July 2007
21st Century Careers No 7 - Nameologist.
from here ”Maryanna Korwitts is a “professional nameologist”. The former teacher from Chicago who noticed that the Davids in her classes were usually studious and the Jasons a handful takes this naming business seriously – so seriously, in fact, that she even renamed herself: as Mary Ann, she says, she was a “scattered procrastinator”. “Worry,” she says. “Worry about the name you give her.”...
“If you want to know who Marcos is, see who’s hidden behind the mask, then take a...”
– Subcomandante Marcos.
Home Town Girl returns
Aw crap. From here Only in Wakefield would we celebrate someone whose ambition was to be a ‘professional Victoria Beckham look-a-like’: ”Victoria Beckham fan Chanelle Hayes has become the latest contestant to leave the Big Brother House. The 19-year-old student from Wakefield left the Channel 4 reality show on Sunday after saying she was not happy. Chanelle had enjoyed a romance...
Robohomes for Grandma
From here. But haven’t they seen “Demon Seed”? ”INTELLIGENT homes that can track old people’s movements and monitor their health via sensors and global positioning satellite trackers are being pioneered in Britain. The technology will enable elderly people to remain independent and live at home but alert carers or family to any significant changes in their health, erratic...
“What spark of humanity, of a possible creativity, can remain alive in a being...”
– Raoul Vaneigem - “The Revolution of Everyday Life”. Full book here Essential reading on the bus to work.
Cosy Domestic Scene
Mr Feastingonroadkill: There's a bloke here, on Engadget, with the Windows Blue Screen Of Death messages tattooed on his arm.
Mrs Feastingonroadkill: He's a tit then.
“NWA - You know, I think that when they were all babies, some white woman came up...”
– from Guardian Comment thread: ‘creepiest song lyrics’ here. This quote made me almost regurgitate my gin and tonic through laughing. Will never look at Dre in the same way.
“Art at its most significant is a Distant Early Warning System that can always be...”
– Marshall McLuhan
More Asymmetric Warfare
This time, its the pigeons, from here ”China today said it had seized and killed a shipment of 41 US homing pigeons, in the latest move in a simmering trade war between the two countries. Inspectors at Beijing’s airport discovered severe problems with the birds, which were killed and incinerated, the Chinese government said. Health certification was said to be incorrect and the number...
Nice (not...)
from here (and 5 miles down the road from where this is being blogged)“A council’s “dog fouling squad” has described how undercover surveillance caught not a dog - but a man. The CCTV operation was set up after a member of the public made a complaint to Kirklees Council in West Yorkshire about a mess often left at Cleckheaton. Councillor Martyn Bolt said an investigation...
The Salt Covenant From Pastor John Hagee
Send him lots of money here. Then this happens: 10% discount on ministry material Our staff prays for you daily Toll-free number to our Partner Relations department for special needs Reserve seating at Cornerstone Church and planned fellowship with Pastor Hagee Early notice on ministry travel Inform you when Pastor Hagee is in your area Bi-monthly ministry magazine Teleministry prayer...
Kitty of Death
From here ”CHICAGO (Reuters) - When Oscar the Cat visits residents of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island, the staff jump into action — Oscar can sense within hours when someone is about to die. In his two years living in Steere’s end-stage dementia unit, Oscar has been at the bedside of more than 25 residents shortly before they died,...
Finally, some good news for Windows users
“The second Comic Life for Windows Beta is now available for download - with ongoing thanks to our encouraging and patient beta-testers. Thank you all for your kind words and helpful feedback! This latest beta includes many small improvements relating to installation, usage and stability. You can find the download, new beta serial number and release notes in this forum post here”
Ian Saville (The Marxist Magician) Talks To Karl
IAN: Actually, Karl, I was just wondering ...
MARX: Yes?
IAN: If in your day ...
MARX: In my day, yes?
IAN: . ..whether you ever had anything like this.
MARX: In what way?
IAN: Well, I wondered if you ever had this sort of socialist culture—socialist songs, music, humor, or even socialist conjuring tricks?
MARX: We had socialist culture, of course.
IAN: You did?
MARX: Oh yes. We had socialist songs, music, humor. All that sort of thing. But we didn’t have socialist conjuring tricks.
