Monday, December 22, 2003

Web Zen: Holiday Zen


Posted by MacDood
link
!





christmas price index
wesley willis
happy holidays from lester
christmas choir
record-o-matic
they might be giants
santacon
holiday special
diy cards
create a tree
drunken christmas
santa says
shuffle the penguin


and a zen repeat...
chaoskitties in snowsuits



web zen home, web zen store, (Thanks, Frank).
[Boing Boing]

Terror alerts as breakfast cereal


Posted by MacDood
link



Talented net.cartoonist Goopymart has shipped this new Terror Alert Chart just in time for the latest installment in the Homeland Security Free Floating Anxiety System.



Link



(Thanks, Goopymart!)

[Boing Boing]

Saturday, December 13, 2003

Stunning snow-sculptures


Posted by MacDood
link



The winners of the 2003 International Snow Sculpture Championships in Breckenridge, Colorado have been declared -- the photos are stunning.




Link



(Thanks, Melissa!)




[Boing Boing]

Sunday, December 7, 2003

Kitschy religious items for Xmas


Posted by MacDood
link



The 12 Days of Kitschmas is a gallery of twelve utterly tasteless (and apparently sincere and unironic) items of religious paraphenalia. Don't miss the five-inch-nail-Xmas-ornament, a $8.99 remembrance of the crucifiction for your tree.



Link



(via Making Light)

[Boing Boing]

Tis the Season to be Dishonest


Posted by MacDood
link
What is it about the holidays that inspires deception? I am, of course, speaking of the millions of parents that lie to their children about Santa Claus. [Kuro5hin.org]

Friday, December 5, 2003

Donald Rumsfeld: Mangler at Large


Posted by MacDood
link
The Plain English Campaign, an British organization that strives to have public information delivered in straightforward English, has given this year's "Foot in Mouth" award to none other than U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. [Kuro5hin.org]

Rumsfeld won the award for the following:




"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."



Mr. Rumsfeld narrowly beat out California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who's submission was:




"I think that gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman."

Photos from amusement park trade-show


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: mmmmm, monsters
---




The crew from Intercot have been attending the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions conference in Orlando and posting kick-ass photos as they go.



Link



(Thanks, Gary!)

[Boing Boing]

Thursday, November 27, 2003

Thanksgiving, De-Mythologized


Posted by MacDood
link
They never, ever called themselves "Pilgrims." The "First Thanksgiving" in 1621 - actually a secular, three-day harvest festival held sometime between September 21 and November 11 - was the only Thanksgiving they ever celebrated. [Urban Legends and Folklore]

Obsessed with Terrible Lizards and/or Films?


Posted by MacDood
link
When your list of "dinosaur movies" can include "Wizard of Oz", maybe you've gone too far. These people make a distinction between “Live-action with people dressed as dinosaurs and/or mechanical dinosaurs” and “Live action with lizards dressed as dinosaurs or prehistoric animals”. That’s beyond thorough. But for basic information even potentially remotely related to dinosaurs and/or movies, I can’t imagine a better starting point. [metafilter.com]

I eat cannibals, it's incredible, you bring out the animal in me, I eat cannibals


Posted by MacDood
link
Cannibalism was widespread and routine. Citing archaeological evidence and recent findings in molecular biology, archaeologist Timothy Taylor, author of The Buried Soul: How Humans Invented Death, says that cannibalism has been the norm in the past, and the more interesting question is why particular societies gave it up. (Previous discussions of cannibalism here and here.) [metafilter.com]

Last of 'Lord of the Rings' Trilogy Set to Cast Spell (Reuters)


Posted by MacDood
link
Reuters - "It's quite good. Nah it's
fantastic! It's amazing, it's definitely the best," chirped
Pippin Took. [Yahoo! News - Entertainment]

The Christian Science Monitor may have the...


Posted by MacDood
link
The Christian Science Monitor may have the best article about Stephen King winning the National Book Award yet. It's not Bloom sputtering all over himself, and it's not the publishing industry bending over backwards for the man who made them... [blog]

Umberto Eco on Paper vs. Electronic Memory


Posted by MacDood
link
joabj writes "Paper was itself a technology at one point, this essay from Umberto Eco, author of "In The Name of the Rose," reminds us. Eco holds forth on the ... [Slashdot]

35,000 zombies form lobby group in India


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: love any good zombie story---

35,000 Indians have joined the Association of the Living Dead, a group of people whose relatives have cheated them out of their fortunes by bribing officials to have them declared legally dead. The living dead, being dead, can't afford the counterbribes necessary to get un-dead-ified.




The ``living dead,'' having been cheated out of their property, cannot afford to pay bribes or even legitimate fees to get their cases dealt with.


Lal Bihari, president of the Association of the Living Dead, estimated 35,000 people in Uttar Pradesh state have been wrongly certified as dead.



Link



(via Beyond the Beyond) [Boing Boing]

Book Five of King's Dark Tower is out


Posted by MacDood
link
I've been addicted to Stephen King's Gunslinger books since I was about 17. They're long, tense, gripping tales, filled with enough po-mo weirdness to make them interesting and keep me guessing. The first book was begun when King was a teenager; the last book will be the last fiction King ever writes, according to him. Book five -- the third-to-last in the series -- is Wolves of the Calla, a 600+ page brick of a novel that I've just finished reading. It's a very satisfying installment in the saga, and ends, as they all do, on a cliff-hanger that is as exciting as it is exasperating. I can't wait for the next two. There aren't a lot of modern genre authors playing with the memes from the Western pulps these days; King's reinterpretation of them makes me want to dig up some old Zane Grey.



Link [Boing Boing]

Sunday, November 23, 2003

Corporate Fascism and the End of Nature


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: hey, not a surprise huh ---

Bush is sabotaging the laws that have protected America's environment for more than thirty years, according to this excellent article by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Rolling Stone. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council, was also recently interviewed by Salon. [metafilter.com]

Man Arrested Over 'Spam Rage'


Posted by MacDood
link
A Silicon Valley computer programmer has been arrested for threatening to torture, kill and send a 'package full of Anthrax spores' to employees of the company he blames for bombarding his computer with spam promising to enlarge his penis. [Wired News]

Rude cross-stitching


Posted by MacDood
link



Subversive Cross-stitch: rude and snarky cross-stitch patterns to amaze and delight.



