I've just read Thirst by Ken Kalfus, a book of short stories.
It would be lazy to label them 'weird;' rather, they are ... unconventional. They end, and then it's up to the reader to say, "What happened?"
I enjoyed them. They made me think. I'm going to read more of his books.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Make Up Your Minds
Bring in your film and we'll give you digital images on a CD-ROM.
OR
Send us images from your digital camera and we'll print them out for you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Watch TV and movies on the screen of your mobile phone.
OR
Watch TV and movies on your 50" flat screen plasma TV.
OR
Send us images from your digital camera and we'll print them out for you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Watch TV and movies on the screen of your mobile phone.
OR
Watch TV and movies on your 50" flat screen plasma TV.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Sub Marine
Recently, my wife and I saw a TV announcement that the movie Das Boot would be shown later this week.
"Oh," she said, "that's the film with the theme song 'Ve all live on a Cherman submarine, a Cherman submarine, a Cherman submarine ... '"
"Oh," she said, "that's the film with the theme song 'Ve all live on a Cherman submarine, a Cherman submarine, a Cherman submarine ... '"
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Important Books III
Everyone should read this book by Chris Hedges:
Losing Moses on the Freeway: The 10 Commandments in America
Losing Moses on the Freeway: The 10 Commandments in America
Monday, April 09, 2007
Pack Up All Your Cares and Woe, Yo, Yo, Yo
Several years ago, I was on the Subway, and observed an [East] Indian lady talking to a Canadian lady. The Indian lady was punctuating her conversation with Eh wherever she could, obviously to fit in with her, I'm guessing, less articulate Canadian colleague. After a while, she stopped doing it, because she couldn't keep up the charade.
I saw a white teenager on the bus yesterday, sprawled on a seat, feet on his skateboard, talking on his cellphone, punctuating his conversation with Yo, without any of the Indian lady's hesitation or discomfort. I thought that maybe Yo had replaced like in his limited vocabulary, but he used both words.
There is a genuine Black culture in North America, but I've rarely been exposed to it, instead to the manufactured hip hop subculture. This would seem to be what this guy was imitating or assimilating. Why?
Many people of his generation are emulating the cool, successful, sexy images of black rappers, rapperesses, musicians, athletes, and other non-typical, one-in-a-million black people - a similar percentage to those people of other races, as far as I know - without questioning the images presented to them by the media. They do both themselves and the black community a disservice by this servile imitation.
Recently, I watched a black author being interviewed on TV. He had written a book, the title of which escapes me, bemoaning the fact that the high salaries and public success of black athletes was detrimental to the black struggle for equality. He suggested that black people look at the examples of these athletes, and conclude that black equality has arrived, that the struggle for equality is over, and that there's nothing left to fight for. Obviously, this is not the case - as Chris Rock said, "Shaq is rich, but the man who signs his cheques is wealthy!"
Watching him reminded me of a late 60's University of Toronto Psych. class, where the professor told us about a book, listing American Jewish professionals, and other successful Jewish people. He informed us that the book had been published not by the B'nai Brith as a celebration of Jewish success, but by the Klan as a warning that "the Jews are taking over America!"
I saw a white teenager on the bus yesterday, sprawled on a seat, feet on his skateboard, talking on his cellphone, punctuating his conversation with Yo, without any of the Indian lady's hesitation or discomfort. I thought that maybe Yo had replaced like in his limited vocabulary, but he used both words.
There is a genuine Black culture in North America, but I've rarely been exposed to it, instead to the manufactured hip hop subculture. This would seem to be what this guy was imitating or assimilating. Why?
Many people of his generation are emulating the cool, successful, sexy images of black rappers, rapperesses, musicians, athletes, and other non-typical, one-in-a-million black people - a similar percentage to those people of other races, as far as I know - without questioning the images presented to them by the media. They do both themselves and the black community a disservice by this servile imitation.
Recently, I watched a black author being interviewed on TV. He had written a book, the title of which escapes me, bemoaning the fact that the high salaries and public success of black athletes was detrimental to the black struggle for equality. He suggested that black people look at the examples of these athletes, and conclude that black equality has arrived, that the struggle for equality is over, and that there's nothing left to fight for. Obviously, this is not the case - as Chris Rock said, "Shaq is rich, but the man who signs his cheques is wealthy!"
