September 5, 2002
Looking for a gift for that special child? A battery of reviewers at Amazon are just humming over the Harry Potter Nimbus 2000 Broom. Harry Potter toys aren't usually worth the buzz they generate, but the users of this one seem positively stimulated about the good vibes.
It's amazing how good religion is at mobilizing people to do awful, murderous things. There is this dark side to it, and anyone who loves religious experience, including me, better begin to own there
It's amazing how good religion is at mobilizing people to do awful, murderous things. There is this dark side to it, and anyone who loves religious experience, including me, better begin to own there - a profound admission - in very well produced piece about 9/11 -
Get on the love train
Get on the love train and ride the singles car: "Thousands of New Yorkers are now forwarding an anonymous e-mail to each other informing them that from now on, every first subway car has been declared 'the singles car.'" Any New York Mefites want to claim responsibility for this?
Interesting commentary
Interesting commentary on a Yahoo News photo of the former World Trade Center site. I wonder if this is some subtle hack or if it's just someone at Yahoo screwing around. The URL seems to be legitimate, but I can't find that photo with the same caption in Yahoo's regular photo rotation.
Putting the 'fun' back in fundamentalism, and the 'beastly avatars of Satan' back in... cat? (via memepool).
Could We Become What We Abhor
Could We Become What We Abhor and compromise the very ideals that we hold dear. Here, Jimmy Carter traces some of the fundamental changes that are taking place in the historical policies of the United States with regard to human rights, our role in the community of nations and the Middle East peace process -- largely without definitive debates.
If you missed the very powerful Frontline "Faith and Doubt" on the spiritual implications of 9/11, check out the PBS site with the full script and interviews with priests, rabbis, an Islamic scholar, a professor of Middle East studies, an English professor, a
British novelist, a psychoanalyst, and the photographer who documented Ground Zero for the City of New York..
Couple evicted from treehouse in San Mateo County.
Couple evicted from treehouse in San Mateo County. Despite the new law signed by California's Gov. Davis requiring a 60-day notice for evictions, Thelma and Besh are being given the old heave-ho. Actually, San Mateo County has had an eye on them for quite a while, but didn't make a move until they were sure that the couple's treehouse fell within county parks jurisdiction, rather than state jurisdiction.
The Wishing Fish Clock
The Wishing Fish Clock a wonderful piece of functional art in the Regent Arcade in Cheltenham. I've always love Kit Williams' work and this is a perfect reason why. He consistently captures wonder.
What is the AniMatrix?
What is the AniMatrix? A direct-to-video release of 9 animated shorts (comic book style, pure CGI, etc) by 7 directors looks at possible visions of the world pre-Matrix. Looks like it could be an interesting collection.
What happened in the final days of the Gulf War?
What happened in the final days of the Gulf War? "The Battle of Rumaila was closely reviewed at the war's end by an analyst for the C.I.A., who confirmed that the Iraqi losses were great. The toll included at least a hundred tanks from the Hammurabi division. "It's like eating an artichoke," one colonel had said of combat.... 'Once you start, you can't stop.' One of the destroyed vehicles was a bus, which had been hit by a rocket. The precise number of its occupants who were injured or killed is not known, but they included civilians and children. One of the first Americans at the scene was Lieutenant Charles W. Gameros, Jr., a Scout platoon leader, who called in a Medevac team for the victims. At the time, he was "frustrated" by what he saw as needless deaths, Gameros recalled in an interview. 'Now I look at it sadly,' he said. Unresisting Iraqis had been slain all morning, but the deaths of the children troubled many soldiers."
What's happening in "the final days" of the war in Afghanistan? What will be happening in the upcoming war in Iraq?
What's happening in "the final days" of the war in Afghanistan? What will be happening in the upcoming war in Iraq?
The 'demoscene':
The 'demoscene': Have you got the latest UltraforceTitanium10000-equipped desktop computer? The latest PDA? The latest Java Virtual Machine and the latest browser? Or have you got an 18 year old ZX Spectrum? Or a Commodore Amiga? Don't worry, there's always some way to show how powerful you machine of choice is. Demos have been around since the dawn of home computing and the best of them might someday be mistaken for video art.
It's not a slur, but it sounds too much like one, therefore it's not an appropriate word to be taught in school.
It's not a slur, but it sounds too much like one, therefore it's not an appropriate word to be taught in school. The job of Stephanie Bell, a veteran fourth grade teacher at Williams Elementary School in Wilmington, North Carolina, has been placed in jeopardy. Why? Because she taught a new vocabulary word to her class, and one student's mother became so outraged by the word that she's now on a crusade to have the teacher fired for introducing it to her students, in context, with a definition and discussion of its proper use. The word? The oft-maligned but wholly useful niggardly. (more inside)
Let the market decide
Let the market decide where Dan Bern will play next. Bern and his band are auctioning off a private concert at the auction winner's house. You can apparently make his appearance as large or intimate as you want. Would a dutch auction like this be enough to build a U.S. tour on?
