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Entries for December 2005
New vocabulary word: ba-donka-donk, an “expression for
New vocabulary word: ba-donka-donk, an “expression for an extremely curvaceous female behind”. Picked up from the Weeds marathon I watched while sick.
I missed this while in Asia last
I missed this while in Asia last month, but AT&T has a new logo, which is pretty much the same as the old one.
Speaking of the Mona Lisa, scientists have
Speaking of the Mona Lisa, scientists have discovered through the use of emotion-recognition software that she was indeed happy.
A digital rendering of the Mona Lisa
A digital rendering of the Mona Lisa from 1964. In the detail view, you can see how it’s made up of the digits 0-9, perhaps the world’s first piece of ASCII art?
If Mike Wallace could question GW Bush,
If Mike Wallace could question GW Bush, he would ask him: “What in the world prepared you to be the commander in chief of the largest superpower in the world? In your background, Mr. President, you apparently were incurious. You didn’t want to travel …. Why do you think they nominated you?”
King Kong gets a slow start at
King Kong gets a slow start at the box office. This is kind of amazing to me…except for the length, Kong is almost a perfect movie for audiences to go see in the theater.
Shipping upgrades
This may just be the Nyquil hangover talking, but I’ve an idea. UPS, FedEx, USPS, and DHL should offer in-transit upgrades for package shipping[1]. I’m having something shipped and I realize that I would like it to arrive sooner than it is scheduled for. With computerized systems, they know exactly where that package is in their shipping system…it seems simple in theory to pluck it from its current route and get it going faster. The upgrade would probably come at premium price and not be a true upgrade in some cases[2], but it would be a useful (and potentially lucrative) feature.
[1] It’s possible that this is already possible. In the grand tradition of weblogs, no real research has been done.
[2] If you’re two days into waiting for a 5-7 day ground shipment from UPS and want it the next day, it may take a bit to get it from a semi in the middle of Montana onto a plane to Miami, i.e. not truly next-day.
Surowiecki on the sorry state of the
Surowiecki on the sorry state of the US patent system. “Since the [USPTO] is funded by patent fees, as opposed to getting its budget from Washington, it has a financial incentive to process applications as quickly, rather than as diligently, as possible.”
Witold Rybczynski on the success of Rockefeller
Witold Rybczynski on the success of Rockefeller Center as an urban project.
Top 10 nitpicked movies of all time. Titanic
Top 10 nitpicked movies of all time. Titanic and Jurassic Park top the list.
Winter cold
The cold weather and my schedule over the past two weeks has finally taken its toll and I’ve gotten myself sick. Don’t know how much I’ll be posting today…maybe a few links later in the day. For now, more orange juice and a warm blankie.
Subways and buses are still running in
Subways and buses are still running in NYC, but the Transport Workers Union has called for a partial strike that will start on private bus lines and if no agreement has been reached, will spread elsewhere.
The Dayton Daily “News” has a full-page
The Dayton Daily “News” has a full-page advertisement for King Kong right on the front page of the paper. That’s why they call it a journalism business, I guess.
Audio interview with John Lasseter (basically creative
Audio interview with John Lasseter (basically creative director at Pixar) and Ron Magliozzi, who helped curate the just-opened show at MoMA on 20 years of Pixar.
Interview with Richard Dawkins about religion, evolution,
Interview with Richard Dawkins about religion, evolution, and intelligent design. “If it’s true that [evolution and natural selection] causes people to feel despair, that’s tough. It’s still the truth. The universe doesn’t owe us condolence or consolation; it doesn’t owe us a nice warm feeling inside. If it’s true, it’s true, and you’d better live with it.”
Ken Auletta explores the recent troubles at
Ken Auletta explores the recent troubles at the NY Times in the New Yorker (interview with Auletta). As much as people complain about the liberal media, it’s hard to imagine a conservative magazine running a similar story about, say, Fox News.
King Kong
[Warning: there’s some spoilers in here.]
I don’t really know what to make of Peter Jackson’s King Kong. On the one hand, it’s a fantastic movie, a huge blockbuster, chock full of amazing special effects[1]. And not just that but an engaging plot, good acting, and a meaning beyond what’s happening on the screen. But Kong is also very cheesy, like Michael Bay-grade cheesy. Cheesy but not schlocky, which leads me to believe it’s intentional on Jackson’s part, an homage to the original Kong and other 30s swashbuckler romance adventure pics. In that respect, Kong is like Star Wars, a corny film that works because it’s supposed to be a space opera, not a serious dramatic film.
The other thing I was thinking of while watching the film was how easy it is to be cynical about this film. At its core, Kong is a love story between an ape and a woman…how can you not make fun of that? Some of the special effects sequences are probably over-long and implausible. The 30s-style moviemaking is ripe for snark. But judging from the reaction of the NYC audience I saw it with, Jackson made it work[2]. Just before Kong runs amok at the end of the film, a character remarks that Carl Denham (Jack Black) destroys the things he loves. There are many possible lessons contained in that statement, but perhaps the one Peter Jackson had most in mind was its application to the cynicsm of Hollywood filmmaking. His last four films have been hugely merchandised, expensive to make, and made him rich, but when you watch them it’s clear that Jackson really really loves 30s movies, fantasy, filmmaking, Tolkien’s books, and King Kong…and he celebrates the things he loves. As long as Jackson stays true to what he loves, I’m willing to cut him some slack and resist the contemporary urge to be cynical about everything and let him entertain me.
