There is going to be a movie called Pride and Predator.
No. Really. That is the actual name of an actual movie, and there is nothing misleading about the title. The central concept is "an alien invasion ensues in the middle of a Jane Austen novel."
The script had actually been kicking around Hollywood for some time. It gained traction due to success of pulped dead tree format Austen mashup Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which is a reverse-engineering of the actual text. Austen is credited as "cowriter."
I, for one, welcome our new genre-subverting overlords.
2.24.2009
2.19.2009
It's as if a train wreck managed to keep moving at full speed
Good Lord, did anyone ever think that Roland Burris was clean?
No. Seriously. Anyone?
Because that was how Capitol Hill behaved when it came time for him to be seated by the Senate. And if you thought those press conferences he gave when he was on the outside pleading to be let in, the one where he seemed to have about himself a total ignorance or indifference to the fact that EVEN HIS OWN CONSTITUENTS DIDN'T WANT HIM THERE cast him in a favorable light then, well, I don't know what to say.
When asked, specifically, if he'd ever spoken with Rob Blagojevic about the Senator's seat, he spoke only of unnamed staffers and compatriots. Since the oath goes "tell the whole truth," I believe that there is a clear-cut case for perjury. If there's even enough to indict him, he's gone. And it could be in the end that the only reason he had to go is because he was determined to give this whole matter the hand wave and try to pretend that this whole business wasn't as sleazy as it seemed.
But let me ask you this. Could you ever trust someone who'd taken that job under those circumstances? Ever?
Oh and another thing. As of this writing, the only other person to have been revealed to have been offered the Senate seat post-indictment was also a black man. Which to me only serves to reinforce the idea that he wanted someone that a governing body currently devoid of black members would be reluctant to turn down. Blaxploitation: Because that haircut just wasn't enough to satisfy Blago's quota for embarrasing holdovers from the 70s.
It's an unwelcome complication now that we've apparently found ourselves in a different sort of democracy, where a majority doesn't actually mean anything anymore. Predictably, the fucktards who threatened to nuke the filibuster because the Democrats wanted to use it to keep fascists out of lifetime terms on the bench (given what happened at the Department of Justice under Bush I can't imagine anyone claiming that this wasn't an utterly reasonable use of the power) have at this point already forced twice as many cloture votes as the Democrats did between 2004 and 2006.
This is going to be interesting. I wonder where the 19% approval rating for Republicans in Congress will go once they're forced to actually get up and start reading from the phone book.
A note to third parties on the left: There are gains to be made in 2010 if you're actually interested in being more than just a distraction. Just saying.
In any case, because leaving with a laugh is a thing for me, I want to share with you all that which may just be the greatest thing ever.
Translation: Drat, thwarted so close to freedom’s sweet caress… I dreamed for but a taste of the decadent west, and now my eulogy is sung by guard dogs and alarm bells.
From Яolcats. Eastern Bloc lolcats translated from Russian into English. It's fantastic. It's the reason I now wish to get wrecked on Stoli and drive a tank through downtown Moscow.
Someone take my keys and Passport from me...
No. Seriously. Anyone?
Because that was how Capitol Hill behaved when it came time for him to be seated by the Senate. And if you thought those press conferences he gave when he was on the outside pleading to be let in, the one where he seemed to have about himself a total ignorance or indifference to the fact that EVEN HIS OWN CONSTITUENTS DIDN'T WANT HIM THERE cast him in a favorable light then, well, I don't know what to say.
When asked, specifically, if he'd ever spoken with Rob Blagojevic about the Senator's seat, he spoke only of unnamed staffers and compatriots. Since the oath goes "tell the whole truth," I believe that there is a clear-cut case for perjury. If there's even enough to indict him, he's gone. And it could be in the end that the only reason he had to go is because he was determined to give this whole matter the hand wave and try to pretend that this whole business wasn't as sleazy as it seemed.
But let me ask you this. Could you ever trust someone who'd taken that job under those circumstances? Ever?
Oh and another thing. As of this writing, the only other person to have been revealed to have been offered the Senate seat post-indictment was also a black man. Which to me only serves to reinforce the idea that he wanted someone that a governing body currently devoid of black members would be reluctant to turn down. Blaxploitation: Because that haircut just wasn't enough to satisfy Blago's quota for embarrasing holdovers from the 70s.
It's an unwelcome complication now that we've apparently found ourselves in a different sort of democracy, where a majority doesn't actually mean anything anymore. Predictably, the fucktards who threatened to nuke the filibuster because the Democrats wanted to use it to keep fascists out of lifetime terms on the bench (given what happened at the Department of Justice under Bush I can't imagine anyone claiming that this wasn't an utterly reasonable use of the power) have at this point already forced twice as many cloture votes as the Democrats did between 2004 and 2006.
