April 25, 2008

I don't even wanna feel like I did that day.

I'm pretty much a Rock and Roll sort of guy. And Jazz. I love Jazz. For a couple years, though, I've been feeling like a Sinatra fan in the time of the Beatles. But if a major presidential candidate can make a hip hop reference and expect that his audience will get it... I must be like a Sinatra fan in the time of Green Day.

Off to Download some of this "Jay-Z" guy. I hear he's awesome.

Posted by Andrew at 10:12 AM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2008

We promise we're not wasting trees

If aliens ever land and give us, I dunno, an hour to justify our continued existence as a species, We could do _far_ worse than to let them watch some improv-everywhere.

Posted by Andrew at 02:47 PM | Comments (0)

March 05, 2008

Happy birthday to me!

Today I am 30 years old. I'm off to do fun and interesting things. You get a song:

Posted by Andrew at 09:07 AM | Comments (0)

February 28, 2008

Poor fool

Toots over at gay gamer relates an amusing tale.

Basically, some schmuck tries to pick up on random girls on PSN. Girls who are, you know gaming. Girls who are hoping to kick noob ass, not be picked up like a piece of one. Instead he tries to hit on runs into a very gay, very male person.

Perhaps the young boy was simply manifesting unconscious desire for members of his own gender. Nothing wrong with that...

Posted by Andrew at 09:43 PM | Comments (0)

October 30, 2007

Something I've often wondered about...

I often see women walking down the street carrying a Victoria's Secret bag. Since it can't possibly be the case that some woman coming from a residential neighborhood and going to a commercial one, well anyway. These bags are almost always being used for things like lunch, or other type of auxiliary baggage. I never see other types of bags used for this.

Why Victoria's Secret? Is it the status thing? If so, why not Nordstrom? Is it a way of declaring (subtly) something about the woman's sexuality? If so, why do I not see Fredrick's bags? Is it something about the bag itself? Does the bag have intrinsic qualities which make it superior for holding day to day items? This is my leading theory at the moment-- those bags really do seem sturdier than other bags.

Except... Now that I think about it, Apple Store bags are-- very different-- equally sturdy. Perhaps the relative dearth of Apple Store's accounts for this. Still, the "sturdy" theory seems most likely.

So: I wonder Does VS know the use to which their bags are being put? If so, do they encourage this bit of free advertising? Or does it cheapen the brand by making their wares seem more common? The questions never end...

Posted by Andrew at 07:07 AM | Comments (2)

October 15, 2007

Mere Christianity

I grew up in the Catholic Church, and never rejected it.* The church I grew up in taught me that being fully human was to fully love. They taught me that there are many paths to this, and that going there through Jesus-- the Church, was the only certain way. This song is exactly the sort of Christianity I grew up on:

It angers me greatly that for many people this sort of Christianity alien, weird, wrong. Too many of my friends believe that Christianity is about hate. Based on their experiences, they are right. Christianity has been stolen; the Pharisees are having their revenge. I'm looking forward to the day that someone kicks them out of the temple...

(Youtube video Via

*I did come to realize that I did not believe that Jesus ever walked around. And since that's a necessary precondition for Christianity, I was out...

Posted by Andrew at 08:42 PM | Comments (0)

October 07, 2007

Let's play: What if?

Posted by Andrew at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)

August 14, 2007

Funny

Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Posted by Andrew at 08:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 09, 2007

Intellectual's Property

I'm not a copyright lawyer. I am a political theorist-- a non-practicing one with the smallest degree one can have and still call oneself a theorist. Indeed, my old political theory professor would probably have a stroke hearing me call myself a political theorist. Nonetheless, some things are very, very basic. Like the basis for intellectual property protection...

I once had (my then congress critter) Richard Pombo explain to me that copyright was basically like any other form of property, and therefore deserved the exact same protection as A) your jewels, B) your house, or C) anything else you might own. I started voting against him right away...

The US constitution is very clear on why we have IP protections: "To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;" (US Constitution Article 1 section 8).

Matthew Yglesias sums this up very susinctly: "The idea of copyright is not that creators deserve your money, but that you, the citizen, deserve a world in which creators have incentives to create."

Every time we are asked to set aside certain memes for the exclusive monetization of others, we must first ask "who is it that is not able to be creative in the current environment?" American Society is currently producing more and better memes than anyone else in the history of the planet. That's a pretty strong argument for the status quo...

Posted by Andrew at 08:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 28, 2007

Never gonna get ahead saying "yes" to the man...

Posted by Andrew at 02:38 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

July 26, 2007

Let's be facebook friends!

Posted by Andrew at 03:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 25, 2007

Lego goodness!

There's more...

Posted by Andrew at 03:23 PM | Comments (0)

July 05, 2007

More revolutionary goodness

We on the left are often told that we ought not say certain things, or talk about certain issues, for fear of offending certain powers.

George "W" Bush has committed impeachable crimes, and has failed to discharge his duties in a manner consistent with his constitutional duties. Universal health care is consistent with the finest American traditions...

I feel better now...