Link



(via Making Light)

[Boing Boing]

Gen. Franks Doubts Constitution will Survive WMD Attack


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: and so ends life as we know it...---

As reported here at NewsMax: "Already, critics of the U.S. Patriot Act, rushed through Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, have argued that the law aims to curtail civil liberties and sets a dangerous precedent. But Franks' scenario goes much further. He is the first high-ranking official to openly speculate that the Constitution could be scrapped in favor of a military form of government." [Kuro5hin.org]

Friday, November 21, 2003

Feel Free to Jack Into My IPod


Posted by MacDood
link
Reinforcing the notion that iPod owners are members of some sort of exclusive, hip club, some of them are plugging their earbuds into total strangers' jacks. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News]

Order-5 Magic Cube discovered


Posted by MacDood
link



A Magic Cube is a three dimensional Magic Square: a 3D grid in which the numbers in all the rows, columns and diagonals total up to the same number. The very first order-5 Magic Cube (previously suspected to be impossible) has been discovered.



Link
(Thanks, Johannes!)

[Boing Boing]

Robot in the Sky! (almost)


Posted by MacDood
link



Seiko Epson Corp. showed off their flying micro-robot at this week's International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo. EE Times reports that ultrasonic wristwatch motors keep the 8.9 grab machine airborne. It's also outfitted with Bluetooth and several microsensors including a gyro and camera. Right now though, battery weight keeps it tethered to its power supply. (The photo is from Yahoo! News.) Link (Thanks, Gabe!) [Boing Boing]

Thursday, November 20, 2003

"You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don't know what was in the newspapers that morning... a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

I Heart Nerds Pin


Posted by MacDood
link

I must have this right now.



Link
[Boing Boing]

Wednesday, November 19, 2003

Pink Floyd: The Wall action figures


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: I'm getting some for the whole family---



Just in time for the holiday season: Pink Floyd: The Wall action figures. Collectible action figures. Strictly limited edition. (Limited, I suspect, to the number of units they think they can sell.)



Link



(via Smartpatrol)




[Boing Boing]

Celebrity dead photshopping


Posted by MacDood
link



Nice Fark photoshopping contest: turn celebrities into the living dead.



Link

[Boing Boing]

G4 Cube fishtank


Posted by MacDood
link



Got a dead, orphaned Apple G4 Cube lying around? According to the ancient traditions of the Mac-faithful, this is a signal that you are to get out your caulking gun and turn it into a fishtank.



Link



(via MacSlash)

[Boing Boing]

Tuesday, November 18, 2003

The Dalai Lama


Posted by MacDood
link
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

Dead Bug Funeral Kit


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: for all you buggy lovers out there ---




From David Barringer's site: The Dead Bug Funeral Kit comes with an Illustrated Buggy Book of Eulogies with Ribbon Bookmark, Casket, Grave Marker, White Clay Flower, Burial Scroll, and Pouch of Grass Seed.

"We are deeply saddened by your loss. We hope the Dead Bug Kit will honor your bug. We are working as briskly as we can to make these Kits, but there is a lot of grief in this world. And there are a lot of bugs. We appreciate your patience." Link (Thanks, Invisible Cowgirl!)

[Boing Boing]

Sunday, November 16, 2003

Privacy-consciousness-raising stickers


Posted by MacDood
link



The Austrian cyber-activists Quintessenz put on the local Big Brother Award ceremony. To promote it, they distributed these stickers that look like hidden cameras, encouraging people to put them up in toilets and other places where privacy matters. The caption means "The Most Shameless Surveilleur."



116k PDF Link

[Boing Boing]

Saturday, November 15, 2003

Frogs have accents


Posted by MacDood
link
A researcher has recorded frog-calls and discovered regional accents among them.




Bernie Simmons, a spokesman for SPSS, said it was thought the frogs migrated to the warmer climate of southern Europe during the last ice age where they separated into distinct colonies that slowly started to diverge.


Part of that diversity has emerged as regional accents.


The accents are different depending on whether pool frogs belong to the ancient Iberian, Italian or Balkan populations.



Link



(Thanks, Rod) [Boing Boing]

Sexy Math


Posted by MacDood
link
BoingBoing patron saint Bruce Sterling points our dirty minds to a website containing this suggestive series of images created entirely from mathematical algorithms. "If you find them offensive in any way," says the site's creator, "all I can say is that beauty (or obscenity) is in this case most certainly in the eye of the beholder." If high school algebra had been half this fun, perhaps I would have passed. Link [Boing Boing]

Top Ten Internet Fads


Posted by MacDood
link
At the risk of sounding much older than I really am, I've been on the Internet since 1987. In that time, I've seen a number of Internet fads come and go. Some were excesses of the bubble years, but others weren't. A fad, for purposes of this article, is an idea or technology which is briefly popular, but can't outlast its own novelty value. Once people get over the newness of it all, there isn't really anything special left. Here are the ten which stand out most in my mind. [Kuro5hin.org]

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

Better Lorem Ipsum with JanusNode


Posted by MacDood
link
JanusNode is a MacOSX app that generates and munges text according to a number of rules. It can "ee cummings-ify" arbitrary text:



Dan Gill
mor's
on
his
annual teaching
stint
in
Hong
Kong,




or it can generate random pseudo-intellectualism:




Chaos theory: Its debt to Jesse Jackson


What is the contemporary significance of psychotic chaos theory? Psychotic chaos theory is often confused with teleological realism. Psychotic chaos theory is of particular interest to grandfathers.



other modes include Haiku, Bureaucratese, Fortune Tellers, and so forth.



Link



(Thanks, Chris!) [Boing Boing]

Segway-Based Robot Opens Doors


Posted by MacDood
link




BoingBoing pal Roland Piquepaille says,







"In this short article, Technology Review tells us that Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have built a new robot, named Cardea, which is able to push open doors and has the bottom half of a Segway scooter. Cardea will be five feet tall with a torso, three arms, a variety of sensors, and a human-like head with expressive features and vision, and mounted on a Segway base. More details and references are contained in this review which also includes several pictures. For even more details, go to the Cardea Project homepage."




Link
[Boing Boing]

New Disinfo book: 50 Things You're Not Supposed To Know


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: So now you know---

The subculture aficionados at Disinformation have released a new book. 50 Things You're Not Supposed To Know is filled with "factoids about human health hazards, government lies, and secret history and warfare excised from your schoolbooks and nightly news reports." Tinfoil beanie cap not included. Within the bite-sized chapters, you'll find "irrefutable evidence" that:

* Nearly all American milk-cows are infected with Bovine Leukemia Virus

* One of the heroes of 'Black Hawk Down' was a convicted child molester

* The Bayer Company developed and marketed another "wonder drug": Heroin

* After 9/11, White House staff reviewed and considered a Special Ops presentation, Thinking Outside the Box: Poisoning Afghanistan's Food Supply

* Pope Pius II wrote a best selling erotic novel

* Positive HIV test results are wrong for half of all low-risk people

* Two atomic bombs were dropped on North Carolina

* You can mail letters for little to no cost using simple methods to fool
the post office

* Senior auto industry execs characterize SUV drivers as "insecure and vain... nervous about their marriages... self-centered and self-absorbed, with little interest in their neighbors or communities."

