30th September, 2004
More Naked Wookies
Gogblog aficionada h. points out that I got scooped by the erudite jokesters on the popular NPR show Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! last weekend. Damnation.
Give it a listen. It’s a hoot. Link to the entire archived show. If you don’t want to listen to the whole show (approx 47 minutes), the segment you’re looking for is in Round 2: Not My Job. Note, requires Real Media player (bleh). For a non-craptacular RM player, do a Google search on Real Alternative or just grab a copy of it from here.
Posted at 7:37 am | Comment (0)
30th September, 2004
Panic!
A truly disturbing flyer that is being circulated by the RNC in at least two states (Arkansas and West Virginia) claims that the Bible will be banned if the heretical liberals win the election this November. AP Article. Picture of the flyer. [via BoingBoing]
Posted at 7:07 am | Comments (2)
28th September, 2004
We would have made it much bigger.
Katamari Damacy. Have you played it yet? It has singing ducks. And cows. And an asshole dad. Absurd? Yes. Hilarious? Yes. If you own a PS2, you owe it to yourself to pick this game up.
p.s. The official US site linked above sucks ass. Check out the original Japanese site and revel in it’s glory.
Posted at 2:49 pm | Comment (0)
23rd September, 2004
Doin’ Time
He used to eat our guavas. He would throw stones and try to hit us. Until we gave him flat bread, he wouldn’t leave. – Bhagwanti Devi
And you thought sparrows at outdoor restaurants were a problem.
Posted at 9:05 am | Comment (0)
22nd September, 2004
Naked Wookiees
I always liked the shampoo bottle where you twist my head off and pour liquid out of my neck. That’s very Freudian. If I dreamed that, what would you think it meant? – Carrie Fisher
There’s a fun little (AP) article at CNN that covers the making of the original Star Wars movie. If I recall correctly, my first lunchbox (a metal one, dammit, not the sissyfied plastic crap that’s available now) was Star Wars themed and it kicked ass. As a side note, OMG, Star Wars was filmed 27 years ago? I am so old…
Posted at 2:47 pm | Comment (0)
21st September, 2004
Extinction
I’ve always figured that it wouldn’t be a bomb or asteroid that spells the end of human life as we know it; instead, in my mind, it’s going to be caused by a genetic modification that we either intentionally created without thinking through the consequences (greed is great for that, you know) or one we created inadvertently through something like improper use of antibiotics or hand sanitizers. I’m only bringing this up because there have been a couple of articles released in the past few days that address just such a topic.
First, there’s concern over a gene-modified grass that is resistant to herbicides. More disturbing is news that highly drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis are on the verge of becoming a global epidemic.
Now, I’m not preaching that the end of the world is coming or anything like that. I’m just pointing out that as our knowledge of the inner working of cells and DNA increases, we need to be very careful when toying about with things that perhaps we don’t understand completely. After all, this is the essence of Life that we are now messing with, and as history on this planet has shown, Life has an incredible knack for, well, living. Life will go on, regardless, but it doesn’t necessarily have to go on in us.
Since I’m feeling particularly verbose at this moment, I think I’ll point you towards a couple of delightful books that relate to this subject. First, check out Richard Dawkins’ seminal work The Selfish Gene. It’s a pop-sci classic that should be on the required reading list for anyone interested in science or evolution in particular. Secondly, I’d like to recommend Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (and thanks to my pal, J, for recommending this to me), which is an intriguing romp of speculative fiction regarding gene modification and the dangers within.
Posted at 9:32 am | Comment (0)
17th September, 2004
Somnis Equus
Tired of everyday throw pillows for your bed? Well do I have a treat for you… the severed horse head pillow. If it weren’t so pricey, I’d definitely have one by now. [via Engadget]
Posted at 10:40 am | Comment (0)
10th September, 2004
Public Service Announcement
Just a quick reminder that if you’re planning on voting in this year’s November (US) election (and you had better damn well be doing so), you need to be registered to vote with your local municipality at least 30 days before the election. It’s become increasingly easier to register to vote these days; a simple visit to a post office or your local library or even a quick Googling of your state government will provide you with a short form that you fill out and drop in the mail. Being apathetic towards elections will only ensure that ignorance and injustice will prevail.
Posted at 10:36 am | Comment (0)
2nd September, 2004
Audio
Two audio themed things to mention today:
First off, get your butt on over to Scenestars and check out this track by Baz Luhrman. It’s a spoken-word kinda dealy that starts out a bit slow but really hits home as the reader gives some solid advice regarding life. Make sure you listen (and I do mean listen) to the track in it’s entirety before forming an opinion of it.
Second, Maciej Ceglowski over at Idle Words has some interesting things to say regarding audio blogging (for a text version of his rant, head here). He argues that audio blogging is a waste of time (can’t skim, takes longer to listen than to read) and is impractical for existing search engines as well as being inaccessible to people with hearing problems or who don’t speak your language well. While I see his point in general, I have to disagree with him on several points.
First, the idea that because audio blogging discriminates against some people it is thus an inferior medium is rather silly. Pure text blogging does the same for people who have vision problems or who cannot read your language.
Second, I really take issue with his idea that because speaking is slower than reading, it is a waste of time. There are so many components to speech – the voice inflections, the passion and other subtle cues our brain subconciously picks up on – how can you possibly express those things with just words?. The simple way a speech is delivered can turn a dry read into a moving moment you remember for the rest of your life. True, some talented writers can express these things in text alone, but they are few and far between (and I’d argue that the majority of bloggers in the world don’t have this talent). Of course, on the flip side, there are few people who really know how to speak as well. My suggestion to those of you exploring audio blogging: go ahead and keep doing it. If your spoken word sucks, just as if what you’re writing sucks, you’ll hear about it. Same thing goes if your stuff is good. That’s how blogs work.
Posted at 8:00 am | Comment (0)
1st September, 2004
Update
Finally updated to WordPress v. 1.2. The upgrade was a snap and I’m seriously thinking about naming my firstborn after the chaps who develop it. Yes, even if it’s a girl. Not that I’m expecting a firstborn any time soon. But, the thought is still there; the software’s just that damn good.
Vaguely related, I see that both Benny and Schpyder (of Infinitatis and Schyder(not)net, respectively) have let their blogs fall into despair. If you know them, find them and pester them incessantly about this until they rectify the situation. Or at least until they pay you 5 bucks to go the hell away. Or punch you in the face.
Posted at 6:40 pm | Comment (0)
