tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-126750822024-03-14T02:19:50.637+08:00confessions of a media junkieRead not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger172125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-84799296923362711922010-03-31T21:49:00.001+08:002010-03-31T21:50:47.103+08:00Deadwood - We fuckers are fucking fucked<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadwood_%28TV_series%29">Deadwood</a> is a peculiar drama series, even by the standards of HBO. It's essentially an unsentimental Les Miserable, set in the American Old West, with Shakespearean dialogs. In other words, it's pure brilliance.<br />
<br />
Yes, swear words permeate the script. But so do injustice, insecurity, and violent death. Such was the state of the world that the characters lived in. The frailty and vulgarity of human existence should offend you vastly more than the swearing do.<br />
<br />
Season One documents the emergence of order out of unadulterated chaos in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadwood,_South_Dakota">Deadwood</a>. The arrival of new residents such as ex-sheriffs Bill Hickok, Seth Bullock, and competing brothel operator Cy Tolliver threatens Al Swearengen's stranglehold on the town's affairs. Crushed by the degrading and torturous death of the reverend from a brain tumor, Al, the doctor, and the ladies at Gem found respite in each other's company near the end of the Season.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eaFbMbyoqek&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eaFbMbyoqek&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div><br />
If they can find solace in such mundane moments, what is our excuse?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-4706156381980781922010-01-16T02:54:00.009+08:002010-04-03T01:06:36.842+08:00A Desirable ManHe looks fantastic in a suit. He appears on prime time TV nearly every night. He is a recipient of <i>six</i> honorary doctorates. He moderates presidential debates. He appears frequently on the <i>Daily Show with Jon Stewart</i> and once hosted the <i>Saturday Night Life</i>. And <b>he cooks with his wife</b>.<br />
<br />
He is Brian Williams. <br />
<blockquote>Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, joins Wait Wait at New York City's Carnegie Hall to play a game called "You are the very worst act ever to play this stage." Williams answers three questions about Florence Foster Jenkins — an American music legend (?) who performed for a sold out Carnegie Hall audience almost exactly 65 years ago, and became known for singing terribly.</blockquote><center><embed allowfullscreen="true" base="http://www.npr.org" height="386" src="http://www.npr.org/v2/?i=122084432&m=122108503&t=audio" width="400" wmode="opaque"></embed><a class="qpsmdtgttotklictlepe" href="http://www.npr.org/v2/?i=122084432&m=122108503&t=audio"></a><a class="qpsmdtgttotklictlepe" href="http://www.npr.org/v2/?i=122084432&m=122108503&t=audio"></a><a class="qpsmdtgttotklictlepe" href="http://www.npr.org/v2/?i=122084432&m=122108503&t=audio"></a><a class="qpsmdtgttotklictlepe" href="http://www.npr.org/v2/?i=122084432&m=122108503&t=audio"></a></center> <i>(Don't miss the last two minutes!)</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-8379050047758027632010-01-16T02:54:00.007+08:002010-04-02T21:05:11.078+08:00Jay Leno vs Conan O'Brien<a href="http://mashable.com/2010/01/13/im-with-coco/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/im-with-coco.jpg" width="127" /></a><span id="goog_1263570462813"></span><span id="goog_1263570462814"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a>It is a complex saga, complete with greedy villains and a geek hero , spanning over six years. Jay Leno, back in 2004, appointed Conan O'Brien as his successor for the Tonight Show. When Leno finally left in 2009, douchebags at NBC thought that letting Leno host a water-down, prime time version of the Tonight Show would be a great way to fill the time slot cheaply (in place of expensive drama series) and to prevent Leno from going to another channel. This new show failed disastrously. So now the same douchebags are pushing back the Tonight Show and placing Leno's sad sad show back in the 11:35 pm time slot. Conan quits and <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/01/12/conan-obrien-statement/">the Internet joins him in condemning NBC and Jay Leno</a>. Again, a man with a strong back bone! Walk tall, man. Walk tall.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-36975056683011759832010-01-16T02:54:00.006+08:002010-04-02T21:02:08.402+08:00Destroying a NationIn the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake">Haiti earthquake</a>, estimates of the number of dead range from 30,000 to as many as 100,000. The population of Port-au-Prince was around 700,000. Even the palace collapsed and the president was homeless. As there were no effective building codes, it is unlikely that many buildings could have stood through such a strong earthquake. A handy round up of videos can be found at <a href="http://jezebel.com/5448956/moving-pictures-the-most-talked+about-videos-from-haiti">Jezebel</a>.<br />
<br />
For those who believe in a benevolent god, I ask you: What good will come of destroying the heavily populated capital of one of the world's poorest country, whose people have been massacred, enslaved, and oppressed for centuries? What good will come of killing so many people who have been living in such dismal condition (per capita GDP: US$790, or US$2 per day) involuntarily or by choice? Where is justice?<br />
<br />
I guess you can see the theme of the week. Moving on to more lighthearted topics...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-80807494806323973282010-01-16T02:54:00.005+08:002010-04-02T20:59:16.166+08:00A corporate with back boneGoogle announced, in <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-approach-to-china.html">a carefully worded blog post</a>, that it no longer felt comfortable operating in China. They claimed to have been under serious and protracted cyber attacks from the Chinese government, and that Gmail accounts of advocates of human rights activists have been routinely accessed by third parties. