Author and filmmaker Jim Munroe was in Vancouver on September 23rd for Vidfest, a digital/new media conference. He was here to show Infest Wisely, a "lo fi sci fi" movie that replaces expensive special effects with ideas, and yelling crew... More... (in MAIN)
I love it when people get away with sneaky living arrangements that don't really hurt anyone but get tighter-sphinctered folk bent out of shape because rules aren't being followed. So I was quite pleased to read about a bunch of... More... (in MAIN)
A high watermark for both the classic and new series, Utopia is an hour of top-rate Who, and the Three comment on it mightily, including some off-color joking about by Warren (Mr. Jacobi, the remark was meant as a joke,... More... (in MAIN)
According to Seymour Hersh, the Bush Administration has gotten it through their heads that the American people aren't buying the "OMG they has the nukes" argument a second time around, and have shifted their strategy to surgical strikes on Revolutionary... More... (in POLITICS)
Rolf Potts is an excellent travel writer and a advocate of vagabonding. On a recent trip back to Tahiland, he heard tell that an old Burmese friend of his may have died, which launched him into this article about how... More... (in MAIN)
American forces might have had Osama Bin Laden pinned down in Tora Bora, again, and lost him, again. This could all be speculation and conjecture on the part of intelligence analysts, but...c'mon, America! You have the same guy cornered in... More... (in POLITICS)
With a surfeit of news, the premiere of the Sarah Jane Adventures and Blink, one of the seasons best episodes, as the subject of our commentary, the Three Who Rule had plenty to shoot their mouths off about. And shoot... More... (in MAIN)
Ok, tactical nukes, which apparently have one-fifteenth the strength of the bombs at Hiroshima, and they'd be going deep underground and penetrating a bunker, not wiping out a civilian population. But JESUS H. CHRIST, NUKES? What kind of world are... More... (in POLITICS)
Turns out the Pentagon either proposed or implemented a program of "baiting" where insurgent-friendly items like detonator cords, explosives and the like are left lying around and snipers shoot random Iraqis who pick the objects up. Sporting! And in an... More... (in POLITICS)
Noted intellectual Douglas Rushkoff comes down squarely on the side of reason with a piece that explains that not only are 9/11 conspiracy theorists really reaching, they're also sapping vital dissent away from issues that matter. I have to agree... More... (in MAIN)
Macleans knocks one out of the park with a story on how Bush has in effect, become Saddam by turning to his old henchmen now that America has run out of options. This week's issue also has a great cover,... More... (in MAIN)
Well, that's certainly very reassuring.... More... (in POLITICS)
Naomi Klein, the author of "No Logo", has a new book out called "The Shock Doctrine" about how corporations take advantage of disasters for profit. In an interview with Salon she ties together Iraq, New Orleans post-Katrina, Sri Lanka after... More... (in MAIN)
Stephen Fry, one of the funniest men on the planet, now has a blog. Drop what you're doing immediately and read it.... More... (in MAIN)
The New York Times has a rather extensive article on the art of couch surfing as a form of international travel. With the advent of social networking, people are hopping cheaply from place to place and getting to know new... More... (in MAIN)
George Packer, who wrote the excellent Assassins Gate about the American occupation of Iraq has contributed an article to the current issue of the New Yorker examining just how the Americans are going to get out of Iraq, and what... More... (in POLITICS)
Concerned about piracy? So was the film industry...when Superman: The Movie was released. Youtube has a hard hitting investigation from 60 Minutes (part 1, part 2) on nefarious movie pirates and their newfangled video-taping instruments. (found on Boing Boing)... More... (in MEDIA)
Simply put, it could unleash a torrent of terrorism throughout the Middle East and in the United States. Iran, China and Russia could also form an "Axis of Oil" and cut off vital supplies to the US. Salon tells all.... More... (in POLITICS)
Despite Chris (the "Third Guy") being set upon by some sort of throat ailment, the RFS crew set forth and valiantly commentated on "The Family of Blood," the second part of Paul Cornell's season 3 magnum opus and a corking... More... (in INTERNET)
It's currently fashionable amongst the bookish set to compare America to Rome. After all, both empires ran the world, both choked on their own hubris, and both have had madmen at the helm of government. But Gerard Baker of the... More... (in POLITICS)
I've just finished a book called "The Long Emergency" by James Howard Kunstler (he also has a blog of sorts) about what happens to North American society once the oil runs out. It ain't pretty, to put it mildly. The... More... (in POLITICS)
Another report on how Bush is readying to go to war with Iran. The depths of this guy's ignorance is truly frightening.... More... (in MAIN)
Get Lamp is a documentary aimed squarely at the heart of aging Infocom addicts everywhere (ie. your beloved author.) Jason Scott, who previously released BBS: The Documentary, has traveled across North America interviewing many of the pioneers that brought you... More... (in MEDIA)
In a rather ballsy bit of writing, Joyce Wadler of the New York Times criticizes the "I remember when..." war story nature of everyone's 9/11 memories. She's got a point, in that a terrible day has become a cultural touchstone... More... (in MAIN)
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld both lend their thoughts to interviews in the is month's GQ, and what's interesting is that though Colin Powell apologizes for what he sees as lapses in... More... (in POLITICS)
A truly momentous milestone, as we celebrate our 50th episode of Radio Free Skaro with...well, nothing really. Nothing, that is, except a corking bit of episode-ery known as "Human Nature," one of the highlights of Season 3. Join Warren, Steven,... More... (in MAIN)
In the Nineties, music videos mirrored the rise of excess-oriented hip hop and swelled in cost to ridiculous proportions. Somewhere along the way MTV started running more reality shows than videos, hip-hop lost some of its potency, and kids stopped... More... (in MAIN)
Every empire has had to face an inevitable period of decline, and the United States is no different. An article in the LA Times details the choices the US has in front of it as it either adapts or fights... More... (in MAIN)
A long analysis in the New York Times confirms what everyone already knows..adding troops to the boiling cauldron of violence known as Iraq produced small short term gains, but nothing of real substance.... More... (in MAIN)
Rolling Stone has a huge expose on how private contractors cheated the taxpayer, risked the lives of soldiers, and made out like bandits after the invasion of Iraq.... More... (in MAIN)
An article in the Spectator points to recent a recent decree by the news director of Britain's Channel 5 to get rid of outmoded television news conventions like the "noddy", the practice of cutting back to a reporter nodding at... More... (in MAIN)
Osama Bin Laden has been sticking to audio pronouncements since the 2004 U.S. election, but apparently the sixth anniversary of 9/11 is grounds for a new video. From what little has been shown, he's dyed his beard and looks to... More... (in MAIN)
Last night I had a chance to finally meet Leo Laporte at a party at the Alibi Room commemorating 100 episodes of "The Lab with Leo" on TechTV Canada. I was a bit of a dilettante viewer in the glory... More... (in MAIN)
Surprise surprise, the Veep's efforts to expand executive power are even more egregious than previously thought.... More... (in MAIN)
So Apple revamped the entire iPod product line today, starting with the newly chunky (and video capable) Nano and ending with the very new, very sexy iPod Touch. The newest high-end iPod does nearly everything the iPhone does except make... More... (in GADGETRY)
Steven, Warren and the supremely jaunty Chris tackle 42, a madcap romp through a spaceship hurtling towards a dying sun, for this the 49th episode of Radio Free Skaro. We also tackle the recent announcement of a "gap year" for... More... (in MAIN)
Wired magazine has sent Noah Shachtman, their war blogger, off to Iraq for a feature on the new tactics and technologies being used in the war. Along the way, he's maintaining a diary/blog about reporting "in country", which can be... More... (in POLITICS)
The Economist goes deep inside Google HQ, and comes out covered in nerd.... More... (in MAIN)
Sounds like a horrible fate. I haven't listened to radio in years (unless you count NPR and CBC podcasts), and I don't intend to start.... More... (in MAIN)
The Times of London reports the Pentagon has drawn up a plan for a three day series of airstrikes designed to obliterate the Iranian military. Of course, coming up with such plans is par for the course for the Pentagon,... More... (in POLITICS)
Reporters Without Borders has put together a great map that shows not only the insane amount of internet connections spanning the globe but also the countries where internet access is rare, restricted just plain non-existent, referred to as "black holes."... More... (in INTERNET)
Even though media attention is lauded on the iPhone and the iPod, very little is made of the fact that Apple's computers, particularly laptops, are gaining more ground than any other manufacturer (and now run Windows, too.) Fortune points out... More... (in GADGETRY)
While India's middle class is experiencing a short-term boom, without social reform and a long hard look at entrenched cultural bottlenecks, India's future growth may be in doubt. Prospect Magazine has all the details.... More... (in POLITICS)
Radar online has a triple play of power-broking villainy, with a feature on America's frenemies, the most powerful people you've never heard of, and the degenerate ways of British lords. Good stuff.... More... (in POLITICS)
Canada's favorite political funsters, the Rhino Party, are back and causing trouble once again. This time they're led by ex-Vancouverite, Terminal City honcho and gadabout Brian Salmi, who is challenging a law which requires 50 candidates at a cost of... More... (in MAIN)
While all the attention is focused on emissions, high gas prices, climate change and wars over oil, coal is quietly retaking its former place as one of the dominant forms of energy production on the planet. And just like 200... More... (in MAIN)
If the pictures (and subsequent legal yanking) of the forthcoming "Fat Nano" are to be believed, Apple is set to introduce new iPods at a special media event on September 5th. Also rumoured is a touchscreen iPod, which would essentially... More... (in MAIN)
The Third Guy returns as Chris Burgess joins us once again for our take on "The Lazurus Experiment", a Seaon 3 time-filler redeemed by cool scorpion effects and the fact that it came right after a disastrous Dalek two-parter. We... More... (in MAIN)
I'd go further and say that, of late, video games have made better experiences than movies, full stop. But that's doubly true in the case of horror, since games can (and will) throw as much scariness at you as possible,... More... (in MAIN)
Vint Cerf, one of the inventors of the Internet, predicts television is about to hit its "iPod moment" and will soon be primarily downloaded for later viewing. I can personally attest to live TV taking a backseat to downloaded content... More... (in MAIN)
Six year after 9/11, the United States still hasn't found Osama Bin Laden or his deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri. The reasons for this quandary are manifold, and are detailed in an excellent article in Newsweek.... More... (in MAIN)
I stayed on Khao San Road, the legendary backpacker market/hotel strip/hippie magnet in 2001 when I traveled to Japan and Thailand on vacation. At the time it was filled with dread locked Germans and Australians, hucksters and lowball guest houses.... More... (in MAIN)
China's incredible growth spurt over the last decade has exacted a heavy price on the surrounding environment. Unfortunately, the will to improve things runs smack into the inability of the Communist Party to manage the situation properly.... More... (in POLITICS)
This should come to a shock to no-one, but the steady diet of news available online is weakening the power of the once mighty newspaper. I agree with the author of this Slate column, who says by the time he... More... (in MAIN)
When I was a child, myself and every sugar-addled lad I knew who was forbidden from playing with guns would improvise and create a Lego gun, and then run around the house "shooting" our siblings. Clearly, parental strictures irked the... More... (in GADGETRY)
The episode under fire in our commentary may be nothing to write home about, but this week's episode of Radio Free Skaro was indeed special in that it included Chris Burgess, our perennial silent partner and Fifth Beatle. Chris threw... More... (in MAIN)
Engadget pleads with Palm to get its act together and not release another series of phones that dropped out of a wormhole from 2001. I was a happy Handspring Visor owner (until I dropped it one sad day in the... More... (in GADGETRY)
No argument here on most of these....but what about Doctor Who? Huh? HUH? Plus the old Max Headroom opening was quite the bit of cyber-gold back in the day. Also, despite the cheesiness of the old Battlestar Galactica....that's still one... More... (in MAIN)
Noted atheist and biologist Richard Dawkins has a new show, "The Enemies of Reason," which aims to put the lie to the world of superstition and mysticism. Besides being a fine bit of documentary, it's also beautifully shot, presumably in... More... (in MAIN)
One of the cooler seminars at Barcamp Vancouver 2007 was John Beihler's rundown on the state of iPhone hacking. Besides explaining ways for Canadians to work around the fact that the phone isn't available here yet (within limits, you can't... More... (in MAIN)
...nerding it up. Lots of my A/V club brethren are here at Barcamp Vancouver 2007 giving talks and enlightening each other as to the mysteries of social media, Web 2.0, and assorted whatnot. More later.... More... (in INTERNET)
While America throws money down the drain trying to redraw the map of the Middle East and debates how many angels can dance on a stem cell (and why that stem cell was clearly created 6000 years ago), Asian countries... More... (in GADGETRY)
Esquire has an article up about "Idiot America," dealing with how the US has gone from a country that valued science and intellectual rigor to a place where people operate on "gut feeling" and dismiss anything involving reasoned thought as... More... (in POLITICS)
The Bush administration is trying to label the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as 'terrorists', which is a neat way of justifying possible military action. My money is on the summer 0f 2008 for a bit of the ol' bomby-bomby over Tehran,... More... (in POLITICS)
Warren and Steven tear into what was definitely the lowlight of the season, Daleks in Manhattan, which had all the potential for greatness but failed to live up to its promise every step of the way. At least it gave... More... (in MEDIA)
I'm firmly in the Dawkins camp, myself, but I found this story by a religion reporter (and former devout Christian) fascinating. It details how the ongoing sex scandal in the Catholic Church shook his beliefs to their core, and as... More... (in MEDIA)
Such a possibility is not as far off as you'd think, as noted thinker Gwynne Dyer explains in his latest article.... More... (in MAIN)
Even though Iraq is in a state of chaos, Global War on Terror (tm) supporters have always pointed to Afghanistan as an example of America's propensity for hands-off invading as a good thing. An article in the New York Times... More... (in POLITICS)
Well, laptop converted into a steam-driven information conveyance, at any rate. The Wall Street Journal (now a Lord Murdoch daguerreotype!) brings the goods in the form of a moving picture.... More... (in MAIN)
There was a time in my distant past when I was a Master Control Operator for several Canadian national broadcast networks. Despite the grandiose sounding title, it was thankless drudgework which consisted mostly of making sure "Caillou" kept broadcasting through... More... (in INTERNET)
Turns out that reality TV is great for a short-term boost, but in terms of long-term career growth, it's a bit of a non-starter.... More... (in MEDIA)
One of our favorites from Season Three goes under the microscope as Warren and Steven subject "Gridlock" to their witty, nay brilliant commentary. We also veered off into a few other topics off the top, including "Life on Mars" (which... More... (in MAIN)
While flipping around the dial last night, I came across what could quite possibly be the worst music video ever to be created. It's amazing not only that the five band members of Dragonforce each manage to outdouche one another... More... (in MEDIA)
...to which I say, "boo frickin' hoo." But judge for yourself if Silicon Valley's minted middle-class has it rough.... More... (in INTERNET)
Ever wondered how music gets out of the recording studio and into the hands of downloaders months ahead of an album's release? Here's how.... More... (in MEDIA)
Wil Wheaton was once despised by geekdom for playing Wesley Crusher. But what no-one knew at the time is that the guy is as much of a hardcore geek as the rest of us, as amply demonstrated by his sterling... More... (in MEDIA)
While I don't always agree with Noam Chomsky, he's a keen observer of the political machinations of the far right, and of the Bush administration in particular. In an interview with Alternet, Chomsky slams the Democrats, the Republicans, the lack... More... (in POLITICS)
John C. Dvorak, everyone's favorite former Mac-hating curmudgeon, is declaring the impending Web 2.0 crash the "worst yet." I can't say I disagree with him, though it seems the sums of money being flung around like so much monkey dung... More... (in INTERNET)
Beyond the never ending strife in the Palestinian Territories and the seething anarchy that is Iraq, there's a transformation going on in the Middle East. At least that's the contention of a series of articles in Newsweek, which examine how... More... (in POLITICS)
Warren and Steven wax lyrical as they watch the Shakespeare Code...which came across as quite entertaining when it was the second episode of a new and exciting season of Doctor Who, but after an epic season comes off as a... More... (in MEDIA)
Every once in a while, I miss working in local television. Then a watch a news segment of such mind-melting stupidity that I remember why I held the entire process in contempt much of the time. Seriously, Fox, "anonymous hacker... More... (in MEDIA)
There have been quite a few documentaries about Iraq in recent years, but No End In Sight is interesting in that it has appearances by a lot of the heavy hitters behind the war, including Richard Armitage, Colin Powell and... More... (in MEDIA)
Trailers from Hell is a site showcasing terrible old trailers for Z-grade movies, with commentary by Hollywood luminaries like Joe Dante and John Landis. The trailers are terrible, the commentary is informative and funny, and that's that. (courtesy of Boing... More... (in MEDIA)
I've been a William Gibson fan since Neuromancer blew my mind nearly two decades ago. Gibson's latest book, Spook Country, is a futuristic romp set in the weird, hyperactive world of 2006. Amazon interviewed Gibson at length (part one, part... More... (in MEDIA)
With no new Who on the horizon for a good long while, we've decided to integrate our regular podcastian ramblings with some rather jaunty (and as usual, rabidly off-topic) commentary to go with each episode from Series 3, starting with... More... (in MEDIA)
Dick Cheney has taken the lame-duck post of Vice President and made himself into at the very least a "co-president," if not the actual, secret President. Chilling stuff, courtesy of the Guardian.... More... (in POLITICS)
It's entirely likely George W. Bush is going to leave Iraq to his successors, primarily because to do otherwise would be to admit he was wrong to invade in the first place. The Boston Globe examines what the world will... More... (in POLITICS)
I put together another video, this time of DJ Andy Daniels (of HedKandi fame) at Opus Bar in Yaletown. For my next video, I'd like to do something more documentary-ish, so any suggestions are welcome. Meantime, enjoy.... More... (in MEDIA)
I have mixed but mostly favorable feelings about living downtown (ie. it has a few problems, but compared to living in the 'burbs it's paradise) but I do appreciate a fine, vitriol filled rant, and this one from local blog... More... (in MAIN)
Quite possibly, at least in the realm of newspapers, where advertising revenue is plummeting and operating costs are rising. Businessweek points to the San Francisco Chronicle as a possible candidate for ending its print run and moving entirely online. And... More... (in MEDIA)
Well, that's a debatable point, as a lot of net.tv is just someone talking with a bluescreen background, which reminds me more of the glory years of cable TV (which I am somewhat familiar with, having worked at an Edmonton... More... (in MEDIA)
I'd wager that's an almost impossible (hypothetical) state of affairs, but sci-fi author Charlie Stross gives it his best shot.... More... (in INTERNET)
Peter Galbraith, former U.S.. diplomat and son of economic genius John Kenneth Galbraith, has written a long and well thought out essay on why the war in Iraq is over (hint: it involves the US losing.) His dad, who essentially... More... (in POLITICS)
Loopy, out of date and simply inappropriate album covers are the gift that keeps on giving. Now there's a blog devoted solely to said albums, and the madness (NSFW) is simply hypnotizing.... More... (in MAIN)
With precious little in the way of new Dr. Who to chew over, Warren and Steven seize upon the fortuitously named episode #42 of this fine podcast to genuflect on Douglas Adams, not only in regards to the Hitchhiker's Guide... More... (in MEDIA)
Form Alternet, admittedly a pretty lefty source, here's one journalist's account of a cruise ship jaunt courtesy of the National Review. The outrageous nonsense neocons spew when they don't think the "reality-based" community is listening has to be heard to... More... (in POLITICS)
We can't do the podcast tonight, but rest assured we haven't forgotten about you, dear listeners. We plan to get some Douglas Adams/Who talk going tomorrow night, but bear with us.... More... (in MEDIA)
The Wall Street Journal takes some time out from heavy tycoon coverage to remind us that blogs are now 10 years old. For some reason they ask the likes of geriatric wordsmith Tom Wolfe what he thinks about blogs, but... More... (in MEDIA)
In what must come as a complete surprise to most of the literate public, it turns out the Saudis aren't exactly innocents when it comes to foreign fighters mixing it up with American troops. But when you're addicted to oil,... More... (in POLITICS)
Ah, sweet justice. When I read that Lord Black (clearly one of the Sith) had been declared guilty of mail fraud and obstruction I immediately thought of the scene at the end of Goodfellas where the cop dips his hand... More... (in POLITICS)
Yes, Mr. Kotter is back and he's flogging a new book of shenanigan-laden emails he's taunted people with over the past few years. The best part about this interview is that Kaplan really seems to have his head screwed on... More... (in MEDIA)
While I would have preferred a guided tour of the ancient Web 0.5 via Wang Laboritories, this video from DEC brings back a rush of memories of surfing the web on my old Pentium 90 chugging along using Windows 95.... More... (in INTERNET)
Oh, that's some sweet Sith scratchin'.... More... (in MEDIA)
Result: Metaverse. I 'm not entirely sure Second Life is the coming of the long-vaunted 3-d Internet universe science fiction writers scribbled about in the 80's and 90's, but it is an interesting proof of concept to see the real... More... (in INTERNET)
You bet your ass they are. The National Post breaks down how Rogers, the Canadian wireless service most likely to carry the iPhone, gouges the living hell out of their customers with outrageous data rates. Not that the other carriers... More... (in GADGETRY)
Against my better judgement, I bought into the Hollywood hype machine and saw Transformers tonight. I was never a fan of the cartoon, so I wasn't walking into the film with a bunch of nerdy demands and false hopes for... More... (in MEDIA)
Possibly the most important document of our time.... More... (in MEDIA)
I'm still not entirely convinced there needs to be a fourth Indiana Jones movie, but the fact that Speilberg won't be using CG, and will instead opt for an old-school approach, is music to my soul. The kids may not... More... (in MEDIA)
What's a yotel? It's kind of a cross between a Japanese capsule hotel and a boutique room, shrunk down. It looks like it's about the same size as the place stayed in when I was in New York a couple... More... (in MAIN)
One of the most interesting aspects of Steven and I's foray into podcasting is the emergence of fans of our show, Radio Free Skaro. I've been in the "real" media in one form or another for a few years now,... More... (in MEDIA)
George W. Bush likes to compare himself to Harry S Truman, which is both untrue and an insult to Truman's memory. The late, great David Halberstam wrote a fine article in this month's Vanity Fair which shows just how out... More... (in POLITICS)
Now there's a title you don't see every day. It seems Hamas was using a ripoff version of Mickey Mouse called Farfour to explain to children how cool it is to be a suicide bomber. Farfour was recently killed off... More... (in MEDIA)
Our mortal enemy the echo once again victimized us, at least for the first half of the podcast. But it was either re-record everything (not an option at this late hour, and our schedule won't allow another time to record... More... (in MEDIA)
Steven and I rambled on jauntily about "The Last of the Time Lords," but our old enemy the echo returned and ruined the sound quality of the podcast. We're regrouping and doing it again tomorrow night, but we apologize for... More... (in MEDIA)
Noted egghead Freeman Dyson postulates in the New York Review of Books on how the personalization of computers in the last thirty years is analogous of what 's in store for us when biotechnology ramps up in decades to come.... More... (in MAIN)
John Gruber of Daring Fireball raves about it, as does Kottke. Here's a Flickr stream of first-day photos. And me? Well, I have nothing to add, and neither does the rest of Canada, because we can't get our hands on... More... (in GADGETRY)
THe CBC has a lot going for it, including first rate news, great cutural programming and a radio network that can't be beat. BUt where they continually fall flat on their faces is their misguided attempt to win over the... More... (in MEDIA)
Fast Company seems to think so. Valleywag thinks otherwise. All I know is that his computer can't be cheap.... More... (in POLITICS)
The drums! Glimpses of Gallifrey, the Master at his hammy finest, a Prime Minister gone mad and a wizened Doctor...the Sound of Drums was a chaotic grab bag of fun. And so was this podcast, as Steven and Warren ramble... More... (in MEDIA)
Hurry up and die already, record industry, because I'm getting a little sick and tired of the post-mortems rehashing all the dumb moves and self-preservational tactics you've been using over the past half-decade, rather than changing your business model and... More... (in MEDIA)
John C. Dvorak (who gets no spam, by the way) is sick and tired of all the iPhone hype. Can't say I blame the guy, though since Canada is deprived of the vaunted "Jesus Phone," the hype here has been... More... (in GADGETRY)
As promised, here's the video I whipped up for the Microsoft Expressions event. You can watch it on this page, or on my blip.tv page. Click To Play... More... (in MEDIA)
New York mayor and noted billionaire Mike Bloomberg recently announced his shift to "Independent" status, a move widely seen as mere preparation for a run at the White House. I'm not overly familiar with the guy's policies, but at first... More... (in POLITICS)
I got invited to a Microsoft event last Thursday introducing Microsoft Expression to Vancouver's tech community. Though I'm a big tech-head, I was there more because of my blogging and PR background, and I was also able to suggest a... More... (in INTERNET)
Dick Cheney is the most powerful vice-president in the history of the United States. But while that's a platitude often mouthed in the media with no real follow-up, the Washington Post goes one better and begun a four part series... More... (in POLITICS)
The first picture of and old and grizzled Indiana Jones has surfaced on the internets, courtesy of some unknown photographer named Steven Speilberg, who will probably shuffle back into obscurity after ths lucky break in an otherwise unnotable career. Anyways,... More... (in MEDIA)
The hype machine is kicking (even further) into gear, as Apple posts a guided tour of the iPhone and teases all of Canada in the process with what we want, but can't (thanks to our retarded telcos) have.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Not anytime soon, according to the Globe and Mail. Can't say I'm surprised, and with current Canadian data plans, the phone would be cripplingly expensive to use at its full potential anyway, but...somewhat disappointing regardless.... More... (in GADGETRY)
The title says it all....the latest episode of Doctor Who was indeed blissful. Fast pacing, incredible character moments, a stellar performance by David Tennant...and the return of the Master. Words fail us.....or rather, they don't, for about 46 minutes and... More... (in MEDIA)
In an article that will either be held up as prophetic or mocked for years to come (such is the power of the iPhone), New York magazine examines Steve Jobs influence on business and culture and leans towards "he may... More... (in GADGETRY)
Good Copy, Bad Copy is a Danish documentary about the copyright wars, and you can watch it online or download it, all for free. Neat. As an aside, I've found that with the rise of video podcasts, I'm watching less... More... (in MEDIA)
The NYT dives into the world of hidden, tiny Tokyo nightclubs in a piece that I'm sure experts on Japan (I'm looking at you, Cam) will shred to bits. I've been to Tokyo twice and I can't say I've ever... More... (in MAIN)
Superman+action figures+sarcasm = comedy gold.... More... (in MEDIA)
Matt Taibbi, who usually contributes to Rolling Stone, explains (while slumming in Adbusters) why the American Left can't get its act together. It boils down to the fact that many liberals are in fact part of the elite, and so... More... (in POLITICS)
At least, that's one of the many observations of noted free-speech iconoclast Cory Doctorow in an article in Information Week that covers the copyright wars, intellectual property squabbles, and how DRM and litigation-happy entertainment companies are holding back the U.S.... More... (in INTERNET)
Warren and Steven praise the thrills, chils, and statuary of Blink, the "Doctor Lite" episode that aired over the weekend across the pond. We also genuflect about the excellent episode of Dr Who Confidential that followed it, directed by and... More... (in MEDIA)
...the media, pop culture, and himself, for sinking so low as to write about Hilton in the first place. Good stuff.... More... (in MEDIA)
Tod Maffin, blogger, CBC technologist and radio guy extraordinaire, has a new online TV show called Todbits.tv, where he gives out live tech advice, in addition to profiling movers and shakers in the Canadian technology scene. What I really like... More... (in INTERNET)
We're delaying this week's and next week's podcasts by a day to make room on Steven's schedule for some non-Who related business (shocking!) on Mondays. But rest assured, loyal fan base, the two jaunty fellows will be in fine form... More... (in MEDIA)
