- Today is Harry Houdini’s birthday. In honor of that, here’s a look at his Scene and Prop List. [via]
- I don’t know… ordering the removal of a mural depicting your state’s labor history from the lobby of your state’s Department of Labor seems like kind of a dick move. [via]
- As, frankly, do these new farm “protection” bills discussed by Mark Bittman — although, there, there’s some dangerous precedent being set:
The Florida bill would require anyone wishing to photograph a farm to first secure written permission from the owner. And what if they don’t? First-degree felony. The implicit goal here is to deter and criminalize damning undercover exposés….The bill would also make it illegal for an agenda-less passerby to snap a picture of a farm from the side of the road, but my best guess is that those “crimes†might not be prosecuted quite so diligently.
- The Phantom Menace in 3-D? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me…oh, god, what is this? Like the at least the sixth or seventh time? Shame very obviously on me, George Lucas, but I will not be going to see this. [via]
- And finally, an interview with Terry Jones. He discusses, among other things, Monty Python‘s less than certain start:
I mean, even right up until the middle of the second series John Cleese’s mum was still sending him job adverts for supermarket managers cut out from her local newspaper.
america
Tuesday various
- “The government is always going to go after the guy with the most money, regardless of culpability…” The Forfeiture Racket is a lot worse than you might think. I don’t have a lot of sympathy for convicted criminals who lose their property, particularly property used in the commission of a crime. And my first thought, when I read about an accused large-scale meth dealer who might lose his beloved comic book collection (the link that led me to the one above), was well, good, if he’s convicted, he probably should lose his property. But forfeiture laws go way beyond that, down all sorts of crazy, corruption-filled paths.
- But yes, by all means, let us cut funding to poison control. [via]
- Oh that Chris Brown…still a class act.
- Okay, I’ve got to admit, this is a pretty neat zombie T-shirt.
- And finally, I’m no copyright expert, but I think inscribing a passage from James Joyce into the genome of a synthetic microbe is covered by fair use. The Joyce estate, apparently, does not agree. [via]
Monday various
- RIP Frank Buckles, the last remaining American WWI vet. [via]
- I’m quite disappointed to learn that The Ethicist is ending, apparently for no particular reason other than that the New York Times thinks any change is good change. I think they’re sadly mistaken.
- PodCastle, “the world’s first fantasy audio magazine,” is looking for readers.
- Ever wonder what happens when you stick your head into a particle accelerator? Better to read this than actual try it. [via]
- And finally, a simply stunning photo of crows — lots and lots of crows. It looks like if Jackson Pollock had done the cover for an H.P. Lovecraft novel. [via]
Wednesday various
- What It’s Like to Work for Donald Rumsfeld. You really do expect him to close with, “And has everybody signed Debbie’s birthday card? Invade Iraq and then ice cream cake in the break room at three!”
- Why Nielsen Ratings Are Inaccurate, and Why They’ll Stay That Way. Frankly, it’s amazing any television of quality gets made, ever. [via]
- Tyranny of the Alphabet. All these years, my last name beginning with C, and I was apparently the unknowing beneficiary of reverse-alphabetism. This is sort of similar to something Malcolm Gladwell has suggested, namely that being born after the first three months of the year significantly limits your success in life. Gosh, three letters into the alphabet, only three months into the year — I should be President by now!
Though seriously, those of you with last names further along down the chain of letters than me: did it affect you in school, or your current psychological outlook? [via]
- Speaking of Malcolm Gladwell, the Malcolm Gladwell Book Generator. (Also, this xkcd comic. The rollover text is particularly amusing.) [via]
- And finally, When Should I Visit? It’s the reverse-Foursquare, finding the least busy times to visit museums, galleries, theaters, etc. By the site’s own admission, it’s only somewhat accurate, pulling data only from Foursquare users, and exclusive to London. But I am amused by the idea of “use[ing] Foursquare to learn how to avoid Foursquare users.” [
Is Obama in Big Salmon’s pocket?
After the excitement of yesterday evening — which, in retrospect, was perhaps not terribly exciting to an outside observer — I spent the rest of the night with the thrill-a-minute that was President Obama’s second State of the Union address. I don’t make a habit of watching the speech, which can sometimes make me feel like a bad citizen, but I happened to be on YouTube a few minutes before it started at 9 o’clock, so I decided, on a somewhat guilty-conscience-ridden spur, to watch it there. And you know what? It was fairly boring and kind of ridiculously long. And, considering how much of the speech I spent making jokes about it on Twitter, I’m not sure how actively my citizenry was engaged.
Most of my silly comments were directed at John Boehner, our new Speaker of the House, and Michelle Bachmann, the Senate’s resident Crazy Lady. I think the former might deserve it — with an Oompa Loompa tan like that and such a quickness with the tears, it’s hard not to poke a little fun — but I know the latter does. And I didn’t even watch her deer-in-the-headlights, dictated-to-invisible-elves response to Obama’s speech last night. (Can someone please tell me how the Republicans get two televised responses? Say whatever you will about the Tea Party and their connection to the Republicans; they still are Republicans.)
Anyway, more snow today, though I managed not to oversleep or miss my train. I had a busy day at the office, and seemed to be mailing out more things out of the country in one day than I usually do in weeks, or months. We had one of our “Brown Bag Lunch” speakers again, but I decided to skip it. Instead, I grabbed a quick bite and ended up mostly working through lunch, since the weather was bad enough I couldn’t really go anywhere.
And the weather was very icy this evening, on my commute home. The snow had stopped, but it had been replaced by freezing rain and sleet, which made walking very treacherous. I was turning a corner in Manhattan and had to grab onto the side of a building to keep from falling to the ground. And then at home, I found myself wishing people hadn’t shoveled the sidewalks. I don’t love walking through snow if I can help it, but I’d rather than a thin sheet of ice I can’t really see.
I made it home safely, though, and we’ll see what the weather ends up being like tomorrow. More snow is predicted, and in fact it’s snowing now. I’ll tell you this much: whatever happens, I’m wearing boots tomorrow.