Play him off Keyboard Cat – RIP Steve Jobs

Play him off, Keyboard Cat

I don’t think it was a coincidence that Steve Jobs died the day after the keynote. Sometimes the will to stay alive is very powerful.

From the Wikipedia entry on Charles Schultz:

Charles Schultz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip died almost immediately before the last Peanuts strip to retire the series was published.

“Peanuts ran for nearly 50 years, almost without interruption. During the life of the strip, Schulz took only one vacation, a five-week break in late 1997 to celebrate his 75th birthday; reruns of the strip ran during his vacation. At its peak, Peanuts appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. Schulz stated that his routine every morning consisted of eating a jelly donut and sitting down to write the day’s strip.

In a December 1999 interview, holding back tears, he recounted the moment when he signed the panel of his final strip, saying, “All of a sudden I thought, ‘You know, that poor, poor kid, he never even got to kick the football. What a dirty trick — he never had a chance to kick the football!’”

Charles Schulz died in his sleep at home around 9:45 p.m. on February 12, 2000. The last original Peanuts strip was published the very next day, on Sunday, February 13, 2000, just hours after his death the night before.”

Obama’s failure to stop the projectile alien fish menace will cost him 2012

Allow me to be perfectly clear. The failure of Obama-appointed Asian Carp Czar to stem the rising tide of nondelicious projectile alien fish will cost him the 2012 election.

I read with alarm the recent news reports that the Asian Carp plague has not been stopped dead in its tracks since President Obama appointed John Goss in 2010 to lead a near $80 million, multi-pronged federal attack against Asian carp.

Yes, multi-pronged.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin bravely stated back then that “When it comes to the Asian carp threat, we are not in denial. We are not in a go-slow mode. We are in a full attack, full-speed ahead mode. We want to stop this carp from advancing.”

Yes, FULL ATTACK, FULL-SPEED AHEAD MODE. It was obvious we meant business. There would be casualties. There would be losses on all sides. But the finned threat had to be stopped, no matter how heavy the cost.

The 2011 Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework cover, clearly illustrating the intimidating enemy the US faces

CatForum.com People are Insane

I recently decided to take my cat Style off his hard cat food diet. I had been reading about how bad grocery store cat food is for cats, as it contains high amounts of grain in it. Cats are obligate carnivores and derive 100% of their nutritional needs from meat of prey, even a large amount of their water needs. The bones and organ meat of the animals they eat are important as well, not just the muscle meat. One cat elegantly named Creme Puff lived to be 38 on an all-meat diet.

Anyway, I decided to do some research. I quickly surmised that canned food was much better for him, but which one? I eventually found myself at www.catforum.com in a quest for the answer….

God help us

Playa Del Carmen Trip Report

Here is a video montage I put together using music from Mexican band Belanova of our trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico in May 2011:

And here is a link to my complete photo album of this trip.

Night 1

We arrive late night in Cancun airport. Here is a tip I have not read anywhere else; call your bank before you go and not only tell them you’ll be in Mexico, but ask them if they are affiliated with any branches in Mexico. My bank, Bank of America, told me they are affiliated with Santander bank and if I use those ATms id save on fees. So I find a Santander ATM right outside customs and withdraw pesos for the evening and the next day.

I had arranged for a driver to pick us up and take us to the Hotel Casa Ticul. We get to the hotel around midnight, unpack and exhausted fall asleep. (beds are SUPER comfortable)

Greece – Athens – Santorini – Milos Trip Report Part 2

In May of 2009 my girlfriend Holly and I traveled to Greece and visited Athens and the Cyclades Islands of Santorini and Milos. I will split this blog post into three parts by destination. You can view all photos of the trip here (my photos) and here (Holly’s Photos). This is part 2 of 3. Part 1 is here

So we arrive at the port of Athens, buy our Ferry tickets and board the Ferry. We got tickets on the “slow” ferry instead of the premium fast ferry. It was fairly relaxing to be on this type of Ferry. Provided it is not super cold, you can hang out on the deck watching the sea go by, and the Ferry usually stops at various other Greek Islands al0ng the Cyclades so you get a mini-tour.

Greece – Athens – Santorini – Milos Trip Report Part 1

In May of 2009 my girlfriend Holly and I traveled to Greece and visited Athens and the Cyclades Islands of Santorini and Milos. I will split this blog post into three parts by destination. You can view all photos of the trip here (my photos) and here (Holly’s Photos). This is part 1 of 3. Part 2 is here.

