BlogShuffling
Just added a few links to the list, moved one, and created a new category. I'm trying to ensure that they remain blogs that I myself actually read regularly (if not necessarily daily): My primary criteria remains "if you like mine, you'll probably like these": The categories actually do mean something, though exactly what varies from day to day.
Anyway, take a peek at No Watermelons Allowed; Raising Hell; Leaning to the Right; American Digest; Flyover Country Today; and Bag and Baggage.
LATER: ...and James Randi.
LATER YET: ...and the Illuminated Donkey, and Hooray for Captain Spaulding. Too many blogs, not enough bandwidth...
Thursday, May 16, 2002
Wednesday, May 15, 2002
Sorry, I've been sick
You know, the kind of springtime cold that slaps you down and says "Stay down if you know what's good for you." On Sunday I was scratchy and groggy. By Monday my voice was an octave low and, after awakening just long enough to call in sick, I fell asleep again and slumbered restlessly until well after sunset.
I'm beginning to feel a little more like a human being now. But now I have a print-medium deadline staring me in the face, so this may be a short week here at today's purple pill.
I'd rag on Jimmy Carter in Cuba, but I don't know what I could say that hasn't been said. Hey, I've got an idea. Let's *all* go to Cuba. All 300 million of us, shoulder to shoulder. Call it the 21st century version of frat boys in a phone booth, or clowns in a VW.
If I were Uncle Fidel, I'd watch out. We've seen this behavior before. Jimmy's running for President. Of Cuba.
Maybe I got out of bed too soon.
You know, the kind of springtime cold that slaps you down and says "Stay down if you know what's good for you." On Sunday I was scratchy and groggy. By Monday my voice was an octave low and, after awakening just long enough to call in sick, I fell asleep again and slumbered restlessly until well after sunset.
I'm beginning to feel a little more like a human being now. But now I have a print-medium deadline staring me in the face, so this may be a short week here at today's purple pill.
I'd rag on Jimmy Carter in Cuba, but I don't know what I could say that hasn't been said. Hey, I've got an idea. Let's *all* go to Cuba. All 300 million of us, shoulder to shoulder. Call it the 21st century version of frat boys in a phone booth, or clowns in a VW.
If I were Uncle Fidel, I'd watch out. We've seen this behavior before. Jimmy's running for President. Of Cuba.
Maybe I got out of bed too soon.
Sunday, May 12, 2002
Batten down the hatches! Blogalanche warning!
InstaPundit has just been mentioned prominently in an excellent article by Steven Levy for Newsweek, now appearing at MSNBC. "Weblogs are so easy to use that even a journalist can run a site." Hee hee.
If past experience with the "overflow effect" is any indication, those of us to whom Glenn links can expect additional traffic as well. Welcome!
InstaPundit has just been mentioned prominently in an excellent article by Steven Levy for Newsweek, now appearing at MSNBC. "Weblogs are so easy to use that even a journalist can run a site." Hee hee.
If past experience with the "overflow effect" is any indication, those of us to whom Glenn links can expect additional traffic as well. Welcome!
Ah, here it comes
Isn't that what PG-13 means?
Where were you when X-Men opened? Oh, yeah...
Look, just because you never heard of "X-Men" before they made a movie out of it...
The comic book industry is becoming aware that they don't publish much specifically for very young children. We can debate whether this is a self-fulfilling decision, but the age of the average comic book reader has been rising ever since "Smilin'" Stan Lee first wrote "Spider-Man" in the early sixties. Marvel Comics (publisher of "Spider-Man" and "X-Men"), in particular, deliberately targeted older children and college-age readers while Superman was still dealing with a child-pleasing array of rainbow kryptonite and a Legion of Super-Pets. Yes, you read that correctly.
Spider-Man, on the big screen, is what he has always been. He's not a babysitter. He's nobody's "super-friend".
Which is to say, I suppose, that the headline is right: "Spider-Man" is inappropriate for young children. My son is about to turn eleven, and he admitted that parts of it are "scary" (true enough).
(Your "boyfriend"? No, I'm not going to go there. I'm drawing no conclusions about where daddy is. It doesn't matter.)
Why do you suppose they rated it PG-13 ("Parents strongly cautioned: Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13")? What good is a rating system if you don't pay attention to it? You're the mommy: You can say "no" and make it stick. When did it become "appropriate" to let a child see anything he wants to?
(From the MPAA guidelines.)
LATER: Anybody who has seen "Spider-Man" could have told you not to bring a four-year-old. And, if reports are accurate, a few people have seen it.
