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December 31, 2004
Today's Links:
I love Mainichi News. "Year of the Monkey weirdness provides ideal transition into Year of the Cock" is one of their headlines today.. The story is just as funny as the title.
Apple to introduce sub-$500USD Mac? The rumour mill is buzzing. Here's a link to the google news search for updates on the story.
Posted by Hamish at 01:56 PM | Comments (0)
December 30, 2004
Today's Links
The Sumatran Earthquake tolls just keep mounting: Wikipedia is saying over 122,000 confirmed dead, 510,000 injured, 40,000+ missing, over 2 million displaced.
For those with access to a BitTorrent client, here's a link to a website with a torrent to a collection of amateur video of the tsunamis.
I've always been a fan of Jennifer Garner - the lanky star of ALIAS and Elektra. Here's a collection of high-res pics. (SFW)
A BBC Story about Jigsaw Rage - when 'border obsessives' meet 'opportunists'.
Posted by Hamish at 02:04 PM | Comments (0)
December 29, 2004
Today's Links
Here's a tourist video in RealMedia(ugh) format of the tsunami hitting a beach in Phuket, Thailand...
The BBC is collecting firsthand accounts of the tsunamis and their effects - the pictures I've seen so far have been devastating - but these stories put pictures to shame.
So far the Sumatran Earthquake toll has reached 82,351, with between 1.5-2 million people 'displaced' or, essentially, homeless. There are lots of aid links on the Wikipedia page.
The cynic in me wonders two things: One, in the aftermath of 9/11, the survivors of the 3,200 killed in the attacks received $657M in direct financial compensation. The airline industry fund created shortly after 9/11 by the US Government has mounted to $15 Billion... I'm not concerned with the cleanup or insurance costs - but the compensation to the victims, which averages out to $200,000 each, although some received over $1Million and others much less than $200,000... I wonder what kind of compensation the survivors of the Sumatran earthquake will receive? Even given that they are almost exclusively living in some of the poorest regions of the world, and given the incredible numbers of dead, I kind of doubt the survivors themselves will see much personal compensation at all. Which is not to say that they won't see any benefit, or 'silver lining' from the flood of relief aid that is amassing itself around the world...
Two - I read a terrific book a few years ago called "Everyone Loves a Good Draught", by Palagummi Sainath, which details in a series of newspaper articles by the author, how the federal, provincial and local governments of India mismanage funds that are intended to help the poorest of the poor by engaging in vanity projects and siphoning off funds to corrupt officials, etc. The point of the book's title is that there are many who benefit from the financial aid that rains on India when it has an 'event' crisis like a draught or, say, an enormous tsunami disaster - but the people who really need the aid often never see it. And it's not solely the fault of the governments, either - the rest of the world tends to be complicit in its eagerness to help - blindly giving cash without following what happens to it after it's been given. The solution seems to be to accompany the cash with workers and on-the-ground specialists who can talk to the people themselves to see what they need and how best to solve their problems. I would bet that India isn't alone in this kind of corruption - Thailand, Indonesia, etc... all have their own kinds of 'intricacies' built into their democracies.
None of this should stop people from donating or trying to help. We should just make sure that the agencies we donate to have a solid plan to deliver the aid.
On to the links:
iris.edu has a really spiffy World Seismic Monitor tool. Check it out - find out what's quaking around the world right now!
TV Cream's Top 100 Toys of the late 70's/early 80's - i.e. my g-g-g-generation's playthings. I don't agree with all of them... I mean, Weebles in at only #97? Where are the Micronauts? And what about Hot Wheels cars with orange snap-track? But this was a nostalgia ride nonetheless.
R.I.P. Jerry Orbach - died Tuesday at 71. He played Det. Lenny Briscoe on Law & Order, also the dad in "Dirty Dancing" - "Nobody puts Baby in a Corner!"... he also starred in a number of broadway musicals. He was the candlestick in Disney's Beauty & The Beast. Here's a link to Law & Order: Artistic Intent - a group art show with obvious subject matter - many of the Briscoe-inspired works are really good. I particularly enjoy "Standard Procedure".
