got the needle out before collapsing in a weird position. What ya gonna do?"
do you know what to do if someone overdoses, and what resources -- if any -- exist in your community to educate people about overdoses? if there are no such resources do you think there should be, and what would you like to see?
Santa Lives
Santa Claus, elusive jolly old elf, has finally been located by someone curious enough (in both senses of the word) to use FedEx to track him down. (The page I linked to here only tells half the story; click that link down on the left to get FedEx's tracking page.)
Eno on the Beach
A simple, absolutely perfect short comic about musician/artist/music producer Brian Eno (by cartoonist Tom Hart). If this puts you in the mood, why not draw wisdom from one of Eno's (and artist Paul Schmidt's) Oblique Strategies. Click (or refresh if clicking doesn't work) for a new aphorism, like shuffling a Tarot deck and drawing a new card. "Honour thy error as a hidden intention" is one of my favorites. (More inside for anyone still interested.)
Africa.
Africa. Whether you think of it as The Heart Of Darkness,
the Dark
Continent, or as an ecological laboratory, Africa is
ultimately home
to us all. But Sub-Saharan Africa is in peril of
spiraling into chaos: the scourge of AIDS, near-continuous
unrest,
and a lamentable
inability of most African countries to maintain anything like a
modern civil society are precursors to what might become a humanitarian
catastrophe unlike anything we have ever witnessed. Do we still blame
the ghosts
of colonialism for this, or is it time for Africans to take the
responsibility for their own problems?
More french toast please!
Let's talk French Toast. I'm not going to deny that we LOVE pancakes here on MeFi...but I think that we need to expand our breakfast discussion repetoire. Personally, I've always found Mom's simple french toast recipe -- eggs, milk, bread, and that's it -- to be the best, but still, there's no shortage of places on the web to find french toast recipes. Pass the maple syrup please!
Ye Olde England - Does It Have A Future?
What Happened To My Woodcock? Much as I love reading Mary Killen's etiquette column in The Spectator, it has to be said it's becoming more and more exotic and self-consciously ridiculous. But that's nothing compared to the success of This England magazine, Britain's best-selling quarterly, complete with a crusty, pastoral editor's letter (Yes, Amanda, it was published in 2002) and a reactionary, anti-EU petition. Add magazines like Country Life and The Lady, Countryman or The Field, and the old question once again arises: will there still always be an England or will it just become more and more parochial and eventually go undercover? Or just disappear?
Baby Drop
Be a hero! That big bad Michael enjoys dropping his kids off balconies, and it's up to you to stop him... just don't get hit by falling vinyl!
Microsoft like Tanya Harding
Microsoft akin to Tanya Harding. So says U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz. The crowbar wielding, knee popping company is also similar to baseball.
America's Culinary Heritage
Not by Bread Alone: America's Culinary Heritage This online companion to a recent Cornell University Library exhibition has a handful of interesting images from the annals of food and drink. Does OXO make a Good Grips raisin seeder yet?
2nd Amendment decision
The right of the people to keep and bear grenade launchers. San Francisco's 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that the Second Amendment protects only the right of states to organize and maintain militias, not the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. The 3-0 decision upheld California's sweeping 1999 assault weapons ban.
Patriot Act in Action
The Patriot Act Abuse Begins
An amateur photographer named Mike Maginnis was arrested on Tuesday in his home city of Denver - for simply taking pictures of buildings in an area where Vice President Cheney was residing.
I reported, you decide.
An amateur photographer named Mike Maginnis was arrested on Tuesday in his home city of Denver - for simply taking pictures of buildings in an area where Vice President Cheney was residing.
I reported, you decide.
The Hasselhoff Reviews
Architectural Review Winners 2002
The Architectural Review picks the best of 2002. The ar+d award honors young, unknown designers and architects from around the world. This year's winners include a Honey House, a Cemetary for the Unknown in Hiroshima, and a Pedestrian Bridge in Rijeka, Croatia dedicated to the victims of the Balkan Wars.
December 5
Two shirtless kids goofing, singing, dancing. WTF.
I have no clue what is going on here, but I love it. High energy homebrew music video of two shirtless guys dancing, singing, goofing. Impossibly catchy tune. Probably work-safe, but very strange. The song is about a Chinese restaurant in Korea? Anyone who speaks Korean and/or has insight into Korean pop culture, please enlighten us.
via Gally99's LJ
via Gally99's LJ
Almost Friday Flash
Mario makes me feel like a kid again.
'A day in the life of my mouth'
'A day in the life of my mouth' shows a sequence of photographs of everyday events' taken with a pin-hole camera made from a 110 film cartridge placed inside the photographer's mouth.
His pin-hole photography has gained its reputation through local exhibitions and through the pages of the British and international photographic press.
Hand Washing Awareness Week
Henry the Hand - bet you didn't know that Handwashing Awareness Week is right around the corner - Dec. 8 - 14. Let Henry the Hand teach you how to prevent your hands from turning into dreaded Germ Weapons. Henry travels far and wide to spread his message, but you can download the theme song and order reinforcement tools right from home! brought to you as a public service message
Show and Tell Music - Thrift Store Vinyl.
Show and Tell Music - Thrift Store Vinyl. There are lots of vinyl sites out there, but some of the items in this collection had me floored. And the quantity is just as impressive as the quality -- several pages of unintentionally funny Christian vinyl you have to see to believe. MP3 samples too! Via BoingBoing, but got lost under a lengthy EFF post (which was also good).
Random generators of slogans and acronyms
eight terms in office, one hundred years on earth.
eight terms in office, one hundred years on earth. he has been a democrat, he has been a republican, and at one time he was a mere three heartbeats away from sitting the oval office. he is senator strom thurmond, and today is his 111th 100th birthday. pushng shadows of ageism aside for a moment, this begs the question: just how old is too old to remain in office?
Bigfoot is dead.
Bigfoot is dead. The original 'creator' of the legendary bigfoot hoax has died. Some of his "work". How much more difficult to pull off would a 'hoax' of this magnitude be today?
NFL blames league violence on video games.
"After weeks of reviewing hard hits that have resulted in a bevy of fines, the NFL has decided to review the video game industry." When all else fails, blame video games. [from ESPN.com]
to integrate or not?
the dangers posed by the call to integration an interesting article explaining why some muslims harbour reservations regarding integration into western society.
Magic 8 Ball Santa
Magic 8 Ball Santa Witness the jiggling fat man! This couldn't wait for a Friday humor post. I've asked questions like:
Will that cute brunette ever return my call? Will the Cincinnati Bengals go undefeated next year? Oh those lonely times at work...Huzzah!