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wangjy/sets/72157623201934838/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2734/4271700006_a9f114429f_m_d.jpg" /></a></div>Privacy and security on the Internet are concepts that the Chinese government regard with annoyance and disdain. Would it be better to work within the limitations and hope for a better day, or to distance oneself from such a depressing place and preserve ones integrity? These are problems that have long confronted foreign companies and local dissidents in China. Some of us (yes, myself included) have to swallow part of our pride every day in order to accept the status quo without going insane. It is simply refreshing to see such an influential corporation behave like a person with honor and integrity. I applauded your decision to establish google.cn four years ago. I applaud your decision to exit the China market now. I hope your action will spark a widespread movement in which companies and politicians would rethink their attitude in dealing with repressive regimes, not limited to China.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-81552573295199497142009-09-28T14:02:00.003+08:002009-09-28T14:06:37.179+08:00I *love* Hank Moody <3<div style="text-align: center;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/joorX6DpCw0&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/joorX6DpCw0&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">~ Californication, Season 2, "In Utero"<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-73623020457303524392009-09-19T01:42:00.009+08:002009-09-25T23:45:16.323+08:00My media consumption of the week<span style="font-weight: bold;">Most insightful analysis of marijuana</span><br />
<ul><li><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/11/magazines/fortune/medical_marijuana_legalizing.fortune/index.htm?section=magazines_fortune">How marijuana became legal</a> by Roger Parloff at Fortune</li>
</ul><blockquote>Over the years the government's position has become progressively more embattled, if not untenable. It potentially leads to exactly the same endpoint as the Twenty-First Amendment, which repealed the federal prohibition on alcoholic beverage sales. When states make a legal loophole allowing medical use of marijuana, they must grapple with the messy question of what precisely constitutes medical use. After all, doctors regularly prescribe powerful drugs like Valium, Viagra, Prozac, and -- give us a break -- Botox to patients who are hardly at death's door.<br />
</blockquote>One thing that I've always found puzzling in the Chinese, or indeed, worldwide, media was the demonization of pot. It is usually presumed to belong in the same class of dangerous narcotics like heroin and cocaine, whereas in fact marijuana is clearly less harmful and affects users in varied ways. Obama's first online town hall was <a href="http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/cannabis-issues-dominate-obamas-open-questions-website">dominated by pot questions</a>, but they were dismissed as just another demonstration of netizens' sleaziness. Through careful mapping, Parloff points out that the legalization of marijuana may be closer than we thought.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Most brain dead op-ed from a mainstream writer</span><br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/opinion/09friedman.html?_r=1">Our One-Party Democracy</a> by Thomas Friedman at New York Times</li>
</ul><blockquote>China’s one-party autocracy can impose the important policies needed to move a society forward in the 21st century. Is this a political advantage?<br />
</blockquote>There are so many extremely elementary flaws in this op-ed piece that it can serve as an example of how NOT to argue for <i>kindergarten</i> students.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<ol><li>The US is emphatically not under a one-party democracy, as everything the Democrats are trying to do is critically constrained and checked by the Republicans.</li>
<li>China is not "led by a reasonably enlightened group of people." For every open-minded, hardworking technocrat promoting clean power and energy efficiency, there are 10 egotistic, power hungry, and CORRUPT officials doing everything - including things that directly harm their subjects - to hold on to a one-party system. Do not make the mistake of homogenizing China's leadership.</li>
<li>The health care financing system in China is indeed one of universal care. But don't forget that, as a whole, China spends far less on health care than the US (4.5% of GDP vs 15.3%), and out-of-pocket expense is much higher in China (53.9% of health care expense vs 12.7%). (Figures from <a href="http://www.who.int/whosis/en/">WHO</a>) The practical implications are that Chinese people have poorer health care infrastructure and everybody has to save much more money in case of medical emergencies - the norm is that ambulances won't take a patient until he/she presents rolls of cash. For more discussion on the ills of China's health care system, even after taking the baby steps that are the latest reforms, see this <a href="http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/China_Healthcare_System_Full_Text.pdf">brief</a>, or the myriad analyses freely available online.</li>
</ol>I could go on, but there are far better things to do in life than to pick apart Friedman's amateurish work.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Most heartening display of geekery</span><br />
<ul><li><a href="http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/09/16/1000-words-27/">Obi-wanobama</a> at Time blog <i>Swampland</i></li>
</ul><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/bk-obama-20090916-7302.jpg?w=580&h=385" /><br />
</div><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Most inspiring technological solution</span><br />
<ul><li>EverybodyLovesSketch - A gesture-based 3D curve sketching system</li>
</ul><br />
<center><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hGmE362ldZY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hGmE362ldZY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed><a class="awycfvyqxlliikjkgvyi" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/hGmE362ldZY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></a></object></center><br />
A practical, elegant, time saving tool that automates a repetitive yet vital manual process. This is what technology is all about.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Newly subscribed RSS</span><br />
<ul><li><a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/s/alessandra_stanley/index.html?inline=nyt-per">Articles by Alexandra Stanley</a> at New York Times - I like her writings on American television, THE passtime of mine.</li>
<li><a href="http://blog.sina.com.cn/twocold">韩寒</a>, a famous young writer in China with a taste for controversy. His writings are sarcastic but with a strong viewpoint that shows independent thinking.</li>
</ul><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Newly followed Tweeps</span><br />