Posted by Hamish at 09:05 AM | Comments (0)
December 28, 2004
Today's Links
The Sumatra earthquake (9.0 on the Richter scale - the greatest in 40 years) and the resulting tsunamis have provided the Internet an opportunity to shine in its ability to disseminate information quickly, if not quietly. Here's some of the better stuff I've found so far:
Some quick statistics: the death toll this evening sits around 68,000. Officials estimate it might pass 90,000+, with 1.5-2 million left homeless.
Digital Globe has stunning before and after satellite imagery of Kalutara, Sri Lanka during the tsunami.
Of course, a Wikipedia entry has been started for the quake/tsunami- including some stunning graphics.
Here's a blogger's dramatic account of the 'real sitation'.
Here's a 3-D animation of the quake from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Here's the same thing in 2-D.
If you want to help or need to know what's going on, this is a good place to start: The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog. It's a very good clearing house of links and info.
Of course, the US Geologic Survey has a page of their kind of statistics for the armchair geologists in the audience.
The Moderate Voice has a good collection of Asian bloggers' entries on the tsunamis - some include eyewitness photos.
The Washington Post (registration required) has an amazing story of a fellow who was swimming in the Indian Ocean off Sri Lanka.
Of course, Arthur C. Clarke lives in Sri Lanka... so many geeks are wondering if he's ok. Not to worry. He posted an update on his website.
For some recreational perspective on tsunamis - there are of course surfers in this world who enjoy riding tsunami waves - some of them taller than the waves created by the Sumatran event - but they don't usually have a 9.0 eartquake providing their energy. Surfline, one of the best surfing websites, is a wellspring of surfing info and includes a hefty library of videos of surfers riding the BIG ones. Think, 40 foot waves or bigger. Check the Peahi videos ("JAWS, TAKE ONE")... Amazing.
Getting off the topic of the day, here's some other good stuff I came across over the Xmas break:
The preview trailer for the movie adaptation of Frank Miller's SIN CITY has been released. Looks like they're trying to do Dick Tracy one better for noir-comic visualizations.
Sensory Impact - the Culture of Objects. Looking to salivate over the awesomest stuff ever?
Here's a good one - the LavNav™ - a motion-sensing nightlight for your bathroom that indicates (red or green) if the toilet seat is up or down. No more late-night surprises!
Posted by Hamish at 09:09 AM | Comments (0)
December 21, 2004
Today's Links
From the New Yorker archives: "A Visit from Saint Nicholas (In the Ernest Hemingway Manner)", by James Thurber.
I'm ashamed to say this fellow is Torontonian. Here's his website to find out why.
Boogie, a street photographer from Cuba. His stuff is amazing.
The people in my office used to have Friday afternoon rubber band fights until it became Monday-to-Friday afternoon rubber band fights and the practice was discouraged. This Aussie company has taken it to another level entirely.
books we like - a social networking book recommendation collective. Terrific! You can add your own recommendations and see those of others - contribute to a greater whole. "Books We Like is "activist e-commerce", a way for progressives to use their online book purchases to effect change, by aggregating their Amazon (or other online booksellers) purchases. BWL facilitates that, maximizing the resulting sales commissions, and pooling them to fertilize progressive independent media. Every book purchase captures about a dollar that would otherwise go uncollected; that's potentially millions per year! 100% of profits go to public-interest media efforts, of which BWL is a good example." It even has customizable RSS feeds.
Kuro5hin has a neat story about a particular whale the NOAA has been tracking: "For the last 12 years, a single solitary whale whose vocalizations match no known living species has been tracked across the Northeast Pacific. Its wanderings match no known migratory patterns of any living whale species. Its vocalizations have also subtly deepened over the years, indicating that the whale is maturing and ageing. And, during the entire 12 year span that it has been tracked, it has been calling out for contact from others of its own kind." There's a link to an audio sample of the whale's call - the wonders of the internet!
