July 31, 2004
July 30, 2004
July 28, 2004
Brother, Can You Spare a Job?
Ah, The Talent Show strikes again.
Thanks, Keith LohFollowing in the footsteps of the early propaganda cartoons of Disney, Fleischer, and Chuck Jones, this original, fully-animated look at the underbelly of Bush's economy juxtaposes a depression-era style with modern-day political rhetoric.Originally a "Best Animation" finalist in MoveOn.org's "Bush in 30 Seconds" contest, the commercial spot has been expanded to a seven minute short cartoon that tells the rest of the story of Melvin McBean and his family's struggle to make ends meet in Bush's economy.
July 27, 2004
Obama for President in 2012
That was one hell of a speech by Barack Obama.
Update 18:20 7/28: Here is audio from NPR, here is the video, and following is the text of the speech as transcribed by the New York Times:
Congratulations Invisigirl!
You are such a beautiful bride! The pink came out perfectly and your dress is divine.
Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam...
July 26, 2004
DNC not so bad
Told to go home by 2:30, Steven Colbert (!!) shows up in restaurant at dinner...What was all the fuss about the convention?
Though i could have done without the (presumptive) security helicopters overhead through almost entirely the last two acts of Much Ado About Nothing during last night's Shakespeare in the Park performance.
Yesterday at CVS, the girl at the register next to me was wearing a museum of sex tee-shirt. The clerk asked if it was a real place, and she said "yes" and we all laughed. Then he said "Really? Are you in town for the convention?" Ooof.
July 25, 2004
BU Bio'defense' Labs
Now be realistic, it certainly has the trappings of a germ-warfare facility, or at least strong potential to be used as such. Let's tap into those Homeland Security funds! Everyone else is doing it!| NIMBY! Well, it isn't, but it is not that far, either. Check out this map of the area covered within a five-mile radius of the proposed facility. At least it is conveniently located near the Longwood Medical Center for treatment of city officials and other VIPs. Silber should be there in less than three minutes in case of a breach. |  |
Now normally i hate pseudo-scientific hysteria, but Boston University has such a GREAT track record of running things well. Not to mention being so forthcoming with details of their doings.
The list of previous accidents in similar facilities is not that comforting, either. The story about staff having to seal facility doors with duct tape during a total power failure
 | (because the compressors failed) is particularly fun. In some sense, it is a strange vindication of Tom Ridge and the massive purchasing of duct tape that went on right after September 11th. What color terror alert are we on now? Orange for the DNC? Funny how we don't hear about that anymore. |
"America's Stonehenge"?
Pardon me if i am skeptical. This could be interesting to visit, however.
(The pictures without the chain-link fence look a bit more impressive...)
July 24, 2004
No. Fair.
This trend of recruiting freshmen with luxury dorms with heated parking is getting crazy. And now this:Duke freshmen will be attuned to iPods
By JANE STANCILL, Staff WriterDuke University freshmen will get something even more trendy than a Blue Devils T-shirt when they arrive next month: a free Apple iPod digital music player.More in linkOn Monday, the university announced a deal with Apple to distribute 1,650 of the hand-held gizmos to first-year students. Duke will get a discount and give them free to freshmen -- for keeps.
July 18, 2004
Los Alamos Closed
Los Alamos Lab Halts Operations
By Noah Shachtman05:30 PM Jul. 16, 2004 PT
Los Alamos National Laboratory director Pete Nanos shut down the country's leading nuclear weapons lab on Friday, after a set of classified computer disks disappeared and a student was hit in the eye with a powerful laser beam -- all in the space of a week.More in link"As of today, director Nanos has suspended all operations at the laboratory," an internal e-mail obtained by Wired News read. "This is a very serious step."
Outfoxed
http://www.outfoxed.org/ View the trailer. Thanks, Keith Loh.