All about toad licking
Toad licking - Ever been tempted? DON'T: read this magisterial blog piece on the dangers of Toadlicking first!. But for a really fun time, look for this hilarious documentary at your local independant video store: "Cane Toads: An Unnatural History": "When the Australian sugarcane crop was attacked by beetles, someone decided to import cane toads to combat the pests. But somebody didn't do their homework: beetles can fly, but cane toads can't. What can cane toads do? Reproduce, big time..." [I'll graciously leave the post on Australian plagues - of rabbits, toads, and so on - for somebody else. Then, of course, there's Kudzu and Killer Bees...]
Harvard Mouse Not Patentable In Canada
Harvard Mouse Not Patentable In Canada The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in a 5-4
judgement Thursday that the so-called Harvard mouse cannot be patented in Canada. The decision here.
It's Little, It's Lovely, It Lights!
It's Little, It's Lovely, It Lights! "I made my debut in the tail end of the fifties; just long enough to say I was there. I was this pink oval thing with a cord and yet I wasn't alone. For just a few months prior another pink oval thing made its debut. Actually its gestation period was a little longer than mine but in the end we found ourselves in the world together."
Lord Of The Rhymes
Hobbiton It's On!!! "Yo, I'm harder than a Mithril coat / A hundred is the number of the orcs I smote / I battled Helms Deep and I took Minas Tirith / If you don't watch
out, I'll make your ass dissappeareth.." - Lord of the Rhymes. For those of you who can't wait to see Legolas bustin' caps again in "The Two Towers," settle down for some gangsta rap (5.61 MB MP3), Middle Earth style. "He's mean / he's green / Gollum beat box like you never seen!" (via firda)
2002 Year in Review Courtesy of Wireimage.com
Wireimage.com's 2002 Year In Review What a damn busy year it's been - wait a minute - why don't I show up anywhere.
RaptureLetters
RaptureLetters sends an email to your unsaved friends, after the Rapture, explaining where your good soul has disappeared to. I suppose this means that they only employ sinners, in order to ensure that someone remains behind to operate the site...
The world's most ominous building?
The 300m (984ft) Ryugyong Hotel in North Korea isn't a hotel - it's a metaphor. (pictures, comparative diagram)
Annoying Audiences
That Show-Stopper: The Bloody Audience! Interrupting a performance of Hamlet, John Barrymore once threw a large fish at a group of coughing members of the audience, shouting: "Busy yourselves with that, you damned walruses!" Stephen Pollard, in The Independent, suggests people now behave in public as they do at home, oblivious of their fellow concert or theatre-goers. Art-house audiences are equally annoying. Perhaps show rage will become the road rage of the 21st Century? [The main link, addressing rock audiences, comes in very small type but is worth reading all the same. The third link is an amusing mini-play about audience harrassment.]
December 4
Cool
Tips to be hip ... I like that bit."cope(d) with the indignity of slavery with the cool pose"
Although Kylie & (go) Russ (go) could have missed out.
Utopian Socialism as the Basis of Contemporary Anti-Americanism
Utopian Socialism as the Basis of Contemporary anti-Americanism Lee Harris argues in this article that contemporary Marxist movements have abandoned the politically realist methodology that Marx claimed as the basis of "scientific" socialist thought, and have substituted an ad hoc utopianism. Based on this latter belief, they have unwisely shifted the target of their criticism from specific American policies to America the nation itself.
Interview with Ze Frank
Interview with Ze Frank - "online performance artist and humorist". A link to the first of his projects, a wildly successful party invite, "How to dance properly" was posted on metafilter in March 2001. "I sent the link to 17 friends ... By Monday it was getting over a million people a day, and I was getting over seven e-mails a minute." See the various stats pages for a funny summary of the contents of some of those e-mails.
photo studies in shock value
Taking a lesson from Robert Mapplethorpe -- Some of Robert Gligorov's subjects might be a little difficult to look at, even though the quality is so easy on the eyes. (A few are NSFW.) I think this one is my favorite.
He groaned, 'Oh! Chairman Mao!'
The Literary Review Bad Sex Prize 2002. A runner-up: "In one fluid movement Herman rolled forward on to his knees, grasped Dorian by the shoulders, and kissed him. Such suction. They were like two flamingos, each attempting to filter the nutriment out of the other with great slurps of their muscular tongues. Adam's apples bobbed in the crap gloaming."
The Postmodern Shoestring
The shoestring (string and shoe holes) was first invented in England in 1790. But there is nothing so simple that man cannot complicate, and so some calculate the optimal way to tie a shoe, some seek zen enlightenment through shoe-tying, and others craft Shoelace Parables to improve psychological health. Contrarians find their peace by eschewing the tying altogether.
Reader-submitted designs for the WTC
Reader-submitted designs for the WTC I know I'm going to hell for saying this, but some of these are tremendously funny...
Adult Siamese twins plead for separation
Adult Siamese twins plead for separation Doctors in Singapore are considering whether to separate a pair of 28-year-old twin sisters who are joined at the head - an unprecedented operation for adults.
Neurosurgeon Keith Goh says he and his team will decide by the end of the year if an operation can be successful.
They went to Singapore after hearing about the successful surgery led by Dr Goh on baby twins from Nepal who were also joined at the head. The operation - if it goes ahead - involves separating two brains encased within a single bony structure in the head, Dr Goh said. The twins say they want to be separated because of deep differences between them. "We are two completely separate individuals who are stuck to each other," Ladan, the more extrovert of the sisters, told reporters. "We have different lifestyles," she said. "We think very differently about issues." The twins said that if their situation continues for much longer, they will not "stand it any more".
Darthmouth Swimming
You and me.
What the World Thinks in 2002. How Global Publics View: Their Lives, Their Countries, The World, America. A global poll from the Pew Reaserch Center. via NPR.
Canadian Liberals Discover Cost/Benefit Analysis
School lunches; bad food
Not the Italian dunkers again! Suffer the little children. School lunches are awful anywhere in the world but this is just sad. Shouldn't education include food? Why are obesity, gastronomic ignorance and downright bad taste (including the ersatz "foreign" dishes) inculcated at such an early age in America?
The Times goes pancake mad.
The New York Times Dining section on pancakes. Not just for Sunday morning breakfast anymore (like we didn't know that already). (reg. req'd, etc.)