<ul><li><a href="http://twitter.com/shifeike">@shifeike</a> - Editor of <a href="http://www.nbweekly.com/">South China Weekly</a>, one of the most outspoken periodicals in China.</li>
<li><a href="http://twitter.com/rtmeme">@rtmeme</a> - Bot that automatically retweets twice retweeted Chinese tweets. Or, more simply, a meme spotter.</li>
<li><a href="http://twitter.com/iA">@iA</a> - Oliver Reichenstein, self-described Information Architect.</li>
</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-54073294525078347712009-09-04T20:12:00.008+08:002009-09-26T00:04:36.088+08:00My media consumption of the week<span style="font-weight: bold;">Most insightful discussion of newspapers' predicament</span><br />
<ul><li><a href="http://informationarchitects.jp/the-value-of-information/">The Value of Information</a> by Information Architects Japan</li>
</ul>The <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=afWprih_YFl8">plight</a> of print newspapers and magazines are not news. Many have attempted to explain and solve the issue by pointing fingers at greedy capitalists, who <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2215154/">load newspapers with excessive debt</a> and then <a href="http://reclaimthemedia.org/journalistic_practice/wire_creator_david_simon_testi0719">sack newspapers staff</a> indiscriminately, resulting in compromised journalistic standards, or ungrateful web surfers who <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2008/12/22/081222ta_talk_surowiecki">free-ride</a> on an infrastructure that's paid for by subscribers to printed media. Others try to explore new <a href="http://paidcontent.org/article/419-dallas-morning-news-tells-senate-amazon-kindle-terms-onerous/">distribution channels</a> or to <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2009/08/25/newspapers-cant-make.html">clumsily imitate their online competition</a>.<br />
<br />
To anyone who reads online extensively, it is clear that we value certain content more than others and, when possible, we would be more than happy to help sustain the provider of such content (e.g. iTune's $.99 apps). Also, as individuals, we instinctively treat different kinds of information with a different attitude. So how can a publisher exploit these tendencies? This article breaks content down to four categories - art, scientific, practical, and financial - and analyzes the appeal of each. Regrettably, it offers only a vague suggestion on monetization ("<span style="font-style: italic;">The trick is to connect both editions and try to bridge the transitional survival phase in which news currently is</span>"), so I await further analysis down this promising path.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sexiest song from a boy band</span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9Chttp://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/f/flight_of_the_conchords/sugarlumps.html">Suga Lumps</a></span>, from Season 2 of Flight of the Conchords</li>
</ul><br />
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<center><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tcBpizQVZK8&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tcBpizQVZK8&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br />
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<a name='more'></a>For those of you who haven't heard of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_of_the_conchords">Flight of the Conchords</a>, rest assured that you're life is going to be dramatically improved. They are a singing duo from New Zealand with a drama series on HBO. Season 1 of their show, abbreviated as "FOTC" by their legions of devoted fans, is one of my favorite DVDs in years (up there with <span style="font-style: italic;">Spaced</span>). It is difficult to explain their appeal in less than 1,000 words because their humor is highly complicated, employing references to popular culture, displaced context, geopolitical sensitivities, gender stereotypes, etc.<br />
<br />
I am currently watching the second season of FOTC. With just ten episodes this season (it's unclear if the duo would do a third season), I'm limiting myself to a maximum of two a day. But it's HARD. The above song came in the second episode and is an homage to the <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2131640/">misogynistic masterpiece</a> by Black Eyed Peas. I laughed so hard that my voice went coarse.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Most informative summary of the sentiments of Chinese net citizens</span><br />
<ul><li><span id="ctl00_Main_EntryForm_TitleLink"><a href="http://www.hecaitou.com/blogs/hecaitou/archives/134100.aspx#">网友颁布一批新汉字</a> by 和菜头</span></li>
</ul><a href="http://pic.yupoo.com/hecaitou/726227fed51a/nr3hcf06.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://pic.yupoo.com/hecaitou/726227fed51a/nr3hcf06.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 111px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 120px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Most useful how-to for those of us living in China</span><br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.aimeebarnes.com/blog/?p=752">What to do when your husband is arrested for engagement with a prostitute</a></li>
</ul>Enough said. It's a pity that the underlying <a href="http://beijinghaze.blogspot.com/">blog posts</a> seem to have been erased.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Website with the best UI design</span><br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.learnsomethingeveryday.co.uk/">Learn Something Every Day</a></li>
</ul><a href="http://www.learnsomethingeveryday.co.uk/" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://cargocollective.com/media/68608/aug27.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 208px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-73918292089482323832009-08-30T22:17:00.010+08:002009-09-26T00:07:18.873+08:00My media consumption of the week<b>Best chicken-soup-for-the-soul video of the week</b><br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LUVgdIAimg">Puppies dressed as cats</a></li>
</ul><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LUVgdIAimg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375766073160736018" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_teFGunEKTiU/SpqOwvJXnRI/AAAAAAAAASg/5k6TZDceTGY/s320/puppy-cats.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 177px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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<b>Most serious threat to modern aesthetics</b><br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1919127,00.html?imw=Y">The Font War: Ikea Fans Fume over Verdana</a></li>