By Jove, this contraption makes me want to re-invade the Crimea. If you want to fashion your own steampunk computer from brass and wood, here's how. And if steampunk is something of general interest to your personage, here's a fine... More... (in GADGETRY)
In a world where buildings get smashed by airplanes piloted by Islamic fundamentalists and the most powerful man in the world claims to have personal conversations with God, it's not surprising that the public is giving atheism a second look.... More... (in POLITICS)
Apple's World Wide Developer's Conference, coming up this week, is usually a showcase not only for the latest OS X innovations but also a few hardware surprises. Any predictions for what's in store for us when Uncle Steve takes the... More... (in GADGETRY)
Jim Munroe, the brains behind No Media Kings, collaborated with a bunch of filmmakers to create Infest Wisely, a series of ten minute shorts that combine into a feature. He's releasing the shorts week by week, on the web as... More... (in MEDIA)
L.A. Times reporter Megan Stack went undercover (literally) to describe what life is like for women in Saudi Arabia, where the sexes are segregated and women are second-class citizens. Interesting stuff.... More... (in POLITICS)
Warren and Steven are back to heap unrestrained praise (or, in Steven's case, somewhat reserved praise) on "The Family of Blood", the concluding episode of the two-part Doctor Who saga that began with last week's Human Nature", which in itself... More... (in MEDIA)
China's newly ravenous hunger for oil means the country is forging closer ties to the Middle East. BusinessWeek breaks down China's "Axis of Oil."... More... (in POLITICS)
Due to both of the hosts feeling a little under the weather, we postponed recording the show by a day. But if all goes according to plan, we'll convene via Skype tonight and discuss matters pertaining to the Family of... More... (in MEDIA)
Which, really, is as it should be. Computers don't order expensive booze in high-end restaurants while loudly making asses of themselves, nor do they show up on the cover of Forbes smoking cigars and looking smug. But in all seriousness,... More... (in INTERNET)
Fareed Zakaria knocks one out of the park with a long article in Newsweek about the global and American political landscape after 2008. Get readin'.... More... (in POLITICS)
Palm, the company that pioneered PDAs and then languished for years before sort of coming back with the Treo, seems to want to plant one foot firmly back into the grave. The company has just announced the Foleo, a quasi-laptop... More... (in GADGETRY)
At least according to Time Out - New York, they should. Obviously the piece is aimed at New Yorkers, but a quick glance down whatever the trendy and youth-oriented street of your city happens to be will reveal much the... More... (in MAIN)
I'm certainly not the first person to reflect on the fact that 30 years after the fateful day of May 25, 1977, Star Wars is still a cultural force to be reckoned with. I won't bore you with the same... More... (in MEDIA)
One of the best episodes of the new season and indeed the series, Human Nature is the subject of this week's podcast. Steven and Warren discuss the episode for a solid 30 minutes, and only rarely descend into their trademark... More... (in MEDIA)
Jim Cramer is best known for "Mad Money", a chaotic screamfest where he answers viewer questions about stocks in as boisterous and crazy a way as possible. With all the yelling, Cramer's (self-proclaimed) message of doing your research and buying... More... (in MEDIA)
This cartoon pretty much says it all.... More... (in MEDIA)
This is pretty much the sweetest Mac rig I've ever seen. Three 30 inch monitors, side by side? Me wantee.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Robert X. Cringley can sometimes prognosticate in ways that make you think he's gone off his meds, but his latest column on the company that'll take over from Google as Lord of the Internet is a good solid read. His... More... (in INTERNET)
Surely I can't be the only ink-stained wretch reading my blog. Here's a list of resources for those of a writerly bent in Vancouver.... More... (in MEDIA)
Having only recently seen the Big Apple for myself, I couldn't tell you why NY folk look fondly back at crack epidemics and financial crises. But this article in the New York Observer might explain the fascination with Old, Bad... More... (in MAIN)
The Guardian reports that Iran is planning a summer offensive within Iraq by allying itself with pretty much anyone it can, including Al-Queda, to get American forces out of Iraq. While this news has the whiff of yellowcake, it wouldn't... More... (in POLITICS)
A very good question, once I've asked numerous times in downtown Vancouver, which appears to be full of the rich and indolent. But things aren't always what they seem, as this article from the San Francisco Chronicle on the "daytime... More... (in MAIN)
After a week of meandering discussion to fill time, we're back with an actual episode to ponder and pontificate about, and so we banter back on forth about 42, Doctor Who's stab at a sorta-kinda real-time episode. We also branch... More... (in MEDIA)
Dunno why I find the continued examination of the media of "Will he or won't he" Al Gore fascinating, but I do. The New York Times has another profile on Mr. Gore and his environmental crusade.... More... (in POLITICS)
Zipping through my RSS feed revealed this little gem about a student in Tokyo who got to help out with a couple of music video shoots. Neat stuff.... More... (in MEDIA)
William Langewiesche, the author of American Ground (a great book about the clean-up at the World Trade Center site) is back with the Atomic Bazaar, a new book about the shift of nuclear weapons technology from monolithic superstates to non-state... More... (in POLITICS)
For a guy who professes to be out of politics, Al Gore is getting a lot of media attention. Time devotes a few pages to Gore's environmental crusade, as well as pointing to the growing chorus of Gore's friends and... More... (in POLITICS)
Technology Review asked some designers to list off what they regard as iconic pieces of gear. There's some nice vintage and new stuff here, enough to make gadgeteers and designers alike drool with appreciation.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Noted lefties The Nation have an interesting article up about "semiwarriors", the caste of politicos who will do anything in the name of national security, including bending the Constitution to suit their aims, sacrificing civil liberties and keeping the country... More... (in POLITICS)
With no episode to comment on, we've decided to devote this episode to random blather, mumblesuch and fanwankery. Our first couple of takes were felled by the Internet gods, but we managed to squeak out a half hour of conjecture... More... (in MEDIA)
Gulp. Looks like the tried and true method of getting a foot in the door in journalism, working a small town beat for peanuts, is in danger of being outsourced to India. A Pasadena website covering local politics is hiring... More... (in MEDIA)
The Times rates Tony Blair's decade in power. To no-one's surprise, a bunch of substantial achievements are overshadowed by the Iraq disaster.... More... (in POLITICS)
Apple's ace in the hole has always been design. With a few notable exceptions (like the Dirty Hippie iMac) even Apple's crappier products have at least looked good and held industrial and interface diesgn to a higher standard than their... More... (in GADGETRY)
While Spiderman 3 has taken a bit of a drubbing from reviewers, it can be best summed up as "OK with glimmers of cool." The weird thing is that the cool bits generally have very little to do with the... More... (in MEDIA)
NYT film critic Manohla Dargis pretty much sums up my feelings on the Hollywood blockbuster. Yeah, the vast majority of big event films are stupid, loud, and a waste of time, as this summer's slate of drivel proves. But the... More... (in MEDIA)
Dr. Who returns to the tried and true with a nice little monster romp involving fountains of youth, genetic tomfoolery and a bit of the ultraviolence. Not to mention a corker of a trailer for the second half of the... More... (in MEDIA)
I'm not as militant as some of my friends when it comes to cycling in the Lower Mainland, but this screed in the Vancouver Province attacking cycling to work is just plain wrong. Though I haven't biked to work in... More... (in MAIN)
Pretty much everyone is distancing themselves from Bush and his cabal, including Republicans, because of the neverending disaster in Iraq. But George Tenet is making a big show of new-found oppostion to the war, which is interesting given his intelligence... More... (in MAIN)
For thelast week, I've been battling my own stupidity and Network Solutions protocols about renewing web domains.I'm not going into the details and jinxing things until everything is fixed later in the week, but I'd like to apologize to my... More... (in MAIN)
Time details what life is like in the Green Zone, the semi-secure bubble of unreality smack in the heart of Baghdad housing both the Iraqi parliament and American contractors and administrators.... More... (in POLITICS)
While I'm loathe to taunt the nation that created the greatest television show ever made, this list from Radar Online of Britain's transgressions and foibles is nothing if not amusing.... More... (in MAIN)
Looks like all my tortured metaphors linking ex-Sony chief Ken Kutaragi and the War on Terror have finally borne fruit. The madman behind the Playstation 3 is moving on, presumably because his console/Foreman grill isn't selling so well. 1up.com recaps... More... (in GADGETRY)
The Guardian breaks how the Bush administration has already established (intentionally or not) a blueprint for dictatorship. Chilling stuff. And in a first, I got this link from Tolchok, someone who follows my Twitter feed.... More... (in POLITICS)
Not much to report.....we spent the majority of our day shopping and wandering around the lower part of Midtown (around Macy's, etc). A brief exploration of Bloomingdales revealed that we couldn't afford (and really didn't want) anything in the store.... More... (in MAIN)
An article in the New York Times (which I picked up in dead-tree form with coffee this morning, an experience New Yorkers regard as normal and mundane but I regard as print-nerd awesome) explains that the reason American Idol is... More... (in MEDIA)
Our forays into New York continued with a visit to the World Trade Centre site on Monday. While it was weird to look up and try to imagine the twin towers in an expanse of what is now blue sky,... More... (in MAIN)
So our hotel room looks out on an alleyway, and we get no outside light. After collapsing in a heap the night before, we woke up at 10 a.m. convinced it was 5 a.m. That was one of the more... More... (in MAIN)
after a bunch of airport boredom and a decent but long flight, touched down at JFK late last night, proceeded to check into our tiny hotel room, and wandered down the block to Times Square. I was surprised that I... More... (in MAIN)
Ypu've got to admire the pluck of a bunch of Army geeks who just want to take a break from IEDs, civil war and the rest of the misery in Iraq and get their 20-sided-dice antics on.... More... (in MAIN)
So, not to trample on anyone's religion or anything, but it boggles the mind that the Catholic Church debates things like whether or not unbaptized babies end up in limbo or go to heaven. You'd think with child-molesting priests and... More... (in POLITICS)
One of my favorite parts of the TWIT podcast is John C. Dvorak, the crankasaurus who injects a needed dose of realism and "yeah, right" into the proceedings whenever people get a little too utopian about the future of the... More... (in INTERNET)
If Final Fight's wrasslin' mayor isn't just the thing we need to lead the free world in these troubled times, I'll eat my hat. Destructoid leads the charge.... More... (in POLITICS)
Blogging gave everyone with access to a computer the chance to express their opinion. Some people chose to use this newfound power to record every mundane detail of their lives in excruciating detail. With the rise of online video, this... More... (in INTERNET)
Warren and Steven are back and waxing lyrical on the brilliance that is "Gridlock", an episode that had every appearance of being a throwaway bit of fluff but instead turned into a slam-bang roller coaster ride, with one of the... More... (in MEDIA)
In a word...don't. But if you're insane and crave the adrenaline rush only jihadis and a nicely bubbling civil war can provide, here's some travel tips from one of the Lonely Planet founders, along with a tale of karaoke night... More... (in MAIN)
"The Moustache of Undertanding" is known for wildy mixed metaphors, lots of corporate name-dropping and a propensity for handwaving not seen since the heyday of Wired Magazine. Despite all that, he usually makes some very good points about the society... More... (in POLITICS)
I don't put much stock in Rolling Stone's prognostications on music, but I have to give them credit for some fine political reporting over the last few years (and decades, because we don't want to forget Hunter S. Thompson.) Their... More... (in POLITICS)
George W. Bush is such a terrible, incompetent leader that even people you'd normally never expect to oppose him think he's the worst thing to happen to the U.S. in a long, long time. Lee Iacocca, not known as a... More... (in POLITICS)
Dunno how much stock I put in this deathbed confession by noted villain E Howard Hunt, though I've always felt there was a little more to the Kennedy assassination than we've actually been told. Of course, Hunt could have been... More... (in POLITICS)
After getting beaten soundly by the Internet gods on both episode 29 and the first take of episode 30 of Radio Free Skaro, we finally had a bit of luck and were able to get a decent(ish) sounding recording out... More... (in MEDIA)
As noted previously, the dreaded VOIP echo ruined the recording of RFS #30 on Monday. I'm considering going back to the original method of recording within the Gizmo Project. It may not sound great, but it'll do as a stopgap... More... (in MEDIA)
With the advent of the Internet, the number of slacker tastemakers at the local artsy video store who sneer at your choice of rental is rapidly shrinking. The net isn't the only factor to blame; the article I linked to... More... (in INTERNET)
Just like the title says. And why not examine the decline of Microsoft, while we're at it?... More... (in INTERNET)
Our last two podcasts have been cursed with a mysterious echo, making them unlistenable. I suspect it's something to do with bandwidth, as there's no echo on my end and Steven's voice comes in quietly at first and then a... More... (in MEDIA)
When I saw Reservoir Dogs back in 1992, I became an instant fan of then up-and-coming writer/director Quentin Tarantino. Pulp Fiction solidified the former video clerk and motormouth as a force to be watched in American film. But his star... More... (in MEDIA)
Turns out it's all science and psychology, just at a larger, more monied and highly visible scale. They get away with bad behaviour because, for the most part, we let them get away with it.... More... (in MEDIA)
Africa is undergoing an oil boom, but like most things on that continent, it's not terribly regulated and its making a few people very rich and keeping the rest on the sidelines.The Americans are also trying to diversify and reduce... More... (in POLITICS)
For the first time in the history of the podcast (other than the Runaway Bride), we've got a new episode of honest to goodness Doctor Who to talk about. Smith and Jones, the first episode in Who's third season, premiered... More... (in MEDIA)
So yesterday we changed the graphics around a little to reflect the fact that this website occasionally gets mixed up with the town of Freyburg in Germany. Don't worry, loyal readers, all will be back to normal soon. But please,... More... (in MAIN)
The Burg is an online sitcom centred around Williamsburg, New York's hipper-than-thou Brooklyn neighbourhood. What little I've seen of the show is "ehhh..." at best, but it is interesting that people are attempting to duplicate TV on the web. That... More... (in INTERNET)
Welcome to the new house of Freyburg, city of Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, the FATHER OF GYMNASTICS. We finally accomplished, our English place of assembly however please our German place of assembly, if you liked to read the original place of... More... (in MAIN)
In the town of Jahn FREYBURG (Saxonia-Anhalt) took place the 80th anniversary of the traditional "Jahn Memorial". Gymnasts of all age groups from 15 to hundred years were active at the apparatusses. The guests came from 19 German country federations,... More... (in MAIN)
...and getting mighty excited. Anywhere in particular (other than the obvious tourist spots) we should check out during the week we're there?... More... (in MAIN)
Grand Theft Auto (trailer for the fourth game in the series due for release in a few short hours, btw) is by any measure a gaming success story, melding sandbox design, controversial subject matter and edgy marketing into a package... More... (in MEDIA)
Recently I've been taxing my brain with what subject I'd tackle for a video podcast. Unlike audio, I'm tied to a location (in this case, Vancouver, unless it's a studio-bound news show) and time constraints, because video takes longer to... More... (in MEDIA)
We end our retrospective with the denouement of Eccleston's TARDIS tenure, and wax lyrical on the highlights (Father's Day, Boom Town, Parting of the Ways) and lowlights (Bad Wolf...maybe?), as well as covering a bit of news, the building tension... More... (in MAIN)
As a guy who worked for years in TV and who has no time for film traditionalists, in addition to having an unhealthy love for computers, I know which dog I back in this fight. Filmmaker magazine details where the... More... (in MAIN)
Sony's Playstation 3 roll-out has been one bad decision after another, from Ken Kutaragi announcing people will work extra hard to ge the console to poor sales to, well, this abomination of a commerical from Europe. (I'd embed the video,... More... (in GADGETRY)
Bruce Sterling, cyberpunk emeritus and all-around smart guy, has a video up on Youtube introducing Belgrade's many buildings. Sterling is one of the best thinkers out there about the Internet, which is the very system that allows him to live... More... (in INTERNET)
I got in the habit of ignoring Google Video when it was announced a while back, but lately the place has become a goldmine for documentaries. Apparently I'm not the only person who noticed this, since this fine website has... More... (in MEDIA)
From the BBC vaults and the good graces of Youtube comes a documentary about the crafty Delia Derbyshire and how she created one of the finest themes ever to appear on television. Second, of course, only to this one.... More... (in MEDIA)
After a week's delay due to illness on the part of both myself and Steven, we're back in fighting form with the first part of a retrospective of Christopher Eccleston's lone season as the good Doctor. His reign was the... More... (in MEDIA)
A big part of being a word-class city is measuring your cosmopolitan genitalia against other world-class cities. So it goes with New York, which is currently feeling the heat from London, where plenty of financial services are moving to and... More... (in MAIN)
Carbon credits are all the rage amongst the environmentally conscious, but this column in Time.com points out that while carbon credits might be well meaning, they're essentially a way for liberals to assuage their guilt while still just firing as... More... (in MAIN)
As we've discussed previously, going to the movie theatre ain't what it used to be. But that's true not only for the patrons of the cinema but the people distributing films. Turns out that straight to video, which is usually... More... (in MEDIA)
300 has been hyped up since the first images from the film hit the net about a year ago. It also cleared about $70 million in its first weekend, and it's from Zack Snyder, who did a pretty credible remake... More... (in MEDIA)
Rolling Stone gathered up a panel of experts to pontificate on what will happen in Iraq and the surrounding region once the U.S> (inevitably) withdraws. The verdict? Nothing good, that's for sure.... More... (in POLITICS)
Yes, your beloved hosts have been simultaneously felled by the flu (Steven) and some viral infection (Warren). Steven's too weak to reach for his headphones, and I sound like I've been gargling motor oil, so we'll have to wait a... More... (in MAIN)
Daily KOS is usually chock full of rantiness from the American left that I can't say is all that pleasant to read. But a recent post connecting the death of historian Arthur Schlesinger and the short span back to the... More... (in POLITICS)
As part of the lead-up to Grindhouse, the new Rodriguez/Tarantino flick due out soon, the SXSW festival recently held a contest to see who could come up with the best fake, grindhouse-style trailer. Of the three winners, Hobo with a... More... (in MAIN)
Russell T. Davies is the driving force behind the new Doctor Who, due to hit British television screens (and the beloved torrent-o-sphere) at the end of the month. The Telegraph has an interesting look at RTD's thoughts on making the... More... (in MAIN)
Yes, everyone's favorite bearded madman turns 50 this year. His birthday privileges should have been cut off, oh, I dunno, October 2001? But instead Al Queda's been humming along since 9/11, expanding into Iraq and throughout the Middle East. Macleans... More... (in POLITICS)
Frontline has an ambitious series of programs (which you can watch online) all about how the news industry is changing. The program covers everything from the current poor reputation of the mainstream media to the way the internet changes the... More... (in MAIN)
It was inevitable that we would have to cover the ill-fated (and not very good) Doctor Who TV movie from the mid '90's, but Steven and Warren plunged forward with remarkable aplomb and even cheeky jauntiness as we examined the... More... (in MEDIA)
Well, maybe not quite that extreme, but according to the Wall Street Journal, Sony madman Ken Kutaragi is a loose cannon as well as a liability for the (once) esteemed brand. Most of the article focuses on the struggles of... More... (in GADGETRY)
Go through the trouble of Salon's day pass hooha to read this guide to the current state of the Iraqi insurgency (or insurgencies, really.) One of the best points in the article points to the fact that people are more... More... (in MAIN)
A highly educated and experienced group of commanders in Iraq are working around the clock to bring reconciliation between the various factions in Iraq, according to an article in the Guardian. If they don't succeed, they fear they'll be looking... More... (in MAIN)
One of the cool things about Children of Men, besides it being the best film of the year and an amazing showcase of cinematography and editing, is the profusion of ads and background video that convey the texture of a... More... (in MAIN)
No, not the iTunes top 20. The podcast simply got into iTunes, which for some unknown reason didn't happen the last time i submitted it. Hopefully this will mean a few more listeners, as the bulk of the podcast-listening audience... More... (in MEDIA)
My erstwhile co-host Steven will disagree with me, but I think Sylvester McCoy's era was the low ebb of the classic series before it triumpantly retuned decades later. Join us as we argue, cajole, and fail to convince each other... More... (in MEDIA)
Movies, once lauded as the dominant art form of the twentieth century, are being usurped by all manner of other media. It's not that the movies are any worse than they were (or better, for that matter), they just aren't... More... (in MAIN)
Afghanistan's favorite sons are back, and their leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, might be leading the charge. Newsweek has an interesting article about how the Taliban is getting ready for a big springtime assault andriding high on a wave of newfound... More... (in MAIN)
The New York Times is covering the Oscars via a blog called "The Carpetbagger," and the pre-event article pretty much sums up my thoughts on taking pictures of celebrities at big entertainment spectacles and awards ceremonies. I've only done the... More... (in MEDIA)
Headline says it all. In other news, not so much of a deluge on the blogging front. Good conference, though.... More... (in MAIN)
I have my doubts about the movie, since at 15 minutes the TV show is pushing it with the funny, but this poster is pretty much the greatest tribute to over-the-top, narcissistic Boris Vallejo style artwork ever. EVER.... More... (in MAIN)
I'm at the Northern Voice blogging conference at UBC, taking pictures for my Metro column and generally nerding it up. I'll probably post a lot today, as I did for the first conference back in 2005.... More... (in MEDIA)
Thishas been floating around the internet for a couple of days, but I'm pretty sure my core nerd readership can appreciate a video of a bunch of drunken frat boys involving stabbings, the Force, lightsabers and stormtroopers. Simply lovely.... More... (in MAIN)
And in other news, the sky is blue. Mother Jones (lefty bias, but a good article nonetheless) lays out the multi-pronged, global disaster created by the Iraq War.... More... (in MAIN)
It's no secret that I'm a big Alan Moore fan. The genius artist behind the Watchmen and the League of the Extraordinary Gentlemen was recently interviewed by Resonance FM, and covered topics as diverse as print vs. film, magic, and... More... (in MAIN)
Other than the Iraq War, that is, which is a pretty damning bit of evidence of Rummy's pigheaded incompetence. Biographer Roger Morris rips Rumsfeld to shreds in a long article detailing his rise to power.... More... (in POLITICS)
Colin Baker's era goes under the microscope, with Steven and Warren pontificating on the highlights and lowlights of his time in the blue box. Also notable is the fact that I set up a new way of recording the podcast,... More... (in MEDIA)
This is a video of what really goes on in Iraq on a daily basis, and how media coverage is sanitized, particularly in the United States. Even though we hear about suicide bombings, shootings, and the like on a daily... More... (in MEDIA)
The Bush administration has recently been making reference to "the Quds," Iran's elite fighting force/espionage unit, and their dalliances in Iraq. But who are these mysterious fellows? An article in the LA Times sheds some light on the matter.... More... (in POLITICS)
Half Life 2: Episode 2 (along with Team Fortress 2 and Portal) isn't due to arrive until Fall 2007 at the earliest (episodic content my ass, Valve! Oh, how can I stay mad at you.....) but in the meantime here's... More... (in MEDIA)
Our retro-rama continues with Peter Davison's era. It may have started with a whimper (Castrovalva) but it ended with a certifiable masterpiece (Caves of Androzani). Magnificent! An hour and more of ranting by Steven and Warren, further proving we really... More... (in MEDIA)
I never thought I'd see the day that the story of Pirate Bay would grace the pages of Vanity Fair, but a multi-page profile has proven otherwise. The article not only goes into what goes on behind the scenes at... More... (in MEDIA)
A few months ago, a "legal valet" firm called Hardcore Superstar made a splash in the local media as a hip, edgy place to...uh, hire some lawyers. They even got a great looking fashion photoshoot done, courtesy of Vancouver fashion... More... (in MEDIA)
Ah, Pirate Bay, your insolence never fails to both amuse and inspire me. The latest salvo across the bow from the people who tried to buy Sealand is a site called Oscartorrents.com, which aims to compile torrents of every movie... More... (in MEDIA)
The United States, bogged down as it is in Iraq, can't (or at least, won't) face off with Iran militarily. But they will conduct what amounts to a second cold war with the closest thing to a superpower in the... More... (in POLITICS)
Yahoo introduced (and were promptly swamped into dysfunction by) their new "Pipes" service yesterday. Near as I can tell, the idea behind Pipes is to take RSS feeds, tags and the like and mash them together in new and interesting... More... (in INTERNET)
Cintra Wilson is one of my favorite pop culture writers. She has an acidic tongue and a fascination/repulsion for the twisted zoo that is Hollywood that expresses itself in gloriously wordy bile. "A Massive Swelling," her first book, is one... More... (in MEDIA)
Not that this comes as a shock to anyone, but the once vaunted Sundance film festival, originally created as an alternative to Hollywood's commerical grist mill, has slouched towards corporate whoredom of late. Celebrities, gift bags, and safe but cheap... More... (in MEDIA)
The second half of our Tom Baker retrospective clocks in at over an hour and a bit of jaunty ramblings about The Scarf's (like how I invented that new nickname for him? Clever....) further adventures in the Vortex. It took... More... (in MEDIA)
It should come as no surprise to anyone that funds destined to reconstruct Iraq somehow got diverted into the pockets of unscrupulous Americans and Iraqis. The Guardian lays out the details of one of the biggest financial scandals of all... More... (in POLITICS)
So last month I snagged freyburg.tv, mostly to keep some link-farmer from getting it before I did, but also out of some half-formed wish to get more video on this site. Myself and Cam have been throwing various ideas back... More... (in MEDIA)
Just when you think the world can't possibly get any weirder, an astronaut love triangle almost ends in murder. This is the kind of plot drunken screenwriters would cobble together to out-stupid each other. Except that it's all true.... More... (in MEDIA)
Enough with the blog politics, what the world needs badly is more really terrible Star Wars costumes. Beckstar is on the case.... More... (in MEDIA)
Robert Scoble seems to have hit minute 13 of his Warholian journey from exalted blogger to scorned shill. After being praised (rightly) as an independent voice from within Microsoft, Scoble moved on to the Podtech network, a company producing for-profit... More... (in MEDIA)
As if Telly Savalas crooning through some bizzare brown filter wasn't weird enough, an aggressively panhandling Chewbacca was arrested in Hollywood today for decidedly un-Wookie like behaviour. The best part of the report by the local news team is that... More... (in MEDIA)
I'm not exactly sure what Kojak is trying to accomplish here, but it seems to involve a lot of skanky women and lounging about. Ah, the Seventies...I'd be nostalgic but I was busy playing with Lego and watching Sesame Street.... More... (in MEDIA)
It remains to be seen whether or not they'll actually pull this off, but supposedly Vancouver is going to get a city-wide wireless network up and running, presumably before the Vancouver Olympics. I'm sure how far out it'll extend, but... More... (in INTERNET)
You'd think banging the war drum, then seeing the whole mess unravel and make mincemeat of your prognostications would be a bit of a career-ender for the American pundit class. But that, ear reader, is where you'd be wrong. Radar... More... (in POLITICS)
Part the first of our retrospective on the Tom Baker years, and we wax lyrical on the early seasons of his tenure. Genesis of the Daleks! Pyramids of Mars! Deadly Assassin! Talons of Weng-Chiang! Wall to wall brilliance, I tells... More... (in MEDIA)
Hmmm....incredibly rich, graphically intense mythical virtual world, or flying penises, anti-social weirdos and annoying land-baron avatars? I think I know which one I favor, but Valleywag is featuring an article by Clay Shirky about how game worlds inevitably beat non-game... More... (in INTERNET)
The Chinese stock market used to be a backwater of corrupt companies bilking investors. It's not 100 percent yet but apparently that doesn't matter to a new generation of would-be moguls, who are busily inflating the bubble. Oh, this is... More... (in MAIN)
