Christopher McKitterick's Blog, page 14
April 5, 2013
Astro-Porn of the Day: Comet Pan-STARRS and Andromeda Galaxy
Been buried; sorry for absence; have some amazing astro-porn!
[image error]
Click the image to see the Spaceweather website.
Just WOW. The comet is still visible as it moves farther from the Sun, though it's growing dimmer, too. But WOW.
Back to work,
Chris
[image error]
Click the image to see the Spaceweather website.
Just WOW. The comet is still visible as it moves farther from the Sun, though it's growing dimmer, too. But WOW.
Back to work,
Chris
March 27, 2013
ALIF THE UNSEEN book review
(Contains only mild spoilers you'd probably get the from the inside-flap material.)
Speculative fiction has been undergoing significant changes lately, as significant and revolutionary in the genre as the New Wave or Cyberpunk. The genre has not remained stagnant since the 80s, but has matured and grown in subtle ways that have been difficult to track as they took place.
I refer to those two movements in SF because Alif the Unseen is very much a combination of them both.
Like the New Wave authors, Wilson's writing demonstrates a mastery of and love for language, human character, and other formerly "literary-only" concerns. Like Cyberpunk, Alif is about the changes wrought by technology and how the little people can use it more successfully against the establishment than huge monoliths, because it's so difficult to overcome the massive inertia of a large organization like a corporation, religion, or government. The people in the story are the "unseen" as much as are the jinn and other unseen beings, as is their habitat, their activities, and so forth. The people in Alif's world are as unseen and insignificant to the establishments around him as are the jinn... but when a police state or other authoritarian force reaches for total control and mistreats the unseen, the unseen can now fight back in non-violent ways using the digital infrastructure that now links our world. The book is multi-layered, which in meta-literary and metaphorical senses is brilliant in both concept (paralleling the book with the Alf Layla, Koran, and computer coding) and execution. I can see why it was marketed toward the literary crowd.
Like the Cyberpunks, Wilson sympathizes with underdogs and outcasts, criminals and others operating outside the law. The protagonist (Alif) is a programmer and website host for dissidents no matter what they espouse. Wilson's world is gritty, real, and thoroughly modern - despite being set in a poor, Middle-Eastern city. Alif's greatest ally is someone referred to as "Vikram the Vampire," an underworld character who has proven to be violent. When we soon learn he's a jinn, an ancient species documented in the Koran, the alien-ness in the book really takes off. There's even a moment when we witness the birth of an AI, though it doesn't survive long. If Cyberpunk is indeed "high tech and low life" as many describe it, combining science and technology with rebellion against the system, Alif very much fits into the genre while serving to point the direction for where it might go next. Like the Cyberpunk authors, Wilson paints a world in shades of gray rather than black-and-white, blurs the border between natural and unseen forces of old as well as the cybernetic powers of today, between the organic and machine, the real and virtual or dreamlike or otherwise unseen. Even if she didn't set out to write a post-Cyberpunk cyberpunk novel, that's exactly what she did... and I suspect this was her goal, as the marketing material cites Stephenson.
Finally, this novel demonstrates what we've been seeing more of over the last several years: Mainstream authors working with SFnal themes and modalities, or SF authors like Doctorow working in the here-and-now-plus-a-day. Works like this (I especially point to Mieville and Chabon) are growing the new movement in SF, helping mature the genre in a way that neither rejects its forebears nor the mainstream. SF has simply become the relevant literature of our time. Not just "the only realistic literature" per Clarke, but now the only relevant literature for people living in an ever-changing world. Most any story set in today or tomorrow that does not take into account the massive and ever-increasing rate of change in our daily lives feels instantly dated, like historic fiction. Sure, much SF that's set far into the future or on other worlds still feels like our familiar SF, and I hope we never lose that core of the genre. However, the literature that affects a wider diversity of people, more deeply, is that to which we can most closely relate, and that's more difficult the farther in time or space or alien-ness we venture.
Alif the Unseen is a work set in our world (though far from Western society, daily news images have made that part of the world familiar), in our time, among people who are far less alien to us than they were before the internet. Without the protagonist's programming and Web skills, the story would fall. I feel all this places it firmly in the SF camp. Most important, perhaps, is that this is as relevant a story for our changing times as we'll encounter: Based on publication date, Wilson must have been writing this in her Cairo home during the Arab Spring, the most-significant change to sweep across that part of the world since the Crusades and ensuing colonialism. Hackers, the internet, and individuals using the Web to share information, achieve freedom, and bring down the corrupt establishment have changed everything, and with the Arab Spring we're seeing Cyberpunk realized.
