The day in posts: 10/21/2002

October 21, 2002

The Long March - A Walking Visual Display.

The Long March - A Walking Visual Display. "Its aim is to take both contemporary Chinese and international art to a sector of the Chinese public that is rarely, perhaps never, exposed to such work. Specifically, we will bring art to those people who live in communities along the route of Mao Zedong's historic Long March. Mao's 'March' symbolized the deliverance of the Communist ideal to the Chinese proletariat. It is with this symbolism in mind that we now choose to march contemporary art out to China's peripheral population." via ArtKrush
posted by Stan Chin at 11:39 PM PST - 5 comments

Conservatives rare species on campus

Conservatives rare species on campus "A poll by the Enterprise Institute showed that professors registered as Democrats outnumbered Republicans at Stanford, 151 to 17. At Berkeley, the lopsided score was 59-7. At Cornell, 166-6. And so on." When I was in college, I guess I was too busy trying to earn my degree to notice if conservatives were allowed to exist or not. I don't remember much political indoctrination in my physics or differential equations classes. Are the campuses really like what this columnist suggests?
posted by munger at 10:43 PM PST - 149 comments

Media Democracy Day

Media Democracy Day promotes a mass media system that informs and empowers all members of society. Media Democracy Day connects existing critical and creative media with active social movements, creating a coherent message for public attention and local and global action. It was October 18.
posted by botono9 at 6:16 PM PST - 9 comments

Ask a scientist

Ask a scientist It's quite possible that every science question you have ever wondered about has already been answered. Thousands of science questions & answers, from anti-matter to zero gravity simulations, all with explanations even a scientific neophyte can easily understand.
posted by pemulis at 6:06 PM PST - 7 comments

In Australia, "Intrernet Stalking" could get you 10 years in jail,

In Australia, "Intrernet Stalking" could get you 10 years in jail, but here in the States, you'll probably get on a tv show or your own DVD.
posted by peachwood at 5:14 PM PST - 11 comments

Burmese villagers sue Unocal in an L.A. courtroom.

Burmese villagers sue Unocal in an L.A. courtroom. The villagers are charging that Unocal is responsible for human-rights abuses committed by the Burmese military along the company's $1.2 billion Yadana gas pipeline. Here's a Unocal website responding to the suit. And the Free Burma Coalition's Unocal Page.
posted by Ty Webb at 3:25 PM PST - 11 comments

Parallel universes

Parallel universes Alternate universes may exist besides our own in some ghostly manner. Various science-fiction series explore parallel universes, but what do serious physicists think? Hugh Everett III's doctoral thesis outlines a controversial theory in which the universe at every instant branches into countless parallel worlds. Physicist Andrei Linde's theory of self-reproducing universes implies that new universes are being created all the time through a budding process. Stephen Hawking's quantum cosmology also suggests the possibility of other universes connected by wormholes. Some scientists feel that the famous photon double slit experiments proves the existence of parallel universes in which a photon from one universe interacts with a photon from another. Black hole theory suggests that black holes may be portals to parallel universes.
Science-fiction stories about parallel universes always delight the mind. Two of my favorite SF novels on parallel universes are Heinlein's Job and Number of the Beast. Several others intrigue me, such as The Neoreality Series, Diaspora, and Parallelities. Science books on the subject include a famous book by David Deutsch.
Do you have any favorite books on parallel universes or parallel realities, fiction or nonfiction? What do you think? No doubt, scientists and science-fiction authors will continue to explore the concept in the decades to come.
posted by Morphic at 2:31 PM PST - 64 comments

Oh Yes! Hockey season is here again.

Oh Yes! Hockey season is here again. Came across a few good Blogs with a hockey theme. The Hockey Pundits, Goalie Girl, Puck Hog, Off Wing, Puck Update
posted by rampage at 2:22 PM PST - 23 comments

Finally, some good news for webcasters and internet radio.

Finally, some good news for webcasters and internet radio. In lieu of the per-song, per-listener rates that were certain to sink internet radio, flat rates and annual caps look like an acceptable compromise that will let the new music venue survive, and perhaps thrive.
posted by mathowie at 1:49 PM PST - 20 comments

Jorlon khaan bain ve?

Jorlon khaan bain ve? The first stop in Oissubke's trip around the online world is the beautiful land of Mongolia. Take a moment to leave the America-centric (not that there's anything wrong with that!) Web and see what the internet looks like from someone else's eyes...

I've tried to pick sites that provide unique and interesting insights into the Mongolian internet, not just whatever Google coughed up for "Mongolia". Unless this post particularly annoys people, I'll plan to continue my journey with Liechtenstein in a few days.
posted by oissubke at 1:36 PM PST - 28 comments

Worthless Word for the Day.