Experts says 'Spider-Man' inappropriate for young children
To the dismay of child-psychology experts, parents in droves took young children to see "Spider-Man" over the weekend, even though the PG-13 movie contains intense fight scenes, explosions, a house fire and a scary-looking villain named Green Goblin.
...Experts said that in this post-Sept. 11 era, allowing children under 13 to watch a live-action movie about villains on the loose in New York City is not advisable.
Isn't that what PG-13 means?
Where were you when X-Men opened? Oh, yeah...
To be sure, plenty of violent PG-13 movies have been marketed to young children, from "Jurassic Park" to "X-Men." But experts said "Spider-Man" is different because the main character is a well-known superhero and therefore is more appealing to young children.
Look, just because you never heard of "X-Men" before they made a movie out of it...
The comic book industry is becoming aware that they don't publish much specifically for very young children. We can debate whether this is a self-fulfilling decision, but the age of the average comic book reader has been rising ever since "Smilin'" Stan Lee first wrote "Spider-Man" in the early sixties. Marvel Comics (publisher of "Spider-Man" and "X-Men"), in particular, deliberately targeted older children and college-age readers while Superman was still dealing with a child-pleasing array of rainbow kryptonite and a Legion of Super-Pets. Yes, you read that correctly.
Spider-Man, on the big screen, is what he has always been. He's not a babysitter. He's nobody's "super-friend".
Which is to say, I suppose, that the headline is right: "Spider-Man" is inappropriate for young children. My son is about to turn eleven, and he admitted that parts of it are "scary" (true enough).
"How could I tell him no? Spider-Man has been on billboards for months," said Patricia Gillen of Quincy, Mass., who took her 4-year-old son to see the film Saturday. "Daniel has seen the show on TV, and my boyfriend has the computer game. Daniel's been talking about this movie nonstop for two days."
(Your "boyfriend"? No, I'm not going to go there. I'm drawing no conclusions about where daddy is. It doesn't matter.)
Why do you suppose they rated it PG-13 ("Parents strongly cautioned: Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13")? What good is a rating system if you don't pay attention to it? You're the mommy: You can say "no" and make it stick. When did it become "appropriate" to let a child see anything he wants to?
PG-13 places larger responsibilities on parents for their children's moviegoing. The voluntary rating system is not a surrogate parent, nor should it be. It cannot, and should not, insert itself in family decisions that only parents can, and should, make. Its purpose is to give prescreening advance informational warnings, so that parents can form their own judgments. PG-13 is designed to make these parental decisions easier for films between PG and R.
(From the MPAA guidelines.)
LATER: Anybody who has seen "Spider-Man" could have told you not to bring a four-year-old. And, if reports are accurate, a few people have seen it.
One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist
So, the Europeans who brokered the deportation deal for those 13 Palestinian terrorists recently removed from the Church of the Nativity are now having second thoughts.
Let me see if I follow this. The deal's "lack of detailed instructions on the treatment of the Palestinians" is code for "we didn't want to tell the Israelis we were just going to turn them loose." Now that Shimon Peres understands this, he is insisting that they be locked up or sent back to Israel for trial.
But if Peres extradites the Palestinians back from their homes-in-exile, their new host countries run the risk of becoming targets of Hamas vengeance. But if they accept the deportees as "guests and free citizens", they represent a threat to public safety. So now, the various countries who said they would accept the deportees are now changing their minds, leaving the 13 to suffer the deprivations of being guests at a "three-star hotel on the Larnaca seafront" in Cyprus.
Some of the volunteer host governments have even figured out -- too late -- that some of these terrorists are, well, terrorists.
No kidding? What was your first clue? (The Telegraph story eventually explains who these men actually are.)
This is what happens when you get into the appeasement business. Everybody expects you to appease them, since you've demonstrated you have no principles you're prepared to stand on. (Perhaps you've heard the joke about an honest politician being "one who stays bought.") Even now, the EU shows no concern for crimes committed in Israel: It's just pesky Peres creating a "political complication."
So. Lock 'em up and risk reprisals from Hamas. Turn 'em loose and risk extradition to Israel -- and then reprisals from Hamas -- plus whatever damage the "deportees" might do in the meantime.
I'm getting the idea that when the EU brokered this deal, they never really expected that these men would leave the Church of the Nativity alive. The thugs would have been dead, and Israel would have taken the heat for it -- all around, a win-win for the EU. But now the EU is in trouble: They actually got the deal they offered to take. And all the fum-fuhing and yes-buting in the world isn't going to save them.
Sometimes you just have to stand up and say plainly whose side you're on. For the EU, this is one of those times. The world is waiting.
