Disney's Utopian EPCOT in an academic book

Posted by MacDood
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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
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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]

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]

Neal Stephenson launches a Wiki to explain his new novel

Posted by MacDood
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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
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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
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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]

A Festival for the Rest of Us

Posted by MacDood
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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
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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]

Feathered Back Hair Site

Posted by MacDood
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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]

George Washington

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

We Had a Bad Hair Decade

Posted by MacDood
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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]

Parodies of new Apple iPod billboard ads

Posted by MacDood
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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
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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
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Nice Gangsta-Pirate translation table:

Gangstah	Pirate
fo'ties	bottles o' rum
bling bling	booty
Yo!	Avast!
Homey	Matey
Bee-atch	Scurvey dog

Link

(via Making Light) [Boing Boing]

WWdN: May Peace Prevail On Earth

WWdN: May Peace Prevail On Earth

Computer Hacker Ordered to Live with Parents (Reuters)

Posted by MacDood
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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]

Future sarcastic rayguns and robots of exceeding loveliness

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: yeah and beaming, where's beaming---

Greg Brotherton is a sculptor who recycles retro-futuristic vaccuum cleaners and other industrial detritus into breathtakingly cool, highly polished rayguns and robots.

I call this look "future sarcastic," and it's just about my favorite aesthetic. It says: "Well, it's the twenty-first century, where the fuck is my jetpack?"

Link

[Boing Boing]

'50s commercial animation art gallery

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: More nostalgia for you old farts---

Extremely cool online gallery of '50s and '60 commercial art and photography. Link, Discuss (via J-Walk).

[Boing Boing]

My short story collection is out!

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: More work from the author of Down and out in the Magic Kingdom--Free too---

My first short story collection, "A Place So Foreign and Eight More," is out! It should start appearing on store shelves this week. As with Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, I've made a bunch of the stories in the collection available online for free, under the terms of a Creative Commons license.

I'm trying some different stuff this time around. For starters, I'm only making one format available: ASCII text, wrapped to 80 columns. If you want another format, you're invited to do the conversion yourself and post a link to a downloadable version on the page for the story in question.

Short stories are naturals for electronic distribution. For starters, they're short. Durr. More important is that they're ephemeral. Short fiction is the cutting edge of the field, but the stories themselves usually vanish along with the current ish of the magazines in which they appear. That's depressing as hell, but it's also infopocalypic. I learned a lot of my form by reading and dissecting stories, and by writing them, iterating through different experiments quickly. Those stories are gone -- might as well be gone forever.

Electronic editions mean that the stories will be in print forever -- or for as long as there's an Internet. I'm really glad to have the collection on the stands and the stories on the Web. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them. (Oh, and don't miss Bruce Sterling's intro, it's killer).

Link

Discuss

[Boing Boing]

Eye candy or eye drugs?

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: the eyes have it, seeing IS believing right?---

Optical illusions for endless hours of zoned-out, timewasting pleasure. Included in this online gallery of tasty visual teases, "Rotating Snakes." Click thumbnail at left for full-size image and full, freaky visual impact. The static, "coiled" shapes appear to writhe on-screen. Link, Discuss (Thanks, KK!)
[Boing Boing]

List of links to wireless art projects

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: maybe there's a web site about Ipod art---

Bev points us to this incomplete but interesting list of websites about art projects that involve cellular phones or mobile internet devices. Some of the projects are new, some are old, but the link-list is good for countless hours of amused browsing. Link, Discuss [Boing Boing]

For Whose Own Good?

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: Ignore the sensationalism, just read the commentary---

Two 5-year-old boys who had been locked inside small roach infested cages for 4 months were discovered by authorities this week in Arizona. Their makeshift cage consisted of cribs wired together and sealed with plastic crates. The boys slept on a dirty mattress spattered with urine and feces and were fed through a small hole in the cage. The boys wore filthy pajamas and were covered in bedsores. Their parents confined the toddlers for 20 hours out of every day. Neither of the boys were toilet trained and they did not know how to speak. Their mother explained to police that the boys were placed in cages for their own protection. [Kuro5hin.org]

Ecstasy Study Botched, Retracted

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: Whrn good researchers go bad---

A controversial study showing that ecstacy causes brain damage turns out to be based on faulty research. The primates in the study were given methamphetamine, not ecstacy. By Kristen Philipkoski. [Wired News]

Microsoft to Asia: No Fair!

