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November 2005 Archives
November 30
MoAD
is San Francisco's newest museum. The Museum of the African Diaspora is the latest addition to the SOMA neighborhood's expanding cultural riches, and promises to be fascinating (and, as far as I can tell, unique in the world).
[more inside]
posted by trip and a half at 9:08 PM PST - 14 comments
How Many Fish are in the Sea?
During the heady days of the late 19th century, in response to a perceived decline in coastal finfish stocks,
Spencer Baird and his clutch of young naturalists at the Smithsonian set out to find the answer. In 1871, Baird founded the
U.S. Fish Commission. The Comission set up operations in
Woods Hole, MA, where it continues its work today as the
Northeast Fisheries Science Center (a branch of NOAAs
National Marine Fisheries Service). The Fish Census of 1880 established the fist benchmark on fish populations in coastal waters; crews of Gloucester schooners competed to see who could bring the most
bizarre fish finds up from the platueaus of the Grand Banks, and Americas first research vessel, the
Albatross, was purpose-built for the project. Baird's protege (and later successor)
George Brown Goode compiled the data into
the first comprehensive reference work on American fisheries. Known to students of salt water as Goodes Fisheries, the report (
beautifully illustrated) remains invaluable to researchers today, as today's fish populations dip into
an even more drastic decline.
posted by Miko at 7:54 PM PST - 13 comments
Gould's Book of Fish
(full contents of Chapter One) by Tasmanian author/historian/Rhodes Scholar
Richard Flanagan is a
critically lauded 2002 novel that is the most interesting and accomplished work of fiction I've read in years. Set in the 19th century on a penal colony off the coast of Tasmania, the
book is narrated by William Buelow Gould, a convict, charlatan, and possible madman.
Here is an audio
interview with Flanagan; here's an
audio clip of the author reading from his book. (.ra files)
Yes, the book is a few years old, but it somehow passed under my radar; and, anyway, a good book is timeless.
(Picking up the piscine gauntlet thrown down by Plutor.)
posted by Dr. Wu at 2:47 PM PST - 15 comments
NYU President John Sexton warns striking grad students that they must resume teaching or lose their benefits.
After
weeks of
marching outside Bobst library and refusing to teach classes, NYU grad students have been sent a
letter from President John Sexton, warning them that any TA who does not return to work next week will lose their stipends and eligibility to teach next semester.
Until recently, NYU was the only private school that allowed graduate teaching assistants to unionize, following a
2000 NLRB decision, which was subsequently reversed.
NYU claims that it has negotiated in good faith and that the union's demands would limit decision making that should remain in the hands of academics, while the
grad students argue that they cannot trust NYU's admistration to take care of them without unionization (and representation by the
UAW). Meanwhile, many undergrads paying tuition upwards of 50K/year will have to
retake classes or opt for pass/fail. Do you
sympathize with highly educated American grad students who
receive free tuition, health insurance, and stipends in exchange for modest teaching duties (when many other students depend on student loans), especially compared the with
19th century coal miners,
third-world factory workers, and
modern-day wage slaves we normally associate with unions and strikes?
posted by banishedimmortal at 2:37 PM PST - 98 comments
The ongoing
patent dispute between the patent firm NTP and BlackBerry-maker
Research in Motion (RIM) reached a new low
today when a U.S. appellate court judge named
James Spencer ruled that an earlier settlement of $450M payable to NTP was
not valid as it was not finalized properly. Even though the USPO has re-opened the NTP patents and has subsequently
rejected most of the patents used in the patent infringement case, RIM was seeking to uphold the
earlier settlement in order to avert the possibility of all sales and services from being
halted in the United States.
posted by purephase at 12:37 PM PST - 13 comments
39¢ Heroes.
On January 8, the price of a First Class
US Postage Stamp will creep up
another two cents. But fear not, True Believers, because 20 of those new stamps will feature costumed crusaders from DC Comics "including Superman, Wonder Woman, Plastic Man, Batman, Green Arrow and many more." (
Newsarama has more on the story, including the featured cover images for each hero.)
posted by grabbingsand at 12:10 PM PST - 33 comments
Free Speech TV!
Veoh allows anyone to create and broadcast their own TV show or a Channel full of shows. Not small streaming videos, but FULL-Screen, TV-Quality video. Veoh does not transcode the content, but rather offers it in its native encoding, and does not limit the file sizes/length of video. Veohs goal is to become the platform for producers of all sizes (from individuals to studios and everyone in between) to have a democratized TV broadcasting system.
