[ caught In between ] b.s.

• Monday, May 30, 2005

  1. datetime

     1. {05302005}
     2. {08:22:57 AM}

     content

     1. Mom-To-Be Advertises Baby As Billboard

        (AP)

     2. The suburban Philadelphia mom-to-be is inviting advertisers to put their names on her child's clothing and baby goods, saying the ads are sure to get noticed. "Everyone looks at babies. We're going to be out and about all the time," said Michele Hutchison, 26, whose second child is due in June. Hutchison, a stay-at-home mother, has placed notices on the Web sites Craigslist and eBay seeking bids of at least $1,000 for the rights for one month.
        Now there's a home filled with love; the baby's not even born and the mother is already pimping the kid. I always thought that the job of true parents was to nurture and protect their children, not to exploit them and turn them over to marketing vultures for profit. I wonder how the mother will feel when she's in old age, and her now-adult child comes and tell her, "I can sell you as advertising to nursing homes and caregiving hospices." It's all just business, right?

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• Sunday, May 29, 2005

  1. datetime

     1. {05292005}
     2. {03:30:52 PM}

     content

     1. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

     2. The saga is complete.
        I'm not part of the Star Wars cult, so I didn't come into this movie with any hopes, except to get my $11 worth. And I have to say I was a little disappointed. I dozed off at least twice, during some of the ponderous expository scenes, and would have probably slept through large portions of the movie had my snoring not bothered my neighboring filmgoers so much. Now I couldn't begin to tell you what good acting is except to say that I know it when I see it, but bad acting is when it's obvious that the actor is trying to convey emotions and feelings that aren't really there. Hayden Christensen may be a fine actor, but in this movie he's in way over his head. Every scene that featured him—which was the majority of them—was about as exciting as watching paint dry. The guy tried hard, but in the end he was lame and repellent. Moreover, the love story between his Anakin and Padmé (played by the equally bad, at least in this role, Natalie Portman) just didn't ring true. Their love story, which essentially forms the center of the entire six-part saga, was simply not believable, not even in a cheesy, soap opera sense. With lovers like these, who needs enemies? The only saving graces of this flick were the incredible special effects, which we've come to expect from George Lucas and his digerati, and the fact that many questions, going all the way back to 1977's Star Wars were finally answered. But don't believe the hype, this film is average, at best.

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• Saturday, May 28, 2005

  1. datetime

     1. {05282005}
     2. {11:29:32 AM}

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     1. Get Rich Slowly

        (foldedspace blog)

     2. The best books seem to have the same goal in mind: not wealth, not riches, but financial independence.
        Great advice, and helpful reading choices as well.
        
        b/w: CamWorld

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• Friday, May 27, 2005

  1. datetime

     1. {05272005}
     2. {12:30:29 PM}

     content

     1. Viagra-Blindness Link Probed

        (RedHerring.com)

     2. For many years the little blue pill has been linked to temporary change in vision, with patients reporting a tendency for the world to appear more blue or green.
        It always seemed too good to be true, a little blue pill that would let old, out-of-shape geezers try to put their mack on well into their retirement years, but what's the deal with Viagra making the world you see green and blue? Maybe people should act their age.
        
        Related:
        Some Viagra users report blindness-Pfizer (Reuters)

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• Tuesday, May 24, 2005

  1. datetime

     1. {05242005}
     2. {11:47:56 PM}

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     1. The New Laws of Television (Part 2)

        (Boing Boing blog)

     2. There are two principle components of the new value chain of television hyperdistribution: the producer and the advertiser. An advertising agency is likely acting as an intermediary between these two, connecting producers to advertisers, working out the demographic appeal of particular programs, and selling ad payload into those programs; this is a role they already fulfill - although at present they work with the broadcast networks rather than the producers. There is no role for a broadcaster in this value chain; the audience has abandoned the broadcaster in favor of a direct relationship with the program provider.
        I like this theory. Cut out the middlemen... who can survive, and thrive, if only they change their business-as-usual tactics.
        
        b/w: Boing Boing

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• Monday, May 23, 2005

  1. datetime

     1. {05232005}
     2. {02:18:45 PM}

     content

     1. Saban says Ricky welcome but...

        (SI.com)

     2. Nick Saban, head coach of the Miami Dolphins on Ricky Williams, March 2005: "He's property of the Dolphins."
        With all this talk about Ricky Williams hoping to come back to the NFL, I had to dive into the archive and bring out that quote. Not that Ricky owes the Dolphins millions in unfulfilled bonus obligations, or that Williams is an employee of the Dolphins. No, Williams is property of the Dolphins, no different than a lawn mower, or a water bottle. You'll have to excuse Saban's lack of finesse in his wording, he's a first year NFL coach, but it should really be clear from his statement that athletes, at least in the NFL, despite their million-dollar salaries, are little more than, um, yeah: slaves. Better recognize.

