Quantum
teleportation doesn't mean teleportion of people, but it could
mean
quantum communication--which could lead to the teleportation of
people. Just have to build that quantum communication receiver...
The
Steam Engine Car
Tiny
Biofueled Cars...One Day They Will Eat People
How Craigslist Takes Away Ad Revenue From Newspapers (I used to
have something up
called five dollar classifieds but why bother...? Can't say I would
lose any sleep if corporate media newspapers went under. Any press
that allows fascist governments to rule unquestioned and
unchallenged deserve to die...)
Cory Doctorow Reams Out Wired Management. No comment from Boing
Boing Poster and Wired staffer Xeni Jardin (who's hot!).
Best Line:
If I were in Chris's seat, I would be sure
that every single review of a DRM device carried the following
notice: WARNING: THIS DEVICE'S FEATURES ARE SUBJECT TO REVOCATION
WITHOUT NOTICE, ACCORDING TO TERMS SET OUT IN SECRET NEGOTIATIONS.
YOUR INVESTMENT IS CONTINGENT ON THE GOODWILL OF THE WORLD'S MOST
PARANOID, TECHNOPHOBIC ENTERTAINMENT EXECS. THIS DEVICE AND DEVICES
LIKE IT ARE TYPICALLY USED TO CHARGE YOU FOR THINGS YOU USED TO GET
FOR FREE -- BE SURE TO FACTOR IN THE PRICE OF BUYING ALL YOUR MEDIA
OVER AND OVER AGAIN. AT NO TIME IN HISTORY HAS ANY ENTERTAINMENT
COMPANY GOTTEN A SWEET DEAL LIKE THIS FROM THE ELECTRONICS PEOPLE,
BUT THIS TIME THEY'RE GETTING A TOTAL WALK. HERE, PUT THIS IN YOUR
MOUTH, IT'LL MUFFLE YOUR WHIMPERS.
| Daily News Links:
Local News Sites: City Paper Archive One: from December 10, 2002 to February 25th, 2000 November 2002 to March 4th 2003 Archives (Older) March 4 thru June 20th Archive 4 experiment in permalinking that I'm stopping...you can find everything I write in Google, if I'm not banned... (May 1st through Aug 20th) (Aug 20 thru Nov. 4)
Magazines:
|
Your Sporadic Meme Sporadic updates Monday through Friday. Unless the Comet Hits. Magscans/Sporadic Meme/Vast Wasteland/Majic 12 Contents/ M12 Blog/Features (This feature is updated every several days at the main page for www.threerivertechreview.com. This is more like an archive page now in case anybody is reading.)
The Art of Simon Bisley.
I haven't seen the new Batman film yet. Looks like it borrows from Batman Year One. Give me a couple of days or so. David Mazzucchelli doesn't appear to have a website.
You can read this for free. As someone who has read his brilliant but demanding short stories, I strongly recommend that you increase your IQ by 70 points, assuming the base and site average of 130, before jumping into it. It not easy read. Or to quote a blurb on Greg Egan's "Axiomatic": "Science fiction for people who like science fiction." I once quoted techno mage Stross in my Locus Online story about Harlan Ellison's lawsuit (check footnote 16) and I also kicked his Scot ass all over the place for claiming that Dean was a stooge for the trusted computing movement. I'm sure he's forgiven me. After all, I was right. PHIL'S ONLINE MUSIC EMPORIUM Today's Interspersed Theme: Girl with the Beautiful Tone Esthero "That Girl" (only vid I could find)
Mahavishnu Orchestra Covers
by Gregg Bendian's Mahavishnu Project
Gallery level ar-teest Kent Williams is also drawing the comics version of Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain". And I think the new Batman movie looks good adolescent fanboy that I am... A Proud American Scientification Around the Internets
Ted Rall on Our Boil 'Em Alive
Uzbek Ally Conflict at Space Confab (cue the Heinlein vibe)
Well, I sorta liked it.
For me, its about the gorgeous Mysty visuals even though I do care about the
characters. Sad to see the Jedi slaughtered like that. (Had to be more
survivors than just the two. Not convinced am I of Mace Windu's demise.) But
man those worlds are beautiful. Alien architecture and alien flowers rule.