Watching him reminded me of a late 60's University of Toronto Psych. class, where the professor told us about a book, listing American Jewish professionals, and other successful Jewish people. He informed us that the book had been published not by the B'nai Brith as a celebration of Jewish success, but by the Klan as a warning that "the Jews are taking over America!"
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Baseball
The Blue Jays won their season opener in Detroit last night, by a score of 5 - 3. Today is a day off.
Do you know the difference between American government® and baseball? In baseball, a W is a good thing.
Do you know the difference between American government® and baseball? In baseball, a W is a good thing.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Piano Man?
My wife and I were sitting in the living room - she was knitting, and I was weaving.
"Would you ever want to learn to knit?" she asked.
"No, just weave," I answered.
"Well," she said, "you could learn both. One day, I'm going to learn to spin, and to dye yarn."
I replied, "Only the good dye yarn."
Monday, November 20, 2006
Looms and Loons
I've been doing computer graphics for years, most recently building images from the pixel level up. I've been looking for a way to transfer these images to another medium, other than printing them on paper.
A couple of weeks ago, my wife, a talented knitter, bought me a small frame loom [aimed at young children] to introduce me to the amazing world of weaving - one of the fibre arts, along with knitting, crocheting, braiding, etc. - and now I'm hooked.
Her idea was to provide me with the means to produce hard copy - firm copy? -of my computer images. I'm finding it to be a wonderful way to express myself.
First, I have to learn to weave. My plain weave is pretty good, and I'm currently trying twill. I'm having a problem with waisting, but I think that I just need more practice.
Wish me luck - wish me skill!
Sunday, November 12, 2006
What's in the Mug?
You've got a mug of brown liquid, and you're ready to drink. Ever have one of these:
Head: Yum, a mug of coffee!
Mouth: Yikes, it's cola!
OR
Head: Yum, a mug of cola!
Mouth: Yow, that's hot coffee!
One of the major soft drink companies is now offering a beverage combining coffee and cola.
Head: I have No Idea what's in there!
Mouth: Me, neither!
Head: Yum, a mug of coffee!
Mouth: Yikes, it's cola!
OR
Head: Yum, a mug of cola!
Mouth: Yow, that's hot coffee!
One of the major soft drink companies is now offering a beverage combining coffee and cola.
Head: I have No Idea what's in there!
Mouth: Me, neither!
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Public Key Cryptography
Dignitaries from the computer security field took the stage at the Computer History Museum this evening to note the 30th anniversary of public key cryptography and wax historical about academic, governmental, and commercial developments in security, and ponder the future.
Panelists included Whitfield Diffie, who is a cryptography pioneer and chief security officer at Sun Microsystems, Martin Hellman, a Stanford University professor, Notes founder Ray Ozzie, now Microsoft's chief software architect, and Brian Snow, retired director for the National Security Agency's Information Assurance Directorate.
Public key cryptography uses public and private keys between sender and recipient of a message for security purposes. The sender encrypts a message with a public key and the recipient uses a private key to decrypt it. Its birth is traced to the November 1976 publishing of a paper entitled, "New Directions in Cryptography," by Diffie and Hellman.
Panelist Dan Boneh, also a Stanford University professor as well as a co-inventor of identity-based encryption, said government has gone from stalling deployment of cryptography to mandating it with regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA. "There's been a complete flip, recognizing that encryption is there to help us, not just to help our enemies," Boneh said.
Panelists included Whitfield Diffie, who is a cryptography pioneer and chief security officer at Sun Microsystems, Martin Hellman, a Stanford University professor, Notes founder Ray Ozzie, now Microsoft's chief software architect, and Brian Snow, retired director for the National Security Agency's Information Assurance Directorate.
Public key cryptography uses public and private keys between sender and recipient of a message for security purposes. The sender encrypts a message with a public key and the recipient uses a private key to decrypt it. Its birth is traced to the November 1976 publishing of a paper entitled, "New Directions in Cryptography," by Diffie and Hellman.
