Weird Science
Some mind-bending (and head exploding) QuickTime animations based on computer algorithms are online at Ron Fedkiw. I couldn't get all of them to play, but even the still images are intriguing. It all has something to do with "dynamic implicit surfaces."
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Word of the Day: Barmecidal
Word of the Day
barmecidal (adj)
Presenting only the illusion of abundance
Zenobia had a vast collection of wax and plastic fruit, which she called her barmecidal feast.
barmecidal (adj)
Presenting only the illusion of abundance
Zenobia had a vast collection of wax and plastic fruit, which she called her barmecidal feast.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day
"Like father, like son.
One term and you're done.
As it was for forty-one,
so it is for forty-three.
This is my will;
so mote it be."
This is what we're supposed to mutter to ourselves as we vote on Tuesday, a pagan friend writes. Might be worth a try.
"Like father, like son.
One term and you're done.
As it was for forty-one,
so it is for forty-three.
This is my will;
so mote it be."
This is what we're supposed to mutter to ourselves as we vote on Tuesday, a pagan friend writes. Might be worth a try.
Monday, October 25, 2004
Random Acts of Poetry: 6:30 AM (fragment)
Random Acts of Poetry
6:30 AM (fragment)
Already the sky is graying.
He pulls the blanket over his head,
cradles a steaming cup.
Cold bones unstiffen, limbs relax,
dreams falter.
He sips the dark
as his head powers up, caffeine
slowly swirling down to his fingertips.
He refuses, for the moment, to acknowledge time.
It is put off.
Bell and trains,
keys and lists can wait.
His hot breath fills a womb.
Nothing owns him now.
6:30 AM (fragment)
Already the sky is graying.
He pulls the blanket over his head,
cradles a steaming cup.
Cold bones unstiffen, limbs relax,
dreams falter.
He sips the dark
as his head powers up, caffeine
slowly swirling down to his fingertips.
He refuses, for the moment, to acknowledge time.
It is put off.
Bell and trains,
keys and lists can wait.
His hot breath fills a womb.
Nothing owns him now.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Thoughts on The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Strange Days Indeed
I just got back from seeing The Manchurian Candidate (the original 1962 version), which I'd never seen before, at the local film revival theater. What a great movie. The plot--which revolves around the notion that someone can be brainwashed to kill and then forget about it--is absurd, but the movie works brilliantly as surreal political satire. The famous film critic Pauline Kael called it "the most sophisticated satire ever made in Hollywood." I couldn't help noticing the almost spooky contemporary resonances. The villains scheme to exploit a terrorist act designed to "[rally] a nation of viewers to hysteria, to sweep us up into the White House with powers that will make martial law seem like anarchy." Yikes. If you've seen the film, you may remember one of its most puzzling aspects: the character played by Janet Leigh (her last name is "Chaney"), who seems to serve no purpose at all to the movie's plot, but says and does some very peculiar things. Definitely a film to see more than once, I think.
Earlier in the day, I attended a Halloween fundraising/costume party, organized by my wife, at my son's school. I was in charge of taking the admission money at the door, and I wore a conical wizard's hat (complete with stars and crescents). Typecasting, I know.
Nobody told me there'd be days like this.
I just got back from seeing The Manchurian Candidate (the original 1962 version), which I'd never seen before, at the local film revival theater. What a great movie. The plot--which revolves around the notion that someone can be brainwashed to kill and then forget about it--is absurd, but the movie works brilliantly as surreal political satire. The famous film critic Pauline Kael called it "the most sophisticated satire ever made in Hollywood." I couldn't help noticing the almost spooky contemporary resonances. The villains scheme to exploit a terrorist act designed to "[rally] a nation of viewers to hysteria, to sweep us up into the White House with powers that will make martial law seem like anarchy." Yikes. If you've seen the film, you may remember one of its most puzzling aspects: the character played by Janet Leigh (her last name is "Chaney"), who seems to serve no purpose at all to the movie's plot, but says and does some very peculiar things. Definitely a film to see more than once, I think.
Earlier in the day, I attended a Halloween fundraising/costume party, organized by my wife, at my son's school. I was in charge of taking the admission money at the door, and I wore a conical wizard's hat (complete with stars and crescents). Typecasting, I know.
Nobody told me there'd be days like this.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day
"By the way, is anyone else as startled as I am by how much time many of us spend these days peering into glowing screens? Digital cameras, Palm Pilots, cellphones ... We're spending an amazing amount of our lives staring at backlit screens -- we're like a nation of people transfixed by gods-in-the-form-of-lightbulbs. It's as though we're expecting to find something in our backlit screens that's really significant, something more than a mere phone number or spreadsheet.
What do you suppose we're hoping to find in there? Perhaps with just one more click, we'll find Meaning Itself."
--"Michael Blowhard" at 2blowhards.com
"By the way, is anyone else as startled as I am by how much time many of us spend these days peering into glowing screens? Digital cameras, Palm Pilots, cellphones ... We're spending an amazing amount of our lives staring at backlit screens -- we're like a nation of people transfixed by gods-in-the-form-of-lightbulbs. It's as though we're expecting to find something in our backlit screens that's really significant, something more than a mere phone number or spreadsheet.