Posted by Andrew at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)

July 03, 2007

An experiment

In the English language, we are taught to use the masculine as the default indefinite gender, and only specify female when the person is known to be female. Feminists have argued that this "otherizes" women, and leads to abuse. Anti-Feminists have said that this is nonsense, and that anything else is an abuse of language, and feminists should just get over themselves...

I have decided that for the next month, whenever I don't know the gender of a person-- or if the gender doesn't matter-- I will assume the feminine. I don't know what will be the outcome, but I'm curious to find out. Anyone else want to join in?

Posted by Andrew at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)

April 30, 2007

Possibly the best bit of writing ever

Lawyers, Guns and Money: Birthday Girl

Although I'm pretty familiar with the kinds of books and toys and foods Audrey prefers, there's quite a bit I don't know about my daughter after a full year. As near as I can tell, her political and social views are rather unformulated. I've apologized to her many times for helping bring her into the world during a Bush presidency, but I can't tell if any of that matters to her. She did, however, emit a strange and almost joyful noise today when I was describing the results of the 1980 election. One of my students speculated that she might be a "future Republican," and I explained that since she has a grossly uncomplicated view of the world and spends most of her time thinking about her own needs, she probably already is a Republican -- but that once she acquires basic literacy, she'll grow out of it.

Posted by Andrew at 06:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 28, 2007

A new ERA dawns

New Drive Afoot to Pass Equal Rights Amendment

It really ought to go without saying: if you're born on American soil, or to at least 1 American parent, or have been naturalized, you're an American Citizen. Each American Citizen ought to have the same rights and responsibilities under the law as each other American Citizen. It ought to go without saying, but it doesn't...

There always seems to be some group, some class, someone, that many Americans think aren't quite human enough to truly be citizens. And so we have to go back to the constitution and fiddle with it a bit. Not much, just a little asterisk to remind lawmakers-- and others-- that women and minorities are human too...

Posted by Andrew at 03:04 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 26, 2007

The Hour is getting late...

I was 21 years old. I had never been to a concert. I told my father that had he not failed to raise me properly, this tragedy would have been avoided. Now, I told him, I had to pop my concert cherry in a truly spectacular fashion. I showed him the ad: Bob Dylan and Paul Simon were on tour together. He laughed...

The next day my Step Mom handed us tickets...

The thing is, I've seen Dylan since then. Playing everything from huge stadiums to (I'm not making this up) the UC Davis gym. His style keeps evolving

Say what you will about Hendrix-- no homage to his genius could be complete enough-- Bob Dylan is a master. I will never get tired of hearing him play. And All Along the Watchtower will always rival Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 for the title of "music piece I find most moving"...

Posted by Andrew at 08:14 PM | Comments (0)

March 20, 2007

a brief history of earplugs...

The peculiar pleasure of earplugs. - By Thomas Beller - Slate Magazine

posted without comment...

Posted by Andrew at 09:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 16, 2007

Roll of Honor

Every year, Slate Magazine puts together a list of the 60 most charitable people of the previous year. Humanity is better off for having these people. Slate is to be thanked for letting us know who they are...

Here is the introduction to the list. I highly recommend taking at least a cursory look at the list...

Posted by Andrew at 10:38 AM | Comments (0)

February 05, 2007

This spot made me a Coke fan for life

Why? Because they spent millions of dollars during the superbowl to remind America that it's black history month...

That's Awesome...

(anyone have any idea why "especially today"?)

Posted by Andrew at 01:06 PM | Comments (0)

January 24, 2007

Line of the Day

"Though, to be honest, Wikipedia could steal my girl, key my car, and salt my lawn -- and I'd still think I'm getting the better end of the deal."
- Ezra Klein

Posted by Andrew at 01:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

How did I go so long without having read this?

American Prospect Online - My Summer Reading Journal

Too much good stuff to quote. Just read the whole thing...

Posted by Andrew at 09:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 23, 2007

The power of now

I often ask myself why things weren't invented sooner. Steam power, for instance, requires some fairly complex alloys and the ability to create and sustain high temperatures for a long time. It wasn't until the 1800s that we had these things. California's Central valley couldn't become productive until it had reliable irrigation, and crops that would actually grow there-- 2 things that didn't exist until roughly 1930...

In that spirit, I present:
The Trench-run scene from Star Wars Episode IV: a New Hope
(done by hands)

In order to do this, you need A) cheap cameras, and B) a cheap way of finding an audience. It wasn't until roughly 2004 that these things came to exist...

Man, I love now...

UPDATE:
Cheep cheep cheep...

Posted by Andrew at 09:49 AM | Comments (2)

January 19, 2007

I want your meat, baby...

Meatlifting is a grave problem for food retailers: According to the Food Marketing Institute, meat was the most shoplifted item in America's grocery stores in 2005. (It barely edged out analgesics and was a few percentage points ahead of razor blades and baby formula.)

Why Americans love to shoplift meat. - By Brendan I. Koerner - Slate Magazine

At the Company Christmas lunch (catered in the break room), several of my colleagues decided that they could eat roast beef because "someone else was paying for it". Thus, I blame the rise of vegetarianism on the rise of meet theft...