</ul>Or, Ikea's quality of design has finally caught up with the quality of its product.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_teFGunEKTiU/SpqbiZwfzwI/AAAAAAAAASw/esiMEyhvowU/s1600-h/ikea_before_after.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375780120552263426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_teFGunEKTiU/SpqbiZwfzwI/AAAAAAAAASw/esiMEyhvowU/s320/ikea_before_after.png" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 278px;" /></a><br />
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<b><a name='more'></a>Best online audience of the week</b><br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=depressions-evolutionary">Depression's Evolutionary Roots</a> by Paul W. Andrews and J. Anderson Thomson, Jr., Scientific American </li>
</ul>Article on the evolutionary utility of depression attracted a critical yet civil and compassionate audience.<br />
<blockquote>In most instances, depression should not be thought of as a disorder at all. In an article recently published in Psychological Review, we argue that depression is in fact an adaptation, a state of mind which brings real costs, but also brings real benefits.<br />
So what could be so useful about depression? Depressed people often think intensely about their problems. These thoughts are called ruminations; they are persistent and depressed people have difficulty thinking about anything else. Numerous studies have also shown that this thinking style is often highly analytical. They dwell on a complex problem, breaking it down into smaller components, which are considered one at a time.<br />
</blockquote>The absence of details (e.g. definition of depression, precise conclusion of studies cited), however, do not help the authors' case. Their argument that depression is useful because it survives evolution seems to assume that evolution has completely weeded out negative traits in the human body. Given that <span style="font-style: italic;">homo sapiens</span> are a relatively recent phenomenon in the long history of evolution, I do not believe that our body is a highly finished, perfect machine.<br />
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<b>Most depressing portrayal of high school students on TV</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_teFGunEKTiU/SpqipHa4I5I/AAAAAAAAAS4/ubOe1lroxdw/s1600-h/gossipgirl.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375787932470223762" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_teFGunEKTiU/SpqipHa4I5I/AAAAAAAAAS4/ubOe1lroxdw/s320/gossipgirl.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 178px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>I've just started on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gossip_Girl_%28TV_Series%29">Gossip Girl</a>. I'm sure the studio has to pay royalties to whoever holds the rights to <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139134/">Cruel Intentions</a>, a landmark teen flick that burned the term "deflowering" into my mind. High schoolers frolicking in the river of love (figuratively, don't worry) is nothing new, but the speed and oblivion with which these teenage Upper East Siders operate is startling. Jaded by years of 90210 and Britney Spears meltdowns, the audience's expectation of teen drama is pretty high. Having sex in the backseat of a (moving) limo is no big deal; neckline plunging to the navel is simply everyday school wear.<br />
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I am constantly depressed by the stupidity and promiscuity of the characters. The only source of solace is, perhaps, that real teenagers can only be smarter and less sexually active than the contrived script allows... right???Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-9616471960662888072009-06-05T22:04:00.005+08:002009-08-27T23:15:12.668+08:00How corn became the cornerstone of our food chain, in a nutshell<blockquote>Cattlemen found that corn, being such a dense source of calories, produced meat more quickly than grass; it also produced a more reliably consistent product, eliminating the seasonal and regional differences you often find in grass-finished beef. Over time, the knowledge that went into growing grass good enough to finish cattle all the year round gradually was lost.<br /><br />Along the way corn kept getting more plentiful and ever cheaper. When the farmer found that he could buy corn more cheaply than he could ever hope to grow it, it no longer made economic sense to feed animals on the farm, so they moved into CAFOs <i>(Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, aka factory farms)</i>. The farmer who then plowed up his pastures to grow corn to market found he could take off to Florida in the winter, not work so hard. To help dispose of the rising mountain of cheap corn farmers were now producing, the government did everything it could to help wean cattle off grass and onto corn, by subsidizing the building of feedlots (through tax breaks) and promoting a grading system based on marbling that favored corn-fed over grass-fed beef. (The government also exempted CAFOs from most clean air and clean water laws.) In time the cattle themselves changed, as the industry selected for animals that did well on corn; these animals, generally much bigger, had trouble getting all the energy they needed from grass. In dairy, farmers moved to superproductive breeds like the Holstein, whose energy requirements were so great they could barely survive on a diet of grass.<br /><br />So feeding ruminants corn came to make a certain economic sense— I say “certain” because that statement depends on the particular method of accounting our economy applies to such questions, one that tends to hide the high cost of cheap food produced from corn. The ninety-ninecent price of a fast-food hamburger simply doesn’t take account of that meal’s true cost—to soil, oil, public health, the public purse, etc., costs which are never charged directly to the consumer but, indirectly and invisibly, to the taxpayer (in the form of subsidies), the health care system (in the form of food-borne illnesses and obesity), and the environment (in the form of pollution), not to mention the welfare of the workers in the feedlot and the slaughterhouse and the welfare of the animals themselves. If not for this sort of blind-man’s accounting, grass would make a lot more sense than it now does.</blockquote><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i><a href="http://www.anobii.com/books/01c7bd6c1938051b80/">The Omnivore's Dilemma</a> by <a href="http://www.michaelpollan.com/write.php">Michael Pollan</a> (Chapter 10)</i></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-69939568320956886802008-12-02T14:33:00.007+08:002008-12-02T14:55:41.333+08:00Google G2? - In China, the market reacts way quicker<i>二〇〇八年十二月二日<br />21世纪经济报道</i><br /><br /><br />多家国内手机渠道商收到一款名为Sciphone Dream G2(下称G2)的工程测试机,该机采用Android Home Edition V1.0操作系统,GSM三频网络,支持WIFI和EDGE上网,最大支持16GB闪存卡。