Hidden Controversy Over Abortion and Female Genital Mutilation at UN Summit
Hidden Controversy Over Abortion and Female Genital Mutilation at UN Summit At the United Nations Earth Summit, delegates from the United States opposed a Canadian proposal to require countries to provide health care "in conformity with all human rights and fundamental freedoms," because American pro-life activists feared the wording would expand abortion rights. In addition, the Bush Administration does not want a confrontation with its ally, Saudi Arabia, over the issue of female genital mutilation.
A Turkish couple living in Germany who want to call their child "Osama bin Laden" have been refused permission by German officials.
A Turkish couple living in Germany who want to call their child "Osama bin Laden" have been refused permission by German officials. A couple in German can only name their child if it fulfills a set of criteria. The child's name must identify its' gender and not make fun of the child. Also names like Hitler are banned.
Patriot Day.
Patriot Day. Apparently, "congress approved a joint resolution December 18 authorizing the president to designate September 11 of each year as Patriot Day." I have a difficult time believing that this name will replace the simple "9-11" in the public's mind. On the other hand, Armistice Day eventually became Veterans Day...
In 1958, Robert Heinlein took out a full-page ad in the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph titled "Who Are the Heirs of Patrick Henry?" (quotes from which are readable here), a hawkish appeal for increased nuclear testing. Alexei Panshin, a former fan, read it and responded with his wonderful novel "Rite of Passage". Panshin wrote a book of Heinlein criticism, and talks about his issues with Heinlein in this essay, which is a fascinating look at one great science-fiction author responding to another.
CNN Refuses to Run Connie Chung's Skull & Bones Broadcast
CNN Refuses to Run Connie Chung's Skull & Bones Broadcast - well, at least according to that article. I haven't found anything else about it, but the implications are clear. IS THERE something afoot here?
Another Big Lie.
Another Big Lie. "The great mass of people will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one." Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), German dictator. Mein Kampf, vol. 1, ch. 10 (1925)" There are Big Lies all around us. We seem to prefer to turn away from them, to dismiss the believers as harmless deluded fools. But doesn't that just make it worse?
What's happened to advertising? Ads used to be straightforward. You could look at an ad and know just what they wanted you to buy and why . Have we become so cynical that being told the product and its benefits is no longer sufficient? Ads now range from the surreal to perplexing. Is the future of advertising a series of short films that have little to nothing to do with the product?
One man's struggle.
One man's struggle. Samuel Stern journals his struggle with penury, addiction and depression to achieve his dream. His dream: to become a pornographer.
Slate presents its "Real War on Terrorism."
Slate presents its "Real War on Terrorism." Robert Wright's "The Earthling" column for Slate is taking a thoughtful look on how to deal with terrorism, and for foreign policy laymen like myself, it's pretty interesting. He's writing a piece a day for two weeks, outlining his propositions and prescriptions one by one and asking for the Fray folk (Slate's message board) to try to dismantle the logic of his arguments.
His propositions so far: Al-Qaida and radical Islam are not the problem. For the foreseeable future, smaller and smaller groups of intensely motivated people will have the ability to kill larger and larger numbers of people. The number of intensely aggrieved groups will almost certainly grow in the coming decades of rapid technological, and hence social, change. The amount of discontent in the world is becoming a highly significant national-security variable. His prescriptions: Take your bitter medicine early. The substance of policies should be subjected to a new kind of appraisal, one that explicitly accounts for the discontent and hatred the policies arouse. The ultimate target is memes; killing or arresting people is useful only to the extent that it leads to a net reduction in terrorism memes. In a war on terrorism, applying force inconspicuously makes sense more often than in regular wars.
(I know, I know, what could be more Plasticky than a Slate link, but it's good reading and good discussion fodder.)
His propositions so far: Al-Qaida and radical Islam are not the problem. For the foreseeable future, smaller and smaller groups of intensely motivated people will have the ability to kill larger and larger numbers of people. The number of intensely aggrieved groups will almost certainly grow in the coming decades of rapid technological, and hence social, change. The amount of discontent in the world is becoming a highly significant national-security variable. His prescriptions: Take your bitter medicine early. The substance of policies should be subjected to a new kind of appraisal, one that explicitly accounts for the discontent and hatred the policies arouse. The ultimate target is memes; killing or arresting people is useful only to the extent that it leads to a net reduction in terrorism memes. In a war on terrorism, applying force inconspicuously makes sense more often than in regular wars.
(I know, I know, what could be more Plasticky than a Slate link, but it's good reading and good discussion fodder.)
Howard Stern says Opie & Anthony got what they deserved.
Amaizeing!
