Thursday, October 4, 2007
Open Source Developers @ Google Speaker Series: Ben Collins-Sussman and Brian Fitzpatrick
We're pleased to have Ben Collins-Sussman and Brian "Fitz" Fitzpatrick join us once again for the Open Source Developers @ Google Speaker Series. On Thursday, October 25th, Ben and Fitz will cover "What's In It for Me?: How Your Company Can Benefit from Open Sourcing Code." During the evening you'll learn more about various approaches companies use when releasing their software into open source, as well as a bit about the benefits and drawbacks of each method. Plus, you'll get to enjoy the near-legendary repartee between these two Subversion developers.
Like all sessions of the Open Source Developers @ Google Speaker Series, Ben and Fitz's presentation will be open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 PM at our Mountain View campus; guests should plan to sign in at Building 43 reception upon arrival. Refreshments will be served and all are welcome and encouraged to attend. The presentation will also be taped and published along with all of the public Google Tech Talks.
For those of you who were unable to attend our last session, you can watch the video of Michael Still's recent presentation Practical MythTV.
Jeff Zucker loved 1984
I was just reading a short piece on the blotter at the IMDB about NBC CEO Jeff Zucker lamenting that "the unfortunate truth is that today we are losing the battle" against Internet Piracy... with a straight face no less, because everyone knows that they certainly aren't selling any copies of the Heroes, The Office, 30 Rock and Friday Night Lights DVD sets (which are #6, 15, 104 and 58 on Amazon.com's DVD sales rankings at the moment).
And I would be more willing to take that statement at face value if NBC didn't make its shows available in an electronic format for free for a week so people can catch up on their programs. And most of the other networks do the same. I'd also be happier with that assertion if there wasn't an element of statistical flimflammery. I mean, think about it this way. It was a record breaking summer for Hollywood with 4 Billion dollars grossed... and yet, we still read about how piracy is killing the industry. Guess what the trend on DVD sales is as well? And of course, the RIAA cooks its books on losses as well and here is some evidence.
But it wasn't Jeff Zucker's stance on piracy that chilled me to the bone. It was a passing reference to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is pushing for someone to have the job title "intellectual property enforcement coordinator" at the White House because of this artificial hysteria over piracy.
Let me break that down for you so you can see that in a different way:
If this plan comes to pass, we will be in the era of Thought Police in the most literal of senses. Think about how litigious the RIAA and the MPAA are when it comes to the enforcement of their copyrights and then think about those two organizations with the full weight of the federal government behind them. And then I saw exactly what Mr. Zucker wants the federal government to do with said department.
He wants them to police every piece of information going through every IP address for copyrighted content and I am sure that some of the other law enforcement agencies would like a piece of that action to help them regulate that, after all, having that kind of access to that much information on people is a gold mine if it was even technically possible for one agency to do that.
So yeah, I think that analogy about Thought Police is quite apt in this case.
And I would be more willing to take that statement at face value if NBC didn't make its shows available in an electronic format for free for a week so people can catch up on their programs. And most of the other networks do the same. I'd also be happier with that assertion if there wasn't an element of statistical flimflammery. I mean, think about it this way. It was a record breaking summer for Hollywood with 4 Billion dollars grossed... and yet, we still read about how piracy is killing the industry. Guess what the trend on DVD sales is as well? And of course, the RIAA cooks its books on losses as well and here is some evidence.
But it wasn't Jeff Zucker's stance on piracy that chilled me to the bone. It was a passing reference to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is pushing for someone to have the job title "intellectual property enforcement coordinator" at the White House because of this artificial hysteria over piracy.
Let me break that down for you so you can see that in a different way:
Intellectual property which is the product of Thought+
A specific department of the government whose job would be to enforce or Police copyright infringement.
If this plan comes to pass, we will be in the era of Thought Police in the most literal of senses. Think about how litigious the RIAA and the MPAA are when it comes to the enforcement of their copyrights and then think about those two organizations with the full weight of the federal government behind them. And then I saw exactly what Mr. Zucker wants the federal government to do with said department.
He wants them to police every piece of information going through every IP address for copyrighted content and I am sure that some of the other law enforcement agencies would like a piece of that action to help them regulate that, after all, having that kind of access to that much information on people is a gold mine if it was even technically possible for one agency to do that.
So yeah, I think that analogy about Thought Police is quite apt in this case.
Tags:
The Disneyland Standard
So it has been a while between posts on this blog. We have been traveling around the world -- the US, Japan and Hong Kong -- for the past few weeks. It has been free of real complications and hence, there was little in my dismal mind to blog about.
