The skeleton king sidestepped discretely to one edge of the throne room, and up a wall. He had made a mess of things, right in front of the dais, on the strip of crimson carpeting: a pile of bones. His confused courtiers gathered around the pile. The king disappeared into a dark corner of the … I Don’t Know What This Is, Part 3
One night I’ll wake up to find an apocalyptic movie scene being projected onto the bedroom ceiling. Suburban ceilings have the light-colored, canvassy quality that’s needed to accomplish this. I’ll note this fact, and the accuracy of the projector’s keystone adjustments in how the image’s corners neatly fill parallel the ceiling corners. The cinematic hell … I Don’t Know What This Is, Part 2
God or cloud? If it’s the former, you’re already too late. Image stolen from wikipedia. They can’t have it back. This cloud came early in Antarctica, scientists say, as though one needed deep technical knowledge to notice a clearly visible atmospheric phenomenon is off its schedule by a few weeks. Later, scientists argued that the … Nocticulent Cloud
I can hear my heartbeat in my left ear. A heart can go at any time, and you’re gone. If you’re lucky, you expired on the sofa and your corpse can binge watch the next eight seasons of the Gilmore Girls Netflix revival. Spoiler: Rory will have a few dozen more babies out of wedlock … I Don’t Know What This Is
In post-industrialized economies, money never stays local. It eventually finds its way out downstream from retail purchases. The local small grocer may buy their produce from the farm down the road, but the farm probably doesn’t buy their machinery locally. If they do buy local machines, the manufacturer buys parts and materials that come from … Shmall Shbusiness Shaturday
An appropriate videographic compliment to the holiday festivities. My favorite part is when the song kicks in when Jack Black’s character starts fighting, at the 0:58 mark. When you wake up at halftime from your recovering slumber, pluck at your $5000 iPhone 2000X until you can listen to Travis’ recent interview with Ron Jarzombek of … Thanksgiving Chitinous Crevasse
“This place is a tomb.” -Captain Miller, Event Horizon
Horrible photo, but this post is more for posterity than aesthetics.
Probably the worst thing about Trump’s presidency is the perpetual onslaught of hand-wringing and fainting from writers. That series of essays, obviously, comes from elitist New York authors that that no one reads or has heard of but other elitist New Yorkers. Soon, look out for more accessible media like sci-fi films or endless stacks … Aftermath, Part 2
I have to admit, it doesn’t look bad at all; they’ve mirrored some iconic scenes from the original. My only qualm is how it seems director Rupert Sanders is treating Motoko’s identity crises, and it’s important because that was the theme of the original film. How can we know ourselves? What separates us from, and … Official Ghost in the Shell Trailer
As always, Ed has good analysis here and here. From the first link: A critical element in Trump’s election victory was how the mainstream media was totally blindsided by the Internet. Have you noticed how the old media still acts as if the Internet was some kind of extension of the print-based world they dominated? … Aftermath
The general order of events: The red herring for this post: a fictitious Cthulhu “presidency” isn’t that much different than a God “presidency,” at least to Americans. There’s a strong tendency for some folks to equate the supernatural with malicious forces; if you’ve already accepted this equivalency as truth then the terror of Cthulhu isn’t … Cthulhu for President, 2016 and Forever
Interesting video. Robots “learn,” but within a very narrow set of parameters. Those robots featured are created for a very specific task, one that requires the accurate repetition and endurance that humans can’t consistently delivery. So they don’t learn so much as practice their programming until a specific standard of precision has been met. Learning, … Robo-Logic
Excellent, no-dialogue film about a retro/steampunk blue light, a not-so-friendly ghost, and a fateful WWII-era dance.
Can you spot me? Look for the stud-in-the-making, sporting the impressive—most impressive—Darth Vader shirt this side of the universe.
The Dull Men’s Club – I hope to be one someday. I may be well on my way. Spain Is without a National Government — And Spaniards Are Digging It Photo: The Primal Kitchen’s Coconut Cashew Bars – I got a free box. They’re good! tricot – “KABUKU TOUR 2016 FINAL at AKASAKA BLITZ” Trailer … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 18
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook … Be An Insect
Oopsies at Yahoo: In the [discrimination] suit, as reported by The Mercury News, Ard alleges Mayer encouraged the use of an employee performance rating system to “accommodate management’s subjective biases and personal opinions, to the detriment of Yahoo’s male employees.” Ard also accuses Kathy Savitt, Yahoo’s former chief marketing officer, and Megan Liberman, the current … Hiring and Firing
There’s four hours left to download Pale Blue Scratch for free, over at Amazon. Hooyeah… Unless I get a lot more downloads today, it peaked on the Amazon charts at #593 for mystery, and #29 for steampunk. Being a no-name, I’ll take it. Giveaway over! It will return soon, though.