Take the tour. (audio/flash)
posted by HyperBlue at 10:42 AM PST - 14 comments
Carl Icahn's
Time Warner efforts find a powerful ally in
"white-shoe" investment bank
Lazard. Wall Street M&A advisors have been hesitant to support efforts by Icahn and his hedge fund brethren in their share-holder activist efforts for fear of alienating fee-paying corporate clients (investment banking, legal and registration fees on the
Time Warner/AOL deal were approximately $300 million). By
hiring Lazard, which is led by banking legend Bruce Wasserstein (
1,
2,
3), Icahn is surely raising the intensity of his campaign against Time Warner management. Icahn has been successful in previous shareholder activist campaigns, most notably against Blockbuster (
1,
2), and talks a
pretty mean game. Wall Street will be watching this closely - hedge fund activism is becoming a very real fear for company management/directors:
Circuit City/Highfields Capital,
Wendy's/Pershing,
Bally's Fitness/Pardus Capital & Liberation Investment Group,
Axciom/ValueAct Capital,
MSC Software/ValueAct Capital (reg. required),
Beazer Homes/Tontine Capital (second story on page) and
more.
posted by mullacc at 10:17 AM PST - 9 comments
The orchid scrapbooks of John Day.
Over the course of 40 years, John Day participated in the popular Victorian pursuit of orchid collection. He collected his stunning paintings of the plants into 53 scrapbooks, a selection of which is available online at the Kew Royal Botanical Gardens. [via the remarkable
BibliOdyssey]
posted by frykitty at 9:44 AM PST - 7 comments
US-Made Suicide Bombs
- These are by US military, law enforcement agencies or commercial security firms - whether for training or marketing or spooking the public
posted by growabrain at 9:08 AM PST - 20 comments
Every year, the
NME posts it's chart of the albums of the year poll - this year however they've decided to
rig the results purely for commercial purposes. (List inside)
posted by gi_wrighty at 8:43 AM PST - 72 comments
Tom Wolfe is screaming. "Aaaaaaaahh! Wait, no, that wasn't good, let me start over." "How did you scream last time a boulder was hurtling toward you?" asks Carolyn Omine, executive producer of The Simpsons.
Slowly, Wolfe transforms. Even now, this episode's director, Mark Kirkland, is circling Wolfe, snapping pictures. Soon, a team of animators will render Wolfe bug-eyed and yellow-skinned.
A year from now Wolfe -- with fellow guest stars Gore Vidal, Michael Chabon and Jonathan Franzen --
will appear on television alongside Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and the bartender Moe in an episode of "The Simpsons" parodying highfalutin literary culture.
posted by PenguinBukkake at 7:18 AM PST - 32 comments
Serious vegetarians know to keep on the lookout for
isinglass and other animal products in their beer. Isinglass is a fish-derived additive that's
primarily used to help speed up the clarification of cask-conditioned ales, although some beer-makers will use it to reclaim batches that didn't filter properly. You can help keep your diet swimbladder-free with
this awesome list.
posted by Plutor at 5:01 AM PST - 86 comments
November 29
John "Paia" Simonton died late last week. His company,
PAiA is one of the grandfathers of the DIY synth scene. I have
one of his modular synths half-constructed in my garage. He helped create an American buzz for electronic music and DIY music gear in the 70s, and was highly influential till his passing away.
posted by blackvectrex at 9:16 PM PST - 10 comments
Tomorrow, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in
Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood. At its core, the case is about the constitutionality of New Hampshire's abortion notification law. In reality, the
two questions before the Court are a bit more complex. This may be one of the most significant abortion-related cases in years, and a ruling in favor of New Hampshire may put a serious dent in in the pro-choice movement. As a result, the Court has taken the rare step of allowing C-Span to
air audio of the arguments soon after they conclude. (more inside)
posted by schoolgirl report at 8:58 PM PST - 27 comments
Yesterday, Nicholas Kristof, a New York Times Op-Ed columnist, wrote a compelling article on the dire situation in Darfur and ways Americans can respond to this tragedy.
Yeah, that's thoughtful and all but we already talked about that
here, and
here, and
here, and oh yeah,
here and even more
here!
So, what do the last two years teach me about 400,000 dead? That I still couldn't tell you exactly where it is in Africa..but I know that Paris dated
a guy named Paris. Happy sleeping America, and now where's my
Soma.
posted by Mr Bluesky at 6:44 PM PST - 30 comments
For misleading the American people, and launching the most foolish war since Emperor Augustus in 9 B.C sent his legions into Germany and lost them, Bush deserves to be impeached and, once he has been removed from office, put on trial along with the rest of the president's men. If convicted, they'll have plenty of time to mull over their sins.
