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Wishing everyone peace, health, and happiness in 2005. Dream big and crow loudly in the year of the rooster....

Why Does Archbishop Desmond Tutu Hate Our Christian Moral Values? In an interview with MSNBC, the nobel prize winner slams George Bush. "I had naively believed all these many years that Americans genuinely believed in freedom of speech. [But I] discovered there that when you made an utterance that was remotely contrary to what the White House was saying, then they attacked you. For a South African the déjà vu was frightening. They behaved exactly the same way that used to happen here [during apartheid]—vilifying those who are putting forward a slightly different view."

Lists: 2004, a collection of almost 500 “best of” lists for 2004 grouped by category.

I posted about their 2003 lists previously.

Cory Doctorow: Rudy Rucker sez, "Here's an interesting blog entry about conotoxins, cellular automata, and the new drug Prialt."

So I’m going on about cellular automata all the time and you’re thinking, “Yes, but can CAs get me high?” I’ll say! Stephen Wolfram’s mascot is the textile coneshell, famous for having a one-dimensional CA wrapped around its shell.

Link (Thanks, Rudy!)

Apparently no one told the Santa Clara Democratic Party that it's supposed to lick Bush's ankles and roll over to have its belly scratched. The blog is feisty the way an opposition party should be. Elisa Camahort, who writes it, is keeping a day-by-day count-up of Bush's outrages. Good, partisan stuff - livelier and more frequent than the DNC's Kicking Ass blog.

Portrait of Alaska Norio Matsumoto's unspeakably beautiful photographs. Mountains,lights,forests. tiny remote island in big ocean.

Are you ready for the heart-healthy "Polymeal"?

Great post from MonkeyFilter about the surprisingly widespread Icelandic belief in "hidden folk."

According to surveys, 10 percent of Icelanders believe in elves. Another staggering 80 percent will not say they exactly believe, but neither are they willing to totally rule out their existence.

Another link from Monkeyfilter puts the elf-belief number near 70%, and still others talk about the various road-building and home-buying procedures necessary to appease the hidden folk. Great stuff.

And don't get smug, Americans -- after all, 34% of us believe in ghosts, 24% in witches, and a whopping 78% of us believe in angels.

Elsewhere on the site, Monkeyfilter is leading the world in discussion about gay penguins.

In doing this site for the past six and a half years, I've grown quite fond of short form writing, especially nonfiction short form writing. Magazine articles, newspaper pieces, weblog posts, etc. As I've said before, I'd love to compile an end-of-the-year Best Online Writing book or do a monthly Reader's Digest-style magazine that compiles the best short-form writing from a variety of sources, but there's a lot of hassle to deal with (securing rights, working with publishers, killing trees).

Luckily, the magic of the Internet allows you to do things that aren't quite perfect but work well enough that it's worth the trade-off. In lieu of a book or magazine compilation of the best writing of 2004, here are some of the best things I linked to in the past year. The list consists mostly of magazine and newspaper articles with a few other types of media sprinkled in and is more objective than my favorite weblogs of 2004 list. If, unlike me, you've got a little bit of slack time at the end of the year at your place of employ, this should keep you busy for the rest of the day. Enjoy.

The Buddhabrot Set. An amazing universe of structure, spirituality, and mathematical intrigue.
Jared Tarbell, Gallery of Computation

Big and Bad. How the S.U.V. ran over automotive safety.
Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker

Victoria's Secret. A look at one of Prada's top saleswomen.
Mimi Swartz, The New Yorker

Street Smarts. Learning from JetBlue
Norm Brodsky, Inc. Magazine

Khaaan!!
khaaan.com

The Way We Eat Now. Ancient bodies collide with modern technology to produce a flabby, disease-ridden populace.
Craig Lambert, Harvard Magazine

Microsoft Research DRM talk
Cory Doctorow, craphound.com

What the Bagel Man Saw. Honesty and breakfast.
Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt, The New York Times Magazine