<br /><br />更加令人心痒的是,其全面内置Google搜索、Google地图、Gmail、YouTube、Google短信、Blogger、Google日历、 Google Picasa、Google Reader、Google Docs、Google News、iGoogle功能——除了没有侧滑键盘、屏幕缩水外,几乎就是精简版的G1。<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_teFGunEKTiU/STTbYaq5MXI/AAAAAAAAAM0/fRWGAWe3Bf8/s1600-h/7933394FC686402AFB842E6821F50038.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_teFGunEKTiU/STTbYaq5MXI/AAAAAAAAAM0/fRWGAWe3Bf8/s400/7933394FC686402AFB842E6821F50038.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275082276080267634" /></a>G2的全名是Sciphone Dream G2,除了有可能成为第一款应用谷歌Android操作系统的中文手机外,其神秘之处还在于其操刀者Sciphone。<br /><br />熟悉山寨苹果手机的人士告诉记者,去年,Sciphone的一款i68一举奠定了其在高仿iPhone市场的江湖地位,称得上是一家有一定知名度的山寨厂商。<br /><br />“如果你喜欢苹果iPhone,但又舍不得掏5000-6000元高价买个水货,那么山寨版iPhone也能满足你90%的需求,而你只需要花费800-1300元之间。”投身山寨机事业两年的魏强说。<br /><br />“做山寨也要讲求蓝海战略,小白领喜欢智能机,民工和学生对影音感兴趣,东欧的喜欢结实,非洲的喜欢花俏。”魏强说,自己早不做那些300-500元的低端山寨机了,只要是真有创新的东西,1000元左右绝对有市场,“这个价位的产品质量更有保障,自己的利润也更好”。<br /><br />对于市场中流通的山寨版iPhone,魏强透露有“四大寨主”,分别是来自中国桔子公司生产的iorgane F系列、博客电子有限公司生产的HiPhone、远洋科技公司的Ciphone,以及艾德金电子有限公司的Sciphone i68。<br /><br />据记者通过市场实地及网络调查,这四家山寨机企业提供的产品,都高仿苹果iPhone,只是在外形尺寸和硬件配置及功能上小有区别,甚至有些产品还克服了iPhone的缺点,比如可拆卸电池、支持双卡双待等。<br /><br />“这些年来,山寨手机中的确出现了不少独步世界的技术创新、外观创新、工艺创新。很多奇怪的技术和设计被组合在一起,这些组合有时可能是侵权的,却实现了五花八门的功能。”据记者了解,华为内部的一份研究报告就对山寨机的创意表示了非常的欣赏。<br /><br />“功能极其丰富,价格极其低廉,外观极其新颖,质量极其不可靠。”该人士如此评价山寨手机。不过他在报告中也坦承,“在拥有了双卡双待、MP3、MP4、拍照、蓝牙、电子书、超长待机等诸多功能之外,还标配了256TF卡,只售380元,物美价廉,即使用完就扔,也在所不惜——实在是居家旅行、小孩上学、送亲访友、附庸风雅、装腔作势之必备手机啊!”<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tech.163.com/08/1202/02/4S4IIO64000915BE.html">Link</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-78147272684345001682008-10-27T14:12:00.010+08:002008-11-02T13:16:17.245+08:00Patch upon a patchIt's been such a long time. First I was tied up at work, and then it was the relocation. Unfortunately, the hiatus left the stupid post on a stupid video at the top of my blog for quite some time. Anyhow, the worst has passed. When my computer arrives in a couple weeks, everything will return to normal.<br /><br />Here is an interesting article about the history of the voting process. Call me an idealist - I still don't understand how such a broken system is permitted to remain the sole channel for the people to express its intent, year after year. Sometimes I wonder if the American obsession with the "Founding Fathers" is also what causes its fervent disregard of reality in its adherence to impractical ideologies.<br /><br /><b><large>Rock, Paper, Scissors</large></b><br /><i>How we used to vote</i><br />by Jill Lepore<br />New Yorker, October 13, 2008<br /><br /><blockquote>On the morning of November 2, 1859—Election Day—George Kyle, a merchant with the Baltimore firm of Dinsmore & Kyle, left his house with a bundle of ballots tucked under his arm. Kyle was a Democrat. As he neared the polls in the city’s Fifteenth Ward, which was heavily dominated by the American Party, a ruffian tried to snatch his ballots. Kyle dodged and wheeled, and heard a cry: his brother, just behind him, had been struck. Next, someone clobbered Kyle, who drew a knife, but didn’t have a chance to use it. “I felt a pistol put to my head,” he said. Grazed by a bullet, he fell. When he rose, he drew his own pistol, hidden in his pocket. He spied his brother lying in the street. Someone else fired a shot, hitting Kyle in the arm. A man carrying a musket rushed at him. Another threw a brick, knocking him off his feet. George Kyle picked himself up and ran. He never did cast his vote. Nor did his brother, who died of his wounds. The Democratic candidate for Congress, William Harrison, lost to the American Party’s Henry Winter Davis. Three months later, when the House of Representatives convened hearings into the election, whose result Harrison contested, Davis’s victory was upheld on the ground that any “man of ordinary courage” could have made his way to the polls.</blockquote><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/10/13/081013fa_fact_lepore">Full text</a></center><br /><br /><i>Follow up:</i> <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1853246_1853243,00.html">7 Things that can go wrong on Election Day</a> at Time.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-48084359902252286182008-04-24T15:57:00.000+08:002008-04-24T15:59:33.383+08:00Yay!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_teFGunEKTiU/SBA9x1TJR-I/AAAAAAAAAHw/yMkFw8D6D84/s1600-h/Free+Cell+%282008.04.24+3%29.PNG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_teFGunEKTiU/SBA9x1TJR-I/AAAAAAAAAHw/yMkFw8D6D84/s400/Free+Cell+%282008.04.24+3%29.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192718296688445410" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-58142404414154204092008-04-15T00:07:00.004+08:002008-04-15T01:09:07.016+08:00Two extraordinary pieces of photographic art<a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/gallery/2008/mar/31/lifebeforedeath?picture=333325401">Life Before Death</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> by Walter Schels and Beate Lakotta </span><br /><br />This sombre series of portraits taken of people before and after they had died is a challenging and poignant study. Schels and Lakotta recorded interviews with the subjects in their final days, revealing much about dying - and living. <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/gallery/2008/mar/31/lifebeforedeath?picture=333325401"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_teFGunEKTiU/SAOM5ocYurI/AAAAAAAAAHY/_MkF5bJem1A/s400/lifebeforedeath.JPG" alt="" id="Life Before Death by Walter Schels and Beate Lakotta" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >(Via <a href="http://www.littleoslo.com/cnt/home">littleoslo</a>)</span><br /></div><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.sloanbreeden.com/">Alzheimer's</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> by Sloan Breeden</span><br /><br />(Go to "Projects" and click on "Alzheimer's)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sloanbreeden.com/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_teFGunEKTiU/SAOO24cYutI/AAAAAAAAAHo/02CLblwHYak/s400/breeden.jpg" alt="" id="Alzheimer's by Sloan Breeden" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >(Via <a href="http://randompix.blogspot.com/">ahsup</a>)</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-77023068960334338472008-04-12T03:29:00.006+08:002008-04-12T04:03:30.520+08:00Jon Stewart – God on TVI've been going through recent clips from the <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/index.jhtml">Daily Show</a> and the consistency in brilliance is astounding. Stewart and his writers have unfailingly found ways to mock and challenge the state of the world today with <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2188472/">great humor and insight</a>. What particularly amazes me is his choice of guests, which encompasses many non-mainstream authors with intellectual messages that deserve the public's attention.