Now a few words about cultural appropriation, as I'm sure some people will be concerned in regards to this work.
G. Willow Wilson is American-born, writing about Middle Eastern and Islamic topics. Alif is a book that provides the deepest insights into those cultures that I've read to date, and I think I understand why: It all comes down to fear of the Other. All animals have this fear, humans particularly - and it's particularly egregious in sentient beings, especially those who read purportedly enlightened work like SF. Even so, for a long time, female SF authors had to write under pseudonyms to be taken seriously, and even female protagonists were a hard sell. Same for black, gay, and non-Western-culture authors and characters: Mainstream audiences have always been a little leery of the Other, uncertain, unable to connect to their stories. This is why various minorities or people not from the dominant culture are so under-represented. We usually only hear their ideas, but substantially different ideas without a narrative are difficult to understand or accept.
When Western (or non-black, or non-female, or non-whatever) authors write stories set in the culture of the Other, they usually get it wrong. They "Orientalize" or otherwise imbue the work with wonder and strangeness... because it's all about entering the culture from outside. Interesting, but not representing the culture or characters where the work is set. However, every once in a while, someone who started off in our culture (whatever that may be for the POV of the audience) immerses him- or herself sufficiently into the Other culture to be able to serve as a bridge between the two.
This is what Wilson did: Though she grew up in the US, she converted to Islam in college and moved to Egypt. She doesn't get it wrong, because she works hard to understand the culture she writes about, with occasional nods to acknowledge her ultimate Otherness to those cultures. However, her stories tell the tales that are important to Middle-Easterners, especially Egyptians, not just what an outsider would find interesting or exotic.
All through Alif we see these stories, and through this book I've gotten a handle on those cultures, and why our two cultures face such challenges in trying to understand one another. Wilson serves as our bridge, opening our Western minds to this particular Other, which hopefully opens the path to more indigenous authors writing on these topics in their own ways. But at least now Western editors might start considering such works, because the audience will start considering them, because here we have a novel written from the Other POV but using sensibilities we can grasp.
Every single paragraph in this novel contains some note of brilliance. The story parallels the insights we see, as the main character grows in understanding as well - even the writing itself blossoming as the story progresses, so the entire work is not just what it appears to be but a metaphor as well, and sometimes several layers deep. In many ways it is the magical book it describes, and it displays masterful writing not just line-by-line but in scene construction and overall story and imagery and character development and setting and intellectual stimulation and so forth.
This is my favorite novel of the year so far, and possibly for several years. If you love reading, you'll love this book.
Speculative fiction has been undergoing significant changes lately, as significant and revolutionary in the genre as the New Wave or Cyberpunk. The genre has not remained stagnant since the 80s, but has matured and grown in subtle ways that have been difficult to track as they took place.
I refer to those two movements in SF because Alif the Unseen is very much a combination of them both.
Like the New Wave authors, Wilson's writing demonstrates a mastery of and love for language, human character, and other formerly "literary-only" concerns. Like Cyberpunk, Alif is about the changes wrought by technology and how the little people can use it more successfully against the establishment than huge monoliths, because it's so difficult to overcome the massive inertia of a large organization like a corporation, religion, or government. The people in the story are the "unseen" as much as are the jinn and other unseen beings, as is their habitat, their activities, and so forth. The people in Alif's world are as unseen and insignificant to the establishments around him as are the jinn... but when a police state or other authoritarian force reaches for total control and mistreats the unseen, the unseen can now fight back in non-violent ways using the digital infrastructure that now links our world. The book is multi-layered, which in meta-literary and metaphorical senses is brilliant in both concept (paralleling the book with the Alf Layla, Koran, and computer coding) and execution. I can see why it was marketed toward the literary crowd.