This is going to be interesting. I wonder where the 19% approval rating for Republicans in Congress will go once they're forced to actually get up and start reading from the phone book.
A note to third parties on the left: There are gains to be made in 2010 if you're actually interested in being more than just a distraction. Just saying.
In any case, because leaving with a laugh is a thing for me, I want to share with you all that which may just be the greatest thing ever.
Translation: Drat, thwarted so close to freedom’s sweet caress… I dreamed for but a taste of the decadent west, and now my eulogy is sung by guard dogs and alarm bells.
From Яolcats. Eastern Bloc lolcats translated from Russian into English. It's fantastic. It's the reason I now wish to get wrecked on Stoli and drive a tank through downtown Moscow.
Someone take my keys and Passport from me...
2.15.2009
Is he even trying to hide it?
Hugo Chavez has convinced his constituents to vote to overturn term limits, so that he won't necessarily have to leave office in 2012.
Now, whether or not term limits for chief executives are particularly important is up for discussion. I happen to think that they are, and I think that I'm addressing people who the most part will agree with me. None of us, of course, can speak for the rest of the world.
But if you can, spot the (perhaps) literary reference in the article
Need Help?
We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.
1984 should be required reading for everyone who has ever thought of voting.
Yes, I recognize the hypocrisy in that statement. Shh
This is a test of the Emergency Come Up With Ways To Make Sure I Post More System
One of the great things about Ubuntu is its willingness to embed just about anything into its UI. I'm now Twittering through Twitux, an ap that cuts out the middleman and puts the Twitter timeline in a neat little window that hides itself conveniently when it's not needed, but updates automatically every three minutes or whenever you hit F5
Until then, feel free to follow me here. I'll be more active now as I now have a means of tweeting that doesn't frustrate the hell out of me.
It looks like this
As you can see I'm also experimenting with a tool that lets me post to Blogger from a lightweight local application. Seems to be adequate for text-only, but I'll need something different to make photos work.
But I'm twittering again. I'll put a dongle on my template when and if I can manage to find one that doesn't break it.
Until then, feel free to follow me here. I'll be more active now as I now have a means of tweeting that doesn't frustrate the hell out of me.
2.13.2009
Because I can't get enough of grinding.be
Let's talk about eyeglasses.
No, I don't need them. Still 20/20 over here. Though then again, many people who wear them don't need them. Sometimes the same function can be performed by contact lenses, with no needed change in appearance. Sometimes people who have 20/20 vision wear glasses with no prescription.
At some point eyewear became something beyond correcting an anatomical defect.
Can the same thing be said of other such aids? Yes, and it has. Given, I doubt many people are wearing these just for the fashion of it.
But that's all fairly minor in terms of alteration. The design is still the same. This, on the other hand, is designed to be fucking awesome.
From Medgadget via Grinding,be
Now, this hasn't been actually fabricated yet, but I, for one, absolutely welcome this. I'm imagining customizable prosthetic arm skins similar to what we have now for laptops and cell phones. Maybe even entire different plastic hulls for the mechanical apparatus that come in different shapes and sizes.
If you've already been limited by the amputation of an arm, why further limit yourself in your choice of prosthesis? Why not make a fashion statement? Use something that will maybe give other people a brief bout of buyer's remorse about that ordinary-looking, fleshy thing hanging off of their shoulder?
Well, for one thing, it makes you a freak.
This is, as I'm sometimes reminded, an issue for some people. I don't quite understand it.
Also from grinding.be: Something entirely less awesome.
China has been carrying out executions by lethal injection through the use of high tech DYSTOPIAN CAPITAL PUNISHMENT BUSSES THAT CAN TOTALLY BE USED TO FUCKING HARVEST ORGANS FOR SALE ON THE BLACK MARKET
What.
The.
Fuck.
The country that might have executed as many as 8,000 prisoners last year just gave the process an express lane and a profit margin.
Great.
No, I don't need them. Still 20/20 over here. Though then again, many people who wear them don't need them. Sometimes the same function can be performed by contact lenses, with no needed change in appearance. Sometimes people who have 20/20 vision wear glasses with no prescription.
At some point eyewear became something beyond correcting an anatomical defect.
Can the same thing be said of other such aids? Yes, and it has. Given, I doubt many people are wearing these just for the fashion of it.
But that's all fairly minor in terms of alteration. The design is still the same. This, on the other hand, is designed to be fucking awesome.
From Medgadget via Grinding,be
Now, this hasn't been actually fabricated yet, but I, for one, absolutely welcome this. I'm imagining customizable prosthetic arm skins similar to what we have now for laptops and cell phones. Maybe even entire different plastic hulls for the mechanical apparatus that come in different shapes and sizes.
If you've already been limited by the amputation of an arm, why further limit yourself in your choice of prosthesis? Why not make a fashion statement? Use something that will maybe give other people a brief bout of buyer's remorse about that ordinary-looking, fleshy thing hanging off of their shoulder?