Amaizeing! This was mentioned once before a year ago but I missed out on the fun of the thread. It's that time of year again. This year there's over one hundred and thirty locations. Since farming alone doesn't bring enough money in for many, I guess tourism & entertainment is a nice sideline for some farmers. Gee whiz! It looks like fun! Any Texan MeFites interested in a road trip?
Terrorism takes the world stage
Terrorism takes the world stage
30 years ago today, armed terrorists took 11 Israeli athletes hostage at the Munich Olympics. Did anyone see this past weekend's ABC News documentary on it? The Academy Award winning film? This is an utterly fascinating story, in my opinion. Even today, people are puzzling over just how much went wrong.
30 years ago today, armed terrorists took 11 Israeli athletes hostage at the Munich Olympics. Did anyone see this past weekend's ABC News documentary on it? The Academy Award winning film? This is an utterly fascinating story, in my opinion. Even today, people are puzzling over just how much went wrong.
End of Summer got you down? Live in the Baltimore-DC area? The Bengies Drive-In (as seen in Cecil B. DeMented) is still open for another month or so. For a list of Drive-Ins in your area see (of course) Drive-Ins.com.
Stalin, Hitler, Guilt, Finger-Pointing And Friendship:
Stalin, Hitler, Guilt, Finger-Pointing And Friendship: Timothy Garton-Ash reviews, a trifle superciliously but fairly, a very lively and soul-searching polemic between two consummate, consuming and irresistible writers, Martin Amis and Christopher Hitchens - who also happen to be old friends. Funnily enough, I'd suggest reading Hitchens's review in the Atlantic Monthly first; then the three [1] extracts from [2] Amis's book [3] and, finally, Hitchens's reply to them. All in all, it's that rare thing: a long, juicy, well-written and passionately argued polemic with plenty of insights into how generations come to terms with the honest indiscretions and oversights of their youth. Oh and there's a lot about communism, nazism, totalitarianism and the Sixties too...
Shift Magazine Turns 10
Shift Magazine Turns 10 They've got a fine commemorative Collector's Issue out, which fittingly includes various Top 10 lists. Among them: Reasons Weblogs Exist, Sites Wil Wheaton Quite Enjoys, and Top Heavyweights On The Web (which lists our beloved Matt Haughey at No. 8, two places above the ubiquitous Evan Williams). A damn good read.
'How can you exert pressure on someone by saying to them: Even if you accede to our demands, we will destroy you?...That made things difficult for others.'
'How can you exert pressure on someone by saying to them: Even if you accede to our demands, we will destroy you?...That made things difficult for others.' As the attack on Iraq seems to grow more imminent, world opposition mounts to America's free-for-all "we'll do what we please attitude".
Mo Mowlam (former UK Government cabinet member) says the real goal of an Iraq war "is the seizure of Saudi oil".
Mo Mowlam (former UK Government cabinet member) says the real goal of an Iraq war "is the seizure of Saudi oil". The much-loved Northern Ireland peace process go-between writes that the threat of Saddam Hussein is already well-contained and that "Bush wants war to keep US control of the region". Hers is a view espoused fairly regularly of late. Would it really damage the American position to admit that this more about oil than about terrorism?
Dear Ann Coulter: You're fired.
Car Bomb Rocks Central Kabul, Many Dead:
Car Bomb Rocks Central Kabul, Many Dead: "Two explosions rocked Kabul today, killing at least 15 people, sending panicked citizens running and causing serious structural damage in the Afghan capital, authorities and witnesses told CNN. Many were wounded [in the blasts], which took place near the Ministry of Information and Culture, but it is not clear if the ministry was the target."
Plans For Iraq Attack Began On 9/11
Plans For Iraq Attack Began On 9/11 "CBS News has learned that barely five hours after American Airlines Flight 77 plowed into the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was telling his aides to come up with plans for striking Iraq — even though there was no evidence linking Saddam Hussein to the attacks." Rumsfeld: "Go massive ... Sweep it all up. Things related and not."
The US defeated in basketball World Championships
The US defeated in basketball World Championships by a dominant Argentina team. This breaks the record 58 non-stop winning series since the US allowed NBA players in 1992. I love this, just as I loved all the upsets at the FIFA world cup.
Teens, sex, and power of parents
Teens, sex, and power of parents How did you "discover" sex? from mom? school? Or the pals down the block?
Israeli Police Find Huge Car Bomb.
Israeli Police Find Huge Car Bomb. Certainly car bombings in the Mideast are nothing new but what I found interesting was this paragraph:
Police found a cellular telephone attached to the bomb, apparently to set off the charge by remote control. The second vehicle was apparently to have served as a getaway car
Does that piece of information strike anyone else as significant? I wonder how many previous "suicide" bombings were not.
crashbonsai
crashbonsai No passengers have been injured in CrashBonsai accidents, although some drivers have reported a brief, even euphoric loss of consciousness.
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