Like the Cyberpunks, Wilson sympathizes with underdogs and outcasts, criminals and others operating outside the law. The protagonist (Alif) is a programmer and website host for dissidents no matter what they espouse. Wilson's world is gritty, real, and thoroughly modern - despite being set in a poor, Middle-Eastern city. Alif's greatest ally is someone referred to as "Vikram the Vampire," an underworld character who has proven to be violent. When we soon learn he's a jinn, an ancient species documented in the Koran, the alien-ness in the book really takes off. There's even a moment when we witness the birth of an AI, though it doesn't survive long. If Cyberpunk is indeed "high tech and low life" as many describe it, combining science and technology with rebellion against the system, Alif very much fits into the genre while serving to point the direction for where it might go next. Like the Cyberpunk authors, Wilson paints a world in shades of gray rather than black-and-white, blurs the border between natural and unseen forces of old as well as the cybernetic powers of today, between the organic and machine, the real and virtual or dreamlike or otherwise unseen. Even if she didn't set out to write a post-Cyberpunk cyberpunk novel, that's exactly what she did... and I suspect this was her goal, as the marketing material cites Stephenson.
Finally, this novel demonstrates what we've been seeing more of over the last several years: Mainstream authors working with SFnal themes and modalities, or SF authors like Doctorow working in the here-and-now-plus-a-day. Works like this (I especially point to Mieville and Chabon) are growing the new movement in SF, helping mature the genre in a way that neither rejects its forebears nor the mainstream. SF has simply become the relevant literature of our time. Not just "the only realistic literature" per Clarke, but now the only relevant literature for people living in an ever-changing world. Most any story set in today or tomorrow that does not take into account the massive and ever-increasing rate of change in our daily lives feels instantly dated, like historic fiction. Sure, much SF that's set far into the future or on other worlds still feels like our familiar SF, and I hope we never lose that core of the genre. However, the literature that affects a wider diversity of people, more deeply, is that to which we can most closely relate, and that's more difficult the farther in time or space or alien-ness we venture.
Alif the Unseen is a work set in our world (though far from Western society, daily news images have made that part of the world familiar), in our time, among people who are far less alien to us than they were before the internet. Without the protagonist's programming and Web skills, the story would fall. I feel all this places it firmly in the SF camp. Most important, perhaps, is that this is as relevant a story for our changing times as we'll encounter: Based on publication date, Wilson must have been writing this in her Cairo home during the Arab Spring, the most-significant change to sweep across that part of the world since the Crusades and ensuing colonialism. Hackers, the internet, and individuals using the Web to share information, achieve freedom, and bring down the corrupt establishment have changed everything, and with the Arab Spring we're seeing Cyberpunk realized.
Now a few words about cultural appropriation, as I'm sure some people will be concerned in regards to this work.
G. Willow Wilson is American-born, writing about Middle Eastern and Islamic topics. Alif is a book that provides the deepest insights into those cultures that I've read to date, and I think I understand why: It all comes down to fear of the Other. All animals have this fear, humans particularly - and it's particularly egregious in sentient beings, especially those who read purportedly enlightened work like SF. Even so, for a long time, female SF authors had to write under pseudonyms to be taken seriously, and even female protagonists were a hard sell. Same for black, gay, and non-Western-culture authors and characters: Mainstream audiences have always been a little leery of the Other, uncertain, unable to connect to their stories. This is why various minorities or people not from the dominant culture are so under-represented. We usually only hear their ideas, but substantially different ideas without a narrative are difficult to understand or accept.
When Western (or non-black, or non-female, or non-whatever) authors write stories set in the culture of the Other, they usually get it wrong. They "Orientalize" or otherwise imbue the work with wonder and strangeness... because it's all about entering the culture from outside. Interesting, but not representing the culture or characters where the work is set. However, every once in a while, someone who started off in our culture (whatever that may be for the POV of the audience) immerses him- or herself sufficiently into the Other culture to be able to serve as a bridge between the two.
This is what Wilson did: Though she grew up in the US, she converted to Islam in college and moved to Egypt. She doesn't get it wrong, because she works hard to understand the culture she writes about, with occasional nods to acknowledge her ultimate Otherness to those cultures. However, her stories tell the tales that are important to Middle-Easterners, especially Egyptians, not just what an outsider would find interesting or exotic.
All through Alif we see these stories, and through this book I've gotten a handle on those cultures, and why our two cultures face such challenges in trying to understand one another. Wilson serves as our bridge, opening our Western minds to this particular Other, which hopefully opens the path to more indigenous authors writing on these topics in their own ways. But at least now Western editors might start considering such works, because the audience will start considering them, because here we have a novel written from the Other POV but using sensibilities we can grasp.