(See also Steven Den Beste.)
LATER: Little Green Footballs has more details about the durance vile in which the noble freedom fighters now find themselves. Not for the squeamish.
So, the Europeans who brokered the deportation deal for those 13 Palestinian terrorists recently removed from the Church of the Nativity are now having second thoughts.
Let me see if I follow this. The deal's "lack of detailed instructions on the treatment of the Palestinians" is code for "we didn't want to tell the Israelis we were just going to turn them loose." Now that Shimon Peres understands this, he is insisting that they be locked up or sent back to Israel for trial.
But if Peres extradites the Palestinians back from their homes-in-exile, their new host countries run the risk of becoming targets of Hamas vengeance. But if they accept the deportees as "guests and free citizens", they represent a threat to public safety. So now, the various countries who said they would accept the deportees are now changing their minds, leaving the 13 to suffer the deprivations of being guests at a "three-star hotel on the Larnaca seafront" in Cyprus.
"It is a very tricky and sensitive situation," said a senior official at the European Commission. "In principle, if these men do not face charges outside the Middle East they should be free from all constraints. But the politics of the situation will make this very difficult to accept in practice."
Some of the volunteer host governments have even figured out -- too late -- that some of these terrorists are, well, terrorists.
"If even half of what I read is true, we would be taking in some very dangerous people indeed," [Gianfranco Fini, the Italian deputy prime minister] said.
No kidding? What was your first clue? (The Telegraph story eventually explains who these men actually are.)
This is what happens when you get into the appeasement business. Everybody expects you to appease them, since you've demonstrated you have no principles you're prepared to stand on. (Perhaps you've heard the joke about an honest politician being "one who stays bought.") Even now, the EU shows no concern for crimes committed in Israel: It's just pesky Peres creating a "political complication."
So. Lock 'em up and risk reprisals from Hamas. Turn 'em loose and risk extradition to Israel -- and then reprisals from Hamas -- plus whatever damage the "deportees" might do in the meantime.
I'm getting the idea that when the EU brokered this deal, they never really expected that these men would leave the Church of the Nativity alive. The thugs would have been dead, and Israel would have taken the heat for it -- all around, a win-win for the EU. But now the EU is in trouble: They actually got the deal they offered to take. And all the fum-fuhing and yes-buting in the world isn't going to save them.
Sometimes you just have to stand up and say plainly whose side you're on. For the EU, this is one of those times. The world is waiting.
(See also Steven Den Beste.)
LATER: Little Green Footballs has more details about the durance vile in which the noble freedom fighters now find themselves. Not for the squeamish.
Saturday, May 11, 2002
Not only will it not work...
I've mentioned reports of computers failing to read or play so-called "copy-protected CDs". I say "so-called" because they don't conform to the "Red Book" standard... well, here's Apple's knowledge base:
(Emphasis mine.) I didn't mean to bury you in little blue text: I just wanted to be sure I gave you enough context to make clear that this isn't some odd reading of phrases that weren't meant to be taken together.
The record companies found a way to crash the system and invalidate the warranty at the same time. And this was meant to encourage me to buy CDs rather than download MP3s?
In other contexts, content producers have made it clear that they do not feel any obligation to disclose that a given product is copy-protected. From c-net:
(Emphasis mine.) What can we do? Well, support Philips:
(Emphasis mine.) Does Philips make CD-ROM drives? Why, yes, they do. Are they included in Mr Wirtz' policy? Who knows?
(See also Boing Boing.)
I've mentioned reports of computers failing to read or play so-called "copy-protected CDs". I say "so-called" because they don't conform to the "Red Book" standard... well, here's Apple's knowledge base:
Some audio discs use a copy protection technology that can prevent the disc from being read by a computer. This may also prevent the disc from being ejected. The audio discs are technically and legally not Compact Discs (CD format), and the CD logo has been removed from the disc.
...CD audio discs that incorporate copyright protection technologies do not adhere to published Compact Disc standards. Apple designs its CD drives to support media that conforms to such standards. Apple computers are not designed to support copyright protected media that do not conform to such standards. Therefore, any attempt to use non standard discs with Apple CD drives will be considered a misapplication of the product. Under the terms of Apple's One-Year Limited Warranty, AppleCare Protection Plan, or other AppleCare agreement any misapplication of the product is excluded from Apple's repair coverage. Because the Apple product is functioning correctly according to its design specifications, any fee assessed by an Apple Authorized Service Provider or Apple for repair service will not be Apple's responsibility.
(Emphasis mine.) I didn't mean to bury you in little blue text: I just wanted to be sure I gave you enough context to make clear that this isn't some odd reading of phrases that weren't meant to be taken together.