From the NYT (registration required):
''Outfoxed'' has been made in secret. The film is an obsessively researched expose of the ways in which Fox News, as Greenwald sees it, distorts its coverage to serve the conservative political agenda of its owner, the media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. It features interviews with former Fox employees, leaked policy memos written by Fox executives and extensive footage from Fox News, which Greenwald is using without the network's permission. The result is an unwavering argument against Fox News that combines the leftist partisan vigor of a Michael Moore film with the sober tone and delivery of a PBS special. A large portion of the film's $300,000 budget came in the form of contributions in the range of $80,000 from both MoveOn and the Center for American Progress, the liberal policy organization founded by John Podesta, the former chief of staff for Bill Clinton; Greenwald, who is not looking to earn any money from the project, provided the rest.It is interesting that in this, the year of the documentary, nobody can discuss a documentary without bringing up Michael Moore. i would expect Al Franken to be the obvious talking point, really. Of course, can journalists remember anything that happened more than three months ago these days?
Donkey Bong
See the sad, angry little gerbil who is a very harsh critic. And the donkey who needs to feel complete.
Crap, that redirects you to the home page. Go to 'Cartoons'>>'Gerbil Cartoons'>>'Donkey Bong'
July 17, 2004
Mathematical Art from Discover Magazine
Weird Fields Make Wonderful Art
By Ken KostelJuly 15, 2004 | Technology
Most of us have seen the cyclonic swirl of water running down a drain, but what about the turbulent rush of the jet stream or the dance of an electromagnetic field? John Belcher and colleagues at the MIT Center for Educational Computer Initiatives developed a computer program that turns the mathematical descriptions of these phenomena, technically known as vector fields, into visual patterns showing the fields frozen in time. |  |
Then he took the program a step further, allowing students in his introductory-level class on electricity and magnetism to design their own field patterns. Belcher judged the results based on both their aesthetic appeal and the elegance of the math used to create them. Top honors in the Weird Fields contest went to undergraduate Nicki Lehrer. Her image, shown at right, bears a title only a physicist could appreciate: g(x,y) = (ln(sin(x)))^3*(tan(y)), h(x,y) = (ln(cos(y)))^3*(tan(x)). But the result is both beautiful and mathematically challenging, Belcher says. “It’s hard to come up with an analytical function that creates right angles.”
SG needs a hint, please
Amanita Designs has some gorgeous stuff. The thing that was recommended was the flash game Samarost, but apparently the first challenge is to figure out how to get it to do something on a Mac. Lil help? It sure is pretty, though.
Thanks, Sebbo.
Make your own icon
All the kids are doing it!
The part of a face or the body is choose and a portrait icon is made on-line.
(The Japanese version possibly gives you more options.)
UPDATE - Woohoo, i can represent all my favorite sites and people:
 suzers |  Hello Merry |  VenusinForums |  Jenblossom |  So Dietschy |  Andi Sizzles |
 Barklage |
|
 Polly Sings |  Woobus |  The Beat |  Sk8 Jesus |  Kelly Sue |  Becki |  Luckahack |
 Heiblog |
July 14, 2004
Fahrenheit 9/11 update
It has, as everyone knows, taken in $80 million at this point. Unbelievable.Fun facts from Moore's July 4th message:
|  |
David Letterman hasn't been funny in years, but every now and then there is a glimmer of his former glory. Also from Moore's site:
Letterman's Top Ten List: Top Ten George W. Bush Complaints About "Fahrenheit 9/11":
Continue reading "Fahrenheit 9/11 update"
July 13, 2004
Stop the Brainwashing of Children!
http://www.commercialexploitation.com/Childhood obesity, dental problems, behavioral problems, eating disorders, literacy, ADHD... if you could do one thing to make headway in fighting against these blights, wouldn't you do it? Well. Get off of your ass and help kids get off of their asses!
Support Senator Harkin's efforts to help keep advertisers off of kids
Under current law, it is more difficult to regulate advertising to children than to adults! The HeLP America Act (S. 2558) is an important step towards fixing this problem. By restoring the FTC’s authority to control children’s advertising, we will have the regulatory structure needed to fight back against unchecked advertisers.Continue reading "Stop the Brainwashing of Children!"
July 12, 2004
Speak out for Steve Kurtz!
In fact, that is so important it merits its own entry:SPEAK OUT IN DEFENSE OF STEVE KURTZ
Related articles:Forum: The paranoid persecution of Steve Kurtz
The FBI investigation of a Buffalo art professor who works with biological agents found the materials harmless. But as the grand jury investigation widens, says Martin E. Rosenberg, artists and scientists are outraged by the degree of government intrusionSunday, June 27, 2004
For the past month, artists, scientists, academics and others interested in freedom of thought and expression have had their eyes on Buffalo and a bizarre grand jury investigation into the case of The Artists Who Play With Petri Dishes.
