Snip from an essay published by Kevin Kelly today over on his Technium blog:
All extropic systems -- economy, nature and technology -- are governed by self-accelerating feedback cycles. Like compounding interest, or virtuous circles, they are powered by increasing returns. Success breeds success. There is a long tail of incremental build up and then as they keep doubling every cycle, they explode out of invisibility into significance. Extropic systems can also collapse in the same self-accelerating way, one subtraction triggering many other subtractions, so in a vicious cycle the whole system implodes. Our view of the future is warped and blinded by these exponential curves.Where the Linear Crosses the Exponential [Kevin Kelly]But while progress runs on exponential curves, our individual lives proceed in a linear fashion. We live day by day by day. While we might think time flies as we age, it really trickles out steadily. Today will always be more valuable than some day in the future, in large part because we have no guarantee we'll get that extra day. Ditto for civilizations. In linear time, the future is a loss. But because human minds and societies can improve things over time, and compound that improvement in virtuous circles, the future in this dimension is a gain. Therefore long-term thinking entails the confluence of the linear and the exponential. The linear march of our time intersects the cascading rise and fall of numerous self-amplifying exponential forces. Generations, too, proceed in a linear sequence. They advance steadily one after another while pushed by the compounding cycles of exponential change.
Balancing that point where the linear crosses the exponential is what long-term thinking should be about.
US Senator Jesse Helms died today. Here were his words in 1956, responding to criticism that a fictional black character in his newspaper column was racist:
To rob the Negro of his reputation of thinking through a problem in his own fashion is about the same as trying to pretend that he doesn't have a natural instinct for rhythm and for singing and dancing.Jesse Helms quotes on life and politics [AP]
New legislation has been proposed in Iran that could make blogging a crime punishable by death. Cyrus Farivar has a story on today's edition of the PRI radio show The World: Iran considers harsh penalty for some bloggers (3:30).
Over at Global Voices, Hamid Tehrani writes:
On Wednesday, Iranian members of parliament voted to discuss a draft bill that seeks to “toughen punishment for disturbing mental security in society.” The text of the bill would add, “establishing websites and weblogs promoting corruption, prostitution and apostasy,” to the list of crimes punishable by death.A translated English copy of the proposed legislation is here. [International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran]In recent years, some Iranian bloggers have been sent to jail and many have had their sites filtered. If the Iranian parliament approves this draft bill, bloggers fear they could be legally executed as criminals. No one has defined what it means to “disturb mental security in society”.
Such discussion concerning blogs has not been unique to Iran. It shows that many authorities do not only wish to filter blogs, but also to eliminate bloggers!
Image: "Women In Black," by Matthew Winterburn, who has some really neat photos of Iran in his Flickr stream.
The headstone marking the final resting place of deceased Joy Division singer Ian Curtis is suddenly missing.
Whoever stole it is a total douche, and deserves a special place in hell where screaming emo demons torture them with burns from a thousand clove cigarettes, poke them with a million blunt eyeliner applicators, and blind their eyes with painfully asymmetrical hair extensions for all eternity.
The grave marker, wherever it is now, reads: "Ian Curtis 18 - 5 - 80" and the words "Love Will Tear Us Apart".
Here is a story in the Times UK, and above is a music video by Jonathan Beamish for the earliest recorded version of "Love Will Tear us Apart," produced as a John Peel Session for the BBC in 1979 (jesus! 30 years ago, wow).
Happy Fourth of July, everyone. Blow some shit up!
Captain America Fuck Yeah
[YouTube; the song in this unauthorized and infringalicious fan video was lifted from the great Matt Stone and Trey Parker epic, Team America: World Police, referenced in these BB posts of yore: 1, 2.]
Not much news, really, because I have a boring quiet life.
Today, I got 1500 words done on the revision of Ghosts of Fear or Storm King or some other title to be named later and I think I have the first chapter done (with the first chapter done the rest should go faster, she said with some optimism). This assumes I am now starting in the right place and writing about the right things.
My goal for the long weekend is to get at least 3,000 words done (since my goal for today was 1,000 words I'm doing okay so far).
Took both dogs for long walks this morning. Took Blue for a short walk tonight. The weather the last week has been absolutely beautiful, not at all typical Iowa weather--low humidity, not too hot, not too much rain.
I am reading 'The Off Season,' sequel to 'Dairy Queen,' which is an awesome book, which![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
sarah_prineas turned me on to. Also reading a mystery that I can't remember the name of and Flora Segunda, which I almost like but am occasionally annoyed by.