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: Pity the poor giant turning East...---

The software giant bemoans a plan by Japan, China and South Korea to develop an inexpensive, trustworthy open-source operating system, saying it may stifle competition. [Wired News]

Koppel rips on PATRIOT

Posted by MacDood
Ted Koppel went gloriously mad on air last week, tearing apart the dread USA PATRIOT Act. Lisa Rein has the video and the transcript.

The men who drafted our constitution, who framed our civil rights and protected our various freedoms under the law would, I suspect, retch at some of the bone headed, self-serving, misinterpretations of their intentions that they so often use these days to undermine the very freedoms they pretend to safeguard. The miracle of American Law is not that it protects popular speech, or the privacy of the powerful, or the homes of the privileged, but rather, that the least among us, those with the fewest defenses thoses suspected of the worst crimes -- the most despised in our midst, are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

That remains as revolutionary a concept now as it was in the 1780s. It makes protecting the country against terrorism excruciatingly difficult, but we cannot arbitrarily suspend the rights of one catagory of suspects without endangering all the others.

Link

Discuss

(Thanks, Lisa!) [Boing Boing]

Erupting Volcano QTVR panoramas

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: I remeember seeing the first QTVR at an Apple Dev convention, cool teck---


From BoingBoing pal Peter Murphy, Australian photographer and QTVR enthusiast:

Hi Xeni -- pretty remarkable, these panoramas of a volcano in eruption by a French guy, here. And new on my blog lately a panorama of an art installation, in a log cabin, a real log cabin, a couple on a bed surrounded by taxidermy."

Discuss [Boing Boing]

Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland derails, injures 11

Posted by MacDood
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The Big Thunder Mountain Runaway Train Ride (not a roller-coaster in Disneyspeak, but a "runaway train ride") at Disneyland derailed today, injuring 11 people, including one critical injury. Any Disney insiders want to comment on this? Most of the Disney attraction injuries I've read about are candidates for the Darwin Award, but this seems like a catastrophic prevantative maintenance failure, no?

Link

Discuss

(at least twenty of you suggested this, but Thomas was first!) [Boing Boing]

Will San Francisco's next mayor be a human or a replicant?

Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: I've always had my suspicions...---

The Wave magazine took the replicant-or-human test from PK Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" (the basis for the film Blade Runner) and administered it to San Francisco's mayoral candidates. The results are highly amusing:

SUBJECT 4: TOM AMMIANO

It's your birthday. Someone gives you a calfskin wallet. How do you react?

Tom Ammiano: I'd look for money.

TW: You've got a little boy. He shows you his butterfly collection plus the killing jar. What do you do?
TA: I'd think this was Blade Runner. That's my reaction.

TW: You're watching television. Suddenly you realize there's a wasp crawling on your arm.

TA: Call 911.

TW: You're in a desert walking along in the sand when all of the sudden you look down, and you see a tortoise, Tom, it's crawling toward you. You reach down, you flip the tortoise over on its back, Tom. The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can't, not without your help. But you're not helping. Why is that, Tom?

TA: That's interesting. I don't know. I'm a republican?

TW: Describe in single words, only the good things that come into your mind. About your mother.

TA: Tenderness. Yelling.

Link

Discuss

(Thanks, JeremyT) [Boing Boing]

Will San Francisco's next mayor be a human or a replicant?

Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: I've always had my suspicions...---

The Wave magazine took the replicant-or-human test from PK Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" (the basis for the film Blade Runner) and administered it to San Francisco's mayoral candidates. The results are highly amusing:

SUBJECT 4: TOM AMMIANO

It's your birthday. Someone gives you a calfskin wallet. How do you react?

Tom Ammiano: I'd look for money.

TW: You've got a little boy. He shows you his butterfly collection plus the killing jar. What do you do?
TA: I'd think this was Blade Runner. That's my reaction.

TW: You're watching television. Suddenly you realize there's a wasp crawling on your arm.

TA: Call 911.

TW: You're in a desert walking along in the sand when all of the sudden you look down, and you see a tortoise, Tom, it's crawling toward you. You reach down, you flip the tortoise over on its back, Tom. The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can't, not without your help. But you're not helping. Why is that, Tom?

TA: That's interesting. I don't know. I'm a republican?

TW: Describe in single words, only the good things that come into your mind. About your mother.

TA: Tenderness. Yelling.

