05.04.12
rip MCA
MCA of the Beastie Boys has died of cancer at 47.
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08.30.10
RIP Satoshi Kon
WTF. satoshi kon falls to cancer. dammit.
.
Go watch Paranoia Agent. i used to have the picture of maromi as my desktop background.
Watch Paranoia Agent 01 in Animation | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com |
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06.16.10
Aesthetic Highs of Soccer
I love soccer as a sport. I played it growing up and only quit when it started getting serious (too many elbows to the head in one game and I figured it just wasn’t what I was looking for any more – it gets nasty in the box). So it concerns me that here in the good ol’ US of A many people do not seem to appreciate it.
What I started thinking about was that each goal in soccer is something very special, more special than any single thing to any other game in another sport.
As I thought about this over the last few days the NBA finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics have been going on. [Full discloser: I don't love basketball, though this may have something to do with the Knicks being horrible.] However, I only watch the last quarter of those games. Sure great plays happen all game, but it always seems to come down to who can make the biggest plays at the end. There is a great quote by Jordan which is something like, “It is not enough to play well, you have to have something left to finish with.” The game goes to whichever player or whichever team makes the plays at the end; the first three quarters are just a preamble.
Putting this all together, watching soccer is like watching the last 10 minutes of a basketball game, but for the full 90+ minutes. The individual or team plays that lead to a goal are like the critical brilliant plays that Bryant makes at the end to edge out the other team. It is this brilliance that can happen at any moment which makes soccer so exciting.
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04.21.10
RIP Guru
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06.26.09
mj
via plump plum
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11.10.08
Part 2 of the Preterphysics: Metaphysical Ontology
What follows is the second part of my metaphysics, which includes the basic outline of just about everything in this world: nature, science, ethics, language and more. Again it is impossibly short, but the overall structure is correct, so you get a flavor of how I think about everything non-preterphysical.
————
1 Metaphysical Ontology
1.1 Undisciplined Substances
To be disciplined is to take other people’s ontological position into consideration. Since it is impossible, without being crazy, to do otherwise, what is meant by `undisciplined’ is the minimal position: to take other people’s ontological position into consideration as little as possible.
1.1.1 Objects, Processes and Nature
Objects cannot exists alone. To observe an object, to recognize its existence, requires observing some process that the object is part of. Rational beings can lose their rationality; the process of losing rationality identifies a rational being, because the process could not occur without the existence of one.
Objects and processes are what make up Nature.
1.1.2 Words, Descriptions and Language
Words cannot exist alone; they are inseparable from descriptions. For a word to exist is for that word to be part of some description. Without being part of a description, a word is indistinguishable from anything else.
Words and descriptions are what make up Language.
1.1.3 Commitments, Values and Responsibility
Commitments cannot exist alone; they are inseparable from values. Values are how commitments are ranked. Without values all commitments are equal, and hence non-existent.
Commitments and values are what make up Responsibility.
1.2 Disciplined Substances
When you take other people into consideration when considering substance, then you have disciplined substance.
1.2.1 Science, Art and Craft
When we describe objects and processes in a disciplined way then we are describing nature scientifically. This means that the objects and processes are described in a way that is not limited to a particular person or place.
Craft is a level of discipline that is not as universalized: when you describe nature such that it refers to a group of people or various places, then you are describing craft.
1.2.2 Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric
When we describe words and descriptions in a disciplined way then we are are talking about the language’s grammar. This means that the words and descriptions are described in a way that is not limited to a particular description. If we are describing features that all languages have, then this is called logic.
Rhetoric is a level of discipline that is not as universalized: when you describe grammar such that it refers to a group of words or descriptions, then you are describing rhetoric.
1.2.3 Ethics, Worldview and Society
When we describe commitments and values in a disciplined way then we are talking about ethical responsibilities. This means that the commitments and values are described in a way that is not limited to a particular person or place. If we are describing features that all ethics have then this is a worldview.
Society is a level of discipline that is not as universalized: when you describe ethics such that it refers to a group of commitments or values, then you are describing a society.
File translated from TEX by TTH, version 3.79. On 10 Nov 2008, 14:59.