My new procrastination tools of choice are 'The Big Bang Theory' and Scramble Live Games on Facebook (yeah, I need to challenge someone to a game some time, but the live games really are addictive). This is entirelyjennreese's fault.
Today, I got 1500 words done on the revision of Ghosts of Fear or Storm King or some other title to be named later and I think I have the first chapter done (with the first chapter done the rest should go faster, she said with some optimism). This assumes I am now starting in the right place and writing about the right things.
My goal for the long weekend is to get at least 3,000 words done (since my goal for today was 1,000 words I'm doing okay so far).
Took both dogs for long walks this morning. Took Blue for a short walk tonight. The weather the last week has been absolutely beautiful, not at all typical Iowa weather--low humidity, not too hot, not too much rain.
I am reading 'The Off Season,' sequel to 'Dairy Queen,' which is an awesome book, which
sarah_prineas turned me on to. Also reading a mystery that I can't remember the name of and Flora Segunda, which I almost like but am occasionally annoyed by. My new procrastination tools of choice are 'The Big Bang Theory' and Scramble Live Games on Facebook (yeah, I need to challenge someone to a game some time, but the live games really are addictive). This is entirely
jennreese's fault.It isn't because I'm some irritating liberal who's embarrassed that I'm an American. I admit that I got all choked up when I went to Philadelphia and stood in the actual room where they signed the Declaration of Independence and argued about the Constitution.
But I'm a proto-Aspie. And I hate loud noises.
A lot.
But I'm a proto-Aspie. And I hate loud noises.
A lot.
This morning, as I noted, Nomi and I went to the reading of the Declaration at the Old State House in Boston. It had rained this morning, and the sky was cloudy, so it felt as if the festivities were a little dampened. Despite that, there was a large crowd, and at least one person who shouted enthusiastically when hearing the part of the Declaration about the right of the people to alter or abolish a destructive government.
Anyway, as usual, they had a member of the armed forces and a new citizen lead the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. This year's new citizen was Craig Ferguson, who has his own TV show on CBS:
Of course, the real point of the event was the reading of the Declaration, done, as always, by the head of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston:
After the reading, Nomi and I came home, went shopping, and spent the rest of the day cooking, relaxing, and enjoying our freedoms.
(If you want read what I said about last year's reading, check out Independence Day 2007.)
Anyway, as usual, they had a member of the armed forces and a new citizen lead the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. This year's new citizen was Craig Ferguson, who has his own TV show on CBS:
 |
Old State House Balcony, With Craig Ferguson Photo copyright © 2007 by Nomi S. Burstein. |
Of course, the real point of the event was the reading of the Declaration, done, as always, by the head of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston:
 |
The Reading of the Declaration Photo copyright © 2007 by Nomi S. Burstein. |
After the reading, Nomi and I came home, went shopping, and spent the rest of the day cooking, relaxing, and enjoying our freedoms.
(If you want read what I said about last year's reading, check out Independence Day 2007.)
Our friends at eBoy, creators of BB's mascots including the lovely and talented Jackhammer Jill, released their latest in the Peecol line of toy figures. My favorite is Rilla, the diaper-wearing gorilla! They're $9.95 each from Kidrobot. eBoy Peecol (Kidrobot)
Bizarre magazine interviews a Montreal gentleman named Rick who is tattooing his entire body to look like the living dead. From the interview (photo by Neville Elder):
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<p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/326860987/tattooed-living-zomb.html">http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/326860987/tattooed-living-zomb.html</a></p>Bizarre magazine interviews a Montreal gentleman named Rick who is tattooing his entire body to look like the living dead. From the interview <em>(photo by Neville Elder)</em>:
<blockquote>
<a href="javascript:openWindow("/front_website/gallery.php?id=13002",%20400,%20598)"><img src="http://www.boingboing.net/images/_images__images_front_picture_library_UK_dir_26_bizarre_magazine_13002_12-1.jpg" height="320" width="214" border="1" align="left" hspace="4" vspace="4" alt=" Images Images Front Picture Library Uk Dir 26 Bizarre Magazine 13002 12-1" />
</a>
<strong>What look are you trying to achieve with your tattoos?
</strong>
<br>They’re about the human body as a decomposing corpse – the art of a rotting cadaver. It’s also a tribute to horror movies, which I love.
<br><Br>
<strong>What influenced your tattoos?</strong>
When I was a kid I was a big fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and I wanted to be a ninja turtle and live in the sewers. But as I got older I fell in love with zombies and wanted to become one. Oh, and I love George A Romero’s Living Dead movies.