Link

Discuss

(Thanks, JeremyT) [Boing Boing]

Ain't It Cool News - View Article

Ain't It Cool News - View Article agggghhhh Mcauley Culkin as Hannibal L.

Bruce Lee

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: you better listen to Bruce, aaiiiiieeee---

"To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

Wacky. Face. Flash. Another. Thingy.

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: Yet another reason for the web---

Another Wacky Face Generator Flash Thingy Look! It's wacky! It has Hitler, and George W. Bush! And you can make their faces wackier! Wheee. [metafilter.com]

New Bible 'Revolves' Around Teen Girls

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: Yet Another Comic Book...JESUS!? This is better than superpope from a few years ago---

This review from ABC News, covers a new version of the New Testament - designed to look like a fashion magazine, and marketed towards teen girls. [more inside] [metafilter.com]

Jeepers Creepers 2' Leads Holiday Box Office (Reuters)

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: yet another teenager killing film monster, only this one also eats them yumm---

Reuters - The North American summer
moviegoing season officially closed on a scary note on Monday
as the horror sequel "Jeepers Creepers 2" scored a record
opening for the U.S. Labor Day holiday weekend. [Yahoo! News - Entertainment]

Nirmal Hriday

Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: We are a prison nation---

Sick on the Inside. Published in Harper's August 2003 issue but not online, the full text of Wil S. Hylton's exposure of the medical conditions in United States prisons has been put on the web by the Wrongful Death Institute with the author's permission. The gravity of the situation for more than 2 million people behind bars can hardly be exaggerated.

"We have almost 30 percent of our prison population in Texas infected with hepatitis. That’s not so different from the numbers you see in the Dark Ages with the plague."

...

"[Correctional Medical Services] is an HMO with a captive audience," says David Santacroce, the professor who is spearheading the Michigan lawsuit. "The fewer patients they treat, the more money they make."

[more inside] [metafilter.com]

Car That Can Park Itself Put on Sale by Toyota (Reuters)

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: I think there are thousands of people for whom the government should buy this for!---

Reuters - A car that can park itself without the
driver having to touch the steering wheel, said by maker Toyota
Motor Corp. to be a world first, went on sale in Japan on
Monday. [Yahoo! News - Technology]

Live from Burningman

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: the new pagans---

I'm sitting inside a trailer that belongs to an incredibly generous, satellite-dish-toting friend named Wayne -- on the playa in Black Rock City, at Burning Man. It's 2:30AM. Most of the event has passed, but performance-explosions are going off all over the place, brightly illuminated art-cars are floating by in the sand, and people with el-wire woven into their hair and clothes are milling around in the middle of the night. The sky above is astonishingly clear. I can see the milky way. The Man has burned, as has the Temple of Honor, as has tons of propane, trash, wood, and just about everything else flammable you might imagine. I'm sleep-deprived, grimy, and covered in white alkaline dust. This was my first time out here, and while it's been a terrific adventure, I'm seriously looking forward to home and running water. Here's one snapshot of an art-car; at left is a snapshot of the man just before the Burn. A few more of the photos I took out here will run with a forthcoming story in Wired News within the next couple of days. Oh, Burningman Bingo? It was dead-on. I crossed off everything but the tofu pup wrapper and the deodorant rock. Discuss [Boing Boing]

NYT homage to Jack Kirby

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: Itsa comic book worlde after all---

The New York Times wrote a nice tribute to the late Jack "King" Kirby, the world's greatest comic book writer/artist.

There are elements of the "Star Wars" mythology in "Matrix." But the idea of a hero turning out to be the offspring of the most inconceivable evil, an immensely grim force that dominates out of pride, did not begin with George Lucas. In 1971 Kirby left Marvel after disagreements over rights to characters he had helped bring to life. After going to DC Comics, the home of Superman and Batman, Kirby hammered together a new vision: an expanse of planets and the gods that controlled them called the New Universe, which unfolded in the "New Gods," "Forever People" and "Mister Miracle" comics.

With the malevolent overlord, Darkseid — who turns out to be the father of Orion, a damaged warrior-hero who has to battle a barely sublimated streak of cruelty — Mr. Lucas's "Star Wars" archvillain, Darth Vader, can clearly be glimpsed.

