March 13, 2002
Dear Abby turns in man for attraction to child porn...
Dear Abby turns in man for attraction to child porn... Granted, child pornography is bad, but was Abby justified in turning the guy over to the police? Will denying him computer access only cause him to seek other, more direct venues of satisfaction?
Just who is Dean Stark?
Just who is Dean Stark? A legend of usenet? Some kind of monster? Or perhaps the victim of a huge conspiracy? The answer may shock you...
Highly Addicitive
Highly Addicitive Yes I know these are usually reserved for friday...But I couldn't resist sharing! Warning: a small windows download (an applet is available too).
Slaughterhouse webcams.
Slaughterhouse webcams.
Would you eat meat if you were confronted by images like this every time you ate it?
I wouldn't.
"You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1870
Warning: graphic pictures.
Would you eat meat if you were confronted by images like this every time you ate it?
I wouldn't.
"You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1870
Warning: graphic pictures.
Soulwax
Soulwax , the Belgian hepcats have just completed their latest album. It appears it became something of an albatross. Very good link here detailing some of their trials and tribulations, also provides a little bit of an insight into the workings of the record industry (Is it still called the record industry?). I found it fascinating, not least because of their eclectic tastes.
The Minstrel Show: Academic Histories of Blackface Minstrelsy
The Minstrel Show The Minstrel Show presents us with a strange, fascinating and awful phenomenon. Minstrel shows emerged from preindustrial European traditions of masking and carnival. But in the US they began in the 1830s, with working class white men dressing up as plantation slaves. These men imitated black musical and dance forms, combining savage parody of black Americans with genuine fondness for African American cultural forms. By the Civil War the minstrel show had become world famous and respectable. Late in his life Mark Twain fondly remembered the "old time nigger show" with its colorful comic darkies and its rousing songs and dances. By the 1840s, the minstrel show had become one of the central events in the culture of the Democratic party..
The image of white men in blackface, miming black song, dance and speech is considered the last word in racist bigotry for some. And yet, standing at the crossroads of race, class and high and low culture, blackface minstrelsy is one fascinating topic in academic circles. It’s history is intertwined with the rise of abolitionism, the works of Mark Twain and the histories of vaudeville, American vernacular music, radio, television, movies, in fact all of what is called popular culture. Details within.
Start saving!
Start saving! US Airways announces that for just 10 million frequent flyer miles, you can get a free trip to space! "There's just one catch: The rocket and the launch pad don't exist. So don't ask for time off quite yet."
On the Internet, no one knows if you're a dog.
On the Internet, no one knows if you're a dog. Slate continues to unravel the fascinating story of the hoax that was Robert Klingler. A man claiming to be the "head of BMW North America" was picked to do one of Slate's weeklong diaries; two days in, Slate discovered that the man was not at all who he said he was, and set out to find the truth. (Also being covered by Joshua Micah Marshall's excellent Talking Points Memo.). Turns out the likely suspect has quite a history of con artistry...
Is your date of birth in pi?
Is your date of birth in pi? Of course it is, eventually. But are you one of the lucky 63% whose special day falls within the first 100,000,000 digits? How about your Social Security Number? That club is even more exclusive. A good tool for the pi-curious.
Text Based Pong:
Text Based Pong: The game doesn't keep score yet, if you want to see who's winning, write it down on a piece of paper.
A word is worth 1/1000th of a picture. And yet, somehow I find this a compelling bit o' minimalism.
The editor-at-large of The Spectator has resigned in protest at the publication of an anti-American article.
The editor-at-large of The Spectator has resigned in protest at the publication of an anti-American article. There has already been some discussion of this here but the British press seems to be tearing itself apart about how much to support the War on Terror, and what viewpoints it's acceptable to express. The offending article will presumably appear here sometime in the next few days, though its content is somewhat predictable given the views of the author. Funny quote: "I want to be in the magazine more often than I seem to be". Maybe the price of freedom is eternal whingeing.
Raffaele Ciriello killed in Ramallah early Wednesday. Ciriello ran the marvelous and heart-wrenching site Postcards from Hell (previously discussed, and currently down).
INS grants visas to deceased hijackers
INS grants visas to deceased hijackers - on Monday, the folks at Immigration and Naturalization services finally got around to issuing student visas to Mohamed Atta and Marwan Al-Shehhi (who were aboard the two flights that struck the WTC).
Legally, is a computer more like a TV, a pen, a radio, a CD player or a shortwave radio (or a hat, a brooch or a pterodactyl)?
Legally, is a computer more like a TV, a pen, a radio, a CD player or a shortwave radio (or a hat, a brooch or a pterodactyl)? "Last month the top executives of two of the most powerful media companies in the world traveled to Washington to testify before Congress about the most dangerous threat they face: the American consumer." As in most computer piracy discussions, this NYTimes article (reg. req'd) analogizes computers to existing technologies: "airplanes, telephones, watches and televisions." Isn't the problem that no existing precedent really fits? To me, a computer is at once a communications tool, an entertainment (audio and video) device, a content creator, a copier, and much, much more. The laws regulating each of those things vary significantly, and in some cases approach mutual exclusivity, and for good reason. How can one device satisfy all of them? (oh, and via blogdex)
Are Jesus & Mary buried in Pakistan & Kashmir?
Are Jesus & Mary buried in Pakistan & Kashmir? Hmm. Suzanne Marie Olsson, a New York-based researcher, claims that the earthly remains of Jesus lie under a Muslim saint's tomb in Kashmir. She is using DNA testing on remains from the Pakistani town of Murree that she believes to be those of Mary. Olsson also believes Moses is buried in Bandipore in north Kashmir and Solomon at Takht-i-Suliaman in Srinagar. "You have more Christian holy sites than even Egypt or Israel," she said in an appeal for help from Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah. (Via alt.muslim)
Play "police sketch artist"
Play "police sketch artist" with this Flash project. You can select from dozens of different noses, jawlines, eyes, hair, and so on to create an image of your friends or foes. It's harder to recreate someone than you'd think.
Cairo on the horizon (again).
Cairo on the horizon (again). Balmer talks of Microsoft's intention to integrate MSDE (i.e. SQL Server) technologies into the Windows filesystem. This long sought-after utopia of unified, object-oriented storage where files and directories become irrelavant has been talked about since 1994. It may, soon, be upon us.
Buying & Selling Babies?
Buying & Selling Babies? "The practice, which is widespread among private adoption facilitators, of charging prospective parents different fees depending on the race or ethnicity of the child they adopt is one that Hutcherson is fighting to change from his Redmond, Wash., church. The Antioch Bible Church has established its own adoption agency, and is lobbying state legislators to change Washington's laws. He said that besides putting a price on children, the practice discriminates against white babies and people who seek to adopt them — an issue he said has been overlooked because white people, particularly those who can afford the high adoption fees charged, are not used to considering themselves victims of discrimination."
When the Secret Service agent called him, Ellsworth ad-libbed: "Tony, if you keep telling people, it's not a secret."
When the Secret Service agent called him, Ellsworth ad-libbed: "Tony, if you keep telling people, it's not a secret." You're in Hollywood, and you're writing scripts, and it's impossible to get anyone to read them. And the cops come in, and the script was right there, and they wouldn't read it!
Thanks be! Orgnanization finally formed that speaks for all of us terrorized Americans.
Thanks be! Orgnanization finally formed that speaks for all of us terrorized Americans. Except it's not that squeaky clean. Beware of AVOT. They intend to "take to task those groups and individuals who fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the war we are facing."
« Previous day | Next day »