October 2011
2 posts
August 2011
1 post
Decemberists - Calamity Song →
The Decemberist’s “Calamity Song” video is a surprisingly literal presentation of the YDAU Interdependence Day Eschaton scene from Infinite Jest. I was impressed by the attention to detail — Otis’ computer is even running Pink2 — and Colin Meloy is an entertaining, if quite not a convincing, Michael Pemulis. But it wasn’t as gripping as I wanted it to be...
May 2011
2 posts
“I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest...”
– Truth, Power, Self : An Interview with Michel Foucault (via mfoucault)
Mostly I just want to point out Professor Noam Chomsky’s excellent use of the word “uncontroversially” below.
We might ask ourselves how we would be reacting if Iraqi commandos landed at George W. Bush’s compound, assassinated him, and dumped his body in the Atlantic. Uncontroversially, his crimes vastly exceed bin Laden’s, and he is not a “suspect” but uncontroversially the...
April 2011
2 posts
The Sad, Beautiful Fact That We're All Going To... →
It is the recognition that well-read is not a destination; there is nowhere to get to, and if you assume there is somewhere to get to, you’d have to live a thousand years to even think about getting there, and by the time you got there, there would be a thousand years to catch up on.
Success is always built on shifting sands, though. [via, ironically, everybody]
North Vancouver man denied life-saving drug -... →
A 22-year-old North Vancouver man has said he is facing a death sentence because B.C. will not fund the only medical treatment that could save him. Garrett Shakespeare’s red blood cells have a protein deficiency that causes his immune system to attack them, but the drug to treat it effectively costs $500,000 a year.
We’re somehow going to have to get more comfortable, as a society,...
February 2011
3 posts
“Yeah … sort of, um, who do I live for? What do I believe in, what do I...”
– David Foster Wallace, typed out by hand (just so you know) from “Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself.”
January 2011
13 posts
“Do you know what, it was cultural,” he concludes. “I never came from the place...”
–
James Blake, from this Guardian interview.
As a North American, the concept of being an unwanted, uncomprehending outsider because you’re from twenty-seven miles away makes me boggle. I actually thought this might be a very deadpan joke; Dan Hancox has been kind enough to enlighten me about UK...
2 tags
Join Dana Milkbank's Sarah Palin moratorium
I feel powerless to control my obsession, even though it cheapens and demeans me. But today is the first day of the rest of my life. And so, I hereby pledge that, beginning on Feb. 1, 2011, I will not mention Sarah Palin — in print, online or on television — for one month. Furthermore, I call on others in the news media to join me in this pledge of a Palin-free February. With enough...
3 tags
Synthetic Spirits →
Why is alcohol so widely available if it is so toxic and what can we do about it? … I think it is time to use the now-considerable knowledge of the neuropsychopharmacology of alcohol to develop safer, alternative intoxicants whose effects can be reversed by antidotes.
The Scientist; free registration required.
6 tags
1 tag
“It is facile and mistaken to attribute this particular madman’s act directly to...”
– NYT
Pretty much my thoughts exactly.
—
Late update: … and The Shrill One jumps on board:
It’s important to be clear here about the nature of our sickness. It’s not a general lack of “civility,” the favorite term of pundits who want to wish away fundamental policy disagreements. Politeness may be...
3 tags
Piltdown medicine: The missing link between MMR... →
Revealing the layers of fraud and deception behind the Wakefield MMR jab paper that sparked the autism-vaccine hysteria that refuses to die no matter how extensively it’s debunked. This blog entry serves as an introduction to the article published in BMJ; read both.
3 tags
State Dep't SOI request: Internet Freedom Programs →
REQUESTED STATEMENT OF INTEREST PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
DRL and NEA invite organizations to submit statements of interest outlining program concepts and capacity to manage projects that will foster freedom of expression and the free flow of information on the Internet and other connection technologies in East Asia, including China and Burma; the Near East, including Iran; Southeast Asia; the...
3 tags
1 tag
Why the Rich are Getting Richer
The U.S. economy appears to be coming apart at the seams. Unemployment remains at nearly ten percent, the highest level in almost 30 years; foreclosures have forced millions of Americans out of their homes; and real incomes have fallen faster and further than at any time since the Great Depression. Many of those laid off fear that the jobs they have lost — the secure, often unionized,...
