F;s@“http://www.wakinglifemovie.com/”>Waking Life and found it to be dope, fly, and rad. It’s not so much a non-narrative film as it is a narrative of ideas. It’s also great anytime you see a film where the form is motivated by the content, and is not simply either a grab bag of stylistic assumptions or an assortment of pointless technical experiments. First hand-held animated film I’ve ever seen! Anyway, if you need a film recommendation, go see it, and as a posible follow-up to a film concerned primarily with the mind, see Iron Monkey, a film of the body if there ever was one.
Okay, the crypto-blogging will stop.
Have been very excited by the news that Apple plans to introduce a “breakthrough digital device.” “Hint it’s not a Mac.” The informed rumour-mongerer would speculate that it will either be a portable device or a component piece. Whatever it is, it’s obvious Apple considers it a Big Deal: not only did they refresh half their product line (iBook and TiBook) with very little fanfare last week, they also have aggressively timed this new announcement to snatch thunder from Microsoft’s pending Windows XP launch.
If it is to be a component piece, I would imagine it to be a sort of home media server. It would network with Macs (PCs?), connect to the stereo (obviously), and maybe contain a HD and/or burner. Apple would presumably slap an Airport card in it. What I would like: the machine should function as the AirPort base station it would remain constantly connected; Apple could then bring iTools into the equation and allow one to access one’s media, stored on the device or on a connected Mac, from any computer.
We assume it will use AirPort (WiFi). Most people take this to mean it will be a music-oriented device, as AirPort can’t handle the bandwidth required for real time DVD or DV. Two points. One, it wouldn’t necessarily need to be real time. Two, there were rumours a while ago that Apple was involved with Domino technology. The cool thing about the Domino chip was that it could transcode MPEG-2 (DVD) to MPEG-4 in real time, meaning that video could be sent over AirPort. Imagine if the beast could hold onto those cute little MPEG-4 files on its hard drive: then you could access your DVD collection from wherever. Also, it would be insane to go all that way without having TiVo-style recording of TV. Handy, that.
But, of course, there are a number of problems with the preceding flight of fancy. Domino chips would have to be in the Macs, which they are not; the thing would be hopelessly expensive; and the MPAA would take out a contract on Steve Jobs. In general, though, it is time for consumer electronics companies to stand up to the RIAA/MPAA thugs. They are a much, much bigger industry, and they are all slitting each others’ throats releasing progressively less profitable clones of each others’ toys. They need to innovate, give the copyright-hating consumer what s/he wants, and so forth.
Things were better now.
Happy birthday.
Rereading Tolkien‘s stuff. Tolkien was a luddite of sorts. I like many parts of the books, but some parts make me suspicious not the environmentalism, but the fear of technology. Things were different, I suppose, when the atom bomb was the latest hot offering from science. But there’s something in the way magic is treated in the book… I am beginning to suspect that magic is in fact an idealized stand-in for technology. (Not sure how this would fit with the Benjamin.)
There is a distinct anti-tech sentiment mounting over at shift magazine. A recent issue contained Chris Turner’s excellent why technology is failing us (and how we can fix it). The latest one (not online yet) features a piece about going a week without technology. Curiously, the term ‘technology’ morphs into the phrase ‘digital culture’ by the time we get to the subheader. Sure enough, during the week of supposed tech celibacy, the author reads books, drives cars, talks on the phone just not the cellphone, thank you very much.
And here’s the failure of all Luddite philosophies: all they do is arbitrarily pick a date to separate the old technology, which is good, from the new technology, which is bad. Books are a technology. Buildings too. What do you think of cooked food? Agriculture? Language itself, many would argue, is a technology. Presumably you’re going to want to use those technologies. Why get all xenophobic about the new ones? By all means be critical, but come on. Don’t be afraid.
I mean, a luddite with a weblog? Shouldn’t he be carving things in stone tablets or something?
RU Sirius sure can write. It’s been ages since I experienced the feeling of someone speaking for me.
Note to self: what the hell has he been up to lately?
Idea for a wager, perfect for those with fat stacks and slim concern for their image: the loser must spend a year wearing only clothes purchased from the Beer Store. Molson Canadian sweatsuits, Bud hats, etc.
I’m toying around with movable type and it looks fantastic. It’ll take me a while to put it into effect, but it’ll happen fairly soon. If you do a blog you should take it for a spin.