The BBC's 50 things to eat before you die - I've already had 40 of them - how about you? I haven't had Moreton Bay Bugs, Cream Tea, Kangaroo, Guinea Pig, Shark, Barramundi, Reindeer, Australian Meat Pie, Durian Fruit or Cornish Pastry. I think I could probably knock off most of the rest of them by moving to Australia.
Posted by Hamish at 10:35 AM | Comments (0)
December 20, 2004
Today's Links
The Scared-of-Santa photo gallery. Like circus clowns, Santa Claus can be an imposing figure for the wee ones who haven't been fully indoctrinated.
This is great. Playmobil-style action figures and playsets for cubicle-farm prisoners: The CUBES™....
Playlist magazine has launched - a magazine for digital music player appreciators... They're offering their first issue as a free PDF download. Check it out.
Flickr Sucks! - more viral marketing
Floating Logos - this person removed the supporting poles from highway logo signs attracting drivers to fast food restaurants, etc... The result is somewhat ethereal...
Just SLIDE.. Macromedia's Holiday Card for 2004. Awesome time-waster... Includes Fight Club samples, too!
Video of Honda's ASIMO robot running at 3km/hr - looks like he needs to go to the bathroom!
Create a customized RSS feed for new additions to the iTunes music store according to the genres you're interested in.
Posted by Hamish at 08:59 AM | Comments (0)
December 17, 2004
Federal Appeal Court Quashes Levy on mp3 Players
Summary of Dec. 14th decision in pdf format
Levy proposal still on the books for 2005
The 2005 proposal still includes the following wording:
"the levy rates shall be
(a) 29¢ for each audio cassette of 40 minutes or more in length;
(b) 21¢ for each CD-R or CD-RW;
(c) 77¢ for each CD-R Audio, CD-RW Audio or MiniDisc;
(d) for non-removable memory permanently embedded in a digital audio recorder, $2 for each recorder that can record no more than 1 Gigabyte (Gb) of data, $15 for each recorder that can record more than 1 Gb and no more than 10 Gbs of data, and $25 for each recorder that can record more than 10 Gbs of data."
The proposal for 2003-2004 included the following wording:
"CPCC proposed rates of 51¢ for each audiocassette, 59¢ for each CD-R of 100 megabytes (Mbs) or more, 49¢ for each CD-RW of 100 Mbs or more, $1.15 for each CD-R Audio and CD-RW Audio or MiniDisc, and 65¢ for each blank DVD. For removable electronic memory cards, or a removable hard drive, CPCC sought a rate from 0.221¢ to 0.55¢ for each Mb. For (a) removable electronic memory cards sold bundled with a music device, or a removable micro-hard drive sold bundled with a music device, or (b) non-removable memory incorporated into a music device, or a hard drive incorporated into a music device, CPCC proposed rates from 0.193¢ to 1.08¢ for each Mb depending on capacity."
With the exception of how much they were asking for, they had the wording right the first time. No idea why it was altered to leave them with a description that excluded mp3 players - the 2003-4 proposal also includes DVDs and scaleable media levies, which makes more sense - the bigger the capacity, the higher the levy.
For the record I support a tax levy to 'cover off' filesharing in Canada. I have no problem paying into a fund to cover the modest losses to musicians resulting from whatever sales might have gone away due to filesharing.
Posted by Hamish at 10:19 AM | Comments (0)
December 16, 2004
Today's Links
Sherlock Holmes radio shows in mp3 format on the 'net: A wonderous collection of Holmes mysteries - over 200 broadcasts available! Indubitably!
To long-time Macintosh users, the name Andy Hertzfeld will be very familiar. A member of the original Macintosh team (that's 20 years ago, folks!), he has published a very readable memoir via O'Reilly Books ... but most of the material in it is already available on his terrific website, folklore.org - and so much more! Check it out - a must-see for Mac-o-philes. *** A good example of the depth of detail you can find on the site is a story by Hertzfeld about the Thunderscan, an ingenious little device that attached to the ImageWriter dot-matrix printer, which turned it into a scanner by taking the place of the ink cartridge. It worked pretty well, as I recall.