Link Discuss (Thanks, Scott!) [Boing Boing]

Introduction to the Cthulhu Mythos

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: the Cthulu stories have been genuinely creepy sinvce I was knee high to Stephen King, great stuff---

The Cthulhu Mythos is a branch of horror fictions which has stood the test of time. Begun more than 80 years ago, it's not quite a shared background, not quite a genre of it's own, not quite a series of homages and inside jokes by the writers who created it, but it has elements of all of these (along with some damn fine story-telling). It has inspired some hoaxes and conspiracies, some terrible movies, and even a few popular video games. [Kuro5hin.org]

"Where so many hours have been spent in convincing myself that I am right, is there not some reason to fear I may be wrong?" [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

A Quick Overview of Buddhism

Posted by MacDood
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The Buddhist community is one of the largest growing groups of believers in the world today. It is especially gaining interest in the West where people are searching for alternatives to traditional religion. What proceeds is an attempt at giving a brief overview of Buddhist history and teachings. Please understand that Buddhism is a large and complicated area to research and because there are many different understandings of Buddhism what I've written here may not apply to everyone. Indeed, because this is really an overview I have only really scratched the surface! [Kuro5hin.org]

Robert Anton Wilson for Governor

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: Illuminatus rocks---

bOING bOING patron saint Robert Anton Wilson is running for California Governor! "After all, why should I remain the ONLY nutcase in California who ain't running," RAW says.

My party, the Guns and Dope Party, invites extremists of both right and left to unite behind our shared goals of:

1. Get those pointy-headed Washington bureaucrats off our backs and off our fronts too!

2. Guns for everybody who wants them; no guns for those who don't want them

3. Drugs for everybody who wants them; no drugs for those who don't want them

4. Freedom of choice, free love,free speech, free Internet and free beer

5. California secession -- Keep the anti-gun and anti-dope fanatics on the Eastern side of the Rockies

6. Lotsa wild parties every night by gun-toting dopers

7. Animal protection -- Support your right to keep and arm bears

More position papers will follow; we know at least 69 good positions.

I haven't been this excited about politics since RU Sirius ran for President!
Link
Discuss [Boing Boing]

Photo gallery of insect freaks, from The Insect Company, which sells insect specimens. Link Discuss (via Ookworld)
[Boing Boing]

My Uncle Is Not A Monkey

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: hey my old man was a monkey---

Creation Science Fair - the first place for elementary level was won by Cassidy Turnbull, who demonstrated the differences between her uncle and a monkey. Much more impressive was the winner of the high school level who used prayer to make microbes evolve antibiotic resistance. I, for one, am glad that children across the world are learning the power of Creation Science! (via New Scientist) [metafilter.com]

Rio's Nitrus Tries to Crack IPod Market (AP)

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: dere's no pod like an Ipod---


Comment:

AP - So far, no gadget has come very close in mimicking the style and simplicity of Apple Computer's top-selling iPod digital music player. [Yahoo! News - Technology]

Kinetic human maze

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: Maybe I'm amazed---

North Pitney has built a human-sized maze that changes as you walk through it. Called the Intermap, the maze will be open from September 1-15 in a vacant storefront at a Berkeley strip mall. The Intermap reminds me of that movie The Cube which, by the way, I think would make a great play. LinkDiscuss(Via Dorkbot) [Boing Boing]

Sequel to Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom on Salon

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: hey, if you liked the first story---

Tons of people have asked me if I'd do a sequel to Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, my first novel. The answer is no. Well, yes and no.

I don't really write sequels. More than half the point of writing sf is thinking up new worlds, and sequels involve revisiting places I've left behind.

But this is different. A couple years ago, right after I sold the novel, I wrote a short-story set in the same world as the book, but a century or more later. It's a parable about Napster, and it's called Truncat, and today, Salon has published it. And you can read it for free.

First, Adrian got on the subway, opting to go deadhead for a faster load-time. He stepped into the sparkling cryochamber at the Downsview Station, conjured a helmet-mounted display (HUD) against his field of vision, and granted permission to be frozen. The next thing he knew, he was thawing out on the Union Station platform, pressed belly-to-butt with a couple thousand other commuters who'd opted for the same treatment. In India, where this kind of convenience-freezing was even more prevalent, Mohan had observed that the reason their generation was small for their age was that they spent so much of it in cold-sleep, conserving space in transit. Adrian might've been 18, but he figured that he'd spent at least one cumulative year frozen.

