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On this day in 1863 , George Meade replaced Joseph Hooker as commanding General of the 100,000 strong Army of the Potomac, confirming what Meade himself had complained as “the ridiculous appearance we present of changing our generals after each battle.” Earlier in the day, J.E.B. Stuart and 5000 Confederate cavalry crossed the Potomac entering Maryland at Rowser’s ford. Stuart's lengthy absence had made him desperate to execute the order given to him by General Robert E. Lee to “take position on General Ewell’s right, place yourself in communication with him, guard his flank, and keep him informed of the enemy’s movements.” Stuart, whose cavalry was the “eyes and ears” of the 80,000 strong Army of Northern Virginia (warning: awful music), had been out of touch for several days, leaving General Lee ignorant of the enemy’s movement and position. When Stuart finally caught up with his army at Gettysburg, he had missed the first day and most of the second of one of the greatest battles in American history. There are those who say that Stuart violated Lee's orders to him concerning his role for the proposed campaign. Others think that those orders gave him leave to operate as he did. In either case there can be little doubt that his absence from his accustomed place, screening the Army's movements, and scouting its routes, was keenly felt by Lee during the campaign, and played a major part in bringing on the meeting engagement at Gettysburg.
comment posted at 9:09 AM on Jun-28-06
comment posted at 1:59 PM on Jun-28-06

The ultimate in outsourcing. Welcome to India, where you can visit the Taj Mahal and get a new knee, all for under $10,000, airfare included. Of course, it's not just for Canadians whose health care system, while free, sometimes necessitates lengthy waits for important surgical procedures. The uninsured in the US and other nations are a potential market as well. And there's potential for medical tourism destinations in the US as well.
comment posted at 8:23 AM on Jun-18-06
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Mass. school punishes students with electric shocks "They can be shocked for behaviors including ’failure to maintain a neat appearance’, ‘stopping work for more than 10 seconds’, ‘interrupting others’, ‘nagging’, ‘whispering and/or moving conversation away from staff’, ‘slouch in chair’ ' I have spoke before of American Enantiodromia. Further, Thomas Moore wrote in Dark Eros: The Imagination of Sadism , that in any culture that does not acknowledge it's skeletons, --it's sins, if you will-- will have that imagination played out in real life.

The ways of Sade are not limited to bedroom and scenes of bondage or porno theaters or forbidden books. Any aspect of culture, from the great to the small, insofar as it is engaged in issues of power has therefore Sadean qualities. Furthermore, since life is never perfect, every aspect of culture will know the split of power into torture and suffering, dominance and submission, or sentimentality and cruelty.

I wont editorialize anymore than I have, but I can't help but wonder, When did psychological abuse become entertainment? or has it always been thus? Also see: N.Y. report denounces shock use at school. I look forward to your Parallax View.
comment posted at 1:46 PM on Jun-17-06

James Madison wrote in Federalist Paper No. 47:

The accumulation of all powers legislative, executive and judiciary in the same hands, whether of one, a few or many...may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.

That extraordinary powers have, under Bush, been accumulated in the "same hands" is now undeniable. For the first time in more than thirty years, and to a greater extent than even then, our constitutional form of government is in jeopardy.

Power Grab
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36 years later, the remaining members of The Who will return to reprise their seminal concert recording Live at Leeds. The original record was compiled from one concert, in the Leeds University Refectory, and that's where they'll be playing tonight.
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The return of astronauts to the moon by 2020? Yeah! Hurricane predictions, long-term monitoring of weather and climate change? Not so much. (related here and here)
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Do you know what to do with a stick and a clutch? Only 15% of new car buyers in the US say they'll consider buying a car with manual transmission, and by 2012, only 6% of cars will be offered with a stick. Is it because it's a difficult skill to learn? Or is it really because it's too hard to shift when you have a cell phone in one hand and a Starbucks coffee in the other? Or is a manual transmission simply an outdated system with new fangled technology like CVT, DSG, SMG, and super-fast, 100 msec shifting automatic transmissions available?
comment posted at 12:46 PM on Jun-15-06