Panelist Dan Boneh, also a Stanford University professor as well as a co-inventor of identity-based encryption, said government has gone from stalling deployment of cryptography to mandating it with regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA. "There's been a complete flip, recognizing that encryption is there to help us, not just to help our enemies," Boneh said.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Counterpane
BT [British Telecom] announced today that it has acquired Counterpane Internet Security Inc., a leading provider of managed networked security services. Post-acquisition, Bruce Schneier, the founder of the company, will continue in his role as CTO.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Tear Our Laws?
One of my local newspapers had this heading: "Extend terror laws: MP's."
Is this a Freudian slip? I thought that they are ANTI-Terrorism laws.
Some people believe that, in some countries, these laws ARE terror laws, used to keep citizens terrified enough to surrender their civil rights and their reasoning faculties in exchange for security ... and not real security at that!
Is this a Freudian slip? I thought that they are ANTI-Terrorism laws.
Some people believe that, in some countries, these laws ARE terror laws, used to keep citizens terrified enough to surrender their civil rights and their reasoning faculties in exchange for security ... and not real security at that!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Parity?
Women have been fighting for years for equal pay for equal work, sadly achieving only wage parody.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
A Trip Down the Route of All Evil
This past Sunday night (September 26, 2006), the CBC's The Big Picture aired The Root of All Evil, a documentary, written and presented by British ethologist, evolutionary theorist, popular science writer, and atheist Richard Dawkins, in which he argues that the world would be better off without religion.
[I understand that this was not Dawkins' first choice for a title.]
Visitors to the CBC website's online discussion board for the Big Picture, people were asked for comments. These are my comments:
I very much enjoyed Mr. Dawkins' documentary. I believe in G-d, and this belief has a very strong influence on my moral and ethical behaviour. I also believe in the ability of science to explain many of the physical manifestations of our universe, and in the need for the "separation of church and state." Or is that church and hate?
I hope that Mr. Dawkins' conversation with Ted Haggard serves as an alert to "Western" people that there is a fundamentalist "Jihad" being waged in North America against science and progress. No, Mr. Haggard, you don't know anything about evolution, and your war against evolution in particular and science in general has no basis in fact, let alone in morality.
His conversation with the very disturbed Yousef al-Khattab demonstrates that there is no way to have a rational dialogue with someone who combines fundamentalism with whatever brand of madness afflicts Joseph Cohen - my anger at his raving about "fornication in the streets" and "dressing YOUR women as whores" was secondary to my deep sympathy for this deranged man!
Thank you for the opportunity to view this documentary and to share my reactions.
[I understand that this was not Dawkins' first choice for a title.]
Visitors to the CBC website's online discussion board for the Big Picture, people were asked for comments. These are my comments:
I very much enjoyed Mr. Dawkins' documentary. I believe in G-d, and this belief has a very strong influence on my moral and ethical behaviour. I also believe in the ability of science to explain many of the physical manifestations of our universe, and in the need for the "separation of church and state." Or is that church and hate?
I hope that Mr. Dawkins' conversation with Ted Haggard serves as an alert to "Western" people that there is a fundamentalist "Jihad" being waged in North America against science and progress. No, Mr. Haggard, you don't know anything about evolution, and your war against evolution in particular and science in general has no basis in fact, let alone in morality.
His conversation with the very disturbed Yousef al-Khattab demonstrates that there is no way to have a rational dialogue with someone who combines fundamentalism with whatever brand of madness afflicts Joseph Cohen - my anger at his raving about "fornication in the streets" and "dressing YOUR women as whores" was secondary to my deep sympathy for this deranged man!
Thank you for the opportunity to view this documentary and to share my reactions.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
I Can't Believe I Hate the Whole Thing
The recent events triggered by the Pope's statements suggest that, in some parts of the "West," there are problems concerning the separation of Church and State, and in some parts of the "Middle East," there are problems concerning the separation of Church and Hate!
Monday, September 18, 2006
Important Books II
Everyone should read these books by Malcolm Gladwell:
- The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
- A new way of understanding why change so often happens as quickly and as unexpectedly as it does
- Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking
- About rapid cognition, about the kind of thinking that happens in a blink of an eye
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Don't Try This at Home!