Adrian shuffled through the crowd and up the stairs to the steady-temp surface, peeling off the routing sticker that the cryo had stuck to his shoulder. His tummy was still rumbling, so he popped the sticker in his mouth and chewed until it had dissolved, savoring the steaky flavor and the burst of calories. The guy who'd figured out edible routing tags had Whuffie to spare: Adrian's mom knew someone who knew someone who knew him, and she said that he had an entire subaquatic palace to rattle around in.

A clamor of swallowing noises filled his ears, as the crowd subvocalized, carrying on conversations with distant friends. Adrian basked in the warm, simulated sunlight emanating from the dome overhead. He was going outside of the dome in a matter of minutes, and he had a sneaking suspicion that he was going to be plenty cold soon enough. He patted his little rucksack and made sure he had his cowl with him.

Link

Discuss [Boing Boing]

Station-wagons from the days when cars were cars and men were men and kids wanted to be cowboys

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: hey do you remember the ol' family station wagon? Ours was red...---

Beautiful gallery of vintage station-wagon ads.

Link

Discuss

(Thanks, May!)

[Boing Boing]

Amazon Fights Brand 'Spoofing'

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: seems like one can't surf down the superhighway safely anymore---


Amazon sues 11 online marketers that allegedly disguise e-mails to appear as though they were sent to consumers by the Web retail giant. Known as 'spoofing' of Internet brands, the trend is growing fast thanks to explosive growth in spam. [Wired News]

Posted by MacDood
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Comment:

Understanding Kane

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: and just who is FK, and who are you

Citizen Kane stands as one of the most celebrated films in the history of cinema. We cannot discuss this film without resorting to phrases like "masterpiece" "tour de force" or some other superlative to describe it. Why does the story of Charles Kane continue to draw viewers? Can a 1940's movie remain relevant? [Kuro5hin.org]

No particular reason, Mark's Raratonga skin sore picture was just really freaking me out, and it's lunchtime on the West Coast.
[Boing Boing]

Panoramic QTVR: the Matterhorn

Posted by MacDood
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Hans Nyberg points us to a panoramic QTVR of the Matterhorn at Zermatt, Switzerland: "First at the top was a British crew in 1865, together with the guides Peter Taugwalder and his son from Zermatt. On the way down 4 of the crew dies in an accident. The Taugwalders and the leader Edward Whymper survives. Matthias Taugwalder who made this magnificant panorama is Peter Taugwalder's great great great grandson."Link, Discuss [Boing Boing]

Wired illo: The Treasure Hunter

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: I like anything with a treasure

Canadian illustrator Kenn Brown's latest illo for a very cool feature in the August issue of Wired Magazine:

In 1694, an 80-gun British warship called the HMS Sussex set sail for southern France loaded with as much as 3 million pounds sterling and 6 tons of gold. The bounty was intended for the Duke of Savoy, a bribe to keep him allied with England in its war against Louis XIV. The Duke never did get the money. Severe gales whipped up off the north coast of Africa. The Sussex foundered along with a dozen other ships in the British fleet, taking all its riches (and the lives of 1,200 crew members) to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. Ultimately, the Duke threw his support to Louis XIV, and England's battle with France raged for seven more years before ending in a stalemate.

The plight of the Sussex left behind two huge questions, the first for historians: What if the mission had been successful? It's conceivable that England would have beaten back Louis XIV and annexed parts or all of France. If so, the British government might have been less concerned with a group of 13 rebellious colonies across the Atlantic and allowed them to split off to form a commonwealth - like Canada. The other question, for the rest of us: What happened to all that loot?

Link,
DiscussRead the amazing article this illustration accompanied, by Jeffrey O'Brien, here.
[Boing Boing]

Leonardo da Vinci

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: Older and wiser, so 50ish

"As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

I Just Called to Say I'm Famous

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: the parade of LOSERS!!!

Thinking about popping the question? Nothing says "be mine forever" quite like as a telephone call from Todd Bridges, one of the celebrities on Hollywood is Calling who will exchange pleasantries with a stranger for $19.95. (08-14) [Cruel Site of the Day]

Wired: Disney or Sony should buy Apple

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: Hey let's all pitch in and buyu Apple

A Wired magazine opinion piece by Contributing Editor Josh McHugh says that Disney or Sony should buy Apple. Of course, rumors of this nature pop up every few months, but McHugh feels rumor should become reality. Why? Because although "every few years, Apple Computer consistently comes out of the blue with products that alter the trajectory of the technology business and leave observers rubbing their eyes in amazement," the company "clutches a meager 3 percent of the computer market." [MacCentral]

Photographic evidence of cetacean flatulence

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: No relation I would hazard a guess...