Link to Disinfo home, Link to book ordering info. [Boing Boing]

I'm in Barcelona at the tech/art/culture confab Artfutura, listening to the two effects masterminds behind the Matrix trilogy: John Gaeta (right-hand side of the photo below) and Greg Juby of effects house ESC (Greg's at left in this photo).


ESC is the company created by the Wachowski brothers and John Gaeta to produce the complex work of visual effects in the Matrix series. Gaeta may well be the single most influential person in the last decade of visual effects, and right now he's talking to the audience of Spanish digital artists and tech developers here about the creative process behind the films, and what to expect in the forthcoming Matrix: Revolutions:





* "What will be different in Revolutions? It's the final, ultimate manifestation of Larry and Andy Wachowski's anime dream: to make am movie as close to an anime as possible. Take the best and coolest aspects of anime -- large scale robotics, entanglements between man anad machine -- and tranform it into a feature, live action film. You'll also see lots more bullets."



* "Subconsciousness needs to be redefined with every generation. Matrix is a stylized sci-fi story, but the root of the idea that you can have imagery placed into your mind is a very possible scenario, and I think that's a universe that our generation was finally ready to start dealing with. I grew up on Kubrick, Ridley Scott, Hitchcock, Orson Welles, and many other filmmakers that triggered ideas inside my mind -- that's how evolution works. One generation speaking to another. Larry and Andy [Wachowski] are preoccupied with those ideas, too, but they're also pop culture junkies and they share an obsession we also have with darker sci-fi threads in films you see in films like Bladerunner. It's no accident that some of the scenes in the Matrix trilogy are reminiscent of Bladerunner, because we've been dying all our lives to do that kind of work. "




* "I want to make an electrochemical movie.
In the year 2099 I'll be 130 years old, but I think around 2063 I'm going to have my brain taken out and have it inserted into a clone who's about 21 years old. Maybe some bionic augmentation upgrades, too. In about 40 years, I'm thinking some sort of military-industrial-supercomplex-international-intelligensia supergroup will figure out how to export imagery to people's brains. If you can see it in your head while you're dreaming -- well, that image is created somehow. Someday, someone will figure out how to place that image into your brain. It'll be some combination of electricity and drugs, and they'll call it Rosebud.


A billion people will attend the first electrochemical movie premiere. Everyone in the audience will experience love again for the first time, and we'll become gazillionaires. I don't know how we'll make our electrochemical movie into a DVD, though. And distribution is definitely going to be a problem."

* "The most difficult thing about creating effects for the trilogy? Designing choreography that could never be actualized by human beings."


Link [Boing Boing]

ITunes Undermines Social Security


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: so be warned you ARE your music. I'm listening to Habanera by Ravel---

Although perusing other folks' digital music libraries using iTunes can broaden musical horizons, there can be drawbacks. Like being judged for your taste in music. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News]

The Hubble Space Telescope and beyond


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: I want to ship my ashes to the Hubble---

The Hubble Space Telescope can be considered one of the most important science instruments created so far. Its service record is beyond impressive, but as it approaches its 14th anniversary of service it is becoming clear that new instruments are needed to complement or replace the now aging Hubble. Instruments that will include all technological advancements in optics and electronics that we have developed since the Hubble launch in 1990. Hubble will serve for at least 10 more years, but there is already the project underway that is aimed to create a new instrument that will help the scientists to observe in even more detail: The James Webb Space Telescope. [Kuro5hin.org]

Saturday, November 8, 2003

The Matrix: Resolutions


Posted by MacDood
link
Slappy White writes "For six months, Matrix message boards were aflame with speculation, theories, predictions and outright psychotic guessing about ... [Slashdot]

Chimp filmstar turns to painting


Posted by MacDood
link
JWZ just got the coolest birthday present ever: a painting painted by Cheeta, the chimp who played opposite Johnnie Weismuller in the Tarzan movies.






The artist is now 71 years old and living in Palm Springs, Florida, enjoying his new career as a painter.


His name is Cheeta, and he's the world's oldest living primate.







Link [Boing Boing]

In Defense of Dutch Drug Policy


Posted by MacDood
link
Modern liberal democracies have increasingly been torn over the drug policy debate. Its polarizing effects of have developed two distinct stances: The proponents of legalization supporting the concept of "harm reduction" and the prohibitionists who support the continuation of the costly and often draconian drug war. Each camp claims that the adverse effects of drug use would be better dealt with through their methods. Prohibitionists insist the only way to solve the drug problem requires the elimination of all narcotics use through the enforcement of laws; proponents of legalization stress that the elimination of drugs is an unachievable goal and instead promote methods to remove the dangers and negative externalities from the already existing drug use. Also the larger question of which policy constitutes a more compatible relation with liberal democracy still looms. The proponents of legalization have embodied the liberal philosophy of John Stewart Mill stressing the individual's ability to make personal decisions; whereas, the prohibitionist stance implies that people are not rational consumers and must be protected from themselves. The Dutch model presents a pragmatic and successful compromise between the two camps of thought. After over 27 years of successful implementation, the Netherlands should no longer have its back up against the wall concerning its drug policy. Instead, it should begin to take the offensive. [Kuro5hin.org]

Friday, November 7, 2003

People like to read on the web


Posted by MacDood
link
A List Apart: A Fairy, a Low-Fat Bagel, and a Sack of Hammers. “People were reading and writing. Frowning and laughing. Crying and cheering. Agreeing and disagreeing.” [Inessential.com]

Link-Fu contest: Here are the winners.


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: The Internet, where content is King, sort of---

The votes are in. For this week's battle to find the most bizarre and obscure links on the web (background) there were many judges, and countless submissions: so, we have multiple winners. And no, those aren't hanging chads you see scattered around the floor of Link-Fu competition headquarters. That's just leftover confetti from the inauguration party last night. Today, my friends, a generation of Link-Fu masters is born.





* Christina James was the first to submit Koonago Factory. Comments: Several judges picked this one. Dark, violent Japorn featuring tiny cartoon fairy-doll women? What's not to like? (NSFW rating: some nudity and grossness, but nothing Rotten-grade).


* Wayne Mercier submitted The International Trepanation Advocacy Group. Comments: Invisible Cowgirl says, "Because nothing says scary like I Got a Hole Drilled in My Head personal testimonials."




* Steve Lew submitted
Mutant Midget Interracial Lemon Porn. Comments: Xeni says, "Strange fruit. Mmmmmmm."


* Steve Mills submitted Coffee Table Wife. Comments: Warren Ellis liked it. Go figure.


* Lucas Emery submitted Aussie Scrotum Shop. Comments: Made Warren smile.




