A Short History of America by R. Crumb
Kids ditch computers for board game
A brand new craze is sweeping Japan, but it's 4,000 years old!Yay! This is my game! I've been playing since around 1994, and at one point reached a respectable rank. I hope the popularity spreads over here in the US. I'd love to have more people to play with. Here is a decent introduction to the game.The board game which is tearing kids away from their computer screens is called Go, and became a hit with kids after it was featured in a Manga comic.
The game, which was invented in China, has been popular for ages but it's usually older people who play it.
More misbehavior from the United States government:
U.S. to Block U.N. Torture Vote
Concerned about the possibility of independent visits to U.S. civilian and military prisons, the United States sought Wednesday to block a vote on a U.N. plan meant to enforce a convention on torture.US 'tried to hide' bomb blunderThe United States wants negotiations on the plan reopened, a move human rights groups say could kill the proposal, which they believe is essential to ending torture around the world.
The Afghan Government has warned against any cover-up in the investigation into a US airstrike which killed nearly 50 people at a wedding party at the start of July.The warning came amid reports that a preliminary United Nations investigation into the bombing had found that US officials removed vital evidence from the site after the incident.
The UN probe is said to have found that US troops cleaned the area - removing shrapnel, bullets and traces of blood.
According to The Times newspaper, the UN report says there was no corroboration of the US claim that the aircraft that launched the attack had first been targeted from the ground.
Learning to love Big Brother / George W. Bush channels George Orwell
As President Bush wages his war against terrorism and moves to create a huge homeland security apparatus, he appears to be borrowing heavily, if not ripping off ideas outright, from George Orwell. The work in question is "1984, " the prophetic novel about a government that controls the masses by spreading propaganda, cracking down on subversive thought and altering history to suit its needs. It was intended to be read as a warning about the evils of totalitarianism -- not a how-to manual.Granted, we're a long way from resembling the kind of authoritarian state Orwell depicted, but some of the similarities are starting to get a bit eerie.
Interesting and beautiful generative art by Casey Reas.
Paul Ford has seen the future. (re: internet, google, semantic web)
The Hyper-Sonic Sound System (HSS)... can take an audio signal from virtually any source—home stereo, TV, computer, microphone, etc.—and convert it to an ultrasonic frequency that can be directed like a beam of light toward a target up to 100 yards away.This is pretty neat, but I loathe the idea of targeted auditory advertisements. Ugh... Time to move out to a beautiful place in the country?It’s easy to see how HSS could make some magic. Imagine a home theater system optimized not for your entire living room but for the club chair that you kick back in. Or a giant nightclub with several different music areas on the dance floor, none of them overlapping. But Norris has $30 million in costs to recoup, and HSS isn’t yet perfected for the lower tones prevalent in music. So some of the cooler stuff will have to wait while he hooks up with retailers and the U.S. military for “Minority Report”-style applications: vending machines that call out to you as you walk by; sonic “guns” that can incapacitate the enemy with 150 decibels of sound without deafening the good guys.
Royalty fees killing most Internet radio stations
More than 200 Internet-based radio stations have shut down because of a royalty fee that takes effect in September, and more are closing daily. Most of the estimated 10,000 radio Webcasters are expected to follow suit, "with the exception of Yahoo, AOL, Microsoft and other deep-pocketed conglomerates who can afford a loss leader," says Kurt Hanson, editor of the Radio and Internet Newsletter.
Scary government office (check the logo):
"The DARPA Information Awareness Office (IAO) will imagine, develop, apply, integrate, demonstrate and transition information technologies, components and prototype, closed-loop, information systems that will counter asymmetric threats by achieving total information awareness useful for preemption; national security warning; and national security decision making." (my empasis)
And check out the Homeland Security graphic on this one.
(via BoingBoing)
Fun Google game:
William Fields is a pretty good cover guy.
William Fields is President of Palm International.
William Fields is #6678.
William Fields is the uncle of Annie Fields, the wife of Thomas Strong.
William Fields is on the 1870 Perry Co, KY Census, listed as age 27, with Nancy, age 25.
William Fields is: 106 i.
William Fields is back for his third year at cornerback.
William Fields is a musically inclined blogger who has me envious of his keyboards.
William Fields is: 10.
William Fields is working late with his family waiting when dark, shadowy strangers bust in and demand his 'research'.**
Bill Fields is a dynamic writer, teacher, and speaker He inspires good filmmaking.
Bill Fields is President and co- founder of The Surtec System, a company that develops and manufactures the latest surface technology in maintenance chemicals and equipment.