Every single paragraph in this novel contains some note of brilliance. The story parallels the insights we see, as the main character grows in understanding as well - even the writing itself blossoming as the story progresses, so the entire work is not just what it appears to be but a metaphor as well, and sometimes several layers deep. In many ways it is the magical book it describes, and it displays masterful writing not just line-by-line but in scene construction and overall story and imagery and character development and setting and intellectual stimulation and so forth.
This is my favorite novel of the year so far, and possibly for several years. If you love reading, you'll love this book.
March 23, 2013
Time to fire Congress: They're killing NASA research and education.
That's it, I'm done with our government. It's one thing to make power-grabs, gradually erode our freedoms, and serve only their richy-rich masters, but to eliminate NASA's public outreach and educational programs? The budget they're proposing for Fiscal Year 2013 forces NASA to walk away from planned missions to Mars and Europa's oceans, delay for decades any missions to the outer planets, and radically slow the pace of scientific discovery, including the search for life on other worlds. For example, Mars exploration would totally be put on hold, taking a 38.5% cut.
THEM'S FIGHTIN' WORDS.
Click the image to see the io9 article.
Bill Nye and other Planetary Society folks posted a great piece on this, too. Did you know that NASA's total budget is far less than 1% of the federal budget? Chopping NASA's budget for exploration like this only saves 0.01% of the federal budget. That's one ten-thousandth, a hundredth of a penny for each tax dollar.
THROW THE BASTARDS OUT. Is the representative from your district someone who screwed around during the budget debates or actively worked against creating a reasonable budget? Was your rep one of the bastards who let the "sequester" happen? Then write them! Tell them what you think of chopping off the good parts of our nation in order to feed the greed of those who support their elections.
Heck, let's just fire them all, do a 100% recall election, then make them beg for the jobs from us (the voters) for once - and prevent them from getting re-election financing from anyone more than, say, $20/person. That'll change things. Because when basic research dollars get yanked (not just at NASA but all over the place, in every university), and public education programs get canceled, we might as well throw in the towel as a nation.
NO MORE.
Chris
THEM'S FIGHTIN' WORDS.
Click the image to see the io9 article.
Bill Nye and other Planetary Society folks posted a great piece on this, too. Did you know that NASA's total budget is far less than 1% of the federal budget? Chopping NASA's budget for exploration like this only saves 0.01% of the federal budget. That's one ten-thousandth, a hundredth of a penny for each tax dollar.
THROW THE BASTARDS OUT. Is the representative from your district someone who screwed around during the budget debates or actively worked against creating a reasonable budget? Was your rep one of the bastards who let the "sequester" happen? Then write them! Tell them what you think of chopping off the good parts of our nation in order to feed the greed of those who support their elections.
Heck, let's just fire them all, do a 100% recall election, then make them beg for the jobs from us (the voters) for once - and prevent them from getting re-election financing from anyone more than, say, $20/person. That'll change things. Because when basic research dollars get yanked (not just at NASA but all over the place, in every university), and public education programs get canceled, we might as well throw in the towel as a nation.
NO MORE.
Chris
March 22, 2013
Do you live in a 4th-Amendment-free zone? Probably, or worse.
Because some 200 million US Citizens do. That's 2/3 of us all in this country.
The Department of Homeland Security Theater has defined a 100-mile "border" around the nation. Within that "border" they can - and do - search and seize Americans (and everyone else) WITHOUT REASONABLE CAUSE. If you resist, YOU TOO can be seized. Click the map below to find out.
Click the image to see if you live in a 4th-Amendment-free zone.
Here's the original WIRED story that broke the news... which I'll bet you haven't heard about.
How is this not huge news all across the nation? Why aren't people protesting in the streets? Between 2008 and 2010, 6,500 people have had their electronic devices searched along the US border, according to DHS data. What happens to those who refuse? Have you heard what happens to those who refuse DHS? NOT GOOD THINGS. In fact, refusing DHS orders by definition makes you a terrorist suspect, which then give them cause to detain you indefinitely until they are assured you pose no threat.
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?
Here's the petition you need to sign to stop this Constitutionally illegal DHS behavior. Go there now. If you're a US citizen, it's your duty.