Loved that big goofy lizard. I find that the actions of the Sith remind me
of the Bush administration, although the direct plotline seems more like the
DS9
episode "The Die is Cast". That's where the
Meanwhile, back to our harsh and evil reality, where the Dark Side is winning resoundingly...
I'm looking forward to seeing the next Stars Wars movie. Some say it's a thinly disguised attack on the Iraqi war. Of course, the same people who attack Mike Moore are already complaining about the film. Looks like I'll have to see it, five time or more, then.
Artist Juan Zanotto passed away. Here's some info about his work. He looks like someone whose work I may have seen in Metal Hurlant or in those astonishingly well-illustrated Warren books of yesteryear. Around the Internets
Lindie in her Room, B366B, Site C Chris
Mooney has asked for
some suggestions for new additions to his blogroll.
Aside from shamelessly
plugging this site, I really think he has to add
Worldchanging. The above photo
is from a photo essay called "From South Africa with Love". South Africa
came up with a wonderful constitution, but our friends at the World
Bank--now headed by notorious
neo-con vampire Paul
Wolfowitz--are working overtime to keep the
majority of
its citizens poor, unable to
afford their soon
to be privatized water sources. This came out after my previous post on Philly's waycool wifi cloud: the war against public broadband. I guess the point here is that more broadband means more democracy. The Democratic Party, which includes Ed Rendell, should support it every opportunity they can. Can the Washington Generals party even imagine winning a game? One of the best debunkers of the "Global Warming is a Myth" crowd is Chris Mooney by the way. I highly recommend this speech if you want to understand not only the dangers of the Intelligent Design movement, but how the objective mainstream media approach doesn't help us very much in understanding the problem. He also does his usual excellent work on debunking the global warming debunkers here.
Local site that offers a "Carnegie
Military University" factsheet. It's from a site called
Organize Pittsburgh.
Sin
City review done as a comic book. (from Gravity Lens comments
section...I wonder what his take was on the movie, so I can publicly
ridicule it as is my wont. He shall rue the day...)
Let me add my praises. Sin City rocked. It's just a gorgeous film. I can't say I was that impressed with the writing--it really felt like Pulp Fiction two in its narrative vibe and Tarantino even directs a scene. I also know Frank Miller is capable of better writing. In fact, for the record, I think Ronin, Martha Liberty, all of his Batman books and his stunning Electra (Why didn't the people who were doing that awful Electra film just follow his adaptation?) were more interesting than his Sin City books. On the other hand, it was visually stunning. You just haven't seen anything like this before. Hookers with uzis and swords are cool. And I don't mean stunning but cold like that World of Tomorrow movie, but a tech that felt organic and stylized, even warm. In fact, because the scenes were so drained of color, every hint of baby blue or bloody red felt special and rewarding. And, of course, unlike those inept people who have ruined the Electra franchise, these producers were smart enough not only to bring in Frank Miller, but to let him co-direct as well. And they didn't radically rewrite his hard boiled strip and felt no need to add Tom Sawyer apparently. Smart. Now, if we could just get Alan Moore to go to Hollywood. Give him an Ozymandius-style Big Wall of tv screens to direct from Northampton. AROUND THE INTERNETS Two "We're All Gonna Dieeeeee" Stories from Future Pundit. There's an increasing possibility that you will die from the Avian flu. The flu has an 80 percent mortality rate. He assures us that he will give us some helpful hints to survive if he's not killed by the plague. As for his second massive death scenario, Futurepundit suggests that the geological die off that happens every 60 million years or so is overdue. Could be, and this is my speculation, something that distorts the outer rim of the solar system and forces meteors and comets streaming our way,perhaps that long rumored twin star or a rogue black hole. Who knows. Just something to worry about that you can probably do nothing about--at least not without a viable space program. Over at Worldchanging, one of the best alternative energy and development blogs, ever, has two interesting stories about wind power--which is already competitive with fossil fuels. One story involves wind turbines that look like high flying kites, or this:
The other story involves something called multi rotor wind power. And it looks like this:
The guy behind Worldchanging was interviewed at Changesurfer radio by the way.