* Zach Rodgers submitted Ordo Magazine. Comments: Invisible Cowgirl says, "A beauty of a blog chock full of everything that's weird and wonderful on the web." (NSFW guide: Links to some sexually explicit stuff, but links to lots of other stuff, too).



* An anonymous Link-Fu Master submitted Jesus is With You Everywhere. Comments: Xeni liked the scary trucker picture.



* Peace Rug and Wholesome Swimsuits
came from from Judson. Comments: Mark thought they were weird, silly and fun. [Boing Boing]

Monday, November 3, 2003

Gallery of black and white photographs of mental patients in a Taiwanese Buddhist sanctuary. Link
(via signormori.clarence.com) [Boing Boing]

Man drops phone in train toilet, causes big hassle


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: just when you think you couldn't hear anything dumbererer---

"A man riding a Metro-North train dropped his cell phone in a toilet and got his arm stuck trying to retrieve it Thursday, forcing the train to stop and delaying the evening commute for thousands of people." Link [Boing Boing]

Friday, October 31, 2003

No-Shopping Christmas


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: worth considering---

I would like to propose a change. This change would be very large, yet not difficult. It would dramatically reduce the stress in our lives during the most stressful months of the year. It would save us money where money would normally be thrown away to debatable purposes. It would save gas, electricity, paper, plastic and, on some level, your soul. I propose a No-Shopping Christmas. [Kuro5hin.org]

Sunday, October 26, 2003

Web Zen: Carnivore


Posted by MacDood
link




(1) eat bunny

(2) potted meat

(3) octodog

(4) ham sculpture

(5) poutine

(6) meat shake





web zen home, web zen store, (Thanks, Frank). [Boing Boing]

Big-ass solar storm tonight


Posted by MacDood
link
A very large solar storm is expected to take place tonight, and may cause some aurora borealis effects to appear throughout mid-latitudes (over the continental
US and Europe). Link [Boing Boing]

Web Zen double-header: Celebrity


Posted by MacDood
link




(1) defacer

(2) stacey as britney

(3) fishyspoon

(4) impersonators

(5) b list

(6) celine dreams

(7) more than hucknall





web zen home, web zen store, (Thanks, Frank). [Boing Boing]

CSS Solutions


Posted by MacDood
link
Welcome to the wonderful world of Cascading Style Sheets. The CSS saga started in 1994. On October 10th of that year, Håkon Wium Lie published a proposal called Cascading HTML style sheet. From its humble beginnings, CSS has emerged as a powerful tool for the web designer. [Kuro5hin.org]

Wednesday, October 22, 2003

I’ve recently subscribed to three weblogs about books.

Bookslut [RSS]
h20boro lib [RSS]
the Literary Saloon [RSS]



Anyone know of any other good ones?



P.S. NetNewsWire tip: you can actually drag the RSS links above into your Subscriptions pane to subscribe. This works with any link to an RSS feed, and it often works with links to the home page of a site. [Inessential.com]

It Came From Beneath the Sea


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: also known as the Clasen effect---

Giant methane bubbles rising from the sea floor are capable of swamping a ship and sinking it, new research shows. The North Sea, which has a rich deposit of solid methane, is especially perilous. [Wired News]

Time-lapse vegetation footage


Posted by MacDood
link
Goddamn there is nothing cooler than time-lapse videos of germinating plants and opening flowers. Our world is inhabited by triffid-creepy alien lifeforms that move on such a slow timescale, we hardly notice. This archive of time-lapse vegetation gives me the willies.



Link



(via Making Light) [Boing Boing]

Monday, October 20, 2003

Stained glass photo-archive


Posted by MacDood
link



Stained Glass Photography is an enormous archive of beautiful photos of classical church-glass, organized by artist.



Link



(Thanks, Neil!)




[Boing Boing]

All about what?


Posted by MacDood
link
It's all about oil. It's not all about oil. We've all seen the charges and the counter-charges. "No Blood For Oil!" various activist groups chanted. "Sacrifice our SUVs, not our children!" they entreated. "Nonsense," others retorted, asserting that it couldn't possibly be all about oil "because the numbers don't work". The sad fact is that the numbers don't have to work... for everyone. The time horizons that many of these analyses use are misleading as well. What if the war isn't just about oil, but rather has come about as a complex confluence of interests, oil being a key but non-singular player, that benefit a subset of the American population to the detriment of the public good? [Kuro5hin.org]

Tampon angel DIY


Posted by MacDood
link
How to make a tampon angel.






1. Dip into water until tampon expands.

2. Remove and tie at the top to create the angel's head.

3. Let hang (by handy dandy string) for several days until dry.

4. Paint face with peach or skin tone color, and draw small
black dots for eyes.

5. Add blush or pink paint to cheeks.

6. Paint "dress" with glimmer paint.

7. Criss-cross thin gold ribbon across chest (around neck) .

8. Add yellow doll hair to top of head as well as a gold
pipe cleaner for a halo.

9. For the grand finale...glue small gold angel wings to back.








Link



(via Making Light) [Boing Boing]

Data Faster Than Speeding Bullet


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: now that's fast---

CERN and Caltech set a new world speed record for sending data across the Internet, doubling the previous fastest transfer. The transmission between the two scientific research centers is 20,000 times faster than typical home broadband. [Wired News]

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

Internet Dreams of Electric Sheep


Posted by MacDood
link
A cyber-denizen usually has a few favourite webcomics that they will defend against all others, even though they're all pretty similar. Strips like Sluggy Freelance, User Friendly, Sinfest, and Penny Arcade established the basic newspaper-style formula that most webcomics now follow, attracting legions of fans. However, some people want a little more. They may enjoy comics offline, and pine for the complex storylines, deep themes, and controversial issues exemplified by graphic novels such as Sandman, Preacher, or The Dark Knight Returns. After they finish Nowhere Girl, these people might like Electric Sheep Comix. [Kuro5hin.org]

Monday, October 13, 2003

10 Worst Cartoon Characters Of All Time

10 Worst Cartoon Characters Of All Time

Apple Set to Unveil iTunes for Windows This Week (Reuters)


Posted by MacDood
link
Reuters - Coming soon to a Windows PC near
you: Apple Computer Inc.'s. popular iTunes online music store,
which analysts say will join an already crowded market that
could mute its chances of repeating the success of the
Macintosh-only version. [Yahoo! News - Technology]

Early Peanuts anthology coming from Fantagraphics


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: for the hardcore early roast fans---

There are two Elvises: pre-army and post-army. There are two Lucille Balls: one who starred in I Love Lucy, and the one who was in everything after that. There are also two Charles Shulz's: one that drew Snoopy as a quadriped, and the later one who drew him as a biped. In all three cases, I like the earlier versions better. That's why I was so excited to learn that Fantagraphics will be publishing a book of Shulz's very first Peanut strips from 1950-1952 in THE COMPLETE PEANUTS.




