{"id":1549,"date":"2005-08-20T10:02:00","date_gmt":"2005-08-20T18:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=1549"},"modified":"2005-08-20T10:02:00","modified_gmt":"2005-08-20T18:02:00","slug":"1549","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=1549","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<p><font face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\">Once again, from the top, linkfarm:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>from fellow <a href=\"http:\/\/www.clubs.psu.edu\/Python\/\">Monty Python Society<\/a> alum Marc, <a href=\"http:\/\/eurobrews.com\/monty.html\">Monty Python&#8217;s Holy Grail Ale<\/a> (which I&#8217;ve actually seen online before, but which is worth the mention here)<\/li>\n<li>from <a href=\"http:\/\/spyderella.blogspot.com\/\">Sharon<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Numbers_station\">numbers station info<\/a>. These I <i>don&#8217;t<\/i> think I was aware actually existed.<\/li>\n<li>backing up for a minute to speak again of <i>Python<\/i>, from <a href=\"http:\/\/maximumverbosit.blogspot.com\/\">Betty<\/a> there&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/ephemeris.sjaa.net\/0312\/b.html\">a study of the Galaxy Song by Eric Idle<\/a> (which reminds me, of course, of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.style.org\/unladenswallow\/\">Estimating the Airspeed Velocity of an Unladen Swallow<\/a>). I wonder if Idle will have to revise the song now that <a href=\"http:\/\/nielsenhayden.com\/makinglight\/archives\/006643.html\">it turns out<\/a> we&#8217;re living in a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.space.com\/scienceastronomy\/050816_milky_way.html\">barred spiral galaxy<\/a>. As <a href=\"http:\/\/www.livejournal.com\/users\/docbrite\/\">Poppy Z. Brite<\/a> writes:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>I knew there was a restaurant at the end of the universe, but I didn&#8217;t know there was a bar at the center of the Milky Way. I want to go there and drink from a cup of stars.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>No worries, though. We&#8217;re still living in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm;<\/li>\n<li>from I don&#8217;t remember who, there&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chron.com\/cs\/CDA\/ssistory.mpl\/metropolitan\/3317031\">this article<\/a> , which in and of itself isn&#8217;t <i>terribly<\/i> interesting, unless you&#8217;re a carbon nanotube enthusiast (or a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.podster.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk\/fotos\/tv_nan.jpg\">nanite<\/a> with dreams of world conquest). But it is nice to see reference to a <i>Monty Python<\/i>  sketch that actually serves as a pretty good metaphor for what the author is writing about. Usually &#8212; and I speak from experience, having <a href=\"http:\/\/www.clubs.psu.edu\/up\/python\/newsletter\/\">looked these things up<\/a> more than anyone ever should &#8212; quotes from <i>Python<\/i>, or pretty much any bit of popular culture, are just lame attempts to demonstrate how wacky the article or, worse, the author is.<\/li>\n<li><i>speaking<\/i> of string, of course &#8212; string theory? &#8212; there&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/americas\/4143968.stm\">this<\/a> from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.livejournal.com\/users\/sleepingjpb\/\">Jeremy<\/a> about ancient Incan computers<\/li>\n<li>and from a bunch of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.quicktopic.com\/23\/H\/g8LpUdPHsfmXd\"><i>other<\/i> MPS alums<\/a>, there&#8217;s both <a href=\"http:\/\/iowahawk.typepad.com\/iowahawk\/2005\/08\/ingmar_bergmans.html\">Ingmar Bergman&#8217;s &#8216;Hazardous Dukes&#8217;<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/iowahawk.typepad.com\/iowahawk\/2005\/02\/fear_and_loathi_1.html\">Fear and Loathing in the Mystery Machine<\/a><\/li>\n<li>from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.defectiveyeti.com\/\">defective yeti<\/a>, a vision of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.defectiveyeti.com\/archives\/001398.html\">sponsorship gone wild<\/a> &#8212; that Dinty Moore sure does make some fine tastin&#8217; quadractic equations!<\/li>\n<li>from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.livejournal.com\/users\/greygirlbeast\/\">Caitlin R. Kiernan<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.walken2008.com\/\">Christopher Walken for President<\/a> (which, sadly, is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.eonline.com\/News\/Items\/0,1,17191,00.html?tnews\">a hoax<\/a>) and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/public\/brayrd.jpg\">this terrific picture<\/a> (about which I even wrote <a href=\"http:\/\/600seconds.blogspot.com\/2005_08_01_600seconds_archive.html#112440754186480985\">a little poem<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>from <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.herald.com\/dave_barrys_blog\/\">Dave Barry<\/a>, a news story about <a