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• Sunday, May 22, 2005

  1. datetime

     1. {05222005}
     2. {11:42:33 AM}

     content

     1. Amazon.com: What are Statistically Improbable Phrases?

        (Amazon.com)

     2. Amazon.com's Statistically Improbable Phrases, or "SIPs", are the most distinctive phrases in the text of books in the Search Inside!
        This is a feature I just noticed on Amazon. I was looking at a book, and the so-called SIP was "n*gg*r girl." It really didn't fit the topic of the book, suggesting that its appearance in the book really stood out. So, I suppose the feature works, sort of. But I'll have to play around with it for more before further comment.

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• Saturday, May 21, 2005

  1. datetime

     1. {05212005}
     2. {07:49:42 AM}

     content

     1. Kareem to teach finer points of trash talk in Shanghai

        (ESPN.com)

     2. Along with teaching his famous skyhook, Abdul-Jabbar will touch on using language to intimidate opponents.
        You can learn how to talk the talk, but can you back it up on the court?

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     6. basketball

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• Friday, May 20, 2005

  1. datetime

     1. {05202005}
     2. {08:45:14 PM}

     content

     1. XML Shareable Playlist Format

     2. XSPF is the XML format for sharing playlists.

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     2. world wide web
     3. technology
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     5. rdf/rss
     6. xml
     7. developer
     8. web2.0
     9. dl.c.s:
     10. [1]
     11. [2]

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• 1. datetime

     1. {05202005}
     2. {07:33:46 PM}

     content

     1. iPod bartender

     2. The iPod bartender and the iPod bartender shuffle allow iPod owners to take a list of drinks with them.
        iPod. iPour. iDrink.

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  2. 

• Wednesday, May 18, 2005

  1. datetime

     1. {05192005}
     2. {04:18:03 AM}

     content

     1. A tale of two empires

        (ESPN.com: Page 2)

     2. Star Wars Evil Empire vs. The New York Yankees.

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• Tuesday, May 17, 2005

  1. datetime

     1. {05182005}
     2. {03:28:35 AM}

     content

     1. Hiring is Obsolete

     2. The less it costs to start a company, the less you need the permission of investors to do it. So a lot of people will be able to start companies now who never could have before.

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• 1. datetime

     1. {05182005}
     2. {02:49:10 AM}

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     1. U. of Iowa to Offer Pornography Course

        (Yahoo! News)

     2. "There are probably some students who will be titillated by the title," he said. "They will be disappointed."
        What a tease.

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• Monday, May 16, 2005

  1. datetime

     1. {05162005}
     2. {07:54:09 AM}

     content

     1. TV: Are our guilty pleasures more challenging than we think?

        (Slate)

     2. [W]hen I look back at the television lineups from the 1970s, I don't see a lot of psychological depth or complex social analysis. I see CHiPs. At the high end of the spectrum, I don't see anything from 30 years ago that rivals the genuinely novelistic scale and originality of The Sopranos and Six Feet Under, the dark satire of Arrested Development or Curb Your Enthusiasm,, or even the cinematic dread and general creepiness of Lost.
        More on the debate that television today is actually much more stimulating than we've been led to believe. I still don't know where I stand on this discussion, but as a latchkey kid, who grew up with the blue light always aflicker, I'll admit that today's shows are much thicker than the fare I grew up with in the 70s and 80s. Whether that makes you smarter is a stretch, because you're still just staring into blue light.

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• Sunday, May 15, 2005

  1. datetime

     1. {05152005}
     2. {11:08:12 PM}

     content

     1. Mexican president denies race slur

        (Guardian Unlimited)

     2. Vicente Fox, Mexico's president: "There is no doubt that Mexican men and women, full of dignity, determination and a capacity to work, are doing the jobs in the United States that not even black people want to do there."
        Bonehead.

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• 1. datetime

     1. {05152005}
     2. {08:18:31 PM}

     content

     1. On the Beach With Dave Chappelle

        (TIME.com)

     2. In South Africa, Time talks with the comic about his sudden disappearance from Chappelle's Show. Chappelle says he is in South Africa to find "a quiet place" for a while.
        No, he's not in an asylum. He's just chillin' out. Sudden and extreme fame and fortune sometimes does that to people. Stay tuned.

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• 1. datetime

     1. {05152005}
     2. {05:29:02 PM}

     content

     1. Blogging, as in Slogging

        (New York Times)

     2. "But as I discovered, blogging is no longer for amateurs or the faint of heart. Blogging - if it's done well - has evolved into an all-consuming art."
        This guy's comments are little overstated, but there's a grain of truth there. (Registration required or just bugmenot).
        
        b/w: Na Han

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