I am streamlining the links on this page (many of which I no longer review regularly as this blog has evolved). To keep them neat & handy but somewhere else, I have set up a "my bookmarks" account. I will transfer the links over the next few days and delete them from this blog index page. Hopefully this will prove to be a useful and functional tool.
Blogger Hacks, Categories, Tips & Tricks
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
So the movie blog reports that there is to be a hitchhiker movie, and there is indeed an official site with a blog that tracks production. Blogs rock, as Zaphod would probably say.
Pierce may be hanging up his Walther, and MSN is looking at possible successors...
"Speculation surrounds Brits Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Gerard Butler, Jude Law and Ewan McGregor, as well as Aussies Hugh Jackman, Heath Ledger and Eric Bana. For Brosnan, playing James Bond will always be a fond memory. "We went out on a high," Brosnan said, "and I look back affectionately at that time and doing those four movies. But I've said all I gotta say on it."
"Speculation surrounds Brits Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Gerard Butler, Jude Law and Ewan McGregor, as well as Aussies Hugh Jackman, Heath Ledger and Eric Bana. For Brosnan, playing James Bond will always be a fond memory. "We went out on a high," Brosnan said, "and I look back affectionately at that time and doing those four movies. But I've said all I gotta say on it."
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
USS Clueless presents a lengthy examination of the rabbit that will be coming out of the White House Hat before November. "Bush is ... distinctive because of the fact that he seems to largely ignore his critics, and tends to let themselves wear themselves out and use up their ammunition. When he thinks the time is right, he then opens up on them and tends to bury them. I think something like that's coming, and it's going to be even more important than any of the previous ones." Read the whole thing.
One of those things you've always wanted to know, from mindbluff.com via Across the Atlantic.
I knocked out some Willa Cather at 450-500 wpm.
I knocked out some Willa Cather at 450-500 wpm.
From Lawrence Lessig: "Everyone’s seen the brilliant JibJab Flash of Bush/Kerry. The piece claims to be a "parody" of Woody Guthrie’s "This Land." As any copyright lawyer recognizes, it is not a "parody" in the sense that "fair use"ordinarily recognizes it. A "fair use" "parody" is a work that uses a work to make fun of the author. JibJab is using Guthrie’s work not to make fun of Guthrie, but of the candidates. (For the now classic case on this, see Dr. Suess v. Penguin Press, where a "parody" of O.J. Simpson using The Cat in the Hat was not "fair use.")"
Read the whole thing & the updates...
Read the whole thing & the updates...
from Lileks: "In the end, the Brits won, and the repercussions are still felt today. You could almost view the 20th century as a little diversion when we amused ourselves with fascism and communism before getting back to the old Clash O’ Civilizations; in this sense the backstory of “The Four Feathers” is rather pertinent, but you wouldn’t know it from the movie."
From MSNBC: "Heinz Kerry said she had no regrets about telling an editorial writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the newspaper owned by right-wing activist Richard Mellon Scaife, to “shove it” during an argument Sunday.
“I really wanted him to back off ... and so I defended myself,” she told NBC’s Katie Couric. “Wouldn’t you?”Her speech Tuesday will be her introduction to most Americans. A Washington Post survey last week showed her with a favorable rating of 27 percent and an unfavorable rating of 26 percent, while 47 percent had no opinion. "
“I really wanted him to back off ... and so I defended myself,” she told NBC’s Katie Couric. “Wouldn’t you?”Her speech Tuesday will be her introduction to most Americans. A Washington Post survey last week showed her with a favorable rating of 27 percent and an unfavorable rating of 26 percent, while 47 percent had no opinion. "
Read Virginia Postrel on Bill Clinton at the convention: "Last night, Bill Clinton gave one of the best speeches of his life... What interested me about the speech was how well it captured how Democrats--the mainstream, not the insane leftoid conspiracy freaks--understand themselves and their opposition."
New Scientist.com: "Satellite images have revealed the devastating impact of recent flooding in Bangladesh, with two thirds of country submerged in water. Pictures taken by the NASA satellite Aqua on 22 July show water covering areas of Bangladesh and eastern India.
Three weeks worth of torrential rain have resulted in the worst flooding that the impoverished nation has seen for 15 years. So far, 400 people have been killed by drowning, collapsing buildings and disease resulting from the floods." See the pictures.