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10.27.08
hyperlinks are stupid
Animal of the Month: Fighting Bugs!
(3:12) [via digg]
- .
- Runner-Up: Pseudo-animals – The Village Petstore and Charcoal Grill
- See videos of not-quite animals!
USA
- (2:55) via cursivebuildings MUST WATCH
- The National Anthem, 1983. Unbelievably good rendition.
- YouTube – The Manchurian Candidate (1:26)
- Modern presidential politics.
- Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Candidate Comedy
- “For those who haven’t seen the footage, McCain and Obama appeared last night at a charity dinner in New York to roast themselves and each other. Some of it was very, very funny. McCain was really, really funny…. (candidates’ speeches, McCain, Obama – 14:53, 13:39 respectively)
Art and Logic (somehow)
- somefield
- Awesome vision of Alice in Wonderland (written by a logician, for those who did not know what Lewis Carrol’s day job was.) [scroll down a little to see the Alice pictures. And I would be forever in someone's debt if they bought me a print.]
- Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes — FIRST PICTURES
- Please let this movie not suck (take 2).
 |
 |
- PingMag – Levi Van Veluw: What’s That Tree In Your Hair?
- “Either you’ll be intrigued by the fascinating way Dutchman Levi van Veluw applies materials on his face, neck and head — or you’ll be kind of appalled by this weird appearance.[...]”
- — All I want to know what this man does for Halloween.
Alcohol
- Video review for real Duff Beer from The Simpsons | iFoods.tv (1:55)
- This is well worth your 2 minutes.
- MxMo XXXII Guilty Pleasures – Kalimotxo
- I have yet to try this, but judging by the review and the accompanying video (21s), it looks near perfect.
Interactive Fun
- Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Rachael Ray Corn Porn (1:39)
- “Okay, this is one of the funniest videos I’ve ever seen. It’s that evil little succubus Rachael Ray getting all naughty with an ear of corn – and being far more excited about it than any human being should be….
- RRRR : Don’t Shoot the Puppy (game)
- I haven’t gotten past level 12…
- The Associated Press: Video games feature ads for Obama’s campaign
- .
- swissmiss: The Unfinished Swan (1:55)
- The Unfinished Swan – Really cool video of the tech demo. This looks like serious fun!
i’m dead
- Paid Notice: Deaths GREENSTEIN, NOAH – New York Times
- not really me, but it is an odd site to see your name in the obits.
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07.26.08
links, cause even though
i’m at the end of the internet, you may not be.
Animal of the Month: NYC Pimp
“What sort of person subjects children as young as 12 to beatings and a life of prostitution? An evidence list submitted in the case of Corey Davis, a Queens man who billed himself as “Magnificent,” might provide some insight. Mr. Davis, 36, is facing a minimum of 23 years in prison after pleading guilty in March to a federal charge of sex trafficking involving a 12-year-old runaway.
Mindbending
“… But then things went dark, weird, and creepy: one girl laughed, but then so did another, and then another, and then another, and then another.
After exposure, the incubation period from nothing to hysteria was short, from a few hours to a couple of days. There was no fever, no physical symptoms, just laughter and occasional crying between short moments of exhausted recuperation. When victims were restrained they sometimes became violent…”
- Vanity Fair: On the Waterboard: Politics & Power
This is a video of a reporter being waterboarded in order to investigate torture and ‘agressive’ interrogation… It is weird stuff. Be sure to check out the accompanying article.
Science
“This map was constructed by sorting roughly 800,000 published papers into 776 different scientific paradigms based on how often the papers were cited together by authors of other papers.”
(they’re all out of free posters now, but the file is available so you can print one for yourself)
- Core77: The Secret Lives of Invisible Magnetic Fields [4:45]
A very cool movie visualizing (with sound) magnetic fields.
