How many academics read this site? Not a million - maybe not one. Whatever. Anyway, Google keeps expanding its network and now they have a search engine for academic papers. Other specialist Google searches you probably don't know about include those for Apple and Microsoft. Go check them out.
I highlighted a cheap peice of art the day before yesterday, but if you take a taxi to the exhibition I hope it doesn't cost as much as this one. A whopping US$5,108 is what it will cost you to travel the 15 miles between Baghdad airport and the city center. A snip when you think the area is rife with kidnappers.
Saw it first on Lisa's blog, and today managed to print out four photos I blew up to an incredible size via the Rasterbator site. cool. Cool. COOL!
Here's your chance to buy a Damien Hirst painting for 35 pounds sterling. All the art at an exhibition at the Royal College of Art is up for sale for that paltry sum. The only catch is you won't be told which artist produced your work until you've handed over the dosh! Brilliant idea.
That's your number for today! Now don't go using it anywhere. Nelson Mandela won't be happy.
I have a friend who is a devourer of breakfast cereals. He would happily eat them for breakfast or supper - lunch usually being something more lavish at the office. That friend may even be reading this now. If he is, he should also read this article about students in America "consuming breakfast cereal as if their grade-point averages depended on it". We didn't have grade-point averages in England and in any case my friend's predilection came later when college dining halls were no longer an option. The fact is cereals are a little like astronaut food ... all your daily vitamins in one handy package. And if the cereal itself can taste a little 'cardboardy' after a while, you certainly can't beat the convenience.
It's a slightly different gastronomic scene here in Japan though. I went and bought a box of cornflakes for Dad today and whereas the overpriced boxes of Kellog's this and that used to be in a fairly prominent place near the checkout counter, today I saw that they'd been moved well out of the way right against the back wall of the supermarket. A little different from Australia or England where you can find an entire aisle dedicated to the stuff. I like my cereal, but I think I prefer the attitude here.
Just watched the Korean version of 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses'. Absolutely stunning and sumptuous - even though I had to struggle through the Japanese subtitles. I'm now looking for a DVD copy with English subtitles. Highly recommended.
OK, one last entry before I shoot off towards yonder capital. This Guardian article is an excellent piece on "the most successful studio of any kind in the history of cinema" ... Pixar. Interest in the company has been piqued because of the release of its latest film 'The Incredibles'. By all accounts another blockbuster and The Bloggs have already purchased their tickets even though we're not exactly sure when it is being released here! Soon I hope.
The linked Guardian article is well worth the read and here's a paragraph I liked.
"Computer animation's best human characters ... are strictly symbolic representations, not lifelike creatures. And in any case, profound human emotions are not always best conveyed by the characters who appear the most human at first glance. (If you need convincing of this, compare any single appearance by Charles Schulz's endlessly complex Snoopy - animated or in strip cartoon - with the entire cinematic output of Richard Gere.)"
No entries for a couple of days. Gotta pick Granddad up at Narita airport. Looking forward to seeing if I get the third degree at the airport train station. Even with the high alerts at airports these days, I wonder if there is another major airport in the west that checks the identity of EVERY person entering the airport before they are allowed in? And they did so well before 9/11.
I know I'm pretty much still on my own here, but this is something for anyone that comes here and is still using Microsoft's Internet Explorer to read this site. Get off it and start using the browser of choice. Get Firefox. Here's what Wired Magazine concludes about the browser the geeks are raving about, "Once you try Firefox, you'll wonder why anyone uses any other web browser". That's a fact. Read the rest of the Wired article here.
... they'll forget all about that song you wrote and couldn't even sing in correct order. Ob-la-di Ob-la-da has been voted the worst song in musical history. I can think of a few worse, but voters were probably in the same frame of mind as me when I say "Star Wars Episode 1" is the worst film in the history of cinema.
Went to see a small touring company from England performing George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. When the entire play is performed by a mere 5 people, there is always going to be some edges. Unfortunately, this had more than a few. The more I watch theatre and film, the more convinced I become that acting is mostly about 'voice'. How actors characterise their parts depends very much on what physical voice they bring to the show. Pygmalion itself, of course, is a hum-dinger and there are some lines that are difficult to screw up ... so it is not to say I didn't laugh. However, these actors just didn't have the voices to carry it off. All the more painful when the whole play revolves around phonetics and language.
Read Pygmalion in its entirety online.
Got this in an email from a friend visiting the States at the moment:
Excerpt from today's Fox News (italics mine):
"Coming up: Could the theory of evolution soon be wiped from our textbooks?"
Is America going mad, or is it just Fox?
I report. You decide.
I think if there's any one group of American citizens I feel most sorry for as a result of the re-election of President Bush, it is the soldiers on the front line. And while we are on the subject, the BBC's Iraq in Transition site is a good source for information on what is going in that country.
I've gone on about obesity before - and now the Beeb is reporting airline profits in the U.S. are being hit (to the tune of $275 million in 2000) because passengers are too big. That's right, the simple calculation is the heavier the passenger, the more fuel it takes to lift off and stay in the air. The average American adult "put on 10 pounds (4.5 kgs) of weight during the 1990s". Only 10?
I guess there are many things that could be said about the election, but why don't I just let the guys at Boing Boing speak for me.
Put away that gun
This part is simple
Try to recognize
What is in your mind
God help us!
Help us lose our minds
These slippery people
Help us understand
Or is this more appropriate?
Hold tight
Wait till the party's over
Hold tight
We're in for nasty weather
There has got to be a way
Burning down the house
'Ohio' (usually romanised as 'ohayo') translates into English as 'Good Morning'.
It certainly doesn't look too good from here. :+(
As the polls open across America my gut feeling is that Bush is going to do it. Let's hope I belch.
From when I was about 10 years old election night was probably the high point of TV viewing. Now, I know that makes me out to be a boring old fart at a very young age, but even back in 1970 the thrills and spills of a British election were totally enthralling. So here we are in 2004 and I can't remember an election in the last 20 years that has grabbed my attention has much as this one in the United States. Even the Labour landslide of 1997 was not as important because the real work had been done when Thatcher lost the leadership of her party back in 1990. Yes, it took a further 7 years to get the Tories out, but getting her out was more important. With the 2-term limitations in the U.S., and all that goes with leaving a 'legacy', this is one of the most important elections they've had in a long time.
The pollsters were getting it wrong back in 1990, and I hope to goodness they get it wrong today in America. Of course I'm hoping Kerry wins it, but I think just as important is that the winner claims the prize by an incontestable margin. It certainly is the only way Kerry is going to get through the front door of the White House.
Postscript on the Accidental Tourist. NHK, the national broadcaster, just blew him away with a one minute report 55 minutes into the broadcast saying his body will be repatriated soon. I know the news of his body being found actually broke yesterday, but their attitude almost struck of callousness. They were definitely sending a message.
Update: Stewart sent me this Reuters article on an Irish website that actually talks about the earthquake vs. hostage dilemma ... 'cept it hasn't been much of a dilemma!