Molecular Cell - Stress in Biomedical Research:... →
The point here is that science [which is impossible], and this form of science that I and presumably you do, biomedical research (which I suppose is impossible squared), is unbelievably frustrating. And, as a consequence, stressful. … My mandate here is to identify the sources of stress in our scientific lives and to suggest ways to deal with them. … Each one is impossible (by which...
December 2010
12 posts
1 tag
Christmas with the family
Mom: Wasn't Ke$ha backup for someone?
My sister: Why do you think I know these things.
Mom: Okay, I've gotta google this.
...
Mom: Yeah, Ke$ha was backup for Flo Rida. I guess that's not really "cred."
Dad: Flo Rida! I LOVE Flo Rida!
Us: (stunned silence)
Dad: I thought he was this one hit wonder but the second track came out and it was great, too!
(My sister and I exchange glances.)
Mom: This is totally ending up on the Internet. We'd better shut our mouths.
“INT – ACORN-FUNDED HACK-CAVE – NIGHT Rows of TEENAGE HACKERS in THICK GLASSES...”
– How Glenn Beck Understands Operation Payback - Urlesque
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/201... →
You’re more likely to have your car stolen or experience a B&E in Vancouver than 13 of 17 large cities. Property crime rates more than 2x higher than NY or Toronto. You wouldn’t guess, though! Less likely to be mugged for sure.
1 tag
Watch“So then what is special about Christmas music? Let’s take the nativist view– that there is something in the composition, construction, timbre or production in every popular Christmas song that makes it fit into the genre. Some predefined, baked in, Chomsky grammar style language of melodies and instruments. So play a Christmas song to someone who’s never experienced a Christmas before....
3 tags
“Simply put, all open data is publicly available. But not all publicly available...”
– What “open data” means – and what it doesn’t | opensource.com
Why Wikileaks is not “open data.” (via @daeaves)
2 tags
Shrinky-Dink Microfluidics →
“To test her idea, she whipped up a channel design in AutoCAD, printed it out on Shrinky Dink material using a laser printer, and stuck the result in a toaster oven. As the plastic shrank, the ink particles on its surface clumped together, forming tiny ridges. That was exactly the effect Khine wanted. When she poured a flexible polymer known as PDMS onto the surface of the cooled Shrinky...
WatchScissor Sisters - Invisible Light video
As nightmares go, it’s pretty gorgeous. NSFW for sex, violence, heavy archetypal references, hypnotism, wacky crucifixions, clowns, and frickin’ lasers. Look for the album cover reference!
I really want to know how you storyboard something like this.
2 tags
“In this hour-long radio drama, Santa struggles with the increasing demands of...”
– The 10 Least Successful Holiday Specials of All Time « Whatever
October 2010
3 posts
Otouto - Sushi
The rain makes a sound like...
August 2010
2 posts
A Year in Provence Earlysville
Mom: country life is getting old
Mom: freaking tree fell on our well
Mom: why do i even have a well?
June 2010
4 posts
“Eating alone at home is one thing: You cook, then sit at the table and eat....”
– On Eating Alone
May 2010
6 posts
1 tag
“Despite calls to boycott the company responsible for the massive Gulf of Mexico...”
– For some Washington drivers, convenience outweighs calls for BP gas boycott
Speechless.
Pitchfork: New Stars: "We Don't Want Your Body" →
I really, really wish this didn’t sound so Owl City. Stars! I love you so much! Please tell me the rest of the album won’t be like this? You’re allowed to grow old gracefully you know. :(
Dialogue Through Design: 78 Reasonable Questions... →
I asked the guys at work if they’d given any thought to our product lifecycle. The answer was “no.” A couple of the engineers just stared at me but a few seemed interested in exploring the idea. This list of 78 questions you could ask about design impacts seems to me like a place to start — even if some of them seem silly, I think a lot of these questions could provoke some...
“Sometimes, willingness to change not just institutions but geographical regions...”
– Pack your bags: assessing young scientists’ commitment to science. : Adventures in Ethics and Science
Vicon Revue: Document your Life Every 30 Seconds -... →
Commercial revival of the Microsoft SenseCam concept. I’m finding the videos curiously uncompelling, but maybe that’s just because they’re not mine?