href=\"http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/1\/hi\/sci\/tech\/4148164.stm\">lab-grown meat<\/a><\/li>\n<li>from <a href=\"http:\/\/whedonesque.com\/\">Whedonesque<\/a>, an example of the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Uncanny_Valley\">Uncanny Valley effect<\/a> at work, with <a href=\"http:\/\/cgi.ebay.com\/ANGEL-Buffy-AMY-ACKER-MAKEUP-TEST-Production-Bust_W0QQitemZ4758917258QQcategoryZ18839QQssPageNameZWD\">this creepy production bust<\/a> of Amy Acker<\/li>\n<li>from <a href=\"http:\/\/generik.blogspot.com\/\">Generik<\/a>, a bunch:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/video\/html\/2005\/06\/29\/technology\/highbandwidth\/windowsmedia\/20050629_GUEST_VIDEO.html\">iPod Flea<\/a>;<br \/>a selection of bad album cover art, including <a href=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/public\/friendsdead.jpg\">this all-time party favorite<\/a>;<br \/>and the great and all-knowing <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster\">Flying Spaghetti Monster<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<li>from <a href=\"http:\/\/boingboing.net\/\">Boing Boing<\/a>, a whole bunch:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.consumerreports.org\/content\/Home\/Gallery\/Photos\/196601.jpg?WebLogicSession=Qwefz2eVgH295lJcsDTOdJA45H2eyM3jS8dtUkQDyTOVWGfqtCs4|6065507502415997433\/169937912\/6\/7005\/7005\/7002\/7002\/7005\/-1|2405648559754761120\/169937910\/6\/7005\/7005\/7002\/7002\/7005\/-1&#038;FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2279&#038;CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=2303&#038;bmUID=1124573135423\">this 1966 toy<\/a> &#8220;that can do permanent damage to the hearing of an adult;&#8221;<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/petromyzon\/sets\/587315\/\">these custom arcade tokens<\/a> (including <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/petromyzon\/25820156\/in\/set-587315\/\">this one<\/a> little Donnie Rumsfeld should never be allowed to play with in the first place);<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.boingboing.net\/2005\/08\/18\/beer_for_kids.html\">beer for kids<\/a>, which is just plain disturbing;<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.stayfreemagazine.org\/2005\/08\/gay_batman.html\">a gay Batman<\/a>;<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.boingboing.net\/2005\/08\/19\/boing_boings_250000_.html\">even <i>more<\/i><\/a> about the &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster\">noodly master<\/a>&#8221; including a $1-million-dollar challenge (in a similar vein to the challenge put forward by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.randi.org\/research\/index.html\">James Randi<\/a>);<br \/>and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ifilm.com\/ifilmdetail\/2677831\">this terrific music video<\/a> for <a href=\"http:\/\/http:\/\/www.theavalanches.com\/\">the Avalanches<\/a>&#8216; song &#8220;Frontier Psychiatrist&#8221; &#8212; which I first heard on a mix CD from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.m14m.net\/lesingesavant\/\">Remi<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<li><i>from<\/i> Remi, two very cool short movies: the animated <a href=\"ftp:\/\/catsuka:catsuka@catsuka.com\/super_tibetan_racer540.mov\">Super Tibetan Racer<\/a> and the very funny <a href=\"http:\/\/www.doubleedgefilms.com\/spin\/player.html\">Spin<\/a><\/li>\n<li>from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bookslut.com\">Bookslut<\/a>, the not terribly surprising revelation that Victoria &#8220;Posh Spice&#8221; Beckham has apparently <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thisislondon.co.uk\/showbiz\/articles\/20079450?source=Daily%20Mail&#038;ct=5\">never read a book<\/a>;\n<li>from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.salon.com\/\">Salon<\/a> (subscription or sitting through the ads required), the news that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fiona-apple.com\/\">Fiona Apple<\/a>&#8216;s long-shelved, much-leaked <i>Extraordinary Machine<\/i> album will <a href=\"http:\/\/www.salon.com\/ent\/audiofile\/index.html?item=\/ent\/audiofile\/2005\/08\/17\/apple\/index.html\"><i>finally<\/i> see the light of day<\/a> (though not necessarily in the same form some of us have heard already)<\/li>\n<li>from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scifi.com\/scifiwire2005\/\">Sci Fi Wire<\/a>, news of two lawsuits. First, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scifi.com\/scifiwire2005\/index.php?id=32032\">this one<\/a> against the makers of <i>Terminator 2: Judgment Day<\/i>, including director James Cameron. I was particularly amused by this bit:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>The SF film, which starred Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger before he entered politics, was released in 1991 and featured a character that can transform its appearance, the trade paper reported.