VANCOUVER (CP)
British Columbia taxpayers are already on the hook for more than double what their provincial government estimated for the 2010 Winter Olympics and audit reports released Thursday suggest things could get worse.
British Columbia's auditor general, Arn van Iersel, concludes the 2010 Olympic Games will cost federal and provincial taxpayers $2.5 billion (Cdn). The budget, said van Iersel's report, has increased to $2.5 billion for the B.C. and federal governments. Most of that - $1.5 billion - will be covered by British Columbia.
British Columbia has provided a guarantee to the IOC to cover any budget shortfalls incurred by the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee.
Despite the risks, the B.C. government didn't have a proper watchdog agency to monitor the amount being spent on building venues, van Iersel said.
He noted that, for the Sydney 2000 Games, an authority was established to manage the capital budget. A similar agency was created for the Turin 2006 Games. "With the 2010 Games, no one central agency is taking responsibility for managing these costs."
Canadian cities - Don't Try This at Home!
British Columbia taxpayers are already on the hook for more than double what their provincial government estimated for the 2010 Winter Olympics and audit reports released Thursday suggest things could get worse.
British Columbia's auditor general, Arn van Iersel, concludes the 2010 Olympic Games will cost federal and provincial taxpayers $2.5 billion (Cdn). The budget, said van Iersel's report, has increased to $2.5 billion for the B.C. and federal governments. Most of that - $1.5 billion - will be covered by British Columbia.
British Columbia has provided a guarantee to the IOC to cover any budget shortfalls incurred by the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee.
Despite the risks, the B.C. government didn't have a proper watchdog agency to monitor the amount being spent on building venues, van Iersel said.
He noted that, for the Sydney 2000 Games, an authority was established to manage the capital budget. A similar agency was created for the Turin 2006 Games. "With the 2010 Games, no one central agency is taking responsibility for managing these costs."
Canadian cities - Don't Try This at Home!
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Important Books
Everyone should read these books by Thomas L. Friedman:
- Longitudes and Attitudes, Exploring the World After September 11
- The World Is Flat, Expanded Edition: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century
- The Lexus and the Olive Tree
- From Beirut to Jerusalem
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Muddle East
I think that the following quotes from Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author Thomas L. Friedman, from March and April, 2002, are worth repeating:
"The Israeli-Palestinian violence had so inflamed the Arab street - thanks in large to Arab satellite TV stations that were competing to see who could show the most Israeli brutality in the most pro-Palestinian manner."
"The ongoing struggle with Israel is such a valuable resource for failed Arab leaders, such a perfect diversion, such an all-encompassing excuse for not democratizing or modernizing their states, that they will not give it up easily."
"Young Arab men were angry because of the brutality they saw Israel meting out to Palestinians on their TV screens. Forget the fact that their own governments had shown enormous indifference to the plight of the Palestinians over the years. Forget the fact that Osama bin Laden never mentioned the Palestinian cause as motivating his actions until he felt he was losing support in the Arab world. Forget the fact that all kinds of people around the world are angry today, but don't go hijacking planes and driving them into skyscrapers in New York."
[from the 'Diary' section of Longitudes and Attitudes, Exploring the World After September 11, Copyright © 2002 by Thomas L. Friedman]
"The Israeli-Palestinian violence had so inflamed the Arab street - thanks in large to Arab satellite TV stations that were competing to see who could show the most Israeli brutality in the most pro-Palestinian manner."
"The ongoing struggle with Israel is such a valuable resource for failed Arab leaders, such a perfect diversion, such an all-encompassing excuse for not democratizing or modernizing their states, that they will not give it up easily."
"Young Arab men were angry because of the brutality they saw Israel meting out to Palestinians on their TV screens. Forget the fact that their own governments had shown enormous indifference to the plight of the Palestinians over the years. Forget the fact that Osama bin Laden never mentioned the Palestinian cause as motivating his actions until he felt he was losing support in the Arab world. Forget the fact that all kinds of people around the world are angry today, but don't go hijacking planes and driving them into skyscrapers in New York."
[from the 'Diary' section of Longitudes and Attitudes, Exploring the World After September 11, Copyright © 2002 by Thomas L. Friedman]
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