I was about to type, "I can't believe this has been going on in our country," but I can, actually. Why? here's a litany of what's become of the USA since the Neocons transformed this nation from one that represents the people to one that represents the 1% of the filthy-rich who possess 99% of the wealth:
Wiretaps, search and seizure, indefinite detention, citizen surveillance, thought police, assassinations, invasions of sovereign nations, on and on... this is no longer a nation of law, but a place that's being transformed into a tyrannical empire ruled by royalty who don't attain their power over us all (and their special segregation from rule of law) through birth but through financial privilege... which their power ever-increases, which in turn provides them more power, and so on, an eternal spiral sucking freedom and wealth from the rest of us and funneling it into their vaults. The ultra-rich are a power-singularity, around which orbit the politicians they own, and into which all we have will ultimately spiral, erasing the US Middle Class as surely as a black hole erases all traces of matter that passes within its event horizon.
If you doubt that the richest 1% utterly control all power in the US, check out this video infographic:
All of this is an outrage. An outrage against us as citizens, against the Constitution which defines this nation, against this nation as a whole, and because of our position in the world and how we project power, an outrage against everyone on Earth. Why aren't we all outraged?
This cannot go on forever - at least not without destroying every remaining aspect of America-as-the-dream-that-was. Will Americans once again just lie back and allow this new assault on our rights and freedoms? Will we let the dream fade forever into history?
Or will we sign that petition, organize protests and marches, offer sane political candidates, and put our nation back on course toward freedom? Will this finally give the Occupy movement (or something like it) a core around which to rally?
I can hope.
Chris
The Department of Homeland Security Theater has defined a 100-mile "border" around the nation. Within that "border" they can - and do - search and seize Americans (and everyone else) WITHOUT REASONABLE CAUSE. If you resist, YOU TOO can be seized. Click the map below to find out.
Click the image to see if you live in a 4th-Amendment-free zone.
Here's the original WIRED story that broke the news... which I'll bet you haven't heard about.
How is this not huge news all across the nation? Why aren't people protesting in the streets? Between 2008 and 2010, 6,500 people have had their electronic devices searched along the US border, according to DHS data. What happens to those who refuse? Have you heard what happens to those who refuse DHS? NOT GOOD THINGS. In fact, refusing DHS orders by definition makes you a terrorist suspect, which then give them cause to detain you indefinitely until they are assured you pose no threat.
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?
Here's the petition you need to sign to stop this Constitutionally illegal DHS behavior. Go there now. If you're a US citizen, it's your duty.
I was about to type, "I can't believe this has been going on in our country," but I can, actually. Why? here's a litany of what's become of the USA since the Neocons transformed this nation from one that represents the people to one that represents the 1% of the filthy-rich who possess 99% of the wealth:
Wiretaps, search and seizure, indefinite detention, citizen surveillance, thought police, assassinations, invasions of sovereign nations, on and on... this is no longer a nation of law, but a place that's being transformed into a tyrannical empire ruled by royalty who don't attain their power over us all (and their special segregation from rule of law) through birth but through financial privilege... which their power ever-increases, which in turn provides them more power, and so on, an eternal spiral sucking freedom and wealth from the rest of us and funneling it into their vaults. The ultra-rich are a power-singularity, around which orbit the politicians they own, and into which all we have will ultimately spiral, erasing the US Middle Class as surely as a black hole erases all traces of matter that passes within its event horizon.
If you doubt that the richest 1% utterly control all power in the US, check out this video infographic:
All of this is an outrage. An outrage against us as citizens, against the Constitution which defines this nation, against this nation as a whole, and because of our position in the world and how we project power, an outrage against everyone on Earth. Why aren't we all outraged?
This cannot go on forever - at least not without destroying every remaining aspect of America-as-the-dream-that-was. Will Americans once again just lie back and allow this new assault on our rights and freedoms? Will we let the dream fade forever into history?
Or will we sign that petition, organize protests and marches, offer sane political candidates, and put our nation back on course toward freedom? Will this finally give the Occupy movement (or something like it) a core around which to rally?
I can hope.
Chris
March 20, 2013
"School of Thrones" and "Heathers"
Now for some fun, especially for those who've watched HBO's "Game of Thrones" show.