The record companies found a way to crash the system and invalidate the warranty at the same time. And this was meant to encourage me to buy CDs rather than download MP3s?
In other contexts, content producers have made it clear that they do not feel any obligation to disclose that a given product is copy-protected. From c-net:
Universal was the first major label to openly distribute a copy-protected CD in the United States, with the release of a soundtrack to the "Fast and the Furious" film in December. Companies that produce copy-protection technology say other albums have been quietly released into the market, but verified sightings have been rare.
(Emphasis mine.) What can we do? Well, support Philips:
Gerry Wirtz, general manager of the Philips copyright office that administers the CD logo, told Reuters that not only would Philips yank the logo from copy-protected discs, it would force the major labels to add warning stickers for consumers. Most controversially, he claimed future models of Philips players would both read and burn the copy-protected discs.
(Emphasis mine.) Does Philips make CD-ROM drives? Why, yes, they do. Are they included in Mr Wirtz' policy? Who knows?
(See also Boing Boing.)
You'll never know the answer if you don't ask
No, you have the exchange rate backwards. You're a Canadian trying to steal American money. Instead of reducing your sentence from seven years to four, we should be extending it to 11.3.
Robber wants shorter jail term due to dollar exchange rate
A Canadian bank robber in a US prison wants his sentence reduced because his country's dollar is worth less than the US currency.
�Moisescu wrote to the judge: "Taking into account my Canadian criminal record - at current exchange rates - is only worth 62% of an American criminal, I thought I had a good chance at a reduced sentence."
No, you have the exchange rate backwards. You're a Canadian trying to steal American money. Instead of reducing your sentence from seven years to four, we should be extending it to 11.3.
Friday, May 10, 2002
Landmarks in Technological History
May 3, 2002: The First Segway Accident.
Say, I thought it was supposed to be impossible to fall off those things... (Thanks, Phil.)
LATER: See also Blogatelle.
May 3, 2002: The First Segway Accident.
Say, I thought it was supposed to be impossible to fall off those things... (Thanks, Phil.)
LATER: See also Blogatelle.
Art is art
The Last Page draws our attention to this man, an "artist" whose medium of expression is his own flesh and blood. Now eviscerating for your viewing pleasure.
Hey, I've got an idea. Let's kill him and bury him. What an artistic statement that would be.
(I hope it's obvious that I'm kidding, but in a world where loons draw smiley-faces across the midwestern U.S. with pipe bombs, and other loons fly airplanes full of people into occupied buildings, one can't be too sure.)
The Last Page draws our attention to this man, an "artist" whose medium of expression is his own flesh and blood. Now eviscerating for your viewing pleasure.
Hey, I've got an idea. Let's kill him and bury him. What an artistic statement that would be.
(I hope it's obvious that I'm kidding, but in a world where loons draw smiley-faces across the midwestern U.S. with pipe bombs, and other loons fly airplanes full of people into occupied buildings, one can't be too sure.)
"I would not sell a man a hamburger if I thought my buns were stale."
Look, I know everybody in the bloggin' world has already seen this account of the unprecedented closing of the Langtrees brothel in Perth, Australia. The Americans on their way home from the Middle East apparently... well, there's no good way to say it, is there? They wore out their welcome.
It's gotten a lot of press. A few people have even seen the follow-up, a warning to the brothels of Tasmania that the USS Stennis is on the way.
In Australia, it's pretty funny. (Heck, I think it's pretty funny.) But the families of the sailors on another American ship involved, the USS Bridge, were less amused when they saw the story (courtesy of the AP) in their hometown paper, the Bremerton (WA) Sun. In their apology, the Sun doesn't even try to explain what they were thinking, which is probably for the best.
Look, I know everybody in the bloggin' world has already seen this account of the unprecedented closing of the Langtrees brothel in Perth, Australia. The Americans on their way home from the Middle East apparently... well, there's no good way to say it, is there? They wore out their welcome.
It's gotten a lot of press. A few people have even seen the follow-up, a warning to the brothels of Tasmania that the USS Stennis is on the way.
In Australia, it's pretty funny. (Heck, I think it's pretty funny.) But the families of the sailors on another American ship involved, the USS Bridge, were less amused when they saw the story (courtesy of the AP) in their hometown paper, the Bremerton (WA) Sun. In their apology, the Sun doesn't even try to explain what they were thinking, which is probably for the best.
