21 August 2009
19 August 2009
17 August 2009
16 August 2009
The unstoppable force stops; the immovable object moves.
That's the answer to yesterdays question. A purely theoretical answer to a purely theoretical question, but it is the logical outcome.
15 August 2009
14 August 2009
Great album names, pt 4
Fables of the Reconstruction
by R.E.M.
Great name, and the other great thing is you can flip it to "Reconstruction of the Fables", which is almost as good.
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by R.E.M.
Great name, and the other great thing is you can flip it to "Reconstruction of the Fables", which is almost as good.
13 August 2009
Kaffirs from space!
The reviews for District 9, as summarised on Rotten Tomatoes, are mostly positive. Out of 26 reviews at the time of writing, only one was negative (that's a ninety six percent "Fresh" rating).
The one negative review, from Armond White in The New York Press, is very critical. White, who's black, detects racism.
Another black reviewer, Radheyan Simonpillai from AskMen.com, is more positive, and more in line with the consensus.
The one negative review, from Armond White in The New York Press, is very critical. White, who's black, detects racism.
District 9 represents the sloppiest and dopiest pop cinema—the kind that comes from a second-rate film culture. No surprise, this South African fantasia from director Neill Blomkamp was produced by the intellectually juvenile New Zealander Peter Jackson. It idiotically combines sci-fi wonderment with the inane “realism” of a mockumentary...
It suggests some lingering Afrikaans’ fear or, possibly, how Jackson really thinks about the Maori and Aborigines.
Another black reviewer, Radheyan Simonpillai from AskMen.com, is more positive, and more in line with the consensus.
An alien movie hasn’t been this cleverly conceived since… well… Alien. Far from your average monster debauchery or invasion extravaganza, District 9 operates as an allegory for apartheid, xenophobia, corporate malfeasance, gentrification, and the dog-eat-dog nature of living in poverty under hostile and oppressive conditions.
12 August 2009
Stupid laws
Take this time waster:
Guess the stupid law.
I got 14 out of 25.
(I like how they put the word illegal in quotation marks.)
Guess the stupid law.
I got 14 out of 25.
(I like how they put the word illegal in quotation marks.)
11 August 2009
06 August 2009
Great album names, pt 3
"Westing by Musket and Sextant"
The good thing about this album name is that it makes you look up two new words (well, if, like me, you were an ignorant teenager when you were introduced to it).
Oh, and it's by Pavement.
The good thing about this album name is that it makes you look up two new words (well, if, like me, you were an ignorant teenager when you were introduced to it).
Oh, and it's by Pavement.
05 August 2009
Blame it on the Internet
Further to my last post:
from Blame it on the Tetons.
Blame it on the web, but the spider's your problem now
from Blame it on the Tetons.
03 August 2009
Great album names, pt 2
Good News for People Who Love Bad News.
The forth album from Modest Mouse.
It has some great lyrics too, such as these from "Bury Me With It":
The forth album from Modest Mouse.
It has some great lyrics too, such as these from "Bury Me With It":
We were aiming for the moon, we were shooting at the stars
But the kids were just shooting at the buses and the cars ...
Well the point was fast but it was too blunt to miss
Life handed us a paycheck, we said "We worked harder than this!"
Yay world!
Being an optimist is logically better than being a pessimist.
Consider: If the pessimists are right
Modern appearances of human improvement are largely illusory, and the world will spiral into self-destruction one way or another. When that happens we find out the pessimists were right, but in the meantime the optimists lead happier lives with the illusion. At best, the pessimists get a moment of victory when they get to say "I told you so" but it doesn't save them from humanity's fate.
Consider: If the optimists are right
The optimists lead contented and fulfilling lives in helping make the world a better place. The pessimists lead lives of the ultimate futility. Skeptical and cynical of an existence when there was never even any need to be they spend their lives thinking "it's all going to turn to shit soon", and it never does.
So, little is to be gained by being a pessimist even if you turn out to be right, and much is lost if you're wrong. Whereas, something is gained by being an optimist either way.
Better to be an optimist, QED.
Consider: If the pessimists are right
Modern appearances of human improvement are largely illusory, and the world will spiral into self-destruction one way or another. When that happens we find out the pessimists were right, but in the meantime the optimists lead happier lives with the illusion. At best, the pessimists get a moment of victory when they get to say "I told you so" but it doesn't save them from humanity's fate.
Consider: If the optimists are right
The optimists lead contented and fulfilling lives in helping make the world a better place. The pessimists lead lives of the ultimate futility. Skeptical and cynical of an existence when there was never even any need to be they spend their lives thinking "it's all going to turn to shit soon", and it never does.
So, little is to be gained by being a pessimist even if you turn out to be right, and much is lost if you're wrong. Whereas, something is gained by being an optimist either way.
Better to be an optimist, QED.
02 August 2009
01 August 2009
High five for the High Line Friends!
Good on the Friends of the High Line!
They have opened New York's High Line again, for public access. I think this is a great idea.
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