<br /><br />Among the many many gems (a <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=165604&title=avatar-heroes">congressional hearing on Second Life</a>, a <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=164438&title=open-discussion">racial dialog</a>, <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=165989&title=olympic-blitzer">news coverage of the Olympic torch in San Francisco</a>, and <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=165852&title=steve-coll">interview with Steve Coll</a>, author of <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.anobii.com/books/Ghost_Wars/9780143034667/00838c242c271660b2/">Ghost War</a></span>), I find this one the most akin to my usual reaction to news of the kind and yet is absent from discussions in the media:<br /><center><embed FlashVars='videoId=163844' src='http://www.thedailyshow.com/sitewide/video_player/view/default/swf.jhtml' quality='high' bgcolor='#cccccc' width='332' height='316' name='comedy_central_player' align='middle' allowScriptAccess='always' allownetworking='external' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed></center><br /><br />By the way, Samantha Bee and Jason Jones make such an awe-inspiring couple on screen! If they are half as funny in real life, their children might suffer from stunted growth due to excessive laughing...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-26942698208537920512008-03-28T19:38:00.004+08:002008-03-28T19:46:19.973+08:00"If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs"<i>Another year has passed, and that means... we've got another batch of <a href="http://n0r.blogspot.com/2006/03/funny-people-who-dont-know-theyre-dead.html">curious book titles</a>!</i><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080328/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_britain_book_odd"><span style="font-size:130%;">"Closure" wins oddest book award</span></a><br /><br /><i>By Jeremy Lovell<br />Reuters</i><br /><br />Self-help manual "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Want-Closure-Your-Relationship-Start/dp/B0013L8BOC/">If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs</a>" won this year's oddest book title competition, The Bookseller trade magazine said on Friday.<br /><br />The book took an impressive one-third of the 8,500 votes cast online in The Bookseller's 30th annual competition.<br /><br />Runner up "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tortured-Pygmy-Love-Queen-Books/dp/1934625132/">I was Tortured By the Pygmy Love Queen</a>", the story of a fictitious World War Two pilot forced to bale out over the jungle, polled a distant 20 percent.<br /><br />"'If You Want Closure', makes redundant an entire genre of self-help tomes. So effective is the title that you don't even need to read the book itself," said the magazine's deputy editor Joel Rickett.<br /><br />The winner beat stiff competition from other shortlisted titles including the somewhat niche "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/problems-Woodhead-Publishing-Technology-Nutrition/dp/1420043943/">Cheese Problems Solved</a>" and "How to Write a How to Write Book" and the rather provocative "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Are-Women-Human-International-Dialogues/dp/0674025555/">Are Women Human? And Other International Dialogues</a>".<br /><br />The annual competition was launched in 1978 at the Frankfurt Book Fair when it was won by the memorably titled "Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice".<br /><br />Since then, with the exceptions of 1987 and 1991 when no award was granted due, according to Rickett, to a lack of oddness, the weird and wonderful titles have flowed thick and fast with some eyebrow raising winners.<br /><br />"Joy of Chickens" took the 1980 title, with "The Theory of Lengthwise Rolling" in 1983, "Lesbian Sadomasochism Safety Manual" in 1990, "Living with Crazy Buttocks" in 2002 and "Bombproof Your Horse" in 2004 are but a sample.<br /><br />However, the 1997 winner "Joy of Sex: Pocket Edition" does stand out among the glittering array, and <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">in September this year the public will be asked to vote for the oddest of all the winners</span></span>.<br /><br />"That and 'Nude Mice' probably remain among the weirdest, but it is a strong competition," said Rickett.<br /><br />"And the quality of weirdness does seem to be improving in part as technology allows greater access to publishing. Certainly we are getting more titles coming forward," he added.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-33040085632966771992008-03-26T22:24:00.004+08:002008-03-26T23:00:06.035+08:00Charlie Wilson's War<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472062/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_teFGunEKTiU/R-pfPpee8kI/AAAAAAAAAG4/aT3tGHIgaAU/s400/Charlie+Wilson%27s+War.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182059043679564354" border="0" /></a>With an illustrious cast, a brilliant script writer, and a colorful, larger-than-life subject, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472062/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Charlie Wilson's War</span></a> is a movie that could have been so much more.<br /><br />Unfortunately, among the illustrious cast, only <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000450/">Hoffman </a>fulfilled the potential of his character among the trio. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000158/">Hanks</a> is simply far too clean and upright to be the swinging alcoholic congressman; given the impeccable casting in other Sorkin movies, I am convinced that there are better candidates for this character. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000210/">Roberts</a>' character is underwritten, without history, motivation, nor surprises.