Costly Withdrawal Is the Price To Be Paid for a Foolish War Martin van Creveld, a professor of military history at the Hebrew University, is author of "Transformation of War" (Free Press, 1991). He is the only non-American author on the U.S. Army's required reading list for officers.
An interview with Martin Van Creveld. See also
Nowhere To Run
posted by y2karl at 5:44 PM PST - 73 comments
Throw Away The Key dot org
seeks to lengthen the sentences of criminals on the premise of their mission statement: "Incarceration Works!" From their site: "If you believe a girl should be able to walk down the street in broad daylight without being abducted and murdered by a convicted felon,
then it is time for you to get involved."
posted by fandango_matt at 5:08 PM PST - 28 comments
Slow Mosaic
is a mosaic generator powered by the Web. Feed it a word and watch it create related mosaics in front of your very eyes. Requires Flash. [MI]
posted by sjvilla79 at 4:45 PM PST - 20 comments
That'll teach 'em.
Two 10-year old girls arrested in Florida and suspended from school for possession of...
well uhm, parsely, actually.
posted by digaman at 3:43 PM PST - 55 comments
Exercise your music muscle
Someone marked a
Day in
Green ink. Then I eyed a
Queen holding
Sex Pistols. There are 71 other bands hidden in this street scene: you can download a higher-res version at
Virgin's Web site. (Via
Bifurcated Rivets). By the way, this is a contest (you can win a new computer and a year's worth of free music), but the site's interface is obnoxious and ad-strewn, so I moved the contest linkage
down here.
posted by Lord Kinbote at 3:01 PM PST - 62 comments
(NSFW-but not porn) Never GIS "little mermaid," large size images, and click the second image from the left out of curiosity.
If you do,
don't look at the
other galleries at the site,
hypnotized and
horrified. Furthermore, follow
any of the
links at your own
peril. If you manage to make it to the Renderosity pages, you are expressly forbidden from looking at
every single page of art by
these three artists. Under no circumstances look at these unabashed masterpieces:
"Damnedly Wanted," "Nooo, you ARE hansome," "9/11 Remembrance," "Cure for cancer," and
god knows how many more. If you follow these instructions carefully, you will have successfully avoided the fairy(faerie, fae), poser, chibi, furry, and koshini scenes for the day.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 12:21 PM PST - 55 comments
Time is on the side of open disclosure that there are ethical Extraterrestrial civilizations visiting Earth. Our Canadian government
needs to openly address these important issues of the possible deployment of weapons in outer war plans against ethical ET societies
.
via
posted by airguitar at 10:27 AM PST - 15 comments
The Problem With Emily Dickenson
"On August 25, six students, along with their school, Calvary Chapel Christian School in Murrieta, California and the Association of Christian Schools International filed
a federal lawsuit against the University of California where, according to the LA Times (August 27), admissions officials have been accused of discriminating against high schools that teach creationism and other conservative Christian viewpoints." One of the textbooks used to teach literature has this to say about Mark Twain: "Twain's outlook was both self-centered and ultimately hopeless. Denying that he was created in the image of God, Twain was able to rid himself of feeling any responsibility to his Creator. "
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:43 AM PST - 90 comments
Rabbit's animated journey
through the history of (mostly American) cinema is a wonderful cartoon
and, unfortunately, an ad for Motorola. Link goes to embedded quicktime, very slow loading.
posted by jonson at 8:25 AM PST - 7 comments
Looks like a
raccoon,
acts like a raccoon, tastes like a dog? Technically a member of the canid family and considered to be a species of dog, the raccoon dog, or
tanuki, is hunted in Japan to the tune of 70,000 animals killed annually for use in the production of
calligraphic brushes, stuffed animals, and, apparently,
ramen flavoring. The really interesting thing about the tanuki is its place in Japanese
myth. The mythical tanuki are full of mischief, masters of shapeshifting, and
possessors of unusually large testicles. Comic depictions of tanuki often show them with their testicles thrown over their backs or using them as drums. Does the existence of the tanuki shed any light on an often posted (and otherwise inexplicable)
photo?
posted by gokart4xmas at 7:25 AM PST - 33 comments
Q-Unit: Greatest Hits
is an outstanding collection of mashups of 50 Cent and Queen. The mocked-up album covers alone are worth it, but I think I've listened to "Crazy Little P.I.M.P. Called Love" about three times already this morning.