This first volume, covering the first two and a quarter years of the strip, will be of particular fascination to PEANUTS aficionados worldwide: Although there have been literally hundreds of PEANUTS books published, many of the strips from the series’ first two or three years have never been collected before — in large part because they showed a young Schulz working out the kinks in his new strip and include some characterizations and designs that are quite different from the cast we’re all familiar with. (Among other things, three major cast members — Schroeder, Lucy, and Linus — initially show up as infants and only “grow” into their final “mature” selves as the months go by. Even Snoopy debuts as a puppy!) Thus THE COMPLETE PEANUTS offers a unique chance to see a master of the artform refine his skills and solidify his universe, day by day, week by week, month by month.



The book is being designed by Seth, creator of the fabulous comic, Palookaville. Many of the strips have never before been anthologized. Publication date is April 2004.



Link




[Boing Boing]

Sunday, October 12, 2003

"Do not, for one repulse, forego the purpose that you resolved to effect." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

"Nothing amuses me more than the easy manner with which everybody settles the abundance of those who have a great deal less than themselves." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

"One of the best rules in conversation is, never to say a thing which any of the company can reasonably wish had been left unsaid." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

Gummy mummy


Posted by MacDood
link



My friend Jef has discovered and captured evidence of the pinnacle of the gummysmith's art: the Gummy Mummy.



Link



(Thanks, Jef!)




[Boing Boing]

Saturday, October 11, 2003

Matrix trilogy FX directors speak at Artfutura


Posted by MacDood
link
I'm in Barcelona at the tech/art/culture confab Artfutura, listening to the two effects masterminds behind the Matrix trilogy: John Gaeta (right-hand side of the photo below) and Greg Juby of effects house ESC (Greg's at left in this photo).


ESC is the company created by the Wachowski brothers and John Gaeta to produce the complex work of visual effects in the Matrix series. Gaeta may well be the single most influential person in the last decade of visual effects, and right now he's talking to the audience of Spanish digital artists and tech developers here about the creative process behind the films, and what to expect in the forthcoming Matrix: Revolutions:





* "What will be different in Revolutions? It's the final, ultimate manifestation of Larry and Andy Wachowski's anime dream: to make am movie as close to an anime as possible. Take the best and coolest aspects of anime -- large scale robotics, entanglements between man anad machine -- and tranform it into a feature, live action film. You'll also see lots more bullets."



* "Subconsciousness needs to be redefined with every generation. Matrix is a stylized sci-fi story, but the root of the idea that you can have imagery placed into your mind is a very possible scenario, and I think that's a universe that our generation was finally ready to start dealing with. I grew up on Kubrick, Ridley Scott, Hitchcock, Orson Welles, and many other filmmakers that triggered ideas inside my mind -- that's how evolution works. One generation speaking to another. Larry and Andy [Wachowski] are preoccupied with those ideas, too, but they're also pop culture junkies and they share an obsession we also have with darker sci-fi threads in films you see in films like Bladerunner. It's no accident that some of the scenes in the Matrix trilogy are reminiscent of Bladerunner, because we've been dying all our lives to do that kind of work. "




* "I want to make an electrochemical movie.
In the year 2099 I'll be 130 years old, but I think around 2063 I'm going to have my brain taken out and have it inserted into a clone who's about 21 years old. Maybe some bionic augmentation upgrades, too. In about 40 years, I'm thinking some sort of military-industrial-supercomplex-international-intelligensia supergroup will figure out how to export imagery to people's brains. If you can see it in your head while you're dreaming -- well, that image is created somehow. Someday, someone will figure out how to place that image into your brain. It'll be some combination of electricity and drugs, and they'll call it Rosebud.


A billion people will attend the first electrochemical movie premiere. Everyone in the audience will experience love again for the first time, and we'll become gazillionaires. I don't know how we'll make our electrochemical movie into a DVD, though. And distribution is definitely going to be a problem."

* "The most difficult thing about creating effects for the trilogy? Designing choreography that could never be actualized by human beings."


Link [Boing Boing]

Friday, October 10, 2003

Keyboard Manufacturers Named in DMCA Suit


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: oh what now---

German-based media giant Bertelsmann Group has launched a 400 million dollar lawsuit against major hardware manufacturers, alleging they traffic in banned circumvention devices that can be used to illegally copy their music CDs. It says that the Digital Millenium Copyright Act entitles it to protection from devices that can be used to circumvent its technological protections against piracy. Specifically, it demands compensation for the inclusion of "Shift" buttons on standard computer keyboards. [Kuro5hin.org]

Which Fantasy/SciFi Character Are You?

Which Fantasy/SciFi Character Are You?

Jean-Luc


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: --- I turned out to be Galadriel



Possessing a rare combination of wisdom and humility, while serenely dominating your environment you selflessly use your powers to care for others.



Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.



Galadriel is a character in the Middle-Earth universe. You can read more about her at the Galadriel Worshippers Army.


Like Gus Mueller, I ended up as Jean-Luc Picard in the “Which Fantasy/SciFi Character are You?” test.



If I hadn’t ended up as Picard, I probably wouldn’t have admitted taking the test. If you ever want to or need to flatter a geek, call him Jean-Luc. Geeks are so easy. [Inessential.com]

Monday, October 6, 2003

"You're not to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

"I celebrate myself, and sing myself." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

ButterflyPee

you saw it here first
ButterflyPee

The Dork Prince


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: and he's really really really rich---

I don’t usually like to descend to the level of taking potshots (or participating in Mac versus PC debates), but I just can’t resist mentioning Bill Gates’s official “home page” (thanks to my brother Bobby for turning me on to this, by the way). The site, which collects a number of Chairman Bill’s most vital essays and speeches, is a revealing glimpse into what passes for deep thought in Redmond these days.


The tone is immediately set by a photo of our hero, hand clenched at his breast, staring off into the distance, the mildly smug expression of a man who “gets it” on his face. And what does he get? Well, just take a look at the witty anecdote emblazoned in big bold letters beneath his portrait:



“My daughter and I were walking down the street and I said, ‘Let’s go to the record store,’ and she said, ‘What’s a record?’”

How insightful! Truly, he is a man with his finger on the pulse of technology and youth culture!


What’s that—you’re not convinced? Then scroll down the page a little further and marvel at the profundity of his Wall Street Journal op-ed/marketing piece, provocatively titled “Why I Hate Spam!” Only a truly bold leader would be willing to take such a controversial stand on something so near and dear to the hearts of email users everywhere. Obviously, Bill has an almost preternatural ability to home in on and analyze the important issues of the day (Spam == Bad)!


