Monday, June 25, 2007
I know that Sopranos speculation is a couple of weeks old at this point, but this guy makes a really good case that Tony got whacked.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Thomas the NJ Transit Train (McSweeneys)
Thomas is a passenger train who works on the Northeast Corridor Line, shuttling commuters between New York City and Trenton. One day, in the Trenton station, Thomas sees two passengers quarreling. It appears to be a Trenton man and a woman from the city. The man wants her purse bad. He runs away with it, and Thomas speeds up to catch him. After a long chase, the man runs to Centre Street, commonly referred to by the police as "Cocaine Avenue." The Fat Controller tells Thomas to stop immediately and turn around. It isn't worth going into that area for one purse. Thomas goes back to the city, his head hung low. "Guess it should be, 'The World Makes, Trenton Takes,'" thinks Thomas.
Thomas is a passenger train who works on the Northeast Corridor Line, shuttling commuters between New York City and Trenton. One day, in the Trenton station, Thomas sees two passengers quarreling. It appears to be a Trenton man and a woman from the city. The man wants her purse bad. He runs away with it, and Thomas speeds up to catch him. After a long chase, the man runs to Centre Street, commonly referred to by the police as "Cocaine Avenue." The Fat Controller tells Thomas to stop immediately and turn around. It isn't worth going into that area for one purse. Thomas goes back to the city, his head hung low. "Guess it should be, 'The World Makes, Trenton Takes,'" thinks Thomas.
The Generals Report (New Yorker)
How Antonio Taguba, who investigated the Abu Ghraib scandal, became one of its casualties
How Antonio Taguba, who investigated the Abu Ghraib scandal, became one of its casualties
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
This guy really hates taxes.
"Do not under any circumstances make any attempt on this land. We will not accept any tomfoolery by any criminal element, be it federal, state or local," said Ed Brown in a press conference from the stoop of his concrete-clad home in Plainfield, N.H. "We either walk out of here free or we die."
"Do not under any circumstances make any attempt on this land. We will not accept any tomfoolery by any criminal element, be it federal, state or local," said Ed Brown in a press conference from the stoop of his concrete-clad home in Plainfield, N.H. "We either walk out of here free or we die."
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
eBay-Nomics
Now, however, economists and other social scientists are as likely to be interested in the quirks and inefficiencies of auctions -- and the irrationality of bidders -- as in their elegance. And since eBay, the hugely successful online auction site, offers a mountain of data about sellers and bidders every day, its glazed-eyed devotees are the guinea pigs for this new wave of research.The new work -- call it "eBay studies" -- highlights the degree to which human psychological quirks, and not just supply and demand, drive auctions.
Now, however, economists and other social scientists are as likely to be interested in the quirks and inefficiencies of auctions -- and the irrationality of bidders -- as in their elegance. And since eBay, the hugely successful online auction site, offers a mountain of data about sellers and bidders every day, its glazed-eyed devotees are the guinea pigs for this new wave of research.The new work -- call it "eBay studies" -- highlights the degree to which human psychological quirks, and not just supply and demand, drive auctions.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
The London Olympics logo is some designer's joke, right?
Looks like the took the 'edgy' thing literally. I see the SS, or an unsolved child's shape puzzle. 400,000 pounds. Tell me it's a joke. Really.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Putting a face on corporate greed.
If you've ever wanted solid evidence supporting all of the complaining that citizens groups do about how lawmaking has been utterly compromised by special interests, look no further than AT&T chief Ed Whitacre's parting rant to his board on the topic of outlawing Net Neutrality:
“With all of our generous campaign contributions, I’m quite certain that Congress will see it our way,” he said during his farewell speech. “Who else they gonna listen to? The public?!?”
and how about this little gem?:
“Will Congress let us do it?” Whitacre asks his colleagues. “You bet they will — cuz we don’t call it cashin’ in. We call it ‘deregulation.’ ”
Jawdropping.