Below is a video I created of the entire trip:

We picked this time of the year because airfare and hotel costs are fairly low due to it being low/mid season in Greece, and the temperatures are still warm enough for swimming.

We picked the Fresh Hotel in Athens based on proximity to the ancient Acropolis and good reviews online. We tend to like more trendy design/boutique hotels and this seemed to fit the bill. It even has an Ice bar.

Ethiopian Food Sucks – Everyone in DC is crazy

As I wrote about earlier regarding the bizarre fascination many people in the Washington DC region have with Pho, I will now rant about another fad cuisine that I feel is absolutely awful.

Ethiopian food.

“Ethiopian is a poor man’s Indian from Planet Gross-Out X. Bunch of multi-colored gross lentils heaped over an old tire. Baaaarrrrfff on my dick.”
- Wise Anonymous Poster from the Internet

” If you can’t taste how gross Ethiopian food is you likely have mild brain damage, probably in the part of your brain that senses when you’re being ripped off.”
- Yet more wisdom from the intertubes

 

The one on the left looks like someone used the injera as toilet paper. The one on the right is giant chunks of raw beef and fat. Not sure which is worse.

Protected: Transformers 3 in DC – Being an Extra

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Lady Gaga Teeth Dance Choreography borrowed from Silent Hill Nurses?

I went to Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball in Washington DC yesterday, and had a great time. When she got to the choreography for her song Teeth, I had a odd sense of Déjà vu. I had seen this before..I had even heard the song before..or something similar to it. Then it hit me..this was basically a very similar routine to the Silent Hill Nurses dance routine from the Anime Boston 2007 Masquerade (won first place).

Compare lady gagas Teeth set and choreography:

True Blood lol – Sookie and Bill

The following is a web comic about True Blood about when we find out what Sookie is:

Tags: Sookie, True Blood

Mecca Royal Clock Hotel Tower is an insult to Islam and to taste

Let me introduce you to the Abraj Al-Bait Towers, also known as the The Mecca Royal Clock Hotel Tower.

The Abraj Al-Bait Towers are like a giant middle finger to taste and elegance

Pho sucks. There, I said it.

I hate Pho.

Here in the Washington DC region, many people seem to go crazy over Vietnamese Pho. For those that don’t know, Pho (pronounced feh, as in ‘feh..this tastes like dishwater’) is a Vietnamese noodle soup served in a giant bucket, composed of 90% salty water, 4% undercooked, soggy flavorless meat, 4% noodle, and 2% tasteless vegetables.

Below is a handy diagram demonstrating a typical serving of Pho to  it’s approximate taste.

Pho is similair to a giant animal carcass floating in a Formaldehyde solution, in both taste and appearance

Scott Pilgrim vs the World Review – Did not suck – Loved it

Scott Pilgrim vs the World movie poster

Cool I-Trailer (interactive trailer) for Scott Pilgrim vs the World

I went to see an early screening of Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Now the primary reaction of people I talk to about the movie is “who?” or sometimes “huh?”. I guess the movie did not register much in people’s radar. So let me recap for everyone who has not heard of this upcoming movie.

Step Up 3D Review – It was actually good

 

Step up 3D

I went to see an early Step Up 3D screening expecting the worst dance/teen flick since Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo.

I mean, these are actual lines in the movie:

“people dance because dance can change things”

”One move… can set a whole generation free”

‘Some people learn to dance, some people are born to”

“the most important decisions in life are hard”

Analysis of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” ending (film)

Here are some major spoilers, so if you have not seen the film please click away from this entry

The Road (2009)

Ok, in a nutshell, I think the kid is fucked, and the ending is NOT good. Here is why.

Tags: reviews, thoughts

Android is Frustrating, not intuitive and not fun

I’ve been playing with Android phones recently, the HTC Incredible and the HTC Evo..and sorry but I  feel the OS kind of sucks.

It is not intuitive at ALL. I couldn’t figure out how to do anything..it required a friend to train me..and even after that and I tried using the Evo on my own I still could not find the task manager, figure out how to switch tasks and add/remove widgets.