And they've also posted Episode 2:
For some reason, this reminds me of the movie "Heathers," which![[profile]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1380840198i/3130798.png)
chernobylred
and I just watched for the first time last night. HOW DID I MISS THIS ONE? Check out this freaky trailer:
Last night, I kept asking aloud how I've never seen Heathers before. Here's what I came up with, which is both telling and ironic, considering what the movie is about:
I think it's because it came out in 1988, when I was in college and not dating anyone, and boys then saw it as a "girl's movie." That's right: Boys didn't allow themselves to see "girl's movies," and might still keep themselves from enjoying such. Not that Heathers is either a boy's or girl's movie, but it was perceived as such, partly because the lead is a girl (Winona Ryder). I never had that issue, but I've also never liked going to movies alone, so I missed out. BECAUSE OF THE DAMNED PATRIARCHY. I stopped myself from enjoying a film that would have blown me away at the time, because of cultural normativism. I'm a white guy in the US, yet I've been harmed by the retro-patriarchy. Just goes to show that we're ALL harmed by outmoded cultural norms.
Chris
And they've also posted Episode 2:
For some reason, this reminds me of the movie "Heathers," which
chernobylred
and I just watched for the first time last night. HOW DID I MISS THIS ONE? Check out this freaky trailer:Last night, I kept asking aloud how I've never seen Heathers before. Here's what I came up with, which is both telling and ironic, considering what the movie is about:
I think it's because it came out in 1988, when I was in college and not dating anyone, and boys then saw it as a "girl's movie." That's right: Boys didn't allow themselves to see "girl's movies," and might still keep themselves from enjoying such. Not that Heathers is either a boy's or girl's movie, but it was perceived as such, partly because the lead is a girl (Winona Ryder). I never had that issue, but I've also never liked going to movies alone, so I missed out. BECAUSE OF THE DAMNED PATRIARCHY. I stopped myself from enjoying a film that would have blown me away at the time, because of cultural normativism. I'm a white guy in the US, yet I've been harmed by the retro-patriarchy. Just goes to show that we're ALL harmed by outmoded cultural norms.
Chris
Local NPR talk-show host's surprise on-air resignation. Also: Taking a different path isn't crazy.
The revolution will not be televised. The revolution is live.
This is fascinating. I've been wondering for a while now why Jabulani Leffall has not been the voice of KCUR's "Central Standard," the show he took over a couple years ago when its long-time host Walt Bodine lost his ability to think clearly (a useful trait for a talk-show host). But the show has been hosted by others lately, none of them stating, "Filling in for Jabulani Leffall." Surely people don't take two-month vacations, so what's up? So I asked The Google about the guy.
Turns out that his last show was on January 16, when he resigned in the last 30 seconds or so. The Pitch has a very interesting article about his resignation and the interviews they did with him: "Leffall steered the conversation into strange territory, referencing race, eavesdropping, space aliens and God's existence." Whoah, cool. Wish he'd talked more about his visions and paranoia than the just chatting through the tedious shows he usually hosted. Got me wondering if maybe this particular show makes people lose their minds.
The Kansas City Star's story has a flattering interview with him, including these insights:
"The objectivity we learn as bright-eyed, bushy-tailed journalism students, after a while you discover it's illusive. It's a lie. Journalism is changing. Questions need to be approved before asked; advertisers need to be placated. It's about ratings and Internet hits and business relationships ... Who wants to be a journalist in this environment? ... This is not what I signed up for, and it's certainly not what I should still be paying student loans for."
He's planning to pursue his creative interests, including music and writing. At the end of the Star's story, he sums up his feelings: "Your job is not your life, and what you do is not as important as who you are."
[image error]
Click the image to see the Star article (this shot is from Lefall's spoken-word album).
Maybe the guy is crazy, maybe not. Then again, I've been toying with a hypothesis that we're all crazy: That is, every one of us has some issue that prevents us from being happy or being accepted by others or fitting in or whatever - something that makes us different, that others fear or loathe or can't understand. If everyone is crazy, then no one's crazy, right? I mean, if there's no standard for sane, the words become meaningless.
Quitting a job that makes you unhappy, that makes you feel like you're just a tool of a machine, seems the sane thing to do.
Interesting how it took his resigning in this way to get me to admire the man.
Chris
This is fascinating. I've been wondering for a while now why Jabulani Leffall has not been the voice of KCUR's "Central Standard," the show he took over a couple years ago when its long-time host Walt Bodine lost his ability to think clearly (a useful trait for a talk-show host). But the show has been hosted by others lately, none of them stating, "Filling in for Jabulani Leffall." Surely people don't take two-month vacations, so what's up? So I asked The Google about the guy.