The convergence of online political wonkery, video, and stupid website names has finally come together in bloggingheads.tv, a site where political pundits debate on a video conference, record it, and offer it to the rest of the world. Since these... More... (in INTERNET)
Our media portrays the Middle East as a volatile, dangerous place, and there's no doubt there's a grain of truth to that, particularly Lebanon and the bloodbath known as Baghdad. But what we don't see is a resurgence in tourism... More... (in MEDIA)
Our retrospective on Doctor Number Three, Jon Pertwee, rings in at an astounding 53-odd minutes of jib-jabber on his tenure. And what an era it was! By far the most suave cat ever to pilot the TARDIS, we pay tribute... More... (in MEDIA)
12 easy steps to shilling a craptacular that's destined to hit video store shelves.... More... (in MEDIA)
Andre the Giant, whose physique actually lived up to his stage name, was diagnosed early on with a growth hormone condition that would dramatically shorten his life. He did what any sane, enormous man with a death sentence would do...consumed... More... (in MAIN)
Rogers, the only GSM provider in Canada, has vaguely hinted at the fact that it'll carry the iPhone in Canada, according to Engadget. They haven't said when, nor have they announced any price cuts in their outrageous data plans ($200... More... (in GADGETRY)
Not everyone is going nuts over the sexy as hell iPhone (although clearly I am.) An article in Computerworld details how announcing the phone so early, and not addressing various features, may actually hurt Apple. Personally, I think Apple's on... More... (in GADGETRY)
Celebrities, living lives of ease, luxury, and quite often chemically enhanced euphoria, will sometimes hit a brick wall where their body says "whoa, stuff comes OUT of your nose, no more of that thank you, famous person" and promptly check... More... (in MEDIA)
In the second of our retrospective series (also entitled "killing time before Season 3 begins"), we look back at the Patrick Troughton era, with the usual digressions and trenchant bon mot for which we have become notorious. (feed, web, direct... More... (in INTERNET)
I've never really watched Ze Frank's video podcast, but apparently it's got a rabid following on the internets. So much so, in fact, that Hollywood's come knocking at his door. I'm more interested in the fact that a video podcast... More... (in INTERNET)
While usually my Metro duties consist of taking pictures at parties and various other fashionable events around town, I had a chance to nerd it up recently and cover the launch of the World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade expansion on... More... (in INTERNET)
In what can only be called an explosion of coolness, Neal Stephenson's "The Diamond Age" is going to be made into a mini-series by the Sci-Fi network, with George Clooney acting as executive producer. Previous mini-series from Sci-fi include Dune,... More... (in MEDIA)
A report in the Guardian details how the Bush administration is setting up aircraft carriers, cruise missiles, and other military hardware for a possible widening of the war, aimed squarely at Iran. Because with Iraq running so smoothly, the White... More... (in POLITICS)
John Draper, aka Cap'n Crunch, is known primarily as one of the best phone phreaks to ever jerk around Ma Bell as well as one of the pioneers of Silicon Valley. But he's fallen on hard times, as the Wall... More... (in INTERNET)
Hollywood has a long tradition of abandoning really good movies to the marketplace while promoting crap like A Night at the Museum (which has been #1 at the box office for a few weeks). It seems Children of Men, which... More... (in MEDIA)
The fight in Iraq is less about the Americans, apparently, and more about the Sunnis (in collusion and sometimes conflict with Al Queda elements) versus the Shia. The Guardian has the goods on a very, very messy conflict.... More... (in POLITICS)
Makes more sense than you'd immediately think. iTunes can handle PDF files, but until now I've only seen that feature implemented with a couple of podcasts from music magazines where they include the actual magazine as a file. Reading a... More... (in INTERNET)
It would appear so. Apple's new Apple TV product is essentially a front end allowing you to view music, movies and whatnot downloaded from the iTunes Store. But Microsoft already lets users download HD movies and tv shows onto their... More... (in MEDIA)
In what can only be described as an act of of unspeakable cheekiness, leading torrent site The Pirate Bay is looking to buy Sealand, a disused oil platform that doubles as a micronation. If they actually pull this off, I'll... More... (in POLITICS)
In what looks like a cross between an academic paper and a titanic piece of nerd-think, one lone geek has figured out how Episodes I-III change the dynamics of what's going on in Episodes IV-VI. It almost hurts my brain... More... (in MEDIA)
With sod all on the horizon in the way of new Who (or spinoffs) for the next couple of months, Steven and I have decided to cast our jaundiced eyes way back to the distant past, and we're examining one... More... (in MEDIA)
Not a bad idea.... More... (in MAIN)
Eminent smart guy Bruce Sterling puts out a "state of the world" (in glorious ASCII) on the Well, one of the net's oldest gathering places, every year. It's always a good read, and this year is no exception. And I'd... More... (in MEDIA)
So the United States will be getting the iPhone in June...but Canada, as usual, is left in the dark as to when this fine beast will grace our shores. Mezzoblue has some thoughts on the matter. I think the presence... More... (in MEDIA)
Oh, this baby looks pretty sweet. Apple took a look at the current cell-phone market, said "feh", and introduced this sexy little number today at Macworld. Nobody's done any hands-on with it yet, but the fact that it's an iPod,... More... (in GADGETRY)
China has always relied on strong central rule, whether through dynatic rule or communism, to keep a lid on a huge population in a sprawling land-mass. But now that China is changing into a free-market economy, the centre is crumbling.... More... (in POLITICS)
A taste of the future.... More... (in MEDIA)
Sometimes a little pointless screwing around on the net pays off. I don't normally use Google Video, but I came across a video link to Steve Wozniak discussing his new book, and followed it to the Authors@Google playlist. The search... More... (in INTERNET)
Surprisingly, it has less to do with TV interviews and more with meeting the people and portraying himself as a guy fighting the good fight against the big bad Americans. It's also less of a Stalinist state than a feudal... More... (in POLITICS)
It was a banner day for Doctor Who spinoffs on the first rotation of the Earth 'round the sun of 2007, with the Torchwood finale and the first episode of the Sarah Jane Adventures hitting English shores (and, shortly thereafter,... More... (in MEDIA)
The BBC has a delightful little segment that highlights what celebrities say about science and health, versus the so-called "truth" and "facts" as expoused by "scientists." Foolish eggheads! These people appear on television (a scientific innovation) pretending to be someone... More... (in MEDIA)
In a word....crappy. David Denby of the New Yorker examines the challenges facing a business that's still running on last century's fumes.... More... (in MEDIA)
What better way to start the new year than revisiting some cool-ass opening credits? Some good 'uns here, especially Casino and Seven. I'm surprised so many more recent films are covered though, as Saul Bass was making cool opening credit... More... (in MEDIA)
Looks like someone present at Saddam's execution had a cameraphone on hand, and he recorded the whole thing. (It's not all that graphic, surprisingly.) I uploaded the video to Youtube, though I'd bet they pull it soon. The fact that... More... (in POLITICS)
After making life difficult for three different presidents, Saddam Hussein is no more. But to me, the hanging of Iraq's strongman seems almost anti-climactic, like a show that finally gets cancelled year after it's started going downhill. I'm not sure... More... (in POLITICS)
The drought is over, with not only a new episode of Torchwood but the long-awaited Dr. Who Christmas special gracing the screens of Britain and the computer monitors of the Internet. We also discuss upcoming shows like the Torchwood finale... More... (in MEDIA)
Given the recent pipeline explosion in Nigeria that took over 200 lives, maybe it's time to take a look at just what's going on in Africa vis a vis your gas tank. It turns out the recent explosion was due... More... (in POLITICS)
The Americans should worry far less about whether or not Iran eventually gets the bomb, and far more about the slowly creeping influence of Tehran on both Iraq, where some Iranians were recently arrested stirring up trouble, and Afghanistan, where... More... (in POLITICS)
Canadian bad ideas, at any rate, courtesy of Macleans.... More... (in POLITICS)
Ever wonder what Wall Street's current crop of moneyed champions are blowing their obscenely large bonuses? Well, yeah, me neither, but here's a sampling of the Ferrari and multi-million dollar condo purchases of this generation's Gordon Geckos, courtesy of the... More... (in POLITICS)
President Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower was, up until recently, regarded as a sort of proto-Reagan, a conservative leader who spent a lot of time during a prosperous decade golfing and keeping things running smoothly. But with the rise of the neocons,... More... (in POLITICS)
The Wall Street Journal lays down some smack on the ailing, sucky, and generally broken media. Yum.... More... (in MEDIA)
Ok, time for some trailer-y goodness to keep you all entertained at the airport while you fly back home to wherever for the holidays. First up, the new trailer for 300, a movie about a handful of Spartans (300 of... More... (in MEDIA)
In what is either the penultimate or last Radio Free Skaro of 2006, steven and Warren review the two most recent episodes of Torchwood, then delve into some new clips from the Runaway Bride that have recently surfaced. We also... More... (in INTERNET)
Today is the tenth anniversary of scientist and author Carl Sagan's death, and his son Nick Sagan is holding a blog-a-thon so the Internet can reflect on his life and career. When I was about 10 years old, I read... More... (in MAIN)
Time gathered several authors of recent books about the war in Iraq (recurring theme: unmitigated disaster) and had them hash out their thoughts on the Mess O' Potemia in a roundtable. Interesting stuff.... More... (in MEDIA)
I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff, but here's a compilation of some of the worst album covers of all time. My personal favorite? Colonel Sanders' Tijuana Picnic.... More... (in MEDIA)
Nothing much to this post, I just wanted to share that phrase, uttered by a friend at my birthday party last night. "Can I google the internet?" Heh.... More... (in MAIN)
Gawker, the masters of New York snark, have compiled a list of cliched blog tropes that have outstayed their welcome and should be purged from the lexicon immediately. I agree with most of their choices, though I hold a special... More... (in INTERNET)
Bruce Sterling, noted author and big thinker, has a thoughtful piece about the end of futurism for his last column in Wired Magazine. He points out that the Internet isn't the utopian panacea it's made out to be, or the... More... (in INTERNET)
We've found with these Torchwood episodes that we get a better show if we review two at a time. There's also a bit of a dearth of news from the world of Who, but in a few short weeks that'll... More... (in MEDIA)
Dan Gillmor, the pioneering journalist who pulled up stakes and moved onto the net before just anyone else, is predicting the end of the photojournalist and videographer as a profession. His argument is that in an age of digital cameras... More... (in INTERNET)
It dawned on me today that it's been five years since I was unceremoniously shunted from the halls of Movie Central. Those who know me know the details that followed, both good and bad. But the larger point is that... More... (in MEDIA)
I can't argue with any of these choices, and the runners-up are pretty cool too. The V for Vendetta poster is one of my personal faves, and I'd say the film itself is probably on my top five from last... More... (in MEDIA)
Sorry for being a little slack in the posting over the weekend. Partly I was busy, partly uninspired to write anything, and partly thinking about the future direction of the site. I think the links I put up are worth... More... (in INTERNET)
Not a big surprise, but the neocons who rode 9/11 and a wave of patriotism into the quagmire of a pointless war in Iraq are now backpedaling on the fiasco they created. Bravo, scumbags.... More... (in POLITICS)
Dunno why it takes an entire book to say "we're screwed", but here it is.... More... (in POLITICS)
In what was surely the last time Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was ever considered "cool" ("neato" is more apt for one of the patron saints of nerd culture), His Wozness can be seen shilling a sweet Datsun 280Z, circa 1981.... More... (in MEDIA)
...and their entertainingly bizzare behavior.... More... (in MEDIA)
ah, the 1980s. While many of my thirtysomething peers seem unable to escape the cold, nostalgic embrace of this odd decade (especially when it comes to the era's terrible music), I've always cast a jaundiced eye on that, strange time.... More... (in MEDIA)
Delayed, but inevitable, Radio Free Skaro #14 is out and causing trouble as only a nerdy podcast about Doctor Who can. In this episode, we discuss the two latest episodes of Torchwood, the depths of madness we sank to in... More... (in INTERNET)
The Daily Telegraph has an article detailing how Saudi Arabia and Iran are backing the respective Sunni and Shia sects in Iraq, in preparation for an eventual American pull-out. Mission accomplished, indeed.... More... (in POLITICS)
I've been a little uninspired this weekend on the posting front, but to cover my tracks, here's a list of the best blogs of the year, at least according to Fimoculous, some other blog I've never read before. :)... More... (in INTERNET)
One of the best things about Gears of War, other than the carnage, great looking scenery, and neat gameplay is a top-notch soundtrack. Video game music has gotten as good if not better than movie soundtracks over the years (say... More... (in GADGETRY)
For a guy who professes not to be ready to run for President again, Al Gore sure is getting a lot of press for a movie released a while back. Anyway, there's a good interview with the former Veep at... More... (in POLITICS)
Real life gets in the way again, and it looks like we won't be able to sit down and record the next Radio Free Skaro until at least the weekend. And to be honest, we've only got one Torchwood episode... More... (in MEDIA)
Normally I try to avoid harangue-filled Vancouver-bashing, since I think it's a generally pointless spectator sport and because there's good and bad to any place. (ex: Edmonton..cold as hell, people generally friendlier. Crowsnest Pass..middle of nowhere, boring, but natural scenery... More... (in MAIN)
Newsweek has an extensive profile of Moqtada Al-Sadr, who went from being the oft-dismissed son of a prominent Shiite imam to one of the most powerful men in the post-war Iraq. It's an interesting read, and it shows just how... More... (in POLITICS)
The architect of the end of the Vietnam War, Nixon confidante, Studio 54 frequenter, possible war criminal and backhanded adviser to Bush about Iraq speaks with a reporter from New York Magazine about his current activities and his legacy. Worth... More... (in POLITICS)
Nintendo used to be the king of the heap in the console wars, but they've long since been supplanted by Sony and Microsoft. But while the two electronics giants duke it out amongst the hardcore gamers, Nintendo has been cleverly... More... (in GADGETRY)
According to a review in the Chicago Sun-Times, Microsoft's iPod rival, the Zune, is total junk. I'm a big Apple fan, and a die-hard iPod fan, but I think people are giving the Zune short shrift. I'm sure it's a... More... (in GADGETRY)
I'm sort of torn after reading this screed about the terrible effects of television on the nation's psyche. Nothing the author says is off-base about the bad effects television (and other media) have on families, communities and the body politic.... More... (in MEDIA)
We broke the one hour mark on the latest podcast, what with our review of the Children in Need concert, the latest Torchwood episode, and extended notstalgic reminisences of Who gone by, and our many and varied experiences growing up... More... (in INTERNET)
As high definition screens get cheaper and computers get faster, yesterday's whiz-bang blockbuster effects are today and tomorrow's "meh." Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing maestro and sci-fi author, says the only hope for science fiction films, traditionally the most top-heavy in... More... (in MEDIA)
The new episode of Radio Free Skaro will be up soon, but I just wanted to warn everyone this one might take a little longer than most. For one, it's probably going to be our longest one yet, since I'm... More... (in MEDIA)
...but that won't stop Bush, Cheney and Co. from throwing out perfectly good intel from the CIA and going on....uh, moonbeams and unicorn wishes? Seymour Hersh knocks another one out of the park in the current New Yorker.... More... (in MEDIA)
Sound far-fetched? Not according to the New Scientist. There's a new drug called modafinil that is part stimulant and part sleep-banisher. The American military has been working on ways to keep their pilots in the air and combat-ready for 3... More... (in MAIN)
If there's one thing the Internet is good for (other than the twin pleasures of pornography and piracy) it's snarky lists cutting down the rich and famous. The always-excellent Film Threat smacks around Hollywood's predilection for nonsense with their 2006... More... (in MEDIA)
Countries like Angola, which America and others have written off as unreformable, are finding a new patron in China, a country with few qualms about human rights and an insatiable need for African oil. China is pouring money into development... More... (in POLITICS)
I personally don't get the consumer frenzy that is the release of the PS3. It's an overpriced, ugly, hulking beast of a console released by a company staffed entirely by madmen. Though, to be fair, I own multiple Apple products,... More... (in GADGETRY)
New Scientist polled many an egghead to cobble together a forecast of the next 50 years of science. Check it out here.... More... (in MAIN)
Almost a decade ago, I went to work for Movie Central (known at the time as Superchannel) as a master control operator. For the next five years i toiled in the salt mines of television, hating almost every aspect of... More... (in MEDIA)
Now that Bush 43 has made a complete hash of, well, the world, it looks like Bush 41 and his team of not-so-crazy-conservatives might be back to bail the prodigal son out of the mess he's gotten himself into. Newsweek's... More... (in POLITICS)
After a couple of false starts and some flaky VOIP, Radio Free Skaro #12 is out in the wild. We discuss "Small Worlds," easily the best Torchwood yet, introduce our news theme (the Torchwood theme, heh...) and....wander off-topic as usual.... More... (in MAIN)
Against all logic and reason, Entertainment Weekly tracked down someone who hasn't seen any of the Star Wars films, old or new, and subjected him to them in narrative order. The results? Wacky!... More... (in MAIN)
We had some technical weirdness with this one, and then we sorta ran out of steam near the end, due to tiredness and a lack of hard Dr. Who news. Plus we had to start it twice over thanks to... More... (in MEDIA)
For all the caterwauling about citizen journalism and vlogging, it looks like one old media saw continues to be true: If you're a cute female and you can talk into a camera reasonably well, you're pretty much set (provided you're... More... (in MAIN)
After a long hard slog, Arabic news powerhouse Al Jazeera is launching an English network, going head to head with CNN and Fox News. The article in the Media section of the Guardian is a good read, though I had... More... (in MEDIA)
The NYT magazine profiles several funny folk who are using YouTube to do an end-run around Hollywood and reach an audience on their own terms. More power to 'em, I sez.... More... (in INTERNET)
The Democrats are already talking about a "phased withdrawl" of troops from Iraq, but that won't stop the carnage unfolding in the country. Particularly in Baghdad, where the morgues are working overtime to deal with all the dead bodies.... More... (in POLITICS)
Valve, I love you and I want to have your babies, but you're taking this whole "episodic gaming" concept into once-a-year territory, and it ain't right to play with a brotha like that.... More... (in MEDIA)
Reason magazine has an article detailing why poor countries not only stay poor, but get worse off as the rest of the world gets better. Their conclusion? Governments robbing their own citizens blind are the cause of many an African... More... (in POLITICS)
That's the feeling of editorial cartoonist and columnist Ted Rall, who opines in a column for Yahoo titled "Our Long National Nightmare has just Begun" that the Bush administration might go off the rails and turn America into a police... More... (in POLITICS)
Our 11th episode, a review of "Cyber-Woman," the unimaginatively named but nonetheless quite decent episode of Torchwood featuring a sexy cyberlady smashing things and generally causing strife and havoc. We also once again veer wildly off course, discussing my night... More... (in INTERNET)
After losing the House in 1994, and then the White House in 2000 (barely, and not entirely legally), the democrats have been flailing around, rudderless and unable to best the Republican machine. 9/11 and the Iraq war didn't help much... More... (in POLITICS)
An amusing woodcut of the "bloggers" of medieval times.... More... (in INTERNET)
I believe the term is "poetic justice." Though it's not like the neocon penchant for empire-building is any less crazy, just because Bush wasn't competent enough to be their stooge.... More... (in POLITICS)
The NYT Magazine has an interesting story about Ahmad Chalabi, one of the Iraqi exiles who pushed the US into the war in Iraq by feeding them false information. Over in Afghanistan, the war that started this whole mess, the... More... (in MEDIA)
The Army Times, a publication for the US military and their families, is calling for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Only a few days before the mid-term elections, no less. I'm not all that well versed in... More... (in POLITICS)
And here's his thoughts on older ladies and their subtle charms.... More... (in MAIN)
I have the distinction of having seen this cinematic offal in the theatre, though purely for "hah hah isn't this terrible oh how ironically I laugh at it" reasons. I probably couldn't sit through the D&D movie again, and I... More... (in MEDIA)
One of the things I've found on my (rather limited) travels away from Canada is that my fellow ex-pats, while not all bad, are certainly a unique bunch. Something about being outside their native country, particularly for a long term... More... (in MEDIA)
Episode 10 is up, and we discuss "Ghost Machine," the latest episode of Torchwood, which features not only a star of the old series masterpiece "The Caves of Androzani," but also a nearly unrecognizable Gareth Thomas from Blake's 7. We... More... (in MEDIA)
Superbowl ads are the event of the year for the advertising industry. It's a chance for top agencies to show off their best work, and the cost of both producing the spots and getting them on the air can be... More... (in MEDIA)
Well, maybe not. But they do have ways of finding out just where the latest torrents flying around the Internet came from. Here's a breakdown, along with a few tips on how to avoid getting your door busted open by... More... (in MEDIA)
The Fountain is Pi and Requiem for a Dream creator Darren Aronofksy's experimental sci-fi magnum opus, due to hit theaters later this month. It's a story spanning a millennium, dealing with the past, present and future, and all without any... More... (in MEDIA)
According to Fortune, Sony has to knock the PS3 launch out of the park in order to hang on to its already tenuous position in the consumer electronics marketplace. How they'll do that with a marginally better box than the... More... (in GADGETRY)
Vanity Fair has an article by William Langewiesche (who wrote the excellent "American Ground") all about the conditions that led an otherwise normal group of American soldiers to kill 24 Iraqi civilians in cold blood. And a current snapshot of... More... (in POLITICS)
I've been alternatively busy and not impressed with the link-fodder on the Net these last few days, but when I saw a link to Industrial Light and Magic's Halloween Party pictures, I felt I had to share. P.S. I applied... More... (in MEDIA)
Macleans, Canada's pipsqueak Time-equivalent, boggles the mind with a column on how the Internet is a waste of time and that we should have been pursuing more worthwhile avenues of invention. Well, bollocks to that, I say. Just because some... More... (in MEDIA)
Conventional wisdom says that once the rich get too uppity and overprivileged, the poor cast off their chains and get their riot on. While that's somewhat true, most real revolutions are stage managed by disaffected members of the elite (the... More... (in POLITICS)
That's the opinion of Vancouver's City Council, which has just released a survey on various hazards around and about Vancouver, including (laughably) cyclists not wearing a helmet. While I think it's dumb to get on your bike without head protection,... More... (in POLITICS)
And...we're back! Or rather, we never left, but we've got a semi-new theme song, new album art, and most importantly, a new show to talk about! Steven and I delve into the mystery that is Torchwood episodes 1 and 2,... More... (in MEDIA)
Seems like the Americans aren't the only ones getting their best info from sarcastic funnymen There's a show in Iraq called "Hurry Up, He's Dead," starring a crazy Bootsy Collins looking fella who spouts off about everything from the Occupation... More... (in MEDIA)
Spiegel, Germany's top-drawer magazine (think "Time" with more bratwurst, and you've sorta got the idea) has an article about how America's days as a superpower are close to numbered. It's an interesting perspective from outside the traditionally insular Americna media,... More... (in POLITICS)
Torchwood, the raunchy and violent Doctor Who spin-off, premiered yesterday in England and shortly thereafter made its HD-ripped goodness felt on the internets, to the joy of many nerds. We'll be doing the Radio Free Skaro podcast tomorrow night, and... More... (in MEDIA)
With the advent of Monday morning comes not only the slow trudge back to the cubicle but also a bunch o' neat tehcno-doodads to start your week. Engadget features some new routers that, paired with a networked storage drive, allow... More... (in INTERNET)
The BBC and the Guardian teamed up to produce a short film about the daily lives of the 101st Airborne in Iraq, and their trails and tribulations trying to train an Iraqi army to eventually take over for them. Worth... More... (in POLITICS)
The Guardian is chock full of goodness this morning, including a story about Bush finally admitting the war in Iraq isn't going so well. The fact that Moqtada Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army just took over a city would be a pretty... More... (in POLITICS)
What should have been a one-hit phenomenon riding the coat-tails of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" has somehow been a 25-year, polka infused joyride for "Weird" Al Yankovic. Let's all tip our hat to one of the geek patron saints, shall we?... More... (in MEDIA)
Keith Olbermann knocks another one out of the park with an editorial about the new Military Commissions Act, which will let the President of the United States arrest people without warrants, hold them indefinitely, and basically rape the Constitution. I... More... (in POLITICS)
Ok, I'm no Bush apologist. Frankly, I think the guy is no better than Nixon, and may even be worse. The uber-liberals at the Huffington Post think otherwise, and claim he's one of the worst leaders in world history. Uh.....Hitler,... More... (in POLITICS)
Just letting everyone know I now have a Technorati Profile set up. I want to get some more readers for this here blog contraption, and I'm investigating various avenues for a wider presence on the Internet. Getting a bit of... More... (in INTERNET)
Robert Cringely seems to think so. He's made some wacky predictions and observations before, but this time i think he's probably on the money. There's presumably enough people clicking banners and Adsense ads for Youtube to be at least breaking... More... (in MAIN)
And the long-awaited (heh) part 2 of Radio Free Skaro #8, in which we chronicle "Doomsday," the climactic final episode of the second season, is now up on the Internets. Next week we'll wait a couple more days than usual... More... (in INTERNET)
Jeff Jarvis over at Buzz Machine has a post up about how journalists are breaking away from working in traditional setups at newspapers, and becoming more of a "journalist as brand." His thoughts are a more well-formed version of some... More... (in MEDIA)
World of Warcraft is an addictive game. There's so much to do, so much to see, and such a clever reward system built into the game that it can become all-consuming. Myself and the better half aren't there yet, but... More... (in INTERNET)
A little over a year ago, Colbert was merely one of the highlights of the Daily Show. Now his over-the-top, right-wing persona is tearing up the internets, insulting President Bush, and generally throwing a comedic wrench into the political process.... More... (in MEDIA)
Some would argue that Internet based video has always been stupid, what with the Chinese guys singing Backstreet Boys tunes, funny animal videos, etc. But it's sunk to a new low with Diddy (or Puff Daddy, or Dork Face, or... More... (in INTERNET)
In a sign the coyright wars have gone from merely stupid to downright brain-damaged, now there's a push on to copyright recipes. So, in theory, would I have to pay royalties every time I made a steak a certain way,... More... (in MAIN)
A few years ago, Bush referred to Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an "axis of evil." Besides being a ridiculously oversimplified view of the world, it looks like the Axis has gained the upper hand. Iraq is a mess,... More... (in POLITICS)
Since I'm in Edmonton for the weekend, Steven and I got together and did two "live" podcasts, commentaries for Army of Ghosts and Doomsday. The first one is up already (web, feed, direct download), and I'm going to release the... More... (in INTERNET)
I'm going to go off my usual subjects of politics, computers and nerdery to highlight the fact that Audreys Books, THE independent bookstore in Edmonton and my employer on more than one occassion, is celebrating its 50th anniversary, starting with... More... (in MAIN)
With all the page-leching tomfoolery going on in Washington, the Repubicans ae starting to lose the support of their base, evangelical Christians. Leaving aside whatever issues I have with religion in general and homophobic fundamentalists in particular, if you claim... More... (in POLITICS)
Well, maybe it ain't THAT funny, but it's certainly a rollicking bit of hilarity, with mad tangents and stream of consciousness nonsense throughout the whole thing. Check the (rather lengthy) gravy at the Smoking Gun.... More... (in MEDIA)
A growing trend, at least according to the NYT, is the "secret room," a generally small space devoted to work or play that a few homeowners are cobbling together in their otherwise normal suburban tracts. Anybody who read comics or... More... (in MAIN)
