Using Bees To Effect Vengeance

I get to be as self-indulgent as I want without wasting anyone's time. Guilt-free solipsism -- excellent!

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Friday, May 30, 2003
 
I've been at a bit of a loose end recently, and having cast about for explanations for this malaise, settled on one or more of the following:

1) 'er indoors almost turning 30
2) jobapathy (one word)
3) imminent residence purchase shock
4) lusty Using Bees harem gone on summer holidays
5) chronic Sisyphean housemessiness resulting in total emotional shutdown
6) i'm a lazy, unmotivated, directionless bastard

But it turns out I've merely been suffering from "end of season affective disorder". Phew. One benefit of having been ignominiously relegated to the First Division is that the season starts earlier. C'mon You Irons.

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Wednesday, May 28, 2003
 
In honor of Jeff's completion of his Masters' program, I have compiled the following Masterful EP:

1. To Be A Master
2. Master Thesis
3. Master Of Reality
4. Master Of Puppets

You'll have to download to find out who the performers are.

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Tuesday, May 27, 2003
 
Further to my 5.21 post on California tracking anti-war protestors, the state's AG has disavowed CATIC's comments, and claims that they are not keeping any tabs on protestors. I couldn't help smirking at the following though: '"I disassociate myself strenuously" from those comments, said Lockyer, who said he participated in free speech activities himself as a young man.' Ooh, makes it sound so illicit, as if it weren't enshrined in the very first amendment to our venerated constitution.

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I've been looking at region-free DVD players lately because I want to watch West Ham United DVDs, English sitcoms that will never make it in the US, and other such items. US manufacturers (or rather US media conglomerates) hate region-free players, and make it very difficult to get them -- most of the ones I looked at were around $300. Er, not an option for me at this juncture. Plus from what I could tell, I'd need a TV that would allow me to play back PAL (the European TV standard) rather than NTSC (the US standard).

But today I came across a DVD player that can play MP3 CDs, VCDs, etc....AND (via a slight modification made with the remote) be made into a Region-Free DVD player. In case you're not following my logic, that means all manner of British DVDs are now watchable, not to mention Japanese, French, Swedish and Andorran. Also, the player appears to automatically converts the PAL TV signals to NTSC so that they're watchable on American TVs. My interest was piqued by the aforementioned, but the testosterone started racing when I saw that Amazon has it on sale for $40 after mail-in-rebate. I just ordered one. Can't promise the region-free hack will work, but my research indicates that the odds are very good indeed. Worst comes to worst, it's probably worth the $40 just to play MP3 CDs, which I can't currently do.

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Friday, May 23, 2003
 
Fluxblog nails the utter cowpatness that was Matrix Reloaded (see 5.22 entry). Well said, that man.

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Wednesday, May 21, 2003
 
An exhaustive analysis of various Beatles songs, originally posted on Usenet by the looks of it. Plenty of muso musings, but some stuff for real people as well.

Of course I went straight to And Your Bird Can Sing and -- right out of the gate -- an insight: the riff is Baroque. Not just baroque but Baroque. Of course! It all seems rather obvious now, but I'd never seen anyone characterize it that way before.

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Simply brain-boggling idiocy that would be laughable if it weren't so dangerous. California's anti-terrorism unit was keeping tabs on war protestors. What does one have to do with the other? Let the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center (CATIC) spokesman take you through the impeccable reasoning:

"You can make an easy kind of a link that, if you have a protest group protesting a war where the cause that's being fought against is international terrorism, you might have terrorism at that (protest)," said Van Winkle, of the state Justice Department. "You can almost argue that a protest against that is a terrorist act."

If the late S.I Hayakawa had been alive to hear that prize specimen of dis-logic, he would have had no choice but to deliver a linguistic judo chop to the back of that moron's skull.

M. Van Winkle continues: "I've heard terrorism described as anything that is violent or has an economic impact, and shutting down a port certainly would have some economic impact. Terrorism isn't just bombs going off and killing people."

Well, then Herr Van Winkle, what is terrorism, then? "The state's anti-terror center also operates without a clear definition of terrorism. Asked for one, Van Winkle replied: "I'm not sure where to go with that. But as a state organization, we have this information and we're going to share it."

And people wonder why civil libertarians like myself argue that "benign" governmental information-gathering invariably gets put to inappropriate ends. It's because of idiots like Obergruppenfuhrer Van Ribbentrop, that's why.

In a totally un-related story, the Defense Department's nakedly unconstitutional civilian electronic surveillance program called "Total Information Awareness" has now been re-named "Terrorist Information Awareness".

[via fellow Costello-lister Unqualified Offerings]

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Maybe you've seen the video that's been speeding around the 'Net of the dorky kid who recorded himself pretending to engage in a full-on light-saber fight and then forgot to erase it before giving the tape back to his friend. Naturally his friend encoded it and posted it to Kazaa, and next thing you know, the kid is internationally famous.

