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I Love Lucy, Multi-lingual "telephone"! Delightful to watch.

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if you like every single person in your community, it isn't big enough

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Man. Nothing interesting can last in Harvard Square.

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RIP Coolio. Love this straightforward admission of growth and letting things go by.

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I did it

1. in the name of art
2. for the bit
3. because it's there
4. out of spite
5. as a matter of principle
6. because if I didn't, who would?
7. for the sheer hell of it
8. to show them all
9. because it seemed like a good idea at the time
10. specifically to annoy you
11. to prove a very important point
12. because fuck you

She picked her phone up off the coffee table. It was a hand-sized, rectangular device, similar in appearance to a mirror, but when imbued with electrical energy, its surface would display images and glyphs that responded to her touch. The smartphone was one of the most revolutionary technological advances of the twenty-first century. Its primary function was as a communication device, allowing her to send her voice, her image, or messages she typed onto the screen to others who possessed similar devices, but it also allowed her to search compiled records of human knowledge for any information she desired, listen to music, and watch pre-recorded theatrical performances, known as "movies--"

That bit about a reader of a story being annoyed by the the house-out-of-no-where of a flashlight reminds me I think I need to replace my pocketknife. Wonder if they make a pocketknife case for phones…

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After a short wait, they were ushered onto the plane with the other passengers. The plane was an enormous steel cylinder at least a hundred meters long, with sleek backswept wings on which four jet engines were mounted. They glanced into the front cabin and saw the two pilots, consulting a bank of equipment needed the fly the plane. Roger was glad that he did not need to fly the plane himself; it was a difficult profession which required years of training.

The surprisingly large passenger area was equipped with soft benches, and windows through which they could look down at the countryside as they flew 11 km high at more than 800 km/h. There were nozzles for the pressurized air which kept the atmosphere in the cabin warm and comfortable despite the coldness of the stratosphere.

"I'm a little nervous," Ann said, before the plane took off.

"There's nothing to worry about," he assured her. "These flights are entirely routine. You're safer than you are in our ground transport cars!"

(Matt McIrvin pointed me to that on FB. Which is the kind of thing explaining why I'm still on FB!) Hmm, honestly not the best month for photos...

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(what?) My online friend Nick B wrote about long-running shows that sort of have continuity but don't age their characters much - as he put it "If there's a flashback to 10-year-old Homer playing a Nintendo 64 what the hell am I supposed to do?"

This is what I wrote in the comments:

I think also of the "reset switch" or whatever it is, on Star Trek and other serialized shows, where they'd have a "bible" and could get many talented writers in on the fun without burdening them too much with needing a deep knowledge of what went on before.

To wax philosophical (and to quote myself, which is probably gauche): In my "So You're Going to Die" comic, I say "As creatures who live only a few levels beyond our instincts, we like things to be consistent. Stasis may be boring, but predictability is safer than chaos. And we want to extend that desire for predictability for as long as we can imagine, which is forever."

I feel like this is what's going on with these shows. It's funny, because it's such the opposite of the "character arc" that is thought to make good literature. (Though in real life, I'm a much bigger fan of "show me an interesting idea every week" than worrying about or even believing in meaningful qualitative personal growth - probably to my detriment)

Funny to see that parallel. Also makes me think of "Age of Ultron" where The Vision replies to Ultorn's "[humans] are doomed!" with "Yes... but a thing isn't beautiful because it lasts."

That's a lesson I'm not sure if I'll ever take in. It's hard to see change and growth as not being a refutation.

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Corroboration and plenty of it.

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Melissa and I watched Touch of Evil last night. It's sometimes a little hard to follow, and bits come across as racist, but it's also exploring the racism of the time, and a lot of the film's message about accountability and the power of white men in USA culture are especially timely.

One great exchange, emphasis mine:

Quinlan: Our friend Vargas has some very special ideas about police procedure. He seems to think it don't matter whether killers hang or not, so long as we obey the fine print.
Vargas: Captain, I don't think a policeman should work like a dog catcher in putting criminals behind bars. No! In any free country, a policeman is supposed to enforce the law, and the law protects the guilty as well as the innocent.
Quinlan: Our job is tough enough.
Vargas: It's supposed to be. It has to be tough. A policeman's job is only easy in a police state. That's the whole point, Captain - who's the boss, the cop or the law?

Decent month for music. 4+5 Star stuff in red, and in general in descending order of "you should hear this!"

