Sometimes, I wonder if we'll be creative enough to find the solutions needed for survival in the future. And sometimes, I think we'll be alright:
(First seen/heard at BoingBoing)
(There are 7, in all.)
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Thursday, March 12, 2009
$100 Million in Diamonds?
Notarbartolo's specialty was charm. Acting the part of the jolly jeweler, he was invited into offices, workshops, and even vault rooms to inspect merchandise. He would buy a few stones and then, a week or a month later, steal the target's entire stock in the middle of the night.
Antwerp provided a wealth of opportunity and a good place to fence hot property. A diamond necklace stolen in Italy could be dismantled and its individual gems sold for cash in Antwerp. He came to town about twice a month, stayed a few days at a small apartment near the Diamond District, then drove home to his wife and kids in the foothills of the Alps.
When he had stolen goods to sell, he dealt with only a few trusted buyers. Now, as he finished his espresso, one of them—a Jewish dealer—came in and sat down to chat.
"Actually, I want to talk to you about something a little unusual," the dealer said casually. "Maybe we could walk a little?"
They headed out, and once they were clear of the district, the dealer picked up the conversation. His tone had changed however. The casualness was gone.
"I'd like to hire you for a robbery," he said. "A big robbery."
read the whole thing at Wired.com
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Why Twitter Tweets?
Go here: http://twitter.com/Nancy_A?page=2
Scroll down to:
Ignore time stamps, read through it.
That's right, the ISS almost got killed today- supposedly by a piece of the satellite that got 'splodo a not-long-while back.
(First seen at: Bad Astronomy)
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Scroll down to:
Possible debris hit may force evacuation of ISS. http://tinyurl.com/bmovl5 Watching NASA tv now to get the latest,but only Russian audio now
Ignore time stamps, read through it.
That's right, the ISS almost got killed today- supposedly by a piece of the satellite that got 'splodo a not-long-while back.
(First seen at: Bad Astronomy)
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Throwaways
Throwaways are quickie ideas that might be of interest to others. Detailed fully in 6 Questions (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How, and Else) with no more than 2 Sentence Answers.
Who? Any Major Network, scripted TV show in primetime.
What? A web-exclusive episode, of the same quality and length as the regular show.
When? To be made available online during an off week- like when the Oscars cuts into the regularly scheduled broadcast.
Where? Hulu, or wherever the hell else the parent company wants to make it available.
Why? FOX has a lot of good shows- like HOUSE- and too many off weeks where they're showing stupid crap no one cares about: like the World Series (no, not the poker one).
How? Reduce costs around set, and from the special effects department/budget; and film it a little at a time during filming for other episodes. Same quality and length; but it can be assumed only fans are watching it, so it might delve further into the characters for no reason other than to explore them.
Else? The Internet is gonna steal your broadcast audience anyway; but this will train them to go to the site YOU, the creators and controllers, choose. It's like a gift to fans from the entire cast and crew; and should help foster loyalty- plus it's "interactive" because it's online where they can post comments.
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Who? Any Major Network, scripted TV show in primetime.
What? A web-exclusive episode, of the same quality and length as the regular show.
When? To be made available online during an off week- like when the Oscars cuts into the regularly scheduled broadcast.
Where? Hulu, or wherever the hell else the parent company wants to make it available.
Why? FOX has a lot of good shows- like HOUSE- and too many off weeks where they're showing stupid crap no one cares about: like the World Series (no, not the poker one).
How? Reduce costs around set, and from the special effects department/budget; and film it a little at a time during filming for other episodes. Same quality and length; but it can be assumed only fans are watching it, so it might delve further into the characters for no reason other than to explore them.
Else? The Internet is gonna steal your broadcast audience anyway; but this will train them to go to the site YOU, the creators and controllers, choose. It's like a gift to fans from the entire cast and crew; and should help foster loyalty- plus it's "interactive" because it's online where they can post comments.
Read More...
Legend of the Seeker
I spout a lot of HATE- exclusively the all-caps yelling, spittle flying, envisioning entrails, kind- here. I especially seem to hate all recent entertainment, and anything that hasn't been canceled. For instance, I hate everything Lord of the Rings; and I was particularly unimpressed with WATCHMEN; but I loved Firefly.