Posted by Andrew at 09:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 18, 2007

I'd love to see the Data...

Nobel Intent: How does the brain handle numbers?

Posted by Andrew at 12:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 15, 2007

Thank you sir!

letter from a Birmingham jail

The Rev. Dr. King reminded us that every human is human. The fact that he had to was an indictment on our nation. The fact that he rose magnificently to the challenge is to his everlasting credit. Let us remind ourselves that by making him fight to prove he was a man, we lost his talents as president...

Posted by Andrew at 03:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 14, 2007

Just so we're clear

I'm rooting for the Saints. All the way, Baby, all the way...

Posted by Andrew at 09:03 AM | Comments (0)

January 01, 2007

Dada Lives!

BBC NEWS | Europe | French marchers say 'non' to 2007

This may be the greatest protest of all time. Against all time, also...

Posted by Andrew at 09:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 17, 2006

Person of the year:

Is literally a person. The
second person, in fact...

Posted by Andrew at 10:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 01, 2006

Recipe: Loco Moco

Some of you may know: for the last month or so, I’ve been seeing a rather wonderful woman. She’s smart—but dumb enough to date me--, funny, a student at Mills College, and eats only Kosher meats. Thank the gods I’ve got a recipe that’s A) vegetarian and B) tasty...

The Basics:
Serves:
I’ll give you the 1 person recipe.

Difficulty:
2 out of 5. All the ingredients have to be cooked separately, which makes the timing a bit tricky. Still, it’s hard to screw up any given ingredient...

ingredients
3/4 of white rice per person
1 patty (Veggie- or Ham- burger) per person
1/2 cup of brown gravy per person
1 egg per person

Optional:
1-2 slices of pineapple per person
1/2-1 cup of diced onion per person

Untested-but-sounds-tasty:
Garlic?
Bell Peppers?

It’s a Hawaiian dish called Loco Moco, and if you read the Wikipedia entry, you’ll note that it features a hamburger patty. I was introduced to the meal in its vegetarian form, and that (oddly for me) is how I tend to prefer it. By all means, however: if you want to make this dish using the more traditional slice –o- cow, I’ll recommend a quarter- to half- pound of beef per person...

The first thing we're going to is toss some music on the stereo. Since this is an
American food of Hawaiian origin, I’d recommend some Jack Johnson. Alternately, you could recall that the dish is both upbeat, unknown, and unsubtle fun, and go for some Kimberly Trip. Whatever you chose, do it quick: I’m starting to get hungry...

Now that we know what we’re listening to, we need to start some rice. There are lots of types of rice, and I won’t tell you which is best. It’s easy to make and hard to screw up. It adds bulk to just about any meal, and just about anything can be done to it. I use a ridiculously over sized rice cooker former GF picked up for me at a garage sale. I prefer rice cookers because you pour your water and rice in and then forget about it...

At this point, I’d just kill some time until the rice is about 5-10 minutes from being done. Unless you’re using a boiling pot of water on a stove, in which case I’d wait until the rice was done. Don’t worry, though: that’s why we picked out music first. This is also a good time to dice the onion, if you wanted to add that...

The next thing we’re gonna do is grab our McCormick Brown Gravy package. Pour a cup of cold water into a smallish pot. Open the package and pour all the powder into the water. Turn the heat on medium and start stirring. Keep stirring. Stir some more. Make sure you scrape the bottom as you stir. There will come a point when the gravy thickens under your whisk, and you will literally watch it change consistency. It’s actually kinda rad. Once this has happened, turn the heat off. Time to make us some veggieburgers...

The thing about veggieburgers: they’re so pulverized, pasteurized, and bastardized that they’re almost wholly unnatural. You can undercook them in the sense that they won’t be all the way thawed, but safety isn’t an issue. I don’t know why people think this is healthier...

Anyway, throw ‘em on a pan and put that pan on some heat. Medium, heat, if you please. When it’s been sizzling for about 2 minutes, flip. If you want to add your onions (already diced), now would be the time to toss them onto the pan with your veggiepatty. You'll want to stir them every minute or so, when they sizzle and turn opaque, they're done. Once they're done and the patties are done, turn the heat down so it's almost off. Let that be for another couple minutes...

Now we need to make an egg. Crack an egg into a small pan. Set that pan onto low heat. You’re done when the egg white turns, um, white (it’ll be sort of a clear yellow before this). When it’s done, turn the heat off...

Now, grab a bowl. No, not a serving bowl, an eatin’ bowl. Pour the rice into it, flip your veggieburger onto the rice, slide your egg on top (careful here, don’t break the yellow bit; unless you overcooked the egg, the yellow part is still liquid.), and pour some gravy on the whole thing. If you want to add some pineapple, this is an excellent opportunity...

Happy eating...

Posted by Andrew at 05:18 AM | Comments (0)

November 10, 2006

Exciting Conclusions about the Indigo Girls

I sometimes forget that I’m dating a lesbian. Since we were introduced by her Ex Girlfriend, you’d think I wouldn’t have any problems remembering. My memory cleared up a bit when she offered a ticket to the Indigo Girls show at the Warfield last night...