Anyway, the kid has been found, and the blogger who originally posted the video decided to raise a little money to buy the kid an iPod in appreciation. Instead, over $4,000 bucks came rolling in, so they're going to talk to the kid and his family to figure out how to spend it.

Original Video
Remix
How the kid was found
Interview with the kid

[All courtesy of Waxy.org]

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Tuesday, May 20, 2003
 
All of the songs ever featured on The Gilmore Girls, available for download. And considering the good taste evidenced by that show's music director (Sam Phillips?), it's a nice selection. [via Phancy.com]

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As has been pointed out in the discussion threads on Daily Kos -- home of the intelligent Democratic grass roots --, Buffet's article below is a more powerful and plain-spoken attack on Bush's economic policy than anything the Democrats have come up with yet. Pathetic.

Other interesting memes making the rounds that appear to me to have some political legs:

1. This is not a Tax Cut -- it's a Tax Shift. Any federal tax savings will be more than offset by rising municipal, state and property taxes implemented by floundering states and localities.

2. This is not a Tax Cut -- it's a Debt Increase

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Warren Buffet, on Bush's dividend tax cuts (and the even more ludicrous Congressional compromise):

Now the Senate says that dividends should be tax-free to recipients. Suppose this measure goes through and the directors of Berkshire Hathaway (which does not now pay a dividend) therefore decide to pay $1 billion in dividends next year. Owning 31 percent of Berkshire, I would receive $310 million in additional income, owe not another dime in federal tax, and see my tax rate plunge to 3 percent.

And our receptionist? She'd still be paying about 30 percent, which means she would be contributing about 10 times the proportion of her income that I would to such government pursuits as fighting terrorism, waging wars and supporting the elderly. Let me repeat the point: Her overall federal tax rate would be 10 times what my rate would be.

Administration officials say that the $310 million suddenly added to my wallet would stimulate the economy because I would invest it and thereby create jobs. But they conveniently forget that if Berkshire kept the money, it would invest that same amount, creating jobs as well.

Proponents of cutting tax rates on dividends argue that the move will stimulate the economy. A large amount of stimulus, of course, should already be on the way from the huge and growing deficit the government is now running. I have no strong views on whether more action on this front is warranted. But if it is, don't cut the taxes of people with huge portfolios of stocks held directly. (Small investors owning stock held through 401(k)s are already tax-favored.) Instead, give reductions to those who both need and will spend the money gained. Enact a Social Security tax "holiday" or give a flat-sum rebate to people with low incomes. Putting $1,000 in the pockets of 310,000 families with urgent needs is going to provide far more stimulus to the economy than putting the same $310 million in my pockets.

When you listen to tax-cut rhetoric, remember that giving one class of taxpayer a "break" requires -- now or down the line -- that an equivalent burden be imposed on other parties. In other words, if I get a break, someone else pays. Government can't deliver a free lunch to the country as a whole. It can, however, determine who pays for lunch. And last week the Senate handed the bill to the wrong party.


Good sensible bloke, that Buffet. Yay for billionaires!

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Friday, May 16, 2003
 
Yesterday on my way back from lunch, I was stopped on the street by someone from our local public radio station and asked for my opinion on the walkout conducted by the Texas Democrats in order to prevent a naked redistricting power grab engineered by Tom DeLay. The legislators holed up in a Holiday Inn in Ardmore, Oklahoma until it was too late for the bill to pass, and are now back in Austin.

Anyway, when I got into work this morning, there was a voice mail from one of my clients asking if I was on the radio this morning or if it was someone who sounded just like me.

You can hear my soundbites by clicking here [requires RealAudio]. I'm in there a couple of times. For context, the questions I was asked were "How do you feel about the walkout by the Texas Democrats" and "Do you think the walkout will jeopardize the relationship between the legislators". Initial reactions:

1. God, I sound so American! I mean, I knew that, but....
2. I talk much more quietly than everyone else! I mean, I knew that, but...
3. The "political theater" reference was courtesy of Daily Kos, which I had read shortly before going to lunch!

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When I Was Little -- The Baby Picture Project [via the fascinating Sharpeworld]

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You can listen to a bunch of old-time radio shows for free at Radiolovers.com -- comedy shows, variety shows, westerns, music -- I'm listening to Artie Shaw right now. [via Incoming Signals]

Along the same lines, BBC Radio 7 (although they air new programming as well, and it's live, not on-demand).

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Thursday, May 15, 2003
 
Just called my Senator for the first time ever -- to urge her to have the Senate Commerce Committee hold hearings on the FCC's proposed relaxation of media ownership rules, rather than just letting them get by under the radar. It was fun! I stumbled a bit at the beginning, but pulled it together and sounded eminently reasonable when speaking to the aide who answered the phone.

My only worry is that my call won't be enough. Maybe if I call again she'll know I'm serious and will schedule hearings?