Today is our last day away and we are at Disneyland Hong Kong. Why? Because it is there.
Anyhow, having been to the Anaheim version, I thought it would be interesting to compare the two. When you walk into the HK version, you are struck by the fact that everything is exactly the same. Main street is there, the castle, Tomorrowland (complete with Space Mountain and Autopia -- sponsored by Honda this time -- and not much emphasis on the 'vision of the motoring future' bit that was in LA), Fantasyland (complete with Dumbos, cups and Winnie the Pooh) and there is Adventureland too. All laid out much the same as in LA. The differences are minor at best.
The one differences is that HK is smaller (but give it time). It is also newer (give that time too). So it has a few attractions that make use of the latest IT. For instance, there was a Buzz Lightyear laser shooting ride that was great fun and a Stitch interactive show that was very cleverly done with an animated character clearly being controlled like a puppet.
The only other difference was the food. There was less of it and most of it was Chinese (which makes sense given where we are). But in a world that is otherwise so mainstream American, there is a Main Street for goodness sake, it was kind of surreal. On the other hand, it was a much cheaper day out than the US version. So no complaints there.
The kids wouldn't know the difference. Disneyland has a standard and they can go with it anywhere. I suspect we will see more of them around the world.
Today is our last day away and we are at Disneyland Hong Kong. Why? Because it is there.
Anyhow, having been to the Anaheim version, I thought it would be interesting to compare the two. When you walk into the HK version, you are struck by the fact that everything is exactly the same. Main street is there, the castle, Tomorrowland (complete with Space Mountain and Autopia -- sponsored by Honda this time -- and not much emphasis on the 'vision of the motoring future' bit that was in LA), Fantasyland (complete with Dumbos, cups and Winnie the Pooh) and there is Adventureland too. All laid out much the same as in LA. The differences are minor at best.
The one differences is that HK is smaller (but give it time). It is also newer (give that time too). So it has a few attractions that make use of the latest IT. For instance, there was a Buzz Lightyear laser shooting ride that was great fun and a Stitch interactive show that was very cleverly done with an animated character clearly being controlled like a puppet.
The only other difference was the food. There was less of it and most of it was Chinese (which makes sense given where we are). But in a world that is otherwise so mainstream American, there is a Main Street for goodness sake, it was kind of surreal. On the other hand, it was a much cheaper day out than the US version. So no complaints there.
The kids wouldn't know the difference. Disneyland has a standard and they can go with it anywhere. I suspect we will see more of them around the world.
The Horror, The Horror
The Goggles... they did nothing. I can still remember the crapitude that was Cavemen one day later. I am scarred for life.
I think I need a hug and some holy water eyewash, because its hideousness has attached to my very soul.
I gave it a chance because I ripped on Ugly Betty too before it aired, and fell in love with it, so I had to be fair. Never again, never again.
ABC should be ashamed of themselves.
Tags:
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Remembering James Joyce's Ulysses
Now if I had been a more forward-thinking, I would have written this piece back on June 16th, which is also known as Bloomsday to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the book's release but seeing that this is Banned Books Week, I thought that this would also be an appropriate time to discuss James Joyce's Ulysses.The reason that this week is fitting for remembering this book is because it was banned for over a decade in both the United States(until 1933) and Britain(until 1936) and yet, despite this(or rather because of it), the Modern Library voted it the best novel of the 20th Century.
Yes, the book is a little lascivious, as it features masturbation, defecation, child birth, sexual fantasy and various other themes which at the time, organizations like the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice found detrimental to society. In fact, the Society's founder, Anthony Comstock was the namesake of the law that was used to prosecute those who attempted to publish or import the book into the United States. I am almost afraid to contemplate the day and age when there are Bozell or Jack Thompson laws on the books, however unlikely that may be.
Ulysses largely follows the story of 2 Dubliners over the course on June 16th, 1904 during the 18 waking hours of the main characters over the course of 18 chapters. Both Stephen Dedalus, a young schoolteacher and writer who also happened to be the main character of Joyce's earlier book, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Leopold Bloom, a half-Jewish advertising canvasser are the characters which make up the bulk of the narrative, though there are others who take center stage at points throughout the book. Each chapter is analogous to a particular chapter or incident from Homer's The Odyssey and is written in a unique style. Yet despite these stylistic devices, the narrative itself is highly compelling.