The Decline of Fashion Photography. An argument in pictures.
Karen Lehrman, Slate

mashuga's Fotolog. Portraiture of the homeless.
Gary F. Clark, fotolog.net

Ikeaphobia and its discontents
Adam Greenfield, v-2 Organisation

Birnbaum v. Michael Lewis. Moneyball, Red Sox, journalism, and screenwriting.
Robert Birnbaum, The Morning News

A Corporation That Breaks the Greed Mold
Jim Hightower, AlterNet

New Details Surface. Dick Cheney and Pat Leahy throw down.
Paul Sims, The New Yorker

The Anarchist's Cookbook. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods.
Charles Fishman, Fast Company

Week in Review. Hand drawn representations of the news.
Week in Review

Why don't we do it in the road? A new school of traffic design says we should get rid of stop signs and red lights and let cars, bikes and people mingle together.
Linda Baker, Salon

Discovery of Flores Man. It sounds too incredible to be true, but this is not a hoax.
Nature

The Searchers. Radiohead's unquiet revolution.
Alex Ross, The New Yorker

On the Record: David Neeleman, JetBlue Airways. Interview with the CEO of JetBlue
San Francisco Chronicle

How not to buy happiness. Can money make you happy?
Robert H. Frank, Daedalus

The Vice Guide to Everything. The DOs and DONTs of modern life.
Vice Magazine

Misinterpreted Movie Titles. Renaming movies with literal descriptions of their movie posters.
Something Awful

Blinded By Science. How 'Balanced' Coverage Lets the Scientific Fringe Hijack Reality.
Chris Mooney, Columbia Journalism Review

The True Story of Audion. How a piece of software got made.
Cabel Sasser, Panic

Something Borrowed. Should a charge of plagiarism ruin your life?
Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker

The Bell Curve. What happens when patients find out how good their doctors really are?
Atul Gawande, The New Yorker

Skeletal Systems. A character study of 22 present and past cartoon characters.
Michael Paulus, michaelpaulus.com

The Ketchup Conundrum. Mustard now comes in dozens of varieties. Why has ketchup stayed the same?
Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker

Decentralized Intelligence What Toyota can teach the 9/11 commission about intelligence gathering.
Duncan Watts, Slate

The way I rolled. A report on the Usher concert.
Mr. Sun, Mr. Sun!

Memory and Manipulation. The trials of Elizabeth Loftus, defender of the wrongly accused.
Sasha Abramsky, LA Weekly

Designs For Working. Why your bosses want to turn your new office into Greenwich Village.
Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker

Born of the Fourth of July. The statistics are not good for a baby born in the 24th and 6th day of gestation.
Eric C. Snowdeal III, snowdeal.org

John Stewart on Crossfire. You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show.
CNN Crossfire

Neal Stephenson Responds With Wit and Humor. An interview with the noted SF author.
Slashdot

Fear Itself. Learning to live in the age of terrorism
Gene Weingarten, The Washington Post

Consider the Lobster. For 56 years, the Maine Lobster Festival has been drawing crowds with the promise of sun, fun, and fine food.
David Foster Wallace, Gourmet

Aerial Photography. Earth from above.
Yann Bertrand

Child Portraiture. Muted works of vibrant mundanity.
Loretta Lux, lorettalux.de

Food Without Fear. When it comes to food, Americans have the tendency to lose all reason.
Dan Barber, The New York Times

One myth deeply entrenched in our language is that of the "Lemming Suicide Plunge" - where lemmings, apparently overcome by deep-rooted impulses, deliberately run over a cliff in their millions, to be dashed to their deaths on the rocks below, or to drown in the raging ocean. Indeed, this myth is now a metaphor for the behaviour of crowds of people who foolishly follow each other, lemming-like, regardless of the consequences. This particular myth began with a Disney movie.

Disney's True Life Adventures film series did great things for the advancement of understanding the world around us. However, the lemming suicide plunge debacle was not one of them. Dr. Karl, from Great Moments in Science examples the complete lemming myth.

