March 17, 2005
American Apparel's amateur porn-styled ads
American Apparel ads: Porn pushers or youth prophets? (Now, Toronto) Some believe American Apparel's amateur porn-styled ads using real models are retail brilliance – others say it's time for a boycott.
Another Fan Of Torture Reveals Himself
Another Fan Of Torture Reveals Himself Eugene Volokh, a former clerk to Justice O'Connor and a leading voice in conservative legal circles has some interesting opinions on punishment:
[T]hough for many instances I would prefer less painful forms of execution, I am especially pleased that the killing — and, yes, I am happy to call it a killing, a perfectly proper term for a perfectly proper act — was a slow throttling, and was preceded by a flogging. The one thing that troubles me (besides the fact that the murderer could only be killed once) is that the accomplice was sentenced to only 15 years in prison, but perhaps there's a good explanation.
[T]hough for many instances I would prefer less painful forms of execution, I am especially pleased that the killing — and, yes, I am happy to call it a killing, a perfectly proper term for a perfectly proper act — was a slow throttling, and was preceded by a flogging. The one thing that troubles me (besides the fact that the murderer could only be killed once) is that the accomplice was sentenced to only 15 years in prison, but perhaps there's a good explanation.
Superbug or symbol?
HIV prevention efforts are failing. Last year, the discovery of a New York man with a novel form of drug-resistant HIV that rapidly progressed to AIDS caused some to warn of the emergence of a "superbug." The first clinical analysis of the case will be published Saturday in The Lancet (NYT preview); Dr. Martin Markowitz concluded the cause of the rapid progression to AIDS may be incomplete -- but that efforts to prevent the epidemic must be redoubled, especially in light of the growing use of methamphetamines. Dr. Carlos del Rio is blunt: "This is telling us that AIDS prevention programs have been a failure." The Gay Men's Health Crisis agrees.
The Joy of The Freudian Typo
Why did you pull me over, Officer?
It's not the Greatest Boner... but it is BATMAN'S Greatest Boner.
"BATMAN - We've got to stop the joker! Those boner crimes are making us look bad! And I'm worried about the boner he's readying for YOU!" (slightly related) (Via Radosh.net)
Kaboom!
Play "Kaboom!" (1981) by Activision's Larry Kaplan. [both links feature loud noises] And because you didn't ask, here's a 1984 article about the not-so-legendary 30 secrets of Atari.
"My instincts in publishing are very much a gut reaction"
In those days, he could do no wrong. In the Sixties, he was the man who published Catch-22, Portnoy's Complaint and Hemingway's A Moveable Feast; he put John Lennon's doodles into cold print, launched the careers of John Fowles and Gabriel García Márquez, looked after Thomas Pynchon and Kurt Vonnegut and later, in the early 1980s, was the godfatherly mentor of Amis fils, Julian Barnes, Ian McEwan and Salman Rushdie. He was equally adept at commissioning inspired non-fictions such as The Naked Ape, Desmond Morris's zoological inspection of human behaviour.
The Independent profiles Tom Maschler, publisher, founder of the Booker Prize. (via Bookslut)
The Independent profiles Tom Maschler, publisher, founder of the Booker Prize. (via Bookslut)
Survivors of the spiritual hurricane unite
Inside the mind of a paranoid schizophrenic. Memorize the keywords with which the lizards of the stage world will attempt to distort your reality. Can you accept your own vampirism? Are you familiar with the most common reality fishing techniques and horse movements?
This is the painstaking record of a man for whom delusions have completely overtaken reality. Spend some time with it - the detail is mind-numbing and the reality he has created is utterly insane... and occasionally convincing. Mirror in case Geocities croaks.
Juan Gelman
Juan Gelman. An Argentinian poet's search for remains of his daughter-in-law, kidnapped in Buenos Aires in 1976.