The opening act, Bitch and the Exciting Conclusions, provided an interesting perspective on the culture wars. In essence, this woman womyn perceives a very real problem: patriarchal norms have been attempting to kill her personality for most of her life. She reacts in a way quite normal and healthy when one is confronted with poison: she vomits it out. Unfortunately—and it really is unfortunate—no one enjoys watching others vomit. I think it’s this process which causes “Red” America to be so hostile to “Blue” America’s position on basic human rights: goodness, they must be thinking my options are A) everything I’ve ever known, or B) public vomiting. No wonder abuse at the hands of the patriarchy seems more appealing...

Then the Indigo Girls come out. In a pair of hours they showed not simply what resistance looks like, but what it means to be a fully actualized human being living under different rules. Indeed, with one of their most famous and popular songs Closer to Fine contains a few lines which neatly sum up why liberalism is necessary. Indeed, it sums up Liberalism is the best possible way of being:

There's more than one answer to these questions pointing me in crooked line The less I seek my source for some definitive The closer I am to fine.

When the crowd heard this song, we went kinda nuts...

Towards the end of the show, Bitch came back out and showed that she, too, knows how to rock. Her talent and enthusiasm married with the ‘Girls’ maturity (and also talent and enthusiasm!) was quite a beautiful thing to behold. I can’t help but feel that when she grows up a bit the musical world will have a major talent...

Posted by Andrew at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)

August 08, 2006

Compare and Contrast.

Governor Reagan:

Governor Brown.

Which do you think I prefer?

Posted by Andrew at 03:26 PM | Comments (0)

ad ditionally

Ad*Access
Remember those simpler times when governments told us that paying taxes
helped the economy, and was our patriotic duty besides? Me either. Still, it's interesting to read about...

there are thousands more ads. From every product category imaginable...

Posted by Andrew at 12:12 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 02, 2006

ok, yes. Much better Mel..

CNN.com - Statement from Mel Gibson - Aug 1, 2006

I have begun an ongoing program of recovery and what I am now realizing is that I cannot do it alone. I am in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display, and I am asking the Jewish community, whom I have personally offended, to help me on my journey through recovery.

I don't know why this is the problem of the Jewish community (obviously it's a problem _for_ them), but at least Mr. Gibson is recognizing that he didn't simply say these words in a vacuum...

If Mr. Gibson is sincere about seeing something ugly within himself, and if he is making an honest attempt to route it out of himself, I can only wish him well. Honest searching for stains on one's soul is a difficult and painful job. The Gods know I've done a lot of that sort of work in the past. It's never fun, but always rewarding...

Posted by Andrew at 12:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 26, 2006

Giving action to get action...

>Gizmodo, Smart Cards for Prostitues

It's not all free candy and soda pop for Mysore's ladies, however, given that the smart cards will hold their medical history. Obviously, the idea here is to encourage the prostitutes to get checked for sexually transmitted diseases more often. The smart cards will interact with an Indian computer known as a Simputer, letting doctors easily look up the prostitutes' medical data.(Update: fixed URL)

Posted by Andrew at 02:16 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 21, 2006

Rad

I/O Brush: The World as the Palette

Take a look at the video...

Posted by Andrew at 11:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 19, 2006

Happy Juneteenth!

On this day, back in 1865, a group of Americans found out that their government now considered them human. It’s sort of embarrassing that America didn’t say this (or mean it) on July 4th 1776, but better late than never...

So, if you’re an American, take a moment to celebrate this important date. Symbolically remove a pair of chains. Swear at a politician. Become a better citizen by studying a pressing issue in your community. Read your Constitution...

Posted by Andrew at 12:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 14, 2006

The complete plays of Shakespeare!

Explore Shakespeare with Google

Posted by Andrew at 01:10 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 09, 2006

White Stripes + Lego!

Posted by Andrew at 10:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 06, 2006

Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate

So today we Californians have our primary election. Being a patriotic American, I woke myself early in order to study candidates and propositions before heading on down to the old-folks home which serves as a polling center...

I know what you guys are wondering: what did he listen to on his way there? What song came on in the booth? Well here’s a special Election day edition of the Tuesday (non-random) several:

1) America (Santana)
2) Star Spangled Banner (Jimmie Hendrix live version)
3) American Tune (Paul Simon)
4) America, Fuck Yeah! (Team America Sound Track)
5) Back in the USSR (the Beatles)

Man, when Jimmie came on and I was surrounded by old people and he hits the distortion—reminded me of what I was doing in there. Rock and Roll is the official music of Freedom; Jimmie playing the anthem tells you why. I’ve never experienced the pain and dissonance of “rockets’ red glare” quite like Hendrix’s tune. Then he holds it so long, so laboriously, so... wildly—one begins to wonder if we ever will see our flag again...

Anyway. Go vote. And if you bring your iPod, let me know what you play...

Posted by Andrew at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)

May 22, 2006

Why movies suck

So: since graduation, I’ve been doing a lot of job searching. But between times, I’ve been doing a lot of reading, and working, and playing of the video games. I haven’t seen a single movie the theatre this whole time...