Posted by Hamish at 04:20 PM | Comments (0)
December 15, 2004
Today's Links
Brush off your electronics course textbook. This fella's been designing functioning logic gates using LEGO. They aren't very efficient, but for gates without power they function very well.
Blockbuster drops late fees a/o January 1st, 2005: Too little, too late. Their business model is a dinosaur. With video on demand and pay-per-view available to the average consumer for the same price without the hassle of having to drive or walk to the store to rent and return, any large video rental business is going to buckle under their own weight. This probably won't affect the boutique neighborhood rental stores (like Queen Video at Queen/Cameron Sts. in Toronto) as they offer a really deep back catalog selection and knowledgeable staff - neither of which is offered by Blockbuster, or for that matter Rogers Video. I can recall thinking 'oops' when I went into a Blockbuster a year or two ago when they were in the midst of their BIG PUSH to convert people to DVDs by clearing out their VHS and LaserDisc libraries as quickly as possible. The problem was they didn't replace the tapes with equivalent DVDs - they just reduced their title count by two thirds. Now if you walk into a Blockbuster, it's a cavernous space with little selection, half the store is sale merchandise and video games, as well as candy and soft drinks, and about half the remaining space is new releases, leaving a quarter of the store devoted to back catalog. Give me a break! BB has an online presence now as well but they're going to take a big hit getting rid of all of those retail outlets over the next few years...
That big & tall bridge in France. Wow! The Viaduc de Millau would make Caesar proud.
The Beatles recorded Christmas albums for their fan club members between 1963 and 1969... Download them here! BitTorrent Links to better files: One, Two.
Prisoners' Inventions: "This project... illustrated many incredible inventions made by prisoners to fill needs that the restrictive environment of the prison wouldn't allow. The inventions cover everything from homemade sex dolls, condoms, salt and peper shakers to chess sets."
Posted by Hamish at 01:54 PM | Comments (0)
December 14, 2004
Today's Links
The wonder that is iTunes: now that we Canadians have access to iTunes, I figured I would poke around a bit and indulge some musical whims. While the selection is still limited (700,000 is a big number but nowhere near representational of the sum of recorded music), there's enough there to make searching an educational experience. Having attended a performance of Puccini's Turandot by the COC at the Hummingbird Centre earlier this year, I was left wanting a 'punchier' rendition of Nessun Dorma, the opera's signature aria and one of the most recognizable of Puccini's works - an essential test of a Tenor's abilities. iTunes had 29 renditions - including one I already have, from the Three Tenors in Concert CD - Pavarotti belts it out like a champ - and I do like the recording - however I wanted to see if there was someone else who could throw it down with authority, so to speak. Using the 30-second sample ability, I listened to many of the 29 tracks and settled on Mario Lanza's(wikinfo) rendition from his Opera Arias & Duets CD(amazon.ca), released postumously in 1999. I'm not sure when it was recorded but sure enough Lanza cements his rep as a terrific, throaty tenor - even though his stage experience was minimal (he is better known for his big screen work than his big stage work) he was an accomplished singer with legions of fans. Here's a direct link to the track. (requires iTunes). Now there's a retail experience that bricks-and-mortar stores just can't compete with.
An NDP MP has re-introduced legislation to remove the GST tax from the sale of feminine hygiene products. Let's hope it gets passed. Never made sense to me. This bill was first introduced by NDP MP Marilyn Churley in 2002 and is being re-re-introduced by NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis. She first did so in February of this year but it's now coming up for first reading in the commons if time permits (Private Member's Bills take a back seat to Government Bills). The Bill was C-488 of the last session of parliament - hasn't been given a number yet for this session.
Just in time for the Xmas season - Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life", in 30 seconds, with bunnies. A classic.. been around a while but it deserves an annual viewing just like the movie that inspired it. Angry Alien Productions, who are responsible for this 'tribute', have also done The Exorcist, The Shining, Titanic, Alien and Jaws as well as some classic horror films. Take a peek at their website!