- Dancing Non-Newtonian liquid (also via core77) [1:32]
- InvenSense: Gyroscopes and Accelerometers Compared
Check out this video describing the technology that is going to be used in the new Nintendo Wii Motion Plus. General relativity needs to be accounted for to accurately measure motion in 3D space (true 6 degrees of freedom) by using both accelerometers and gyroscopes. But perhaps the most interesting part of the site is the disclaimer at the bottom (my emphasis):
“InvenSense sensors should not be used or sold in the development, storing, production and utilization of any conventional or mass-destructive weapons or any other weapons or life-threatening applications as well as in any other life-critical applications including but not limited to medical equipment, transportation, aerospace and nuclear instruments, undersea equipment, power plant equipment, disaster prevention and crime prevention equipment.”
Culture
- Nadia Comaneci, Montreal 1976 TEN!!! [1:06] (via plump plum)
- plump plum: Selection from “The Groucho Letters”
- OPENERS – Takashi Murakami Prints “My First Art” Series (click for more pics)
- Michael Bluejay | Crazy World of Michael Bluejay
Last but not least this is what I consider to be a throwback to vintage internet. We are talking a space background repeating image here people; I don’t think I’ve seen that since ’97. Plus something for nearly everyone: lots of links, e.g. useful information like an up to date guide to SEO, and Women Chess Grandmasters.
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07.15.08
It was just a matter of time…
[via]
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06.19.08
Links, lanks, lunks
- Animal of the Month: Black Grouse
Get the Flash Player to see this player.Wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson chooses his top 10 bird songs via plump plum
- some other of plump’s goodness: Nabokov on Lolita (part 2) [6m], Frank Zappa on Crossfire [21m]
- Wu Tang Clan Ain’t Nothin to Fuck With[3m]… at Chess [4m]: Apparently RZA is also a chess champion besides being one of the best rappers.
- Google News: ahh if only this were true. The health section brought a tear to my eye.
- Surrealist Compliment Generator
- Germany Abuzz at Racy Novel of Sex and Hygiene
“But Ms. Roche told the audience here that her inspiration for the book came not from those women, but from the feminine-product aisle of her local store. Peeking out at the audience from under dark brown bangs, speaking in a childish voice that accentuated her transgressions against propriety, Ms. Roche explained, to howls of laughter, how the lemon-scented products called out to her in uncensored terms that she was, as the commercials put it, not so fresh, or at least not fresh enough.”
- xkcd – the kind of girl i’ll probably fall for
- YouTube – Sue Simmons f***s up on live TV [12s]
Sue Simmons, one of the anchors for the local news in NBC New York, wonders out loud* “THE F*** ARE YOU DOING?” during a teaser segment.
*‘wonders out loud’ doesn’t begin t cover the tone of voice she used. If you are from NY, this is awesome.
- YouTube – Collision[2m]: fun video hashing our (US / British) flag with middle eastern aesthetics. Wait for it to load and go full screen.
Interaction Design, Etc.
- Virtual Cable Car Navigation
The future of GPS. - Design Probes – Tattoo
Tattoos that actively respond to stimulation - The Miracle Fruit, a Tease for the Taste Buds
A small red berry called miracle fruit temporarily rewires the way the palate perceives sour flavors, rendering lemons as sweet as candy. - How to select and ripen a mango
How to interact with one of my favorite fruits.
Science, Etc.
- Is Breast pain in Women Linked to Breast Wobbling?
A study conducted by Britain’s First Research Group for Breast Health attached to the University of Portsmouth could throw some light on the little understood causes of ‘Breast Pain’
… you know there was some lucky male lab assistant required to measure breast motion
- Replaying Evolution
“Scientists show that happenstance mutations matter” - Student isolates microbe that lunches on plastic bags
- Isolated tribe spotted in Brazil
One of South America’s few remaining uncontacted tribes is photographed from the air on the Peru-Brazil border.
Aesthetics, Etc.
- 19 Artists You Can’t Afford To Miss Out On
“From half-naked pink girls to Isometric grinning trees, these artists are sure to satisfy the sucrose cravings in your eyeballs. Check them out before they get too famous and start making stuff nobody gets.” - Brad Pitt: “Architecture is my passion”
It would be easy to hate on Mr. Pitt for everything he has going for himself. I say cheers.
I’ll be gone for a week visiting my bro in the Southwest… at least y’all will have something to do in my absence.
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