Three weeks worth of torrential rain have resulted in the worst flooding that the impoverished nation has seen for 15 years. So far, 400 people have been killed by drowning, collapsing buildings and disease resulting from the floods." See the pictures.
SiFy.com: "London - Legendary director George Lucas has announced that the next Star Wars film will be called Revenge of the Sith. Sith is the name of the evil sect that corrupts Anakin Skywalker and draws him into the dark side of the Force, the cosmic power that balances the galaxy, reports Ananova. The name of the movie, which is slated for a May 2005 release, was announced amidst much speculation at the annual Comic-Con International, in front of tens of thousands of fans."
From Elites News: "According to The Associated Press, Sarah Jessica Parker will star in the fall campaign for Gap clothing. The campaign, which also features Jessica Alba, Michael Vartan and Lenny Kravitz asks “How do you wear it?”
In the advertisements, Parker wears jeans accented with ribbons. One pair has a velvet ribbon sewn down the legs in the style of tuxedo pants. Another pair of jeans are cut off below the knee and finished with ribbon bows. The outfits are paired with cutesy tops such as a cropped jacket, a pink cardigan and a white shirt with black piping. Parker, best known as the “Sex in the City” fashion-obsessed Carrie Bradshaw stated that she thinks the Gap is “is terrifically creative, fun, inspired, and the clothes are for everyone, of every age.” Parker is known as a fashionista and it is hoped that the ad campaign will help the Gap appear to people who seek new looks."
In the advertisements, Parker wears jeans accented with ribbons. One pair has a velvet ribbon sewn down the legs in the style of tuxedo pants. Another pair of jeans are cut off below the knee and finished with ribbon bows. The outfits are paired with cutesy tops such as a cropped jacket, a pink cardigan and a white shirt with black piping. Parker, best known as the “Sex in the City” fashion-obsessed Carrie Bradshaw stated that she thinks the Gap is “is terrifically creative, fun, inspired, and the clothes are for everyone, of every age.” Parker is known as a fashionista and it is hoped that the ad campaign will help the Gap appear to people who seek new looks."
From Wired News: "Aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan announced at a press conference at the Santa Monica Airport on Tuesday that his SpaceShipOne team will make a bid to win the $10 million Ansari X Prize with flights between late September and mid-October from Mojave, California. Rutan designed SpaceShipOne with $20 million or more in backing from Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen. The ship became the first privately financed manned vehicle to reach space during its suborbital test flight on June 21.
"We have notified the X Prize organization that we'll make our first X Prize flight on Sept. 29 -- of this year," Rutan said. To win the prize, competitors must make two flights with a three-person craft to suborbital space -- 100 kilometers above the Earth -- in two weeks. Rutan said his team, officially dubbed American Mojave Aerospace Ventures, is planning three flights in the two-week prize window ending Oct. 13."
"We have notified the X Prize organization that we'll make our first X Prize flight on Sept. 29 -- of this year," Rutan said. To win the prize, competitors must make two flights with a three-person craft to suborbital space -- 100 kilometers above the Earth -- in two weeks. Rutan said his team, officially dubbed American Mojave Aerospace Ventures, is planning three flights in the two-week prize window ending Oct. 13."
Monday, July 26, 2004
I was all set to delete this guy from my blogroll (it got fat fast) when I went to check recent posts and found this: "Memory Alpha - This is an encyclopedia of the Star Trek universe. It is based on the same software and model as Wikipedia. That means that anyone at any time can come along and add new articles and revise current ones."
Phil Liggett on the OLN official site [no permalink...sorry...] "The Americans on the Champs Élysées laid witness to the greatest moment in both American cycling and the Tour de France today. Lance Armstrong won the Tour for a record sixth time straight, and he did it with ease.
Whether he will come back again, remains to be seen, but this remarkable man has done what no other could.
I thought I had commentated on most things cycling throughout my TV career, but I'm glad I was around for this."
Whether he will come back again, remains to be seen, but this remarkable man has done what no other could.
I thought I had commentated on most things cycling throughout my TV career, but I'm glad I was around for this."