• Big Chief (Pt. 2) (Professor Longhair) - Gonna give this a 5 on principle. Mentioned in the show Treme, I just love the jarring chords and how raw a sound the recording has.
• Newport Folk Fest 2015 (Jon Batiste & Stay Human) The newest song for School of Honk... "I feel good, I free, I feel fine just being me, I feel good today, oh so good today..."
• Right in. (feat. Coko Buttafli) (BRYCE DETROIT) Forget where I heard this, but I dig it.
• Safe and Sound (Stereo Dub & Karen Souza) There's an insurance commercial using a softer version of "Safe and Sound" - this ain't it, quite, but still great.
• Best Friend (feat. NERVO, The Knocks & Alisa Ueno) (Sofi Tukker) One thing about Apple product releases, the spots have some great music.
• For the Damaged Coda (Blonde Redhead) aka "Morty's Theme" from Rick + Mortya
• Joy of Cola (Aretha Franklin) This is a catchy song form a Pepsi ad. Though it's kind of weird having Aretha Franklin give a 'You GO Girl' to the little white girl who literally stole her voice.
• (Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below We're All Going to Go (Single Edit) (Curtis Mayfield) As far as I can tell the main difference between the Single Edit and the 8 minute version is that they just end it with a big explosion at 3:30...
• Pass the Peas (Single) (The J.B.'s) A competent song from James Brown's crew, JP Honk might play it with Charter Lab Conservatory School Kids, but doesn't really grab me.
• Fifteen Beers (Johnny Paycheck) Kinda corny country, but man I love the name "Johnny Paycheck". (Worth googling the background)
• Conquistadors (feat. Decompoze, One Be Lo & Senim) (Binary Star) Energetic Hip Hop.
• Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video (Mike Polk, Jr) The sequel I posted last week is better but "this train is carrying jobs out of Cleveland" is great.
• Where I'm From (Digable Planets) Man my freshman roommate loved this disc.
• Lux Aeterna (Clocks & Clouds) I just realized I should have gone for the Clint Mansell version, which has the big chorale thing. Not sure if I want 6 minutes worth though.
• The Ladies' Bras (Jonny Trunk & Wisbey) "At 36 seconds, it is the shortest song ever to enter the UK charts". I appreciate its feeling for women's underwear and their physical forms.

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Football isn't a contact sport, it's a collision sport. Dancing is a good example of a contact sport.

I was thinking about doing 24 Hour Comics Day, but decided to divert my gumption elsewhere... to make myself feel better about that I recreated a roughly 10 year old comic I made.

-- http://drawbartdraw.com/

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WAIT WAIT WAIT IT'S PRONOUNCED WAH-KEEN???

Man. I have been getting all of my news via text on screen, I guess.

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I liked the underwater bit on the 5th and the swing ride on the 26th...

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bad ux is a misdemeanor against humanity & google inbox "speed dial" is a joke. New songs I found out about last month, in descending "You gotta hear / see this!" order...

• Let Forever Be (The Chemical Brothers) This video is so amazing, by some of the same folks who did "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".
• My Name Is (Kellylee Evans) Beautiful retro song - the video looks like a Bond movie intro.
• Mister Rogers Remixed: Sing Together (B-Side) (John D Boswell) Inspirational!
• Lemonade (SOPHIE) "But the most delightful part of this song is the amazing sound effects which are indescribably enjoyable and unique, like sliding on a soapy surface."
• Honkey Tonk Women (Old & In the Gray)
• Lose Yourself (Kellylee Evans) I wonder about the history of this, her other song shares a title with an Eminem song, and then this is a straight up cover.
• The Rocky Song Remixed (Ronald Jenkees) Ronald Jenkess just loves music so much.
• Beat It Dubstep (Poppin John - Ricardo Walker) Some amazing dancing here.
• Make Those Move (I Am Legion) In Bass Wars Jango and Boba Fett totally blow out Obi's "The Dip"
• The Greeks (Is Tropical) Reminds me of Phoenix, a bit.
• You've Got Time (Regina Spektor) Title song to "Orange is the New Black" - Regina Spektor is always so good.
• All About That Bass (Meghan Trainor) Full figure empowerment! I guess this one is making the round?
• Poisoning Pigeons In the Park (Tom Lehrer) I actually sang this for High School Senior Talent Night. Not well received.
• The Pussycats in Outer Space (Josie and the Pussycats) Theme song - man I miss Saturday cartoons! And the design of the spaceship really left an impact on me.
• Bring down The Birds (Herbie Hancock) Source of the "Groove is in the Heart" bassline...
• Exactly Like You (New Orleans Jazz Vipers) Honk Band Tune
• Oye Como Va (Los Lonely Boys) Decent cover.
• Feelin' Alright (Dave Mason) Also a decent cover.

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Republicans: we had to bomb the economy, in order to save it.

Love is blind, which is why it's usually preceded by touch.

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http://www.thisismyjam.com/kirkjerk :

Beautiful and melancholy.

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You say, 'I'm great at multitasking.' I hear, 'Delusion's made my carelessness scalable.'