We previously had no doubt as to the boundless limits of human stupidity, but we’re feeling pretty refreshed about all that now: apparently thousands of people on Christmas morning wake up to new cellphones and want to test it out, so they call the first number that comes to mind: 911 (what, 411 or 611 or moviefone wasn’t good enough?). Apparently Californian emergency call centers on Christmas day have as much as a 50% non-emergency rate of callers just hanging up or saying “I’m just testing out my cell phone.” We wish we were making this up.

[Via MGN]

This one is about quantum Darwinism.  Worlds in which micro-states collapse into macro-states coherently have superior survival properties, or so it would seem...

In Mike Wendland's Detroit Free Press article, he talks about where to go online for some of the best online spots for solving tech issues.

"What if the manufacturer doesn't have a support forum? Do a Google search on whatever your device is, adding the words "problems" or "troubleshooting." That will usually take you to scores of Web sites devoted to whatever function your nonfunctioning item is supposed to do.

Case in point: I bought a new Tablet PC a few weeks ago that suddenly started performing poorly. It was Saturday and the manufacturer was closed. So I looked around and found the Tablet PC Buzz discussion board ( www.tabletpcbuzz.com). I described the problem and asked for help, clicking a button that would e-mail me whenever my request had a reply.

My first e-mail arrived less than 30 minutes after my question went online. In all, that weekend, I received 15 replies from other users who knew exactly what was wrong with my system because they had the same problem and fixed it."

The rest of his article lists some of Mike's other favorite places to go to get tech help. Very good article with links to bookmark. What are some of your favorite spots?

url: http://www.freep.com/money/tech/mwendland27e_20041227.htm

Hilarious, poignant, maddening, the blog, Anonymous Lawyer, has become an online 24-hour confessional for disaffected associates at large, elite law firms around the country.

I share Jeff Jarvis's incredulity at tuning into Meet the Press and seeing Tim Russert engaged in Vulcan mind-meld with Dr. Phil. What's next, Suzi Orman laying out Social Security privatization for us between teeth bleachings? I'm not sure what...

The New Yorker cartoon is an agent of corruption more insidious than LSD or the electric guitar.

One fun thing about traveling all the time is renting different kinds of cars. This week we have a Jeep Liberty. I just don't get the SUV craze. I just re-read Malcolm Gladwell's article on SUVs. It's a must-read if you are considering buying a car. You should see the quotes from auto-industry engineers and marketers. Amazing that our government even allows these things on the road.

My Ford Focus handles better, is more comfortable, has a better stereo, costs less, gets better mileage, has more power, and has a quieter engine.

In the night of 12/24/07, though sensors woven through the very fabric of the house had thus far registered a complete absence of sentient bio-activity, I found myself abruptly summoned from a rare, genuine and expensively induced examples of that most priceless of states, sleep.

Even as I hurriedly dressed, I knew that dozens of telepresent armed-response drones would already be sweeping in from the District, skimming mere inches above the chill surface of the Potomac. Vicious tri-lobed aeroforms that they were, they resembled nothing more than the Martian war machines of George Pal’s 1953 epic, “The War of the Worlds”.

And while, from somewhere far above, now, came that sound, that persistent clatter, as though gunships disgorged whole platoons of iron-shod mercenaries, I could only wonder: who? Was it my estranged wife, Lady Betty-Jayne Motel-6 Hyatt, Chief Eco-Trustee of the Free Duchy of Wyoming? Or was it Cleatus “Mainframe” Sinyard himself, President of the United States and perpetual co-chairman of the Concerned Smart People’s Northern Hemisphere Co-prosperity Sphere?

“You’re mumbling again, big guy,” said Memory, shivering into hallucinatorily clear focus on the rumpled sheets, her thighs warm and golden against the Royal Stewart flannel. She adjusted the nosecones of her chrome bustier. “Also, you’re on the verge of a major fashion crime.”