What do you suppose we're hoping to find in there? Perhaps with just one more click, we'll find Meaning Itself."
--"Michael Blowhard" at 2blowhards.com
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Word of the Day: Pinchbeck
Word of the Day
pinchbeck (n or adj)
Something cheap or counterfeit; an alloy of zinc and copper used to imitate gold
Magdalen was counting on the sale of Aunt Philomena's wedding band to finance her trip to the Azores. It was Mr. Dash's sad duty to inform her that it was nothing but a pinchbeck curtain ring.
pinchbeck (n or adj)
Something cheap or counterfeit; an alloy of zinc and copper used to imitate gold
Magdalen was counting on the sale of Aunt Philomena's wedding band to finance her trip to the Azores. It was Mr. Dash's sad duty to inform her that it was nothing but a pinchbeck curtain ring.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Random Acts of Poetry: Premonitions
Random Acts of Poetry
Premonitions
Comes the night,
several super-people
say they've heard
all about you.
They carry
knives, they live
in tiny rooms
above a loud cafe.
Feet pound
outside the door
before falling down
an abandoned mine.
Whispers
in your head breathe:
you might as well
give up.
A little child says love
doesn't bleed enough--
she's hidden her innocence
in the dark.
A far-away bell
rings, the front page
cries results
are in doubt.
Premonitions
Comes the night,
several super-people
say they've heard
all about you.
They carry
knives, they live
in tiny rooms
above a loud cafe.
Feet pound
outside the door
before falling down
an abandoned mine.
Whispers
in your head breathe:
you might as well
give up.
A little child says love
doesn't bleed enough--
she's hidden her innocence
in the dark.
A far-away bell
rings, the front page
cries results
are in doubt.
Monday, October 18, 2004
In Godzilla's Footsteps: Academic Conference
Now I've Heard Everything
"To commemorate the King of the Monsters' fiftieth birthday, the University of Kansas Center for East Asian Studies is hosting a conference in which scholars from around the world will consider the Godzilla films and their surprising impact on global culture."
In Godzilla's Footsteps: Japan's Pop Culture Icons on the Global Stage
"To commemorate the King of the Monsters' fiftieth birthday, the University of Kansas Center for East Asian Studies is hosting a conference in which scholars from around the world will consider the Godzilla films and their surprising impact on global culture."
In Godzilla's Footsteps: Japan's Pop Culture Icons on the Global Stage
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Write to a swing voter
Influence the Outcome
The upcoming US election will undoubtedly have quite an impact, one way or another, around the globe. But people who live outside the US (and I know there are some who read this blog . . .) don't have any say in it. Or do they? The Guardian newspaper in Britain has set up a program whereby people from outside the US can write to "swing" (undecided) voters in key states and encourage them to do the right thing. Here's the link: My fellow non-Americans ...
The upcoming US election will undoubtedly have quite an impact, one way or another, around the globe. But people who live outside the US (and I know there are some who read this blog . . .) don't have any say in it. Or do they? The Guardian newspaper in Britain has set up a program whereby people from outside the US can write to "swing" (undecided) voters in key states and encourage them to do the right thing. Here's the link: My fellow non-Americans ...
Friday, October 15, 2004
Short Stories
Abbreviated Tales
In "Brief encounters" author William Boyd classifies what he believes are the seven types of short stories. He laments that the market for these works has pretty much "dried up" in recent decades but, oddly, doesn't mention that the Web has become a new venue for short-story writers (though generally not a paying one).
He lists the following "Ten Truly Great Short Stories in no particular order":
"Spring at Fialta" by Vladimir Nabokov
"My Dream of Flying to Wake Island" by JG Ballard
"Funes, the Memorious" by JL Borges
"Prelude" by Katherine Mansfield
"The Dead" by James Joyce
"Mrs Bathhurst" by Rudyard Kipling
"Day of the Dying Rabbit" by John Updike
"In the Ravine" by Anton Chekhov
"Bang-Bang You're Dead" by Muriel Spark
"Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway
I've only read two of them!
In "Brief encounters" author William Boyd classifies what he believes are the seven types of short stories. He laments that the market for these works has pretty much "dried up" in recent decades but, oddly, doesn't mention that the Web has become a new venue for short-story writers (though generally not a paying one).
He lists the following "Ten Truly Great Short Stories in no particular order":
"Spring at Fialta" by Vladimir Nabokov
"My Dream of Flying to Wake Island" by JG Ballard
"Funes, the Memorious" by JL Borges
"Prelude" by Katherine Mansfield
"The Dead" by James Joyce
"Mrs Bathhurst" by Rudyard Kipling
"Day of the Dying Rabbit" by John Updike
"In the Ravine" by Anton Chekhov
"Bang-Bang You're Dead" by Muriel Spark
"Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway
I've only read two of them!
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day
"At times, to be silent is to lie."
--Unamuno (Spanish philosopher)
(Via William Gibson's recently reactivated blog, by way of Maud Newton)
"At times, to be silent is to lie."
--Unamuno (Spanish philosopher)
(Via William Gibson's recently reactivated blog, by way of Maud Newton)
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