TVNow.com
"Pigman is trying to prove the Caine-Hackman theory. No matter what time it is, 24 hours a day, you can find a Michael Caine or Gene Hackman movie playing on TV." If only he had TV-Now.com, which exhaustively roams schedules for whatever actor or genre you choose. I'm planning an All-Corey month myself. Call me for the shower scene in Dressed To Kill.
civil disobedience
National Organization for Women v. Scheidler Is being heard by SCOTUS today. The case may decide whether non-violent civil disobedience can be prosecuted under federal RICO laws. Here's the ACLU's amicus brief. And comments from NRO's Rod Dreher.
Colombian Report
Talking Heads Avoid revealing and discussing issues that may be controversial. Especially so when the stories run counter to the government's "talking points." Yet another reason not to trust mainstream media for relevant and accurate news. Who can we trust to report honestly and without putting personal/corporate considerations first?
Is That an Ethanol SUV?
Is That an Ethanol SUV? I recently found out that some of the most popular SUVs (Suburban, Yukon, Tahoe, Explorer) are already capable of running completely on Ethanol (E85). The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition website has lists of cars and SUVs that already run on Ethanol. A handy map of refueling locations is also available. It is surprising (and good) to see the large auto-makers tangibly supporting alternative fuels.
America vs. Europe
The End of the American Era? Well, at least according to that person. However, this guy says that America is the future, and Europe is the past. Is Europe becoming another Soviet Union? These people have something to say about it.
What do you think? 20 years from now, who will be leading the world?
Internet Filtering in China
Internet Filtering in China, a report from the Berkman Center at Harvard Law School. There's been "a documentable leap in filtering sophistication since September 2002".
National Gallery of Art - Drawing on America's Past
The Index of American Design The National Gallery of Art is showing some amazing watercolors commissioned by the Works Progress Administration between 1935 and 1942 to document a uniquely American cultural heritage of primarily traditional folk art (and employ out-of-work artists). I thought the textile reproductions were particularly stunning in their detailed exactitude (rendering the thread count!) and really put to shame the so-called trompe l'oeil paintings in the east gallery :D
concrete canoes
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart's Female Trouble
With shopping on many people's minds these days, here's a story detailing charges of worker discrimination practiced at that store everyone knows (it's also America's largest private employer).
An informed consumer is a responsible consumer. Know where your money goes.
With shopping on many people's minds these days, here's a story detailing charges of worker discrimination practiced at that store everyone knows (it's also America's largest private employer).
An informed consumer is a responsible consumer. Know where your money goes.
GOP Agenda
"The Brighthouse Institute for Thought Sciences
"The Brighthouse Institute for Thought Sciences plans to change the marketing world by using modern neuroscience methods to observe and understand the true drivers of consumer behavior. The Thought Sciences team uses functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), a safe and non-invasive technique, to observe patterns in brain activity that reveal how a person is processing and/or evaluating a product, object or advertisement." (From their press release.) Is this the next logical step beyond focus groups? And does this seem just a little bit creepy to anyone else?
What happens when DNA proves you're not the father of the child you've been compelled to pay to support?
The short fuse of malice.
Class action suit against Bonzi for fake dialog box banners
Your Internet Connection Is Not Optimized! Are the ever-popular fake error message banners illegal? The people involved in the current class action suit against Bonzi Software (makers of the infamous BonziBuddy and several other programs that have been classified as Adware/Trackware and accused of being Spyware) believe so.
Free Electricity from the phone company
Free electricity from the phone company. I already knew that phone lines carry an electrical current, but using it to power devices other than telephones is a new one on me. Some of these are useful, some are interesting, and some are pretty ironic. [via boingboing]
Sex: F*%k Furniture
The internet may have given us a whole new access route to big-scale sex gadgets, like adult baby cribs and The Houdini Box, but sex furniture has been around since Botticelli. By Sally Trash.
Panoramic 360° Photos
Panoramania: Big screen adventures for the discerning armchair traveller. Less discerning small screen 360° fans also catered for.[A companion-piece to mediareport's post below, first link requiring Quicktime.]
December 3
Earth as Art
Planet Earth as abstract art Hot on the heels of Geology from Space and Earth Erotica comes this exhibit honoring the 30th anniversary of the Landsat satellite progam. 41 images from space - chosen for "artistic appeal" over scientific significance - include glaciers, deserts and Karman vortices. Some are even poignant.
Bearpath Gated Community.
Bearpath is a gated community in Minnesota. It's not all that special, except for the fact that it's the only gated community in the state. With membership fees to the golf club topping $10,000, it's obvious they want to keep out people who aren't filthy rich, or knows someone who is.
Places like Florida, California, or Texas have many more. What causes people to want to move out to the sticks and put up a giant fence around their property, with tightly controlled access to the neighborhood?
Is fear of crime a legitimate reason for digging in behind a fence with armed security guards? Or is it just to get away from people? Why is the thought of somebody isolating themselves this much from a community so fascinating?
Dead Grandmother Syndrome
In England it is called the "Graveyard Grannies'' problem, in France the "Chere Grand'mere," while in Bulgaria it is inexplicably known as "The Toadstool Waxing Plan".
Next week, college students around the world will be taking final exams. Their grandmothers will be dropping like flies."
Next week, college students around the world will be taking final exams. Their grandmothers will be dropping like flies."
"Oh, mighty city of New York, you are wonderful to behold--
Your buildings are magnificent-- the truth be it told--
They were the only thing that seemed to arrest my eye,
Because many of them are thirteen storeys high;
And as for Central Park, it is lovely to be seen--
Especially in the summer season when its shrubberies are green
And the Burns Statue is there to be seen,
Surrounded by trees on the beautiful sward so green;
Also Shakespeare and the immortal Sir Walter Scott,
Which by Scotchmen and Englishmen will never be forgot. "
The collected poems of William Topaz McGonagall
Henry Makow
Henry Makow is the inventor of the board game Scruples, and the author of A Long Way to go for a Date. He received his Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Toronto and taught at the University of Winnipeg. He now publishes his prolific writings online. He is also completely, utterly, deliciously insane.
Fresh light on how humans colonised the Americas?
[A]nother race may have pre-dated native Americans.
....Dr Gonzalez told BBC News Online: "We believe that the older race may have come from what is now Japan, via the Pacific islands and perhaps the California coast....this discovery, although it is very significant, raises more questions than it solves." This seems like real news to me: the 'Bering Straits' route is still the dominant theory of pre-Colombian migration, is it not? Yet clearly, for anthropologists, it hasn't that simple for quite some time. Are we on the verge of a new consensus about human expansion across the globe? Or is this doomed to fail, like previous speculation? [Kon-Tiki, anyone?]