Follow-up: Jennifer Traig's Devil in the Details is but one of many "Virtual Book Tours" available here.
Webcomics Review's Best Webcomics of 2004 - lots of good stuff there... many titles I had never seen before.
Create your own webcomic strip! Easy peasy! This is a terrific example of viral marketing.
Apparently someone named "Madonna" made $125M last year from touring, selling out 55 of 56 shows. Madonna who?
From /., another WikiWar - "John Patrick Ennis, whose nutty predictions as Sollog (Son of Light, Light of God) are familiar to many usenetters, may have bitten off more than he could chew when he picked Wikipedia as his latest vehicle for spamvertising." -- see the Wiki here, and, more amusingly, the history file for the Wiki, which now has over 500 entries. The wonder of the Wikipedia is such that you can compare any of the previous versions to any other, all the way down the line. WikiWars occur when an entry in the open source encyclopedia happens to be controversial - anyone can edit a Wiki entry so the battle to maintain a politically neutral and objective entry can be a challenge for all involved.
Posted by Hamish at 10:35 AM | Comments (0)
December 13, 2004
Today's Links
Home-made iPod Mini ad - viral marketing at its finest. (Link goes to Wired story - link to QuickTime video of ad is on that page)
"Treat Your Mother Right" - Music video by Mister T. Circa 1986(?). Priceless.
Jennifer Traig's "Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood." - Terrific account of growing up a girl, jewish-catholic and riddled with OCDs in the 70's.
Ohio Woman has 66 lb. tumor removed from one of her ovaries. What's more, her doctor mentions it's possible for a tumor of this kind of reach 200 lbs.[there was a story on the internet about it here. The images are somewhat gross but fascinating in a traffic accident kind of way.
Football Shirt Hall of Shame. That's European/British footie, not the American military-style equivalent...
Posted by Hamish at 03:04 PM | Comments (0)
December 10, 2004
Today's Links
Dream Anatomy - includes a wonderful collection of high-resolution images of historical anatomy classes and dissections as rendered in etchings, woodcuts, etc. This is one of my favourites.
Clifford Ross, an incredible photographer who shoots high-res landscapes and water features... Builds his own equipment, and garners the attention of scientists and astronomers in so doing.
jottings.com took the time to come up with a list of the 100 oldest dot.com domain names.
Are you a Lego junkie? Are you trying to build a scale model of London Bridge in your basement and you need more bricks? BrickLink.com is the place to go. Bonus: Here's a guy who has a lot of Lego (and time) on his hands...
Posted by Hamish at 08:50 AM | Comments (0)
December 08, 2004
Today's Links
This link is the new heroin. Increasingly, pundits and institutions are comparing supposed evils to illicit drugs - regardless of whether the comparison is accurate.
Grand Rounds - a weekly medical blog.
2004 Guide to Board Games - something for everyone this holiday season. Another list is available at Funagain games.
The Economist's list of their Books of the Year, 2004.
Red-Hot Trailer Brochure Model Fan Fiction - at retroCRUSH.
Hint Magazine - up to date fashion magazine.
The Online Film Critics Society Top 100 Overlooked Films of the 1990's.
Posted by Hamish at 03:55 PM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2004
Today's Links
Corgi Toys in Pictures - a lovingly maintained collection of images of Corgi toys and their packaging, marketing, etc. Awesome!
An update on the unfortunate circumstances around the delayed release of the definitive, Special Edition 3-DVD set of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner - the set was supposed to be released in 2002 (on the 20th anniversary of the film's release) but it was blocked by the film's bond-completion guarantors, Univision - who assumed ownership of the film by contract after the picture went over budget. Bitter disputes followed and even though Scott was able to release a hasty director's cut edition, they have blocked further editions. There's a petition here although it probably won't affect matters.
Skeletal Systems of Cartoon Characters - Hello Kitty and Betty Boop (among others) like you've never seen before.