I froze, the starched white tails of an Elmore of Shinjuku evening shirt half-tucked into the waistband of a favorite pair of lovingly-mended calfskin jodhpurs. She was right. Pearl buttons scattered like a flock of miniscule flying saucers as I tore myself out of the offending Elmore. I swiftly chose a classic Gap t-shirt and a Ralph Lauren overshirt in shotgun-distressed ochre corduroy. The Gap t’s double-knit liquid crystal began to cycle sluggishly in response to body-heat, displaying crudely animated loops of once-famous televangelists of the previous century, their pallid flanks streaked with the sweat of illicit sexual exertion. Now that literally everything was digital, History and Image were no more than Silly Putty in the hands of anyone with a BFA and a backer in Singapore. But that was just the nature of Postmodernity, and, frankly, it suited me right down to the ground.

“Visitors upstairs, chief,” she reminded me pointlessly, causing me to regret not getting her that last chip-upgrade. “Like on the roof.”

“How many?” And this was Samsung-Sears’s idea of an “expert” system?

“Seventeen, assuming we’re talking bipeds.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That Nintendo-Dow micropore sensor-skin you had ‘em stretch over the Realistislate? After those Columbian bush ninjas from the Slunk Cartel tried to get in through the toilet-ventilators? Well, that stuff’s registering, like, hooves. Tiny ones. Unless this is some kind of major Jersey Devil infestation, I make it eight quadrupeds – plus one definite biped.”

“It can’t be Sinyard then.” I holstered a 3mm Honda and pocketed half a dozen spare ampules of gel. “He’d never come alone.”

“So maybe that’s the good news, but I gotta tell you, this guy weighs in at close to one-forty kilos. And wears size eleven-and-a-half boots. As an expert system, I’d advise you to use the Mossad & Wesson bullpup, the one with the subsonic witness protection nozzles—“ She broke off, as if listening to something only she could hear. “Uh-oh,” she said, “I think he’s coming down the chimney…”


[Originally published in The Washington Post, December 1991. And a very merry Christmas to all.)

Grandfather and Young Owl stood overlooking the canyon, their arms resting on the wooden railing. "You know", Grandfather said, "that in Chumash legend, each of the four seasons has a unique set of associations." He described the four quadrants, sketching with his hand in the air as he did: North Winter / Night White Eagle: Strength and Pride Bear: Earth Unity, Humility West Fall / Evening Red Dolphin: Connection, Friendship Raven: The Messenger East Spring / Morning Yellow Hawk: Recovery, Courage Deer: Life's Abundance South Summer / Afternoon Blue Owl: Wisdom, Intelligence Snake: Sensitivity to Earth "The Chumash always believed that Nature is sacred and understood evolution long before Darwin explained it to the White Man, who is still reluctant to understand his place. They would be wise to understand the three principles by which we have lived in harmony with all life on Earth since we first emerged from the Sky and the Earth and the Water: The Principle of Limitation: The understanding that we are all limited, all capable in different ways, and all equal, and that we depend on and are responsible for each other, that without Community we are nothing. The Principle of Moderation: The understanding that we must take only what we need from the land and the ocean, and give back as much as we take, and waste nothing, and live according to Nature's time. The Principle of Compensation: The understanding that we must give without expecting in return, and be kind, and recognize that compensation comes in many forms." "These are simple lessons. The Winter is our time of renewal. It is a time of contemplation, rest, and gathering strength for the ordeals that still lie ahead of us. The White Man's culture of occupation and scarcity is relentless and threatens everything. Even those that understand this cannot understand why we don't join them in their fight to defeat this culture. But no one can save them from themselves, Young Owl. Our task is to hold up a mirror to them, and let them see the madness in their own lives. Our task is to show them, just in case they want to learn, a better way to live. These Newcomers will defeat themselves, and then, just as after the great flood before our time, those who remain will learn again, freed from occupation and scarcity, to live in Nature's time. For us, there is only the waiting." Dear friends, may this season be a time of renewal and contemplation and peace for you, a time of sharing, and a time of gathering strength for the struggles ahead. I'll be back on Boxing Day.