Bill Fields is out as president and chief executive officer of Hudson's Bay Co. after less than two years on the job.
Bill Fields is a ministry devoted to a Biblical approach healing to conflict resolution.
Bill Fields is located on US 60, at Olive Hill, Ky.
Bill Fields is a believer.
Bill Fields is the only proprietor who came close to making the bar successful, but any advantage he had was undone by liquor.
Bill Fields is still alive and kicking at his home "The Meadows" near Fayetteville.
** Apparently, I am in an issue of Spiderman!
Psst.. The Team Techno album is back online, available for download.
Notes from France. Observations, things I want to remember, etc. (in random order):
- Unusually white bright light in Pont-Aven (because further north?).
- Toilets with two flush buttons (one for big jobs, one for little jobs).
- Nearly impossible to get a to-go cup of coffee or tea.
- Lunch is sacred. Almost everything closes down from 12:00-2:00pm. Many go home. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day.
- Small, different cars. (Peugeot, Renault, Smart Cars, etc.)
- Hard to find good vegetables to eat (at restaurants). Almost everything is meat based or includes meat (lots of ham!).
- Had a salad with potatoes and mushrooms in it.
- Egg in the middle of pizza.
- Order of courses: (1) Cold dish (2) Main Dish (3) Salad and/or Cheese plate (4) Dessert.
- Preset "Menus" to order that include three or more courses (much cheaper this way).
- Amazing butter in Brittany. The only way I can describe it is that it tastes more "dairy-like".
- Sun was rising at 6am or so, and setting around 10:30pm. Extended twilight.
- Tea and coke are more expensive than coffee.
- Our rental car, a Peugeot "Partner", had smart windows. If you turn off the ignition and take out the key, but haven't opened the doors yet, you can still put up the windows.
- They give you much smaller portions of food at restaurants, but it always seemed to by just the right amount. There was never any left over or wasted food. The concept of a "doggie-bag" is completely foreign.
- Hardly any traffic lights in the smaller towns. Traffic circles everywhere.
- Brittany has a strong Celtic influence. Their music sounds very Irish (bagpipes, etc.) There is a small movement for Breton independence.
- They don't have toasters. They buy pre-toasted bread at the store.
- No yellow lines on the roads. All white.
- Detachable shower-head nossles. (You can pick it up, move it around, and aim it.)
- A few small towns had anti-nuclear waste signs at their borders, saying that they did not allow nuclear waste transports to come through.
- Public phones take rechargable phone cards (which are available everywhere), not change.
- Motorcycles and scooters zooming between traffic in Paris.
- Motorcycles with roofs.
- Very extreme tides (at Pont-Aven and Mont-St Michel).
- Lack of traffic cops driving through the country-side. I probably only saw one or two the whole time.
- Tip is already included in the price of the food.
- You have to ask for the check (most of the time). They will let you sit there for as long as you want.
- Separate room for toilet and separate room for sink/shower.
The subway in Paris had windows that you could open, allowing the breeze to blow through. This made riding in crowded conditions much more bearable.
- Some of the subway lines ran on tires, not rails.
- Kir = White wine with a shot of currant liqueur. Very common and yummy drink.
- Coke is very expensive. I once (accidentally) spent $5 on a large coke!
- Would occasionally encounter pee smells (in Paris). I saw two people peeing in public.
- Popular bright blue shutters on houses in Pont-Aven.
- Very mild weather. In July, it was around 65-75 F. France is on the same latitude as Canada.
- White asparagus.
- At home they drink coffee out of bowls, and often dip their bread in it.
- Little dogs everywhere. Sometimes in restaurants.
- Lots of people wearing scarves (including men).
- Art, galleries, huge monuments, beautiful buildings, statues around every corner in Paris.
- Baguettes everywhere.
- Lots of beautiful public places to just sit and relax and talk outside.
- Almost all cafes and restaurants had tables and chairs outside. They all faced outwards, towards the street.
- Restaurants, cafes and food places everywhere! Tons of places to eat.
- People eat dinner much later. Around 8-9pm.
- Street cleaner people everywhere, wearing bright green outfits (in Paris).
- Magnetic strip tickets for subway.
- Amazing street musicians in Paris. Accordian players!
Turning the Sword by Milenko Matanovic
Is art for museums and collectors, or does it belong in the streets? Could art help us turn away from mass–produced violence and ugliness, and give each of us ways to forge an imaginative and beautiful future?
The France photos are now up. I put them all on one page so it may take awhile to load, but it should load as you go, from the top down. Let me know if you're having trouble seeing them.
I'm back. We had a wonderful time. Pics up soon.