The brains behind Kazaa and Skype are setting their sights on the ever-growing video sharing space, currently dominated by YouTube and rapidly populating with a plethora of other companies. Not a big deal, right? Well, I'd be inclined to agree,... More... (in MEDIA)
Really, I can't.... More... (in POLITICS)
Steven and I get down to the crappier episodes of Season 2 of Dr. Who, with some slapping about of Love and Monsters (which I maintain ain't that bad) and Fear Her (terrible!) We also examine bad episodes from the... More... (in INTERNET)
Matt Taibbi, a Rolling Stone columnist, has a brilliant piece of writing ripping the 9/11 conspiracry theorists to shreds for their lack of a cohseive theory as to why the Bush Administration would possibly want to engineer 9/11 (the big... More... (in MEDIA)
CNBC used to be the network of choice for day traders and other get-rich-quick types trying to become financial moguls from their den or spare room. When the dot.com bubble collapsed back in 2000-2001, CNBC's ratings took a nose dive.... More... (in MEDIA)
A&E and Bravo used to cover the arts, but they've both (along with TLC and Discovery Channel) opted for cheaper reality fare in the last few years. But in the age of YouTube, everyone's a network, at least according to... More... (in INTERNET)
Yes and no, according to Slate. While there's a lot of overpaying and media frenzy surrounding social networks like Myspace and Facebook, not to mention a return to brainbending math by analysts to prove that these companies ae worth soemthing,... More... (in INTERNET)
Turns out Wired is still good for something. While leafing through this month's dead-tree edition, I spotted an article about Shooting War, an excellent webcomic that reminds me of the also-nifty "The Spiders," a long defunct, similarly political webcomic from... More... (in MEDIA)
Michael Kinsley, ex of both print and Slate, thinks while the physical newspaper may be on the way out, the brand will remain and may even thrive. I'd agree with that; the NYT and the Guardian are my first stops... More... (in MEDIA)
The Nation has a deeply disturbing piece about how recent troop deployments in the Persian Gulf may signal a bombing run on Iran's nuclear facilities, all part of an "October Surprise" by the villainous Karl Rove. Check it out.... More... (in POLITICS)
The Vancouverite is a local blog that takes Vancouver newspapers, politicians and various others to task on a daily basis, for sins real or imagined. I've now been highlighted twice for Social Eyes, my column in Metro Vancouver. For those... More... (in MEDIA)
I'm sure that comes as a complete surprise, given the left-leaning, socialist slant of the Wall Street Journal, but the opinion page of that esteemed rag says Chomsky should have stuck to linguistics. Not sure I agree, though I would... More... (in MEDIA)
So Revision3, an Internet video production company, had a big re-launch party last night, touting their newly funded venture into creating a IPTV network of shows, and, presumably, a revamped website. I say presumably because even though the new and... More... (in MEDIA)
Yes, Steven and I managed to juggle our schedules and get RDS Numero Six out the door tonight. Much gushing about the Impossible Planet and Satan pit two-parter, some kvetching about DVD vendors and their lack of Who respect, and... More... (in MEDIA)
In a smackdown that can only be described as poetry, MSNBC anchor Oberman praises Bill Clinton for not putting up with any crap from Fox News and calling them on thei nonsense when asked about his pre-9/11 vigilance in chasing... More... (in POLITICS)
CBC writer Stephen Cole takes the DJ behind the "Beachles" mash-up of Sgt. Pepper's and Pet Sounds to task for, well, kinda screwing up two great albums. He goes on to praise other mash-ups, and it's a pretty even handed... More... (in INTERNET)
Great, just what the world needs...more Karl Roves. MSNBC has a profile of some of the junior villains nestled under Rove's poison-quilled wing.... More... (in POLITICS)
Sorry, true believers, due to real life getting in the way, RFS #6 will have to wait until around Tuesday. But it will be a good one, as we'll be discussing the Impossible Planet and the Satan Pit, which are... More... (in MEDIA)
And in other news, the sky is blue. But it's interesting that this report is composed from across the board, a classified document involving all the major U.S. intelligence agencies. The report also includes that America is actually less safe... More... (in POLITICS)
Just a quick note to let you all know that Radio Free Skaro is scheduled for production this Sunday, so you crazy fans (you're out there somewhere, 40 of you, according to the stats) won't have to wait too much... More... (in INTERNET)
Sony put on a keynote at the Tokyo Game Show, hosted by madman extraordinaire Ken Kutaragi, and, if the wags at Joystiq are to be believed, it was a complete shambles. People kept themselves entertained by cracking open their Nintendo... More... (in GADGETRY)
So if you've ever wanted to play a first person shooter from the Islamic terrorist point of view, and honestly, who hasn't, then you'll be pleased to know the long awaited "Night of Bush Capturing," a jihadi FPS, has just... More... (in GADGETRY)
...while waving around a book by Noam Chomsky, no less! Gold! Not quite Kruschev slapping his shoe on the table, but some fine diplomatic comedy nonetheless.... More... (in POLITICS)
Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, is an incredibly rich, relatively open city that probably gives Osama the willies with its Westernized, anything for a buck decadence. It isn't quite the desert fairyland it's made out to be, according to... More... (in POLITICS)
These lists are ultimately a space-filler used by magazines to provoke argument and distract people from the fact that some interview fell through. And by no means do I agree with any list that calls Sgt. Peppers one of the... More... (in MEDIA)
There was a time not so long ago when the United States opposed incursions into the Middle East. Witness the 1956 collusion between Israel, Britain and France to retake the Suez Canal. Then President Eisenhower went ape when he found... More... (in POLITICS)
An article in the Washington Post gives details of how during the selection process of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the entity in charge of Iraq from 2003 to 2004, loyalty to the Bush administration counted for far more than any... More... (in POLITICS)
The New Yorker is the stage for a debate between journalists Seymour Hersh, John Lee Anderson and George Packer as to what, if any progress has been made in five years of supposed terrah-fightin'. It's not a reassuring read, but... More... (in POLITICS)
PC World has a summary of the crappiest sites on the net, past and present. Some fine invective, and I completely agree with their choice for first place.... More... (in INTERNET)
As part of Participatory Culture's "sheeps" week, where the online video organization releases a tool, rant or bit of advice every day, Nicholas Reville has written an essay about the future of online video. It's pretty interesting, and it points... More... (in MEDIA)
Paul Wolfowitz, neoconservative intellectual and one of the main forces behind the Iraq War, has been running the show at the World Bank for more than a year. To his credit, his main policy is ferreting out corruption in third... More... (in POLITICS)
The results speak for themselves. Via Valleywag.... More... (in INTERNET)
Just a few days after the delayed episode 4 comes episode 5, where we discuss "The Idiot's Lantern," then veer off into the many and various ways Dr. Who has addressed social issues of the day. Somehow we managed to... More... (in INTERNET)
Apple trotted out a revamped iTunes, new iPods and a dramatically smaller Shuffle on Tuesday. But it also pre-announced iTV, a device due to arrive in 2007 that'll wirelessly (and presumably, through a wired network if you want) distribute video... More... (in MEDIA)
I haven't cracked open an encyclopedia in years, but I check Wikipedia at least once a week. Count me in Jimmy Wales' corner for this one.... More... (in INTERNET)
Word came through the transom today that everyone at my former TV gig, Movie Central, is going to get laid off come January, and the whole kit and caboodle will be shipped off to Toronto. Though the job was a... More... (in MEDIA)
New and upcoming empires, like the United States and China, have best-before dates that are much smaller than the world-spanning megaliths of old. Niall Ferguson breaks it all down at Foreign Policy.... More... (in POLITICS)
And by that, I mean the Star Wars trilogy DVDs have been released in their original, untouched, non-pointless-effects-laden glory. Han shooting first! The original end music for Jedi! "Bring my shuttle!" Picked up my set at midnight last night and... More... (in MEDIA)
After a ridiculous amount of technical trouble involving bad files and crazy microphone hum, Radio Free Skaro #4 is live. Get it via the web here or subscribe to the feed here.... More... (in MEDIA)
Pound for pound, Al-Jazeera and other Arab media are much more "fair and balanced" than their American counterparts. At least that's what the large-headed nabobs at Yale Global are saying.... More... (in MEDIA)
Stephen Levy, the author of Hackers, one of my favorite teenage reads, has an article in Newsweek about the wide-ranging appeal of World of Warcraft. Nothing a devotee to the game wouldn't enjoy, but a fine read nonetheless.... More... (in INTERNET)
The New York Times has a huge (and I mean loooooonnnngg) article about the continued struggle to create something other than a big hole in the middle of Manhattan, five years after the planes hit the towers. It'll take me... More... (in POLITICS)
Will Wright, the creator of Sim City, the Sims and the upcoming Spore, is the subject of a profile in Discover magazine. I always liked the Sims, particularly when I'd torture a hapless family and wash them perish in a... More... (in MEDIA)
The NYT magazine has an article about FlavorPill, a New York based email trend-watch missive borne out of the ashes of the dot.com collapse. It's an interesting enough read, but whenever you see a headline proclaiming "nerds are cool!", basic... More... (in INTERNET)
The Scotsman lets the hate fly in the direction of Star Trek, currently celebrating its 40th anniversary by.....not producing anything new. Fine by me; Star Trek can be incredible when done well, but it's really run out of gas in... More... (in MEDIA)
Business 2.0 has an interesting article about how a minority of bloggers are making really good money, to the point where they've quit their day jobs to blog full-time. Interesting, and I'd love to be one of them, but according... More... (in INTERNET)
Well, everything was going swimmingly with Radio Free Skaro #4...until it turned out the second audio file was wrecked. So we can either release it as is at 15 minutes with only the first section...or we can try to get... More... (in INTERNET)
Politics is pretty famously behind the curve, dominated as it is by old white guys in suits (some of whom have 'internets' delivered to their office.) But one candidate, presidential hopeful Mark Warner, took his campaign to Second Life last... More... (in POLITICS)
Joi Ito, entrepreneur, activist, WoW player and drinking buddy, is the subject of an excellent profile in Strategy + Business magazine. It's a really interesting look not only at his career but the future of the net, low level investing,... More... (in INTERNET)
A Newsweek reporter just spent a summer in Japan, and he's come back completely enthused with his Japanese cell phone. No argument here; when I was in Tokyo in 2003, getting a phone with way more features than any North... More... (in GADGETRY)
It's not quite up to snuff yet, but Google News can now look back at news from the last 200 years. Most of it seems to hit a paywall, but that's not Google's fault. I'm of the opinion that old... More... (in INTERNET)
Democrat or Republican, everyone is blaming Rumsfeld (and rightly so) for the mess in Iraq. I doubt he'll resign, since the White House seems convinced of its righteous mission in the Middle East to find WMD...no wait, to free, the... More... (in POLITICS)
Well, not me, of course, I declared jihad on Sony long ago. But the aptly named Angry Gamer has penned a "Dear John" letter to Sony that's good for a laugh. Plus he has a picture of red-headed sweetie Alyson... More... (in GADGETRY)
Comedy gold, as some enterprising wag remixes Watchmen, Alan Moore's masterpiece, into a typical Stan Lee exercise in two-dimensional hyperbole.... More... (in MEDIA)
World of Warcraft is the first video game since Pac Man to garner a hugely popular, global following, according to the New York TImes. Nothing in this article is news to a WoW player, but it'sa nice to see the... More... (in INTERNET)
The Bush admnistration is shifting its focus away from Al Qaeda and towards more decentralized extremist groups, as well as concentrating on Iran as a dangerous actor capable of supplying unconventional weapons to terrorists. On the surface, these are all... More... (in POLITICS)
Rapidly escalating scuttlebutt on the net says that Apple is going to release a 23" iMac, a movie section on the iTunes Music Store, and some sort of "video streaming" device on September 12. I have my doubts about the... More... (in GADGETRY)
Delayed by wonky email, cut off in mid-banter by flaky Internet connections, and menaced by a hornet during the podcast......this one was a bit of a slog. But have no fear, Whovians, myself and Steven have battled it out and... More... (in INTERNET)
MSNBC points to ever-more world domination by Youtube. Japanese users are puting the shows they want to see onto the service, much to the chagrin of the rather conservative Japanese broadcasting establishment. Thanks to Cam for pointing this story my... More... (in MEDIA)
Sorry everybody, we've had trouble connecting for the third podcast. The long and the short of it is that Shaw's Edmonton servers seem to hate any mail I send to them, and my esteemed co-hosts mail account is in fact... More... (in MEDIA)
More film stuff, this time in the Boston Globe, with an article bemoaning the fast-cuts-at-all-costs school of editing that seems to have permeated Hollywood, to the cost of story and character development. Interesting.... More... (in MEDIA)
Computer generated effects, which burst onto the scene about 20 years ago, have gone from taking our breath away in films like the Abyss, Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park to exhausting our eyeballs and generally getting on our nerves in... More... (in MEDIA)
A mixed bag of gaming scribbles; first a retrospective on the glory that is Pac Man, which recently got re-released on Xbox LIve and which holds up after two decades. Next, a look into the wild world of drug-soaked LAN... More... (in GADGETRY)
Chicago Tribune reporter Paul Salopek, currently in the clink in Sudan for doing his job, recently put together a series tracing back where a tank of gas in your car comes from. I't aint pretty.... More... (in POLITICS)
The Guardian profiles U.S. soldiers who have decided that the war in Iraq isn't worth fighting for anymore.... More... (in POLITICS)
Moqtada Al Sadr's brigades are wielding more power in Iraq than ever before, with their hand in four different government ministries and an ever-growing private army. Meanwhile, the violence in Baghdad continues. The Washington Post elucidates in a long piece... More... (in POLITICS)
The newspaper industry is slowly catching on to the new reality of the Internet, but according to the Economist, they've got a ways to go.... More... (in MEDIA)
Scheuer, the author of "Imperial Hubris", explains why we're not much safer than we were before 9/11, speculates on Al Queda's current strength, and slams the war in Iraq.... More... (in POLITICS)
Yes, we managed to put up another episode of the podcast. Get it off the feed, or listen to it on the webpage.... More... (in MEDIA)
Words fail me.... More... (in MEDIA)
...and that name is "Orion." Nifty, but why go back to the moon? To Mars, where half-naked women and swashbuckling surely await!... More... (in MAIN)
And though predictably the musical stylings of the dim-witted heiress are less than stellar, the Guardian rips the album to shreds with some lovely verbiage.... More... (in MEDIA)
While Bush's campaign to win over the hearts and minds of the Arab world through prisoner abuse and shock and awe has been somewhat unsuccessful (supriise), Venezualan president Hugo Chavez is skyrocketing in popularity in the Middle East. Odd but... More... (in POLITICS)
Newsweek has a state of the union piece about the United States ongoing fight about terrorism, five years after the World Trade Center came crashing down. It's interesting in that apparently the U.S. and Britain have made some progress in... More... (in POLITICS)
This ridiculous commercial is just what's needed to get top-drawer (one could even say "slam dunk") recruits into the CIA. Sign me up!... More... (in POLITICS)
I'm not the world's biggest fan of lefty mainstay The Huffington Post, but this roll-over extravangaza of what right wingers see when they read the New York Times is pretty damned funny.... More... (in POLITICS)
Kottke has a couple of good links to articles detailing how people acted as human computers before we had machine to do the math, as well as musings from a web designer as to what his career would have been... More... (in MAIN)
Well, actually, the fellows profiled in "The Wonga Coup" were anything but gentlemen, and someone apparently forgot to inform them that it isn't the nineteenth century. But their attempt in 2004 to make a game out of a military coup... More... (in POLITICS)
Yes, I've finally broken down and created a podcast about (what else) Doctor Who. Myself and I Am Steven yandered on for a half hour over Skype about the show, I did some noodling in Garageband, and voila...we're radio hosts.... More... (in INTERNET)
Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll was kidnapped and held for 82 days by Iraqi insurgents earlier this year, before eventually being released. She remained silent about her ordeal, up until now. The CSM is running a multi-part series where... More... (in POLITICS)
At least by the Guardian's estimation.... More... (in INTERNET)
KInd of a tough question to ask, and it sort of falls in the "What if the Nazis invented the bomb" and "If Kennedy hadn't been shot" realm of idle speculation, but there's some interesting stuff in this article from... More... (in POLITICS)
The 9/11 attacks just shy of five years ago were supposed to cripple the world economy and hurt America wheres it matters most; the wallet. While the airlines and tourism are still reeling from those attacks and others, Newsweek makes... More... (in POLITICS)
After a couple of months of playing World of Warcraft, I haven't gotten very far. I'm only level 24, and the better half is beating me handily with the second character she created (while I'm still on my first.) So... More... (in INTERNET)
In a neat bit of Internet mashuppery, someone has combined a low-grade flight sim with Google Maps and created Goggles. You can fly your plane over the maps, shoot at things, bank, climb, and crash. It's a fun little time-waster,... More... (in INTERNET)
Joe "Up With War" Lieberman has been soundly trounced in the Connecticut Democratic primary by up-and-comer Ned Lamont. Lieberman is going to run as an independent, but the contest is being seen as more of a comment on the American... More... (in POLITICS)
Chinese geeks are taking American shows and subititling them for a Chinese audience, and not bothering with little things like copyright or royalties. It's all voluntary, networked and virtual, with people in different locations collaborating through the Internet. I wrote... More... (in INTERNET)
Iraqis love their cellphones. They function not only as a lifeline to avoid roadblocks and getting kidnapped, but also as one of the few forms of teenage self-expression that extremists won't clamp down on. Insurgents use them too, to detonate... More... (in GADGETRY)
I've added a Meebo Me widget to the right side of the site. What is this tomfoolery, you ask? Well, as long as I have meebo or some other chat client up, I can get instant messages, right through Freyburg.com.... More... (in INTERNET)
Just stumbled across a bunch of archived writing by George Orwell. Two good ones off the top: "Why I Write" and "Bookshop Memories."... More... (in MAIN)
Apple announced the long-awaited Mac Pro, their top of the line rig, at the World Wide Developer's Conference today. All well and good, and not a real surprise to anyone. What I found way more interesting is the new feature... More... (in GADGETRY)
The neocon's thirst to change the world, at least within the Bush Administration, is starting to fizzle. Amongst the armchair generals, the bloodlust still runs high.... More... (in POLITICS)
Oliver Stone's "World Trade Centre" is less than a week away from theatres, and Newsweek has a long profile of Stone, the film, and whether the time is right for Hollywood to tackle 9/11.... More... (in MEDIA)
Apparently the words "China" and "online games" don't necessarily equate "gold farming" anymore. Businessweek details the rise of the domestic online game market in China.... More... (in INTERNET)
Of the many reasons cited for marching into Iraq, a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 and is currently sinking into anarchy, the one still being clung to by the Bush administration is a projection of strength, meant... More... (in POLITICS)
A new article in Vanity Fair shows how the Pentagon fudged the details of the military response to the revelations that a hijacked plane was headed for Washington. Suffice it to say, it wasn't top drawer stuff.... More... (in POLITICS)
Ana Marie Cox went from sitting in her pyjamas slagging Washington's elite on Wonkette to the online editor of Time magazine, so clearly she's doing something right. Along the way she also published a novel. Anyway, here's her rules for... More... (in INTERNET)
Yeah, we all know how well that worked out last time. I remember before the invasion of Iraq, the neocons were floating the idea of a new "domino theory," where Iraq would go democractic and the rest of the Middle... More... (in POLITICS)
Before the U.S. marched on Baghdad, elements of the Pentagon were planning attacks on Iran. Not a huge surprise, but certainly troubling.Check out the article, courtesy of Rolling Stone.... More... (in POLITICS)
...courtesy of Foreign Policy. These guys don't look like "dead enders", as Rumsfeld termed them; they look like some pretty tough hombres to me. And more FP goodness with a profile debunking the myths surrounding Al-Jazeera.... More... (in POLITICS)
Personally, I don't find Asian horror films, or their American remake counterparts, all that scary. A little different, certainly moody, but....meh. Still, the New York Times Magazine has an interesting article about how the genre has jump-started horror in a... More... (in MEDIA)
Two interesting stories about the former Soviet Union, one in Harpers about the bustling trade in bride-shopping Americans in the Ukraine, and one in Vanity Fair about Moscow's club scene, which is apparently the most insane, debauched fracas on the... More... (in MAIN)
Apparently, getting a "nuts to you" letter from the New Yorker is de rigeur for aspiring Gotham scribes, and a lot of really good stuff gets left out when "Talk of the Town" goes to press every month. So one... More... (in MEDIA)
Akihabara, girls in maid costumes, Stormtroopers and Firefox...yessir, that's a potent stew of nerd. :)... More... (in INTERNET)
If you live in a big city, the trade off you make is between covenience and activity and extra space and serenity. But a couple on New York got the best of both worlds when they built a porch and... More... (in MAIN)
I'm always interested in travel and media piracy, and when the two mix and throw in a dollop of third-world hucksterism, it's a win/win, as this traveller in Veitnam discovered. The same site also has a story about how being... More... (in MEDIA)
What's geographic arbitrage, you ask? Essentially, it amounts to leveraging contacts and skill in the big city while living in a much cheaper area. For instance, you could do a job in Toronto while living in the Crows Nest Pass.... More... (in MAIN)
Time was you had to crawl out from your couch or bedroom and earn a living in the real world, and (shudder) interact face to face with other human beings. Well, that paradigm has been PWNEDBYINTERNETS. Witness the dawning of... More... (in INTERNET)
Bush and Blair were caught unawares and recorded by a still switched on mic at the G8 conference currently taking place in Russia. Apparently it's a big deal that Bush used a swear word while he was talking to Blair.... More... (in POLITICS)
Known as "Azzam the American," he's a clear indicator that Al Qaida is reaching beyond the Middle East to recruit smart young fellers in North America and Europe. Apparently Azzam contributes heavily to getting jihadist videos and other propaganda onto... More... (in POLITICS)
And with that, the final sticking point between myself and some Xbox sweetness has been decided. Half Life 2 will not only have enhanced graphics, it'll include Episodes 1 and 2, as well as Team Fortress 2 and some other... More... (in GADGETRY)
Seems surreal to have the tweed-and-pipe set writing a really insightful article about the current movers and shakers of East Coast hip hop, but there we are.... More... (in MEDIA)
...and rightly so. Sony's cocksure insistence that the Playstation 3 will be snapped up solely because of its ancestry is delusional at best.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Sites as diverse as MySpace, Digg, Flickr and Facebook are giving the traditional media a run for their money. Old Media might regard these upstarts as complementary to their efforts to sedate us with visual entertainments, but according to an... More... (in MEDIA)
The Daily Telegraph has a good article detailing what the complete whorefest known as celebrity journalism, which to no-one's great surprise ain't exactly the most ethical patch of land in Inkville.... More... (in MEDIA)
The similarities outweigh the differences.... More... (in MAIN)
As if Iraq isn't enough of a godawful mess, now Aryan Nations graffiti is starting to show up in Baghdad. Members of hate groups are enlisting in the U.S. military in order to "prepare for the coming race war," and... More... (in POLITICS)
A site I don't think I've ever praised, but is way past due for a shout-out, is No Media Kings, by indie media tyro Jim Munroe, who self-published a couple of novels after leaving Harper Collins and then went on... More... (in MEDIA)
I've said it before and I'll say it again..it's really weird to see the military as the rational actors in United States politics, but it appears that Bush and Co. are well and truly madmen, and that the Pentagon is... More... (in POLITICS)
Thanks to a policy of co-opting the intelligentsia, to the detriment of the workers and peasants the Communist revolution was built on.... More... (in POLITICS)
The New York Times has an interesting article about Oliver Stone's 9/11 film, due in August. Stone repeatedly says he isn't making a political movie, that it won't be anything like JFK or Natural Born Killers, and that it's a... More... (in MEDIA)
Over the years, I've noticed I've gone from an arrogant, cranky young dinkfaced geek to a crochety, slighty more wise, cranky old geek. This essay in the Guardian about the "WTF" moment an older geek has when confronted with MySpace... More... (in INTERNET)
The movie I've been eagerly anticipating for more than a year has finally arrived. Was it worth the hype? Mostly yes. There's no way Superman Returns can top the 1978 masterpiece, and even if it could, I'm not seven years... More... (in MEDIA)
There's a new trailer for Superman Returns on Quicktime.com, hyping me further still for a return to the glory days of 1978. Which I'll be doing this Wednesday, as myself and the girlfriend take in a bit of Donner-inspired, Singer-executed... More... (in MEDIA)
Paul Sherman, a movie critic, has been busted for selling the screeners of Hollywood films he's received over the years to pirates and warez groups. Not much to say here, except for "be more careful next time, buddy, or I'll... More... (in MEDIA)
Slate has an interesting piece about how while the newspaper has been declining since the advent of radio, the appetite for news (in any media people can find) is more insatiable than ever. Sorry for the lack of posts for... More... (in INTERNET)
Forbes details how hip clothing outlet (apparently, I ain't cool with what the kids dig) American Apparel has opened a clothing store in Second Life, the massive online 3D community. It isn't a store for buying their real world clothes... More... (in INTERNET)
Joi Ito's site, always a good place to check out the latest net.happenings, has a post about dot.sub, a collaborative site where you upload your video and then let the denizens of the internet subtitle it for you. Neat. And... More... (in MEDIA)
...is a sentence I didn't expect to type anytime soon. The Gray Lady goes in-depth with the creative nerds who, deprived of any new shows from Paramount, are taking matters into their own hands. Extra props for the emphasis on... More... (in MEDIA)
At least the future of Broadband, if Business 2.0 is to be believed. South Koreans are some of the most avid gamers on the planet, and apparently their most popular sites are a bizarre combination of Second Life, Myspace, and... More... (in INTERNET)
The Guardian (of all places) has an interesting article about griefers, people who go into online worlds and lie, cheat and steal their way to a higher level character. As someone who just succumbed to the dark addictive pleasure that... More... (in GADGETRY)
Well, that's utterly repugnant. As if Hurricane Katrina wasn't a complete fiasco to begin with, it turns out over $1 billion absconded with by bogus claimants grabbing relief debit cards and spending the money on porno and holiday jaunts.... More... (in POLITICS)
Should Hollywood be worried about Google's growing encroachment into online video? According to an article on GigaOm, you bet they should. And in a semi-related story, DVD sales are slowing down and Hollywood is scrambling to come up with something... More... (in MEDIA)
Screechy Democratic blogger Daily KOS just held a conference, YearlyKOS, for his many fellow bloggers and readers. The mainstream media was there, and their take ranged from defensive to "don't get too high on yourself there, Yelly Yellerson."... More... (in POLITICS)
The writer and director of Superman Returns spills the beans to AICN about just how cool this film is going to be.... More... (in MEDIA)
at least, the best one involving Gnarls Barkley performing "Crazy"...in full Star Wars costumes. I particularly like the Imperial officer horn section and Chewbacca on the drums.... More... (in MEDIA)
Cnet is runing a speculative article about Apple possibly buying out Nintendo. Sounds pretty nuts to me, Cringley-level madness, but then so did the big switch to Intel chips. Apple buying Nintendo makes sense for a number of reasons....both companies... More... (in GADGETRY)
The Atlantic has an in-depth examination of the short and violent life of our favorite recently deceased terrorist, while the NYT shows how even though Zarqawi is dead, a network of jihadist web sites marches on.... More... (in POLITICS)
So Abu Musab Al_Zarqawi was killed this morning, most likely by a targeted air-strike. But even perenially deluded U.S. president George W. Bush had to admit this doesn't mean the fighting in Iraq is by any means over.... More... (in POLITICS)
Businessweek profiles the real money being made inside Second Life, a virtual world that rivals World of Warcraft for the number of people piddling around in its pixels. The Escapist also has a couple of articles that are WoW related,... More... (in INTERNET)
Newsweek has a pretty good, if opinionated article about the state of mind of Marines in Iraq, who may have been responsible for the massacre of civilians in Haditha earlier this year. They excel at waging war, but they're a... More... (in POLITICS)