[1] The 30s New York scenery was awesome but a little disctacting for me…I was often too busy trying spot local landmarks to follow the human/ape action onscreen. And the Empire State Building; it’s amazing how much taller it was than all the other buildings in Midtown at the time.
[2] With a couple of exceptions. When the pond slugs (or whatever they were) and the giant insects were descending on our heros after a solid 1/2 hour of being chased by several other kinds of animals, I (and some others in the audience) just had to laugh…it was just so absurd.
A museum of pull-down menus, for US
A museum of pull-down menus, for US states, currency, colors, etc. (via do)
New Swiss banknotes, the result of a
New Swiss banknotes, the result of a design competition, feature an embryo, the AIDS virus, and a skull. “Considering the history of Swiss banking, one cannot help but make the connection between the gold bar on the 1000-Franc bill (the gold of African dictators hidden in Swiss vaults) and the skull on the same bill (that of their victims).”
Author Michael Pollan is coming out with
Author Michael Pollan is coming out with a new book next year called The Omnivore’s Dilemma, based in part (or excerpted from?) on his 2004 article in the NY Times Magazine, Our National Eating Disorder.
I’ve got the webcam on today for
I’ve got the webcam on today for awhile.
Update: observe my three work modes.
“Films whose ‘fans’ are more annoying than the film itself”.
“Films whose ‘fans’ are more annoying than the film itself”.
Video of a building super catching a
Video of a building super catching a baby tossed from the 3rd story of a burning building. I’ve never seen such shameless maneuvering for a Christmas tip in all my life!
Slideshow of photographs by Annie Leibovitz documenting
Slideshow of photographs by Annie Leibovitz documenting the building of The New York Times Building in NYC. (thx, michael)
The top movie robots of all time,
The top movie robots of all time, including #5 and the Iron Giant.
Google search for “i don’t read kottke”
Google search for “i don’t read kottke” versus a search for “i don’t read boing boing”. Nottke** wins, 39 to 37! Sit on it, Cory!
** Nottke = not Kottke, coinage by John Gruber.
How Seed magazine’s web site was built
How Seed magazine’s web site was built using Movable Type. It’s not just for blogs anymore. (via airbag)
Milton Bradley’s secret invasion orders for the
Milton Bradley’s secret invasion orders for the attack on Boston Harbor.
On Christmas, “the holiday season”, and the
On Christmas, “the holiday season”, and the oppression of Christians. May be NSFC (not safe for Christians). (via 6f6)
Scientists have created photo prints from bacteria. “
Scientists have created photo prints from bacteria. “The results are not only much sharper than what can be produced with a photo printer, but also point the way to a new industry — building useful objects from living organisms.”
A list of iPhoto 5 annoyances. I wish
A list of iPhoto 5 annoyances. I wish iPhoto were as finished a product as iTunes is. (via df?)
If you’re looking for a Christmas tree
If you’re looking for a Christmas tree in NYC, here’s a map of where they’re sold. (via sbj)
Top 10 (somehow expressed in 11 items) revolutionary special
Top 10 (somehow expressed in 11 items) revolutionary special effects movies of all time. Twister? Where’s Titanic?
Wow, an interactive transit map for NYC.
Wow, an interactive transit map for NYC. I haven’t kept up with all the Google/Yahoo Maps subway mashups, but this one is pretty impressive. Click start and end points and it tells you which subway to board and how long the trip will take, including walking time.
Trailer for Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, complete
Trailer for Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, complete with indie rock soundtrack. Juxapositionally delicious!
Jim Holt ponders the US population’s ignorance
Jim Holt ponders the US population’s ignorance of (and hostility toward) science “at a moment when three of the nation’s most contentious political issues - global warming, stem-cell research and the teaching of intelligent design - are scientific in character”.
The advantages of being in the weeds
eGullet recently interviewed author Michael Ruhlman and he had this to say about what he liked about working in a professional kitchen:
You can’t lie in a kitchen — that’s what I like most about it. You’re either ready or you’re not, you’re either clean or you’re a mess. You’re either good or you’re bad. You can’t lie. If you lie, it’s obvious. If your food’s not ready, then it’s not ready. If you’re in the weeds, its clear to everybody — you can’t say that you aren’t. So I love that aspect of it. I love the immediacy of it, the vitality of it.
I’ve worked in a number of different places over the years and the ones I ended up liking the least were the places that allowed people (myself included) to hide. Some companies just have way too many people for the amount of available work. Other times, particular employees have a certain status within the organization that allows them to determine their own schedules and projects. Deadlines are often malleable, meaning that work can pushed off. Inexperienced or nontechnical managers might not have a clue how long a task should take a programmer…budgeting 2 weeks for a six-hour task that seems hard buys one a lot of blog-surfing time. Companies with coasting employees are everything a kitchen isn’t; they just feel slow, wasteful, lifeless, and eventually they suck the life out of you too.
Explore the sounds of NYC’s Lower East
Explore the sounds of NYC’s Lower East Side on the Folks Songs for the Five Points site. (thx, david)
Review of David Foster Wallace’s Consider the
Review of David Foster Wallace’s Consider the Lobster compares him to Mark Twain, which I’d never heard before but seems apt.
Khoi Vinh reports on computer technology in
Khoi Vinh reports on computer technology in Vietnam. They’re wired for broadband and Windows still dominates.
Amazon/Alexa is opening up their index,
Amazon/Alexa is opening up their index, letting people access the raw data, processing power, and even the crawlers. What a huge idea. (via bb)
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