Worthless Word for the Day. Ever feel as if an "obscure, abstruse and/or recondite word" was forced into a newspaper/magazine/quote? Now there's a site that finally finds and provides wwftd! Impress your friends.
posted by geoff. at 1:13 PM PST - 13 comments

First Proof of Jesus Found?

First Proof of Jesus Found? o ye of little fraith: repent. The last shall be first--unless this turns out to be bogus.
posted by Postroad at 12:07 PM PST - 95 comments

Christina Aguilera unintentionally promotes Thai sex tourism in latest video.

Christina Aguilera unintentionally promotes Thai sex tourism in latest video. Somebody fire the set designer quick!
posted by monkeymike at 11:52 AM PST - 43 comments

An important breast cancer test is now unavailable in British Columbia

An important breast cancer test is now unavailable in British Columbia because of the American company which holds the relevant patent. The B.C. Cancer Agency has been forced to stop the tests after legal threats by Utah-based Myriad Genetics Inc., which has a patent on two genes that can signal whether a woman may develop hereditary breast cancer. I think this is a perfect example of why patenting genes is a terrible idea. Via Slashdot.
posted by homunculus at 10:02 AM PST - 39 comments

We like the cars, the cars that go "Vroom"

We like the cars, the cars that go "Vroom" All that quiet too much for you to take when you're tooling around town? These inventors have reverse engineered the noise reduction technology to make a product that can reproduce "the endearing and unique audible sound signatures of 1950s, 1960s and 1970s classic cars and motorbikes." Hot Wheels will probably want a piece of the action to help save wear and tear on kids' vocal chords as they play Fast And the Furious. Would anyone pay for this hi-fi feature? Or is this a non-starter only good for a few cheap laffs and links?
posted by chandy72 at 9:54 AM PST - 18 comments

Distinctive Science Fiction Illustrator and Cover Artist Richard Powers

Richard Powers - His sleek surreal and otherworldly abstractions changed science fiction illustration and, in the process, the stature of science fiction itself. Here is the Richard Powers Catalog from Vandewater Books. From the e-zine Strange Words Archive, comes The Powers Years part of Collecting The Ballantine Originals, and check out the thumbnails amid and after the Richard Powers essay at Hedonia--who are the very wave of the future in so many ways at once! David G. Hartwell remembers Powers the man. Here is another from his son in download form from Paper Snarl, where Powers is well regarded. And check out the links at the Richard Powers Cyber Art Gallery - everything from a Goth art gallery to Terence McKenna's Dream Museum. But don't click on Miss Stephanie Locke if you're at work! Oh, and the Strange Worlds archive is worth a gander, too...
posted by y2karl at 8:56 AM PST - 10 comments

Tumor-induced Pedophilia

Tumor-induced Pedophilia - the BBC reports on an american man who, at the age of 40, developed completely uncontrollable and ammoral sexual impulses after developing a tumor in the right lobe of the orbifrontal cortex. After the tumor was removed, he returned to normal. More inside...
posted by Irontom at 8:42 AM PST - 28 comments

There are those slaves who lived on the plantation, and there were those slaves who lived in the house... Colin Powell was permitted to come into the house.

There are those slaves who lived on the plantation, and there were those slaves who lived in the house... Colin Powell was permitted to come into the house. Harry Belafonte starts out with a flame but then shows himself to be a more eloquent and tenacious critic of Bush policies than any Democrat on the scene. What does it tell us about the state of our two-party system that we have to rely on Rat Pack era crooners to speak out like this in public?
posted by alms at 7:44 AM PST - 69 comments

Yesterday I saw a wonderful movie - Spellbound - a documentary about the annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee - which won the Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at SXSW. It explores the dynamics surrounding kids and parents desire for success in the competition, reconciliation with failure and differing models of education, competition and success. When I was a kid I was on the TV show It's Academic - along with lots of other famous faces. While you may want to make fun of the show - I still remember it fondly. My parents were happy to see me compete but generally unconcerned about the outcome in any way. Now we've got Math Olympics, the Academic Decathlon and a host of other competitive ventures. Any other MeFites remember school days competitions and the drive to succeed?
posted by dhacker at 7:07 AM PST - 29 comments

Damn La Difference!

Damn La Difference! Europe (and apparently Japan) seem to be going through a Dickies craze. You say work wear; we say American blue-collar chic. You pay $20 for an industrial shirt; we pay $100. Should we call the whole thing off? [More inside.]
posted by MiguelCardoso at 6:55 AM PST - 38 comments

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