Xeni Jardin: "You go to war with the family you have... not the family you might want or wish to have." 10:32pm, woman speaking into cellphone.

Here's Photo Net's Photograph of the Week Gallery for 2004. There are some incredible photos. Like this one, a 30-second exposure by Brian Klimowski: Lightning over Northern Arizona.

How to turn your oven into a pizza hearth....

Meanwhile, join this Ukrainian enthusiast as she gears up for the Dig.

Spotted in Toronto, where I spent part of last weekend - while George Bush is Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, Time Canada’s “Newsmaker of the Year” is Maher Arar. It makes for an interesting juxtaposition.

Opportunists and Self-Described Victims vs. Any Available Deep Pockets For the stupid and the dead, there's the Darwin Awards. For the opportunistic and the alive, there's the Stella Awards. The Stella Awards were inspired by Stella Liebeck. In 1992, Stella, then 79, spilled a cup of McDonald's coffee onto her lap, burning herself. A New Mexico jury awarded her $2.9 million in damages. And of course it wasn't that simple, but the brief descriptions of the various cases make for entertaining reading. Serious legal geeks can have full case reports mailed to them, or check out and post to the site forum.

While we're talking about Memeorandum, there's some other news sites out there:

Ten by ten. News in pictures.

Findory. Learns your interests as you read and makes a better newspaper for you.

Newsmap. The bigger the square, the bigger the news.

Press Display. Links to tons of newspapers around the world.

Newspaper Direct. Tons of newspapers links too.

Yahoo Daily News.

MSNBC's Newsbot.

Google's News Page.

Where do you get your news?

"Sushi pants" and other stories... Possibly not the "best of the web", but not political and damn funny. Of late I have been enjoying a number of "story" sites recounting the kind of tall tales of questionable accuracy you usually only hear from genuinely funny friends. Many, many chuckles to be had out there. Some of the stories seem superficially mean but are actually interesting looks into difficult situations you might otherwise never glimpse. "A few days later he put a tarantula in my bedsheets while I was sleeping. Thankfully I wasn't bitten, but I was freaked out and still sometimes jump out of bed in the middle of the night for no reason and attack my sheets." - from thingie.net

What is The Hum? Some residents of Taos, New Mexico suffer from it, and it seems to happen elsewhere, too. Listen to it here and here (.wav files, and not actually very dramatic). No one knows quite what the hum is, and even refutations don't really work. There are some "scientific" explanations, but The Hum Remains mysterious and sinister.

What is the essence of a snowflake? If you take a look at this amazing photo gallery of snowflakes from National Geographic, you might be able to tell. The photo gallery is part of a Feb. 2004 story about how snowflakes form their unique shapes. One of the major questions scientists are studying is what factors, such as temperature and wind, play in how the snow crystals form. The main scientist mentioned in this story has a book out on the subject, which has plenty more pretty snowflake photos taken by photographer Patricia Rasmussen to stare at. 

The Wired article Science Braces for Second Term features the most ironic sentence I’ve seen in months: “For the past four years, scientists have accused the Bush White House of ignoring widely accepted scientific studies in favor of fringe theories that support the administration's political agenda. Meanwhile, government officials say scientists are exploiting research for political purposes.” (emphasis mine) [TechReview blog]

An interceptor rocket that failed to launch last week during a test of a proposed missile defense system confounded its critics today by receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a ceremony at the White House.

Dave Eggers writes about Spamalot and talks about Monty Python.

John Dvorak explains how to read a blog. It’s actually pretty good. I’m going to test it out on a few friends who still don’t “get it” and see if it helps.

Crichton, as he deserves [Pharyngula]

Crichton continues to take an anti-science approach, simply because Frankenstein stories make quite readable books. The difficulty is that many people seem to think the science is real or close to it, much like a Tom Clancy books tries to be real. Unfortunately, Crichton biases his science to make a story, not be necessairly reflect the truth.