This is marvellous: the first whale-fart ever captured on film.

LinkDiscuss

(via JWZ's Livejournal)

[Boing Boing]

A defense of Michael Moore and "Bowling for Columbine"

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: Haven't seen it yet but this IS about freedom of speech

This is an open letter to David Hardy, author of Bowling for Columbine: Documentary or Fiction?, probably the most comprehensive among many rebuttals of the Oscar-winning documentary. Critics have now gone so far as to call for the revocation of the award. Their chances are small, however, as their arguments rely on polemic, exaggeration and misrepresentation -- in other words, on the same techniques which they accuse Moore of using. Dear David Hardy, It is fascinating to watch the organized character assassination of Michael Moore that has been going on in the United States since the release of his last documentary. In a time of simple-minded patriotism, loud, clear and dissenting voices like Mr. Moore's are perceived as disturbing and have to be silenced, partially through well funded public relations campaigns, partially through conservative "grass-roots" propaganda. Not surprisingly, much of the criticism of Moore's film is misguided or outright wrong, often vastly more inaccurate than Moore's work itself. [Kuro5hin.org]

Albert Camus

Posted by MacDood
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"Do not wait for the last judgment. It takes place every day." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

Homer

Posted by MacDood
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"Do thou restrain the haughty spirit in thy breast, for better far is gentle courtesy." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]

And they work how exactly?

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: All those taking anti-depressants raise their hand and make a smiley face!

Anxious? Depressed? - you need more brain cells. Just take one of these twice a day. New research shows that antidepressants may not work as we thought at all, rather they actually stimulate growth of cells in the hippocampus area of the brain. This may all be for the good - but it seems strange that we release millions of happy pills and market them as safe without knowing for sure what they do. Perhaps its the money talking. [metafilter.com]

The Shrinking American Vacation

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: I guess that underemployment doesn't really count as a vacation
Ellen Goodman, a syndicated columnist has a column out today call America's incredible shrinking vacation. It is very noticeable that Americans tend to have considerably less time off than Europeans. Since 1980 the days off that Americans have has been reducing steadily. [Kuro5hin.org]

zing!

Posted by MacDood
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Arnold Schwarzenegger: Finally, a public official who can explain the administration's social policies in the original German. --Bill Maher, via... [Wil Wheaton]

Misuse of Science

Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: Bush: Master of anti-science
In a report recently complied by Rep. Waxman (D-Calif) and the minority staff of the House Government Reform Committee's special investigations division areas in which the Bush administration has manipulated science to the benefit of his political agenda are highlighted. The report has an accompanying website. [metafilter.com]

Octopus Hijinks!

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: Dontcha just love Na-tcha
Nature is amazing. "Camera approaching coral with no sign of animal. As the camera gets closer, an O. vulgaris that was camouflaged changes color to white and becomes visible." This page leads to a video clip containing "special effects" that put the movie industry to shame. (via Looka!) [metafilter.com]

Arghnold is laughing at you!

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: you laughin' at me. YOU LAUGHIN AT ME!?
Arghnold is laughing at you! Apparently Californians will not be trifled with. [metafilter.com]

How To Walk On Water

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: Jesus aside, I've always wondered how the little buggers did it. I must have watched thousands of them in my time.

MIT scientists have discovered how insects like water striders walk on water. Rather than create tiny waves and surf them as previously suspected, the insects use one set of their hairy legs to create vortices in the water that propel the bugs along. In a bit of brilliant biomimicry, graduate student Brian Chan applied the research to build Robotstrider, a mechanical insect light enough to be supported by surface tension as it skims across the water.
LinkDiscuss [Boing Boing]

Mass registration in the "Do Not Call Registry"

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: Make sure y'all sign up to avoid those pesky calls
I've been thinking about what the telemarketing companies will do once the National Do Not Call Registry kicks into effect. I wonder if the telemarketers will follow the Internet gambling model and move offshore where the cost of calling the US will increase, but labor will be cheaper. Then again, perhaps the US companies that hire the off-shore telemarkets will then be held accountable. Or, maybe the US-based telemarketers will start calling numbers overseas to pitch products to an international market.