Sorry…it needs to be friendlier and FAR more intuitive for me. Android may be powerful but its not friendly or easy. My user experience was frustrating. I handed the phone to my GF to play with and she was lost and frustrated within 10 seconds as well.

This never happens when we play with iPhones. Yes I understand Android is powerful, yes I understand iPhones lock you in and is not very customizable..but its EASY. It is intuitive and fun. Grandma can pick it up and use it.

Android should be powerful AND be easy to use. But right now it is only easy to use after watching tutorials or playing with it for a week.

Let me give you an example. If I did a usability test on target.com, and told a first-time user to go on the site and find a solution to their storage needs for books, I’d want this user without any tutorials or help, without having to call support, to find the bookshelf section of the site and buy a bookshelf.

If my user can’t do this, and leaves the site frustrated or having to call support..the UI is bad. It has failed.

Well that’s how Android is. Yes it’s powerful, yes it is customizable. yes I can install a new UI over the standard, but I SHOULDN’T HAVE TO.

I should be able to hand the phone to my Grandmother and she should be happily uploading youtube videos of Kitty within 5 minutes.

I think one of my favorite, intuitive task managers in a UI is on the Palm Pre. You swipe your deck of cards, find the app you want, and either click it to activate it, or flick the card away to close it. SUPER easy. SUPER intuitive.

Good article I found:

http://daggle.com/impression-wrong-android-nice-iphone-1607

Also, I feel the Andoid OS is ugly. Reminds me of Windows 95.

I’ve been playing with Android phones recently, the HTC Incredible and the HTC Evo..and sorry but I  feel the OS kind of sucks.

It is not intuitive at ALL. I couldn’t figure out how to do anything..it required a friend to train me..and even after that and I tried using the Evo on my own I still could not find the task manager, figure out how to switch tasks and add/remove widgets.

Sorry…it needs to be friendlier and FAR more intuitive for me. Android may be powerful but its not friendly or easy. My user experience was frustrating. I handed the phone to my GF to play with and she was lost and frustrated within 10 seconds as well.

This never happens when we play with iPhones. Yes I understand Android is powerful, yes I understand iPhones lock you in and is not very customizable..but its EASY. It is intuitive and fun. Grandma can pick it up and use it.

Android can be powerful AND be easy to use. But right now it is only easy to use after watching tutorials or playing with it for a week.

Let me give you an example. If I did a usability test on target.com, and told a first-time user to go on the site and find a solution to their storage needs for books, I’d want this user without any tutorials or help, without having to call support, to find the bookshelf section of the site and buy a bookshelf.

If my user can’t do this, and leaves the site frustrated or having to call support..the UI is bad. It has failed.

Well that’s how Android is. Yes it’s powerful, yes it is customizable. yes I can install a new UI over the standard, but I SHOULDN’T HAVE TO.

I should be able to hand the phone to my Grandmother and she should be happily uploading youtube videos of Kitty within 5 minutes.

I think one of my favorite, intuitive task managers in a UI is on the Palm Pre. You swipe your deck of cards, find the app you want, and either click it to activate it, or flick the card away to close it. SUPER easy. SUPER intuitive.

Good article I found:

http://daggle.com/impression-wrong-android-nice-iphone-1607

Tags: design, htc, iphone, ui

Science is like religion

Common misunderstanding about science vs religion:

Religion and Science are the same since both believe things that can’t be 100% proven

Science (and LOGIC) dictates that NO BELIEF  can EVER be absolute. You can NEVER say ANYTHING is 100% true or 100% false.

You can only make REASONABLE assumptions. It is reasonable to go on your daily life assuming that you wont suddenly shoot off the earth or turn into a squirrel. We can write a law, called the law of people not spontaneously turning into squirrels. It can shown to be true after thousands of years of observable evidence. However, if even just one human spontaneously turns into a squirrel, we have to dump that law. It is no longer true.

We say a belief is reasonable when we have tons of observable and repeatable tests that confirm the belief, when we have a large body of knowledge that makes it reasonable to assume it is true.

The religious often want black and white, 100% or 0% true. This is not how science works.

The difference between a scientific belief and a religious one is usually that the scientific one is testable and can be written down mathematically.