If you've ever wanted solid evidence supporting all of the complaining that citizens groups do about how lawmaking has been utterly compromised by special interests, look no further than AT&T chief Ed Whitacre's parting rant to his board on the topic of outlawing Net Neutrality:
“With all of our generous campaign contributions, I’m quite certain that Congress will see it our way,” he said during his farewell speech. “Who else they gonna listen to? The public?!?”
and how about this little gem?:
“Will Congress let us do it?” Whitacre asks his colleagues. “You bet they will — cuz we don’t call it cashin’ in. We call it ‘deregulation.’ ”
Jawdropping.
''We are in a war with terror, we will do whatever is necessary to fight terrorism.''
Now the Turks are using this B.S. line to march into Iraq to kill their bogeymen - the Kurds.
(nytimes)
Now the Turks are using this B.S. line to march into Iraq to kill their bogeymen - the Kurds.
(nytimes)
Stop King Coal
It's the greatest single threat to solving the climate crisis in a decade. It sounds crazy. But Congress is rushing through a package that could lock us into liquid coal as our country's new energy source for transportation. For every mile driven, coal-based fuels produce as much as twice as many greenhouse gases as petroleum.2 That means even a Prius would drive like a Hummer
http://pol.moveon.org/stopkingcoal/one_click_sign.pl?id=10484-8000014-8RAymB&t=3
In the next few weeks, Congress could vote to DOUBLE the amount of greenhouse gases America produces from our cars and planes.1
It's the greatest single threat to solving the climate crisis in a decade. It sounds crazy. But Congress is rushing through a package that could lock us into liquid coal as our country's new energy source for transportation. For every mile driven, coal-based fuels produce as much as twice as many greenhouse gases as petroleum.2 That means even a Prius would drive like a Hummer
Sign the petition to make Congress reject it's gift to the coal industry:
http://pol.moveon.org/stopkingc
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
In other news, distrust-inspiring Bush tries to convince Russia that he knows what he's talking about, and comes off looking like a total amateur with a string of quotes so simultaneously stupid and arrogant, it boggles the mind.
“My message will be Vladimir — I call him Vladimir — you shouldn’t fear a missile defense system,”
(really? I thought he called him Pootie-Poot?)
After this display of buffoon-statesmanship, we're lucky if Moscow doesn't double their missile order.
“My message will be Vladimir — I call him Vladimir — you shouldn’t fear a missile defense system,”
(really? I thought he called him Pootie-Poot?)
After this display of buffoon-statesmanship, we're lucky if Moscow doesn't double their missile order.
The Profit Calculator (NYMag)
This city makes money, loses money, houses money; lately, with luxe condos stacking up like casino chips along the waterfront, the city looks like money. What’s amazing, then, is how little we truly know about the inner workings of this beast we feed, and milk, daily: How does New York make its money?
This city makes money, loses money, houses money; lately, with luxe condos stacking up like casino chips along the waterfront, the city looks like money. What’s amazing, then, is how little we truly know about the inner workings of this beast we feed, and milk, daily: How does New York make its money?
Monday, June 04, 2007
The bill to make gasoline price gouging a federal crime has been weakened by oil industry lobbyists and their Republican cronies to the point that it would be unenforceable in it's current state.
Send a letter to congress (via moveon) requiring them to strengthen the language of the bill.
Send a letter to congress (via moveon) requiring them to strengthen the language of the bill.
Some amazing pen and ink work from GoldenAgeComicBookStories. The site features pulp and ad-art as well as the eponymous content.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Hate to say it, but Microsoft Surface looks pretty cool.
Video demos:
Teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u3g4pXdXRo
"The Magic"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYrJ1IkPNLc
"The Possibilities":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP5y7yp06n0
Video demos:
Teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u3g4pXdXRo
"The Magic"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYrJ1IkPNLc
"The Possibilities":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP5y7yp06n0
Apparently, the Bush administration doesn't mind getting false positives among the law-abiding citizen population when looking for "terrorists".
The same folks, however, will under no circumstances tolerate false positives when ID'ing cows.
The same folks, however, will under no circumstances tolerate false positives when ID'ing cows.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
To be fair, responsibility for the war's continuation now rests no less with the Democrats who control Congress than with the president and his party. After my son's death, my state's senators, Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry, telephoned to express their condolences. Stephen F. Lynch, our congressman, attended my son's wake. Kerry was present for the funeral Mass. My family and I greatly appreciated such gestures. But when I suggested to each of them the necessity of ending the war, I got the brushoff. More accurately, after ever so briefly pretending to listen, each treated me to a convoluted explanation that said in essence: Don't blame me.