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You learn the greatest lessons from failure. For example, that failing sucks.

--via BB

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http://www.jamisbuck.org/presentations/rubyconf2011/ - fun presentation (w/ live runnable demos) on maze generating algorithms... via EB

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#24hcd --24 Hour Comics Day Team MKK gogogogogo!
via gizmodo's New York's Subway May Not Survive Nicole -- they talk about times they actually had to send in scuba divers, though I'm assuming this must be a 'shopped fake, unless they still had the lights on in cars down there...

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"Okay, how about this theory. What if none of the stuff in 'Murder, She Wrote' actually happened..."
"It didn't!"

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Wish I had a weather app that touched on a bit of "why", not just "what"-eg today's crazy wind is the scrap end of Tropical Storm Nicole...
--Really starting to dig this whole genre of "playful covers of recent hiphop/pop".

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http://io9.com/5371327/the-grand-unified-theory-of-supermans-powers - one theory to explain all of Superman's myriad abilities.

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http://wikidumper.blogspot.com/ - mixed feelings about seeing all the nominated-for-deletion wiki articles. Some of that stuff seems brilliant.

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http://www.thedailynice.com/ - in theory I like the idea of "one nice image a day" (purposefully ephemeral, in that it's not easy to save or review the old ones.) In practice, eh.

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TOPTIP: add "pwn" after the http:// for any youtube URL (for example, http://www.pwnyoutube.com/watch?v=oIr8-f2OWhs for today's) and you get to a website that still lets you download the .flv -- 'cause the link for the MP3 for today's video didn't work.

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http://lifehacker.com/5368294/top-10-ways-to-get-more-from-a-cameraphone - I like to take snapshots of screens, like my travel itinerary. The food/diet idea is interesting.

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http://www.boingboing.net/2009/10/01/tilt-shift-video-a-d.html - disney tiltshift. Still amazed at what an illusion mere focus can make! Ohio politics has a lot not to like, but this is just great...

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 16

WHEREAS, The members of the 116th General Assembly of Ohio wish to recognize the rock song "Hang On Sloopy" as the official rock song of the great State of Ohio; and

WHEREAS, In 1965, an Ohio-based rock group known as the McCoys reached the top of the national record charts with "Hang On Sloopy," composed by Bert Russell and Wes Farrell, and that same year, John Tagenhorst, then an arranger for the Ohio State University Marching Band, created the band's now-famous arrangement of "Sloopy," first performed at the Ohio State-Illinois football game on October 9, 1965; and

WHEREAS, Rock music has become an integral part of American culture, having attained a degree of acceptance no one would have thought possible twenty years ago; and

WHEREAS, Adoption of "Hang On Sloopy" as the official rock song of Ohio is in no way intended to supplant "Beautiful Ohio" as the official state song, but would serve as a companion piece to that old chestnut; and

WHEREAS, If fans of jazz, country-and-western, classical, Hawaiian and polka music think those styles also should be recognized by the state, then by golly, they can push their own resolution just like we're doing; and

WHEREAS, "Hang On Sloopy" is of particular relevance to members of the Baby Boom Generation, who were once dismissed as a bunch of long-haired, crazy kids, but who now are old enough and vote in sufficient numbers to be taken quite seriously; and

WHEREAS, Adoption of this resolution will not take too long, cost the state anything, or affect the quality of life in this state to any appreciable degree, and if we in the legislature just go ahead and pass the darn thing, we can get on with more important stuff; and

WHEREAS, Sloopy lives in a very bad part of town, and everybody, yeah, tries to put my Sloopy down; and

WHEREAS, Sloopy, I don't care what your daddy do, 'cause you know, Sloopy girl, I'm in love with you; therefore be it Resolved, That we, the members of the 116th General Assembly of Ohio, in adopting this Resolution, name "Hang On Sloopy" as the official rock song of the State of Ohio; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislative Clerk of the House of Representatives transmit duly authenticated copies of this Resolution to the news media of Ohio.

So now I know why like every Middle School and High School Stage Band in Ohio played that song!

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There's got a be people in Florida who attribute Tampa's recent baseball success to a divine boost after dropping the "Devil" from Rays.

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<<Lose something every day. Accept the fluster / of lost door keys, the hour badly spent / The art of losing isn't hard to master>> Back to the sweet sweet grindstone!

I want to see the Sox beat the Angels, then, sigh, the Tribe, and then the Cubs. That would be the ideal post-season for me.

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Quote of the Moment

Each of these first rockets was like a beloved woman for us. We were in love with every rocket, we desperately wanted it to blast off successfully. We would give our hearts and souls to see it flying.

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Video of the Moment

--When furry college mascots attack. Each other. I haven't heard this with sound yet.