All of this sarcasm may sound a bit snotty, considering I’m picking on targets as easy as Bill Gates and the notoriously wooden Microsoft marketing machine, but it gets at an annoyance I’ve had for a long time: the tendency of average people to think of Bill Gates as some sort of all-knowing technological oracle whose every utterance is a glimpse into the future (witness, for example, the late night TV ads that offer a quote from Bill Gates as evidence of the growing market for public access Internet terminals). Let’s get this straight people: Bill’s record as a businessman is stellar, but when it comes to bleeding edge technology, most of the better webloggers out there are a lot more savvy!


(Update: Here, for the benefit of posterity, is a PDF of the Gates home page as it stands today.)

[Sci-Fi Hi-Fi]

Saturday, October 4, 2003

Interesting Thing of the Day: Cleopatra's Wager

Interesting Thing of the Day: Cleopatra's Wager

Interesting Thing of the Day: The Invention of the Wheel

Interesting Thing of the Day: The Invention of the Wheel

"Eat a third and drink a third and leave the remaining third of your stomach empty. Then, when you get angry, there will be sufficient room for your rage." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

"As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, keep it." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

Fright Night Part II


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: they're so right, original was surprisingly good---

From: Artisan Home Entertainment - Year: 1988 - Rated: R - Release Date: August 19, 2003 Bad sequel. Bad sequel. Down boy. Bad sequel. Amazon Compare [digitallyOBSESSED.com DVD Reviews]

Friday, October 3, 2003

In Search of Planets and Life


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: to boldly go... ---

It may take a while, but scientists are determined to find planets beyond the solar system. Apparently more may be out there than we thought -- maybe even a few that could harbor life. By Erik Baard. [Wired News]

Web Zen: time kill zen


Posted by MacDood
link




weezer sumo

hangman

catch a fly

beat the quilters

internet tennis

bubble trouble

monkey moon lander

diner

office space



web zen home, web zen store, (Thanks, Frank). [Boing Boing]

In the Neimans' Xmas catalog: His and Hers robots, $400K


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: we're getting a his and hers and its....---

In this year's holiday catalog from upscale retailer Neiman Marcus: his and hers robots, six feet tall, engineered at International Robotics. The pair will set you back a cool $400 grand, though. Heck, for that sum -- *I'll* carry your groceries and respond empathetically! Snip from catalog:








Someone at the door? Click your remote and send His Robot to check it out. His Robot's voice circuitry can deliver your greeting, and His on-board video camera gives you a view of the visitor, who can hop onto His platform and be delivered to you in the den. Need some help getting the groceries into the house? Her Robot is happy to help. Need to leave a message for the spouse or kids? Tell it to Her Robot, and she'll spread the word. In fact, His Robot is designed to respond empathetically to us humans and features programmable technology. Our exclusive package includes much more, like preprogrammed messages and sequences of movements, and training for the humans.


Link (Thanks, siege) [Boing Boing]

Thursday, October 2, 2003

Ain't It Cool News - View Article Godzilla

Ain't It Cool News - View Article

Star Trek Personality Test - 8/02/01

Star Trek Personality Test - 8/02/01

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Astronomy Picture of the Day

The Horror Channel


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: oh the joy, non-stop bad horror---

The Horror Channel A 24-hour, all-horror, uncensored, digital cable channel plans to be launched for Halloween 2004, with programming to include classic and contemporary movies, specials, documentaries and original series’ each season. CEO and founder Nicholas A. Psaltos (former Director of Acquisitions and Program Administration at Bravo Television Networks) hopes the new genre network will capitalize on the success of other genre channels like Comedy Central and The Sci-Fi Channel. Psaltos has even put together a creative advisory board of genre legends and newcomers including John Carpenter, Roger Corman, Wes Craven, Guillermo del Toro, Tobe Hooper, Stuart Gordon, Lucky McKee, Eli Roth, George Romero and Rob Zombie. Starting a TV network is risky business and The Horror Channel is petitioning horror fans to help with programming by providing a survey on their consumer website. (Via Rue Morgue) [metafilter.com]

Tuesday, September 30, 2003

Disney's Utopian EPCOT in an academic book


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: ---

Walt Disney and the Quest for Community is a (pricey, $50) academic text on Walt's Utopian dream of building a city called EPCOT another wun for the disney-philes, ya know who ya are-- Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow -- on the grounds of his planned Florida theme park. EPCOT would have asked its worker-citizens to sign away their Consitutional rights in favor of a code-of-conduct specified by Walt and embodied in the Park's designs, and included plans to be electrically self-sufficient through the construction of a nuclear power-plant.


Written by a professor of Urban Planning, the book seems to have been written from the perspective of utopianism in urban design, with Walt as a kind of Bizarro-world Jane Jacobs. This is a subject that's always fascinated me -- the idea of a top-to-bottom Disney-mediated utopian community. There was a generation of Americna entrepreneurs who dreamed of these things -- Ford reportedly built planned communities in Brazil called "Fordlandia" where he subjected his rubber-plantation workers to his utopian vision (which included the banning of the local booze in favor of Tom Collinses, which were inherently Utopian in Ford's eyes).




"Mannheim does a remarkable job in detailing the Disney's revolutionary urban planning contributions that shape most of the modern world."

Edward J. Blakely, Dean, Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy, New School University, New York, USA


"The book is the first to reveal Walt Disney's deep personal concern for the urban "crisis" of the time..."

Gerald Gast, Associate Professor, Portland Urban Architecture Program, The University of Oregon







Link [Boing Boing]


Posted by MacDood



The PETA people are sure to get their panties in a bunch over this one: fur coats from Elmo pelts, and wall-mounted game trophies of the googly-eyed one's decapitated head. Elmo say, "owie." But don't throw blood at your monitor -- it's only the work of artist Kelly Heaton, who purchased 64 previously-owned Tickle Me Elmo dolls on eBay.


Link to photo series, Link to eBay art auction (Thanks, Tim)
[Boing Boing]

Cramer disses Disney's MovieBeam


Posted by MacDood
link
James Cramer's rant on Disney's new VOD venture, Operation MovieBeam:



No more devices. Sorry, I don't want still one more device attached to my television set. And I certainly don't want to pay for it. Yet, there goes Disney (DIS:NYSE) , offering Operation MovieBeam, under which you can add a device to your television that costs you money every day so you won't have to pay late fees at Blockbuster. Huh? Who thinks about this stuff? Who creates it? And at what point do companies stop dreaming about the wonders of video on demand? (...)


My prediction: There's a $100 million write-off headed Disney's way. This venture reminds me so much of those Disney ventures I was involved during the dot-com period. Everything they touched turned to stone. They had no feel for the marketplace or for what consumers wanted. It's just amazing how bad they are.