IAN: You didn’t?
MARX: No, although it’s a little-known fact that originally I wanted my theories done as conjuring tricks.
IAN: Did you really?
MARX: Oh, yes.
IAN: What was it that stopped you from doing your theories as conjuring tricks, then?
MARX: Engels
IAN: Friedrich Engels, your collaborator.
MARX: Yes.
IAN: In what way did he stop you?
MARX: Well, I used to come home after a hard day at the British Museum ...
IAN: Yes.
MARX: ... and I’d go into my house. Through the door, of course.
IAN: Yes.
MARX: And I’d go into the living room, and I’d say, “Engels.” (Pause. Louder:) “Engels!" (Pause. Louder:) “ENGELS!!" (Pause:) Because he didn’t live at my house.
IAN: Didn’t he?
MARX: No. He lived in Manchester, and I was in London. So I’d write to him, and in the letter I’d say: “Look here Engels, I’ve discovered this important new principle. We’ve got to get it out to the general public somehow. What about this idea—what about bringing it out as a rope trick?
IAN: And what would his reaction be to that suggestion?
MARX: He’d say something like: “No!”
IAN: He was against the idea, was he?
MARX: He’d say, “No! Bring it out as Capital Volume I,or Theories of Surplus Value, or The Grundrisse, or Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts …”
Asymmetric Warfare 2007 - Continued
It’s like Watership Down in the Middle East these days. from here”Iranian intelligence operatives recently detained over a dozen squirrels found within the nation’s borders, claiming the rodents were serving as spies for Western powers determined to undermine the Islamic Republic. “In recent weeks, intelligence operatives have arrested 14 squirrels within Iran’s...
“One can no longer distinguish between technology on the one hand and theory,...”
– Jacques Derrida
The Gun Club
When a pale English boy fell in love with the Deep South:
“I am like Jack, I am from southern land
I’m holding your happiness in my hand
the sun behind me is a sexual red
and all your bounty-hunting ghosts are dead”
lyrics available here
website for jeffrey Lee and the boys here
“ There were five or six lepers clustered around the entrance to...”
– Richard Kadreys ‘Metrophage’ - Cyberpunk masterpiece. Available in its entirety here
We'll be there
“Class War has called for a mass celebration in Trafalgar Square at 6pm on the first Saturday after Margaret Thatcher dies. Remember – Trafalgar Square, I’ll Be There! The myspace site that promotes this event can be viewed at: http://www.myspace.com/dancingonmaggiesgrave - why not add your site to its list of friends?”
Does No One Like Victoria Beckham?
Doesn’t bode well for the Spice Girls reunion. From here ”Perhaps it’s being in the last stages of self-induced starvation that strips her of any vestige of charisma or joie de vivre. Perhaps it’s being externally crippled by her shoes and internally hobbled by the knowledge that her talent is minimal and the marriage upon which she has built her life, her image and her...
Because information wants to be free
from here ”Today, the National Legal & Policy Center (NLPC) released new evidence of apparently pirated recent movies being hosted on Google Video. Two new theatrical releases, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Live Free, Die Hard, were discovered on Google Video yesterday afternoon. After news stories surfaced about the apparently pirated movies being hosted on the...
iBabies
From here ”Kids are being exposed to consumer electronics at ever-younger ages, according to a new report, and the frequency of use is going up for some devices. The numbers come as part of the NPD Group’s third annual Kids and Consumer Electronics Trends report, which examines the penetration of various consumer electronics in the lives of kids throughout the US. The average age that...
“If I can’t dance - I don’t want to be part of your revolution”
– Emma Goldman
Wakefield entry on Chavtowns.co.uk
From here “Wakefield’s cultural wilderness is astonishing. The (in)famous “Westgate Run” can be funny to watch on a Friday/Saturday night, so long as you’re at a safe distance and probably behind bullet-proof glass. A mating ground for those whom evolution forgot: apish men with shaven heads drag their knuckles along the floor, lumbering about after women in white stilettos and matching PVC...
“If you’re looking for a bad driver, we have Lindsay Lohan, who does it...”
– Patt Morrison LA Times: On Victoria Beckham 