Now, the book has a reputation for being difficult, and I am not going to lie to you, there are some chapters which are tough sledding, like the Oxen of the Sun episode, which is written in 9 different historical English styles and Circe which is in essence a full-length hallucinatory play. But there are chapters which I absolutely adore, like Nausicäa(the chapter that caused the original furor), Aeolus (takes place in a newsroom, so random headlines break up the narrative) and Ithaca (the tale is told through a series of questions and very specific answers), and the most famous chapter of the entire book is the long internal soliloquy by Molly Bloom in the final chapter, Penelope, which perhaps received its most notable attention in the movie Back to School. As both a student of history and a pop cultural aficionado, I also respect the level of gritty detail and fleeting references to things which were ephemeral to make the city of Dublin a character itself, and these references are especially stunning given the fact that Joyce hadn't lived in Ireland for 18 years by the time the book was ready for publication.
As both a masterpiece of modernist literature and a trail blazer and a rather decisive blow to early 20th century censorship, James Joyce's Ulysses did much to create the artistically free world we have today. It was a fight I am glad was won for freedom of speech.
Tags:
Monday, October 1, 2007
Stumbleupon Finds: September Edition
From a field of about 400 additions this month, these are the best things I found on Stumbleupon this month.
Artwork:
The artwork of Doug Fraser at Who Killed Bambi
Flip Flip Flyin' Lollipops
Well-Oiled by Matt Dixon
Comics:
The Cat Drawing from Buttersafe
What Manly Men do for Fun at Big Fat Whale
Sinfest's Word of God
Married to the Sea's Austin's Fish
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal explores painful memories
Friend or Foe from Control Alt Delete
A comic in a Northern European language that still works.
Irkworks' Food Problems
What Fresh Hell Is This presents How Lucifer really got kicked out of Heaven
Some Prepared Remarks about Supervillainy
Pup Stays in Bed
Hockey Zombie - Nothing Says Lovin' like Murder
Dignified from XKCD
The Drug Talk from Thingpart
Videos:
Tracey Morgan going crazy-go-nuts on morning talk show
Funny Kitten video
Martin Scorsese's Bert and Ernie
Shark Attack gif
The World's Best Tetris Player
Shaun of the Dead's Nick Frost conning a con
The Best Anti-piracy ad ever.
Sexist Sega commercial
A Lion encounters a man it used to know
Words/Essays:
46 Tax Deductions for Bloggers
An interesting set of graphs about American finance
Fight Club as a Calvin and Hobbes metaphor
Proof Fundamentalists selectively quote the bible
Seems like something Paul Harvey would do.
David Brin takes on Star Wars
Artwork:
The artwork of Doug Fraser at Who Killed Bambi
Flip Flip Flyin' Lollipops
Well-Oiled by Matt Dixon
Comics:
The Cat Drawing from Buttersafe
What Manly Men do for Fun at Big Fat Whale
Sinfest's Word of God
Married to the Sea's Austin's Fish
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal explores painful memories
Friend or Foe from Control Alt Delete
A comic in a Northern European language that still works.
Irkworks' Food Problems
What Fresh Hell Is This presents How Lucifer really got kicked out of Heaven
Some Prepared Remarks about Supervillainy
Pup Stays in Bed
Hockey Zombie - Nothing Says Lovin' like Murder
Dignified from XKCD
The Drug Talk from Thingpart
Videos:
Tracey Morgan going crazy-go-nuts on morning talk show
Funny Kitten video
Martin Scorsese's Bert and Ernie
Shark Attack gif
The World's Best Tetris Player
Shaun of the Dead's Nick Frost conning a con
The Best Anti-piracy ad ever.
Sexist Sega commercial
A Lion encounters a man it used to know
Words/Essays:
46 Tax Deductions for Bloggers
An interesting set of graphs about American finance
Fight Club as a Calvin and Hobbes metaphor
Proof Fundamentalists selectively quote the bible
Seems like something Paul Harvey would do.
David Brin takes on Star Wars
Tags:
Franken Berry/Boo Berry coming back?
About a year ago, I did a guest post over at Apropos of Something about how much I missed Franken Berry cereal.I know, I know I'm an adult and I shouldn't be that nostalgic for a sugary sweet cereal from when I was a kid, but man, I've been jonesing for some for quite some time.
But recently someone I know was shopping in the States and they were on the look out for it and the stockboy told them that Franken Berry and Boo Berry are going to be coming back in a big way. How awesome is that.
Yes, General Mills has been making these cereals the entire time, but in very limited quantities over the years. There were still markets that had the cereal year round, and in other places, Franken Berry and Boo Berry would appear on the shelves around Halloween. And it was also available from Amazon.com. However, Count Chocula was the only cereal of that product line that was available everywhere.
But now it looks like that may be changing so all us children of a certain age can get our berry-flavored fix.
This is certainly one rumor I hope turns out to be true.
Tags:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)