Reasonable scientific belief: “The sun is a really large ball of gas at the center of our solar system”

unreasonable belief:  “there is an invisible man who is punishing all the descendants of the first two humans he created because they ate an apple he told them not to eat after they were misled by a talking snake”

Another major difference between religious and scientific beliefs is that which I mentioned earlier, that a scientific law, no matter how cherished, no matter how proven and verified and tested, can be refuted at any time when the opposite is observed.

Try doing that with religious beliefs, such as the earth being 6,000 years old or that women were created by an invisible being from the rib of a man, or the invisible man himself. These beliefs are so cherished they can never be tossed out, even if mounting evidence surfaces that makes those beliefs very unreasonable.

We have seen this with beliefs such as that the earth is the center of the universe..when religious beliefs are confronted by mounting scientific evidence that invalidates them. Or with evolution. Religion is unwilling to change their beliefs to accommodate new evidence. Science always is.

Tags: atheism, thoughts

Karate Kid 2010 Review – I loved it

Jaden Smith trains with Jackie Chan on the Great Wall of China

I went to see the 2010 Karate Kid remake. I was not expecting much, but let me just give my rating then qualify that. 10/10.

I could find absolutely no flaws in this. They treated china and the chinese people with the utmost respect, Jaden Smith was GREAT. I think one of the big reasons he worked so well is he acts like a KID. We have had too many child actors who act like pint-size adults (*cough dakota fanning *cough*). Jaden behaves exactly as you’d expect a 12 year old to behave.

Jackie Chan was amazing as always. The training montage, a staple of fight films like Rocky, was done in an original and emotionally gripping manner that did not feel like recycled garbage. Everything seemed realistic, the motivations behind everyone’s actions was believable and communicated well. The directing was great, action amazing, overall quite a surprise since I was not expecting much from this at all. The film was actually moving. People were applauding and cheering in the theater during the final fight scene exactly as they would had they been there.

There could be a temptation to just saturate the film with action and have the story, if any, take a backseat to that. But instead the action is not even the point anymore. The story in this film is gripping and really pulls you in. Who hasn’t felt nervous on the first day at a new school? Who hasn’t been teased or bullied? Who hasn’t felt scared in a new phase in their life? Who hasn’t had tragedy and misfortune destroy their lives? I absolutely loved the film.

I am thinking of going to see it again. Director Herald Zwart is someone to watch. This is far superior to the 1984 classic, but pays homage in many clever ways to its predecessor. Now the stains of Karate Kid II and III are finally cleansed.

Bravo to everyone involved in this project!

Tags: kung fu, review

Taken – Movie Review (it sucked)

Taken Movie Poster (2008)

So I finally saw Taken this week.

I was intriqued by this cool-looking trailer I watched:

The premise is brilliant. Brian Mills (Liam Neeson) is an ex-CIA/NSA type, who has retired in order to be closer to his daughter. She goes off to Paris on a trip, and while there gets kidnapped while she is on the phone with Daddy.

Tags: review

Deformed child actors and Gary Coleman

It disturbs me how much TV shows and movies cast children who have abnormal growth issues because they look ‘cute’. It’s sort of like the heavily deformed Pug dog breed, a breed so hideously misshapen they no longer have cranial brow ridges, struggle to breath and can no longer give birth naturally.

Gary Coleman suffered from a congenital kidney disease caused by focal segmental glomerulosclerosis which halted his growth as a kid, leading to a 4 ft 8 in stature and an exaggerated childlike appearance. (awww)

On the TV Show ‘Webster’ we have Emmanuel Lewis who is now 4’3″, qualifying him as a dwarf. (growth disorders are so cute)

Other examples include child actor Atticus Shaffer, (unborn, hancock) who has type IV osteogenesis imperfecta, a bone disease that also heightens his “cute” appearance. (so adorable)

Tags: child actors, gary coleman, pugs

Life in a Harem for the Prince of Brunei

Some Girls - My life in a Harem by Jillian Lauren

Today I was listening to the Howard Stern show and they had on Jillian Lauren, author of Some Girls: My Life in a Harem. This was the first time I heard of her or the book, and when I heard the premise my immediate reaction was that she was probably lying.

After listening to her story for a while it seemed to me she was not lying.  Looks like it might be an interesting read. The lifestyle described by her is one of unimaginable wealth.

The premise is basically that she was a teenager, starts getting into drugs and prostitution, then goes to a mysterious audition 0ne day. The audition turns out to be for the Prince of Brunei (I have not heard of the country either) who is worth 40 billion dollars; specifically to be his ‘guest’.