<br /><br />As for the story, well, the history was obviously not as simple as it was told in the movie. I'm greatly disappointed by the lack of depth in Sorkin's simplistic script, which lacks even his signature intelligent banters. There could have been more emphasis on the roles that ignorance, domestic politics, and previous diplomatic snafus played in the formation of US foreign policy and the country's consistently dismal performance in long term nation building. While the ending poignantly reminds the audience of the current predicament in Iraq, attention should also have been drawn to how the Talibans and Bin Laden rose from the ashes of the Soviet-Afghan war as a result of the US desertion, which eventually led to 9/11 and right back to the Iraq mess we have today.<br /><br />With any luck, perhaps the (American) audience may start asking themselves what kind of country does the US want to be: Should the US be promoting, keeping, or "making" peace? Should she be the world police and fight the good fights (and body bags in return) in remote countries? Can pre-emptive strikes ever be justified? How is homeland security affected by the US invasions into other countries? What moral and legal authority does the US have on its own that would allow it to go out unilaterally and perform "nation building"? What are the roles of military and diplomacy when the battle has been won but the war ain't over?<br /><br />These are the topic that I believe form the premise of war. To me, good war movies always prompt the audience to think about some of these questions. <span style="font-style: italic;">Charlie Wilson's War</span> is, of course, not a generic war movie, but it has such great potential (and Sorkin!) to ask the above. Without doing so, the movie fails to highlight the significance of Charlie Wilson's actions and becomes merely a shallow tale of a slightly eccentric congressman and his illicit lover.<br /><br />Further readings:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.anobii.com/books/Ghost_Wars/9780143034667/00838c242c271660b2/"><i>Ghost Wars</i></a>, a comprehensive history of the CIA's involvement in Afghanistan</li><li><a href="http://n0r.blogspot.com/2007/09/fiasco.html"><i>Fiasco</i></a>, regarding another instance when the US forgot to plan for the aftermath before waging a war</li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-58021912136462729942008-03-25T14:20:00.004+08:002008-03-28T19:47:08.254+08:00The jobs cut league tableAnother league table that investment bankers would never generate. Massive rounds of layoff have become the standard knee-jerk reaction to strategic mistakes made by the senior management. The insecure executive and workers are therefore encouraged to be more risk-taking during the good times, which invariably lead to more calamitous downfalls. It is a sad state of affair, exemplifying the many problems of unbridled capitalism.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-style: italic;">From <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087">Bloomberg news</a></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">March 24, 2008</span></div>Firms and jobs cut<br /><ol><li>Citigroup – 6,200</li><li>Lehman Brothers – 4,990</li><li>Bank of America – 3,650</li><li>Morgan Stanley – 2,940</li><li>Washington Mutual –2,600</li><li>Merrill Lynch – 2,220</li><li>HSBC – 1,650</li><li>Bear Stearns – 1,550</li><li>WestLB – 1,530</li><li>UBS – 1,500</li><li>Goldman Sachs – 1,500*</li><li>National City – 900</li><li>Credit Suisse – 820</li><li>Royal Bank of Canada – 500</li><li>Fortis – 500</li><li>Wells Fargo – 500</li><li>Wachovia – 443</li><li>Deutsche Bank – 370</li><li>JPMorgan Chase – 100</li></ol>TOTAL – 34,463<br /><br />The above table shows jobs eliminated by the biggest banks and securities firms since the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in July 2007. The figures are based on company disclosures.<br /><br />* Goldman Sachs said on Jan. 25 that its job cuts reflected the<br />firm's policy of weeding out underperformers.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-10496424242696337822008-03-25T13:50:00.004+08:002008-03-25T14:11:32.368+08:00Religion is a means of advancement during group selection, methinksI positively feel fortunate that the enigma of religion is unfolding during my life time. Although my knowledge in this vast space is highly limited, I am feeling more and more comfortable with my little theory that organized religion was bred by the need to satisfy man's biological need for religiosity and continuously strengthened by its effectiveness during the group selection process.<br /><br />The article below is difficult to excerpt since it is long and contains many experiments and hypotheses. I invite you to take a few minutes and go through the <a href="http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10875666">original article</a> to see for yourself. My previous post on religion can be found <a href="http://n0r.blogspot.com/2008/01/on-religion.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10875666">Where angels no longer fear to tread</a></span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Mar 19th 2008<br />From The Economist print edition</span><br /><br /><br />BY the standards of European scientific collaboration, €2m ($3.1m) is not a huge sum... [which] will be spent on the search for God Himself—or, rather, for the biological reasons why so many people believe in God, gods and religion in general.<br /><br />“Explaining Religion”, as the project is known, is the largest-ever scientific study of the subject. It began last September, will run for three years, and involves scholars from 14 universities and a range of disciplines from psychology to economics. And it is merely the latest manifestation of a growing tendency for science to poke its nose into the God business.<br /><br />The experiments it will sponsor are designed to look at the mental mechanisms needed to represent an omniscient deity, whether (and how) belief in such a “surveillance-camera” God might improve reproductive success to an individual's Darwinian advantage, and whether religion enhances a person's reputation—for instance, do people think that those who believe in God are more trustworthy than those who do not? The researchers will also seek to establish whether different religions foster different levels of co-operation, for what reasons, and whether such co-operation brings collective benefits, both to the religious community and to those outside it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-1407184177970385082008-03-13T01:01:00.000+08:002008-03-13T01:02:44.601+08:00Closer<center><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MX6aerxQPOs&rel=1&border=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MX6aerxQPOs&rel=1&border=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"width="425" height="355"></embed></object></center>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-56187180742650583192008-02-19T01:04:00.006+08:002008-02-19T01:33:48.157+08:00Slow dining有一次,跟銘漢哥在中環吃午飯,在一家意大利館子用膳。