....Dr Gonzalez told BBC News Online: "We believe that the older race may have come from what is now Japan, via the Pacific islands and perhaps the California coast....this discovery, although it is very significant, raises more questions than it solves." This seems like real news to me: the 'Bering Straits' route is still the dominant theory of pre-Colombian migration, is it not? Yet clearly, for anthropologists, it hasn't that simple for quite some time. Are we on the verge of a new consensus about human expansion across the globe? Or is this doomed to fail, like previous speculation? [Kon-Tiki, anyone?]
Long Riders Guild
The Long Riders' Guild is an association of equestrian explorers who have ridden more than 1,000 continuous miles on a single equestrian journey.
A post about a nice movie.
Boom! Atomic Cocktail! Released in 1982, and made up of propaganda footage, newsreels and civil defense films, The Atomic Cafe has been released on DVD. Here are some sound clips from the film (warning: noise), and here's a tiny bit of information about one of the director's other films, Feed.
Former Head of Faith-Based Programs Says Bush White House Not Interested in Policy
In a long letter to Esquire magazine, the former head of Bush's Office of Faith-Based Programs blasts the White House as having practically no interest or expertise in making sound social policy: "[O]n social policy and related issues, the lack of even basic policy knowledge, and the only casual interest in knowing more, was somewhat breathtaking." DiIulio may have a bit of an ax to grind here, but it is still a fascinating look inside the Bush policy-making apparatus. (The letter was the basis for an article by Ron Suskind in Esquire which is not available online [press release here]. The saga leading to the publication of the letter is recounted in today's Tapped)
Tarkovsky-derived video game? Yup.
Tarkovsky's Stalker coming as video game in 2003. I always wondered how long it would take for a more artistically-informed bunch to come to the $18B/year video game market (bigger than Hollywood). Will our generation have its video-game counterparts to Faulkner and Fitzgerald? A David Foster Wallace or Don Delillo authored game? Are there other video games that can stand up as "Art?"
House of the Future
Where will you be living in the future? Las Vegas' metro area is the fastest growing community in the nation, but we still build houses the old fashion way. MIT looks at what the homes of the future will provide and also gives an interesting review of what the homes of the future were like in the past, including my favorite future house of the past. What do you want in your next home?
The other one in Weird Science
The other one in Weird Science What was it like to be a 15-year-old boy kissing 30-year-old Kelly LeBrock? Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) tells all about his childhood acting days. He did not turn to a life of drugs, but to a life of academia. Is it "healthy and important for us to see that the guy who played Wyatt is a real person"? I'm not sure about that, but it was an interesting interview, and, of course, a great movie.
Every 30 years (ish) America gets itself into war. Time's up!
Take a peek at this military timeline. And let's figure that the time from when Johnny, sergeant, age 25, gets home from fighting the war and tells 5 year old Junior about the experience to when Junior, Major/Lt.Col, grows up and wants to CAUSE a war, averages 30 years.
Now let's do some math...starting with the French and Indian War, 1754-1763. Add 30-ish years (21). American Revolution, 1775-1783. Add 30-ish years (38). War of 1812, 1812-1814. Add 30-ish years, numerous Indian wars. Add 30-ish years. American Civil War, 1861-1865. Add 30-ish years (37). Spanish-American War, 1898. Add 30-ish years (19). America in World War I, 1917-1918. Add 30-ish years (25). America in World War II, 1942-1945. Add 30-ish years (20). Vietnam War, 1964-1973. Add 30-ish years, and it's the turn of the millenium....it's now.
We haven't learned from 250 years of this cycle, and there's no reason to think we've learned anything since. I didn't count the Gulf War cause it wasn't much of anything, and I know the numbers are a bit forced...but I think this trend is worth discussing.
Now let's do some math...starting with the French and Indian War, 1754-1763. Add 30-ish years (21). American Revolution, 1775-1783. Add 30-ish years (38). War of 1812, 1812-1814. Add 30-ish years, numerous Indian wars. Add 30-ish years. American Civil War, 1861-1865. Add 30-ish years (37). Spanish-American War, 1898. Add 30-ish years (19). America in World War I, 1917-1918. Add 30-ish years (25). America in World War II, 1942-1945. Add 30-ish years (20). Vietnam War, 1964-1973. Add 30-ish years, and it's the turn of the millenium....it's now.
We haven't learned from 250 years of this cycle, and there's no reason to think we've learned anything since. I didn't count the Gulf War cause it wasn't much of anything, and I know the numbers are a bit forced...but I think this trend is worth discussing.
Drunk Santa
Sober Santa . Too much politics today, not enough Christmas fun. Here's a drunk Santa game from b3ta. Pretty tough once you get going.
tom tomorrow
Total Information Awareness v. Holden Caulfield. Great Tom Tomorrow cartoon on our new "permanent records" under Ashcroft's plan. What books did you check out of the library as a teenage "malcontent" that might arouse suspicion today?
Koppel
ABC lets Koppel do his thing. Have you watched "Up Close", Ted Koppel's in-depth interview segment? NYTimes does a good job describing how Ted has chosen to be himself (i.e., high-brow and ministerial) with scant disregard to ratings. Is this type of program the antidote to the media's obsessive and corruptive focus on ratings?
corporate chickens
some strong words about "corporate chickens" thoughts about giving government contracts to companies that have bolted offshore to tax havens - and who might have slipped this defeat of the wellstone amendment into the "homeland security bill"?
Midnight Oil calls it quits
"They kissed no bum and tugged no forelock." Aussie politi-rockers Midnight Oil have hung it up with the departure of their lead singer, Peter Garrett.
Campaign Law Set for Big Test
McCain-Feingold doomed (NYT reg req) The law enforcing the soft money ban goes to court tomorrow. Opponents of the law will be led by Kenneth Starr (!), while the defenders of the law will eventually be led by Bush's solicitor general, Theodore Olson, the guy who argued the case that made George W. Bush president. Gee, that sounds fair --- everyone's an arch conservative. This law is toast. Back to the trough!
Singing Horses [Flash]
It's futuristic, it's retro, it's ... futuretro?
How I love Mutant Storm [demos available for Windows, Linux and, yes, Mac!]. It's amazing the dross that the big players can come up with while games like this aren't even available in the shops. Yay for the web, I say.
hats made of balloons
Addi Somekh and Charlie Eckert travel around the world, photographing people wearing their spur-of-the-moment, whimsical balloon hats. It's hard not to smile when you have an inflatable, multi-colored crown on your head. Via obsessive Magnificent Obsessions.