Surely a question we've all been asking. Pretty interesting article in the NYT about the furious pace of construction in Qatar, home to Al Jazeera and apparently a lot of luxury resorts.... More... (in MAIN)
Could be, says Steven Levy, who profiles China's emerging programming prowess in Newsweek. Levy wrote the excellent Hackers, a chronicle of the early years of computing at MIT and Stanford, so I'm prepared to take him at his word.... More... (in INTERNET)
According to Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria, there are challenges ahead for the world's hyperpower, but a combination of entrepreneurialism and immigration will keep the US on top for the foreseeable future.... More... (in POLITICS)
After the civilian massacre in Haditha, the U.S. Army is re-evaulating the heavy-handed tactics of the Marine Corps dealing with the Iraqi insurgency. Shades of Vietnam, at least in terms of violence and futility.... More... (in POLITICS)
The New York Times has a long report on how the Iraqi insurgency is attacking oil facilities and running a smuggling network, netting them millions. And on the home front, apparently a bunch of would-be terrorists were busted in Toronto... More... (in POLITICS)
NOW, a program on PBS, has a bunch of predictions about where the Internet will be and how we'll use it by 2016. None of this stuff is earth shattering hand-wavinesss the likes of which Wired loves to ladle out... More... (in INTERNET)
Superman Returns, due June 28th, is a sequel to the first Superman film, with all the necessary respect for the source material that comes with such an undertaking. John Williams isn't doing the music (which is a pity, as the... More... (in MEDIA)
Last year, Sony trotted out Connect, a software package/online music store meant to compete with the massively successful iTunes Music Store. But like most recent Sony projects, it was a complete and abject failure, as chronicled by Cnet.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Last week, thanks to a rare weekday off, myself and the better half took in X-Men: The Last Stand at a matinee. My verdict? Not as bad as the fanboys would have you believe, but not as good as the... More... (in MEDIA)
At least according to an article on GigaOm. I'd take issue with this statement, since sites like MySpace are a bit of an eyesore and rife with junk....but then I realize that the same can be said for the bulk... More... (in INTERNET)
If you spend any amount of time reading magazines or surfing websites, you've probably seen some variant of these photos. My personal fave is the one with the bespectacled girl....that's a cliche that's been used for book covers and anything... More... (in MEDIA)
According to Ars Technica, Apple is looking for game developers, possibly for some iPod related gaming, and possibly for the Mac. But since you can boot into Windows on Intel Macs....why bother? Apple will never be able to match the... More... (in GADGETRY)
In an incident with resonations of the My Lai massacre, a group of American troops apparently went on a kill-crazy rampage last November and killed 15 or more Iraqi men, women and children. Lberators, indeed.... More... (in POLITICS)
Indie media tyro Jim Munroe, the brains behind No Media Kings, has a new interview on his site where he details not only the positive aspects of downloading tv shows off the net (like word of mouth unsullied by promo... More... (in INTERNET)
Some would argue that the Mac Mini should have been a PVR out of the box, but since Apple's pushng tv shows on the ITMS, that's pretty unlikely. But Ars Technica has reviews of a couple of PVR solutions that... More... (in MEDIA)
Despite the usual Wired hand-waving OMGREVOLUTIONBBQ nonsense, this article about using the network to get a job done more efficiently and cheaply, or "crowdsourcing,' is actually pretty interesting. In some ways, this development isn't really news, as anyone who ever... More... (in INTERNET)
It took long enough, but the head villains at Enron, Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, are guilty, according to a jury of their peers. Of course, they'll probably while away their days in some white-collar country club prison, but tat... More... (in POLITICS)
Our Illustrious Leader has decided the Ottawa press gallery can shove it, pronto. He's refusing to give press conferences, and instead using Republican tactics and talking to voters through local media. On the one hand, this kind of high-handed media... More... (in POLITICS)
The New York Times has an excellent (and very long) piece on how militias and other groups are now so numerous in Iraq that there's very little room for hope the country will get back on its feet any time... More... (in POLITICS)
Some random speculation on which companies will get snapped up next by Google, Yahoo and the like.... More... (in INTERNET)
That's not really news, but here's the proof, courtesy of Wired News.... More... (in POLITICS)
More Kryptonian sweetness, as the clock counts down to my most anticipated movie of the year. There's a few more bits and pieces in this new trailer, and the scene at the very end.....well, just download it.... More... (in MEDIA)
The required gadgetry isn't here yet, but eminent prognosticators are predicting that in a few years we'll be toting around combo wifi/cell phones. This does the cellular providers no good, of course, and they'll fight it tooth and nail, particularly... More... (in GADGETRY)
Foreign Policy has an interview up with Michael Scheuer, the former head of the Osama Bin Laden intelligence unit of the CIA, and the author of Imperial Hubris, a book I haven't read yet but will definitely pick up after... More... (in POLITICS)
We all use Youtube (which seemingly came out of nowhere) to fire off short videos, trailers and the like to each other on a daily basis. But how can this upstart service, currently pumping out millions of streams, make a... More... (in INTERNET)
The second 9/11 movie of the summer, World Trade Center, is due to hit theatres in August, and with no less than Oliver Stone (JFK, Nixon, Platoon, *cough*Alexander*cough*) at the helm. The trailer can be seen here. I'm a little... More... (in MEDIA)
Canwest's print bid for the Canadian youth market, Dose, is no more. The plug got yanked yesterday on the print edition of the paper, though it will survive as a website. Personally, I thought it was a fairly well-put together,... More... (in MEDIA)
Well, despite all the predictions of addiction, I've managed to keep my WoW playing in a relatively balanced state. Of course, because of this, my character, a sixth level zombie mage named HueyNewton, isn't all that powerful. Mel's a lot... More... (in INTERNET)
Slate details how indie bookstores, long the bastion of alternative tastemaking, not to mention niche book titles, are being replaced by blogs, Amazon and a vast online used book swap meet.... More... (in MAIN)
Apple threw down some new intel-based Macbooks today, to replace the limping G4 iBooks. They look pretty slick, especially the black one, but the graphics card is seriously underpowered. Think I'll save my pennies and get the Macbook Pro, which... More... (in GADGETRY)
Not to bash Sony for no good reason...ah, who am I kidding. I love bashing Sony. And here's more fuel for the fire...a video of the beginning of E3, where the Nintendo booth at E3 got stampeded, with no-one (and... More... (in GADGETRY)
The New York Times magazine has a rather lengthy article about the future of books, and how scanning said tomes will change the printed word. Pretty interesting, especially for a bibliophile such as myself, though this is by Kevin Kelly,... More... (in MEDIA)
WTF? Everyone knows Ken Kutaragi, the head push behind the Playstation 3, is a raving loon. But now he claims Sony's upcoming "next-gen" console is not expensive enough, at $650 (Canuck). Sony, sometimes you make my blood boil.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Replaced by viral videos, YouTube, and the like, according to Macleans.... More... (in INTERNET)
The "Big Three" of the automotive world have long grappled with competition from overseas, but now it's looking like the Asian manufacturers are handing them their lunch, once and for all.... More... (in MAIN)
Ahhh, Sony. Your arrogance is without peer. $650 for a console that boasts...well, not a lot other than tuned up graphics. Or at least, not much the 360 can't deliver, and with better online play. And it looks like despite... More... (in GADGETRY)
Vancouver is currently in the grip of real estate madness, with new condos popping up everywhere and hyperbole flung about like nobody's business, as well as skyrocketing prices. BUt where goes the United States soon goes Canada, and they're starting... More... (in MAIN)
heh.... More... (in GADGETRY)
It all comes down to who controls the oil, and in the near future, that's going to cause some serious trouble, at least for North America. Venezuela has nationalized the oil companies, Russia is throwing its weight around, and Iran... More... (in POLITICS)
I've resisted for what seems like years, but I finally succumbed and installed World of Warcraft on the Powerbook. I did so for several reasons....for one thing, it's pretty much the most popular and one of the best games out... More... (in GADGETRY)
Pretty much everyone agrees there should be a memorial for the victims of 9/11. But I'm reasonably certain the estimated price tag for putting such a structure on Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan, at $972 million, will be the cause... More... (in POLITICS)
CBC had until recently been limping along with a paltry few podcasts, the best of which was the weekly Radio3 offering of the newest Canadian indie music. Well, they've finally updated their podcast section, and they now have "best of... More... (in INTERNET)
In a move that can only be said to be stunning, Lucasfilm has recanted and will release the Original Trilogy in all its unadulterated, Greedo shoots second glory in September. First Sith is half-decent, and now this? I may have... More... (in MEDIA)
Yeah!... More... (in MEDIA)
So sayeth Information Week, anyway. The madness that was Web 1.0, irrationally exuberant sock puppets and all, has been replaced by sober-minded purchases of Internet properties. (*ahem* DailyCandy100millionwtfbbq*cough*)... More... (in INTERNET)
Every once in a while, I check my stats page to see what people from where are stopping by my site. Besides the usual comment spammers and robots, there's also a summary of the most used phrases typed into search... More... (in INTERNET)
Google is the undisputed king of the search engines (and stock market), but Yahoo and MSN aren't about to go down without a fight.... More... (in INTERNET)
Ars Technica, always a good source of smart-thinkerin' on matters technological, has an interesting article up about the possibilities and pitfalls of an Apple DVR. I'd love it if Apple threw down with a device that owned the living room... More... (in GADGETRY)
Not that it's news to anybody, but recently out-and-about Trek icon George Takei rocks. In a great interview on Tv Squad, Takei dishes the dirt on Shatner, Howard Stern and his upcoming appearance on New Voyages, the lovingly made classic... More... (in MEDIA)
In a move clearly meant to satiate their bread-and-butter Japanese market, Nintendo has dubbed their next console "the Wii." In my opinion, that's a pretty stupid name, but then I thought the Nintendo DS wasn't such a hot idea, and... More... (in GADGETRY)
It's no secret that Japan's television shows are....unique. I got my first taste of the cathode ray madness in 2001, when I was staying at Cam's place in Toyama and I got to see such cultural touchstones as "Miniskirt Police"... More... (in MEDIA)
Ah, sweet justice. Enjoy this tale of a bunch of lowly IT workers exposing the suits at their company for the greedy, underage-porn surfing poltroons that they are. :)... More... (in INTERNET)
More navel-gazing tech ninnery, this time from New York magazine. It's an interesting article, in that it at least reflects back on the first Internet bubble, which whipped through Manhattan like a bat on crack in the late '90's. Seems... More... (in INTERNET)
Not a development that comes as a shock to anyone with half a brain, but Tyler Drumheller, ex of the CIA, says the White House ignored intelligence stating weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was a wild goose chase.... More... (in POLITICS)
Not a question that's keeping me up nights, but the girlfriend has a ton of buddies on this thing, I've got a very half-assed page, and apparently 16 million-odd people are into this Geocities-esque contraption. The NYT examines what it'll... More... (in INTERNET)
Ah, sweet. Though I seem to recall Rolling Stone tucking its tail between its legs and kissing Republican ass right after 9/11. To be fair, every other bit of media in the US did the same thing, for whatever that's... More... (in MEDIA)
Even though New York has some of the most expensive real estate on the planet, apparently it's next to impossible to get a place with a washer/dryer, no matter how rich you are. The NYT spares nothing to get this... More... (in MAIN)
The Globe and mail has an interesting article all about how Dubai went from a typical Middle Eastern backwater to an insanely ambitious hub of construction, luxury and pretty modern thinking. I've wanted to visit the Middle East for a... More... (in MAIN)
Local TV stations, long bastions of small minded thought and corner-cuttery (trust me, I worked in TV for five years, I know) are being urged to get online and think beyond the idiot box. Will it happen? I have my... More... (in MEDIA)
The CRTC has decided nobody's listening to cable radio (which is more or less right) and they're going to ditch it in favor of more room on the spectrum for HDTV and digital channels. On the surface, that sounds alright... More... (in MEDIA)
So the girlfriend brought her Xbox over a while back, and since I never finished Half Life 2 on the PC way back when, I picked it up and we went to town on it. Three weeks later, we've defeated... More... (in GADGETRY)
The NYT has a long (and I mean long) article on Google's doings in China. I'm only one page in so far, but it looks like interesting reading.... More... (in INTERNET)
I never owned one of these esteemed Commodore beasts (I was a Coco 1 man, back in the day), but I appreciate the perverse delight that comes from shoving a new computer into an old box. :)... More... (in GADGETRY)
Well, I'd say its that and the fact that Linux is a pain to use, maintain, and doesn't work right with a lot of hardware. But at any rate, this is a pretty good summary of how much of a... More... (in GADGETRY)
According to the Times, the United States military is planning, with Iraqi forces, to take back Baghdad from the insurgents, neighbourhood by neighbourhood. How they plan to do this without upping the troop count, I've no idea, but apparently the... More... (in POLITICS)
Possibly, according to Macleans. While BUsh is a terrible president, it may be a little early to write him off as the worst Commander in Cheif in the last century. Not like Jimmy Carter...that monster! :)... More... (in POLITICS)
The NYT seems to think so, anyway. I'd question their basic premise...Japan is a pretty stratified society, where you suck it up and do what you gotta do, though the politeness factor means there's not a lot of "screw you,... More... (in MAIN)
Things have taken a turn for the strange when America's military is the voice of moderation, and the civilians in charge are the war-happy nutbags. But in a surprising move, American ex-generals are calling for Donald Rumsefeld's resignation, because of... More... (in POLITICS)
This may fall under the "let's drum up opinion early for some good old-fashioned shock and awe" flavor of article, but it's still a good retrospective on how the West had eyes firmly locked on Communism when it probably should... More... (in POLITICS)
A lot of you probably won't care, but for those news/politics/conflict junkies out there, I present FP's new blog, aptly named Passport. Mmmmm, bloggy wonk goodness.... More... (in POLITICS)
Metaphorically, anyway. First the Democrats lost the election in 1980 thanks to Iran, and now the Republicans may suffer the same fate.... More... (in POLITICS)
AT&T has recently been bitching up a storm that Google isn't paying tribute money to the telco monolith for the pleasure of using their wires. Google, Amazon and Ebay are all rumored to be mustering a response that goes something... More... (in INTERNET)
Slate's Paul Boutin expostulates on Apple's recent move to allow Windows to run on the Mac. He's more jazzed by the idea of running OS X on commodity PCs. If Apple were to uncouple OS X from their hardware, I'm... More... (in GADGETRY)
That's according to Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker. You'd think being bogged down in Viet-raq would quell the bloodlust of the Bush administration, but apparently not.... More... (in POLITICS)
From the hand-waving madness that is Robert X. Cringely, here's a column on how Apple will soon release OS X to regular old PCs, given that they've already released Boot Camp, which lets you install Windows XP on your Mac.... More... (in GADGETRY)
CBC is supposedly updating its podcast offerings. That's not difficult, since all they offer now is a weekly Radio 3 podcast (quite good, me digs the tunes), Quirks and Quarks (also good) and Metro Morning, which is a bit of... More... (in MEDIA)
This article about men deserting their wives and children for the warm embrace of polygonal battle gets trotted out every now and again, but it does have some basis in reality, unlike the "GTA made me kill for Satan" nonsense... More... (in MEDIA)
WTF? And they wonder why the US got caught with its britches down on 9/11. How, in this day and age, can people charged with the security of the nation NOT have email? Even kids have Blackberries, for the love... More... (in POLITICS)
Ah, the Beer Baron is alive and well and plying his trade in Tehran.... More... (in POLITICS)
Yes, the Simpsons are going to hit the big screen next year, and there's a teaser trailer to whet your appetite in the meantime. A friend of mine recently remarked that this might be the creators way of sending the... More... (in MEDIA)
Charles Taylor, ex-head of Liberia and recent guest of the International Court, made mincemeat of Africa during the Nineties. The NYT has a good article cataloguing both his misdeeds and the methods he used to achieve his reign of terror.... More... (in POLITICS)
Alan Moore has been short changed by Hollywood for a long time. From Hell, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and twenty years of development hell for Watchmen have all meant substandard cinematic products derived from some of the best graphic... More... (in MEDIA)
Basement.org has a refreshing "whoa nellie, this is kind of crap" article on the Web 2.0 hype permeating the Internet, the Valley and (to a lesser extent) Wall Street. Slate also has a "wtfbbq" piece on Web 2.0, which points... More... (in INTERNET)
At least according to the tea-leaf readers at Foreign Policy magazine. The same maneuvering and demagoguery we saw before the invasion of Iraq is popping up about Iran....though I have serious doubts the administration would try to invade another Middle... More... (in POLITICS)
Not that they ever really went anywhere, since Half Life 2, Doom 3, Grand Theft Auto and countless others are popular titles. But with the mammoth popularity of World of Warcaft, the single player role playing game has gotten short... More... (in GADGETRY)
Since I grew up in Edmonton, and now make my home in Vancouver, I say "feh" to all this Calgary adulation. It's still a cold, boring Prairie town, no matter how much money is sloshing around. Not that Edmonton is... More... (in POLITICS)
Yup, I'm branching out. Now you can see Mac specific ranting on macsupport.ca, where I'm one of a team of Mac bloggers expostulating on our favorite talisman from Cupertino.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Steve Jobs is clearly the power behind Apple, and (even when gone) always has been the driving force that keeps the company innovative. But Steve Wozniak the genial engineer that lashed together the Apple I and II, has always been... More... (in GADGETRY)
Now that Star Wars is finally finished, George Lucas has turned his flaming, lidless eye inward to streamlining operations between Industrial Light and Magic, the special effects behemoth that defined blockbusters for the past 30 years, and Lucasarts, the (sometimes)... More... (in GADGETRY)
Or at least they're calling it down for a pretty damned slow development cycle. No argument here, and of course I'll be waiting for the next iteration of Apple products, where they really start to take advantage of the Intel... More... (in GADGETRY)
...like that comes as a surprise to anyone. Apparently Bush and Blair even floated the idea of provoking Saddam with planes sporting UN insignia, just to get him to shoot first. Classy.... More... (in POLITICS)
A little too "he's a genius! who'da thunk it!" for my liking, but an interesting need nonetheless.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Our undead pals just got the nod from the NY Times (in, inexplicably, the Fashion and Style section). Apparently zombies are cool again, for whatever that's worth. All I know is until you've snuck music from the original Dawn of... More... (in MEDIA)
In an extract from the "quick, what are the Americans up to right now, this smells like crap and I bet they're distracting us from something bigger" files, here's a story about how the Russians alledgedly fed Saddam intel during... More... (in POLITICS)
Sony may have dropped the ball with their "oops, not until November, tee hee" admission, but Nintendo ain't about to pull the same move. In fact, the mighty N, which has been doing the right thing by concentrating more on... More... (in GADGETRY)
So Lucas just can't put the crack pipe away. He's making a Star Wars tv series, and it's going to be set in the 20 years of Luke Skywalker's life before he heads off to blow up the Death Star.... More... (in MEDIA)
It was inevitable that an event on the magnitude of 9/11 would see some conspiracy theorizing going on, and this article in New York magazine does a pretty even-handed job of examining the phenomenon. I fall squarely into the "Osama... More... (in POLITICS)
The Americans are getting their first glance of the new Dr. Who (ahem....ran in Canada a week after the British premiere, just sayin' :) ) and so far the reaction amongst the mainstream media (aka: norms and surface dwellers) is... More... (in MEDIA)
More dot.com bubble-esque nonsense, as Wall Street tries to find somewhere, anywhere to dump the money raised by venture capital. In a move reminiscent of the stupidity of the late 1990s, apparently companies with little or no business plan are... More... (in INTERNET)
According to Slate, the surfeit of faux Irish bars everywhere has beena calculated move on the part of Irish companies. Not that you should let that stop you from pickling your brain in the name of a country you're probably... More... (in MAIN)
South by Southwest is a big music and new media conference in Austin. At a panel attended my a Motion Picture Association of America representative, the bile was a'flowin.... More... (in MEDIA)
Supposedly home theatres, HDTV and DVDs are hurting the traditional theater business, and Hollywood is scratching its collective head as to how to fix the problem.... More... (in MEDIA)
Businessweek casts its eye on the new wave of innovation (by the little guy) and purchasing (by the big players) pushing the web into new areas.... More... (in INTERNET)
1Up.com has a decent summation of what to expect in the next round of the console wars. I've been wavering in possible game machine purchases, since the Xbox 360 will probably have the best first person shooters of the bunch,... More... (in GADGETRY)
Gary Hart, who seems to have left his scandalous days behind him, lays out some very good points about why the American military is as doomed in Iraq as Napoleon was in Moscow. And I'll try to find some non-Iraq... More... (in POLITICS)
Ben Griffin served as an elite SAS trooper (the UK equivalent of Delta Force) in Iraq in the early days of the war, but what he saw over there made him resign in disgust. And his commanding officers backed him... More... (in POLITICS)
According to an article in the New York Times, the road to Baghdad in 2003 wasn't quite the cakewalk it's been made out to be. Definitely an interesting read; I already knew about some of this stuff, like Achmed Chalabi... More... (in POLITICS)
But more importantly...is it just me, or is Wafah Dufour Bin Laden really freakin' hot? Just sayin'.... More geopolitical pervin' can be found here, thanks to Google Horndog...I mean, Images. :)... More... (in MEDIA)
McGowan, the frontman for the drunken band of Irish miscreants known as the Pogues, has pickled himself to the point where he really shouldn't even be alive. But sentient (barely) he is, and he's getting ready to go on tour... More... (in MEDIA)
Apparently the Mini comes out ahead of the Windows Media Centre. This is kind of like comparing apples to durians, but...meh. Check it out.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Oh, they're a sexy bunch of misanthropes and malcontents.... More... (in POLITICS)
Sometimes the idiocy of the recording industry boggles the mind. Here they are, with a service (the iTunes MUsic Store) people clearly want to use and aren't shy about spending money on, and they go and stop downloads in order... More... (in MEDIA)
...though the focus seems to be on how the creative force of the new series, Russel T. Davies, is queer as a three dollar bill, rather than on how the greatest television show ever made just keeps getting better and... More... (in MEDIA)
This is a question that burns in the very pit of God of Thunder's soul. Here's the latest, courtesy of the NYT.... More... (in MAIN)
The concert tour was the last bastion of music untouched by the Internet. That's no longer the case, as aspiring musicians gather an audience through webcasts. Not the same thing as seeing something live, but it is pretty inexpensive for... More... (in INTERNET)
get commenting, poltroons!... More... (in MEDIA)
The big night is almost upon is. My plans to host a party were shafted by the fact that my condo's media room suffers from "not-being-done-itis." So I'm relocating to a friend's place for a smaller scale event. It'll be... More... (in MEDIA)
Simply put, they don't have to. They're already selling TV shows on the ITMS, with movies probably still to come, and throwing vcr-like functionality into the Mini or any other box would just annoy the studios they want to do... More... (in GADGETRY)
So Apple just came out with their new, Intel-based Mac Mini (ok for what it is, but pretty yawn-inducing), and the iPod Hifi (too expensive, kinda stupid) and the collective reaction could best be described as "meh." Meanwhile, Microsoft (!)... More... (in GADGETRY)
Courtesy of Boing Boing, here's links to both an upcoming steampunk version of the Transformers (I'm not into the robots in disguise, but I likes me some Victoriana), and also a loopy comic involving the luminaries of 70's glam-rock and... More... (in MEDIA)
Oil, the black glop that allowed for a mind-blowing amount of economic and industrial expansion over the last century or so, is probably going to run out sometime soon. But some experts think we're not doomed yet. Anyway, read this... More... (in POLITICS)
Dungeons and Dragons, the grand-daddy of nerdy table-top role playing games, is apparently eyeing the mountains of cash generated by World of Warcraft and getting into the online space. Frankly, I'm surprised that it took this long, but the weirdest... More... (in INTERNET)
Apple's got some new stuff out tomorrow...top of the rumour list is a 'iPod boombox,' a intel-based mac mini with media centre capabilities, and new iBooks. Any predictions, fellow Macophiles?... More... (in GADGETRY)
Foreign Policy has an article about how China's meteoric rise will soon be tampered by the rampant corruption and self-interested elites that run the place.... More... (in POLITICS)
The grim spectre of Betamax is invoked by the NYT, with an article about how Sony is once again defying the rest of the industry and trying to force the Blu-Ray hi-def DVD standard down the consumer's throat. I may... More... (in GADGETRY)
Not much to say, other than me likee.... More... (in MEDIA)
You could of course make the argument that every McDonald's commerical is terror-riffic, but Stay Free magazine has singled out a few choice winners for your consumption. Strangely, they don't include the one with Ronald wandering around a nightclub mackin'... More... (in MEDIA)
Yup, these guys have got some serious balls.... More... (in POLITICS)
The New York Times has an interesting article about how web services, along with email and IM, are letting small businesses play in the same sandbox as the big boys. Interesting, if a little late to the table, NYT.... More... (in INTERNET)
Courtesy of Cam, here's a fine bit of hate aimed squarely at the Volkswagen Jetta. i don't care about cars, and I laughed several times.... More... (in GADGETRY)
I've changed a couple of links around on the left hand column. I yanked Gizmodo, which I never check anymore, and replaced it with Engadget, which is an hourly ritual. I also replaced Something Awful (again, not so much with... More... (in MAIN)
Yet another "the blogs are so over it's not even funny" article, this time in the Financial Times. Taking a step back from this whole debate, it seems to me the blogs aren't going anywhere. A few make money, most... More... (in INTERNET)
Francis Fukayama, noted neocon philisophe and author of "The End of History and the Last Man," has a "whoa nellie, these neocons really screwed up bigtime" essay in the New York Times magazine. Ah, the sweet art of the backpedal.... More... (in POLITICS)
the Financial Times has a pretty decent article outlining just how the US isn't in decline, it's revving up for a second century of world dominance. Interesting, though I have my doubts.... More... (in POLITICS)
As a counterpoint to that New York piece about money making blogsfrom a few days ago, here's Slate's "not so fast, blogs might be on the downslope, chum" counterpoint.... More... (in INTERNET)
I remember reading about unlicensed plastic surgery in Neuromancer, and now (like so much else from the book) it's here for real.... More... (in MAIN)
New York Magazine has an article about blog superstars who are actually making a buck in the new medium. Strangely, I was not consulted for the article. :)... More... (in INTERNET)
I have my disagreements with the "Moustache of Understanding," but this commencement address given to the 2005 graduating class of Williams College is both inspiring and an excellent read.... More... (in POLITICS)
Apparently Silicon Valley venture capitalists are sinking money into the same dogs they got burned on in the crash. The supposed reasoning behind this is that a lot of startups were just ahead of their time, but.....eh. YMMV.... More... (in INTERNET)
At least according to the Guardian, he did.... More... (in POLITICS)
Well, this comes as a complete surprise. A sniveling Washington bureaucrat, faced with the possibility of a stretch at a country-club prison, is fessing up to the fact that his Plamegate misbehaviour was at the behest of his superiors.... More... (in POLITICS)
Truly surreal.... More... (in MEDIA)
I can see why Muslims the world over are pretty cheesed off about thse cartoons; they're fairly offensive, on top of depicting images of their prophet, which is a big no-no in Islam. But I'm a bigger adherent of free... More... (in MEDIA)
Looks like the new consoles aren't setting the world on fire. Although apparently the Nintendo DS is going great guns. And, by a massive and completely unrelated coincidence, it's the only system to show the slightest bit of innovative design... More... (in MEDIA)
An interesting story in Boston.com about the lure of covering far-flung conflicts. I personally would rather avoid getting shot at in some hellish locale, but I certainly understand the appeal of the life of a foreign correspondent.... More... (in MEDIA)