The Movie Blog: "First, and somewhat surprisingly, The Bourne Supremacy totally dominated with a weekend take over $53 million. That's almost half the total take of the first film in one weekend, which is mighty impressive for a film that received relatively little in the way of marketing. Catwoman, however received a monstrous marketing push and drew only $17 mil."
after apparently costing $100m to make, it's looking like they'll need DVD sales to break even. See also ITV.com, where grosses are confusingly quoted in pounds: "Catwoman took a disappointing £4.9 million at the US box office, compared to the £15.7 million raked in by the Matt Damon blockbuster. Catwoman and its star Berry were mauled by the critics ahead of its opening, with the New York Times calling it a "howlingly silly, moderately diverting exercise in high, pointless style".
after apparently costing $100m to make, it's looking like they'll need DVD sales to break even. See also ITV.com, where grosses are confusingly quoted in pounds: "Catwoman took a disappointing £4.9 million at the US box office, compared to the £15.7 million raked in by the Matt Damon blockbuster. Catwoman and its star Berry were mauled by the critics ahead of its opening, with the New York Times calling it a "howlingly silly, moderately diverting exercise in high, pointless style".
NY Times: "And, he told reporters late Sunday night, he followed the Tour de France very closely despite his travel schedule and intense preparations for his speech Thursday when he accepts the Democratic presidential nomination.
"I watch it every night," Mr. Kerry said. "I get it on tape."
He is also a major Lance Armstrong fan, and wrapped a yellow plastic ring around his wrist Sunday to signify support for Mr. Armstrong's favorite cause, cancer research. At a neighborhood meeting Sunday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio, Mr. Kerry made congratulations to Mr. Armstrong, for his sixth straight Tour victory Topic A, filling the space normally reserved for reactions to news from Iraq or Republican attacks.
"I don't know how many of you care," Mr. Kerry said as he announced Mr. Armstrong's triumph, calling it a moment of both "national pride" and "personal interest." He explained that he has been riding two wheels "since I was a kid," and said of Mr. Armstrong, "we're very proud of him."
"Three weeks on a bike riding those kinds of miles and that kind of speed," Mr. Kerry marveled. "The level of athleticism, the level of fine-tuning of the human body, the mental focus, courage," he added. "I tip my hat to Lance Armstrong and to the whole U.S. Postal team, the U.S. Postal team makes the United States proud."
"I watch it every night," Mr. Kerry said. "I get it on tape."
He is also a major Lance Armstrong fan, and wrapped a yellow plastic ring around his wrist Sunday to signify support for Mr. Armstrong's favorite cause, cancer research. At a neighborhood meeting Sunday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio, Mr. Kerry made congratulations to Mr. Armstrong, for his sixth straight Tour victory Topic A, filling the space normally reserved for reactions to news from Iraq or Republican attacks.
"I don't know how many of you care," Mr. Kerry said as he announced Mr. Armstrong's triumph, calling it a moment of both "national pride" and "personal interest." He explained that he has been riding two wheels "since I was a kid," and said of Mr. Armstrong, "we're very proud of him."
"Three weeks on a bike riding those kinds of miles and that kind of speed," Mr. Kerry marveled. "The level of athleticism, the level of fine-tuning of the human body, the mental focus, courage," he added. "I tip my hat to Lance Armstrong and to the whole U.S. Postal team, the U.S. Postal team makes the United States proud."
Saturday, July 24, 2004
and a project for another day? More than 60 places to submit URL's & RSS URL's to drive traffic, from RssTop55 via Rick E. Bruner's business blog consulting. Both posts contain great ideas for driving traffic. "The directories to which to submit your RSS feed are listed in my very subjective order of importance. Higher up are those directories that, in my experience, will give you much higher exposure, visibility, credibility and traffic than any of those listed toward the end. After a point (say from ranking n°20 onward) the order is also not too relevant anymore as I did not have yet any specific criteria to properly rank these many different these resources. Proceed accordingly. "
Gmail: Backup for the new millennium? "So, I've come up with a quick utility to make use of at least a small portion of the available space for backup purposes. To accomplish this task I wrote a small PHP script that can be used to backup files to Gmail and then quickly retrieve them back if and when you need them. I trust that Gmail servers are fairly reliable, and this offers an excellent offsite backup that is extremely fast (I can max out my connection on download 300k/sec) and accessible from anywhere internet is available. Given that you do have 1gig of space quite a few things can be backed up "
conventionbloggers.com is syndicating all relevant posts from the bloggers who are in Boston to cover the Kerry-Edwards show. One-stop shopping for your insider alternative Boston convention headlines. A good place to check out for a flavor of proceedings, I think.