(Mirror here if main site craps out)
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 7:15 AM PST - 21 comments
Ever spent your precious morning minutes in bed turning your pillow over repeatedly, seeking in vain for the coveted cool spot?
Search no more.
posted by allkindsoftime at 6:21 AM PST - 27 comments
November 28
Ritual Adornment
of a communal habitat. Light and sound combine to impress other nearby members of the species. The counterpoint to a summer of tending carefully controlled foliage.
posted by somnambulist at 9:52 PM PST - 11 comments
"
'We want that shock. We want that awe. But at the same time, we don't want people to feel their rights are being threatened. We need them to be our eyes and ears'.... [Police] officers might, for example, surround a bank building, check the IDs of everyone going in and out and hand out leaflets about terror threats." While there have been no specific threats of terrorism against Miami, "'[t]his is an in-your-face type of strategy.
It's letting the terrorists know we are out there,' [Deputy Police Chief Frank] Fernandez said."
posted by orthogonality at 5:25 PM PST - 71 comments
GoogleFilter: Introducing
Google Click-to-Call. "Here's how it works: When you click the phone icon [on a Google ad], you can enter your phone number. Once you click 'Connect For Free,' Google calls the number you provided. When you pick up, you hear ringing on the other end as Google connects you to the other party. Then, chat away
on our dime" (emphasis added).
Here are a few screenshots (scroll down), but I can't actually find live examples. The reason being that Google, some say, is "
only testing this service in designated areas of the United States." In addition, the Slashdoters
have beat us to an insightful convo. Then again, don't most snarky MeFites see Google posts as completely passe. Nonetheless however, I think it is ripe for discussion (especially considering the privacy policy (both
big and
little) state that a third party will have access to your phone number).
posted by JPowers at 4:17 PM PST - 36 comments
David Brin -- hoping to rescue modernity
Quote:
--
"... I have spoken before of the blatant -- and yet never-reported -- pattern shown by more than a hundred members of the United States Congress, appointing young cadets to the US Military Academies according to one criterion above all others -- their depth of religious zealotry. This infusion of young officers who believe in a coming apocalypse is discreetly worrisome at West Point and Annapolis, but it has already had newsworthy effects at the Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs. A town that is also now known as a main locus and training center for fanatics bent on dominating American civilization. (
see) This coincidence... one of many that simply cannot be coincidence... should be tallied and noted.
See also this in recent -- 11/26 -- news
"... Among the steps already taken by the Pentagon that enhanced its domestic capabilities was the establishment after 9/11 of Northern Command, or Northcom, in Colorado Springs, to provide military forces to help in reacting to terrorist threats in the continental United States. Today, Northcom's intelligence centers in Colorado and Texas fuse reports from CIFA, the FBI and other U.S. agencies, and are staffed by 290 intelligence analysts. That is more than the roughly 200 analysts working for the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and far more than those at the Department of Homeland Security...."
posted by hank at 3:37 PM PST - 29 comments
Seymour Hersh's fact piece in the current New Yorker
lays out current behind-the-scenes thinking about getting out of Iraq. One piece of the article talks about the problems created by the President's sense that he has a divine mandate to pursue his policies...
...the President had become more detached, leaving more issues to Karl Rove and Vice-President Cheney. They keep him in the gray world of religious idealism, where he wants to be anyway, the former defense official said.
Most worrisome to some in the military are questions about reducing American troops and substituting air power for boots on the ground. Apparently the air war has been growing without much comment from the congress or media. Hersh cites a press release that the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing alone has dropped over 500,000 tons of ordinance. But if American troops are gone, who will provide targeting for the air strikes? The scenario of handing targeting over to the Iraqis apparently makes many military planners uncomfortable.
posted by jasper411 at 10:10 AM PST - 45 comments
How do you split up $11 billion?
That's enough to evenly split $500,000 per Goldman Sachs employee. It's bonus season on Wall Street. Extensive interviews with current and former Goldman Sachs employees and a best guess of how all of the money gets disbursed.
posted by suprfli at 9:55 AM PST - 44 comments
"It doesn't even need a conductor, and there is not even any need for rehearsals together. Each instrumentalist receives sheet music and a disc with the sound track to which he will be linked during the concert, and that way he can practice at home, by himself; and then they come straight to the concert and play freely, whatever they want. A sound that is random as opposed to planned, a precise pitch for a note, as opposed to a false note, that's what leads the work. And here, toward the end, order gradually prevails".