This is something that I’ve been thinking of quite a bit since Brokeback Mountain came around. I realized that I had no desire—none at all—to see a love story in cinematic form. And yet I am a sucker for romance...

The thing is, no movie can show a romance that works as well as the Monica/Chandler relationship on Friends. There is no way that I could ever feel about the movie cowboys the way I felt about Willow and Tara on Buffy. The thing is, relationships take time to evolve and mature. A single sitcom season has something like 4 times the amount of airtime as a 2hr movie...

And the situation is worse when it comes to Video Games—at least the good ones. To use a much over-used example, when Aeris died in Final Fantasy VII, it made stone weep. The only movie character whose death would make me feel even close to that emotion would be Serenity’s Wash—who I care about from his TV role...

To take a more congruent example: When Lucas wanted to show us the devastation wrought by an army of Clones in his 2nd episode of Star Wars, he had to balance that with the need to tell us the real story he was telling about the fall of Anakin Skywalker. We barely know about how the soldiers in that war behaved, thought, felt, lived and died. By contrast, when Star Trek told a story about killer clones, they gave us the Jem’Haddar, and were able to take several hours and devote them to nothing else. We know the Jem’Haddar are people in a way we just can’t about the Clone Troopers. This is not the fault of Lucas; he had to serve the cruel mistress Brevity...

When faced with other, newer forms of media, movies just fall short. Perhaps back in the bad old days of episodic television, a movie’s longer length would allow for fuller, deeper characters and plot. Today that is no longer the case. There is simply no way that a 2hr self-contained short can be as rich as a 22hr season of television—or a 80-90hr game. So pass me the popcorn—and the controller...

Posted by Andrew at 06:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 30, 2006

Welcome to America

So, you came to America? Found a job? Paid taxes? Peacefully assembled to petition the government for a redress of grievances? Learned our national anthem ?

As far as I’m concerned, you’re at least as American as I am. Welcome to America, we’re glad to have you...

Posted by Andrew at 12:07 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 11, 2006

why is this Knight like no other Knight?

The Two-Minute Haggadah By Michael Rubiner

Posted by Andrew at 03:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 03, 2006

The British have all the best ads.

What's interesting to me is that they probably don’t see this as exploitive, or "unsafe for children", but simply informative. This might say more about our culture than theirs...

(Via Dazed and Confucius, a blog you should read more often.)

Posted by Andrew at 11:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 22, 2006

School Email.

It’s been too long since I last posted. I get that. Sorry gang. But I do have some thoughts...
This Article on Student/Teacher Emailing is not really about Email. Rather, it is about “deference”. See, some professors want to be seen as nearly divine beings brought forth from the heavens to study abstract ideas and let students be near them...

One such instructor is UC Davis’ own Jennifer Schultens. It seems that an unfortunate student asked Dr. Schultens her opinion on what sort of organizational system to use. Dr. Schultens decided that the most appropriate response would be silence...

Was the student’s query inappropriate? Absolutely. But the instructor has a duty to help instruct students in a myriad of subjects—including proper decorum. An instructor can not only give information directly, but also help students by teaching them how to learn. Dr. Schultens failed in her most basic duty...

The broader issue is that Teachers and Students are involved in radically different experiences. At the University level, a Professor is paid to do research, a poor teacher who does research which reflects well on her University will not be punished for their inability to transmit information to Students. Students are tangential to the processes...

The thing is, Students don’t see themselves as tangential, we see ourselves as the center of the University. And so when you get a collision of these two colossal sets of egos-- 18 year old freshman and thirty something assistant professors—each seeing themselves as the center of the universe, each side can come across to the other as rude...

Two Aggies wronged each other in this exchange. Only one got a spot on the New York Times. Fortunately she managed to convey her own inexperience and unfitness in her own words...

Posted by Andrew at 02:17 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

February 17, 2006

Hot coffee? Please...

I just wanted a video game, not eternal damnation in hell.

Posted by Andrew at 09:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 19, 2006

Great moments in Theology

But the soft sell can easily seem like subterfuge. I, for one, want to know when a friend hopes I'll become a Christian (just as he should know that I am trying to make him a fan of American Idol).

Read the whole thing

Posted by Andrew at 04:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 30, 2005

The year that was 2005

BBC NEWS | Magazine | 100 things we didn't know this time last year

Posted by Andrew at 02:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

But what do lasers beat?

BBC NEWS | Magazine | Scissors, paper, stone - a strategic game

Posted by Andrew at 02:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 26, 2005

New Holiday Tradition.

Yesterday my stepmom made some rather good Latkes. They were delicious. From now on, she tells us, Potato Latkes will be a new Christmas tradition. I love my family...

Posted by Andrew at 11:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 21, 2005

Addition to the blogroll...

This blog was pointed out to me by someone I trust. And the content is good enough that I am simply sticking it right onto the blogroll. Of course, that’s relatively easy now that I am outsourcing my blogroll...

Posted by Andrew at 03:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 02, 2005

lucky them...