Man, my neck and upper back are so sore and stiff, maybe from carrying a too-heavy monitor. Bleh.

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Quote of the Moment

It makes dying so much easier. There's so much less to leave.

From that Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes... still hit and miss, but I liked learning how Jean Baptiste John, a general during the French days of the Terror who later became King of Sweden had a secret tattoo "Death to all kings." (Maybe just a rumor though... a lot of these anecdotes are a bit suspect.)

Quote of the Moment

I didn't learn anything, but at least I saw something.

Her biography and life as a performer is given an illustrated writeup in Harvey "American Splendour" Pekar's "Our Movie Year", along with many other obscure jazz and blues artists.

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Study of the Moment

Religious belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published yesterday

I think you have to take both the study and the interpretation with a giant grain of salt, but the correlation between high rates of religious belief and high rates of strongly negative things is interesting, and an interesting retort to people who would assume the opposite.

Passage of the Moment

"I thought you didn't smoke?" George said as I reached over and plucked one of the cigarettes from her packet. We were huddled together on the sofa, under a duvet that George had hurridly gone and pulled off the bed. (It wasn't really cold in the room, but it's just nice to huddle together under something. And anyway, there's something slightly awkward about staying completely nude after sex. Like you've finished doing everything now but, rather inelegantly, appear to have some nakedness left over. It's the kind of feeling you get looking at the food remaining on a table after a party's ended.)

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Kirk's Law of Plugs and Sockets
Any plug that can't be inserted and removed with a single hand, ideally without looking too closely, is broken by design.

Coaxial cable and old-school press-to-release stereo wire plugs, I'm looking at you. Seriously, who came up with these things?

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Politics of the Moment

Well, actually, he forgot Poland.

(transcription here) I only watched about half of it, but that's the line that seemed really funny, how he kept coming back to it. Not to denigrate Poland, but in terms of allies, you'd like to have some larger players on the world stage besides England... I had a dream the other night where Mo wanted me to get a diamond added to my wedding band, as if it was something people generally did for a certain anniversary. I really didn't want to though, preferring the simple circle. My simple wedding band spins so well on a table...also, I realize I've developed the habit of rotating the ring on my finger with my thumb when I'm walking along. I must do this more than I realize, I keep finding myself trying to do it even after I've taken the ring off for yoga...

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Link of the Moment
Making the rounds last week, it's The Worst Jobs In Science. It's like a strangely comforting variation of Murphy's job; your job can't be so bad that there's not one worse. I mean, heck, some of these careers sound worse than unemployment.

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Quote of the Moment

Lousy minor setbacks! This world sucks!

Man, do I know the feeling.

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Rant of the Moment
Rented "F-Zero GX", a GameCube game from Blockbuster yesterday. I'm really impressed with all thier windows plasted over with announcements how they're slashing late fees, that now days late cost the same as normal days, given how they've jacked up the minimum game rent time to like a week, and charge $6 or so accordingly. Of course they don't need to charge extra for late fees, because over the years they've just added in like 3 days of late fees into the main price. Yeesh. You know, I don't feel that some what stressful things like going on an airplane and what not get under my skin, but I always feel my anxiety about other things rising during those times...some kind of weird sublimation?

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Patent of the Moment
Once upon a time, George and Charlotte Blonsky saw that some types of elephant spin while giving birth to assist with the delivery, and thought they could build a machine to do the same for humans. Despite the irresistible image of a baby being flung at 7G's (based on a spin speed of 82.3 RPM) the device actually uses a net, which contains a trigger which would stop the ride once the baby is out. Phew! For this, they won a posthumous Ig® Nobel prize.

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Music of the Spheres

Boobs make sounds. This is perhaps more of a poetic thing that one develops as time goes on. I don't even know if it's a real sound; it's more of a metaphysical sound, I suppose. Different tits, the way they move, they make these different sounds that are just totally exotic. Maybe it's a total fantasy, but I swear I hear it. Some days, I have to use a Sony Walkman out there, it gets so bad. Especially in the springtime.

I post it here in honor of the 80-degree start to the month we should be having today.

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Link of the Moment
Tinyapps.org has small apps for windows (in the sense of each being able to fit on to a 3.5 floppy, not in the sense of the previously posted tiny games for Windows.) Favorites of mine like Irfanview and PuTTY are here. It's interesting to compare these gems to the 4meg mousedriver I was loading the other month... Poem of the Moment

MeWe!

This article talks about it and some other ideas in art.

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Toy Link of the Moment
Modern Living is one of the coolest Flash sites I've ever seen. Click on the man in the recliner, then select a set of animations, then click on an animation. The collection has a very interesting style and a twisted edge, a bit like interactive Plymptoons. The parent site, hoogerbrugge.com, has some other animations as well.