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[via Boing Boing]

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Tuesday, May 13, 2003
 
Per the below, the Worcestershire Badger Society website. They are a member of the National Federation of Badger Groups (NBFG), who have issued a press release about the offending badger. It turns out the badger's name is Boris. Boris the Badger -- it just sounds like trouble, doesn't it?

The NFBG's previous press release announced the news that a US funk band was promoting badger welfare on its UK tour. This is worth quoting from extensively:

"The connection between funk and badgers is not immediately apparent, but Breakestra's manager, Charles Raggio, explains: “The group as a whole consists of several badger lovers who border on the badger obsessed. There is actually a member of the group who's stage name is Paul "The Badger" Vargas. Paul is pictured in many press photos for the group wearing a Badger shirt that I bought for him from the NFBG website.”

"NFBG Chairman Steve Jackson will be attending the London show to help out. “My work for badgers usually involves surveying badger setts, rescuing injured animals, attending meetings and working on badger websites,” said Steve. “I never imagined that I would be attending a live funk performance to benefit these marvellous mammals. Having downloaded some of The Breakestra's music from the internet and listened to their unique sound, I am really looking forward to the experience.”

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BBC News: Badger rampage injures five

This is a must-read -- every line is a jewel. I cannot tell you how pleased I am that there is an organization called the Worcestershire Badger Society.


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Friday, May 09, 2003
 

Stop The FCC-- sign the petition, yo.

"On June 2, the Federal Communications Commission intends to lift restrictions on media ownership that could allow your local newspaper, cable provider, radio stations, and TV channels all to be owned by one company. The result could be the disappearance of the checks and balances provided by a competitive media marketplace -- and huge cutbacks in local news and reporting. Good, balanced information is the basis for our democracy. That's why we're asking that:

"Congress and the FCC should stop media deregulation and work to make the media diverse, competitive, balanced, and fair."


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Thursday, May 08, 2003
 
So as you may have read here and elsewhere, the Howard Dean for President campaign is using Meetup to help co-ordinate simultaneous grass-roots meetings across the country. This is totally unprecedented stuff, and there has been a lot of press lately highlighting the enormous swell of support for Dean, and Meetup's role in facilitating that.

So the unofficial Howard Dean campaign weblog (the campaign manager and other Dean staff post to it occasionally) has a thread soliciting comments from people who attended the hundreds of Dean Meetups that took place yesterday, and it's absolutely fascinating stuff. This is Internet-era grassroots democracy being constructed on the fly by thousands of different people -- decentralized political campaigning. No-one knows exactly what to do or how exactly it all ought to work -- there's been almost no time for planning. But it's working, and it could be the story of the 2004 election. I'm kvelling!

I still don't know if I'm going to vote for the man, but the reason I was a Nader supporter in 2000 was that he was the only candidate discussing the things that we as a country need to discuss -- the role of corporations in public life, civil liberties, health care, "globalization". A lot has changed since 2000, but I still think these issues are on the whole being ignored, and so far it sounds like Dean is the best hope of dragging them onto the election-year agenda. I don't know how I feel about his foreign policy approach, but at the very least I hope he wins New Hampshire and gets a national discussion going.

Plus as an Internet dork [disclosure: and Meetup investor], it's thrilling to see how his campaign has given the Internet a chance to prove what it can do for politics!

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Another MP3 Of The Time Increment -- "Retrieval of You" by The Minus 5 and Wilco.

The new Minus 5 album "Down With Wilco" is their best yet. Wilco serves as Scott McCaughey's band on this one, and you can tell it was recorded right after Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Anyway, this song is one of the most straightforward on the record, and I've posted it because it gets stuck in my head for days at a time -- particularly the line "They call me DJ MiniMart/cos that's where I work". Enjoy.

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Anil posted about the recent infusion of Hindi music into hip-hop. I was watching MTV2 recently -- which I rarely do -- and there's a straight up Indian hip-hop song playing. With a cool video no less. It was Punjabi MC, and it incorporated the little Knight Rider riff that's been in use for a few years.

I was pleasantly surprised to see it -- it's a development I can't say I'd anticipated. Yeah, in England -- where the Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi population is more significant -- you have the likes of Asian Dub Foundation and Cornershop, but in the US, South Asian culture is much less noticeable. Then again, Missy's been using tablas for a while, so maybe she helped it along.

Anyway, an MP3 of The Time Increment is Beware Of The Boys -- Punjabi MC featuring Jay-Z.

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Wednesday, May 07, 2003
 
101 Reasons Why The Simpsons Is The Greatest Show Of All Time.

"#6: Any facet of life or topic of conversation can be somehow related back to the Simpsons." This is true.

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Ella Fitzgerald's famous Live-in-Berlin version of Mack The Knife -- the least offensive song ever.

[via The Minor Fall, The Major Lift, who, despite having a great blog name, is clearly in need of re-Ellafication].

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