If the site comes and goes today, it’s because I’m messing around with the proverbial back end.
If some people are link whores, can other people be link pimps?
And on an unrelated note, a new, incredible word, apparently invented by the author of this article: superadequatastic.
I went to a party last night. It was hideously overcrowded; it took forever to perform simple tasks (go the the bathroom, get a beer). There were two balconies, one above the other, both stuffed full of people. Then the upper balcony collapsed. A couple of my friends were on it at the time. They were leaning on the railing, which remained intact, and after the floor had vanished from beneath them they grasped it and shimmied to safety, realizing only then that they were still holding onto their beers and cigarettes.
Sadly, the ridiculous party continued. Initial reports indicated that no one had been hurt, but later rumours of injury and hospitalization began to circulate. (Rumour yeah, I guess I won’t believe anything until I see it in the New York Times.) Minutes after the collapse, there were just as many people trying to get onto the remaining balcony as were trying to get off. I left, though, with some other right-thinking individuals. In all honesty, not for rational reasons: I kept thinking the entire building was going to crumble to the ground.
I hesitate to metaphoricize this petty disaster.
Possibly I’m a little behind on this, in weblog terms, but it’s too weird a story not to blog. (Too… not to… to not blog?) Bert, of Ernie & Bert fame, may or may not be evil. He appears to have some involvement with bin Laden: read this for the details.
So I hear that “camel” is the new black. Sure it is. I could argue that black is the new black, but instead I’ll get with that particular spirit and declare: R&B is the new classical. Walnut cake is the new doughnut. War is the new peace. And videogames are the new film. But more on that later.
Runaway phone company grief may lead to a disruption in this blogging service. (Excuse me as I manhandle the term “service.”) I hope not, but only time will tell.
I accidentally typed “only tim will tell.” I wish he would.
What the Hell? This is a government Anthrax vaccination site that uses Flash and hep music to “sell” vaccine to soldiers. Eerie and confusing. (via MeFi)
Via camworld: this site is devoted to the search for a “post-PC interface.” I find this stuff intriguing, although I know very little about it. Personally I can only assume that the next big interface development will be abandoning the 2D ‘desktop’ in favour of a 3D environment. As evidence, all I can cite is the example of videogames; as soon as 3D environments were technically possible, the shift away from 2D games happened almost as fast as the film industry’s shift from silent to sound. I would assume this is because 3D worlds seem most like that “reality” thing I keep hearing so much about, and if an interface can appear more real, it enjoys a big jump in usability, given that there is that much less to teach people before they can use the interface. Sound films, to follow the metaphor, being a better user interface than silent ones, inasmuch as they are “more like real life.” (Sorry about the nonstop quotes, but I have a real aversion to the term “reality” and/or “real life.”)
Traffic signs, warning signs, and the like obviously they are iconic, and in a way they spell out a user interface for architecture. In fact, usability in a 3D context will be almost like personal architecture.
My latest way of dealing with the Current Situation is a wannabe-rational fixation on the intelligence community. Part of the reason is that I traditionally loathe the CIA, since doing a report on Nicaragua in highschool… but that’s another story. With the recent attacks, it has become obvious that US intelligence failed massively, and to me this makes the CIA, NSA, etc. … well, more human.
So rather than follow traditional news sources obsessively, I scour sites like Janes and Stratfor, and have just discovered (via MeFi) debka.com, an Israeli intelligence report. These sites are a touch frustrating, as they keep trying to convince you to buy their subscription service they’re like intelligence porn. But you often find amazing stuff. At the very least, tales of the intelligence community will convince you that this isn’t a battle of good and evil. There’s plenty of evil for everyone, thank you very much.
Okay, I’m a sucker for survivorcam, and so I read this inside story with giddy delight. Just as much schemin’ as in that TV show I hear it’s based on.
Fuck is Spy Kids a good film. I hate kid’s movies as much as the next guy, but this one is a real champ funny, fast-paced, non-condescending. Rodriguez wrote as well as directed it, and did a great job.
Sample dialogue:
WOMAN: Please have a seat, Mr. Lithp.
MAN: It’s Lisp.
The people have spoken; the poll is decided. Baconnaise is the most anticipated hot new product. As you can see, initial package designs and marketing plans have been initiated.