CNN has discovered a
South Korean
aircar, and apparently forgotten about the
French
aircar, which has been around for
years. We don't invest in those things here because we're evil
Americans. I'm buying an eye patch meself. I practice saying Kill Now, this if funny: Lethem and Chabon to the rescue.
My friend El Jefe ("He Shall Rue the Day...") over at Gravity Lens thought this film was eye candy without a story. (Update: he responds on the same thread.) I disagree. I thought it was a gorgeous looking film with a fairly compelling story. In fact, as I started watching it I wondered why I had never seen it even in Pittsburgh's Indy film theaters. After I finished watching it, I could make a guess. It was produced by French people and featured a doltish fundamentalist lead character who was leading his people to doom. All of this set on a tree of bio tech wreckage, where our female hero disdains hierarchy and gives power to the masses. El Jefe said he saw this coming. Okay. Perhaps El "drowned in Ayn Rand's musky aroma" Jefe didn't like the commie Up With Computer Generated People message at the end. His loss.
And famous pulp fiction painter James Avati, whose work and style you've seen even if you never knew his name (like me), passed away recently. So, whenever an artist shucks off this mortal coil I will honor him here by showing his work. I'm sure someone will do the same for me. ("Ack! Phil's resistance cell has been blow'd up! So, check out Phil's computer art pieces here.....") Links N' Things I should be studying more: New Wired is out. Cover stories on hybrids happens to be out. Bruce Sterling also blogs and offers running commentary on Lebanese bombing and how the US is getting dumber, even features a Red State slam against Alabama. Big news there... Our Media is up and running and not very interesting, yet. Potentially, though, it could be very very interesting. I've checked out some of the 8 music vids--not in favor very much from music channels these days--and I enjoyed the one tune from the ex Throwing Muses Kristen Hersh.(B-) There's also a related story in Wired about a band using P2P to distribute their video, even features a slam against Launch, which, with current memory, should have every video ever made but doesn't.
The Democracy Lie
by Juan Cole Both books by my Cyborg Democracy pals are recommended by Scientific American. How's that Morrisey tune go...Don't you hate it when your friends become successful? And out of a jealous raging spite, I'm permalinking Ramez Naam. His book is called "More Than Human: Embracing the Promise of Biological Enhancement." Not to be confused with this excellent Theodore Sturgeon graphic novel, which I used to own, until I gave it away like an idiot...
I just can't get enough of Brendan Mccarthy.
This is from Katie Nice, of Spumco (Ren and Stimpy) fame.
I got this
from a blog I'll be You can't really stop Robot Wisdom, you can only contain him. Kneel before his almighty powers of linkage: (Kneel before Zod!)
Detailed history of political blogs and the Gannon
affair
Corporate Watch UK
The European artist Zdzislaw Beksinski who I had never heard of and whose first name I can't pronounce, (although he reminds me of Jacek Yerka), was found murdered in his home. I like his dark style. I wonder if he would have preferred his gruesome demise...? (Probably not.) On a related note, I found these interesting pages of surrealistic art here and here. My arch foe (He shall rue the day...)at Gravity Lens has some interesting posts. These animation shorts by Doug Chiang truly are impressive. He also alerted me to a site called the Venus Project. They're building the Brave New World here on Earth. They're just not too sure about that constitution yet.
And Robot Wisdom
is Back!!! And he's baaaaaader than Eva...! I have some affection
for Jorn and hope he conquers his problems. He holds a sentimental value for
me because he's one of the first persons on the net to imply that I'm a
dick, the first of many I might add...
Luis Royo. Nuff said.
Sexy robot from a japanese artist i wasn't aware of And a bunch o' links
I just
discovered Red Pepper, sort of a
British Alternet.
Yet another Tom Moody sampled produced original
Looks like the Bush administration tried to stop this from entering the country. Yet you can watch this toon online. Links N' Things: Alan Moore Interviews Brian Eno. But the link doesn't make it clear where...(Oh Click on the latest show link on the upper right hand side. Not sure where Moore's last interview is. He was interviewed last week...)