Hunger Out West
Hunger rates highest in rural West. "Unemployment and prevalence of seasonal labor go hand-in-hand with hunger, experts say. Oregon, Washington and Alaska rank high in both jobless and hunger rates. Across the West, the agriculture industry relies on seasonal labor to harvest everything from mushrooms to apples. Families that work in the summer often can't make ends meet in the winter."
December 2
Sony writes salon article
Sony writes 'article' for Salon. In an effort to find new revenue streams, Salon has published an ad/article written by Sony Corp. National Geographic and Parent Soup have also published ad/articles, though the New York Times said no. While the articles do not directly reference Sony products, the feature people who do fascinating things with technology... technology which, it just so happens, is advertised conveniently right next to the technology featuring passage.
Is this sort of thing ever ethical? If so, what sort of disclosures are necessary. Clearly the ad/articles are intended to appear to be regular content.
Reach In And Touch Someone, Part II.
Reach In And Touch Someone, Part II. If your experience with the dating service isn't completely satisfactory, you may want to take matters into your own hands. Even so, your perfect soulmate may not be available...
(link via blort, may a thousand chain-gang virgins sing its praises...)
(link via blort, may a thousand chain-gang virgins sing its praises...)
Biographical Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Film
Gary Westfahl's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Film is an attempt to do for SF film what David Thomson's brilliant "A Biographical Dictionary of Film" does for film in general - to provide a well informed and wholly subjective survey of the most important people who contributed to the field. The BESFF is very much a work in progress, and half the fun is seeing who author Gary Westfahl has chosen to include this month.
His entries so far range from the obvious to the surprising to the deeply obscure.
Always though, his witty and often compassionate pocket reviews of these carreers show how seriously he feels SF cinema should be taken, and by extension how betrayed he feels by those within the field who don't.
Why We Fight
'Saddam's men torturted me' A dossier of human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by the Iraqi regime, including torture and rape, has been released by the UK Government. The full report here (pdf).
Amnesty International is criticizing the UK government for the timing of the report's release. What do you think? Moral outrage at the servile scum that run Iraq's prisons or calculated manipulation of UK/US public opinion prior to an inexorable war to keep our SUVs?
voyeurs
Acting White
Acting White *: In 1986, Professors Signithia Fordham and John Ogbu introduced this phrase into our cultural lexicon, presenting evidence that black academic underperformance might be partially or largely attributable to a devaluation of academic success by black students themselves. Needless to say, this theory was controversial ... [*via Arts & Letters Daily] [more inside]
Joseph Smith: America's Hermetic Prophet
Joseph Smith: Magus, Freemason, Kabbalist and Gnostic.
The remarkable founder of the only truly American religion.
The remarkable founder of the only truly American religion.
Microsoft still king of the hill
Liberty Alliance conceded defeat last week to Microsoft .NET Passport. AOL, a key player in Liberty Alliance, just disbanded it's Magic Carpet team, whose memebers were also the AOL point people for the Sun-led Liberty Alliance Project, and played a very active role in its progression. How long do we wait until they start complaining about Microsoft having a monopoly in unified authentication systems?
U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider anti-homosexual laws
On September 17, 1998, in response to an armed robbery call, Houston police burst in to the home of John Lawrence. The police didn’t find a robber (nor would they – the call was deliberately false), but they did find Lawrence having sex with another man, Tyrone Garner. Lawrence and Garner were promptly charged with “engaging in homosexual conduct,” a misdemeanor under Texas law. They paid their fine and began a long legal challenge to Texas’ anti-sodomy law. That challenge has finally reached the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, which today agreed to hear their appeal early next year. Standing in the way is the Court’s own 1986 decision in Bowers v. Hardwick, in which it held that anti-sodomy laws are constitutional. That may be about to change.
Giving kids' privacy away
"It's a vast departure from the way we've done business," said Donna Harlan, an associate superintendent in the Northampton school system. "We are not in the business of giving lists of names of kids to anybody. That was tough. The issue was if we were to receive federal or state money, we had to comply with the law."
New FOX reality show - Joe Millionaire
What's Joe's Big Secret? The FOX network has quietly finished production on "Joe Millionaire," a seven-episode series that combines elements of Fox's "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?" with ABC's "The Bachelor."
I won't spoil the "secret" for anyone who cares but isn't someone's financial status a valid factor when forming a relationship. If you lie to someone the entire time during a relationship doesn't that effect your perceptions and feelings towards the person who lied to you?
dbdb
Design Playground. Become an avatar, walk around, have fun.
Dhimmi, Goyim, and alike
Bat Yeor is a
researcher of the life of dhimmi (non-Muslims) under Islam. How do other religions treat the 'infidels'? Judaism has the goy, but what's his rights? What about Christianity? Hinduism? Shinto? How has the legal view of the minorities developed in socio-political systems informed by different religions?...
Cuban terrorists
Leniency for Terrorists
CIA memorandums strongly suggest, according to Bardach's book, that Bosch was one of the conspirators, and quotes the then secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, as writing that the "US government had been planning to suggest Bosch's deportation before Cubana airlines crash took place for his suspected involvement in other terrorist acts and violation of his parole".
Bosch's release, often referred to in the US media as a pardon, was the result of pressure brought by hardline Cubans in Miami, with Jeb Bush serving as their point man. Bosch now lives in Miami and remains unrepentant about his militant activities, according to Bardach.
Is there a double standard at work regarding terrorists?
CIA memorandums strongly suggest, according to Bardach's book, that Bosch was one of the conspirators, and quotes the then secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, as writing that the "US government had been planning to suggest Bosch's deportation before Cubana airlines crash took place for his suspected involvement in other terrorist acts and violation of his parole".
Bosch's release, often referred to in the US media as a pardon, was the result of pressure brought by hardline Cubans in Miami, with Jeb Bush serving as their point man. Bosch now lives in Miami and remains unrepentant about his militant activities, according to Bardach.
Is there a double standard at work regarding terrorists?
Monroe Doctrine
December 2, 1823 President James Monroe made his annual speech to congress and outlined his policy that the American continents were "henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers" Since then the US has, for better or worse, at times stood by the Monroe Doctrine, ignored it when they had bigger issues back home and even argued that it doesn't apply in the case of American imperialism. Is it time to retool our Latin America policy now that Europe doesn't seem so bent on imperialism there, or is the Doctrine needed as much as ever?
GOP No More!
Want to talk about GOP? Not in the WSJ! The latest WSJ internal style guide has banned the use of GOP (Grand Old Party) as a reference that too few would be familar with. Republicans seem to find it amusing, considering their domain name, however. I'd just been speaking about this to a colleague a few days ago when someone at lunch asked what a GOP was. Do the other mediums follow suit? Is this as big a deal as some publications using the term "homicide bomber" instead of "suicide bomber?"