Real Life - The Online Comic �1999-2005 Greg Dean

Posted by Andrew at 10:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Chessboxing

By Hook or by Rook - Los Angeles Times

Velcro rips. Amok slides back into his Everlast gloves, bites down on his mouthpiece, dances along the ropes. His king's in trouble, and his punches couldn't knock lint off a jacket. Stoldt floats toward him like a cloud of big hurt.

Such is the bewildering beauty of chessboxing, alternating rounds of four minutes of chess followed by two minutes of boxing. Victory is claimed in a number of ways, some of them tedious, but the most thrilling are by checkmate and knockout.

Posted by Andrew at 09:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 23, 2005

So True

Ozy and Millie: Four hits

Posted by Andrew at 11:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 13, 2005

Print your own organs

Gizmodo - Bio-Ink

Posted by Andrew at 03:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 09, 2005

Actual Conversation:

Me: Come on, let’s get out of her
Friend: ...
Me: Hey ho, let's go Hey ho, let's go Hey ho, let's go
Friend: Don’t you have, like, 24 hours to go?
Me: Well, kind of. What you don’t know is that the KKK took my baby away...
Friend: Were you sniffing glue?
Me: Actually; lobotomy.

Posted by Andrew at 06:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 08, 2005

Child's Play

Penny Arcade!

For a coupel of guys who swear a lot—in public!—they sure do run a fine charity...

Posted by Andrew at 11:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 25, 2005

Vile Filth

archive

New to Unshelved? Check out our primer!

Posted by Andrew at 01:48 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

October 21, 2005

Friday 10

1) 50 Ways to leave your lover Paul Simon
2) Break on through (to the other side The Doors
3) Crosstown traffic Jimi Hendrix
4) Unglued Stone Temple Pilots
5) I am the very model of a Cartoon Individual Animaniacs
6) I’m a believer Smashmouth
7) Mental Instra Keller Williams
8) Whisper Not Bobby Hutcherson
9) Wings Fairport Convention
10) (Night Times Is) the right Times Ray Charles

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October 20, 2005

Whatever you say boss!

Man gets prison term to match Bird's jersey - NBA - MSNBC.com

I wonder how he’ll feel in 32 years...

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October 18, 2005

Oh my oh my!

Catholic Church no longer swears by truth of the Bible - World - Times Online

In the document, the bishops acknowledge their debt to biblical scholars. They say the Bible must be approached in the knowledge that it is “God’s word expressed in human language” and that proper acknowledgement should be given both to the word of God and its human dimensions.

They say the Church must offer the gospel in ways “appropriate to changing times, intelligible and attractive to our contemporaries”.

The Bible is true in passages relating to human salvation, they say, but continue: “We should not expect total accuracy from the Bible in other, secular matters.”

Something to keep in mind, this document was drawn up by bishops, not the Pope, and not “ex cathedra”, that is, it was done by men the church considers fallible. The whole document is what Cold Warriors would call “plausibly deniably”...

However, I will mention that this jibes well with what I learned growing up; that when I went to Catholic high school, I was taught the bible along these lines. Hell! I was basically told to ignore the book of revelations...

I do so very much hope that other branches of The Church come to this same point of view. Imagine the fun of the Southern Baptist Convention making a similar announcement...

(via Majikthise)

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October 10, 2005

Web comic, what is a

The Artistic History of Webcomics

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September 11, 2005

Attention Bibliophiles!

Cataloguing my library doesn't sound like a lot of fun. But I do want to know how many books I have, what kinds of books I have, and it would be nice to know what kind of condition they’re in. Also, a community of other users who share my interests would be able to recommend books to me. So, take a look at Library Thing. Join today-- the first 200 books are free-- and start typing in ISBNs. Oh, and here’s Me. Only a few books so far...

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August 26, 2005

In case you were curious

Klingon Fairy Tales.

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How much for the lesbians in the window?

How much to check out the Lesbians for an hour?

Actualy, that’s just a free part of a new innititive at one Holland library...

A public library in Holland has been swamped with queries after unveiling plans to "lend out" living people, including homosexuals, drug addicts, asylum seekers, gipsies and the physically handicapped.

No, no, not like that!

[continuing directly] The volunteers will be borrowed by users of the library, in Almelo, who can take them to a cafeteria, and ask them any questions they like for up to an hour, in a scheme designed to break down barriers and combat prejudice.

Basically, these people are being rented so that they can give specialized knowledge that most people wouldn’t have. Quite frankly, “what’s it like to have sex as a woman, let alone a lesbian, is something I’ll never know. This seems like a great program, it just needs to be taking up a notch. How would you like to be able to borrow an astronaut? Or a basketball player? Intriguing idea...

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August 24, 2005

Legoriffic!

For Lego, an Online Lifeline?

Lego is the world's oldest toy company, an analog enterprise wrestling with the more complicated digital world. In the last two years, the fabled Danish toymaker has lost nearly $500 million on $2.3 billion in sales, according to its latest annual report. But by focusing on the reinvention of its core construction toys for kids like Neal, Lego may have found a strategy to help turn around the 73-year-old privately held company beloved by children all over the world.

"It took us a couple of years to realize we were going down the wrong path," says Soren Torp Laursen, the 42-year-old president of Lego Americas. "We are back to our roots."