<br><br>
Anyway, the closest thing I could get to becoming a zombie was to get tattooed like one.<br clear="all">
</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.bizarremag.com/weird_world/body_world/7173/zombie-boy.html">Zombie tattooed man</a> <em>(Bizarre)</em><br style="clear: both;"/>
<a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=eb2fca5a4ebe58300c9d6931d41d0a65"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=eb2fca5a4ebe58300c9d6931d41d0a65"/></a>
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<p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/boingboing/iBag?a=dLcKjG"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/boingboing/iBag?i=dLcKjG" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~4/326860987" height="1" width="1"/>
The original version of Fritz Lang's fantastic science fiction film Metropolis was first seen in Berlin in 1927. Shortly after, Paramount recut the film to (over)simplify the plot. From then on, it was thought that at least 1/4 of the whole film ended up on the editing room floor where it was swept into the dustbin of history. Recently though, much of the lost footage was rediscovered. According to ZEITmagazin, several of the rediscovered scenes are essential to the film's plot. The magazine has the story about how the missing reels ended up in the private collection of a film critic in the late 1920s or so, and eventually came to light again. From ZEITmagazin (poster image from Wikipedia):
Lang's Metropolis rediscovered (ZEITmagazine, thanks COOP!)Among the footage that has now been discovered, according to the unanimous opinion of the three experts that ZEITmagazin asked to appraise the pictures, there are several scenes which are essential in order to understand the film: The role played by the actor Fritz Rasp in the film for instance, can finally be understood. Other scenes, such as for instance the saving of the children from the worker’s underworld, are considerably more dramatic...
The rediscovered material is in need of restoration after 80 years; the pictures are scratched, but clearly recognizable. Martin Koerber, the restorer of the hitherto longest known version of “Metropolis”, who also examined the footage, said to ZEITmagazin: “No matter how bad the condition of the material may be, the original intention of the film, including all of its minor characters and subplots, is now once again tangible for the normal viewer. The rhythm of the film has been restored.”
Dark Roasted Blend posted a fun gallery of "Ugly Bug Faces." The images above are from the Oklahoma Microscopic Society. The National Geographic Society also published a hardcover book titled Bug Faces.
According to a new international study, the United States has the highest rates of pot and coke use, followed by New Zealand. The other 15 countries surveyed by the World Health Organization didn't even come close. Approximately 42.4 percent of those surveyed in the US say they've used marijuana, with 20.2 percent admitting to having tried the drug by age 15. From Alternet:
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy tried to dismiss the study, Bloomberg News reported:WHO drug use survey (Alternet, via Dose Nation)
Trying to find a link between drug use and drug enforcement doesn't make sense, said Tom Riley, spokesman for the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy in Washington. "The U.S. has high crime rates but we spend a lot on law enforcement and prison,'' Riley said yesterday in a telephone interview. "Should we spend less? We're just a different kind of country. We have higher drug use rates, a higher crime rate, many things that go with a highly free and mobile society."
Funny, ONDCP takes precisely the opposite line whenever a state considers liberalizing its marijuana laws. In a March press release, deputy Drug Czar Scott Burns railed against a New Hampshire proposal to decriminalize marijuana, saying such a move "sends the wrong message to New Hampshire's youth, students, parents, public health officials and the law enforcement community," and would lead to "more drugs, drug users and drug dealers on their streets and communities."
My friend Joe Hutsko contacted with the intriguing offer to serialize his novel, The Deal, on Boing Boing. I jumped at the chance. I read The Deal when it first came out in 1999 and loved the thrilling story about a Apple-like company's undertaking to create an iPhone-like device.
Here's a link to Chapter 05 as a PDF. (Here's chapter 1 and an introduction to the book, and here are the previous chapters)
To buy a paperback copy of the book, visit JOEyGADGET or purchase directly from Amazon.
For eleven years, the Rock-afire Explosion was the animatronic house band for Showbiz Pizza Place restaurants. The musicians' story is a touching tale of technical expertise, marketing muscle, and, er, "concept unification." (See the Wikipedia page for more on that.) Chris Thrash Window Pictures (director Brett Whitcomb / writer Brad Thomason) are making a full-length documentary on the Rock-afire Explosion, and the new preview trailer is itself a must-see. Rock-afire Explosion trailer (YouTube, thanks COOP and Rodney Ascher!)
UPDATE: Rodney just found a video of Rock-afire Explosion, programmed by Chris Thrash, playing Usher's "Love In This Club." YouTube
UPDATE: The film is actually about Chris Thrash. More info at the movie's MySpace page.