Holiday countdown with advent calendars
Advent Calendars are those paper cards with 25 doors that you open for each day leading up to Christmas. Though they began as a religious custom, many today are just for fun, and they've made their way online. They can be created by web designers, design firms or illustrators to display their talent, by newspapers or hand-drawn by a 7 year old Norwegian kid. They can have a theme like a holiday cookie recipe, a Bengal cat, a perl script, an international custom, a charity or a not safe for work nude babe of the day. They can even tell a story as in the charming Tate the Cat. Download a template to modify your own. Have you spotted any good ones in your web travels?
Ramen Noodles! Noodle, noodle, noodle.
Hungry? Got a couple of minutes and a quarter? Ramen Noodles! The "Official" Home Page, complete with recipies. Not to mention, the history, and inedible uses.
Movie Adaptations of Books
funny business on the net
It would appear that our original warning was not sufficient.This is the second message you receive when you right-click at this website a second time. And then it LOCKS UP YOUR COMPUTER(use ctrl/alt/del to close browser and unlock.) The first time you right-click you are given this warning..Images and all text on our website are protected by copyright--DO NOT attempt to copy."give me one ping,give me one ping only please" What..the..
Satirical hamster site
Unusual (or not) Music and Art (or not)
Freenoise. "This site exists to provide information on 'unusual' music and arts; the word "unusual" being easily replaced by 'unconventional,' 'non-mainstream,' 'underground,' 'extreme' or by any one of a dozen other useless labels." This includes such projects as Cock E.S.P., Wrong and the fascinating Panelectric Living Sinema. The link page is of particular interest, as it could open up a whole world to the uninitiated. I wish they linked my favorite bug faced noise band, Winter Carousel.
December 1
Is Male Circumcision A Solution to the African AIDS Crisis?
Is Male Circumcision A Solution to the African AIDS Crisis? The United States Agency for International Development has sponsored some hopeful research suggesting that wider availability of male circumcision could substantially reduce AIDS tranmission in Africa. Contrary to worries that male circumcision would be viewed as a culturally imperialist intrusion into African traditions, public health surveys have found surprising unfulfilled demand for circumcision among African men.
Missing an Opportunity
Missing an Opportunity: One thing not discussed at the world AIDS conference was the impact Christians, acting in accordance with a biblical worldview, can have on this crisis.
Some other numbers
Some other numbers "During the period known as the Aids epidemic, 14 million people died of heart disease while 9 million succumbed to cancer, which is 8.5 million more than those counted for AIDS."
And Aids is 100% preventable too. So why all the focus on it, to the exclusion of other diseases that pose much more horrible threats to us?
AIDS deaths in 2002
Some numbers. 3.1 million in 2002 comes out to some 8,500 a day, 354 an hour, and almost 6 a minute. Each minute. Each hour. Each day. Deaths. Of AIDS.
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus & Animal Lentiviruses
But what about the kitties? Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. FIV has been recognized as a syndrome since 1986, and as with AIDS, has been found in stored blood samples dating back to the 60s. Unlike HIV, however, for FIV there's a vaccine. Not that everyone is excited about it.
Originally, this was to be a post intended to provide something lighter until this appeared:
In addition, over 25 large cat species including, cheetahs, lions, and panthers have their own strain of the virus. Despite similarity among these viruses, transmission among species has never been documented. Scientists think that FIV is an old virus and may be the grandfather of all immunodeficiency viruses. Comparison of its' genetic code point to a virus that is millions of years old.
Googling led to several topics.
Originally, this was to be a post intended to provide something lighter until this appeared:
In addition, over 25 large cat species including, cheetahs, lions, and panthers have their own strain of the virus. Despite similarity among these viruses, transmission among species has never been documented. Scientists think that FIV is an old virus and may be the grandfather of all immunodeficiency viruses. Comparison of its' genetic code point to a virus that is millions of years old.
Googling led to several topics.
AIDS Dissidents
AIDS Dissidents argue AIDS is not really caused by HIV but is a production of medical and pharmaceutical conglomerates. They are willing to argue the point even though some are HIV positive. They use "Seven Deadly Deceptions" such as "The HIV test is unreliable--so don't get tested." to further their cause; and their cause is growing.
First mention of AIDS on Usenet
The first mention of AIDS on Usenet was in the net.singles group back on December 20, 1982. In it, seven people grasp for information about the disease -- how it's transmitted, how long it takes to start to show symptoms, and what those symptoms could be. It's a window both into the early days of AIDS knowledge and the early days of the Internet, and a fine example of people using 'net-based community groups to acquire information and ask questions.
Personal stories about HIV/AIDS
Among the plethora of online resources, there exist many personal stories of how the disease has touched the lives of online authors. I'm listing the ones I've found today (by all means post others you find as a comment here).
- Ultrasparky thinks about it twice a day
- Mermaniac remembers Ronnie
- PozBoy's story of getting tested
- Q's story from the hospital
- Piggyhawk's scare
- Thinkdkink's jr high assembly
- The Fray remembers Robert
- Ultrasparky thinks about it twice a day
- Mermaniac remembers Ronnie
- PozBoy's story of getting tested
- Q's story from the hospital
- Piggyhawk's scare
- Thinkdkink's jr high assembly
- The Fray remembers Robert
I Wear A Red Ribbon
I Wear A Red Ribbon "Why do I wear the Red Ribbon? I wear it because I CAN. I am still alive, still able to carry the message about the reality and urgency of AIDS and how HIV can be prevented. I carry this message for those whose voices can no longer be heard but whose presence can still be felt. What message is that? I carry the message-- to all who will hear AND listen-- that HIV/AIDS is, at this point, 100% FATAL... but it is also 100% PREVENTABLE."
She died in 1995 in a car accident.
Britain's rising HIV
"Immigration has overtaken gay sex as the main form of HIV into Britain" - that I never knew.
AIDS Timeline
An AIDS timeline from 1981-2001. As part of an exhibition by the Museum of the City of New York on Gay Men's Health Crisis, one of the first service organizations created to help fight the disease, a very simple interactive timeline was created--just pick a year or browse through them all...from a "Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals." (NYT-1981) to "15,000 new HIV infections a day in 1999".