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Oh, so <i>that&#8217;s<\/i> what <i>T2<\/i> was about. I&#8217;m sure the readers of <i>Sci Fi Wire<\/i> would never know unless told that. And Schwarzenegger used to be in movies? Well who&#8217;d have thunk it? On its face, the suit might seem silly &#8212; are they going to sue <i>every<\/i> film in which shape-shifting creatures appear? It&#8217;s a long list &#8212; but one should keep in mind that Cameron also lost an earlier, similar lawsuit to <a href=\"http:\/\/heim.ifi.uio.no\/~haakonhj\/Terminator\/Faq\/answers\/q7.3.shtml\">Harlan Ellison<\/a> over the first &#8220;Terminator&#8221; film. The second is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scifi.com\/scifiwire2005\/index.php?id=31931\">this lawsuit<\/a> against the makers of <i>The Island<\/i>, which <i>doesn&#8217;t<\/i> seem quite so silly on the face of it. In fact, when I originally saw the trailer for the recent film, the <i>very<\/i> first thing I thought of was <i>Parts: The Clonus Horror<\/i>. It&#8217;s been suggested that Hollywood should focus its energies on remaking <i>bad<\/i> movies instead of perfectly good ones, like it seems to do. And <i>Clonus<\/i> definitely <i>was<\/i> a bad movie. But apparently it wasn&#8217;t intended as a remake.<\/li>\n<li>moving on &#8212; because, yes, I have <i>more<\/i> links to foist on you&#8230;from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.warrenellis.com\/\">Warren Ellis<\/a>, there&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.laurennmccubbin.com\/index.php\">this upcoming Laurenn McCubbin photo show<\/a>, which interprets Italo Calvino&#8217;s <i>Invisible Cities<\/i>. If I was going to be anywhere near Oakland in mid-September, I&#8217;d consider stopping by. Not just because I know <a href=\"http:\/\/www.invisible-city.com\/\">these good people<\/a>, or because it&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/exec\/obidos\/tg\/detail\/-\/0156453800\/qid=1124587911\/sr=8-1\/ref=pd_bbs_1\/104-3559036-6948767?v=glance&#038;s=books&#038;n=507846\">a terrific book<\/a>, but because it looks genuinely interesting<\/li>\n<li>from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.neilgaiman.com\/journal\/journal.asp\">Neil Gaiman<\/a> comes <a href=\"http:\/\/cgi3.ebay.com\/ws\/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&#038;userid=auctioncause\">an interesting auction<\/a> for a good cause and the following amusing entry:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>Am in Providence for the day, helping settle my son into his new living quarters. I think he needs a copy of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.loa.org\/volume.jsp?RequestID=223\">Library of America H. P. Lovecraft<\/a> as a housewarming present, so that when the geometries of the house become subtly <i>wrong<\/i>, and he finds himself having to rummage through old newspaper clippings to find out what happened to the apartment&#8217;s prior tenant, he&#8217;ll at least know that this is perfectly usual. That way he&#8217;ll also know to keep a diary explaining all this for us, and finally <i>vanish&#8230; in a welter&#8230;. of italics and ellipses&#8230;<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<li>from <a href=\"http:\/\/nalohopkinson.blogspot.com\/\">Nalo Hopkinson<\/a>, a link to Shelley Jackson&#8217;s very interesting &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ineradicablestain.com\/skin.html\">Skin<\/a>&#8221; project\n<li>and finally, from who knows who &#8212; possibly some of the same people listed above, if only I could remember &#8212; comes the following:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.journalfen.net\/community\/fandom_wank\/776590.html\">this story<\/a> of a writer trying to turn fan fiction into something like a career<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/1\/hi\/education\/4721073.stm\">Chaucer as rap<\/a>: <i>The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, yo!<\/i><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.knoxnews.com\/knx\/silence\/archives\/2005\/08\/videoplaying_to.shtml\">video-playing tombstones<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/britneyspears.ac\/lasers.htm\">Britney&#8217;s Guide to Semiconductor Physics<\/a><br \/>and <a href=\"http:\/\/purplekoolaid.typepad.com\/my_weblog\/2005\/08\/this_might_expl.html\">God: A Career Retrospective<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And I think that, thank goodness, is finally it.<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once again, from the top, linkfarm: from fellow Monty Python Society alum Marc, Monty Python&#8217;s Holy Grail Ale (which I&#8217;ve actually seen online before, but which is worth the mention here) from Sharon, numbers station info. These I don&#8217;t think I was aware actually existed. backing up for a minute to speak again of Python, &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=1549\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[238],"class_list":["post-1549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1549"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1549\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}