What Lego really needs to do is fix its fricking website. But it’s good to see the company still alive and kicking...

Thanks to Dazed and Confucius for the link...

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This can’t possibly be real.

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "Tyson Sued for Maintaining Segregated Work Areas:..."

In order for this to be real, Tyson would have had to decide that not only is segregation ok (I am doubtful someone would do that, but it’s possible), but also that they wouldn’t be sued (flatly impossible), or if sued, won (likewise). And they would have to get just about everyone up the chain to agree on all these conditions. Frankly, I think it more likely that whoever first suggests such a thing would get fired...

(Via Majikthise)

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August 21, 2005

Jack Johnson

Just saw his show. Opening act was pretty good. Some group called Animal Liberation Orchestra, which despite the name did a fairly good job. They’ve been playing together for a few years yet, and-- given the quality of the music-- I am surprised to have not yet heard them on the radio. A couple of their songs really could be 2006’s number 1 summer hit. I guess we’ll see where they go...

The main course, though, gods! Good show. If you’ve not listened to one of Jack Johnson’s songs before I wonder where you’ve been or what do you listen to. He is a good lyrists, and his guitar comes strait from Hawaii, which gives it a nicely different flavor. But live, man! That guy wails...

There was this little trick he kept pulling, where he would start playing one of his own songs, then work something else entirely in there. But he did it so skillfully, owned the whole thing so well; if I’d never heard either song before I wouldn’t have known there was any funny business going on...

It takes a good ear and a strong sense of self to pull something like that off. Mr. Johnson showed that he has both. I gleefully await the next time he swings into the area...

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August 19, 2005

Let’s see: Soda, Chips and Books...

Can't Wait for a Book? Paris Can Help

Readers craving Homer, Baudelaire or Lewis Carroll in the middle of the night can get a quick fix at one of the French capital's five newly installed book vending machines. [...] "Our biggest vending machine sellers are 'The Wok Cookbook' and a French-English dictionary," said Chambon, who added that poet Charles Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs du Mal" — "The Flowers of Evil" — also is "very popular."

Absolutely! My coworkers and I have talked about these sorts of things for years. Indeed, I see the day in the not-so-distant future when all you have to do is tell the machine what book you want, and it will be printed right there for you. Granted, it won’t be as high quality binding or paper as a pre-printed copy, but it would make sure that books never go out of print...

I am a bit curious who buys cookbooks at midnight. Oh well...

(via Ezra Kline)

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August 08, 2005

Year round schooling:

As I begin my second 6 week summer “session” (at UC Davis, the summer quarter is broken into a pair of sessions.), I am reminded of the carefree days of yore. Ah, the days when summer meant simply lounging about, doing nothin’ at all. Instead today, it’s either school or work-- or both. The weird part is that I am enjoying the hell out of my time in summer school. If I’d done this last year, I might be done by now...

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August 05, 2005

How about some Hot Coffee?

One upon a time there was a game called Medal of Honor. This game took place in World War 2, indeed the first scene of this game involved storming Omaha beach. This first level was particularly difficult, most players (or at least me) dying repeatedly as they tried to reach safety. Somewhere around the 10th attempt at finishing the first level, it hits you: grandpa did this...

This was a real, emotionally impacting moment, the sort of thing that good art aspires to. Perhaps if you’re historically literate, you remember pictures of Auschwitz, and realize that all the death is warranted. Mayhap memories of trying to take that damned beachhead inform your decision as to whether dropping the atomic bomb was a good idea. It did for me...

So, is it art? Of course it is. No real question at all. Given that it is art it deserves the highest level of first amendment protection. And given that this one piece (at least) is capable of being recognizable art, the genera as a whole deserves that same protection. Given that it does, congress needs to stick its nose out of things, and start looking at more important issues-- like perhaps the war we’re in...

Which brings me to Hot Coffee. There is a game call Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. This game follows the adventures of a young criminal as he does naughty criminal type things. Like stealing cars. And killing cops. For some reason, none of this actually got a whole lot of outcry. What set parents off was the possibility that their children might see some consensual sex. Clothed.

In order to see this clothed, consensual sex, players must first download a bit of software that alters the programming in such a way that certain content will be accessible. Then they have to play the game in a certain way, and do really well at it, to unlock this content. The content is, by all accounts, lame. So what’s the big deal?

Games have become a part of our culture in a very real way. They are capable of being soaring works of art, and of being dreck. For the sake of the art, we need to protect the dreck...

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June 27, 2005

Want!

I can�t imagine when I would ever use such a thing. Which doesn�t stop me from having intense technolust...

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June 16, 2005

Da Vinci Code = my store�s bottom line

But this guy hates America:

Why? Well, it'd go against one of the two rules by which my mother taught me to live life: Always Wait for the Paperback. (The other rule, in case you're curious, is: If There's Ever a TV Channel Called E!, Ignore It.) So I'm not about to sacrifice my principles and disappoint my mother now because of one lousy book that, from what I can tell from reading over the shoulders of people on the subway, is full of holes!

What do you mean, America = not the bottom line? Hrumph...