Anatomy of sexual risk
In the Trenches with Love and AIDS. An HIV-negative gay man shares why he sleeps with seropositive men and how he deals with the danger :
"When his health finally collapses, you clean his diarrhea off the sheets and floor and swaddle him in diapers against his will. When he falls into a coma, you lie next to him every night and jerk off amid the scent of looming death. Your orgasms are great. You hold his hand as his last breath slips away and then his mouth drops open and foam bubbles out. They take him away but you can't let him go yet, so you don't change the sheets for two days, and you masturbate some more."
"When his health finally collapses, you clean his diarrhea off the sheets and floor and swaddle him in diapers against his will. When he falls into a coma, you lie next to him every night and jerk off amid the scent of looming death. Your orgasms are great. You hold his hand as his last breath slips away and then his mouth drops open and foam bubbles out. They take him away but you can't let him go yet, so you don't change the sheets for two days, and you masturbate some more."
The story of River Huston
Do you know River Huston? She's the poet laureate of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She is a sometimes controversial HIV/AIDS educator, columnist for POZ, a magazine "founded primarily to get information to HIV positive persons", she authored A Positive Life; a photo documentary book about women living with HIV. Yes, she is HIV positive, but it changed her life in ways she didn't expect: "It took getting an HIV-positive diagnosis for me to realize I was a sex goddess. If there is one thing that will improve a girl's sex life it is finding out she has AIDS."
Can Poetry Matter ? - Part 3
Can Poetry Matter ? - Part 3 "...As long as I can see, hear, feel and think, I own the tools to survive..." The Last Word, I Own All of Me by David Kearney - Body Positive, Dec 2001, Volume XIV, Number 12.
Stopping this scourge
Dr. Donald Francis He was portrayed by Mathew Modine in the classic HBO film And the Band Played On, which told the story of how he discovered the AIDS virus 20 years ago. Earlier in his career he was a key member of the team that wiped out Smallpox (although he couldn't argue a few governments from keeping samples on ice just in case) and the team that figured out how to contain outbreaks of the flesh eating Ebola virus--that was essentially him, though not his personality, that Dustin Hoffman played in Outbreak. Now he's the president and chief scientist of Vaxgen, a company that expects to receive positive result from its Phase III human clinical trials of AIDSVAX shortly after New Year's. If the results are as expected, AIDSVAX will be the first AIDS vaccine to go into production.
Like any other major issue in our age of delusions and self-deceptions, there are doubters and paranoids and conspiracy theorists too. Here is a neat little example of all three bundled up in one, from a publication titled The Aids Mirage: Donald Francis invents a viral epidemic. All the stop energy embodied by such efforts are really sad.
Like any other major issue in our age of delusions and self-deceptions, there are doubters and paranoids and conspiracy theorists too. Here is a neat little example of all three bundled up in one, from a publication titled The Aids Mirage: Donald Francis invents a viral epidemic. All the stop energy embodied by such efforts are really sad.
Cure for AIDS
Cure for AIDS is a song by Dan Bern, whose voice and songwriting have labelled him The New Bob Dylan. Read the lyrics, listen to the clip...it may be a bit optimistic and utopian, but it's heartwarming nonetheless.
Albert Schweitzer and SIV
The Hunt for the Origin of AIDS "The notion that AIDS arose from a polio vaccine made with contaminated chimpanzee cells is far from the only theory about how the epidemic started, and it is hotly disputed. The quest for the source of the epidemic is intensifying, as researchers scour the jungle for clues and try to "walk back" the disease genetically with the help of the world's most powerful computers."
HIV/AIDS information portal in OK
CHAIN: Oklahoma's Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Information Network. A prototype web portal, designed to provide one-stop access to AIDS information for a state with a lower HIV infection rate. Funded by the National Library of Medicine. The concept is that people in small towns or rural areas can access information and contacts without leaving home. Web designers and MetaFiltrans - does the concept work? Seen anything similar in your community?
Living With Aids
Steve Schalchlin , a singer-songwriter, writes about living with AIDS in his online journal. Students at Marshall High School put themselves in the shoes of an HIV-positive girl, in the project My name is Kerry and I have AIDS (Now I'm dead!). Journalist Eric Foss keeps a diary about his visits to AIDS victims in Zambia, with pictures, video and interview transcripts. Adam Solomon writes at length about training for and participating in several AIDS rides for vaccine and cure charities. Five years old, but still affecting, there's AIDS worker Paul Gallotta's AIDS diary. Supporting group efforts of AIDS victims and other interested parties is the journal Being Alive. There's a vast catalog of compelling first-person perspective at HIV/AIDS Positive Stories, at Avert.org, and at Breaking the Silence... Rompiendo El Silencio from the AIDS Project Los Angeles.
Pandemic: Facing Aids
Coming Soon on film and in print. Pandemic: Facing Aids - an ambitious project from filmmaker/activist Rory Kennedy and the AOL Time Warner Foundation.
Educate. Prevent. Practice Safer Sex. Demand Needle Exchange Programs. End HIV/AIDS Discrimination.
Educate. Prevent.
Practice Safer Sex.
Insist On Needle Exchange Programs.
End HIV/AIDS Discrimination.
Demand Adequate Treatment for Low Income HIV+ Persons.
(And fight like hell against those who drag their feet on public health issues for the sake of ideology.)
Know the enemy
USG PR
US Government Support for the Fight Against HIV/AIDS is an overview from the State Department of funding and programs directed towards international AIDS prevention and treatment. World AIDS Day was proclaimed by the President. The special CDC site focuses on the stigma and discrimination of AIDS that creates impediments to fighting the disease. The National Institutes of Health launch AIDSInfo on December 2, combining prior resources. USAID notes its own programs and accomplishments. The US Surgeon General notes the impact on persons of color. Housing and Urban Development looks at housing opportunities. And the Department of Veterans Affairs provides more AIDS care than any other single agency. The NIH Drug Abuse office has its own information site, including notes on the perhaps ineptly, perhaps tellingly PSA spot series titled "Jack and Jill".
AIDS in Africa photojournalism
Health care and intellectual property
Intellectual property laws and the fight against disease Lots of news, data and commentary at the "Health Care and Intellectual Property" page from the Consumer Project on Technology. Conflicts of Interest in Biomedical Research is also worth a look.
The Access to Essential Medicines Campaign
The Access to Essential Medicines Campaign is an initiative by Medecins Sans Frontieres that seeks to "lower the prices of existing medicines in developing countries, to bring abandoned drugs back into production, to stimulate research and development for neglected diseases that primarily affect the poor, and to overcome other barriers to access." HIV is one target disease. The Campaign's press releases, press clips and reports on HIV give a good picture of recent developments. In light of this evidence, does anyone care to step up and defend "big pharma" and the governments of the wealthy North? Have we/they "done enough"? What would "doing enough" look like, given the scope of the crisis?