The above photo of Titan was rendered by an "amateur". It looks like a nice place to visit, even though it's all methane and explosive gases. Why doesn't it go up in a ball of smoke? They must get lightening on Titan. Looks pretty though.
Interesting
Hellraising Atheist Site (He's
starting a Carnival of the Atheists.)
You can now get your own Jesusland T-Shirt Here.
Politics N' Science Links:
River at Baghdad Burning Tells Us Life Still Sucks in Iraq
Creative Commoners of the world Unite! you have nothing to lose but your antiquated and inefficient copyright regime chains!
Both Will Eisner and Frank Kelly Freas passed away during the last several days. These were two legends in science fiction and comics circles. Full links on Eisner here. See some extra pics of Freas over at Pittsburgh Words, Sounds and Pictures. Links n Stuff
Local Paper Covers
Intelligent Design Debate.
Here's Why
They Got It Wrong.
I brazenly stole this from Tom Tomorrow. I'm sure Sparky would approve. And don't forget novelist China Mieville's version of a Christmas Carol. Keep in mind that China's in Europe so that means he's a real socialist. "So
I'd been getting all that ready, but then the most extraordinary thing
happened. I won the lottery! And just to make sure you that get it that perhaps this isn't the most joyful of Holidays, please check out this Daily Kos Diary: The Week in Fascism. Highlight: 1. Powerful and continuing expression of nationalism. Ivolsky found for us that the White House rational comes as surprise to Iraqis. This is based on a poll performed in Baghdad in October. The Iraqi’s do not believe the U.S. is in Iraq to create a free and independent nation. Looks like the Iraqi’s believed Presidents Bush’s announcement before his first term that he did not believe in nation building. But if you hear the rhetoric from the Government and the “talking heads” on the right you would think the average Iraqi is overjoyed that we are creating a new peaceful county. 2. Disdain for the importance of human rights. The biggest news item out this week is the President may have issued Executive Orders that allowed for torture of detainees and prisoners in the “War on Terror” Descrates brought to our attention the fact that the FBI Email Mentions Executive Order TEN Times. The best is yet to come. Where an Executive Order actually makes torture legal then Bush’s statements “that he only authorized techniques that fell under existing US law” were technically correct. This is a definite sign that we have crossed the line to the point that the things we used to condemn others for are now made legal for us just because the President says it is. 3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. Nob told us that Inhofe says Clinton's cuts made Iraq mess. What a load of bull! The prime sign of scapegoating is blaming someone else. It does not matter that Cheney, as Bush the first’s Secretary of Defense started the Defense in 1991 and Clinton only approved the programmed cuts he scheduled. Now it seems that no democratically leaning spokesman has even came forward to challenge these statements. That is a bigger travesty. And by the way: He obviously doesn't get the point: We know who killed Christ. Your retribution is at hand...Thank God for Jews who routinely don't question their vote for right wing Christian fundamentalists.
Perhaps you've seen this flag. I think the
man behind it is probably joking.
For those of us who long for another Portishead record or keep on wondering what happened to that gorgeous vocalist who headed Esthero (Update: Esthero just put out a new album and the first song is here. Kinda of a rockin' tune where she says Britney and rapists of little girls (R. Kelly I think but that seemed consensual, urine notwithstanding...) get way too much vid time. Mentions MTV mediocrity by name. I guess I won't be seeing her video too soon..), Ilya might just fill your need for cinematic grooves and beautiful soulful lyrics. If you don't believe me, then watch the incredible video for Bellissomo. It's stunning. Trust me. You can watch it either here at Soundgenerator (A great online site for videos by the way in case you're sick of MTV. They do this relational thing where they point out that if you like Portishead, you might like Ilya. And they were right.) or at the band's site. And here's an interview with the band. The new album, blaring in my personal background, is called They Died for Beauty. If you're looking for more of this kind of music, I highly recommend Soma online, which actually plays about several different brands of Acid Jazz. I usually have the Secret Agent stuff in the background...