Also, my friend had an interesting idea: Why not write a bot that will automatically register EVERY telephone number in the US in the Do Not Call Registry? All that's required to register is entering a number and an email address and then verifying the registration by clicking a link in an email. Doesn't seem too tough to automate. LinkDiscuss [Boing Boing]

Web Zen: Photo Zen

Posted by MacDood
link

(1) a day in the life

(2) we are a camera

(3) 26 things

(4) mirror project

(5) stop motion

(6) collage

(7) my tiny garden

(8) astronaut dinosaur

(9) nyc polaroids

(10) emulsion problems

(11)

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

More wacky candidates in California governor race

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: that's it hon we're a-leaving the state
Forget about Arnold. And please, the Larry Flynt thing is so three days ago. Now, Gary Coleman, of television's "Diff'rent Strokes" is in. Also rumored to be collecting sigs and cash, comedian Gallagher, known for smashing fruit with a hammer. Other candidates for Governor of California include billboard icon Angelyne, P2P entrepreneur Travis Kalanick, and -- rumor has it -- Napster co-founder and Plaxo principal Sean Parker. Is there a tracking website yet to help us all keep tabs on the growing herd of gubernatorial dark horses? No? Someone should create one. Link to East Bay Express article on why Gary Coleman for Governor rules (Thanks Josh Phillipson), Discuss
[Boing Boing]

"Beer Can Chicken": Sure, it's cheesy, but it works

Posted by MacDood

Comment: Aiiiee tastes like chicken
link
I know...you've probably heard of this before. This guy has been all over TV in the past year or so, acting like he invented it, and now you can even buy cooking paraphernalia to make your life easier. So I'm not purporting to bring some blindingly innovative technique to light. Nevertheless, if you can look past the faddish element, and get over the kinda goofy "white trash" aspect, this is a very consistent route to an impressively tender, flavorful roasted chicken. Think of this as a low-budget, low-risk equivalent to the whole "deep-fried turkey" thing--it really does make a great chicken, and equally importantly, if you're having friends over, it's got pretty good entertainment value. [Kuro5hin.org]

Coke and Pepsi selling Soft Drinks with high pesticide content in india

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: those bastards

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) India has found that Coke and Pepsi are selling soft drinks with a pesticide content 30-40 times higher than EU guidelines permit. The story can be found here and here among various other sources. Coke and Pepsi have threatened to sue CSE over the findings claiming that the tests should be carried by an international body rather an the India based NGO.Meanwhile, following the furore in the parliament, sale of soft drinks has been banned in the house. The members are even demanding a blanket ban on sale of products from these two companies. [Kuro5hin.org]

Fun with Puns

Posted by MacDood
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Tom Swifties! "I'm wearing my wedding ring," said Tom with abandon. Oh, the pun-ishment. [metafilter.com]

Dial-A-Dolphin on Your Mobile

Posted by MacDood
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Irish scientists plan to let consumers eavesdrop on dolphin conversations, thus ending all dolphin privacy. Also: A new study shows that surgical masks might not guard against SARS.... Bodybuilders are adding insulin to their steroid cocktails.... and more. [Wired News]

AICN's Robotic Women of Film Contest

Posted by MacDood
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My heart be still. Movies, fan art, and Robot Fantasy Babes, all rolled up into one gigantic Internet burrito of fun. Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News ran a silly contest soliciting reader-created poster art for " T-X Terminator 3 SIDESHOW Robotic Head for Robot Women." The results look pretty cool, but the site seems to be having intermittent bandwidth problems right now. Link, Discuss [Boing Boing]

Talk like human beings, will ya'?

Posted by MacDood
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The 100 Worst “Groaners”. A “groaner” is a hackneyed, overblown, stuffy or just plain silly cliché that turns up time after time in news scripts. Groaners show laziness on the part of writers, disrespect for the folks watching, and a general contempt for lively English. Here are some of the worst offenders. You’ll recognize them immediately, so get ready to groan! [metafilter.com]

BuyMusic.com Parody Launches

Posted by MacDood
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The self proclaimed geniuses over at macteens.com are proud to announce their new flagship website, DontBuyMusic.com. The first viable alternative to BuyMusic.com! The new site features a more honest point of view than it's predecessor and lets the world know all about the best way to download music! We whole heartedly suggest you check out this revolutionary new website.