This actually entails being one of 40 or so women from around the world flown in to be in his Harem on the palace grounds. She describes lavish $100,000 shopping sprees, trips to singapore etc.  She talks of how women from the west were separated from the asian women in different compounds. A literal meat market to tickle his majesties fancy.  A recent update on the story is his Majesty apparently embezzled 9 billion from the royal treasury.

Jillian Lauren

Tags: harem, prostitution

Kobayashi Issa would be proud – Internet Haiku

Sweet merciful death
Get me the fuck out of here
My Son has girl hair

Tags: haiku, poetry

Corporations have free speech rights

I believe that a group of people have every right to pool their resources together to create videos, commercials, books, posters etc for their common interest. Whether they choose to do so as a corporation (like the ACLU does) or as a concerned group of citizens with a voice, the right to free speech is a sacred foundation of our constitution.

I personally feel trying to say corporations are not a person will not do anything, since the constitution allows free speech in general, not just of individuals. Or else the government could ban people from joining together to create speech. (like mothers against drunk driving). To me it seems obvious speech in general should be protected, not just from individuals. Banning speech because of its perceived negative consequences is censorship. I am wholly against censorship, especially if it is government-sponsored and especially if it is censorship of political speech.

I do agree however, that money plays far too large a role in politics. Its one of the major faults of capitalism. The needs of those with the most money is met far more than the needs of people with you know, actual needs. And usually the needs of those with money is to make more money and protect the money they have, even if it against the interest of the common man. As I have said before, I really am at a loss as to how to curtail the power of the wealthy, especially in a capitalist society like ours.

Tags: citizens united, free speech, supreme court

Breakdancing on the DC Metro (WMATA)

NBCwashington.com and DCist.com both carried stories today about the footage released by local b-boy Mad Sole featuring my good friend Benjamin Bausch aka “Evil Ben” breakdancing on the Washington DC Metro system (WMATA).

Breakdancing on mass commuting systems is as traditional as adidas shoes when it comes to true hiphop.

Tags: bboy, breakdancing, video, Washington DC, wmata

Une Charogne (The Carcass) – poem from movie ‘immortel’

Immortel Poster

Here is one of my favorite poems, I originally was exposed to it through the French film “immortel“

You might find it weird but this is by far my most favorite poem ever. I think because it reminds me that this is the only life I have, and those I love will not be around forever. Both reason to live your life to the fullest and cherish those you have while you have them.

A Carcass – Charles Baudelaire (english translation)

Do you remember the sight we saw, My Love
that beautiful soft summer morning!
round a turning in the path
a disgusting carcass
on a bed scattered with stones,

its legs in the air,  like a woman in heat
Burning and dripping with poisons,
Displayed in a shameless, nonchalant way
Its belly, swollen with gases.

The sun shone down upon that putrescence,
As if to roast it to a turn,
And to give back a hundredfold to great Nature
The elements she had combined;

And the sky was watching that superb cadaver
Blossom like a flower.
So frightful was the stench that you believed
You’d faint away upon the grass.

The blow-flies were buzzing round that putrid belly,
From which came forth black battalions
Of maggots, which oozed out like a heavy liquid
All along those living tatters.

All this was descending and rising like a wave,
Or poured out with a crackling sound;
One would have said the body, swollen with a vague breath,
Lived by multiplication.

And this world gave forth singular music,
Like running water or the wind,
Or the grain that winnowers with a rhythmic motion
Shake in their winnowing baskets.

The forms disappeared and were no more than a dream,
A sketch that slowly falls
Upon the forgotten canvas, that the artist
Completes from memory alone.

Crouched behind the boulders, an anxious dog
Watched us with angry eye,
Waiting for the moment to take back from the carcass
The morsel he had left.

— And yet you will be like this corruption,
Like this horrible infection,
Star of my eyes, sunlight of my being,
You, my angel and my passion!

Yes! thus will you be, queen of the Graces,
After the last sacraments,
When you go beneath grass and luxuriant flowers,
To molder among the bones of the dead.

Then, O my beauty! say to the worms who will
Devour you with kisses,
That I have kept the form and the divine essence
Of my decomposed love!

---

Une Charogne (The Carcass, original french)

Tags: death, french, literature, poetry, romantic