All Hail the Return of the King: And speaking of stunning artists you won't be seeing on the MTV countdown anytime soon--or anywhere on MTV for that matter--Kaki King has a new album out. You might remember I declared Kaki the best female guitarist that I had ever seen, just narrowly beating out Joe Pass Protege Mimi Fox, also incredibly gifted. At her website, she has about three video downloads where you can check out her incredible Stanley Jordanesque tapping style. You can also find a Kaki King NPR interview, which features another video and four of her tunes. Her compositions are just as mind-blowing as her technique. You're watching a living legend, once in a generation kind of artist. Now, if they would only play her on the radio. All Hail the King.
Week of December 5th - 12th
This is the work of Japanese artist Aya Kato. Instead of ripping off Gravity Lens or Tom Moody, I decided to rip off Boing Boing. Remember: Great bloggers steal, they don't borrow. And: I'm seriously thinking about moving to this country:
O Cascadia...! Cascadiaaaaaa..... I think this guy might be kidding, but I think secession is an idea that you might want to start thinking about. He even has a very cool blog, well-designed. Nice background.
November 27th I actually think Oliver's Brand Democrat idea is pretty good. But I think that we have to also counterbrand the Republicans. It's not quite as evil as challenging voters at the polls but it shows we're serious. Here are a couple of my efforts.
November 4th Obviously, I'm disappointed about the election results. I'm also genuinely frightened for the future of my country and I'm starting to be a little frightened by at least a slight majority of half the people in my country. I am, however, proud of the fact that I worked hard at ACT. ACT and MoveOn and ACORN and others in the America Votes coalition did a great job of winning states that Kerry probably would have lost without us, such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. IN fact, Pittsburgh ACT was thinking about closing up shop on the 15th. I hope they reconsider. I'd certainly be happy to stay on board. And yes I really wanted to take down that upside down distress flag in the lefthand corner of the site. I guess I should just make it bigger. Here's the two best Post Mortems I read that speak for me. Here's one from Eric Alterman: Let’s face it. It’s not Kerry’s fault. It’s not Nader’s fault (this time). It’s not the media’s fault (though they do bear a heavy responsibility for much of what ails our political system). It’s not “our” fault either. The problem is just this: Slightly more than half of the citizens of this country simply do not care about what those of us in the “reality-based community” say or believe about anything. They don’t care that Iraq is turning into murderous quicksand and a killing field for our children. They don’t care that the Bush presidency has made us less safe by creating more terrorists, inspiring more anti-American hatred and refusing to engage in the hard work that would be necessary to make a meaningful dent in our myriad vulnerabilities at home. They don’t care that he has mortgaged our children’s future to give trillions to the wealthiest among us. They don’t care that the economy continues to hemorrhage well-paying jobs and replace them with Wal-Mart; that the number without health insurance is over forty million and rising. They don’t care that Medicare premiums are rising to fund the coffers of pharmaceutical companies. They don’t care that the air they breathe and the water they drink is being slowly poisoned and though they call themselves conservatives, they even don’t care that the size of the government and its share of our national income has increased by roughly a quarter in just four years. This is not a world of rational debate and issue preference. It’s one of “them” and “us.” He’s one of “them” and not one of “us” and that’s all they care about. True it’s an illusion. After all, Bush is a millionaire’s son who went to Yale and Harvard and sat out Vietnam, not even bothering to show up for his cushy National Guard duty, and succeeded only in trading on his father’s name and connections in adult life. But somehow, they feel he understands them. He speaks their language. Our guys don’t. And unless they learn it, we will continue to condemn this country and those parts of the world it affects to a regime of malign neglect at best—malignant and malicious assault at worse. Given the media’s talent for pandering to their lowest common denominator, the things that have driven us crazy about their past pathetic performance are bound to get a lot worse. Most of us—readers and writers of this web log and peoplelikeus-- derive an awful lot of benefit from being Americans. We owe it to our better selves, and though it sounds horribly clichéd, to our children-- not to walk away from this battle. I will admit, however, it’s pretty damn hard to see through this fog just where to turn before we march. And there's Tbogg quoted from Tom Tomorrow: TBogg is not sounding like an optimist this morning:
"
|
