Archive for August, 2008
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »The Condoloveable Neo-Condoleezza
[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 21, 2008 by admin in Politics
Thursday, August 21st, 2008Show a little love for the Con, won’t you?
Ms. Rice demonstrates
how she’s going to crush Putin’s head. |
Why does the world love to hate Condoleezza Rice So much? Okay, stupid question. But jeezy-condoleezzy people, lighten up a bit. Starting with this Pravda.ru piece (okay, it’s Pravda.ru…) which resorts to phrases like “scar for a mouth”, “piggy eyes” and “butch, defensive posture” the writer goes on to describe her as “…about as diplomatic as a raspberry and a fit of giggling at a funeral ceremony…” and calls her a “…bullshit-mongering bimbo…” (okay, I’ll give him that one). In the interest of maintaining something like perspective here, let’s point out that Pravda.ru’s News Partners page lists Fark.com as a “partner”, and they misspell her name about 37 times. A little more rational in tone is this Slate.com piece, which still resorts to the peculiar headline “Loud Voice, Tiny Stick” as it focuses on her recent ineptness in responding to Russia’s incursion into Georgia. In spite of having little respect for Rice myself, I can’t help wondering if the tone of articles like these would be different if she were a man. I mean, she’s not a man, right? In any case, Ms. NeoCondi can take solace in the fact that somebody out there has confidence in her…
Guess The Goober
[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 21, 2008 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Thursday, August 21st, 2008I mean, uh, “Guess the Google”
Can you guess what search term was used to find the image at left? If your guess was “president goober” you’re right, and have already scored points. Now try Guess-the-Google, a simple Flash-based game in which you’re presented with a grid of images and have twenty seconds to guess the search word that generated them. You get bonuses for guessing quickly. More addictive than you’d think. By default the game launches in a smaller window; try this link to open the game full-size in your browser, which I found much easier to view. My best score so far was 310. Yes, that’s a challenge. Bring it on people.
Deeper Into The Uncanny Valley
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on August 20, 2008 by admin in Technology
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008Uncanny Valley Girls On The Web
In the video at left, a woman named Emily tells us about the cutting edge computer imaging company Image Metrics. The twist? She’s not real; she’s a product of the company’s unique facial animation tools. We’ve written about the Uncanny Valley before, but more in the context of creepy robots. For another example of creep facial animation, see this clip, created using Studio Pendulum’s Alter Ego system, in which three faces simultaneously execute the same facial expressions. Only two years ago, this animated woman was about the highest quality work around, and required extensive manual editing in Photoshop. It’s odd how not uncanny these images start to look as the images become more completely realistic.
Become A Permanent Tourist
[ 4 Comments ]Posted on August 19, 2008 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture
Tuesday, August 19th, 2008Who needs that pesky citizenship, anyway?
Tired of paying taxes and answering to some massively voyeuristic bunch of control freaks that some people call a government? Well, there’s an alternative. Forget being a Hobo or Freegan, now you can be a Permanent Tourist (or: Practically Transparent, Privacy Trained, Paranoid Taxdodger, Perpetual Traveler, etc.) by joining the ptClub. The club that’s not a club. In their words: “…ptClub is not a company. We have no base, no registered office, no mailing address, no phone number and none of the normal restrictions…” and “…In a nutshell, a PT merely arranges his or her paperwork in such a way that all governments consider him a tourist. The advantage: a PT is not subjected to taxes, military service, lawsuits, or persecution for partaking in innocent but forbidden pursuits or pleasures. Unlike most citizens or subjects, the PT will not be persecuted for his beliefs or lack of them…” Learn how to get a camouflage passport or do anonymous banking, among other things. Before you know it you’ll be meeting James Bond for a Vesper in your tax-free Bugatti.
(Barbed) Wired News: How To Be A Criminal
[ 2 Comments ]Posted on August 19, 2008 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture
Tuesday, August 19th, 2008Wiki wiki wiki
Wired seems to be on a kick lately to prove that they’re still “edgey”. Exploring their How-To Wikis, you can learn how to Tap a Phone Line (without getting a government job), how to Hot Wire Your Car (they place some emphasis on the word “your”), how to Cheat on a Drug Test, and how to Disable Your Passport’s RFID Chip. So far I haven’t found a “How to Break Out of Jail” wiki yet, except for the iPhone Jailbreak hacks . By the way, if you enjoy the idea of hacking phones, you can totally Phreak Out here.