As we all know, the Superbowl ads are the best thing about the game, but we Canadians often miss out due to simulcasting. Instead of seeing an ad that cost a million plus and packs a solid creative punch into... More... (in MEDIA)
Baer, the author of "See no Evil," doesn't mince words about his disdain for the War on Terror. Also, apparently the book (which I've read, it's not a bad bit of non-fiction) is the basis for Syriana.... More... (in POLITICS)
According to Donald Rumsfeld, the War on Terror will probably go on for decades, much like the Cold War did. Unlike the Cold War, it won't involve a tangible enemy or any clear goals, but eh, why quibble? Wonkette has... More... (in POLITICS)
Living space can be pretty tight in downtown Vancouver, but as of yet, no-one I know has rented a mattress that fits in a hole in a wall.... More... (in MAIN)
Lest anyone think I'm alone in my sick fixations on hot-assed middle-age female pundits and columnists, read this fine fella's ode to the news cougars.... More... (in MEDIA)
Here's the proof. Bhutan went from a pleasant if backward place to a crap pit, all thanks to our friend the electric cyclops.... More... (in MEDIA)
Foreign Policy doles out the "I don't think so" on a few of the common assumptions about Islamic terrorism. Interesting.... More... (in POLITICS)
I should be able to resist this popularity contest, but i can't. Here's the 2006 Oscar nominees. Opinions?... More... (in MEDIA)
According to the NY Times, the language being used to describe real estate in New York has gone from exuberant to pretty damned morose. Dunno if that's a harbinger of things to come in Canada, as NY has always been... More... (in MAIN)
There's been a bit of a scandal over in Japan lately about Takafumi Horie, the head of Livedoor, one of Japan's biggest ISPs. Horie is very outspoken, a rare thing for Japanese people generally and especially for business leaders. Anyway,... More... (in MEDIA)
Not that I'd know. :)... More... (in MAIN)
...with over-the-top optimism about the technology industry. Apparently there's no bubble, just a boom. Given these were the same guys to say the Dow would never go down (right before it did), I'd take this with a grain of salt.... More... (in INTERNET)
Words can't do this work of art justice. feast your eyes on Shatner's finest hour.... More... (in INTERNET)
yes, once again, Business 2.0 highlights the stupidest commerce to come down the pike last year. Enjoy.... More... (in MAIN)
Not such a good idea, according to Foreign Policy.... More... (in POLITICS)
Courtesy of some alternative paper out of Buffalo called "The Beast," here's a list that's absolutely beautiful in its bile-filled disgust for, well, everything. :)... More... (in MEDIA)
South Korea (which I narrowly avoided moving to early this year when a job opportunity turned into a bit of a clusterfudge) is a country brimming with national pride and, some would say, an inferiority complex. So when one of... More... (in POLITICS)
Rumour has it Disney is going to buy Pixar outright, and in the process make Steve Jobs even richer than he already is, with an air of movie industry legitimacy to boot. the Times of London has the details.... More... (in MEDIA)
The Internet Archive has a great documentary free for the downloading called "The Power of Nightmares." It's a three-part BBC special about the similarities between the neocons and Islamists like Bin Laden. Essentially, both groups use fear for their own... More... (in MEDIA)
Ron Kovic was paralyzed from the waist down after he was wounded in Vietnam in 1968. His life was made into a (pretty damn good) movie, "Born on the Fourth of July," and now he's written an excellent piece on... More... (in POLITICS)
Yup, it was done and broke since about the summer, due to the fact that I'm lazy and the site moved to a different server. But it works fine now, so feel free to mail me through the site again.... More... (in INTERNET)
Yup, apparently the feds want access to Google's search records, to prop up some anti-porn law. Because, as we all know, if you download porn, you're a freedom-hater.... More... (in POLITICS)
We're all used to Apple fans speculating madly and bending reality to suit their particular taste of crazy. But a columnist at thestreet.com, not exactly a repository of "APPLE RULZ0RS!" types, is predicting Apple will dominate the world of online... More... (in GADGETRY)
Defective Yeti, always a good source of chuckles and yuks, has recreated a transcript of Bush's tenure in office as a Zork adventure. Damn, that's some funny stuff.... More... (in POLITICS)
...by notable design cat Jeffrey Zeldman, no less. Apparently he's sick and tired of all the Web 2.0 hype, and he's aiming his prodigious design noggin at taking it down a peg or two.... More... (in INTERNET)
Gadfly and provocateur Christopher Hitchens has an article in Slate about how some local insurgents in Iraq aren't taking any more of Zarqawi's crap. An interesting, if not entirely surprising development, given that Al Queda in Iraq has been bombing... More... (in POLITICS)
I thought these guys were called "otaku," but apparently isolated Japanese nerds have gotten even weirder.... More... (in MAIN)
Yup, get your Old West on here. Or, you know, send an email. :)... More... (in INTERNET)
Boing Boing editrix and all around cool chick Xeni Jardin has an article in Slate today about how many Academy Awards screeners are floating around on the Internet. Nice to see somebody inside the film industry enjoys theft and (YAAARRRRRRRR!!!!!)... More... (in MEDIA)
Writer, former cyberpunk and all-around genius Bruce Sterling holds forth on The Well (which incidentally is how I first got on the Internet, way back in the late 80's.) It's a great read, but it's looooooonnng.... More... (in MEDIA)
My bet is not likely. But Newsweek has an interesting article detailing how, with the rest of the world against Iran and their lunatic president's nuclear ambitions, Bush has a perfect opportunity to seize the moment and get Iran to... More... (in POLITICS)
For years, Slashdot has been THE place to go for nerdy news on the interwebs. But recently, Digg and other contenders have come out of nowhere to threaten the dominance of the /. guys, primarily because all the stories (at... More... (in INTERNET)
Apparently Bremer, the former proconsulof Iraq, has a tome out called "My Year in Iraq," an "amalgam of spin and sincerity," according to the NYT. I'm more inclined to read "The Assassins' Gate" or Robert Fisk's brick, "The Great War... More... (in POLITICS)
Yup, Apple ditched the "power" from Powerbook, though apparently the new Macbook is a speedy little beast. I'm more interested in the new iMacs with Intel chips, since I already have a laptop, and one of those bad boys dual... More... (in GADGETRY)
So the big Mac event of the year is tomorrow. What are your predictions, fellow Mac freaks?... More... (in GADGETRY)
Robert X. Cringely is either a genius, or mad as a balloon. He's got a speculative piece on his blog (he's a PBS tech guy) about how Google may end up applying the Adwords targeted advertising model to television. It... More... (in INTERNET)
L.A. Weekly has a good list explaing that, despite the fact that he's the quintessence of evil and a dumb version of Nixon, there are good reasons to be happy Bush is in the White House for a second term,... More... (in POLITICS)
Apparently Google and Yahoo are looking to move from the PC to the living room. We'll see if this works or not.... More... (in MEDIA)
Markos Moulitsas Zuniga runs Daily KOS, the biggest liberal weblog in the States. I've always found his site to be irritating; it seems to be driven by him writing about some arcane point of Washington infighting, and then screaming "you... More... (in INTERNET)
Cam sends this: Every year for the past 56 years, all eyes in Japan have turned to NHK's “Kouhaku” New Year's Eve TV program, in which the white team, comprised of the cream of the crop of male entertainers in... More... (in MEDIA)
The Toronto Star has a great article about coverage of the first 15 minutes of 9/11, archived on the web for the first time.... More... (in MEDIA)
LA Weekly has a long, interesting feature about a writer's recent trip to Libya, which until recently was completely off limits to Westerners. I've only gotten halfway through, but so far it's good stuff.... More... (in MAIN)
And by that nonsensical intro, I mean somebody came up with a way to roll RSS, instant messaging and mobile phones into one simple app, sorta. Check it out.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Remember Scott Ritter? The guy who said "uh, yeah, no WMDs in Iraq," and got raked over the coals by the Bush administration for it, and then, surprise surprise, there weren't any WMDs at all? Well, a while back he... More... (in POLITICS)
I got the iPod video for my birthday, and in between converting episodes of Dr. Who and scouring the net for .mp4 formatted porn (heh, not really, much to my surprise), I came across podguide.tv, a listing of ipod friendly... More... (in GADGETRY)
I give this kid serious points for balls but a big goose egg for sound judgement. He just up and went to Iraq, and nearly got himself killed in the process.... More... (in POLITICS)
Sooner or later, silicon is going to hit its limit. When it does, we'll be (apparently) using nanotech for our boxes that go bleep.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Apparently Apple Store employees in Japan are sporting funky t-shirts that may or may not be a hint about wireless earbuds or wireless connectivity on iPods. This would figure, since I just got an iPod with video for my birthday.... More... (in GADGETRY)
I dunno about you characters, but I listen to a LOT of audio on any given day (biking/commute, noon time walk, gym) and I'm very happy that podcasts emerged to help me consume that time with something other than the... More... (in INTERNET)
The NYT casts its lidless, flaming eye on my adopted hometown's urban planning, and pronounces it good. Included is the False Creek North/Yaletown neighbourhood, which is more or less where I'll be moving into come the new year.... More... (in MAIN)
No real surprises here, but still fairly interesting.... More... (in MAIN)
...at least if the recent transit strike in New York is any indication. Frankly, I find this surprising, but then I assume New York is the kind of place where, if you don't show up for work and kiss the... More... (in INTERNET)
The Chronicles of Narnia is pounding King Kong at the box office, apparently. I'll be seeing Narnia in a couple of days, and I'll be able to pass judgement myself on which is the better film. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360... More... (in MEDIA)
First off, sorry for the dearth of posting lately. I've been sick with some sort of flu (I think it's called the "you're 35, dummy, you can't stay out late and celebrate like you're 20 anymore" flu) and I've been... More... (in GADGETRY)
Clearly, the answer is yes. :) But according to Slate, New York reporters can't actually afford to live in New York. Ditto for the rest of the artsies.... More... (in MEDIA)
$200 million and three hours later, King Kong has hit the big screen. So how is Peter Jackon's follow up to the Lord of the Rings? Well....it's definitely a decent film, but I don't think it holds a candle to... More... (in MEDIA)
Great, another step towards 1984. There's a pretty good analysis of how Bush has made the presidency more authoritarian here as well.... More... (in POLITICS)
...from, no surprise, the wonks at Foreign Policy magazine.... More... (in POLITICS)
Newsweek says "maybe." Just what the world needs, a religious zelot with a sense of invulnerability and his finger on the button.... More... (in POLITICS)
Ok, I was willing to buy into the rumours of a Mac Mini DVR, a Intel based iBook, and other semi-plausible upcoming Apple innovations. I can even believe in an eventual wireless iPod with a big-ass screen. But now Appleinsider... More... (in GADGETRY)
When Oliver Stone is on his game, like with JFK or Nixon, he's an incredibly solid filmmaker, able to pack a dense amount of information into a compelling, innovative package. But when he screws up, he does so in a... More... (in MEDIA)
Can't say I agree with everything on this list of highlights of 90's style idiocy, but there's some pretty amusing stuff here for your erudition.... More... (in MEDIA)
It seems some online game players are outsourcing the boring gold gathering and chicken slaying which is a required part of starting practically any multi-player game to anonymous Chinese workers in game factories. Then once they've leveled up to the... More... (in INTERNET)
Top of my list would be "wasting time playing video games when I could be doing something constructive," but Cnet has other reasons for eschewing the 360.... More... (in GADGETRY)
After a decade of failed reforms and post-bubble malaise, Japan's economy is apparently doing well again. Personally, it looked plenty prosperous in Tokyo back when I was there in 2001 and 2003, but then I'm just some ignorant Westerner. :)... More... (in POLITICS)
Nobody dishes out the Hollywood Hate like Film Threat (though Defamer comes close.) The crankiest magazine in Los Angeles has just released the Film Threat 'Frigid 50' list, detailing just who amongst Tinseltown's finest ain't so cool.... More... (in MEDIA)
The New Yorker has a piece on Osama's formative years. Interesting if only to see how an obviously intelligent guy went from a supposedly nice kid to a cave-skulking maniac.... More... (in POLITICS)
From the "huh" files: why camels have shaped the war in Darfur.... More... (in POLITICS)
New York Metro has an interesting article about who will be the next golden boy or girl of network news. Doesn't matter who it is, I'll still be getting most of my dail news intake from the NYT, Guardian, Globe... More... (in MEDIA)
Back in the glory days of Pets.com and other foolish ventures, Wired was the size of a small phone book. It was crammed top to bottom with ads, though of course those days eventually petered out and were replaced by...well,... More... (in MEDIA)
The annual ICANN conference, which centres around the organization that decides things like what new domain names will be created (.biz, and .museum for example), is currently unfolding at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver. Joi Ito is a member... More... (in INTERNET)
One of the reasons the Americans are having such a hard time defeating the Iraqi insurgency is because there are many different, and unrelated rebel groups. But that won't stop Bush from claiming he can achieve victory in Iraq, which... More... (in POLITICS)
Macworld San Francisco is the biggest Mac event of the year, and traditionally the time when Apple trots out a real "ooo, ahhhh" type product. The rumors are flying fast and furious, but amongst the speculation is a Intel-based Mac... More... (in GADGETRY)
...well, nuts to them. First off, it's been 20 years since the seminal comic book turned the funny pages on its head, so they're a little late to the hating game. And second, Alan Moore has since gone from strength... More... (in MEDIA)
Looks like some private contractors in Iraq have been shooting up civilian vehicles for kicks, and there's video (shot by the murderous idiots themselves) to prove it. Way to fight terrorism and bring freedom to the Middle East, morons.... More... (in POLITICS)
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi recently made a statement that human rights violations are now as bad or worse than they were under Saddam's iron fist. Bravo, America.... More... (in POLITICS)
Ho Chi Minh was the thorn in the American's side for the better part of a decade during the Vietnam War. Just like Osama, he surprised the living hell out of the Americans with an attack when they least expected... More... (in POLITICS)
Here's an article about America's top propagandist, and how he sold the Iraq war to the world. And here's a very lengthy article about "Curveball," one of the sources of 'intelligence' the US used to make its case for invading... More... (in POLITICS)
Hoolywood is paying top dollar for movies that should be made for a whole lot less money, and neglecting the blockbusters they excel at cranking out. At least that's what this well thought out article states.... More... (in MEDIA)
Yup, 42 years ago today, the greatest show ever made first graced British television screens. And the 2005 version, which is in some ways better than the original, will be back on December 25. Less than a month's worth of... More... (in MEDIA)
Because one can never have enough Star Wars related stories to read, here's an interview with Uncle George on the future of the movie biz, a profile of ILM, and some commentary from director and blockbuster dilletante James Cameron on... More... (in MEDIA)
Whee! Campaigning and nonsense throughout the holidays. And I'm stuck exactly where I was last election...my choices are between a bunch of crooks, people who'd blow my wallet on a yurt for David Suzuki, and a a group of intolerant... More... (in POLITICS)
There's a good article in the NYT about women acting as soldiers in Iraq. Why they decided to put it in the Fashion and Style section, I have no idea, but it's worth a look.... More... (in POLITICS)
I still dunno if King Kong should have been remade in the first place, but this article about the upcoming blockbuster seems fairly encouraging. Here's hoping Jackson can avoid the post-megahit slump that usually hits most talented filmmakers.... More... (in MEDIA)
Google, which debuted at what most (ok, myself and my dad) that was an overvalued $175 or thereabouts, has hit an all time high of $400 a share. Now, I'll be the first to say Google makes useful products and... More... (in INTERNET)
Oh sweet mercy. The teaser trailer for Superman Returns is online. John Williams music, Marlon Brando narrating....I think i want to have Brian Singer's babies. :)... More... (in MEDIA)
You know, my Powerbook is ok, but it's no Atari 800 laptop. Nor is it a big ass coffee table constructed from a 1970's vintage hard drive.... More... (in GADGETRY)
The NYT has an interesting article about how all the wishing for democracy in the Arab world is for naught if the secret police are still in charge of things in many Middle Eastern countries, which they most certainly are.... More... (in POLITICS)
I have my doubts this service will be able to withstand the tsunami of industry lawyers sure to descend upon it, but until it gets taken down, it looks pretty cool.... More... (in MEDIA)
Not that this is a huge surprise, but looks like the big Z is itching to expand his campaign of beheadings and quasi-cryptic allusions to 12th-century Islamic scholars out from Iraq and throughout the Mediterranean. This is the same ambitious... More... (in POLITICS)
For some bizarre reason, my last post about the new Cybermen designs got eaten. Here they are, in all their sweet metal badassery.... More... (in MEDIA)
Back in the day, SGI was on top of its game. They rendered dinosaurs for Jurassic Park, and all of Toy Story. But the company has fallen on hard times, culminating in being delisted from the NYSE this week. Ars... More... (in INTERNET)
Web 2.0 is best boiled down into "that there web page works like my home programs" crossed with "I done linked this thing to that thing." Well, not really, but imagine some fairly useful sites like Flickr, Google Maps and... More... (in INTERNET)
An interesting chart explaining the similarities between the Dreamcast and the upcoming Xbox 360. Except, of course, for the fact that the Dreamcast did and continues to rock, and the Xbox 360...meh.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Most of us have mountains of crap accumulating in closets and junk drawers. I've managed to avoid this quandry by moving three times in the last two years, and almost going overseas before finding a gig here in Vancouver. As... More... (in MEDIA)
Here's an article from Playlist about how the iPod has spawned a cult following and changed the way we listen to music. Though the author is a Apple fanboy (not that I'm entirely innocent of those charges) he does raise... More... (in GADGETRY)
Continuing today's theme of bitching about stuff (yeah, right..TODAY'S theme...:) ) it looks like Air Canada is now charging passengers for their crappy in-flight meals. So in addition to insulting us with high-ticket prices, surly crew members and using Celine... More... (in MAIN)
CBC's weekday afternoon lineup, in a word, sucks.They had this show called the Roundup, which was full of boring guests, crappy music, and bland racounter-ing by host Bill Richardson and later Tetsuro Shigamatsu. When I was driving around the Crowsnest... More... (in MEDIA)
Having worked for the foul Empire of Drivel, a big part of me would like to see the future of television involving the business end of a shovel, but that's just me. Google has other thoughts (and at some point,... More... (in MEDIA)
And none of them involve WMD. :) It's an interesting list, which I got the link to from Digg.... More... (in POLITICS)
Ah, the New York TImes on Sunday. A veritable fountain of sweet reading goodness. Here's two interesting articles; a piece about how video is both swelling onto big screen televisions and tiny video iPods, and an article about the Maoists... More... (in MEDIA)
Cast your eyes to the right and you'll see some pictures from the Halloween party I attended last night. Ah, costumery. :)... More... (in INTERNET)
Crazy crap like this is why the Internet was invented. Well, actually it was invented to keep lines of communication open after a nuclear war, but...meh. (That'd be great, btw...radioactive wastelands, and your only word from the world outside your... More... (in INTERNET)
There's a new Google Maps mash-up called Frappr which is apparently all the rage amongst the bloggers. You basically subscribe to a map and point out where you are, so that everyone can see the physical locations (by city, don't... More... (in INTERNET)
According to some Yale nabobs, China and India have a ways to go before they become the new superpowers.... More... (in POLITICS)
Apparently the Iraqi insurgency can be boiled down to native sons who hate the Americans and foreign fighters flush with cash and fanaticism, fighting under the banner of Al Queda. In the initial months of the insurgency, the two sides... More... (in POLITICS)
According to an NYT article, King Kong clocks in at over three hours and cost $207 million. If it were anyone but Peter Jackson, I'd be REALLY worried about an insanely expensive remake with such a long running time. As... More... (in MEDIA)
Courtesy of the Unofficial Apple Weblog, here's some great video of a guy running Front Row (Apple's snazzy new media management software) on his Mac Mini. Apple is restricting Front Row to the new iMacs, at least for now. Best... More... (in GADGETRY)
The New York Times has an interesting article about how gold mining, which drove empires and was once the cornerstone of the world economy, is now contributing to serious environmental damage. And interestingly enough, the main reason people want gold... More... (in MAIN)
It's no West Side Story zombie remix, but ROTS rejiggered into a gay love story is pretty damned funny.... More... (in MEDIA)
It hasn't always been caviar baths and firings for His Donaldness. Journey into the past, as we discover Senor Trump's brushes with bankruptcy and his abortive run for the presidency (which was a new one on me.)... More... (in MEDIA)
I know what you're saying...the Norwegians are the scum of the earth, how could they possibly have produced anyone worth admiring? But it's true, one of their number has crawled out of the Scandinavian genetic muck to be counted amongst... More... (in GADGETRY)
I'm not one for the sports games, but I understand the frustration of gamers who see no choice but to shell out hard earned dough for the same game, year after year. This fine fellow has decided to auction off... More... (in INTERNET)
Two things that go together like kippers and peanut butter, you say? Not so fast! This smart feller says you can actually trace the performance of various companies based on the proximity of blond, brainless skanks to industry heirs.... More... (in MAIN)
Ah, Bittorrent, in a short time you've gone from my "borrowing protocol" of choice to something that could reshape the entertainment industry. Check out the details here.... More... (in INTERNET)
Here you go. (courtesy of Boing Boing.)... More... (in MEDIA)
Apparently if you're a totalitarian dictator, it's entirely likely your taste is all in your mouth. The Guardian has an article about terrible, garish palaces, like Saddam's many presidential domiciles.... More... (in MAIN)
Here's one guy's take on the new iPod, and what it means for downloadable video content. I like where he's going with this, though of course it's all random speculation and (informed) handwaving.... More... (in INTERNET)
After a couple of months of nonsensical bickering, the CBC is finally back on track. Even though I've been pretty good at ignoring MotherCorp's existence for the last little while, it is nice to see the usual crew back in... More... (in MEDIA)
Apple has once again thrown some sweetness at the computing public. Top of the list is the new iPod with video capabilities, which I'm lusting after pretty damn hard. The 30 gigger in particular looks like the kind of gadget... More... (in GADGETRY)
According to the scribbling elves at the NYT, the reality TV craze is starting to run out of steam. This should come to the surprise of no one, though like any genre there's some actual decent content and a whole... More... (in MEDIA)
The New York Sun (yeah, I've never heard of it either) has reviews of a few more books about Iraq. One of the most intriguing is "How America Lost Iraq," written by a young reporter for the Pacifica network. Pacifica... More... (in POLITICS)
The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq is the best book about the Iraq war yet, according to Salon. George Packer, the author, apparently covered everything from the corridors of power in the White House and the Pentagon to individual... More... (in MEDIA)
I know many of you pine for the days of a fine calculator made in the good ol' USSR. I know I do. And then, if I prove my Cryllic math skills, maybe I can work my way up to... More... (in GADGETRY)
Apparently the deadly 1918 influenza pandemic that killed a whole pile of people was caused by something very similar to the bird flu now coming out of Asia. Luckily, after sequencing the genetic makeup of the 1918 flu, they've determined... More... (in MAIN)
Looks like Microsoft might be in for a good old fashioned beating. Sun and Google are rumored to announce a web-based office suite today, which will presumably be accessible anywhere and free for all. That's as opposed to a couple... More... (in INTERNET)
Andy Rooney, the 60 Minutes curmudgeon, is best known for complaining about life's little irritants, often to the great amusement of all concerned. But every once in a while he lets loose with a serious broadside that reminds you this... More... (in MEDIA)
The NYT Magazine has a decent piece on Hillary Clinton's supposed presidential ambitions. I've got nothng against a female President, but I have the feeling half of the United States won't like the idea one bit, which will further marginalize... More... (in POLITICS)
The BBC once again proves their mettle with a feature explaining who's who amongst the insurgents in Iraq.... More... (in POLITICS)
A friend of mine just sent me a heads up on what must be the greatest bargain of our modern age: sign up with the National Guard and receive three (that's right, THREE) free iTunes downloads. Woo hoo! I'm going... More... (in POLITICS)
I haven't got a PSP, mostly because it seems like a lot of money for some half-assed games,and it has other Sony silliness like Memory Sticks and UMD discs. But apparently the PSP is also Hax0r Central, with all sorts... More... (in GADGETRY)
Some ambitious fellow has chronicled every change in Apple.com's web page, all the way back to the pre-Stevie J. days of Dr. Gil Amelio. Ars Technica has the details.... More... (in GADGETRY)
So I went to Joe Fortes (a fancy schmancy seafood restaurant just off Robson Street) with Karyn for a "2005 has been pretty kick-ass, let's use Karyn's gift certificate and eat some good fish" dinner. Not only do I run... More... (in MAIN)
I don't know much about wine, and by "much," I mean "anything beyond the fact it comes in red and white." But the fine folks over at the Daily Lush sure do, and the've composed an ode to Thunderbird, the... More... (in MAIN)
From the yawn-inducing Vista to, well, practically everything else, Microsoft's dominance seems to be reaching an eclipse. A couple of interesting Cnet articles encapsulate why Google, amogst others, could soon take over The Beast from Redmond's dominant position by shifting... More... (in INTERNET)
As usual, the Jobs doesn't give up much in the way of details. Still pretty interesting, at least for the Apple fanboys amongst us. Anyone picked up a nano yet?... More... (in GADGETRY)
Despite the fact that Vancouver is chock full of restaurants of every ethnicity and inclination, I have yet to run into a bunch (though not all) of these new and disturbing restaurant trends. Guess that means I have to eat... More... (in MAIN)
Looks like venture capitalists are throwing their money around like a lottery-winning teenager, funding any old startup they can find. Looks like it's time for me to dust off that business model (hint: sock puppets) for picturesofmycat.com. :)... More... (in INTERNET)
I'm a little late to the party with this one, but Firefox (which is the only way to browse the Interweb on a Windows box, IMHO) is now functional while running off of a USB thumbdrive. It's tiny, too; I... More... (in INTERNET)
The Times has a good article about how Microsoft's transition into middle age is marked by sluggishness and lack of innovation. I'd add "suckiness" to the list. :)... More... (in INTERNET)
Apparently Rogers and Bell are working together to provide high-speed wireless broadband throughout most of Canada's metropoli. That sounds really cool, especially for a net-addled freak like me, but I have to wonder just how much these cats will charge... More... (in GADGETRY)
When I was in junior high, I took a lot of flack for liking Devo (and also for being a lippy little nerd. :) ) Well, it seems I'm able to bathe in sweet revenge as the legacy of the... More... (in MEDIA)
A German inventor has found a way to beat the high price of gas by fueling a vehicle with dead cats. You just can't make stuff like this up.... More... (in MAIN)
Uhhh...huh? The country that harboured the 9/11 conspirators, a known terrorist haven, apparently ain't worth America's time. I guess when you invade a completely unrelated country and get bogged down in a never-ending insurgency, you've got to set priorities. Idiots.... More... (in POLITICS)
Lost in the huzzahs about the new iPod Nano is the essential suckitude of the ROKR phone from Motorola that runs iTunes. The Guardian has a good piece about why this wildly hyped phone is a whole lotta nothing. Also,... More... (in GADGETRY)
Maybe I'm jaded because I used to work in television, and I've seen enough of the eye-crack to last me a lifetime, but now that HD is finally becoming a mainstream, "guy at Future Shop is clueless but he'll see... More... (in MEDIA)
The NYT Magazine knocks one out of the park with a long, long, long analysis of the "war on terror", four years after since the planes smashed through the WTC and pushed history in a new direction. This one's a... More... (in POLITICS)
I picked up an Xbox back in my Osoyoos days, because despite what you might think, there isn't a whole lot to do in Canada's only desert town. I promptly had it modded when I got out to Vancouver, so... More... (in GADGETRY)
After the usual barrage of reality-distorting hype, Apple introduced an iPod phone (which is really a clunky Motorola with iTunes built in, big whoop), and the iPod Nano, replacing the Mini. I just got a Mini a few months back,... More... (in GADGETRY)
Lest I make too much fun of the gamers who immerse themselves in WOW and other online RPGS, I should point out that users from several games are collecting donations for Hurricane Katrina victims, both in-game and otherwise. And to... More... (in INTERNET)