Today, I bring you something different. A new, currently on-going, series. It's not my normal bag of tea- it's fantasy- but Legend of the Seeker is definitely worth watching on HULU.
It's really not as unexpected a development as I first thought. The production team is very similar to Xena: Idiot Hooker, and Hercules: Gaying Up Mythical Assholes. I liked both of those, for the most part. I particularly started to hate Xena when they started into the Christianity thing. Though neither was MUST SEE TV, for me.
LEGEND OF THE SEEKER isn't the newest Raimi brother mythical half comedy with over-the-top tongue-in-cheek, especially in the effects department. Instead it's a drama: serious, honest, and never silly. The effects are there to add to the realism, convince the viewer to suspend their disbelief, and immerse themselves in the world. There are humorous aspects to situations or characters; but these are not the silly stupidity of Xena and Hercules followed by a knowing wink, these are the characters being fully fleshed out, and human.
The acting is superb, the storylines are brilliant, and Terry Goodkind is gonna earn himself a big mess of new fans. The series is based on Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth novels. Of course there's some controversy from him and his fanbase; but I haven't read the books, and I didn't come to the series because of him or his reputation. I may go back and read the source materials; a trip into a genre I've never been overly impressed with.
I actually came to the series despite many misgivings. My sister told me about it; and I had caught up on all the other shows I watch online. Bored, with no emails or forum posts or any other means of distraction, I figured I'd watch the first episode. I almost didn't, when I saw that the first two episodes are combined into an hour and a half for Hulu; but the boredom forced my hand. I'm glad it did.
And, if you needed another reason, (and to piss off a particular person) the lead actress- Bridget Regan- is H-O-T.
I have no idea what channel the show is on, or when. I watched the first 13/14 episodes online; and I'll continue to watch it that way. I use Hulu for convenience, the link was above the cut.
Read More...
Today, I bring you something different. A new, currently on-going, series. It's not my normal bag of tea- it's fantasy- but Legend of the Seeker is definitely worth watching on HULU.
It's really not as unexpected a development as I first thought. The production team is very similar to Xena: Idiot Hooker, and Hercules: Gaying Up Mythical Assholes. I liked both of those, for the most part. I particularly started to hate Xena when they started into the Christianity thing. Though neither was MUST SEE TV, for me.
LEGEND OF THE SEEKER isn't the newest Raimi brother mythical half comedy with over-the-top tongue-in-cheek, especially in the effects department. Instead it's a drama: serious, honest, and never silly. The effects are there to add to the realism, convince the viewer to suspend their disbelief, and immerse themselves in the world. There are humorous aspects to situations or characters; but these are not the silly stupidity of Xena and Hercules followed by a knowing wink, these are the characters being fully fleshed out, and human.
The acting is superb, the storylines are brilliant, and Terry Goodkind is gonna earn himself a big mess of new fans. The series is based on Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth novels. Of course there's some controversy from him and his fanbase; but I haven't read the books, and I didn't come to the series because of him or his reputation. I may go back and read the source materials; a trip into a genre I've never been overly impressed with.
I actually came to the series despite many misgivings. My sister told me about it; and I had caught up on all the other shows I watch online. Bored, with no emails or forum posts or any other means of distraction, I figured I'd watch the first episode. I almost didn't, when I saw that the first two episodes are combined into an hour and a half for Hulu; but the boredom forced my hand. I'm glad it did.
And, if you needed another reason, (and to piss off a particular person) the lead actress- Bridget Regan- is H-O-T.
I have no idea what channel the show is on, or when. I watched the first 13/14 episodes online; and I'll continue to watch it that way. I use Hulu for convenience, the link was above the cut.
Read More...
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Prisoner's Dilemma
In the iterated Prisoner's Dilemma the optimal strategy, under certain circumstances, is Tit for Tat.
The idea is, you can only every cooperate with someone, or defect from them. If you start with cooperation, and they defect, you defect until after they cooperate. If they're using- essentially- the same strategy, you'll never cooperate again. It's slightly more complex than that; go read the articles and see.
Every choice can be broken into some number of Prisoner's Dilemmas.
This never published, and I just went a cleaning- and found it- so if it seems out of context: it is.
