2008.09.17
Prudery of the Moment
The 1968 Romeo and Juliet shows breasts after Peek A Boos and Modesty Bedsheets appeared to be used. Especially notable as the actress was only 15 at the time — supposedly, she wasn't allowed to attend the premiere because she was too young to be allowed to see herself topless. It was originally rated G, then changed to PG once the rating existed. It's actually illegal to show the nude scene in United States high school English classes because of the laws on child pornography.It reminds me a bit of underage but sexually active kids who use cellphone cameras and the like to make their own child pornography that would be illegal for them, or anyone, to look at. (Then again, I guess statutory rape laws might've made what they were doing illegal for at least one of them.)
I think I did see that movie in school, seventh grade, 1987 or so. I don't know if the standards have changed since then. We were suitably wide-eyed.
It is unfortunate that these kids are doing what they're doing as young as they're doing it, though, whether it's hormones in food and the environment accelerating the onset of puberty, or just the side-effect of the Sex Sells popculture...
On the other hand, it's easy to forget than "female breasts must be covered" isn't a Universal Law. (And not that uncovered breasts at, say, a European beach aren't de-sexed, any more than a supple torso or curve of hip on an American beach is... it's just the old American Puritan reaching out and trying to cram sensuality into as small a carton as possible.)
Game of the Moment
Cute little physics-y Cricket batsman simulation. I was thinking a bit about this when I did that OLPC Physics Game Jam...
I'm kind of fascinated by Cricket as the old world baseball... probably because of Douglas Adam's sci-fi friendly disdain of it, but it seems kind of neat, I like how the "pitching" is anything goes hurling, they just want to get the damn thing to hit the structure behind you... I went on a youtube video kick for that a while back.
weird tape-delay effect being on a conference call w/ a guy I can hear down the hall; cell delays add thoughtful pauses that aren't there-
Just made two donations, one to the Houston Foodbank, the other to the Salvation Army. Texas is wet and hurting, google and give...
Pollyanna: well, the "5 year" Dow Jones chart doesn't look that terrible so far...
I love that the economist Nouriel "Dr. Doom" Roubini's nyu.edu homepage has one of those wacky webhit counter parody animated GIFs.
FAIL: The new signs on the restrooms at work have braille. Except they're actually garishly photoshopped printouts of signs with braille.
Vaguely worried (moi?) about heat bill with a window open all day- til aunt says heat isn't on - brownstones flats are cozy! (if drafty)