The case involves a heart attack victim, and then a range of claims and denials: wrongful death by bacterial infection, possession of biological agents suitable for warfare, public health threats, terrorism, sedition, artistic freedom and First Amendment violations, paranoid McCarthyism and Keystone Cops shenanigans. Artists and scientists are so united in outcry that you would think that C.P. Snow had never written his "Two Cultures" thesis that in the modern world, never the twain shall meet. The Bill of Rights makes for strange bedfellows.
On May 11 in Buffalo, Hope Kurtz suffered heart failure at home. Her husband, Steve Kurtz, called 911. Buffalo EMS technicians arrived and pronounced her dead. But during their routine investigation, the police were alarmed by what they found in the home of Mr. Kurtz, who is an internationally recognized artist and a faculty member at the State University of New York at Buffalo (and former art professor at Carnegie Mellon University). They discovered laboratory equipment, petri dishes and experimental samples of the following bacteria: bacillus globigii, serratia marcensens and a genetically sterilized form of E. coli. They also found DNA extracting technology, as well as a range of publications addressing genetic engineering, the human genome project, bioethics, bioterrorism and biowarfare.
The police called the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and FBI agents from Buffalo as well as Pittsburgh arrived, dressed in biohazard suits straight from the set of "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial."
Much more in link
Mass MoCA
Take a day or weekend trip. Go spend a day in North Adams beore the exhibits change in Spring 2005. You won't regret it.Matthew Ritchie: Proposition Player was like Neil Gaiman if he also did sculpture and computer generated crap games with the universe and pseudo-scientific tarot and cool diffraction grating wall murals. Hey, that article claims he has "movie star good looks"! Hmmm. He was at BU for a year at about the same time as Neil Stephenson, it seems like they would have run in the same circles.
"The Interventionists" is a highly amusing and thought-provoking exhibit featuring the ideas of socially conscious activist artists (many of whom do not have tangible art you can put in a gallery.)
Also, you speak up on behalf of Professor Steve Kurtz, for now he is facing charges that could result in a 20-year sentence for doing TOTALLY LEGAL & SAFE science-related art, and being careless enough to have his 45-y.o. wife expire from a heart attack which attracts police and FBI attention when they enter the home and see chemicals and equipment.
July 10, 2004
Exploding Dog
Holy crap, i missed the whole week! At least this time i have a good excuse. Exploding Dog has a cute $4 book that is ...an uplifting story about how great going to work can be. Bleah, i have to go clean out my old office. |  |
Monstre du Jour
... do you think i really care what you think?
ETA: OMG the screensaver is amazingly cute, like an animated Amelie with monsters! And i typically hate screensavers.
July 04, 2004
Sweatshop
July 02, 2004
Free Comic Book Day
Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day! i will be volunteering at Comicopia if anyone wants to comes say 'hi'.It is actually the fake FCBD manipulated by Marvel to coincide with the release of Spiderman, or so i read on the internet. The real FCBD would have been back in March, i think. Some comic book stores went ahead and did it. They ROCK.
But it certainly is not as lame as pushing back the 9/11 Memorial Groundbreaking to coincide with the Republican National Convention.
It is especially lame doing it two weeks before the third anniversary. Oh, how i hate them. i don't think i am alone, because when you Google "republican national convention" several protest links and links like http://www.rncnotwelcome.org/ come up first. HA.
Kill Bill 1 & 2
Wow, the Kill Bill double feature midnight show... you get done when, 5 am!?!i am not up for it tonight, but i am going to try for tomorrow... if there is plenty of coffee available.
July 01, 2004
Hello, New Job!
Well, it's finally official then, tomorrow the resignation letter goes to the old job, and the signed offer letter goes to the new job. Higher pay, better hours, less stress, and three weeks of vacation in addition to other great benefits. And i didn't even have to job hunt. It all happened so fast that my head is still spinning!
ETA: Not that there aren't people i would miss, but i can see them if i make the effort, and i hope that happens. On the way home from a haircut early this evening, a former student gave me a ride home since i was carrying a ton of packages. It was nice to be reminded of the students i really liked. And now we can go out for a drink! Hmmm, i bet i could make a good bit of pocket change by tutoring...