To whom do Kennedy, Kerry and Lynch listen? We know the answer: to the same people who have the ear of George W. Bush and Karl Rove -- namely, wealthy individuals and institutions.
Money buys access and influence. Money greases the process that will yield us a new president in 2008. When it comes to Iraq, money ensures that the concerns of big business, big oil, bellicose evangelicals and Middle East allies gain a hearing. By comparison, the lives of U.S. soldiers figure as an afterthought.
Memorial Day orators will say that a G.I.'s life is priceless. Don't believe it. I know what value the U.S. government assigns to a soldier's life: I've been handed the check. It's roughly what the Yankees will pay Roger Clemens per inning once he starts pitching next month.
A must-read belated Memorial Day letter from a father who lost a son(Washington Post)
Sunday, May 27, 2007
No Honor No Degree for Andrew Card (youtube)
Every once in a while, someone from the despicable Bush administration crawls out of the isolation of his information-proof bunker and hears what the public really thinks.
Card last made press when it was revealed that he pressured a then-critically ill John Ashcroft - in his hospital bed - to reauthorize Bush's illegal secret domestic wiretapping program.
Every once in a while, someone from the despicable Bush administration crawls out of the isolation of his information-proof bunker and hears what the public really thinks.
Card last made press when it was revealed that he pressured a then-critically ill John Ashcroft - in his hospital bed - to reauthorize Bush's illegal secret domestic wiretapping program.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
The crack editorial staff at the Daily Jive is always out looking for oddball audio clips... Despite the pervasiveness of youtube and the gazillion or so audio blogs, true weirdness is getting harder and harder to come by. What promises to be interesting often turns out to be half-assed attempts at cutesy irony, or annoying geek humor.
So - we were delighted to find The Shemp Tapes on WFMU's blog.
Here's the description:
A microphone pointed in the general direction of a TV set unspooling videotaped Shemp-era Three Stooges two-reelers, quarter-inch reel-to-reel Ampex tape running down the hallway at seven and a half inches per second--Mousetrap-like, speeding past pencils sticking out of thread spools held down to the floor with duct tape, bounced into two reverb guitar pedals, ricocheted into a Radio Shack 4-track mixer and then knocked back into the Old Man's reel-to-reel Sony Furshluginner from Nineteen-fifty-something. What led to and what happened after that, I couldn't tell you--especially today. I was on a sleepless Shempified mission back in my clueless youth and fully under the impression that I was not alone. I listen back to these tapes and wonder what the hell I was thinking about. I realize now that neither mind nor flesh could resist the ethereal Eee Beee Beee Beeee--the calls to arms for chucklefucks everywhere to rise and to conk their collected coconuts to the funny sound effects glory of OW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!!
I'm warning you - this is the most batshit-insane audio you'll ever hear.
Shemp in Pain: http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/MS/PAIN.mp3
Put it in the mix at full clockwise at your next barbeque, and watch the fun blossom.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Summer 67, 40 years later
A series of articles on the Summer of Love from the San Francisco Chronicle
A series of articles on the Summer of Love from the San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Mingering Mike - Imaginary Soul Superstar
I just checked out the new book that catalogs the 1968-1977 discography of Washington D.C.'s Mingering Mike, and I'm blown away by the man's commitment to a career that never existed. I've known people that never worked half as hard at jobs they were paid for. Mingering Mike created an astonishing array of artwork for singles, albums, and soundtracks - none of which he ever recorded, or even intended to record. Through his magic-marker artwork, you can trace the career of a would-be showbiz dynamo, as he cruises effortlessly from soul to funk to disco to the white satin champagne jams that drive ladies wild. We should all minger so well. I wonder what his imaginary backing band is doing these days?
Get it.
NPR covers Mingering Mike
Friday, May 18, 2007
Four must-see videos from late-50's brother-sister rockabilly act, the Collins Kids:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIyLA81eLr8
Thanks, Daddy-O.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
Thanks, Daddy-O.