Apparently (and man, I'm getting top-heavy with NYT articles) World of Warcraft has managed to succeed where other games have failed and gained a substantial mainstream audience. I personally witnessed a friend devote his every waking hour to the game,... More... (in INTERNET)
Hurricane Katrina seems to be the tipping point for Bush and his administration; all of his deception and incompetence is being exposed while poor Americans die the same way the Iraqis under America's thumb have; alone and largely ignored. David... More... (in POLITICS)
Apparently last year Microsoft's chief poobah Steve Ballmer, while doing an exit interview with an employee, lost his friggin' mind about Google. Ah, it's a beautiful display of profanity and paranoia.... More... (in INTERNET)
Matt Wells, a BBC correspondent in the States, cuts through the crap and says flat out that the American response to Hurricane Katrina, particularly in New Orleans, is completely pathetic. Apparently the American media has actually grown a set and... More... (in POLITICS)
Last year, one of the greatest meeting of musical minds in the history of the human race occured when Henry Rollins sang a duet with William Shatner. Now Rollins does his trademark ranting and riffing on the experience, so take... More... (in MEDIA)
The NYT has an a surpringly clueful article about the world of movie stealin'. To the surprise of no-one, it comes out that people grabbing movies off the Net isn't hurting box office yet.... More... (in MEDIA)
Tech journalist and blogger Dan Gillmor details why Google is being unnecessarily arrogant.... More... (in INTERNET)
Cintra Wilson, best known for some scathing indictments of Hollywood on Salon.com, as well as the very funny novel "Colors Insulting to Nature," recently snuck her way into the Washington press corps, and was pretty underwhelmed with the collective ballsiness... More... (in MEDIA)
Ah, children's books. Such fine funnels of useful information, particularly of the world-invading and human-enslaving variety. (via Metafiter)... More... (in MAIN)
Yes, now Nintendogs takes a sip of the "Hot Coffee." (well, not really.)... More... (in GADGETRY)
The BBC, after seeing the premiere of Doctor Who get into the wilds of the Internet before it actually went to air last March, has decided to simulcast BBC1 and BBC2 on the net, as well as providing downloads. This... More... (in MEDIA)
A little random anger in 10 parts to ring in your Wednesday morning.... More... (in MAIN)
Get it here. Mac folk can just use a Gmail account to set up Jabber in iChat, and apparently audio chat works too. I was using it last night, and both I (and my friend, on a Windows machine) noticed... More... (in INTERNET)
Jason Kottke has been speculating for a while now about the possibility that the operating system is more or less shifting off home computers and onto the Internet. He muses further on the subject here.... More... (in INTERNET)
Engadget went old skool today, relating the latest technological breakthroughs circa 1985. The part that warms my old, brittle bones is the "Engadget BBS" interface. Sweet.... More... (in GADGETRY)
The NYT speculates on what the mad scientists at Google have cooking in their labs, given that they just sold about $4 billion in stock.... More... (in INTERNET)
Here's one person's account of ditching the tube, courtesy of the Guardian. Since CBC Newsworld is in serious rerun territory, I've barely turned my TV on. It makes me question why I even pay for cable, since I get most... More... (in MEDIA)
Using a picture from Flickr, you can slap together wacky (or serious, Mr. Downerpants) magazine covers using this site. Pretty nifty (stole the link from Kottke.)... More... (in INTERNET)
According to Fortune, you can forget about the much touted "hot coffee" sex scene in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas that's causing such a stir amongst the town fathers. Instead, concentrate on the financial chicanery of the game's creators, Take... More... (in MEDIA)
I should care that the CBC is on strike, particularly since Newsworld is my breakfast viewing of choice. But surprisingly, it's been real easy to replace MotherCorp with a variety of information sources, mostly Internet based. I'd bet the rest... More... (in MEDIA)
National Public Radio, or "PBS for your ear", used to have a lot of their programs available through Audible.com. Which is all well and good, except that I'm cheap, and don't want to pay for public radio (even though technically... More... (in INTERNET)
I suspect the reason people are coming up with scuttlebutt about Google's possible futures is the same as with Apple; people really like the product and want to know what's next. Nobody's speculating madly about what bold innovations the next... More... (in INTERNET)
The NYT looks at the current state of affairs in Iraq, and it ain't pretty.... More... (in POLITICS)
I've been an Id slave since the original Quake, back in 1995. I remember playing that fine bit o' code on my Pentium 133, looking up more than once to find I'd been playing the game all night and had... More... (in GADGETRY)
It takes balls of steel to run a Chinese restaurant in Baghdad, as this story in the NYT illustrates.... More... (in POLITICS)
The Internet has overtaken television as the medium of choice in the oft-coveted 18 to 34 age bracket. I have new hope for the future; at least if kids are yelling "U R TEH SUX0R!" at one another over World... More... (in INTERNET)
Joey Devilla, who runs the always entertaining blog Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century, is ruminating on how even though he's edging towards 40 he's not going to sink into the typical "ah, screw it, I'll just listen... More... (in INTERNET)
Those pinko commie nogoodniks at the Nation have a really good article on their site about the connection between organized sports and mindless, braying patriotism. Apparently the Victorians looked down upon sport as something vulgar. Time for a Victorian revival!... More... (in POLITICS)
The Vancouver Housing Market blog is a wellspring of finely-tuned cynicism in the face of the real estate madness that currently infests my new home. Condo and house prices are sky-high, and in my opinion the bubble will burst soon.... More... (in INTERNET)
Everybody's favorite band of maniacs has apparently moved most of their operations to the Internet, eliminating the need for training camps or carrying around incriminating evidence.... More... (in INTERNET)
Have you ever wondered what World War 2 would have been like as the text message chatter of several overly-caffienated teens? Nah, me neither, but somebody out there on the intarnets did, with hilarious results.... More... (in INTERNET)
Keillor hosts "A Prairie Home Companion," which to be honest was always kind of a pain to listen to after a solid week of great NPR programming. PHC is a folksy raconteur-and-tunes show that really isn't my cup of tea,... More... (in MEDIA)
Wired has a really good story about soldier bloggers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how instant eyewitness accounts straight from the operations theatre are a new aspect of warfare. No-one's sure just how it'll play out, but the bloggers are... More... (in INTERNET)
There's a radio show/podcast called "The Gilmor Gang" where a number of Silicon Valley's eminence grises expostulate on the current state of technology and the computer industry. Gilmor is a bit of a ornery jerk, but he runs a pretty... More... (in INTERNET)
Juan Cole has a fine breakdown of what went wrong in the Middle East and Afghanistan, from Reagan to Dubya. Not exactly the least biased source available, but still a decent summary of recent history.... More... (in POLITICS)
The New Yorker veers off from trenchant observations and elitist fiction to weigh in on Hollywood's new dependence on the DVD market. But apparently smaller, more diverse companies can also make some decent cash directly through the DVD market.... More... (in MEDIA)
Looks like Apple might be tossing some serious DRM at their new Intel-based Macs. I'm of two minds about this; on the one hand, I don't want to shift to Linux, since their user interface is complete crap. And I'm... More... (in GADGETRY)
So I've finally broken the chains of Telus. My sister and I switched contracts, so now I'm the proud owner of a Motorola V635. This little beast packs a lot of features into $150 worth of phone; mp3 player, color... More... (in GADGETRY)
Apparently the nose-in-the-air New York types who head to the Hamptons in the summer are wont to display their neighbourhood affiliations on cheeseball bumper stickers. Lame.... More... (in MAIN)
I'm visiting Edmonton for the next few days. So email me, Edmonton homies, if you want to get together in the real world instead of this passel of pixels.... More... (in MAIN)
Iraq sinks ever deeper into chaos.... More... (in POLITICS)
Well, not exactly. But it appears the technology game ain't quite what it used to be, at least for Silicon Valley moneybags financiers.... More... (in INTERNET)
One day, Google will run everything. On that day, my site will look like this. If you want to create your own Google-esque sites, go here. And post links to your creations in the comments section!... More... (in INTERNET)
Noted curmudgeon John C. Dvorak used to like nothing better than to taunt Apple for real or perceived flaws in the hardware, software, or unhinged management style of Steve Jobs. But he's done an about-face, and is calling the newest... More... (in GADGETRY)
...but to hell with all you Who haters. :) Elizabeth Sladen, aka Sarah Jane Smith, is going to appear in the new season of Dr. Who, along (presumably) with K-9. The Beeb also trotted out David Tennant's costume, which is... More... (in MEDIA)
Telus continues its long tradition of villainy Telus, currently in the throes of a strike, has blocked access to the union website through their network. Just when you think they can't get any more evil.... But all is not lost,... More... (in INTERNET)
One of Alan Moore's best funnybooks is being made into a film. I have very serious doubts they'll do anything but screw it up; after all, it's the story of a fascist Britain being set upon by a terrorist in... More... (in MEDIA)
Leaders have asserted their dominance over lesser mortals throughout the ages, not just through accumulated wealth and gangs of armed and indentured thugs, but also through elaborate finery. "Dressed to Rule," a new book reviewed in Washington Monthly, details how... More... (in MAIN)
Delicious Library is a super cool program that lets you scan all your media into a library with your iSight, then goes out to Amazon and gathers up all the relevant data. It's great for tracking who you've lent books... More... (in INTERNET)
I'm reasonably certain very few (if any) of my readers reside in New York City, but these timely tips for pissing people off on the subway can be applied in pretty much any rapid transit situation. Which leaves Edmonton out;... More... (in MAIN)
This "Hollywood sucks and here's why" thing just keeps going, though quite frankly I'm not sure the movies are any worse than the usual crop of crap. In fact, if you're into the nerdy stuff, the last few years have... More... (in MEDIA)
Sorry for the multi-day absence, everyone. MY site got moved from one server to another, and in the process something got messed up, so I couldn't log in and post anything. But it's all fixed now, so expect a fair... More... (in MAIN)
I've only watched a couple of episodes, but the new Battlestar Galactica is indeed one of the best written shows on TV. It's nice to see that a new bunch of writers have taken a bunch of cheeseball cliches, extracted... More... (in MEDIA)
The "Hollywood is dying" meme seems to be picking up steam, though I personally think it may be more of a temporary bout of the blahs, like the period in the Seventies before Jaws and Star Wars, I could very... More... (in MEDIA)
Nokia has a new phone without a keypad, aimed at the high-fashion set. Apparently looking good trumps any attempt at functionality, as this review on Mobileburn elucidates.... More... (in GADGETRY)
The CBC has an interview with special effects pioneer and all-around genius Ray Harryhausen. He makes a good point that for all the razzle-dazzle of current computer-generated effects, you just can't beat the charm of the stop-motion undead.... More... (in MEDIA)
Daniel Schorr, NPR's senior news analyst, lays out why Karl Rove's nefarious underhandedness are less about politics and more about a war based on lies. You'll need either Realplayer or the Windows Media Player to listen to the piece.... More... (in MEDIA)
Here's an interesting review of a book called "The Very Small Home," all about how the Japanese maximize space in the sometimes miniscule confines of their apartments. Since I'm currently living in a small studio in the West End (though... More... (in MAIN)
Amazon has hit the decade mark, which is pretty notable for a web company. The NYT has a good (and long) article about the rise, wobble, and rise of the online bookslinger. I know Amazon's had at least one life-changing... More... (in INTERNET)
Phrack, the preeminent hacker's magazine, is calling it quits. I was never smart enough to take advantage of the high end hacking tips and screeds against the phone company, but it was still part of the background noise of my... More... (in INTERNET)
The NYT has a good article about how England became a magnet for Islamic jihadists over the course of a decade.... More... (in POLITICS)
In order to clear up possible confusion, I should probably explain the rather mixed-up events of the last few months. I was working in Osoyoos as a reporter from March 2004 until the end of January 2005, and towards the... More... (in MAIN)
Darren Barefoot is a blogger in Vancouver who's decided podcasting ain't all that. He makes some good points, though it still won't stop me from fomenting a Dr. Who podcast with I Am Steven, and maybe doing a one-man podcast... More... (in INTERNET)
I meant to post something about the bombings yesterday, but never got a chance to do so. But the Guardian has one columnist's impressions of being in London after the bombings that does a good job of putting you in... More... (in MAIN)
Here's a fine list on what one LA Weekly writer would do if put in charge of Hollywood. It's not only pretty funny, it's also a fair assessment of what's wrong with Tinseltown.... More... (in MEDIA)
So somebody explain to me how a reporter who didn't actually report on something that another reporter did means she goes to jail. Judith Miller, who admittedly dropped the ball on her coverage of Iraq, is getting packed off to... More... (in MEDIA)
The pictures speak for themselves, I think. Ah, to be in grade 6 again...... More... (in GADGETRY)
The first blog completely devoted to horse hatred. I very rarely laugh out loud at something I read on a blog, but this is a notable exception.... More... (in INTERNET)
It ain't all about big eyes and schoolgirls. According to Businessweek, anime is all about the cashola.... More... (in MEDIA)
We've all run into them, the little things that make playing otherwise good to great video games a hellish experience. I'm sure we can all come up with a few more examples ourselves.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Apple just added podcast support to iTunes, and so far it looks pretty slick. I only had a few minutes to play with the new features, but I managed to snag a few podcasts for the Skytrain commute with a... More... (in INTERNET)
The NYT has an interesting article about rebuilding the war-torn shambles that is Kabul into something a little less broken.... More... (in POLITICS)
Turns out Stephen "England's Coolest Homo" Fry is going to write an episode of next season's Doctor Who. This is great news, as besides being funnier than hell in Blackadder, he's also one hell of a writer. And in case... More... (in MEDIA)
A solid gold look at the bitter, acrimonious later career of Grover Monster, the shining light of Sesame Street.... More... (in MEDIA)
I generally hate going to the gym. It's boring, repetitive, and almost every gym in existence plays middle of the road, crappy pop music at a ridiculous volume. But thanks to the one-two combo of my iPod Mini and some... More... (in INTERNET)
So I was listening to the BBC World Service over breakfast yesterday (thanks to this fine Dashboard widget) and they had a story about the upcoming elections in Iran. They played a bit of the campaign commercial for the hard-line... More... (in POLITICS)
If there's one thing I enjoy, it's a finely crafted rant. A site I just stumbled across called Acme Hates Software look relatively new, but already there's some Grade "A" bitching about various bits of poorly coded, clunky or otherwise... More... (in INTERNET)
Shades of Thomas Friedman! More NYT goodness, with an article about how one and two person companies are outsourcing the grunt work to overseas factories, programmers and other services. I'm not sure if this is a great example of globalization... More... (in POLITICS)
Apparently the current generation of "leet haxx0rs" aren't content to download movies and trade video games. The newest rage amongst the young and digitally criminal is pilfering credit cards online. Some of the fleecing schemes these enterprising young fellows have... More... (in INTERNET)
I don't want to give anything away to you non-downloaders out there, but the season finale of Doctor Who was absolutely stunning. In the words of the Doctor himself, it was "fantastic." How did Whovians luck out? How, against all... More... (in MEDIA)
I'll be in Penticton over the weekend, staying at a cabin with an net connection that only barely lets me check my email. The site won't get much content in the meantime, but I'll try to make up for it... More... (in MAIN)
Certainly one of the most insightful and unique takes I've seen on the Star Wars saga in a while. Stephenson might not be right on the money, but he does raise a few interesting points about the role of the... More... (in MEDIA)
...which I think comes from living in the hermetically sealed confines of academia for decades at a time. Here's a good example; eminent beret-wearing philisophe Michel Foucalt apparently thought the Iranian revolution in 1979 was a fine bit of business.... More... (in MAIN)
Of course, if you ask me, it's a clear bitch-slapping by Spielberg, who has two Oscars for directing under his belt. They both have untold millions, and Spielberg never foisted Jar Jar Binks on the world. But I imagine fellow... More... (in MEDIA)
(from the webmaster:) We apologise for Freyburg.com's lack of new material in the past few days; Freyburg's hosting company moved the site to a new server, the result being the need for this site to undergo a database upgrade.... More... (in MAIN)
Ah, nothing says the great outdoors like neon, New York City cops and pavement. And if you're looking to work in Whistler, you might just be able to join an Ewok village too.... More... (in MAIN)
The NYT has a really good opinion piece detailing how the media have declined since the glory days of Watergate, especially the "oops, we kind of got jerked around on that whole 'lying about WMD' issue, tee hee," egg-on-the-face that... More... (in MEDIA)
Out here in Vancouver, the housing market is, well, insane. I happened to do pretty well by that insanity, after buying and then selling a condo, but the prices have just kept climbing up, to the point where it's actually... More... (in MAIN)
Technorati tracks what's what in the blogosphere. It used to be sort of clunky, but now it's gotten a lot more slick and useful. And I found out through the site that I got a shout-out in the latest Lego... More... (in INTERNET)
The Guardian has an article about movie trailers, which can be the best thing about going to the theatre. Unless it's for Stealth, Jamie Foxx's bid at Lou Gosset Jr. post-Oscar failure.... More... (in MEDIA)
There's an article in the CSR about an urban planner who says artsy, culturally focused improvements to a city don't make it all that attractive to the middle class, who keep the place humming. For further good city reading, refer... More... (in MAIN)
Seems the Saudis aren't quite the monolithic fanatics they're made out to be. A few, usually younger members of that closed society are agitating for change..somewhat quietly.... More... (in POLITICS)
The Washington Post has an article about Akihabara, the nerdiest place on earth (in a good way.) Apparently otakus not only visit but live there now, and choke up the streets with the pitter-patter of anime purchasing. I've been to... More... (in MAIN)
As everyone knows by now, Apple announced yesterday that they'll be switching to Intel processors in the next year or two. For most users, I'm betting the change will be seamless, and I'm looking forward to owning a Powerbook in... More... (in GADGETRY)
A somewhat fawning but still interesting article about a guy who moved from Bell Labs, the think tank of yore for the computer industry, to the upstart brainbox playground known as Google. (You have to go through a "please register"... More... (in INTERNET)
This site is in danger of becoming a "Greatest Hits of the NYT," simply because I haven't had a lot of time to read anything else. But that doesn't stop this article about Silicon Valley's repeat-offending entrepreneurs from being pretty... More... (in INTERNET)
The verdict? Not so good.... More... (in POLITICS)
So I'm doing my evening constitutional and checking out my new digs just off Robson, and I wander into Bang-On, a usually decent sarcastic t-shirt shop on Burrard. They had a series of "world leader" t-shirts, and I asked if... More... (in MAIN)
There's a good article on the NYT today about Iraq's version of the Ho Chi Minh trail, the shadowy network by which insurgents slap the American troops around. But if guerilla warfare isn't your thing, try this slagfest aimed squarely... More... (in MAIN)
But it's pretty damned funny. (Alright, if Neil Cumpston reviews ROTS, I'll be forced to recant, I admit it.)... More... (in MEDIA)
There's plenty of network TV shows out there, but recently some ex-TechTV types have begun putting out television shows specifically produced for the Internet. Systm and From the Shadows are two such beasts, and almost all the old TechTV cats... More... (in INTERNET)
Which presumably doesn't include "The Real World: Lagos". An interesting article on how MTV targets different countries for their global domination schemes.... More... (in MEDIA)
I'll be moving into my new place over the next couple of days, so the postings will be somewhat sparse. Sorry, all.... More... (in MAIN)
The NYT has a good article about the violence on the road from Baghdad airport into the city. Makes Highway 3 in the winter look like a cakewalk.... More... (in POLITICS)
Is there anything you can't do, Flickr? A gallery of sweet old school Star Trek hotness for your erudition.... More... (in INTERNET)
According to a story in the New York Times, home theatres, DVDs, video games and the Internet are all keeping people from going to the theatre. I love the movie-going experience, or at least I do when it's not at... More... (in MEDIA)
According to a new report, the main source of calories for the United States is sugary sodas. Man, it's no surprise North America's obesity levels are skyrocketing and diabetes is killing us all off. And people worry about bread and... More... (in MAIN)
This time Pesce breaks down how everybody can make some dough and still screw the networks.... More... (in MEDIA)
At least, these nutty predictions from one of "Britain's leading thinkers" (ie. not usually drunk and beating people up at soccer matches...) are pretty wacko.Talking Yogurt? WTFBBQ?... More... (in MAIN)
Ok, I like Star Wars as much (and let's be honest here, more) than the next guy, but these cats are pretty scary.... More... (in MEDIA)
the above title basically means "promotional video by Google touting their new stuff." Which, when you think about it, is still pretty interesting.... More... (in INTERNET)
Apparently the Jobs-man announced recently the next version of iTunes (due in a month or two) will support podcasting. But there's some question as to whether you'll be able to grab whatever you want, or if the iTunes Music Store... More... (in INTERNET)
Well, not really. But apparently some clever South Korean scientist types have figured out a way to clone embryos and extract their stem cells, which means in decades to come we might be able to replace our ramshackle organs with... More... (in MAIN)
With very little fanfare, Apple has slipped video capabilities into iTunes. You can already view movie trailers and music videos within the iTunes framework, but I was surprised to find one of the podcasts I regularly download had a video... More... (in INTERNET)
There's a Watchmen movie site, and it trumpets the fact the film is due Summer 2006. Besides the fact a comic this brilliant deserves a slot at Christmas, I'm not thrilled with the idea of taking Alan Moore's masterpiece and... More... (in MEDIA)
The console wars are heating up something fierce, with each of the Big Three announcing their new and shiny hardware this week at E3. The Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 both look impressive, and Nintendo's new "Revolution" console probably... More... (in GADGETRY)
Alright, enough of that pretentious French crap. The New York Times has a glowing review of Revenge of the Sith. The Guardian has a funny ripping of same. And MSNBC has a story about Ian McDiarmid, who for my money... More... (in MEDIA)
So sayeth this article. It makes some very valid points about how people torrenting shows are actually creating larger potential audiences for advertising It also rightly claims that unlike music and movies, which people are used to paying for, TV... More... (in INTERNET)
The Black Table has a great review of the new Nine Inch Nails album which sums up the essential problem with Trent Reznor's music; though well crafted, it's the same old moody dribble as always. Maybe that's not Reznor's fault.... More... (in MEDIA)
based on the fact that I saw a young man sitting on Davie Street today, nose buried in a copy of Watchmen. I stopped, informed him he was reading the best comic book ever written, and went on my merry... More... (in MAIN)
Of all shapes and sizes.... More... (in INTERNET)
Anthony Bourdain wrote Kitchen Confidential, a scathingly funny book about the inner workings of the restaurant world. He's also railed against the culture of the "celebrity chef", while still working that particular cash-pony pretty hard with his book and TV... More... (in MEDIA)
....no surprise there. Apparently they rack up the unpaid bills just as much as people of low-or middle-income backgrounds. As my dad used to say when a fancy car would drive by, "there goes a guy in a lot of... More... (in MAIN)
Apparently ethnic Chinese are running more and more traditional Parisian bistros. And if that doesn't float your boat, check out what's up in Dubai.... More... (in MAIN)
...partly because Bush uses one.... More... (in GADGETRY)
I managed to get into a press screening of Revenge of the Sith yesterday. The boys from Fox were pretty adamant about not giving out formal reviews, so I'll just say it's a lot better than the other two prequels... More... (in MEDIA)
I've been listening to the Revenge of the Sith soundtrack, and so far it's pretty damned good. There's parts that sound a little like Williams' scores for Amistad and Schindler's List, which is a tad unusual, but given the dour... More... (in MEDIA)
Hitchens calls the place "worse than Orwellian." Nothing here you don't already know if you've read a thing or two about North Korea, but Hitchens sums it all up rather succinctly.... More... (in POLITICS)
...this time about what Lucasfilm will do without the enormous Jedi cash cow driving it. This is just going to get worse and worse before May 19, people. :)... More... (in MEDIA)
Myself and Hodson were wandering down Nelson St last night when we walked past Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford. She doesn't look as scrawny as she did in her Ally McBeal days, and Ford didn't look anywhere near as old... More... (in MAIN)
More NYT goodness in an article about how putting Star Wars to bed will make life easier for sci-fi writers, who have far outstripped the simplistic tropes of Senor Lucas for some time now.... More... (in MEDIA)
After literally decades of trying to bring Douglas Adams' magnum opus to the big screen, the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy has finally hit the movie theatre. I've been a fan of the books and the radio show since... More... (in MEDIA)
The NYT, of all people, examines the reasons Enterprise is getting cancelled and the Star Trek franchise in general has sucked for the last several years.... More... (in MEDIA)
If you've ever wanted to hear a radio show about LEGO, here's your chance.... More... (in INTERNET)
Just installed the newest Mac iteration of OS X. So far, smooth sailing. Comment, Mac brethren!... More... (in GADGETRY)
Sorry, everyone. My domain name expired this morning, and for a little while there Freyburg.com was free for the taking. Luckily only about five people read this thing, or my secret plans for cornering the e-goat space would have been... More... (in INTERNET)
All praise Cam, who put together a Flickr photo box of my latest photographic shenanigans... More... (in INTERNET)
Jason Kottke lays down some thoughts on how the popping of the dot.com bubble led to a lot of neat tinkering, and how new infusions of money will reduce this cauldron of creativity to old fashioned money chasing.... More... (in INTERNET)
The New York Review of Books has a good breakdown of how the Republicans won the 2004 election through some pretty low-down appeals to the religious right, then tossed all their kerfuffle about gay marriage and the like out the... More... (in POLITICS)
The title says it all. Feast your eyes on some sweet funny bookery. Then laugh at the worst covers ever.... More... (in MEDIA)
Technology Review, MIT's magazine of tech coolness, has a good article by Stewart Brand about environmental heresy and another article about the conflict between digital and paper libraries.... More... (in MEDIA)
Ever wonder what kind of financial trickery and mumblesuch the studios get up to for their blockbuster summer product? Slate tells all.... More... (in MEDIA)
From the always reliable Bookslut, here's a parable of how a subscription to a magazine can go out of control in an amusing fashion.... More... (in MEDIA)
...at least in the States. Though I really couldn't care less....I get most of my TV viewing off torrents anyway, so it isn't like I'll actually notice.... More... (in MEDIA)
Apparently so, according to the NYT.... More... (in MEDIA)
is the irritating subtitle that a pile of different books have tossed about for the last decade or so. The Guardian has a nice little rip on the over-the-top claims that Irishmen, cod, and salt have hacked the planet.... More... (in MEDIA)
The NY Press has a Friedman-centric "Get Your War On" take-off, as well as a pretty funny review/slag of "The World is Flat."... More... (in MEDIA)
from the BBC. Uh-oh.... More... (in MEDIA)
Like many arts degree holding pseudo-intellectuals, I did my time in a independent bookstore. While my experiences weren't that bad, this acrticle makes the fairly valid point that the differences between big-box book marts and indie stores aren't as wide... More... (in MAIN)
There's a good article in the Globe and Mail today about what Google's up to, and what changes it might bring not only to the Internet but the wider world.... More... (in INTERNET)
I haven't read "The World is Flat" yet, but this review makes me want to pick it up. Friedman's previous globalization magnum opus, "The Lexus and the Olive Tree," was a little more balanced about the benefits and perils of... More... (in POLITICS)
Something Awful has a great line-up of Japanized movie posters. Let's Kiosk!... More... (in MAIN)
Foreign Affairs has a long but very good article about how the United States is falling way behind the rest of the world in broadband innovation, thanks to (surprise, surprise) the Bush administration.... More... (in INTERNET)