Turns out that his last show was on January 16, when he resigned in the last 30 seconds or so. The Pitch has a very interesting article about his resignation and the interviews they did with him: "Leffall steered the conversation into strange territory, referencing race, eavesdropping, space aliens and God's existence." Whoah, cool. Wish he'd talked more about his visions and paranoia than the just chatting through the tedious shows he usually hosted. Got me wondering if maybe this particular show makes people lose their minds.
The Kansas City Star's story has a flattering interview with him, including these insights:
"The objectivity we learn as bright-eyed, bushy-tailed journalism students, after a while you discover it's illusive. It's a lie. Journalism is changing. Questions need to be approved before asked; advertisers need to be placated. It's about ratings and Internet hits and business relationships ... Who wants to be a journalist in this environment? ... This is not what I signed up for, and it's certainly not what I should still be paying student loans for."
He's planning to pursue his creative interests, including music and writing. At the end of the Star's story, he sums up his feelings: "Your job is not your life, and what you do is not as important as who you are."
[image error]
Click the image to see the Star article (this shot is from Lefall's spoken-word album).
Maybe the guy is crazy, maybe not. Then again, I've been toying with a hypothesis that we're all crazy: That is, every one of us has some issue that prevents us from being happy or being accepted by others or fitting in or whatever - something that makes us different, that others fear or loathe or can't understand. If everyone is crazy, then no one's crazy, right? I mean, if there's no standard for sane, the words become meaningless.
Quitting a job that makes you unhappy, that makes you feel like you're just a tool of a machine, seems the sane thing to do.
Interesting how it took his resigning in this way to get me to admire the man.
Chris
March 19, 2013
Proof that Nature has a sense of humor: Spring snow.
It's the 19th of March. And it's not just snowing, but the stuff is PILING down. Even now, about half an hour after I took this little 5-second video, the flakes are still dumping out of the sky.
Tomorrow is Spring, right?
I don't expect it'll stick around long, but... *sigh*
(Just having a little fun while testing out some video-making software. My first time using titles and sound!)
EDIT And why not: More fun stuffs:
Only 58%? Let's be optimistic here and assume that the majority of the other 42% sit in the "Meh, whatever," camp rather than the "OPPRESS EVERYONE WHO ISN'T EXACTLY LIKE ME!" camp.
And finally, one more thing before I go back to work: The book I'm currently reading is Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson, and OMG IT IS FANTASTIC YOU GUYS. Go find it and read it now!
[image error]
Click the image to see the awesome, interactive website.
Chris
Tomorrow is Spring, right?
I don't expect it'll stick around long, but... *sigh*
(Just having a little fun while testing out some video-making software. My first time using titles and sound!)
EDIT And why not: More fun stuffs:
Only 58%? Let's be optimistic here and assume that the majority of the other 42% sit in the "Meh, whatever," camp rather than the "OPPRESS EVERYONE WHO ISN'T EXACTLY LIKE ME!" camp.
And finally, one more thing before I go back to work: The book I'm currently reading is Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson, and OMG IT IS FANTASTIC YOU GUYS. Go find it and read it now!
[image error]
Click the image to see the awesome, interactive website.
Chris
March 18, 2013
Helioviewer - the Sun on your desktop
Whoah, how did I never know about this before? As someone who is passionate about the Sun, the nearest and easiest-to-observe star in our galaxy, dramatic and amazing, I should have had this in my Faves long ago and shared it with everyone right away.
Here you go: NASA's Helioviewer project! You can view images and videos of the Sun from many sources, take screenshots and videos of what you see without special software, and share them. Like this!
Click the image to see NASA's Helioviewer website.
And you can also make movies (though I've yet to figure out why mine aren't showing up on YouTube).
Helioviewer.org is an open-source project for the public to view imagery based on a variety of solar and heliospheric data. The project is funded by ESA and NASA. Cool beans.
Chris
Here you go: NASA's Helioviewer project! You can view images and videos of the Sun from many sources, take screenshots and videos of what you see without special software, and share them. Like this!
Click the image to see NASA's Helioviewer website.
And you can also make movies (though I've yet to figure out why mine aren't showing up on YouTube).
Helioviewer.org is an open-source project for the public to view imagery based on a variety of solar and heliospheric data. The project is funded by ESA and NASA. Cool beans.