Like Pixels? Check out MacDesign [MacMerc]

Tea

Posted by MacDood
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This story is about good teas and how to brew them. [Kuro5hin.org]

Selling cars in the U.S. - the inside scoop

Posted by MacDood
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OK, a quick foreword. I am a dyed in the wool tech weenie. Hardcore Cisco jockey. I got whacked from a classic tech company back in January, and I was faced with the very real prospect of being unemployed for a Very Long Time(c). So I thought: "what the hey, I'll sell cars until I can be a professional propeller head again". Boy oh boy, was THAT an experience. Details below.... (Note, I'm detailing 2 very different markets, Arizona and Texas - abbreviated T, A, or T&A :) [Kuro5hin.org]

e-hamburgers

Posted by MacDood
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Turmeric Enterprises, LLC, a fully incorporated offshore entity with offices in London, Sydney, Frankfurt, Kuala Lumpur, Johannesburg, and Hayward California, has recently embarked upon a project to provide a new form of 'e-currency' to the internet community. Unlike traditional e-currency the unit of commerce will be the hamburger. [Kuro5hin.org]

How Robots Will Steal Your Job

Posted by MacDood
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The man behind the website HowStuffWorks has a theory that in the future most of us will be out of work, replaced by robots. He elucidates this vision in a series of essays, a sci-fi novel and even a patent application. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News]

Web Zen: crafts

Posted by MacDood
link

(1) origami

(2) mosaics

(3) papier mache

(4) hook rugs

(5) food portraits

(6) crop art
web zen home, web zen store, Discuss (Thanks, Frank) [Boing Boing]

Great snarky photo-caption

Posted by MacDood
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Curmudgeons like the infamous and accomplished Jamie Zawinski are one of the things that I love about the Internet, 'cause they pop off photo-captions like this one:

Dear Japanese people:

Please stop exploring your sexuality. It really freaks us out.

Love, American People.

LinkDiscuss [Boing Boing]

New Censorship: How scandals get neutralized

Posted by MacDood
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I picked up the new Harper's this morning to read on the BART, and was transfixed by the lead essay, "The New Censorship," an outtake from "The Middle Mind, Why Americans Don't Think for Themsleves," a book by Curtis White to be published in August. What I find fascinating about it is the very sharp and vehement analysis of how scandal after scandal can break in the news without tainting the political and business elites. Here are a couple of grafs I keyed in:

The New Censorship does not work by keeping things secret. Are our leaders liars and criminals? Is the government run by wealthy corporations and political elites? Are we all being slowly poisoned? The answer is yes to all of the above, and there's hardly a soul on these shores who doesn't know it. The reign of George II practically revels in this perverse transparency. Oil policy created in backrooms with lobbyists from Enron and ExxonMobil. Naked pandering to the electricity industry in rolling back clean-air mandates. Accounting firms such as Arthur Andersen buying even "watchdog" liberal senators such as Christopher Dodd. Elections rigged with brother Jeb's connivance in Florida. All of the details are utterly public, reported in newspapers, television newscasts and books, yet it's perfectly safe for this stuff to be known. The genius of the New Censorship is that it works through the obscenity of absolute openness. Iraq-gate wasn't a secret. The real secret is that it wasn't a secret, and certainly wasn't a scandal. It was business as usual. The betrayal of a public trust is a daily story manipulated by the media within the narrative confines of "scandal," when in fact it's all a part of the daily routine and everyone knows it. The media makes pornography out of the collective guilt of our politicians and business leaders. They make a yummy fetish of betrayed trust. We then consume it, mostly passively, because it is indistinguishable from our "entertainment" and because we suspect in some dim way that, bad as it surely is, it is working in our interests in the long run. What genius to have a system that allows you to behave badly, be exposed for it, and then have the sin recouped by the system as a resellable commodity! I mean, you have to admire the sheer, recuperative balls of it!

All this being the case, what consequences can we expect from the work of Chalmers Johnson or Noam Chomsky? None. Their writings are taken up as a part of the spectrum (a modestly disturbing part of the spectrum to be sure) of info-pornographics. The truth-function of Chomsky's work is neutralized because there are people who will participate in actions leading to death and worse all over the world and then tell you about it. In detail. In great detail. The truth is that everything is known, the revelations grotesquely vivid.

LinkDiscuss [Boing Boing]

Best fucking legal document on the internet

Posted by MacDood
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From one of the better blogs comes word of the most amusing legal document you'll ever read, chosen by The Smoking Gun as the best legal document of the year for 2003. [Kuro5hin.org]