Entertainment NewsFilter: the surviving Beach Boys, including Mike Love and Brian Wilson, appeared together in public today, for the first time in ten years, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of Pet Sounds. Mike Love recently sued Brian Wilson for royalties and co-writing credits, again, after Brian released SMiLE, a mere 38 years after originally starting on it. The strife between the two has been ongoing for decades. As Brian grew more musically ambitious in the Pet Sounds and SMiLE era, Mike legendarily admonished Brian not to "fuck with the formula." [m.i.]
comment posted at 7:20 AM on Jun-15-06
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Season three of Deadwood starts tomorrow and it looks like they just launched a pretty cool game to promote it. It's a 3d texas hold'em first person shooter (that's right, shooter), where you play against Al Swearengen, E.B. and Trixie. The characters and environment are all fully rendered in 3D, and gameplay is really good for a promotional game. You've got a gun that you can shoot up the bar with, but you can't seem to shoot any of the characters. The only thing I can't understand is that if you go all-in against Al, you end up dead.
comment posted at 9:39 AM on Jun-10-06

Who killed the electric car? [flash] A documentary film (and flash website) about the mysterious demise of the electric car. The website contains a lot of information about the electric car and other alternative fuel cars in development. The film is coming to a theater near you, if you live in NY or LA. (Ok, actually a few other places.) Watch the trailer. [embedded qt]
comment posted at 9:47 AM on Jun-10-06

An interview with John Updike on Terrorist, his most recent novel. Some reviews: Kakutani, Donohue (USAToday), and fellow novelist Amitav Gosh (Wapo).
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The "Fifth Beatle" has died... Well, no, not this "Fifth Beatle", or this one (they've both been dead a long time). Certainly not this one. In fact, on some lists, he was The Seventh Beatle. BTW, another "Fifth Beatle" is doing some strange things with the Fab 4's music...
comment posted at 1:17 PM on Jun-6-06

It's a bird, it's a plane! , no it's the Special Forces using strap-on stealth wings to zoom silently into battle. We've all fantasized about jet packs, but being dropped from a plane with wings on your back is a silent way to travel great distances before opening a parachute for landing, just like daredevil Felix Baumgartner, who soared across the English Channel. Who wants to go first?
comment posted at 1:21 PM on Jun-6-06

The Monkey Chow Diaries. In the spirit of Seth Roberts' dietary self-experimentation, Angryman has decided that he's tired of cooking, scrubbing pots and pans, and wasting time in the checkout lines. Instead, he is looking for a constant diet of pelletized, nutritionally complete food: Monkey Chow [pdf]. [via]
comment posted at 8:52 AM on Jun-6-06

My earliest memory was when I was three. I had a fever and my mother was wiping a cold wet rag on my body. There were fish swimming in my room, as though I was underwater, but I could breathe just fine. That's why I was surprised to find this. "The contemporary art in Japan (english) is naturally influenced by the world contemporary art. But the power of the Japanese traditions, the oppressive presence of a dense urban environment and the various traumatism undergone by Japan for 60 years (defeat of 1945, Hiroshima, earthquakes, economic crisis, etc.) involve a production very rich, original and little known."
comment posted at 6:14 AM on Jun-5-06

GAM3R 7H30RY is an online book in progress about computer games. With subjects such as The Sims as allegory for everyday life in gamespace and GTA: Vice City as utopia (or not), GAM3R 7H30RY tries to answer two questions: 1) Can we explore games as allegories for the world we live in? 2) Can there be a critical theory of games?
comment posted at 6:43 AM on Jun-4-06

How to Buy a $450K Home for $750K - Yes, its true. Low and behold, all the conditions have been met, and it is indeed possible to buy houses for 50% above their market value.
comment posted at 10:21 AM on Jun-1-06

"That goddamn bitch Dorothy Parker...You won't believe what she's done." Lillian Hellman and Dorothy Parker were best friends forever until Ms. Parker pissed Ms. Hellman off by leaving her estate to Martin Luther King, Jr., instead of to Ms. Hellman. Which might explain why Ms. Parker's remains went missing. [more inside; via]
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The Apocalypse According to Mad Magazine? Basil Wolverton, best known for his work on early issues of Mad Magazine, was also a Minister in the Radio Church of God. This church, founded by Herbert Armstrong, father of Garner Ted, believed the Apocalypse would happen sometime in 1972, and Wolverton's illustrations were in pamphlets designed to alert the public to this fact. 1972 has passed, the church has splintered, and Herbert is long dead - but nonetheless he has a blog. As a bonus, you can view Basil's apocalypse in 3-d. Wolverton links via
comment posted at 6:28 AM on May-26-06

Toni Morrison's Beloved named best American novel of the last 25 years. Critic A.O. Scott writes an accompanying article. Some people do not agree. Like this person or this one. The judges. (Bugmenot login: I used veganporn/veganporn.)
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