Unfinished Jokes - (Idler.co.uk) - example: "A joke where Star Wars, Radio 3 and a porn web site specialising in primates all pool their resources to produce a new movie, featuring a hero known only as Oboe Wank Bonobo."
Posted by Hamish at 03:11 PM | Comments (0)
December 02, 2004
Today's Links
Hamish the Highland Cow - a children's book from Scotland. "Hamish is a Highland cow and VERY hairy. He hates having baths and NEVER cuts his hair. Why should he when his shaggy coat is the perfect place to keep his favourite sweet — toffees! But one day his friends get fed up with the increasingly smelly Hamish, and they hatch a plan that involves a hairdresser and, yes, toffees ..."
William McClelland's The Revenge of Hamish - a Choral work from Scotland. "The Revenge of Hamish" includes settings of texts by some of America's finest poets and authors including Elizabeth Bishop, Richard Wilbur, Mary Oliver, e.e. cummings and Conrad Aiken. Featured are two powerful extended ballads: The Revenge of Hamish by Sidney Lanier, and The Ballad of Don and Dan by Ian Frazier. Hamish is a chilling tale set in the highlands of Scotland which McClelland brings to life with Celtic fiddle, piano and bodhran and traditional jigs and reels. Don and Dan describes a bizarre kidnapping 20 years ago in the mountains of Montana with a text drawn from news items written in the Montana papers at the time. The chorus is accompanied by electric guitar, piano, bass and drums. Other works include Five Sonnets for Men's Voices, settings of Dante and John Bunyan, and what is, undoubtedly, the first hymn ever written to the activity of removing plastic bags from trees!"
A man's home can now really be his castle! These guys build custom castles.
Apple opens iTunes Music Store in Canada! Finally. It's accessible using iTunes. Whoo...
U.S. Using Napalm in Fallujah. The UN Banned the use of Napalm in 1980 - The US didn't ratify that treaty, and is the only country in the world still using the wepaon.
You Have Bad Taste in Music - really funny video clips. Buy a t-shirt!
Posted by Hamish at 02:02 PM | Comments (0)
December 01, 2004
Today's Links
William Gibson's Blog has a good quote from H.L. Mencken today:
"...the larger the mob, the harder the test. In small areas, before small electorates, the first-rate man occasionally fights his way through, carrying even the mob with him by force of his personality. But when the field is nationwide...the force of personality cannot so readily make itself felt, then all the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre... The presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people... On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a moron." (1920)
Seems the MPAA isn't suffering in the battle against movie 'piracy' - the American movie industry has posted a 6% increase in revenues ($64 billion) for 2003. And the music recording industry isn't suffering either - revenues were flat - but didn't decrease.
World Sunlight Map - created dynamically using satellite data.
The Price of a Gallon - very interesting data. Wish they had it in metric...
Nature's Canvas: Cassini-Huygens captures Saturn's moon Mimas nestled its rings..
Yale pulls off one mother of a prank on Harvard. Harvard Sucks!
LifeGem - provide them with some ash particles from your dearly departed and these guys will send you back a diamond created by pressurizing from the cremains.
Band Aid Dilemma - "You want this record to succeed...However, you hate this recording and feel your musical ego looming and refusing to be bruised.
Buy as many copies of Do They Know It's Christmas by Band Aid 20 as you can afford.
Destroy them in amusing ways, on camera.
Send us the pictures.
Charity. Violence. You know it makes sense."
Ken Jennings: The Wikipedia Entry. His fame is secured.
New York Changing - a collection of photos that mimic and update the work of Berenice Abbott in "Changing New York", by Douglas Levere.
Boris Vallejo, fantasy artiste extraordinaire. Official Site. A great online collection of his work.
Eigenradio's A Singular Christmas. "This season, as a present to friends worldwide, our system listened to as much Christmas music as it could handle. When it was done it synthesized these sixteen new timeless classics."
David Byrne (of Talking Heads) - has a blog.
My Neighbour's Wife - awesome little film.
Posted by Hamish at 10:49 AM | Comments (0)