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The idea is, you can only every cooperate with someone, or defect from them. If you start with cooperation, and they defect, you defect until after they cooperate. If they're using- essentially- the same strategy, you'll never cooperate again. It's slightly more complex than that; go read the articles and see.
Every choice can be broken into some number of Prisoner's Dilemmas.
This never published, and I just went a cleaning- and found it- so if it seems out of context: it is.
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Free Inch Nails
NIN is giving away it's newest album completely free in a variety of formats; and all they want, in return, is your email address.
http://dl.nin.com/theslip/signup
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http://dl.nin.com/theslip/signup
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Monday, March 09, 2009
I Watched the Watchmen.
Remember when you read Watchmen, and you sat it down, and you had that feeling? That weirdly warm belly feeling like "I just learned something" mixed with "Now, THAT was an adventure!"? The movie has lots of stuff in it, and it's missing some stuff; but the thing it's missing the most is that. It's like watching cynical, worn-out, world-weary, professionals in a play they hate, but once loved.
Read the book; forget about the movie.
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Read the book; forget about the movie.
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Saturday, March 07, 2009
Watch More Men?
The more I read about the WATCHMEN movie, the more I'm not interested in actually seeing it. Don't get me wrong, I will because I'm that kinda guy; but if I really had a choice, I doubt I'd go of my own volition.
Wired has two reviews up, one by a newcomer to Watchmen the other by a hardcore fanboy. The Newcomer gives it 6/10, the fanboy 7/10.
Both reviews mention the plots and the differences between the movie and the comic; though the fanboy's goes further into detail. And that detail reveals why I'm sure I won't like the movie. Ignoring the changed ending, they fucked with Rorschach, Ozymandias, and the whole principle of the book.
So it's a different medium, yeah? And there should be changes, yeah? And why did they get the funding to make this movie, huh? The source material was badass. So if you've taken the idea of the original, fucked it in the asshole, and then barely laid the original framework over the retard baby that's ass birthed as a result; have you made a new thing, or something based on something else?
Fight Club was an awesome movie. Even Chuck P, supposedly, said it was better than the book- in fact, I think, he said it was just as good, and that if you'd seen the movie first the book didn't compare. It took the original ideas, kept them, and then changed the ending almost completely. Yet it was a perfect adaptation- the same and not quite the same.
Watchmen, The Movie... They should've just changed the name and called it "inspired by".
Read More...
Wired has two reviews up, one by a newcomer to Watchmen the other by a hardcore fanboy. The Newcomer gives it 6/10, the fanboy 7/10.
Both reviews mention the plots and the differences between the movie and the comic; though the fanboy's goes further into detail. And that detail reveals why I'm sure I won't like the movie. Ignoring the changed ending, they fucked with Rorschach, Ozymandias, and the whole principle of the book.
So it's a different medium, yeah? And there should be changes, yeah? And why did they get the funding to make this movie, huh? The source material was badass. So if you've taken the idea of the original, fucked it in the asshole, and then barely laid the original framework over the retard baby that's ass birthed as a result; have you made a new thing, or something based on something else?
Fight Club was an awesome movie. Even Chuck P, supposedly, said it was better than the book- in fact, I think, he said it was just as good, and that if you'd seen the movie first the book didn't compare. It took the original ideas, kept them, and then changed the ending almost completely. Yet it was a perfect adaptation- the same and not quite the same.
Watchmen, The Movie... They should've just changed the name and called it "inspired by".
Read More...
Friday, March 06, 2009
Watch Men?
Here's my prediction- and I haven't seen the movie, I've only seen the trailers and the clip they showed on the Daily Show last night (currently watching it on Hulu)- Watchmen blows.
Why?
Because they removed the premise of the novel, and made it into an Anti-Bush-like government movie.
Fucking idiots. Here's hoping they all develop testicle cancer.
I'm gonna try and go see it Sunday, I'll post if I'm wrong.
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Why?
Because they removed the premise of the novel, and made it into an Anti-Bush-like government movie.
Fucking idiots. Here's hoping they all develop testicle cancer.
I'm gonna try and go see it Sunday, I'll post if I'm wrong.
Read More...
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