It occurs to me that I've been very slow in my on-going series of blog entries about how to build your website. If you've been trying to follow, apologies for that. If you haven't, well, apologies for dropping it on you now. :)
The previous installments of this little series are here:
Organising your Website - Part 3: From structure to pages
At the end of the last section, you should have been left with a rough structure for your website, in terms of how information was grouped. This didn't represent the pages of the website, nor did it necessarily represent the way you would place the pages on your site.
What we're going to do now--turning the grouped information into pages--is more of an art than a science, but let's give it a go anyway.
( Read the rest of this entry )
The previous installments of this little series are here:
- Introduction
- Planning your Website - Do you need a website?
- Planning your Website - Who is your target audience?
- Planning your Website - What are your audience looking for?
- Planning your Website - What impression do you want to give?
- Planning your Website - What are you trying to achieve?
- Planning your Website - Time and money
- Organising your Website - Grouping information
- Organising your Website - Creating an information structure
Organising your Website - Part 3: From structure to pages
At the end of the last section, you should have been left with a rough structure for your website, in terms of how information was grouped. This didn't represent the pages of the website, nor did it necessarily represent the way you would place the pages on your site.
What we're going to do now--turning the grouped information into pages--is more of an art than a science, but let's give it a go anyway.
( Read the rest of this entry )
Yeah, I'm a little quiet, but it's because I'm being productive and stuff.
lonfiction and I are racing toward the end of our collaborative novel. I boldly predicted a couple of months ago that we'd finish by the end of July, and in mid June that prediction seemed laughable.
But due to some outside encouragement and a self-imposed deadline just three weeks from yesterday, we're going to make it happen. Really, we are. Don't laugh. I did around 20 pages last week (and a few more on a short story...)and I expect I'll do more than that this week. And Lon is locked away at a writers' retreat doing nothing BUT writing this weekend, so likely he'll outpace me. Also, I'm going back through and revising the book for consistency and Lon will make a second pass when we're done.
Within a few of weeks, we should have a very nice first draft, and then we'll send it out to first readers to see if it's worth inflicting on the world.
Wish us luck...
PS -- Only two of you will know what I'm talking about, but poor Mr. Marin has met his maker. And it wasn't pretty. ;)
lonfiction and I are racing toward the end of our collaborative novel. I boldly predicted a couple of months ago that we'd finish by the end of July, and in mid June that prediction seemed laughable.But due to some outside encouragement and a self-imposed deadline just three weeks from yesterday, we're going to make it happen. Really, we are. Don't laugh. I did around 20 pages last week (and a few more on a short story...)and I expect I'll do more than that this week. And Lon is locked away at a writers' retreat doing nothing BUT writing this weekend, so likely he'll outpace me. Also, I'm going back through and revising the book for consistency and Lon will make a second pass when we're done.
Within a few of weeks, we should have a very nice first draft, and then we'll send it out to first readers to see if it's worth inflicting on the world.
Wish us luck...
PS -- Only two of you will know what I'm talking about, but poor Mr. Marin has met his maker. And it wasn't pretty. ;)
- Mood:
busy - Music:Elvis Presley -- Blue Moon of Kentucky
Profile
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Page Summary
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif)
boingboing_net : Where the Linear Crosses the Exponential: Kevin Kelly [+0] - boingboing_net : Jesse Helms leaves the planet. [+0]
- boingboing_net : Iran: death penalty for “corrupt weblogs” [+0]
- boingboing_net : Some douche steals Ian Curtis' (of Joy Division) headstone [+0]
- boingboing_net : Captain America, Fuck Yeah! [+0]
- charmingbillie : Small Bits of News [+0]
- haddayr : I hate the 4th of July [+9]
- mabfan : Old State House Declaration Reading [+8]
- boingboing_net : New eBoy Peecol figures [+0]
- jodi_davis : Wanna do you, right where you're standing... [+3]
- boingboing_net : Tattooed living zombie [+0]
- boingboing_net : Lost scenes from Metropolis found [+0]
- boingboing_net : Bugs have creepy faces [+0]
- boingboing_net : America loves drugs [+0]
- douglain : Fourth of July- 1968 Independence versus Lime Soda [+0]
- boingboing_net : Serialization of The Deal, Chapter 5 [+0]
- tim_pratt : Tweetledees [+0]
- boingboing_net : Video: documentary on Showbiz animatronic band [+0]
- psamphire : Websites for Writers: Organising your website - part 3 [+1]
- joshrountree : Head Down, Writing [+2]