Archive June 25 - July 8 2003
Tuesday, July 8
Y'know, with all the Hulk merchandising going on now, it was really only a matter of time before this happened.Two links from Futurismic: Fiona Williams of the Sydney Morning Herald has written a piece about science fiction's influence on technology. Also, the latest Whole Earth Magazine is about approaching singularity (including a piece on how to stop it). I find all of this fascinating, then again I may suffer from information addiction.Yes, people do some frighteningly disturbed shit with Photoshop, but folks in ages past managed to be way creepier. Monday, July 7
Recommended Readin': Roy A. Childs Jr's classic The Epistemological Basis of Anarchism has been reprinted on the web. Nick Marino is worried about the future of the electric bass guitar. Betty Kayton explains why she plans to home school her kids (when she has some). Jacob Sullum reminds us that marriage is not a government program. Simon Smith chimes in on Transvision 2003.Assorted Items: Oh how cute, baby's first tattoo. Here is a National Post story about the growing connection between art and dementia. You should also be aware of the dire threat posed by Dihydrogen Monoxide. Sunday, July 6
Two neat science tales, one of a possible NASA plan to put robots on space walk crews, and one about using "living machines" to replace damaged organs.Saturday, July 5
I spent yesterday at the Objectivist Center Summer Seminar in Waltham for some much-needed philosophical weightlifting and soul calibration. Met Paul Hsieh of Geekpress, who succinctly summed up the style of blogging we both persue with the line "you're a linker, not a thinker." Ha Ha, too true. Also got to hear a talk by Michael Huemer about critical thinking. I highly recommend Mr. Huemer's "Why People are Irrational About Politics."Persistance of Vision has posted a lengthy and disheartening list of scenes deleted from cartoons to make them "safer" for kids. (via Tom McMahon)Friday, July 4, Independance Day
I know you are wondering the same thing I am: Does the new Sideshow Toys Christopher Lee as Scaramanga figure have a third nipple? (scroll down for the answer)There are a number of inventive and exciting pieces of adult sex furniture on the market. Some look really fun. But please remember: "Never leave anyone un- attended in the Vac-Bed."Thursday, July 3
New in the "Pulps & Such" section of the Amazing Colossal Links Page: Adventure House, Lurid Paperback of the Week, Naughty Novels, and (my favorite) Babes in Space.Here's another cool look at what the future was supposed to be like courtesy of the MIT Architecture site.I like robots. I like'em freaky and old school. I am very psyched for Robota: The Reign of Machines, a book coming out by Lucasfilm artist Doug Chiang and author Orson Scott Card. Check out this preview gallery.Wednesday, July 2
Ron Bailey from Reason Online files his report from last weekend's Transvision conference. Meanwhile, if we take a look in the opposite intellectual and evolutionary direction, we see Scientologists asking for some of that federal faith- based grant money. Sigh.Philip at Three River Tech Review gets copious geek kudos for finding a couple of sites ded- icated to the breathtaking art of Warren Magazine mainstay Esteban Maroto. Yesterday Warren Ellis was a guest blogger at Reverse Cowgirl. I recommend not reading this anywhere near mealtime.Assorted Items: John Hodgman of the NT Times does a story about Atlas Shrugged being the key to a successful game of bridge. July's Artist of the Month at Quantum Muse goes by the singular name of Victory. Ben Blanchard warns us of the growing threat of pirated car designs. Zoe Williams at the The Guardian defines irony for us. Erick Schonfeld looks at the future of biotech Beyond the Genome. Adair Lara at SF Gate tells us of a small book store saved the old fashioned way, by its customers. Claude Lalumière at Locus reviews some new books, including Jess Nevin's Heroes & Monsters. Finally, just because I think it's a funny idea, here is the Virtual Rosary. I'm predicting online sacraments by the end of the decade.Tuesday, July 1
Comic Stuff: Slush Factory has an interview with artist Darick Robertson. Sharon Griffin of Fourth Rail talks about her involvement in the History Channel superhero special. Wizard, of course, has more comic book babes.News on some upcoming Neil Gaiman projects: Newsarama has a preview of the book The Wolves in the Walls while Comic Book Resources has the Marvel press conference about the mini-series 1602.Recommended Readin': Michael Berliner talks about the true meaning of Independance Day. Robert Tracinski warns us of the totalitarian side effects of the recent rash of bloated lawsuits. Both George Dvorsky and Mike Treder discuss rammications of nanotechnology. Marcus Bachler has some thoughts on the 100th birthday of George Orwell.Monday, June 30