The personals
Thursday Threesome:
Onesome. Hold Me. What's your first remembrance of holding an infant (or if you aren't into kids - a baby animal) ? Feel free to talk about other stand-out holding memories.... The first infant I have any memories of holding was my own first-born. I don't have enough bandwidth to tell you what was going through my mind at the time.
Twosome. Thrill Me. Up for a thrilling ride? Tell us, do you seek the thrill rides at the amusement park or is the carousel more your speed? Carousels are highly underrated.
Threesome. Kiss Me. Come on - kiss and tell - at least, tell us about your first *real* kiss. I had the good fortune to attend a small two-year college in a wooded area of north-central Georgia. It made it possible to take a stroll in the woods between classes. On one such stroll, a young lady (whose name I wouldn't think of using) taught me what a kiss really is. "Kisses sweeter than wine..." In deepest gratitude, I've tried to pass that lesson along ever since.
Wouldn't you know, the next girl I tried it with married me.
The Friday Five:
(NOTE: The Friday Five is still down. More old questions I never answered.)
1. Laying on your back and facing the ceiling, which side of the bed do you sleep on? Right.
2. Do you have to have covers (blankets and/or sheets) at all costs, no matter the weather? No. I'm usually coverless. My wife, on the other hand, is happy to have the extra covers I'm not using. It's kind of a Jack Sprat situation.
3. Sleep nekkid or no? Why? Used to, but haven't since we had kids. What do you mean, "Why?" You're supposed to sleep in loose, unrestrictive covering. What's less restrictive than nothing?
4. What's under your bed? Drawers.
5. If you have pets, do you let them sleep with you? Why or why not? We don't have pets. When we did, they did not sleep with us. Wife has asthma and animal-hair allergies.
Thursday Threesome:
Onesome. Hold Me. What's your first remembrance of holding an infant (or if you aren't into kids - a baby animal) ? Feel free to talk about other stand-out holding memories.... The first infant I have any memories of holding was my own first-born. I don't have enough bandwidth to tell you what was going through my mind at the time.
Twosome. Thrill Me. Up for a thrilling ride? Tell us, do you seek the thrill rides at the amusement park or is the carousel more your speed? Carousels are highly underrated.
Threesome. Kiss Me. Come on - kiss and tell - at least, tell us about your first *real* kiss. I had the good fortune to attend a small two-year college in a wooded area of north-central Georgia. It made it possible to take a stroll in the woods between classes. On one such stroll, a young lady (whose name I wouldn't think of using) taught me what a kiss really is. "Kisses sweeter than wine..." In deepest gratitude, I've tried to pass that lesson along ever since.
Wouldn't you know, the next girl I tried it with married me.
The Friday Five:
(NOTE: The Friday Five is still down. More old questions I never answered.)
1. Laying on your back and facing the ceiling, which side of the bed do you sleep on? Right.
2. Do you have to have covers (blankets and/or sheets) at all costs, no matter the weather? No. I'm usually coverless. My wife, on the other hand, is happy to have the extra covers I'm not using. It's kind of a Jack Sprat situation.
3. Sleep nekkid or no? Why? Used to, but haven't since we had kids. What do you mean, "Why?" You're supposed to sleep in loose, unrestrictive covering. What's less restrictive than nothing?
4. What's under your bed? Drawers.
5. If you have pets, do you let them sleep with you? Why or why not? We don't have pets. When we did, they did not sleep with us. Wife has asthma and animal-hair allergies.
Thursday, May 09, 2002
Ain't technology wonderful
"Hiding place." Right.
This is clever as all get-out, and given the ridiculously small expense of security cameras these days it's certainly a good idea to let the pilots monitor access to the flight deck. But remind me: How many planes have been hijacked by someone who left his seat unnoticed, hid near the flight deck door unobserved, and leapt through the door unexpectedly as a pilot opened it to get a sandwich? Were any of the planes taken that way on 9/11? Has there been any threat of such since?
Also: From a security standpoint, how would you justify not putting one in the bathroom?
Hidden cameras to monitor aircraft passengers
One plan Airbus is considering, says the firm's cabin security expert Rolf G�decke, involves hiding a tiny camera inside the light fittings above each passenger seat, surrounded by a ring of infrared LEDs. The cameras will normally work with ambient light, but switch to infrared when the cabin is dark.
...A less ambitious system, which Airbus is now fitting to all its new planes, will monitor the area behind the cockpit door.
..."Two cameras leave a blind spot," says Stein. "If carefully sited, three give a hijacker no hiding place."
"Hiding place." Right.