<br /><br />我告訴他,這家館子挺有詩意,晚上會放一塊黑板在門外,用粉筆寫着:“<i>Slow dining with Italian cheese</i>”。<br /><br />銘漢哥想也不用想便說:“咁慘!?”<br /><br />****<br /><br /><a href="http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BA%82%E9%A6%AC1/2#.E6.95.85.E4.BA.8B.E5.A4.A7.E7.BA.B2">亂馬½</a>是我最最喜愛的漫畫。高橋留美子實在搞笑得不能想像。其中有一個角色叫<a href="http://www.furinkan.com/ranma/characters/picolet.html">畢克雷.夏爾達</a>,是法國格鬥飲食的傳人。格鬥飲食除了講求速度以外,還要保持優雅的食相,即是在過程中不能讓人家看到嘴部的動作。畢克雷吃得極快,旁觀者往往只見到他面前的食物突然消失,和一絲閃光在他的嘴角稍縱即逝。<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_teFGunEKTiU/R7nAbj7Au4I/AAAAAAAAAGw/zneWtIxCeOk/s1600-h/022.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_teFGunEKTiU/R7nAbj7Au4I/AAAAAAAAAGw/zneWtIxCeOk/s400/022.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168373627116108674" border="0" /></a><br /><br />銘漢哥一家都有夏爾達的真傳。每次我和他們吃飯都會變成飯桌上的loner,因為他們在我拿起飯碗、開始夾餸那幾秒之内就已經把自己的食物吃得乾乾淨淨。和我家人吃飯的時候,我爸媽常常見他停了手,都特意着他多吃一點,就算他也已經撫着肚皮說飽。我唯有指出他面前堆積如山的骨頭作為證據,爸媽才會相信。<br /><br />****<br /><br />當然,我是那種恨不得每餐都能吃上三個小時的人。<br /><br />這種細節是拍拖的時候發現不了的啊,嘻嘻。Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-32278610744176521142008-02-11T16:57:00.000+08:002008-02-11T17:07:51.288+08:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >一元復始 萬象更新</span><br /><br />恭喜恭喜!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/n0r/sets/72157603881879136/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2297/2254397794_38b98c55cc.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />恭祝各位2008年“八”個盤滿缽滿,日子過得稱心滿意!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-58996440771720155412008-02-04T12:07:00.000+08:002008-02-04T12:15:59.608+08:00Quarter of Brits think Churchill was made up<span style="font-style: italic;">Heeheeeheee.</span><br /><br /><br />Sun Feb 3, 7:12 PM ET<br /><br />LONDON (<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080204/od_afp/britainpeoplehistoryoffbeat">AFP</a>) - Britons are losing their grip on reality, according to a poll out Monday which showed that nearly a quarter think Winston Churchill was a myth while the majority reckon Sherlock Holmes was real.<br /><br />The survey found that 47 percent thought the 12th century English king <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_the_Lionheart">Richard the Lionheart</a> was a myth.<br /><br />And 23 percent thought World War II prime minister <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill">Churchill</a> was made up. The same percentage thought Crimean War nurse <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale">Florence Nightingale</a> did not actually exist.<br /><br />Three percent thought <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens">Charles Dickens</a>, one of Britain's most famous writers, is a work of fiction himself.<br /><br />Indian political leader <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi">Mahatma Gandhi</a> and Battle of Waterloo victor the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Wellesley%2C_1st_Duke_of_Wellington">Duke of Wellington</a> also appeared in the top 10 of people thought to be myths.<br /><br />Meanwhile, 58 percent thought Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes">Holmes</a> actually existed; 33 percent thought the same of W. E. Johns' fictional pilot and adventurer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biggles">Biggles</a>.<br /><br />UKTV Gold television surveyed 3,000 people.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-53154394021845793042008-01-29T01:00:00.000+08:002008-01-29T01:19:09.928+08:00也來談談博益結業我不反對<a href="http://www.hkchinesebooks.com/new/topic.php">博益</a><a href="http://hk.news.yahoo.com/080125/12/2nvrl.html">結業</a>。<br /><br />像<a href="http://wongleona.blogspot.com/2008/01/blog-post_28.html">Leona</a>所說,大家多久沒有買博益的書了?我家裏有大量倪匡、畢華流、錢瑪莉(鄧小宇)、赤川次郎、川上春樹等的藏書,但都是最少十年前買的了。近年見博益也偶有佳作,在本地的出版市場上不算頂尖,但也不算潦倒。<br /><br />然而,作爲一盤生意,好的管理層除了應要求一項業務有利潤之外,也應時時檢討該業務是否使用資本的最佳方法。而<a href="http://scmpgroup.com/">SCMP</a>作為一家上市公司,絕對有義務盡這管理的責任。因此,博益結業,是一項商業決定;雖然令人惋惜,但大喊結業 = 無良未免過於嚴重了。<br /><br />問題是,博益有沒有考慮過它結業的安排是否妥善?為什麽不讓作者買回版權?為什麽不把回書作大減價以一次過清倉?能不能把版權庫一次性賣掉?有沒有嘗試為博益這個老字號找買家?實在有太多能帶來雙贏局面的選擇。一家以營利為目標的公司,在準備完全把資產減值前,應該盡辦法為資產找變現的方法,而絕對沒有理由讓一項這麽有價值的資產隨便地一筆勾銷。<br /><br />這些愚蠢的決定,除了不是competent的商業做法,也嚴重地損害了南華的名聲及出版界的地位。作為一張需要有社會公信力的報紙,把它的作家這麽公然地踐踏,實在是太不漂亮了。<br /><br />時間會過去;出版社亦然。只是,就像男女分手的時候會問:這是最好的處理方法嗎?做事留一線,他日好相見。還是有點氣度好。<br /><br /><ul><li>Facebook group: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11521725148">支援博益作者及反對博益結業大聯盟</a> (I only agree with the first premise)</li><li>An online petition: <a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/scmpbook/petition.html">博益停業(一人一名支持博益作者取回版權並反對南華早報作出銷毀書籍行為!)</a></li><li>A collection of bloggers' responses at <a href="http://sidekick.myblog.hk/archives/2008/01/25/1144/">Sidekick</a></li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12675082.post-82113903467960219902008-01-22T15:37:00.000+08:002008-01-22T15:44:01.931+08:00Zimbabwe update - $10 mn bill<span style="font-style: italic;">A follow up to my <a href="http://n0r.blogspot.com/2006/09/article-hyperinflation-in-zimbabwe.html">previous </a> <a href="http://n0r.blogspot.com/2006/05/article-how-bad-is-inflation-in.html%22">posts</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7195569.stm">Zimbabwe bank to issue $10m bill</a></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">By Peter Biles</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">BBC Southern Africa correspondent</span><br /><br />Zimbabwe's central bank is to introduce new higher-denomination banknotes in an effort to ease the critical shortage of cash in the country.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7195569.stm"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44364000/jpg/_44364462_banknote_ap300.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Zimbabwe has been in economic decline for the past eight years, with annual inflation widely thought to be in excess of 50,000%.<br /><br />The highest value note that will go into circulation on Friday is worth 10m Zimbabwean dollars.<br /><br />But that is worth less than US$3.90 (£2; 2.60 euros) on the black market.<br /><br />...<br /><br />The government's only response is to print more money - and that is seen as the main reason for the hyperinflation.<br /><br />There have been no official inflation figures published for the past three or four months.<br /><br />Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank governor, Gideon Gono, has called on the business community not to increase prices every time new measures are taken to adjust the currency.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0