Arik Shapira talks about
his new concerto for piano and orchestra.
posted by matteo at 9:17 AM PST - 16 comments
The Butcher of Andijan.
Uzbekistan Interior Minister Zakirjon Almatov is currently on an extended visit to Germany. Nothing strange or particularly newsworthy about that, you might think - until you realise that Almatov has been declared persona non grata by the EU as one of 12 Uzbek officials "directly responsible for the indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force" in the massacre of hundreds of unarmed protesters in the east Uzbekistan city of Andijan.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 6:10 AM PST - 8 comments
November 27
Abuse in Iraq Now Worse Then Under Saddam
'People are doing the same as [in] Saddam's time and worse,' [Iraq Prime Minister] Ayad Allawi told The Observer. 'It is an appropriate comparison. People are remembering the days of Saddam. These were the precise reasons that we fought Saddam and now we are seeing the same things.'
Let's see ... no WMDs, no al-Queda ties, and now this. I'm so glad that we are making Iraq a better place.
posted by robhuddles at 5:41 PM PST - 69 comments
The Day the Sea Came.
The stories of six people caught up in last December's tsunami.
Maisara did not look back. She could hear an odd, ever-louder roar. But she never actually saw what she was running from. Only Anis, looking over her mother's left shoulder, beheld the oncoming water. "Mama, what is that?" the little girl kept yelling.
I know, it's the
Times, it's long, it's old news, but it's absolutely riveting. Great reporting by Barry Bearak, and for this you need a reporter, not a novelist, because you can't make this stuff up.
Part 1 (
printer-friendly),
Part 2 (
printer),
Part 3 (
printer),
Part 4 (
printer).
posted by languagehat at 3:25 PM PST - 25 comments
What have you told your children about Muhammad Ali?
"I was frequently left with tingling all over because I had been in the presence of such a great
man and still humbled by his compassion, tolerance and understanding." Inspired by this weekend's airing by ESPN Classic of most of
Tyson's fights, I started thinking about the difference between these two men. Ali obviously transcended his sport and has become
more than just a boxer while Tyson is clearly a lost and troubled
soul. And yet Tyson's story still
inspires reflection.
Nietzche's statement that "What someone is, begins to be revealed when his talent abates, when he stops showing us what he can do" is perfectly illustrated by the twilight years of these two legendary boxers.
posted by spicynuts at 2:08 PM PST - 47 comments
HOOAH!
"The world's most powerful military has devoted its considerable resources to making an energy bar, and the results are impressive." Finally, you too can enjoy the delicious cuisine of the U.S. Military without having to join.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 6:53 AM PST - 59 comments
Thou Shalt Not Not Rock!
If you didn't get a chance to get out to Church to rid yourself of your sins, why not let the Brooklyn-based Sin Destroyers rock the Evil out of you.
"When you think about it, it's simple. If God created everything, including trees and Japan, he could certainly wail harder than anyone. A rock band in his name would rock harder than everyone else combined! Furthermore, Jesus kicks ass with his unstoppable stream of goodness. The Virgin Mary was smoking hot and still kept her shirt on. Only a heathen can deny the cosmic allure of the Holy Spirit. For all of their indefatigable awesomeness, they ask for only one thing in return: to spread their word. Furthermore, Jesus kicks ass with his unstoppable stream of goodness. The Virgin Mary was smoking hot and still kept her shirt on. Only a heathen can deny the cosmic allure of the Holy Spirit. For all of their indefatigable awesomeness, they ask for only one thing in return: to spread their word." (via.)
posted by pelican at 6:36 AM PST - 21 comments
November 26
23. It's like Flickr,
a lot like Flickr--and maybe better. Better at some things.
Stories. Upload limits.
The layout. Ordering prints. They are doing things from the beginning that Flickr worked a couple years to figure out in the
first place. Flickr of course is
way ahead of 23 in numbers (people and money). Does it make sense to challenge that lead? (And to do so with an
overt knock-off?) If 23 provides a better service, should they lose out for being second to the party? How can they pay their
debt of gratitude to Flickr for being the obvious inspiration and an open-book instruction manual, and should they? When does the flattery of imitation become legitimate--or illegitimate--competition? Notice in the
terms they claim ownership of the concept and the design. Can 23 apply for any of the street cred Flickr may have given up in favor of being Yahoo!ed? Is it reasonable to expect better work from a
scrappy upstart than a happy sell-out? Can two successful photo sharing sites
co-exist, or join forces? Is there enough community to support
more than one
good one?
posted by airguitar at 12:32 PM PST - 32 comments