Well, for one thing, it makes you a freak.
This is, as I'm sometimes reminded, an issue for some people. I don't quite understand it.
Also from grinding.be: Something entirely less awesome.
China has been carrying out executions by lethal injection through the use of high tech DYSTOPIAN CAPITAL PUNISHMENT BUSSES THAT CAN TOTALLY BE USED TO FUCKING HARVEST ORGANS FOR SALE ON THE BLACK MARKET
What.
The.
Fuck.
The country that might have executed as many as 8,000 prisoners last year just gave the process an express lane and a profit margin.
Great.
2.04.2009
To Whom it May Concern
If you happen to be an elected official, I have an assignment for you.
Drop what you're doing
Go to the blackboard and write "tax cuts do not provide adequate economic stimulus" twenty thousand times, or until you get the fucking message.
That is all.
Drop what you're doing
Go to the blackboard and write "tax cuts do not provide adequate economic stimulus" twenty thousand times, or until you get the fucking message.
That is all.
2.02.2009
Copyleft and other high-minded dickery.
I'd like to thank the Arizona Cardinals for making Sunday night rather more interesting than I thought it would be. But no team that takes a laydown late in the season because they've already clinched the playoffs deserves the trophy.
Then again, a Super Bowl party attended exclusively by geeks is already going to be sort of interesting. Last year a number of my friends specifically had a party on that day where no one was allowed to watch the Super Bowl; some of whom were quite smug about it in a way which ironically brought back memories of High School and the sorts of attention those of us who spent the lunch period playing Magic: The Gathering attracted from certain assholes.
One thing I discovered on Sunday: Adding a splash of a good brown rum to a gin and tonic is a recipe for deliciousness. My recommendation? Hurricane Rum and either Hendrick's or Plymouth Gin.
But I'm not here to talk about booze or football.
My top-left sidebar now sports a button advertising my brand spanking new Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 3.0 licence. This replaces the Attribution-Non-Commercial generic 2.5, which is still attached to my template, but that's a different story.
But yes. Open Source.
It's not a new concept. I'm not just discovering it. But while I've always been well aware of it and believed in it philosophically, I've only recently been vindicated in practice.
I think that sentence makes sense.
My use of Windows had always been cyclical. Which is to say, I install it fresh, it runs fine for a while, then it starts to decay. Sometimes I make the seemingly costly mistake of losing the disk that says "do not lose this disk" on it. Right below "Do not make illegal copies of this disk."
But in spite of that, Windows is, by design, mostly a free OS.
You will never hear a Microsoft employee admit that, or the dude behind the counter at CompUSA, but it's gospel truth. The only times that MS is absolutely counting on you to pay money for their flagship product are at release and when you buy a new system. All other times, they'll shake their fists and act outraged at piracy, and do all of their Windows Genuine Advantage bullshit, but they know damn well that they'd run out of marketshare damned quickly if you couldn't get a free Windows cd from your friends whenever the fuck you wanted. And in order to have the market for preloaded software on new PCs cornered, they need everyone to have a good reason to be in the habit of using their software. So they complain, they beat their chests, but ultimately don't actually manage to effectively prevent their software from being pirated.
Hell, the premature "leaking" of the Windows 7 Beta was more or less transparent.
Because basic economics dictates that given the choice to pay for a good or service and not pay for it, the marketplace will absolutely not pay for it. So if pirating Microsoft software isn't as easy or easier for the average consumer than switching to something different, there would almost certainly be more turnover.
Because there is, in fact an alternative. And I'm using it right now. Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex. "Linux for Human Beings" as they call it. At its core are three philosophies.
It's pretty fucking rad.
But that's not even entirely the reason why I feel the need to blather about it here. I mean, most of you are probably using Firefox or Chrome to read this site by now, and they're both open source. The concept has made some inroads into the mainstream. But it goes far beyond that, philosophically.
A stones throw away from here, in Cambridge, MA, is a group called DIYbio. A group of self-proclaimed "bio-hackers" who by providing expert advice and resources as well as saftey procedures and, eventually, an entire open bio lab, seek to make the FUTURE open-source. Check out their pending projects. It's fantastic.
I got to the site from grinding.be, a website dedicated to cateloguing and looking out for the onset of the future. from biohacking to self-surgery to art to sex and dozens of other fields. I would look at this post in particular. If indeed there are those to whom the way we live, the way we love, the way we fuck are acts of violence I say START THE WAR NOW.
Open-source doesn't merely extend to technology, though. In fact, one organization that embraces the concept is Fair Foods, inc, which has been providing surplus perishable food to Boston's inner city areas at a dollar a bag for over twenty years. The head of Fair Foods regards herself primarily as an inventor, and Fair foods and its distribution model her greatest invention. And it's absolutely open source. They're working overtime at the moment to bring their operation to a level of prominence (and up-to-code-ness) necessary to be noticed by the Obama administration's promised public service initiatives. It's grassroots anarcho-socialism at its finest.