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May 30, 2005

Whee!

StarWars: Check!
Robert Jordan: Check!
Harry Potter: Check!
Harry Potter movie: Check!
George R. R. Martin: Check!!!

As my Girlfriend put it: everything that is in progress is progressing...

Now, if we can only get Steven Brust to finish something this year...

(Thanks to the Buffalo Bloger Jaquandor: Check!)

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May 28, 2005

Google Markets

Markets work by collecting data about who wants what, and how much they are willing to pay for it, then giving out incentives based on who can get what where and how efficiently. The trick, of course is to ensure that the incentives are properly aligned, but that is a whole separate issue...

Google works by constantly collecting data about what words are is related to what content, and how relevant they are. Google works not because of its much ballyhooed democratic impulses, but rather it�s market-like aspects...

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May 22, 2005

Vegetarian Porn

Veg 'porn' causes a stir

I can�t make this up. After watching the movie, I have to say that not only am I not convinced, I am actively going to avoid vegetables...

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May 20, 2005

Just a quick, spoiler free, thought on Star Wars:

What I find most amusing about Episode 2 is the fact that they worked so hard to get so few clones-- 500,000 is not very many at all. Indeed, America alone has 1.4 million active duty soldiers-- and we only have 1 planet to police, not thousands. Nor do we face virtually unlimited hordes of droids...

Not that the clones are without attraction. The Galactic Republic is shown to be utterly without a military, and they were available relatively quickly. Also, the idea of taking raw conscripts and fresh from boot camp recruits into battle against all those robots is enough to give any commander nightmares. Additionally, using clones to fight a war significantly reduces the costs of war-- who�s sons are going off do die? No one�s. Just some cones...

What really gets me is the ability to churn out military hardware. Building a Star Destroyer would just about bankrupt planet Earth as it is currently. Didja notice all those mini-destroyers at the end of Clones? And let�s not forget the walkers, the flying personnel carriers, etc that the clone army seemed to already have from minute one of the war. Perhaps the Clone Masters of Camino I have some sort of deal with the Weapon Makers of Camino II? Act now and you�ll not only receive our patented clone technology, but also all the equipment they�ll need to fight a war! How much would you expect to pay for this? Just good manners and lots of cash! Don�t hesitate, operators are standing by...

And the whole problem is magnified by the beginning of Episode III, where after 2 years of war and only no reinforcements, the Clone army seems to be manning a whole lot of equipment...

None of which will stop me from seeing the movie yet again...

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May 19, 2005

Revenge of the Sith=Awesome

Just so you know...

I�ll probably blog more about it in a week or two, just to give people time to have seen it before I spoil it...

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May 13, 2005

I hate to do this to a good man...

I'm not a "nationalist."

In an otherwise nice post, Mr. Weidner veers off on a tangent about "Leftists" that is just plain weird:

If you are a Leftist, you MUST be anti-American. You MUST oppose the idea that is America, because that idea is utterly opposed to (1)collectivism and statism, and opposed to the (2)belief that our rights are granted by government, or that the (3) interests of 'society" are worth the sacrifice of the individual. Many Leftists won't honestly acknowledge their enmity, but resort to sneaky formulas. and claiming to be "against nationalism" is one of them. It's a lie of course, none of them are bothered by French nationalism, or Swedish nationalism.... (numbers in parentheses added by me)

Huh?
There are a couple of points to each claim, A) that modern "leftism" embraces these claims, and that B) American Political Thought rejects them, or claims the opposite of what the point is. At least one of these claims is false for every point.

Point (1): "collectivism" and "statism" need better definition. Specifically, we need to know if he means that "there are some (non-defense) things the state can do better than individuals", or "anything an individual can do, a state can do better". If the Former, then perhaps he should look to the history of publicly funded navigational improvements (the canal systems), the publicly funded irrigation of the Midwest, or any of the dozen other ways Governments improve the lives of their citizens. If the latter, well, even the (few) Communists I know are convinced that markets are good things...

Point (2): It is true that a prominent Democrat once wrote "that they [men] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men" Of course, that Democrat was Thomas Jefferson, and he wrote it in the Declaration of Independence. So let�s take this a bit at a time...

Rights are "Endowed by [man�s] creator". Now, the "creator" could be "God", or "the Gods", or "the blind forces of evolution". The argument is the same-- rights are intrinsic to the human condition. The rights are "secured" (that is, made safe) by government. The rights that come from being Human are "life, liberty, pursuit of happiness" We call these "natural rights"...

Now, what about all the other rights, the "non-natural" ones like the "right" to vote? Well if they aren�t intrinsic to Humanity, they must come somewhere. That somewhere is either Society or the Government. Since the Government is the expression of a Society�s will, they amount to the same thing. So, yes, some rights do, in fact come from Government. Some of those rights are even in the constitution...

Point 3: Don�t we tell soldiers this all the time? Don�t we ask young men and women to go forth and die for our nation all the time? During the World Wars, our people would have been fine had we not gotten involved, but America would have been shattered as a concept. Did society not beg, exhort, and threaten it�s members if they didn�t "sacrifice" in its name? Bah!

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