I am starting to mess w/ the syndication options for this blog, having enabled syndication and joined up with feedster. I still harbor the forlorn hope that I might get a reader, eventually. Perhaps now this reader will be ensnared by finding my linkings on an aggregator, rather than on the site itself. (sure....)
As a side benefit, feedster offers a site search option that had made this site searchable. It also lets me customise a list of feeds for my own use, as soon as I can figure out how to delete the pre-installed ones, customise my list of faves and find a program to read the posts.
It isn't the most convenient of sites, seemingly needing to be reworked to split development, business and basic functions. For now, though, I'm listed, searchable, and have plenty of time to figure out the other functions.
As a side benefit, feedster offers a site search option that had made this site searchable. It also lets me customise a list of feeds for my own use, as soon as I can figure out how to delete the pre-installed ones, customise my list of faves and find a program to read the posts.
It isn't the most convenient of sites, seemingly needing to be reworked to split development, business and basic functions. For now, though, I'm listed, searchable, and have plenty of time to figure out the other functions.
BBC Politics: "Well it's the last day of term - so it must be time for another botched reshuffle.
And sure enough the Commons has been gripped for days by reshuffle fever and, in particular, Mandy mania. Is the Prince of Darkness on his way back - if so, is he going to Brussels or is he going back into the cabinet? "
And sure enough the Commons has been gripped for days by reshuffle fever and, in particular, Mandy mania. Is the Prince of Darkness on his way back - if so, is he going to Brussels or is he going back into the cabinet? "
FoxSports.com: "BESANCON, France (AP) - Riders set off on the Tour de France's next-to-last stage Saturday in an individual time trial that Lance Armstrong needs only to safely negotiate to preserve the overall lead in his quest for a record-breaking sixth consecutive title.
Starting last in the race against the clock on the 34-mile winding route around Besancon in southeast France, Armstrong is so far ahead of his nearest rivals that he has to do little other than stay upright on his bike to win another Tour crown.
The showcase event rolls into Paris on Sunday in a largely ceremonial final stage that ends on the famous Champs-Elysees boulevard. Because he is first in the overall standings and holds the coveted yellow jersey, Armstrong has the benefit of starting last in the time trial - meaning he knows the time to beat before he sets out. "
Check out the official english-language TdF site. One day to go, and the tootle on the Champs.
Starting last in the race against the clock on the 34-mile winding route around Besancon in southeast France, Armstrong is so far ahead of his nearest rivals that he has to do little other than stay upright on his bike to win another Tour crown.
The showcase event rolls into Paris on Sunday in a largely ceremonial final stage that ends on the famous Champs-Elysees boulevard. Because he is first in the overall standings and holds the coveted yellow jersey, Armstrong has the benefit of starting last in the time trial - meaning he knows the time to beat before he sets out. "
Check out the official english-language TdF site. One day to go, and the tootle on the Champs.
From The Guardian: "The controversial US documentary, Outfoxed, which claims to uncover the Republican bias of Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, has become the top-selling DVD on Amazon.com, as the liberal political campaign behind the film gathers pace in the US.
The number one ratings come as the liberal campaigning group MoveOn.org, which contributed £43,000 to Outfoxed's £163,000 budget, took out a full-page advert in the New York Times, declaring: "The Communists had Pravda. Republicans Have Fox".
Film-maker Robert Greenwald's documentary, which does not yet have a theatrical release deal and is only available to buy via the internet, has outsold movies including The Passion of the Christ, Cold Mountain and Starsky & Hutch since going on sale last week." Read the whole thing.
The number one ratings come as the liberal campaigning group MoveOn.org, which contributed £43,000 to Outfoxed's £163,000 budget, took out a full-page advert in the New York Times, declaring: "The Communists had Pravda. Republicans Have Fox".
Film-maker Robert Greenwald's documentary, which does not yet have a theatrical release deal and is only available to buy via the internet, has outsold movies including The Passion of the Christ, Cold Mountain and Starsky & Hutch since going on sale last week." Read the whole thing.