What's the point I'm making in all of this?
Fuck the big box stores that cut deals to operate tax-free in your neighborhood, then cut and run once the deal dries up. Fuck the corporate software companies that are more interested in cornering a market than producing a quality product. Fuck the Food Bank executives who make six figures and never seem to adequately do the job they were purported to be doing-- namely, you know, feeding the hungry.
The Future?
It's Open Source.
Embrace it, motherfuckers
Then again, a Super Bowl party attended exclusively by geeks is already going to be sort of interesting. Last year a number of my friends specifically had a party on that day where no one was allowed to watch the Super Bowl; some of whom were quite smug about it in a way which ironically brought back memories of High School and the sorts of attention those of us who spent the lunch period playing Magic: The Gathering attracted from certain assholes.
One thing I discovered on Sunday: Adding a splash of a good brown rum to a gin and tonic is a recipe for deliciousness. My recommendation? Hurricane Rum and either Hendrick's or Plymouth Gin.
But I'm not here to talk about booze or football.
My top-left sidebar now sports a button advertising my brand spanking new Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 3.0 licence. This replaces the Attribution-Non-Commercial generic 2.5, which is still attached to my template, but that's a different story.
But yes. Open Source.
It's not a new concept. I'm not just discovering it. But while I've always been well aware of it and believed in it philosophically, I've only recently been vindicated in practice.
I think that sentence makes sense.
My use of Windows had always been cyclical. Which is to say, I install it fresh, it runs fine for a while, then it starts to decay. Sometimes I make the seemingly costly mistake of losing the disk that says "do not lose this disk" on it. Right below "Do not make illegal copies of this disk."
But in spite of that, Windows is, by design, mostly a free OS.
You will never hear a Microsoft employee admit that, or the dude behind the counter at CompUSA, but it's gospel truth. The only times that MS is absolutely counting on you to pay money for their flagship product are at release and when you buy a new system. All other times, they'll shake their fists and act outraged at piracy, and do all of their Windows Genuine Advantage bullshit, but they know damn well that they'd run out of marketshare damned quickly if you couldn't get a free Windows cd from your friends whenever the fuck you wanted. And in order to have the market for preloaded software on new PCs cornered, they need everyone to have a good reason to be in the habit of using their software. So they complain, they beat their chests, but ultimately don't actually manage to effectively prevent their software from being pirated.
Hell, the premature "leaking" of the Windows 7 Beta was more or less transparent.
Because basic economics dictates that given the choice to pay for a good or service and not pay for it, the marketplace will absolutely not pay for it. So if pirating Microsoft software isn't as easy or easier for the average consumer than switching to something different, there would almost certainly be more turnover.
Because there is, in fact an alternative. And I'm using it right now. Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex. "Linux for Human Beings" as they call it. At its core are three philosophies.
- software should be available free of charge
- software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities
- people should have the freedom to customize and alter their software in whatever way they see fit
It's pretty fucking rad.
But that's not even entirely the reason why I feel the need to blather about it here. I mean, most of you are probably using Firefox or Chrome to read this site by now, and they're both open source. The concept has made some inroads into the mainstream. But it goes far beyond that, philosophically.
A stones throw away from here, in Cambridge, MA, is a group called DIYbio. A group of self-proclaimed "bio-hackers" who by providing expert advice and resources as well as saftey procedures and, eventually, an entire open bio lab, seek to make the FUTURE open-source. Check out their pending projects. It's fantastic.
I got to the site from grinding.be, a website dedicated to cateloguing and looking out for the onset of the future. from biohacking to self-surgery to art to sex and dozens of other fields. I would look at this post in particular. If indeed there are those to whom the way we live, the way we love, the way we fuck are acts of violence I say START THE WAR NOW.
Open-source doesn't merely extend to technology, though. In fact, one organization that embraces the concept is Fair Foods, inc, which has been providing surplus perishable food to Boston's inner city areas at a dollar a bag for over twenty years. The head of Fair Foods regards herself primarily as an inventor, and Fair foods and its distribution model her greatest invention. And it's absolutely open source. They're working overtime at the moment to bring their operation to a level of prominence (and up-to-code-ness) necessary to be noticed by the Obama administration's promised public service initiatives. It's grassroots anarcho-socialism at its finest.
What's the point I'm making in all of this?
Fuck the big box stores that cut deals to operate tax-free in your neighborhood, then cut and run once the deal dries up. Fuck the corporate software companies that are more interested in cornering a market than producing a quality product. Fuck the Food Bank executives who make six figures and never seem to adequately do the job they were purported to be doing-- namely, you know, feeding the hungry.
The Future?
It's Open Source.
Embrace it, motherfuckers
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