Link [Boing Boing]

Saturday, September 27, 2003

BeardCon comes to the US


Posted by MacDood
link




The World Beard and Moustache Championships are coming to Carson City, Nevada on Nov 1 -- this'll be the first BeardCon on US soil in over a decade! Maybe the first EVAR!



Link



(via Geisha Asobi)




[Boing Boing]

Haunted Mansion book really doesn't suck!


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: yet another disney-ride movie---

Earlier this month, I predicted that a new book called The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies would suck -- it was packaged for 9-12 year-olds, and I thought it would likely be a brochure disguised as a book, targetted at kids.


I was so wrong. This is a really loving, thorough, adult history of the Haunted Mansion, an appredciation by someone who is clearly a dedicated fan of the ride and who has spent an enviable amount of time talking to some of the principals involved and digging through the Disney archives (the archival material reproduced in the book is stunning, and includes a lot of stuff that I've never seen in a lifetime of Mansion fandom). I'm enjoying the hell out of it. I take it all back. This does not suck.



Link [Boing Boing]

Wednesday, September 24, 2003

Neal Stephenson launches a Wiki to explain his new novel


Posted by MacDood
link
Inpsired by Quicksilver, his giant doorstop of a new novel, Neal Stephenson has put up a wiki where his readers can collaboratively annotate the ideas in the book:




My own view of the Metaweb is pretty straightforward: I don't think that the Internet, as it currently exists, does a very good job of explaining things to people. It is great for selling stuff, distributing news and dirty pictures, and a few other things. But when you need to get a good explanation of something, whether it is a scientific principle, a bit of gardening advice, or how to change a tire, you have to sift through a vast number of pages to find the one that gives you the explanation that is right for you. Generally this is not a problem with the explanations themselves. On the contrary, it seems as though a lot of people like to explain things on the Internet, and some of them are quite good at it. The problem lies in how these explanations are organized.


We have been looking for a way to get an explanation system seeded for a long time, and it occurred to us that a set of annotations to my book might be one way to get it started. At first, the explanations here will be strongly tied to characters and situations in QUICKSILVER and so may be of only limited interest to those who have not read the book. However, with a few clicks we might move on to more general explanations. For example, Robert Hooke and Robert Boyle appear as characters in QUICKSILVER, and so early on we might see annotations concerning specific things that they are shown doing in the book. But later these might link to explanations of Boyle's Law. Such an explanation need not refer to QUICKSILVER in any way, and so it could be useful to, say, a high school student who has never heard of me or my book but who needs to understand Boyle's Law and why it is important.



Link



(Thanks, Jeremy!) [Boing Boing]

Michael Moore's comprehensive response to criticisms of Bowling for Columbine


Posted by MacDood
link
Michael Moore has written a thorough response to the critics of his disheaterning, enraging film about American life, Bowling for Columbine, called "How to Deal with the Lies and the Lying Liars When They Lie about 'Bowling for Columbine.'" He promises to keep this page updated with responses to all his attackers, so, "if you hear something about me that doesn't sound quite right, check in here."




When you see me going in to the bank and walking out with my new gun in "Bowling for Columbine" #8211 that is exactly as it happened. Nothing was done out of the ordinary other than to phone ahead and ask permission to let me bring a camera in to film me opening up my account. I walked into that bank in northern Michigan for the first time ever on that day in June 2001, and, with cameras rolling, gave the bank teller $1,000 #8211 and opened up a 20-year CD account. After you see me filling out the required federal forms ("How do you spell Caucasian?") #8211 which I am filling out here for the first time #8211 the bank manager faxed it to the bank's main office for them to do the background check. The bank is a licensed federal arms dealer and thus can have guns on the premises and do the instant background checks (the ATF's Federal Firearms database—which includes all federally approved gun dealers—lists North Country Bank with Federal Firearms License #4-38-153-01-5C-39922).


Within 10 minutes, the "OK" came through from the firearms background check agency and, 5 minutes later, just as you see it in the film, they handed me a Weatherby Mark V Magnum rifle (If you'd like to see the outtakes, click here).


And it is that very gun that I still own to this day. I have decided the best thing to do with this gun is to melt it down into a bust of John Ashcroft and auction it off on E-Bay (more details on that later). All the proceeds will go to The Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence to fight all these lying gun nuts who have attacked my film and make it possible on a daily basis for America's gun epidemic to rage on.



Link



(via K5) [Boing Boing]

Early review of Haunted Mansion movie


Posted by MacDood
link
Ain't-it-Cool News has an early review of the Haunted Mansion movie:




The bad thing about this film is that it never really wants to scare you too much. When you are a kid and you go on The Haunted Mansion for the first time it scares the shit outta you! Waiting in line, standing in that sinking elevator, checking for exits, your heart beating fast, hands sweaty-I wanted that feeling when I saw this movie! Sure you get a few jumps, a few scary looking skeletons but that is pretty much it...


The music was great, assuming we heard the soundtrack that will be in the finished film. The FX although some unfinished were tight. Rick Baker's make up was sweet as always. And the cinematogaphy was great too. Interesting lighting, clean shots, taking great advantage of 2:35.



Link [Boing Boing]



Stefan sez, "Oh, wow: 'Her!' is a delightfully nasty, minimalist web comic about a little girl, a pig, and various walk-ons."



Link



(Thanks, Stefan!)




[Boing Boing]

Friday, September 19, 2003

A Festival for the Rest of Us


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: As Dougie says: bad scifi is better'n no scifi---

Sci-fi and fantasy films, and their horrible little brother, the slasher film, have never been accorded lofty status in American pop culture. Now along comes Mania Fest, which hopes to rectify the situation. By Jason Silverman. [Wired News]

Two new Haunted Mansion books out


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: If you're looking for the perfect Ms Ishida prezzie---

Disney has shipped two books in honor of the upcoming Haunted Mansion movie (which will not, can not suck, even though Eddie Murphy is in it). The first is Build Your Own Haunted Mansion, a punch-out book with plastic nuts and bolts bundled in so that you can assemble your own scale Haunted Mansion (yes, I am busting a nut, thank you very much); and the second is The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies, a book for ages 9-12 that probably will suck, but I am getting a copy anyway. [Boing Boing]

Thursday, September 18, 2003

Feathered Back Hair Site


Posted by MacDood
link
The Farrah. The Bertinelli. The Machio. They're all here, on a sort of online shrine to 70's and 80's feathered hairstyles. Flattery or mockery? Who cares, this site rules. Link (Thanks, Ken!) [Boing Boing]

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

George Washington


Posted by MacDood
link
"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

George Washington


Posted by MacDood
link
"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

Woody Allen


Posted by MacDood
link
"Eighty percent of success is showing up." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

We Had a Bad Hair Decade


Posted by MacDood
link
FeatheredBack.Com is devoted to the unisex '80s hairstyle that is illegal today in many parts of the world: "Basically, the style is everything you don't want to happen to your hair today." (09-14) [Cruel Site of the Day]

Another Bush Tall Tale


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: arggggggh---

"Mostly, we've been watching the president's rhetoric spring leaks in Iraq and Afghanistan.