From AZCentral.com: "LOS ANGELES -- Three days after Linda Ronstadt was booed in Las Vegas for putting politics in her songbook, she was cheered in Los Angeles for keeping on message.Ronstadt sang to a full-house Universal Amphitheatre on Tuesday night and the crowd reserved its longest and loudest ovation for her endorsement of filmmaker-provacateur Michael Moore and his documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11.""
the next generation... From ABC News: "Hawking, 62, said he no longer believes a 1980s theory that black holes might offer passage into another universe, a rival explanation for identifying where matter and energy go when consumed by a black hole.
Hawking now sides with particle physicists who have long insisted that any matter swallowed by a black hole can't just disappear but must eventually generate a specific output. The latest theory offers hope that scientists one day may identify the history of what a black hole has taken in over the eons by decoding what it emits.
"There is no baby universe branching off (inside a black hole), as I once thought. The information remains firmly in our universe," Hawking said in a speech to about 800 physicists and other scientists from 50 countries. "I'm sorry to disappoint science fiction fans, but if information is preserved, there is no possibility of using black holes to travel to other universes."
Hawking now sides with particle physicists who have long insisted that any matter swallowed by a black hole can't just disappear but must eventually generate a specific output. The latest theory offers hope that scientists one day may identify the history of what a black hole has taken in over the eons by decoding what it emits.
"There is no baby universe branching off (inside a black hole), as I once thought. The information remains firmly in our universe," Hawking said in a speech to about 800 physicists and other scientists from 50 countries. "I'm sorry to disappoint science fiction fans, but if information is preserved, there is no possibility of using black holes to travel to other universes."
''ProgressivePunch is a non-partisan searchable database of Congressional voting records from a Progressive perspective. But we're convinced it's extremely useful irrespective of anyone's political positions. We show the performance of members within 125 different issue categories, and detailed vote descriptions, thereby empowering you to zero in on what matters to you. To see how progressively your member has voted or explore a policy issue that interests you, select from a search option."
Analysis from the BBC: "Tony Blair did not change the Labour party - he created an entirely new party. It is a view put forward by veteran left-winger Tony Benn and eagerly shared by those who believe "their party" was hijacked by the Blair-Brown-Mandelson project.
And in many senses it is true. The ditching of Clause IV of the constitution, the ending of the supremacy of the party conference, the huge changes in the way policy is made, the weakening of the links with the trades unions and even the policies themselves effectively killed off old Labour. "
And in many senses it is true. The ditching of Clause IV of the constitution, the ending of the supremacy of the party conference, the huge changes in the way policy is made, the weakening of the links with the trades unions and even the policies themselves effectively killed off old Labour. "
FoxSports.com: "L'ALPE D'HUEZ, France (AP) - Riding through a frenzied sea of fans, Lance Armstrong pulverized rivals and extended his lead in the Tour de France by winning a historic time trial Wednesday high in the French Alps.
Armstrong stormed up the 15.5-kilometer (9.6-mile) climb through 21 hairpin turns to the L'Alpe d'Huez ski station in 39 minutes, 41 seconds - the only rider under 40 minutes.
"I wanted it bad because of the history around this mountain and the importance to the race," the five-time Tour champion said. "All in all, it was a very important day."
At this point, only a disaster would appear to stand in the way of his record sixth straight Tour title when the three-week cycling marathon ends in Paris on Sunday. "
Armstrong stormed up the 15.5-kilometer (9.6-mile) climb through 21 hairpin turns to the L'Alpe d'Huez ski station in 39 minutes, 41 seconds - the only rider under 40 minutes.
"I wanted it bad because of the history around this mountain and the importance to the race," the five-time Tour champion said. "All in all, it was a very important day."
At this point, only a disaster would appear to stand in the way of his record sixth straight Tour title when the three-week cycling marathon ends in Paris on Sunday. "
CNN.com: "WASHINGTON (AP) -- When first lady Laura Bush counseled her twin daughters on how to behave while campaigning with their father, she may have skipped the part about not sticking your tongue out at the media.
That's what Jenna Bush did Tuesday after President Bush arrived at St. Louis' Lambert International Airport. After Bush joined his daughters in a limousine, Jenna stuck her tongue out at about a dozen photographers and reporters."
That's what Jenna Bush did Tuesday after President Bush arrived at St. Louis' Lambert International Airport. After Bush joined his daughters in a limousine, Jenna stuck her tongue out at about a dozen photographers and reporters."
Mmmm. Attractive.
If the wind changes you'll stick like it.