Chris
March 14, 2013
Thought Police: 1, Citizens: 0.
Turns out that it's now illegal in the US to have disgusting fantasies... even when you explicitly state that the online chat you're having about said fantasy is just that: Only a fantasy.
From the Slate.com article:
In the government's version of the facts, Valle had been working up "practical and strategic" plans to kidnap, rape, torture, kill, and eat several women, including his own wife. One of his Google searches shows he was looking for audio clips of knives being sharpened, utensils clanking, or whatever else might serve to whet his violent appetite.
The prosecuting attorney - a representative of the US government, of us all - said in closing statements, "That's not a fantasy that's OK."
Clearly, this guy's fantasies are creepy as hell. But is having creepy fantasies something we should make illegal? Should we put people in jail for having bad thoughts? If so, where do we draw the line for what we consider okay? And who gets to decide that? Do you want someone with his own repressed fantasies deciding yours aren't okay because he feels guilty about his dark desires? Or someone who's so pure as to think oral sex isn't okay? Do you think you've never had a fantasy that someone, somewhere in power would find disgusting?
The Thought Police are here. Time to start practicing your mind-block jingle.
Chris
From the Slate.com article:
In the government's version of the facts, Valle had been working up "practical and strategic" plans to kidnap, rape, torture, kill, and eat several women, including his own wife. One of his Google searches shows he was looking for audio clips of knives being sharpened, utensils clanking, or whatever else might serve to whet his violent appetite.
The prosecuting attorney - a representative of the US government, of us all - said in closing statements, "That's not a fantasy that's OK."
Clearly, this guy's fantasies are creepy as hell. But is having creepy fantasies something we should make illegal? Should we put people in jail for having bad thoughts? If so, where do we draw the line for what we consider okay? And who gets to decide that? Do you want someone with his own repressed fantasies deciding yours aren't okay because he feels guilty about his dark desires? Or someone who's so pure as to think oral sex isn't okay? Do you think you've never had a fantasy that someone, somewhere in power would find disgusting?
The Thought Police are here. Time to start practicing your mind-block jingle.
Chris
March 11, 2013
Astro-Porn of the Day: Comet Pan-STARRS Becoming Visible
Comet Pan-STARRS is at its brightest right now, and finally rising high enough above the horizon for people living in the Northern Hemisphere to see it. Lots of details and observing recommendations on Sky & Telescope's website. Here's a chart of where to look, when:
Click the image to see the Sky & Telescope article.
But if a little comet isn't exciting enough for you, we have another one coming in the fall! Space scientists are eagerly awaiting comet Ison, due to fill the sky in November of this year.
In other news, have you seen today's Google Doodle? Don't panic! But be sure to click through the Encyclopedia Galactica, and see if you can identify all the objects on the spaceship control panel. The best description of the Doodle is on the Telegraph's site, but it's full of spoilers! After you play around with the Doodle for a while, check it out.
Finally, the experiment with writing first thing in the morning has resulted in huge productivity. I've been planning about an hour of writing, but every time I've started, I've ended up writing far longer than that. I'm up a couple thousand words since I started doing this last week. (Today's work was mostly Appendix material, but also some story. Writing is weird.) HOORAY! Conversely, whenever I've start doing something else (as I did over the weekend), that's it: No writing.
For those of you playing along, I hope your own experiment is going well.
Best,
Chris
Click the image to see the Sky & Telescope article.
But if a little comet isn't exciting enough for you, we have another one coming in the fall! Space scientists are eagerly awaiting comet Ison, due to fill the sky in November of this year.
In other news, have you seen today's Google Doodle? Don't panic! But be sure to click through the Encyclopedia Galactica, and see if you can identify all the objects on the spaceship control panel. The best description of the Doodle is on the Telegraph's site, but it's full of spoilers! After you play around with the Doodle for a while, check it out.
Finally, the experiment with writing first thing in the morning has resulted in huge productivity. I've been planning about an hour of writing, but every time I've started, I've ended up writing far longer than that. I'm up a couple thousand words since I started doing this last week. (Today's work was mostly Appendix material, but also some story. Writing is weird.) HOORAY! Conversely, whenever I've start doing something else (as I did over the weekend), that's it: No writing.
For those of you playing along, I hope your own experiment is going well.
Best,
Chris
Christopher McKitterick's Blog
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