So perhaps we haven't paid enough attention to how many holes have popped open in his domestic socks. Joblessness that was supposed to be stanched by the Bush tax cuts. Urban food kitchens overwhelmed by the demand from people who are working but underemployed and end up out of money three weeks into the month. A domestic Peace Corps program (AmeriCorps) that is praised publicly by the president as admirable volunteerism but is being starved of money by the White House and congressional Republicans. But, still, you wouldn't think he would stiff children and their schooling. That's maybe the most disappointing thing this president has done here at home."







Looks like the "No Child Left Behind/'accountability is the true foundation of education reform'/Texas education miracle" is just another Texas tall tale. [metafilter.com]

The Revolution Will Be Televised


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: who will watch commercials---

What happens when digital video recorders give viewers control of the TV schedule, the content and the ads? The whole world is watching. By Frank Rose from Wired magazine. [Wired News]

Reading in Berkeley, Oct 9


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: see y'all there---

I'll be reading from my short story collection and signing books on October 9th, at the Other Change of Hobbit Bookstore in Berkeley from 6-8PM. Hope to see you there!



Link [Boing Boing]

Franken's Supply-Side Jesus


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: what the lying liars enable---



One of the funniest bits in Al Franken's brilliant and scathing Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right is the comic-strip "Supply-Side Jesus." Now the strip's online -- enjoy!



Link




[Boing Boing]

Tuesday, September 16, 2003

Parodies of new Apple iPod billboard ads


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: Ican take an Ijoke---

Tons of wacky spoofs on the latest iPod ad campaign, courtesy of somethingawful.com.
Link
[Boing Boing]

Freewayblog on Halliburton's War Bonanza


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: maybe its a little about the oil---

The Scarlet Pimpernel sends this example of Los Angeles freewayblogging:



It's about 10'X10' and reads "Dear America,
Thanks for all the money, sorry about your kids. -- Halliburton Oil" on one
side and "Nobody Died when Clinton Lied" on the other. Somebody's
opened a website dedicated to this mysterious group, and I'm thinking of
doing the same. In the meantime, check out Nobody Died.




From Smart Money:




Halliburton Corp.'s (HAL) U.S. government contracts to restore Iraqi oil production and provide support services to troops will cost taxpayers an estimated $2 billion and are expected to rise, Army spokesmen said.



An Army Corps of Engineers contract to rehabilitate the country's oil fields, controversial because it wasn't competitively bid, now is valued at $948 million, more than $200 million above the level projected last month. One particularly expensive item: importing fuel to the oil-rich country, at a cost of as much as $6 million a day.



Meanwhile, ex-Halliburton chief Dick Cheney continues to receive deferred compensation payments from Halliburton.




Link

[Boing Boing]

Translate gangsta to pirate


Posted by MacDood
link
Nice Gangsta-Pirate translation table:

























GangstahPirate
fo'tiesbottles o' rum
bling blingbooty
Yo!Avast!
HomeyMatey
Bee-atchScurvey dog


Link



(via Making Light) [Boing Boing]

Saturday, September 13, 2003

WWdN: May Peace Prevail On Earth

WWdN: May Peace Prevail On Earth

Computer Hacker Ordered to Live with Parents (Reuters)


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: and who says you can't go home again---

Reuters - A 22-year-old California man charged
with hacking into the New York Times computer network was
allowed to remain free on Friday on bail terms requiring him to
live with his parents and restricting his computer use to such
things as e-mail and job searches. [Yahoo! News - Technology]

Sex Sites Sick of Getting Screwed


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: bummrt huh!---

Online pornographers say a hacker tried to extort money from them by threatening to cripple their websites. Now police in Israel have arrested a suspect, and the pornmeisters cry 'Throw away the key!' By Noah Schachtman. [Wired News]

Tommy Chong Sentenced to 9 Months + Fine


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: not funny, just read it---

Tommy Chong, actor and comedian of "Cheech and Chong" fame, was sentenced today to serve nine months in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug paraphernalia trafficking. [Kuro5hin.org]

Federal Marriage Amendment


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: ergg arrgg---

The Federal Marriage Amendment is a resolution to amend the Constitution of the United States to specifically state that marriage is only to be recognized as a union between a man and a woman. [Kuro5hin.org]

Top 10 outsider videos of all time


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: Marin gets such a bad rap---

Hilarious list of the ten most awesomely bad videos of all time, according to Vice Magazine. Picks include the Orson Welles commercial for Paul Masson, some Anna Nicole Smith Outtakes (there are outtakes?), and What I Really Want -- described thusly:







[A] way-too-short informative clip (you want it to go on for days) features a typical Marin County self-help group talking about actualizing your dreams. The story goes that, halfway into filming, the leader of this bizarre yuppie cult decided “everything has to be destroyed – RIGHT NOW!” The filmmakers managed to salvage this 15 minutes before the rest was lost forever.
HIGHLIGHT: A man rests on his knees and, after being encouraged to say what he feels no matter how much it hurts, bursts into sobs and screams, “I want to touch people. I want people to TOUCH ME!!!!”





Link, (Thanks, ESC) [Boing Boing]

Me in Wired on casemodding


Posted by MacDood
link
My piece on casemodding from this month's Wired magazine is online:



MODDER: Rainer Wingender

Manager, BITS-Consulting

Siegenburg, Germany


SPECS: left side: 1.8-GHz AMD XP Thoroughbred 2200, 512 Mbytes RAM, Nvidia GeForce4 graphics card, 110-Gbyte hard disk, DVD-ROM; right side: 450-MHz AMD K6-2, 256 Mbytes RAM, 44xCD, CD-RW, 40-Gbyte hard disk.


COST: $1,000 in cooling plates, exhaust, intakes, and gauges; $2,000 in computer components


TIME: 250 hours over three months


INSPIRATION: "A 1971 Ford Mustang I owned when I was 18. If you've ever driven a V-8, you know the feeling."


CHALLENGE: "Designing good-looking feet. Early tries seemed too small, but when I added the punched bars, it balanced just right visually."



Link [Boing Boing]

"Floatation phone" blocks outside world


Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: if you didn't know, what would you think it is?---

BBC story about a gizmo that cuts out external sensory stimulation so you can make a phone call. Involves getting into a warm pool and sticking your head in a lightproof bubble. Link (via Smart Mobs)
[Boing Boing]