At Reason Online Jacob Sullum examines the principles and procedures of this country's Anti- Pleasure Police. These folks are not to be confused with the organization People Against Fun.Sunday, June 29
Howdy. Transvision 2003 was great. Lots of tech-heavy discussion of nanotech, AI, and genetic modification. I got to hang with George Dvorsky and Simon Smith of Better Humans, listened to lectures by such futurist minds as Stuart Hameroff, Wrye Sententia (of the Center for Cognitive Liberty), and artist Natasha Vita-More (who gave a wild presentation on future bodies), and soaked up oodles of raw conceptual thought. Quite invigorating.It was also refreshing to be, quite literally, off-line for two whole days. I filled a notepad (and much heretofore unutilized brainmeat) with a lot of data and concepts that I picked up. Most of it will probably find its way to this blog in the near future.Assorted Items: The Washington Post (reg. req.) has a story about plans to revive Frank Lloyd Wright's 1957 plans for the revitalization of Baghdad. Red Nova shows us some state-of-the-art solar modeling. Retrocrush has a 70th birthday celebration for King Kong, including some shots deleted from the original film. El Jefe is tired. Must sleep.Friday, June 27
Assorted Items: Here's a rather creepy story from the Economist about the coming of the sentient office. The Guardian reports that art restorers are using bacteria to repair and uncover frescoes. For your edification, here's the Hipster Glossary and, if you need it, the Non-Hipster Glossary. I prefer jazz slang myself.Were you aware that your organs are a public resource? Read Julian Sanchez' piece on morality and the transplant system at Reason Online. Other liberty-related items: For those who tout the tenets of multiculturalism, we were sharply reminded this week that ritualistic murder (to win an election) and gang rape (to raise the population) are acceptable in certain cultures. Lastly I found this list of the Top 20 Libertarian films from a few years back. It doesn't have Year of Living Dangerously, Tucker, or Executive Suite on it, but it's fun nonetheless.Thursday, June 26
Assorted Items: According to Eric R. Danton of the Hartford Courant, an audience member at a recent Wilco concert pulled out a harmonica and started playing along during an acoustic number (scroll down for the story). Why he wasn't severely beaten has yet to be explained. Film Threat has an inter- view with the yummy Debbie Rochon. The SF Gate has a story about the first worker-owned strip club. Crunchland at Metafilter posted this nice gallery of vintage trading cards that feature genuine retro-steampunk Victorian Visions of the Year 2000.Signs of the Apocalypse: current freaky science stories include exotic fungi and alien earthworms reshaping the Earth, pet fish emitting a eerie glow, strange bird-men filling the skies, the mother of all matter being discovered, and the idea that the stock market can be divined via the nubile bodies of Playmates.Comic Stuff: Art Bomb has a preview of Scarlet Traces by Ian Edginton and D'Israeli. Newsarama has a preview of the neat-looking The Perhapanauts by Todd Dezago and Craig Rousseau. Wizard provides us with a nice Doctor Doom Guide. Joshua Elder of Slush Factory thinks trade paperbacks are hurting comics. Steven Grant discusses the artistic prosess of reinventing oneself at Comic Book Re- sources. Lastly, MonkeyBrain Books released Jess Nevin's Heroes & Monsters this week, collecting his exhaustive annotations to Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Go buy one.Figure Stuff: Some goodies on the horizon include more Kingdom Come figures, A Randy Bowen sculpted Mr. Natural statue, and a Harvey Birdman Attorney-at-Law maquette. Check out this sweet limited-edition G.I. Joe Enemy Ace boxed set. In one of the best contest ideas in recent years, Yog- Sothoth.com is holding a Design-a-Thulhu competition. Wednesday, June 25
Geekpress has found this 1895 8th grade final exam from a Selina, Kansas school that will make you weep. (Update: this was followed by a hoax alert.)This brutal, homoerotic rewriting of an old Hostess ad starring the Hulk is funny. It was done by Jim Treacher, who also teamed up with Steve Hogan to render this comic strip review of the Hulk movie. Assorted Items: I am uncertain how I feel about the fact that the French like Iggy Pop. On the other hand I am pleased that Spike Jones Jr. is sticking his nose into a certain profoundly retarded legal battle. Only the British would attempt such a Victorian feat as ballooning into space (link fixed--sorry). Nature has a story about a new form of transparent magnets. More info and opinion on the "Bright" movement here, here, and here.