This is clever as all get-out, and given the ridiculously small expense of security cameras these days it's certainly a good idea to let the pilots monitor access to the flight deck. But remind me: How many planes have been hijacked by someone who left his seat unnoticed, hid near the flight deck door unobserved, and leapt through the door unexpectedly as a pilot opened it to get a sandwich? Were any of the planes taken that way on 9/11? Has there been any threat of such since?
Also: From a security standpoint, how would you justify not putting one in the bathroom?
Wednesday, May 08, 2002
Putting the P in NPR
Speaking of InstaPundit, his readers seem to be intent on demonstrating to him that National Public Radio is not, in fact, listener-supported. (This in reponse to a series of posts about their "unacknowledged but obvious" leftward skew.)
From NPR's page:
This doesn't easily reconcile with the hissy-fit you and your supporters threw when you were in danger of losing that teensy, microscopic, unimportant government grant money, at the hands of that Demon in Human Form, Newt Gingrich -- but, OK, if you say so.
But if one-third of your income comes from member station dues and programming fees (and, according to your pie chart, it does), and member stations get their money directly from listeners (as we listeners know darned well they do) and from local and state government grants (which also comes from us in the form of taxes), then NPR's money comes from...?
"Oh, we have no idea where the money comes from, we certainly don't solicit it. See, we prohibit ourselves from soliciting it, it's right there in our non-binding press releases. Guido, take this gentleman out back and explain to him where our money comes from, will you?"
Speaking of InstaPundit, his readers seem to be intent on demonstrating to him that National Public Radio is not, in fact, listener-supported. (This in reponse to a series of posts about their "unacknowledged but obvious" leftward skew.)
From NPR's page:
NPR's annual revenues come primarily from member station dues and programming fees, contributions from private foundations, and corporate underwriting. A long-standing board policy prohibits NPR from soliciting listeners directly: on-air fund raising, direct mail, and telephone solicitations remain a prerogative of member stations.
This doesn't easily reconcile with the hissy-fit you and your supporters threw when you were in danger of losing that teensy, microscopic, unimportant government grant money, at the hands of that Demon in Human Form, Newt Gingrich -- but, OK, if you say so.
But if one-third of your income comes from member station dues and programming fees (and, according to your pie chart, it does), and member stations get their money directly from listeners (as we listeners know darned well they do) and from local and state government grants (which also comes from us in the form of taxes), then NPR's money comes from...?
"Oh, we have no idea where the money comes from, we certainly don't solicit it. See, we prohibit ourselves from soliciting it, it's right there in our non-binding press releases. Guido, take this gentleman out back and explain to him where our money comes from, will you?"
Georgia concedes defeat
Several months ago I told you about the new Georgia state flag, and that the NAVA (North American Vexillological Association) had voted it the worst flag on the continent. At the time, I said "Let's go for the world title!"
I hadn't counted on the ingenuity of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, who created this monstrosity (Caution: Do not look directly at the monitor) as a new logo for the European Union. "We did not commission a design for a new flag and there is no intention of replacing the current one," said a spokesperson, perhaps the wisest thing the EU has ever said. Flying this thing in direct sunlight might be construed as an act of war.
(Here's the current EU flag.)
(Thanks to InstaPundit for the initial report.)
Several months ago I told you about the new Georgia state flag, and that the NAVA (North American Vexillological Association) had voted it the worst flag on the continent. At the time, I said "Let's go for the world title!"
I hadn't counted on the ingenuity of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, who created this monstrosity (Caution: Do not look directly at the monitor) as a new logo for the European Union. "We did not commission a design for a new flag and there is no intention of replacing the current one," said a spokesperson, perhaps the wisest thing the EU has ever said. Flying this thing in direct sunlight might be construed as an act of war.
(Here's the current EU flag.)
(Thanks to InstaPundit for the initial report.)
See who in the funny papers?
Maybe I'm coming at this from the wrong perspective.
Newspapers have been losing readers to television for years, and struggling to compensate for it. The logical response, and one that many papers have been exploring, is to identify what newspapers can do that television news cannot -- then do it more and better.
Depth. Television barely has time to do more than strike the news a glancing blow: Newspapers, done right, can take possession of a story and explain it in depth and context. In addition, television is compelled by its nature to homogenize its news, so that every story appeals to everybody. If the viewer is bored, he might change channels, and This Can't Be Allowed. Newspapers have no such pressure: No one imagines that every reader will read every story from beginning to end, nor should they. But if they want basic information, it's there: if they want more, see page 17a.
Local interest. Again, in a medium where every story must appeal to every viewer, you dare not invest too much of your time in a story only the northeast suburbs will care about: Everything is, or must appear to be, world-shattering. Newspapers can and do have regional news, sometimes regional editions, to better serve a fragmented demographic.