Black Hole in a Lab
Ever Read Hyperion, by Simmons? In that story, the earth was accidentally destroyed by a man-made black hole. We are now one step closer. Physicists may have created a black hole in a lab at the RHIC (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider). H. Nastase has posted a paper on the possibility. Fascinating discovery, but there's no real danger of destroying the earth. This might be a good time to check up on some of the myths surrounding black holes. (Found via that other site, /.)
Missing Friends
Missing Friends - Information Wanted - a Database of Advertisements For Irish Immigrants Published in the Boston Pilot.
Boston College has posted more than 31,000 historical entries of Irish Immigrants who were looking to reunite with family and friends between 1831 to 1921 in a searchable database. The ads were published originally in the Boston Pilot.
Boston College has posted more than 31,000 historical entries of Irish Immigrants who were looking to reunite with family and friends between 1831 to 1921 in a searchable database. The ads were published originally in the Boston Pilot.
The pipes, the pipes are calling
The Mystery of Danny Boy - Most everyone has heard the song "Danny Boy", and while the lyrics have a traceable history, where did the tune originate? It is known as "Londonderry Air" in some folks circles, and a lovely band arrangement was done with the title "Irish Tune from County Derry". Regardless of the facts, it is still a poignant tune covered by many.
more mind control
"An autopoietic system is one organised to respond to the world. Prod it and it will react homeostatically, striving to reach a new accommodation that preserves its integrity. There is a global cohesion - a memory of what the system wants to be - that reaches down to organise the parts even while those parts may be adding up to produce the functioning whole."
I said a hip hop a hip hip hop hop and I don't stop
I say a E-A-S with a T-E-R and an EGG with a double G! Flash, Shockwave, 10 days early, not Friday, \/\/hateva
Hot Tomato
Glassblowing galore
Fascinated by glassblowing? <- More video and info than you can shake a stick at. See also: Glassblowing in Antiquity as well as today. View the process via a mpeg video (or step through the pictures). See some old glass recipes and learn about what the individual ingredients do. Ever seen a Chihuly exhibition? (or via QuickTime (now in several locations). Wow. There is also a process for fusing, slumping and kiln-forming glass called "Warm Glass". Gallery here. If you are into this you may need to save this one for the weekend, but I couldn't wait.
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MusicalGenius: What does a comedic genius stuck in lonely ol' Minneapolis do for fun?
He becomes an ice cream eating, elephant fanatic who opens a Mashed Potato bar, of course. (Amazon.com)
Spell with Flickr!
Rock me again and again and again and again and again and again
R.I.P. Lyn Collins [NYT, reg. req.] Backing singer for James Brown, whose revue she joined in 1971 (she was also the sister of his band members Bootsy and Catfish Collins), her first hit was the monster Think (About It) in 1972, one of the most sampled records in hip hop, maybe most famously in Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's It Takes Two. (Extensive, but by no means full, list of Collins samplers here.) Audio sample (mp3) of You Can't Love Me If You Don't respect Me here. Brief obit and full mp3 of a great live version of Do Your Thing here.
Rainbows - Nature's Light Show
Rainbows, pots of gold, and leprechauns are images that come to mind on St. Paddy’s Day. They are beautiful to behold, but how much do you really know about rainbows? Did you know that there are double, triple, and supernumerary rainbows, that no two people ever see the same rainbow, and that rainbows consist of more than just the ROYGBIV colors? Rainbows permeate mythology, prophecy, spirituality, symbolism, mentality, and sexuality. Rainbows are a job for one, a link to the past for some, and a hope for the future for others.
feed me better
Feed Me Better Jamie Oliver (UK fat tongued food wizard) campaigns to ban the junk food and get fresh, tasty and, above all, nutricious food back on school dinners menu.
If I should fall from grace with God
Poguetry: "The Parting Glass: An Annotated Pogues Lyrics Page".
low-noise heaven
It all seemed perfect: Smiths side A, Pogues side B - or whatever else you wanted. For all the folks getting nostalgic further down the page,we are trying to turn back time for 60 minutes… or, maybe, for 90...
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