Baconnaise was an idea my friend Andy had. At the time, my favorite foods were mayo and bacon. I used to go on and on about them. Cleverly, Andy made a t-shirt that combined the two, which I still have, although it’s pretty faded now. Anyway, his sound idea has been backed up by the readers of this blog, who I can only assume are cultured taste-influencers of the highest order. Perhaps you people have foreseen a backlash against the current trend towards healthy living and eating. Maybe in a few years, sustained immobility will be the hip new thing; our nation’s elite will wolf down deep-fried pork-stuffed sandwiches and drink cheese shakes as they wheel themselves around the hottest clubs in their mechanized carts. Sounds pretty sweet to me.
I’m taking down the poll until I have a bright idea for another one. I seem to have a case of pollster’s block at the moment.
Pimp hats. (via boing boing)
A friend of the family died recently. My mother visited the widow and brought back one of the man’s workshirts. It’s intended for my father, but I intercepted it last night and am wearing it now. It’s a check/plaid affair, in blue and grey, with a warm lining. Half shirt, half jacket.
I visited the man at his home outside Toulouse when I was a teen, and many of the things we discussed then have stuck. Although I may not be in a position to judge at the moment, I believe his words had a great effect on the outcome of my life so far. I wear his jacket and think of him outside the farmhouse, napping after a big, rich meal.
If only more clothes had such history. They have it, I guess, but it gets lost. I look at all the second-hand clothes and wonder about all the strangers whom I connect with through the closet. I wish I knew them. Whenever we give away clothes, we should write a little history of the garment, or its owner, and slip it in the pocket.
News organizations delay reporting of Florida recount: as bartcop notes, the interesting thing about this is not so much that they are being sensitive about reporting the results of the recount given the current national mood, which is understandable, but that by hesitating to report it they are admitting that it points to a Gore victory why else would they need to be sensitive?
The preceding politically insensitive run-on sentence was brought to you by the writer’s ballooning caffeine problem.
Well, it seems that irony isn’t dead after all, and I for one am greatly relieved about it. I don’t even know how I’d think without irony, let alone crack a joke. In fact, I’ve tried previously to get my mind around what a post-ironic movement might look like, and came up short. Does that mean no more jokes, or just no more good jokes? Would we have to believe everything? Would being a keener become cool again? A few years ago, Suck suggested Party of Five and PETA as examples of non-ironic behaviour… shiver.
If that Onion issue is any indication, irony ain’t dead, just different. rebeccablood described it as “satire with a broken heart”, which isn’t necessarily new, just a different breed than has been dominant lately. For example, Swift’s modest proposal is compassionate satire. In my own humble experience with parody, you have to engage deeply with something in order to acheive the highest level of ironic results. People assume you’re making light, which is far from the truth. Part of the problem with those who proclaim irony dead and wish to move on to full-time earnestness is that they see the two as mutually exclusive, which is a mistake.
The other mistake is that we’ve already got earnestness down. Take a look around cockeyed to see the state of the art in post-earnest irony. Especially good are the pranks, such as this one, and the “what’s inside” tests, such as this this one.
An apology to all you non-Canucks, who won’t know what I’m talking about, but what the hell is Ken Finkleman doing, and why doesn’t the CBC stop him? I thought The Newsroom was funny, but his watered-down Fellini bit has got to go. People normally point out that what he’s doing is so different from what normally goes on on TV. True. So why don’t they give me a show in which I interview my own ass for 22 minutes? That would be different, wouldn’t it, and not nearly as pathetically self-absorbed as Finkleman’s latest effort. We could do without the sycophantic interviews in between, too. I’d rather have ads.
“Current Situation” roundup: a great background article. Did you know the CIA was recruiting for the mujahadeen (which they call ‘mooj’, for short) from New Jersey, and that they helped some of the veterans into the US? And there’s this excellent analysis of the options available to the US in terms of fighting Afghanistan. I guess carpet-bombing isn’t as easy as it looks.
It re-begins.
I did a provisional redesign. As I’m a complete hack, I have no idea how this will look in the most popular browsers, so let me know. Basically I want to see if I’ll stick with this universal-sign motif before I make more drastic changes to the interface (making functional navigation icons for all site sections, etc). So as it stands, all the icons above are absolutely non-functional and meaningless (sorta), although I’m starting to think I like that.