But there is one thing, a simple feature that newspapers have contained for over a century, a feature that readers have proven repeatedly is a subscription maker -- or breaker. A feature that becomes a tradition, a welcome part of the reader's day in a way that nothing on television can do.
I refer, of course, to the comics.
Yes, this is another one of those gripes about how small the comics are these days. The editors say they can't afford the space to print them larger: I say they can't afford not to.
Some of the artists and writers of these beloved features get it. Frank Cho took Liberty Meadows to comic book format rather than continue sparring with Creators Syndicate over size and content. Bill Holbrook's Kevin and Kell is an unexpected epic of a strip, an all-at-once funny-animal / soap-opera / adventure / social commentary readable only on the web (and in a handful of "dead tree" collections).
Some creators don't get it, as this story from Fox News proves.
I can't believe they're seriously suggesting that comics that people read should be cancelled anyway because they're old. (Dick Tracy and Hagar no longer run in the Atlanta daily. A lot of people I know aren't even aware that the Phantom, Prince Valiant, and Tarzan are still in production.)
The comic strip is a dying art form not because popular long-running strips are allowed to continue running, but because they're cramming three pages worth of comics onto a single page at postage-stamp size and near-fax-quality resolution.
I realize that young comic strip creators have to suck up to the editors, since that's who's buying the product (or not). The syndicates could be representing the artists' interests to the papers, but do not. The syndicates (who have no financial incentive to change) are allowing the editors to define the problem, to the artists' detriment. The future of the medium has become a battle between old strips and new ones for the scraps of column inches the editors deem to be "the most we can afford". But that's not what it's about, and we readers know it.
It is counterproductive -- and appalling -- to turn the creators against one another, as if it is Mort (Beetle Bailey) Walker's fault that Zits isn't seen in 500 newspapers daily. (FoxNews mentions "some pop culture experts", but all the quotes come from Coury Turczyn, editor of PopCult. I'm unable to find any such remarks at the magazine's website. Perhaps I'm not hip enough. I'm cynical enough to think this may be an intentional ploy to drive up page views there, since PopCult has no "search" button.)
Subtlety of expression is still possible in a daily comic strip, as a glance at "For Better Or For Worse", "9 Chickweed Lane", "Stone Soup" and "Rose is Rose" will show, if you can find a newspaper in which they are printed large enough to tell.
But if editorial and feature content is only there to fill the space between the advertisements, then it doesn't matter.
If newspapers finally do die as a medium, it will not be because television, radio, or the internet have taken the lead in delivering spot news. It will be because they've deliberately abandoned the niche in the household that only they can fill.
Maybe I'm coming at this from the wrong perspective.
Newspapers have been losing readers to television for years, and struggling to compensate for it. The logical response, and one that many papers have been exploring, is to identify what newspapers can do that television news cannot -- then do it more and better.
Depth. Television barely has time to do more than strike the news a glancing blow: Newspapers, done right, can take possession of a story and explain it in depth and context. In addition, television is compelled by its nature to homogenize its news, so that every story appeals to everybody. If the viewer is bored, he might change channels, and This Can't Be Allowed. Newspapers have no such pressure: No one imagines that every reader will read every story from beginning to end, nor should they. But if they want basic information, it's there: if they want more, see page 17a.
Local interest. Again, in a medium where every story must appeal to every viewer, you dare not invest too much of your time in a story only the northeast suburbs will care about: Everything is, or must appear to be, world-shattering. Newspapers can and do have regional news, sometimes regional editions, to better serve a fragmented demographic.
But there is one thing, a simple feature that newspapers have contained for over a century, a feature that readers have proven repeatedly is a subscription maker -- or breaker. A feature that becomes a tradition, a welcome part of the reader's day in a way that nothing on television can do.
I refer, of course, to the comics.
Yes, this is another one of those gripes about how small the comics are these days. The editors say they can't afford the space to print them larger: I say they can't afford not to.
Some of the artists and writers of these beloved features get it. Frank Cho took Liberty Meadows to comic book format rather than continue sparring with Creators Syndicate over size and content. Bill Holbrook's Kevin and Kell is an unexpected epic of a strip, an all-at-once funny-animal / soap-opera / adventure / social commentary readable only on the web (and in a handful of "dead tree" collections).
Some creators don't get it, as this story from Fox News proves.
Some pop culture experts and cartoonists warn that the comic strip is a dying art form because the antiquated ones � like Blondie, Beetle Bailey, Peanuts, Dick Tracy and Hagar the Horrible � are given most of the space on newspaper pages.
