March 2008
40 posts
February 2008
46 posts
Wired's Impressions on Lego Batman →
The Lego Star Wars series is a blast. This game sounds like it makes some improvements and still keeps it fun. The tether issue, in particular, is one minor annoyance in the SW games.
SONG CHART MEME - a photoset on Flickr →
Hilarity hijinks!
What was that quote about history? →
Well, I guess we’re condemned to repeat it, then. Lucky for us.
Fur Rendezvous, down and outdated to the point of... →
God dammit, despite myself I miss it. Sounds like a banner year.
“The Obamanauts are decidedly non-ideological. They occasionally reach out to...”
– Noam Scheiber, The Audacity of Data - essential reading on the pragmatic philosophy undergirding Obama’s pool of policy advisors.
The Ebb and Flow of Movies: Box Office Receipts... →
Yet further proof that the NY Times wins completely at information design. I’m sure they pay a pretty penny for it, but by the gods the result is awesome.
Two Awards They Got Right
Two Academy Awards that made me happy last night: Best documentary feature: Taxi to the Dark Side, by Alex Gibney and Eva Orner Best original song: “Falling Slowly” from Once, by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova I haven’t seen Taxi to the Dark Side yet, though it’s on my short list. But the topic is of utmost importance so I’m glad the film was recognized...
TPM: Wingnut Brigade Mowed Down At Obama Ridge →
First, this is the best fucking article title I’ve seen all week. Second, someone actually did some fact checking. Third, the wingnuts are being mowed down at Obama Ridge. Now if someone would only make sure they stayed mowed down…
Font Choices and Presidential Politics →
Yay for the Frankensteinian hybrid of geekery and politics! See also: more on Obama’s choice. (PS: The Helvetica movie looks cool. Perhaps I should do another movie wishlist soon.) Both via daringfireball.net
To Boldly Go
The walls looked extra soft today, so I bought my morning coffee with an extra shot.
Scott Horton Disassembles Jonah Goldberg's... →
After revealing Jonah’s pseudo-intellectual facade for the buffoonery that it is, Scott also gives a great reference to a book I’ve put on my reading list, Paxton’s The Anatomy of Fascism.
“Unlike most other campaign managers who’ve made their way to the analysis...”
– Karl Rove is a genius TV news analyst. - By Troy Patterson - Slate Magazine
I Predict
That if Obama is elected president, the first major group(s) who will attack him from the left will be black activists. He’ll already be getting the full workover by Rush, his slackjawed dittoheads, and their RNC fax-writers, but that goes without saying.
Only Fascists and Terrorists Practice Torture, or...
Andrew Sullivan linked to a number of posts on “stress positions” used in the war on Bushie’s enemies: Stress Positions, Stress Positions and Crucifixion, and Stress Positions 2. The piece about crucifixion had some statements I wanted to get some background on (relating to nails and wrists), so I looked up crucifixtion on wikipedia. Needless to say, if you’re not too...
First the Cartoon, then the War: Europe in 1870 →
Strange Maps is a great website discovery, and this Cartoon Map of 1870 Europe is neat — even moreso to someone who’s played Diplomacy.
Note to World
Today I coined the term “explainination.” Thank you, that is all.
“A constitution of government, once changed from freedom, can never be restored;...”
– John Adams
Would Billary Pardon Terrorists to Garner Votes?
So claims a commentary in the WSJ by Debra Burlingame (linked by James Kirchik in TNR). Obviously, this is laying the groundwork for destroying Hillary’s credibility on “war on terror” if she does become the Dem nominee. And while this is definitely an issue worth exploring, one part of the article stood out to me even more (bold highlights are mine): Observed Judge George...
The False Dichotomy of Security vs. Privacy →
Another great article on security, liberty, privacy, and control by Bruce Schneier. Hightlights: If privacy and security really were a zero-sum game, we would have seen mass immigration into the former East Germany and modern-day China. While it’s true that police states like those have less street crime, no one argues that their citizens are fundamentally more secure. … We’ve...
Some Positive Politics Stories
And they’re all about the same candidate: Obama. I’m not quite a starry-eyed romantic, but maybe I’m a bit of an idealist, so these stories appeal to be immensely. They’re all links to Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish blog, where he often posts excerpts from reader emails. And they’re amazing. I’ll start with a comment from Yemen, part of a series of posts...
Dogfish Head - Randall The Enamel Animal →
Thanks to mattw for inviting me and a bunch of others to the Cheerful Tortoise to try Randall with the Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. I had two heady hoppy pints along with a Gardenburger and I was done for the night. Nice!
"Once upon a time, a dangerous radical gained... →
This connects to events that Julie and I saw recently in the movie Charlie Wilson’s War. The movie doesn’t cover a lot of this, or make many of the connections, but it does suggest that US involvement in these regions was part of laying the foundation for the world we’re living in now. Blowback is a bitch.
Hey, If Policy and Planning Is Hard, Let's Try...
There is an argument going on about Obama’s and Clinton’s health care proposals. Clinton is for a mandate, where everyone would be required to buy insurance — similar to how auto insurance works now. Obama is (or has been — he may be changing his tune) against a mandate. The discussion has been somewhat heated and from what I’ve read, I may be on the pro-mandate side,...
Movies for 2008, Part 1
Some intriguing movies at a glance (a trailer, blog mention, or brief review), in no particular order: Jumper Wanted Doomsday Taxi to the Dark Side Iron Man 10,000 BC Charlie Bartlett Vantage Point Paranoid Park The CounterfeitersA mix of genre junk food, interesting stories and settings, and thrillers. If I liked horror much, I’d probably add The Signal to my list. I may yet.
Unpacking a New-in-Box Apple //c - a photoset on... →
My (family’s) first computer was an Apple IIc Plus (if I remember correctly — it’s probably gathering dust somewhere downstairs, so it’s probably possible to check my memory, ha ha). I remember playing a side-scrolling adventure game on it called Black Magic (much to my Baptist grandmother’s consternation).
PDF: Unfit for Human Consumption - AKA Portable... →
PDFs as web content are evil. It’s like saying to a potential customer or viewer “Hey look at this!” and then throwing a brick at his head when he turns to look. Some likely PDF acronyms: Please Don’t Follow this link Probably Dumbass Fluff Promises Definite Frustration Print Document First-and-foremost Provably Doesn’t Function Portable Dumptruck of FAILKeep these...
N.A.D.D.: Nerd Attention Deficit Disorder →
I probably rate as follows on his list of “how you’ve dealt with the media deluge of the new millennium”: Checked Out: 20% Media Moderation: 20% Full-on Fire-hose: 60% I don’t have a TV but I watch some. I don’t go to a lot of movies but I know of them. And I do usually have IRC, screen, mulitple terminals, iTunes, and about a dozen browser tabs open on half a dozen...
19-0. Oops. →
More dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip
MySpace and Wikipedia links.
Why I Like Scott Horton's Blog →
Can Coulter Play a "Sincere" Coulter? Or Is there...
A lot of sources have linked to stories or videos about how Ann Coulter says she’d vote Clinton over McCain (here’s Feministe). I don’t watch a lot of Coulter — I try to ignore her — so it’s hard for me to tell how serious she is (if she ever is serious). And perhaps the whole sentiment was sparked by trying to form some kind of Coulteresque acid-coated,...
The Usborne Book of the Future →
That’s THE FUTURE to you, bub.
“The Onion has outlived, and in fact seems to flourish in the absence of, actual...”
– Mike Lee, in “My Favorite CARS Moment”