Artists and AIDS
Artists and AIDS - in 1986, Mesami Teraoka began his series of AIDS themed watercolors and they have been exhibited widely since. The art community has been an important force in raising both public awareness and funds for the AIDS epidemic. Visual AIDS has been in the forefront of mobilizing the art community. The site contains a rich archive of work since 1999, with special exhibits on art for Africa and the women of Visual Aids. Another international effort, Artists for AIDS, was started by Canadian artists to raise money for African children with AIDS. Some earlier group art projects include Ten Years, Ten Artists, Making Art & Raising Hell and Art Against AIDS, a Ukrainian collection of posters and prints. Some art contains adult themes & Teraoka's site has a warning.
Thabo Mbeki's AIDS policies
"35,000". The South African president Thabo Mbeki is failing to deal with his nation's unbelievable AIDS epidemic. Here are the opinions of his chief advisor on the disease. For balance, here is the opinion of the UK government.
Do you agree with me that Mbeki is a dangerous man, and is a terrible choice to follow his predecessor?
Larry Kramer, HIV & Organ Transplants
"Right now there are hundreds of thousands of people in this country waiting for organs. Most of them will die before they get them. Many of them will die after they have been put on a waiting list."
- Larry Kramer, actor/writer/producer/author & veteran esteemed activist, has survived nearly 12 months since his liver transplant last December. [BTW, that's how long he said he needed to finish his mighty tome-in-progress, 'The American People']. The founder of Gay Men's Health Crisis, ACT-UP and other community action groups needed the operation due to a co-infection with Hepatitis B Virus, a situation which is becoming increasingly common now that long-term survival rates for HIV+ folks improve, and other viruses have more deadly effects. Naturally, the coming crisis in organ transplants leads the ultra-activist to a new, personal but less formal protest: a campaign for presumed consent.
"In a previous interview Kramer also remarked that he did not feel welcomed or wanted at Mt Sinai. Other issues such as homophobia, AIDS-phobia and ethical concerns about "wasting good organs on HIV positive patients," or the fear that donors might stop giving organs if they find out PWAs are receiving them, have all influenced and slowed HIV positive transplant progress." In a recent New York Times interview, Dr. Fung (Kramer's surgeon)stated that "homophobia has been one of the problems in moving HIV positive organ transplants forward. Such homophobia is veiled, and never openly admitted." Kramer's liver transplant "has cost Medicare, so far, over $500,000 and Empire Blue Cross, so far, over $100,000 for the continuing medications I must take, including a monthly pop of some $10,000 for something called Hepatitis B Immune Globulin, which I believe I must receive for the rest of my life. And you need to get your blood tested every few weeks. That costs a lot too." How many HIV+ folks in the US - let alone globally - can afford that?
- Larry Kramer, actor/writer/producer/author & veteran esteemed activist, has survived nearly 12 months since his liver transplant last December. [BTW, that's how long he said he needed to finish his mighty tome-in-progress, 'The American People']. The founder of Gay Men's Health Crisis, ACT-UP and other community action groups needed the operation due to a co-infection with Hepatitis B Virus, a situation which is becoming increasingly common now that long-term survival rates for HIV+ folks improve, and other viruses have more deadly effects. Naturally, the coming crisis in organ transplants leads the ultra-activist to a new, personal but less formal protest: a campaign for presumed consent.
"In a previous interview Kramer also remarked that he did not feel welcomed or wanted at Mt Sinai. Other issues such as homophobia, AIDS-phobia and ethical concerns about "wasting good organs on HIV positive patients," or the fear that donors might stop giving organs if they find out PWAs are receiving them, have all influenced and slowed HIV positive transplant progress." In a recent New York Times interview, Dr. Fung (Kramer's surgeon)stated that "homophobia has been one of the problems in moving HIV positive organ transplants forward. Such homophobia is veiled, and never openly admitted." Kramer's liver transplant "has cost Medicare, so far, over $500,000 and Empire Blue Cross, so far, over $100,000 for the continuing medications I must take, including a monthly pop of some $10,000 for something called Hepatitis B Immune Globulin, which I believe I must receive for the rest of my life. And you need to get your blood tested every few weeks. That costs a lot too." How many HIV+ folks in the US - let alone globally - can afford that?
Time to think about the Bush Administration's stance on HIV
Time to think about the Bush Administration's stance on HIV. Thinking about it allows you to go on and on thinking about it.
You know what they were writing about Bush in 2000 (compliments of first Google hit)?
Riddled with AIDS, burdened by poverty and plagued by wars, Africa will present significant foreign policy challenges to the administration of President-elect George W. Bush, analysts on the continent say.
Though many fear Bush will pay little attention to Africa, its problems may be too great to ignore.
What ever are we going to do now?
Riddled with AIDS, burdened by poverty and plagued by wars, Africa will present significant foreign policy challenges to the administration of President-elect George W. Bush, analysts on the continent say.
Though many fear Bush will pay little attention to Africa, its problems may be too great to ignore.
What ever are we going to do now?
AIDS in China
"China's catastrophic mismanagement of its AIDS crisis has come to this: Xie Yan is trying to give away her son. Ms. Xie's husband died last year of AIDS, and she has the virus as well. They are the victims of government-backed blood-selling schemes that have left about one million people infected here in Henan Province in central China. Multiply Ms. Xie's heartache a millionfold, and you understand the cost of the Chinese government's cover-up of its AIDS crisis. If China continues to be more concerned with hiding the tragedy than confronting it, then today's Chinese leaders could kill millions of people over the next two decades. We in the West must exert strong pressure on China to act quickly to address the AIDS challenge."
Did the government create AIDS?
According to the international agency UNAIDS, an estimated 42 million people are living with HIV today. Five million people were newly infected and 3.1 million people were killed by the disease in 2002. This civil rights lawyer has brought a case in federal court alleging that the US government created AIDS under the "US Special Virus" program between 1948 and 1978. Here is the flowchart upon which he is basing his case.
AIDS a century from now
"More than we can bear." The impact of the AIDS pandemic over the next 100 years may have effects even more far-reaching than many of us have considered. Joseph Riverson has some thoughts on what it will take to prevent a "Black Death" reality.
Link and Think kickoff
To celebrate World AIDS Day, MetaFilter is going to focus solely on HIV and AIDS related posts for the next 24 hours. Like last year's observation on MetaFilter, this year's Link and Think project asks everyone to think about the issues surrounding this disease, how it has affected you, others, and the world. Feel free to share information on prevention, research, or anything else related to the topic at hand.