I can't believe they're seriously suggesting that comics that people read should be cancelled anyway because they're old. (Dick Tracy and Hagar no longer run in the Atlanta daily. A lot of people I know aren't even aware that the Phantom, Prince Valiant, and Tarzan are still in production.)
..."There's a finite amount of space to run comic strips � less now than 50 years ago," [editor-in-chief at King Features Jay] Kennedy said. "There are fewer two-paper cities and a lot of papers have shrunk their page size."
...Experts cite the increased cost of paper, the downsizing of newspapers and the economic recession as factors that led to the funnies cutbacks.
The comic strip is a dying art form not because popular long-running strips are allowed to continue running, but because they're cramming three pages worth of comics onto a single page at postage-stamp size and near-fax-quality resolution.
I realize that young comic strip creators have to suck up to the editors, since that's who's buying the product (or not). The syndicates could be representing the artists' interests to the papers, but do not. The syndicates (who have no financial incentive to change) are allowing the editors to define the problem, to the artists' detriment. The future of the medium has become a battle between old strips and new ones for the scraps of column inches the editors deem to be "the most we can afford". But that's not what it's about, and we readers know it.
It is counterproductive -- and appalling -- to turn the creators against one another, as if it is Mort (Beetle Bailey) Walker's fault that Zits isn't seen in 500 newspapers daily. (FoxNews mentions "some pop culture experts", but all the quotes come from Coury Turczyn, editor of PopCult. I'm unable to find any such remarks at the magazine's website. Perhaps I'm not hip enough. I'm cynical enough to think this may be an intentional ploy to drive up page views there, since PopCult has no "search" button.)
Subtlety of expression is still possible in a daily comic strip, as a glance at "For Better Or For Worse", "9 Chickweed Lane", "Stone Soup" and "Rose is Rose" will show, if you can find a newspaper in which they are printed large enough to tell.
But if editorial and feature content is only there to fill the space between the advertisements, then it doesn't matter.
If newspapers finally do die as a medium, it will not be because television, radio, or the internet have taken the lead in delivering spot news. It will be because they've deliberately abandoned the niche in the household that only they can fill.
Monday, May 06, 2002
blogger : journalist :: parasite : host
Not precisely true, or so Dr. Weevil says at some length.
Here's one big thing that newspapers could do but don't: Compare multiple versions of the same story from different sources. Point out the differences. Find patterns.
Blogging was inevitable once the technology to do so became inexpensive enough.
Not precisely true, or so Dr. Weevil says at some length.
What exactly is a 'fact', and where do newspapers get theirs? ...What exactly is it that newspapers can do that bloggers can't?
Here's one big thing that newspapers could do but don't: Compare multiple versions of the same story from different sources. Point out the differences. Find patterns.
Blogging was inevitable once the technology to do so became inexpensive enough.
The real world discovers blogopolis -- again
I won't presume to say John Leo is 100% correct, but after Beam and Dvorak it's a breath of fresh air.
I won't presume to say John Leo is 100% correct, but after Beam and Dvorak it's a breath of fresh air.
"Onion or not?" Story of the Week
A staff writer asked the the zoo for an animal's medical records after the death of a beloved giraffe. The zoo said no. Why?
Now: Did I find this story in (a) the Onion or (b) the Washington Post? Click the link for the surprising answer, as the story takes an unexpected turn.
(Let's hear some more about this special zookeeper-animal relationship they don't want to intrude into.)
A staff writer asked the the zoo for an animal's medical records after the death of a beloved giraffe. The zoo said no. Why?
...The Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo has taken the position that viewing animal medical records would violate the animal's right to privacy and be an intrusion into the zookeeper-animal relationship.
..."One reason [for denying the records request] is privacy," [Zoo director Lucy] Spelman wrote. "Certainly, the privacy rules that apply to human medical records, and the physician-patient relationship, do not apply in precisely the same way to animal medicine at a public institution like the National Zoo. But we believe they do in principle."
Now: Did I find this story in (a) the Onion or (b) the Washington Post? Click the link for the surprising answer, as the story takes an unexpected turn.
(Let's hear some more about this special zookeeper-animal relationship they don't want to intrude into.)
How it's done
For many years now, the local free weekly, Creative Loafing, has run The Blotter, a list of items and activities taken from "actual police reports". I've never understood the point.
Here, from the Arcata (CA) Eye, is how it's done.
For many years now, the local free weekly, Creative Loafing, has run The Blotter, a list of items and activities taken from "actual police reports". I've never understood the point.
Here, from the Arcata (CA) Eye, is how it's done.
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