"This chamber is, for the most part, silent—ominously, dreadfully silent. There is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay out for the nation the pros and cons of this particular war. There is nothing. We stand passively mute in the United States Senate."
Sen. Robert Byrd, D, WV, prior to the Iraq invasion.
From the forthcoming book "The Assault on Reason" by Al Gore, excerpted in Time
Sen. Robert Byrd, D, WV, prior to the Iraq invasion.
From the forthcoming book "The Assault on Reason" by Al Gore, excerpted in Time
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Taking the fantasy out of fantasy football
50,000 MyFootballClub members are about to bid for an English football club. They will make history together, voting on team selection and on which players to buy and sell.
Members will attempt to guide the club up the leagues, sharing equal ownership and control. Just like a football management game – but for real
50,000 MyFootballClub members are about to bid for an English football club. They will make history together, voting on team selection and on which players to buy and sell.
Members will attempt to guide the club up the leagues, sharing equal ownership and control. Just like a football management game – but for real
"Tinky Winky sad whenever someone dies, but ..." He left it hanging there.
Tinky, you're too kind. Good riddance.
Tinky, you're too kind. Good riddance.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Microsoft is making noise about Linux patent violation again. (money)
Well worth reading.
And here's a nugget of that Ballmer charm we've all come to expect:
No wonder software developers with a soul hate Micro$oft so fiercely.
Well worth reading.
And here's a nugget of that Ballmer charm we've all come to expect:
In the meantime, with Microsoft seemingly barred from striking pacts with distributors, only one avenue appears open to it: paying more friendly visits to its Fortune 500 customers, seeking direct licenses.
If push comes to shove, would Microsoft sue its customers for royalties, the way the record industry has?
"That's not a bridge we've crossed," says CEO Ballmer, "and not a bridge I want to cross today on the phone with you."No wonder software developers with a soul hate Micro$oft so fiercely.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Trikke - Cool human powered trike based on using angular momentum for forward propulsion.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Gone (mother jones)
It is a fact widely accepted by biologists but little known by the population at large. By the end of the century, half of all species on Earth may be extinct. Who will survive the world's dwindling biodiversity, and why?
It is a fact widely accepted by biologists but little known by the population at large. By the end of the century, half of all species on Earth may be extinct. Who will survive the world's dwindling biodiversity, and why?
Saw Fernando Orellana'a Drawing Machine v2 at the Science Center artbots show in Philly yesterday. A really cool concept.
Fernando - If you're reading this, change your bic! It's out of ink.
Fernando - If you're reading this, change your bic! It's out of ink.
“The art world is the biggest joke going,” he has said. “It’s a rest home for the overprivileged, the pretentious, and the weak.”
Banksy profile in New Yorker
Banksy profile in New Yorker
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
An amazing short from studiosmack that shows the ubiquity of urban advertising in high contrast
(via coudal)
(via coudal)
Monday, May 07, 2007
What does $456 Billion buy?
Including the $124.2 billion bill, the total cost of the Iraq war may reach $456 billion in September, according to the National Priorities Project, an organization that tracks public spending.
Including the $124.2 billion bill, the total cost of the Iraq war may reach $456 billion in September, according to the National Priorities Project, an organization that tracks public spending.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Friday, May 04, 2007
If you're in or near Philly tonight, come see my band Jet Weston and his Atomic Ranch Hands play at Whiskey Dix on N.7th tonight at 10PM! Say hey! I'll be the guy on upright bass.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Ceiling height affects how you think, feel, and act
(via lifehacker)
“When a person is in a space with a 10-foot ceiling, they will tend to think more freely, more abstractly,” said Meyers-Levy. “They might process more abstract connections between objects in a room, whereas a person in a room with an 8-foot ceiling will be more likely to focus on specifics.”
(via lifehacker)
“When a person is in a space with a 10-foot ceiling, they will tend to think more freely, more abstractly,” said Meyers-Levy. “They might process more abstract connections between objects in a room, whereas a person in a room with an 8-foot ceiling will be more likely to focus on specifics.”
Freedom of information not so free. Cryptome was recently shut down by it's ISP, Verio - with no explanation.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
The Blues: Having different words for light and dark blue may affect how we see them (Nature)