At least that's the advice of Henry Blodget, who used to be an dot.com era stock whiz, but is currently writing some interesting articles for Slate. He's been over in China checking things out for the last month or so,... More... (in POLITICS)
Not that this is a surprise to anyone, but those devious, inscrutable Norwegians are apparently deluding themselves about just how wealthy they are.... More... (in MAIN)
Yes, that's right, the Princess Leia buns have returned. Natalie Portman is sporting the head danish action in Episode III.... More... (in MEDIA)
Ever hankered for some Mac OS X Tiger developer trading cards? Of course not, but that hasn't stopped the Internet from spitting out said cards for your erudition.... More... (in GADGETRY)
hodson! Originally uploaded by Freyburg. just testing out the "blog from Flickr" function with the evil visage of one Jeff Hodson as he basks in the Yaletown sun at the Metro offices.... More... (in INTERNET)
Lookit this fancy-dancy LG6190. I was considering escaping the Telus monolith, but I figured I do a hell of a lot more text messaging with my phone than diddling around with Bluetooth, so I upgraded from my clunky old beast... More... (in GADGETRY)
Or not. But apparently now you have the option to upload your own video to Google's servers, presumably so people can search it using Google Video.... More... (in INTERNET)
"Cellphonies" being a term for people talking into their phone at nobody to fake out other people around them. Sounds pretty stupid, but there we are.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Apparently electronic knob-twiddler Moby is the must-have accessory for today's young New York socialite. Damn, that's just odd.... More... (in MEDIA)
According to an article in the New Yorker, the only reason the American economy isn't going down the toilet is that China and Japan are buying up the dollar so America can keep buying their stuff. That's a system that... More... (in POLITICS)
so for me, it's kind of a win-win, or at least a tie.... More... (in MEDIA)
Now the BBC is saying they "mischaracterized" Eccleston's reasons for leaving the show, and that he always intended to only stick around for one season. Wierd.... More... (in MEDIA)
An interesting little article about how New York hitting bottom in the seventies, it's rise back to the top and Rupert Murdoch's meteoric career are all tied together.... More... (in MEDIA)
you can never go back.... More... (in GADGETRY)
At least according to MSNBC, which waxes poetic about how entrepreneurial what have you is alive and well again in Silicon Valley.... More... (in GADGETRY)
The Liberals are on the ropes, and it figures. There's no way a party, at least in Canada, can stay in power for anything longer than one term and not start dipping into the till. And the Liberals have aptly... More... (in POLITICS)
...this time courtesy of the New Yorker.... More... (in GADGETRY)
...though it isn't perfect. I've read a lot of Frank Miller's stuff, including The Dark Knight Returns and Give Me Liberty, and liked most of it, though the less said about DK2 the better. At any rate, Robert Rodriguez tried... More... (in MEDIA)
Esquire has a long article about a dope smoking skateboarder who goes through basic training and ends up in Iraq. Once again, I'm happy to be Canadian, not to mention a non-dope smoking non-skateboarder 34-year-old. :)... More... (in MAIN)
The New York Times is reporting on how the British press is having a grand old time mocking their future king and his chosen spouse. My favorite: "Two boring old gits to wed."... More... (in MEDIA)
Greenfield doesn't like me much (and not without reason, as my post was somewhat jerky if amusing), but he seems to have vanished off the face of the Internet. Nothing on his blog, his Flickr page hasn't been updated in... More... (in INTERNET)
According to columnist Ben Hammersley, Yahoo is kicking Google's ass.... More... (in INTERNET)
That was quick. Christoper Eccleston has quit as the new Doctor Who. Too bad, as I thought he was quite good in the role (though I've only seen the first episode). Oh well, get regeneratin'!... More... (in MEDIA)
New York Press has an annual list of the 50 most loathsome New Yorkers, and it's always nasty, not to mention often really funny. I don't know who half these people are, but apparently they're a pretty unpleasant bunch.... More... (in MAIN)
Aristotle vs. Descartes: fight!... More... (in MAIN)
So I was at the Massive tech expo at Science World today, and in about 30 minutes flat, a picture of me appeared on Flickr looking really dumb. I also ran into these fine fellows from Bryght, who it turns... More... (in INTERNET)
Here's a cool story of sewer workers in London. And here's a story about how Microsoft might be sliding into irrelevance. They aren't related in any way, but I like to link Microsoft and crap as much as I can.... More... (in MAIN)
Mehhh, I says. I only use Yahoo for their maps, which are actually pretty decent. I head straight to Google for practically everything else. But according to broadband guru Om Malik, Yahoo is striking back at the Google juggernaught with... More... (in INTERNET)
The Globe and Mail has a nice big article on our favorite Timelord. The first episode of the new series gets a big rave, as well it should.... More... (in MEDIA)
People saying stuff in New York. From what little I've read, they're amusing jerks.... More... (in MAIN)
I've always been interested in the life of bicycle couriers; partly because I like bikes, and partly because it's something fairly far our of my work experience. At any rate, here's a good story about a guy who went from... More... (in MAIN)
Glassdog has a pretty straightforward analysis of Boing Boing's relatively recent switch to advertising, though I think he's a little more worried than I am. The content hasn't changed any, and if I could make a buck on this website... More... (in INTERNET)
We were flipping the dial on the television this morning, and we stumbled across the most drugged out kid's show I've ever seen (and that includes 1960's Spiderman.) But go check out the Boobah website for yourself, and see if... More... (in MEDIA)
According to the New York Times, more and more strangers are making contact online and via cell phone. I can buy that, though choosing John Perry "the Web will walk my dog in the future" Barlow as a subject is... More... (in INTERNET)
Hong Kong is top dog, followed by New York. Vancouver gets 25th spot, and Edmonton....is 97th. But the ancestral manse beat out San Diego, Tulsa AND Mandaluyong! Yeah!... More... (in MAIN)
Cumpston, the genius behind the greatest review of Return of the King ever written, has scratched together some vulgar thoughts about Sin City, the upcoming Rodriguez-Miller splatter-fest. Dunno whether I'll see the film itself, since Miller's comics have gone downhill... More... (in MEDIA)
OurMedia is supposedly a place for everyone to upload their content for the entire world to see. Looks like Zed, except without the artsy Canadian hooey. Worth keeping an eye on, and I might even upload something, if I can... More... (in INTERNET)
Apparently recording at home is the new hecklebot. Traditional studios are dying (at least in New York) in favor of tunesmiths concocting their magic in a spare room. I know next to nothing about making music, but I do like... More... (in GADGETRY)
This is a pretty superficial and shallow list of which stars look great on a high definition tv, and which look like refried hell, but at least it's amusing. It also gives me one more reason to not bother with... More... (in MEDIA)
The New York Times has an article on the lengths some soldiers (including ones who've already been in Iraq once already) are going to to get out of Mess O' Potamia duty. Good on 'em.... More... (in POLITICS)
Ever wanted to transfer a song between two iPods? Yeah, me neither, but here's how, if you're interested.... More... (in GADGETRY)
I'm really starting to dig these interviews with small Mac software shops. Ranchero makes Marsedit, a great little program I use to manage this site.... More... (in GADGETRY)
A whole lot of torrenty Chomsky goodness.... More... (in POLITICS)
Bush is pushing arch-fiend and neocon Paul Wolfowitz to be the new head of the World Bank, as well as appointing strident mendicant Karen Hughes to represent America to the Arab world. To which I can only say...WTFBBQ? People are... More... (in POLITICS)
Apparently Bluetooth is starting to catch on, after years of being the red-headed stepchild of the technology world. Neato, I sez. My next phone will have to have Bluetooth, as I will then be able to sync it up with... More... (in GADGETRY)
and here's a fine one, courtesy of the NYT.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Besides the usual fine foreign reporting and whatnot, the New York Times is famous for, they also come up with some fairly interesting portrayals of average New Yorkers. This story about New York garbagemen is a neat peek into a... More... (in MAIN)
Check out the author of Naked Lunch and Junky as he levels his shotgun at the World Trade Centre. Apparently you can score this photograph for a mere $16,000 (starting bid.)... More... (in MAIN)
I'm not going to risk the wrath of Lucas and his Sith Lawyers by posting a link to the trailer, but I'm guessing all of you are smart enough to find it for yourself. The trailer is, simply put, amazing.... More... (in MEDIA)
Gopnik wrote Paris to the Moon, a memoir of a writer for the New Yorker who spent five years living in France with his wife and young child. It's a pretty decent book, despite slipping occasionally into the usual East... More... (in MAIN)
The comics page is taking a beating these days, thanks to reduced panel sizes and the prevalence of past-their-prime strips like Blondie and Garfield. But the Internet is turning the three panel strip upside down, with many comics skipping syndication... More... (in MEDIA)
Ehhhh, more of the same. At least it looks better than the teaser poster, where Darth Vader's head on Anakin's cape resembled the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.... More... (in MEDIA)
....to which I say bah and/or flimshaw. World of Warcraft, featured in an article in Slate, has eaten the soul of one of the people I'm currently living with, keeping him up all hours of the night and consuming his... More... (in INTERNET)
Some fine fellow deep in the depths of either the BBC or the CBC leaked the premiere episode of the new Dr. Who series onto the net, and as a result I may possibly have seen said episode, two weeks... More... (in MEDIA)
Cory Doctorow, who wrote Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom and Eastern Standard Tribe, is interviewed on O'Reilly today. He has a new book coming out, a present-day fantasy tale involving Wifi and dumpster divers. Doctorow can get a... More... (in INTERNET)
The New York Times has a long article on the most expensive album never made, and it's the brainchild of Axl Rose. Curiouser and curiouser.... More... (in MEDIA)
I've been out of the loop vis a vis PC gaming ever since I got my Mac a couple of years ago. There are a few games on the Mac, notably Unreal Tournament and a surfeit of strategy and role... More... (in MEDIA)
I'm sitting on the fence when it comes to mash-ups, the mixing of two songs to create a new and different tune. Too many mash-ups are just one song slapped onto another, which gets old pretty quick. The Double Black... More... (in MEDIA)
Yahoo is celebrating its tenth year with a photo montage along the lines of 10 by 10, showing some of the most notable imagery from the Web's short history.... More... (in INTERNET)
Slate has an interesting article about how though the Iraq war didn't bring about a flowering of democracy in the Middle East a la Russia 1989, things are starting to change.... More... (in POLITICS)
Lillerant has put together a list of essential PC software, along with links to the appropriate websites so you can keep your stuff up to date. You can (and he encourages you to) grab the list here. He also suggested... More... (in INTERNET)
I'm a little late to the party with this one, but some inspired madman has created both iPod silhouette people and a Steve Jobs keynote address out of Lego people.... More... (in MAIN)
Apple marketed the Airport Express as a way to fire your music all over the house and into your stereo. But the catch was you could only spit out stuff from iTunes. The smartypantses at Rogue Ameoba have found a... More... (in GADGETRY)
The Osoyoos Times, my former employer, now has a website. You can check out some of my columns here, here, here, and here.... More... (in MAIN)
Joe Sacco is a comic book artist who recently embedded with some U.S. Marines in Iraq. Bookslut has a link to the eight page comic he produced after he got back home. It's pretty cool, but almost 10 megs, and... More... (in MEDIA)
So Jason Kottke is blogging full time, having quit his day job. His plan is to accept contributions, and not go for the "easy" money of ads. A laudable goal; I for one would like to work in my underwear... More... (in INTERNET)
This time in, of all places, GQ. Fairly interesting, if only to find out Larry Page sat in his breakfast before going through the opening NASDAQ ceremony the day Google went public.... More... (in INTERNET)
at least according to some book reviewed by the Washington Post.... More... (in MEDIA)
Gold! (via Eric Rice)... More... (in MEDIA)
In years gone by, I used to get together with fellow TV flacks and watch the Oscars, jeering and cheering all the while. Cirrcumstance and geography don't make that a possibility anymore, but the Intarweb (it's not just for the... More... (in MEDIA)
Flickr has a new logo, which looks like a amalgam of Google, AOL, Kodak and Apple, all mushed together in a big pile of ugly. I guess said companies poured some money into the site, which is an excellent resource... More... (in INTERNET)
Evan Williams, one of the guys behind Blogger, is working on taking podcasting into pro territory with a firm called Odeo.... More... (in INTERNET)
I'm not much for the cooking...but this knife rack is pretty damned cool.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Apparently Alan Greenspan, the head of the Federal Treasury and Wall Street's eminence grise, isn't the force of nature he's made out to be, at least not according to an article in Foreign Policy.... More... (in POLITICS)
Ebert (as usual) hits the nail on the head and explains the reasoning, or lack thereof, behind the awards doled out every year to well crafted films about retards.... More... (in MEDIA)
A blog devoted to flatmate hatred. Funny and vindictive, but I'll let it speak for itself.... More... (in INTERNET)
Not much to say except they cover the basics here.... More... (in INTERNET)
A server upgrade seems to have eaten the last two entries on my site, so I'll repeat this one. Apartment Therapy has a small article comparing paper organizers to PDA devices, and paper seems to be coming out on top.... More... (in GADGETRY)
One of the panels at the Northern Voice conference on the weekend was on videoblogging, and they mentioned a program called ANT (which stands for Ant's Not Television.) It works much the same way that IpodderX does, grabbing videos hooked... More... (in INTERNET)
The writer who penned "The Bonfire of the Vanities" and "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" ws also a good friend of Hunter S. Thompson, and wrote a fitting epitaph to the man in, of all places, the Wall Street Journal.... More... (in MEDIA)
I'll be headed out to Korea in a few weeks or less, and reports on the insanely high levels of broadband in the ROK are just what a brotha needs to hear.... More... (in INTERNET)
Hunter S. Thompson killed himself over the weekend. I was never a fanatical devotee of the original gonzo journalist's work, but I can appreciate what he did to break the mold of objective reporting in the turmoil of the 1960s... More... (in MEDIA)
This article is a little old, but it'll put all my meandering dribble from yesterday into a better perspective for the blogophobes out there.... More... (in INTERNET)
More neat stuff from the northern Voice conference...Kirsten Bole (who is currently sitting next to me) just told me about a site called 10 by 10. The idea behind the site is to show a grid of the hundred most... More... (in MEDIA)
Me looking dorky here and here. I met this nice lady over IRC at the previous seminar, and this guy and I had a fine discussion about Alan Moore's near dietyhood after the first conference. I also met blogerati stars... More... (in INTERNET)
The last session was about video blogging, which I haven't as yet gotten involved in. You'd think my background in television would lend itself to video blogging, but in fact it's the one thing that keeps me from trying vblogs.... More... (in INTERNET)
Tod Maffin is speaking about the podcasting phenomenon at the Northern Voice blogging conference. I'm thinking about putting a podcast together, though not until I've got my ducks in a row in Korea. Anyway, the NYT also ran a story... More... (in GADGETRY)
So I've already found some pictures of myself online, had someone add me as a Flickr contact, and added a couple of RSS feeds. Just to be a total nerd, I fired up BBC World Service's video feed to add... More... (in GADGETRY)
Now this just ain't right.... More... (in MAIN)
Already I'm online and incriminated, as someone took a picture of me outside in the hall sucking down some coffee.... More... (in MAIN)
Tim Bray, some Sun Microsystems nabob, is warming up the crowd. I got into the keynote, presumably because four other people overslept. More later.... More... (in MAIN)
Currently I'm #4 on the waiting list to get into the Northern Voices blogger conference at UBC Robson. Since I just found out about this shindig yesterday, I don't feel too bad about sitting and the hallway and diddling around... More... (in MAIN)
Gaming magazines are by and large terrible, as eloquently stated here and here. I don't really play many videogames anymore, but when I did, I was lucky enough to be able to read "Next Generation" magazine, the onl gaming magazine... More... (in GADGETRY)
Something Awful ably demonstrates why music from ten years ago is just as bad as the bulk of the music out today.... More... (in MEDIA)
The premise of this article is that most New Yorkers wish ill upon Bush when it comes to Iraq, but are forced to re-evaluate in the wake of the unquestionably successful elections. Bit of a quandry fro those intellectual East... More... (in POLITICS)
....appeal to their vanity. Turns out stem cell research may cure Alzheimer's or cancer, but what really matters is a new way to get a boob job.... More... (in POLITICS)
Ah, sweet Walkman goodness. Followed by yummy iPod-age! CBC lays it all out.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Since i'll be heading to Seoul soon (or at least just outside of it), I've been researching the expat scene over in South Korea. According to Gridskipper, this is a site I should probably avoid. On the other hand, this... More... (in MAIN)
According to this book review in the NYT, China's going to basically run the show this century. Not really news, but interesting to read about nonetheless.... More... (in POLITICS)
This may not be news to some of you more bookish and college-boy types, but apparently Woodrow Wilson had no love for the non-whites. Check out just how bad the League of Nations advocate was here.... More... (in POLITICS)
This is kind of old, and I may have posted it before, but Seanbaby's list of the twenty worst videogames ever bears repeating.... More... (in GADGETRY)
No, not that Ali. Generally left (but hawkish on Iraq) contrarian Christopher Hitchens and anti-Iraq war commentator Tariq Ali face off on Iraq's future.... More... (in POLITICS)
Is Microsoft beginning the long slide into irrelevance? According to this bit of punditry, The Beast from Redmond is giving off the first whiff of rot on the way to the dump.... More... (in GADGETRY)
I wasn't aware Swedish furniture stirred such strong feelings in the Brits, but apparently Ikea drives them crazy.... More... (in MAIN)
Maramushi, the people who came up with Newsmap, the crazy visual graph that maps out Google News into an easily read series of headline graphics, have come up with another winner. Flickr Graph maps out all the connections between different... More... (in INTERNET)
The New York Times has an interesting profile on World of Warcraft, the massively multiplayer online RPG that's swept up nerds in an orgy of pixels and monster clubbing. I haven't played the game myself, but I can personally vouch... More... (in GADGETRY)
This setup combines two "it's not a bug, it's a feature" aspects of Apple's latest product offerings; the "random good! screen bad!" iPod Shuffle, along with an Airport Express warming someone's coffee. I can't speak for the Airport Express, but... More... (in GADGETRY)
Neal Stephenson, author of (most recently) the Baroque Cycle,is the subject of a great interview in Reason magazine (link lifted from the fine folk at Boing Boing.) Stephenson manages to cover religion, economics, the changing nature of nation states, and... More... (in MEDIA)
Newsweek has an interesting profile of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who they describe as the most powerful man in Iraq. Seems he's the one who really pushed for elections and who continues to keep the majority of the Shia population... More... (in POLITICS)
The Toronto Star has a pretty interesting article about how the rest of Canada hates Toronto. It sums up many of my feelings about the place; the one time I was there it struck me as Edmonton on steroids. Having... More... (in MAIN)
This account of life as a prisoner in Guantanamo Bay is pretty harrowing. Bearing in mind the article only shows one side of the story, if what's said is true, it's pretty depressing. Shocking it ain't, given how much we... More... (in POLITICS)
CBC's website has a fairly long investigation into the contents and popularity of Red Bull, the energy drink that took the United States by storm and is now being intensely marketed in Canada. I personally don't understand what's so great... More... (in MAIN)
The New York Times has an article about the Iraqi elections, juxtaposed against elections in South Vietnam during the height of that abortive war. While we all know the end to that story, the article aso points to the spread... More... (in POLITICS)
Looks like Boeing is offering broadband on some flights, or at least hyping it. Plus they're showing people brandishing white earphones, hoping some of the iPod's lustre rubs off on them without actually having any iPods in their ad. And... More... (in INTERNET)
With all the back and forth and Vancouver visiting, updating the site has taken a temporary back seat. I'll try to rectify that soon with some trenchant verbiage and a few links.... More... (in MAIN)
Another one from Cnet, this time about how the much pined for Powerbook G5 is going to take a while to go from vaporware to reality. And here's a dainty audiophile snob's take on how to get the best experience... More... (in GADGETRY)
Newsweek has a long and quite decent profile of the current state of the insurgency in Iraq. Among the tidbits are the fact that the Iraqi police may have actually had Zarqawi under arrest and let him go. Oops.... More... (in POLITICS)
Slate has an interesting story about James Cameron, and how his career after "Titanic" has been a whole lotta nothing.... More... (in MEDIA)
Japanese production companies are finally starting to crack down on the legions of fansubbers providing subtitled anime to the unwashed masses on the Internet. Despite Cnet being about a year or two behind yours truly on the matter of fansubbers,... More... (in INTERNET)
I thought the Steve Perry fan fiction debacle from about a month ago would be the first and last time the Journey frontman's adventures would grace the pages of Freyburg. I thought wrong, as some madman has painted a picture... More... (in INTERNET)
I'm not only getting stories and pictures for the paper, I'm also cleaning up my apartment to get my damage deposit back, and my Dad is here helping out. So we'll be running around like maniacs in preparation for the... More... (in MAIN)
I just can't get enough of the greatest genius in comicdom, Alan Moore. Neither, evidently, can the BBC, who featured him on a show named Chain Reaction (sorry, it's Realaudio). There's also a transcript. I found this thanks to the... More... (in MEDIA)
Courtesy of the official site, here's the opening crawl for Star Wars: Episode III. I think it sucks.... More... (in MEDIA)
...as presented by The Independent.... More... (in MEDIA)
Here's an article about how Nintendo might go the "software only" route Sega was forced into after the Dreamcast tanked. I hope not; Nintendo may have been a bunch of power-mad jerks back in the day, but recently they've been... More... (in GADGETRY)
The nominees for the 2005 Oscars were announced this morning. I haven't seen many of the nominees, though I have a few (ahem) stored away and a long plane ride ahead of me, so I'll at least see "Ray" and... More... (in MEDIA)
I wasn't the world's biggest fan of the Tonight Show, but Johnny Carson was a very smart guy, and undeniably talented at what he did. The New York Times has a great (and long) obituary and retrospective.... More... (in MEDIA)
The Guardian has a look back at 30 years of hip-hop. It's a pretty interesting article, and I intend to use my p2p powers to compile the included "ultimate mix tape" listing. But I remember listening to rap back in... More... (in MEDIA)
as it expounds upon the greatest television show ever made. :)... More... (in MEDIA)
Here's some nice invective about "Not One More Damn Dime Day," yet another ineffectual bit of "power to the people" protest that doesn't accomplish anything while also not involving any sacrifice. After reading Adbusters, which is the same damn histrionics... More... (in POLITICS)
Now that's a magazine cover. Drink more, and when you wake up, you'll be in Canada! The feature article ain't bad either, though only my Vancouver readers can get any use out of the Seattle bar guide. :)... More... (in MEDIA)
After a cursory glance at my stats page, it appears some site called Pimptress haslinked to me on several occassions. I haven't got a clue why, though I like the name. :) And among the search terms that drive people... More... (in INTERNET)
The NYT has an interesting story about how Mecca, unlike the rest of Saudi Arabia (generally speaking) is a fairly tolerant, open city, filled with debate and awash in multiculturalism. It's a pretty interesting read, at least for a non-Muslim... More... (in MAIN)
Time was when I would jump in and muck with the newest and most untested hardware and software in order to be on the bleeding edge of the technological curve. Those days have passed; I'm far more content to have... More... (in INTERNET)
Gizmodo has a link to a cool set of pictures and a blurb about an abandoned Apple store in Kuwait. I don't know what's spookier, the store or all that obsolete Mac OS 9 software still lining the shelves.... More... (in GADGETRY)
I was just listening to Rice's confirmation hearing on the radio on the way to work (ah, the joys of living close to the border and getting NPR) and she mentioned the State Department still uses Wang computers. WTF? This... More... (in POLITICS)
Apparently the record industry is using artificial intelligence to help pick what songs will be hits. This is one of those things we always suspected, but now we've got proof. Not that I really care; I haven't listened to top... More... (in MEDIA)
Amiga will never die. No matter how many times the long-suffering computer is pronounced kaput at the hand of a new batch of incompetent investors, somebody always comes along and says "No, this time for sure." It never amounts to... More... (in GADGETRY)
Seymour Hersh, who exposed the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, and more recently scooped everyone with the Abu Ghraib scandal, says U.S. Special Forces are operating in Iran. Apparently they're softening up the joint, targeting nuclear installations and missile sites.... More... (in POLITICS)
The Guardian has an interesting article about how the singles charts are almost completely irrelevant, so the fact Elvis just got his 1,0000 number one hit song is at best a mixed accomplishment. Bet the King didn't see that one... More... (in MEDIA)
This time it's a cleric, who resigned as one of Iran's theocratic vice-presidents in protest of his Parliament's hard-line ways, and is blogging like a maniac in protest. A lot of North American bloggers sometimes seem to have grasped the... More... (in INTERNET)
I got my dad a copy of Delicious Library for Christmas. It's a real cool program that lets you catalog your books, films, and whatever else by scanning its barcode. It goes out and gets all the data it needs... More... (in GADGETRY)
In keeping with the half-assed musical theme that seems to be developing, here's some bizarre album covers.... More... (in MEDIA)
A singer named Nina Gordon has a great singing voice, a website, and an awesome, folky(!) cover of NWA's "Straight Outta Compton." GOLD!... More... (in MEDIA)
The National Intelligence Council has put out a long but quite interesting study about how current trends in globalization, politics and growing economies will play out by 2020. The upshot of it all is that Asia is going to be... More... (in POLITICS)
Russell Smith is the Globe and Mail's resident metrosexual and cultural commentator. His latest missive is about how much he hates going to the movie theatre, seeing as how he has to share space with the great unwashed and see... More... (in MEDIA)
When I first went to Tokyo in late 2001, phone companies had just rolled out their advanced 3G cell phones, which could do nifty stuff like videoconferencing, sending movies back and forth, and other cool stuff. According tot he New... More... (in GADGETRY)
One of my new favorites in Blogistan is Bookslut, which is like a snarky version of the Globe and Mail's book section, minus the tenured professors justifying their existence and plus a healthy respect for graphic novels. If you're into... More... (in MEDIA)
No WMD, eh? And you came to this conclusion after an election? What a surprise.... More... (in POLITICS)
To the surprise of no-one (who reads the rumor sites), Apple reased the Mac Mini, the iPod Shuffle and iWork today. I've already got a Powerbook and an iPod, so the first two doodads aren't of much use to me.... More... (in GADGETRY)
I'm pretty sure I'm of the last generation to enjoy Mad magazine as a satiric jab at the powers-that-be. I'm also probably from the last group of teenage, hormone crazed miscreants that had to forage around for a copy of... More... (in MEDIA)
One of the fun, but admittedly kind of stupid things about owning a Mac is the amount of rumormongering fervor that gets churned up right before a big Apple announcement. Apparently Apple is going to introduce a flash memory iPod,... More... (in GADGETRY)
Comedy gold. If only that potato would run for President...... More... (in INTERNET)
Paper business and other stuff kept me from posting anything. I'll try to get more invective and linkage tomorrow.... More... (in MAIN)
The Accordion Guy has a fine rant about professional scrapbookers (of all things) that goes into the difference between consumers and creators, how rich people are sometimes very stupid, and the RIAA. I'm not sure how he manages that with... More... (in MEDIA)
The New York Times details the lengths people will go to to keep their laptops, cell phones and other gadgets fully charged. Having just taken a couple of plane rides this holiday season, I can vouch for the veracity of... More... (in GADGETRY)
Courtesy of travel blog Gadling, here's a couple of interesting tales of tourists and expatriates in Egypt.... More... (in MAIN)
Tucker Carlson, bow-tied dink conservative extraordinaire, has been jettisoned from CNN. Crossfire is also getting axed. Ah, sweet justice.... More... (in MEDIA)
Niall Ferguson, the historian/author behind "Empire" and "Colossus," has an interesting comparison between Weimar Germany and the present situation in Russia. It's a little odd to think the country that first adopted communism may yet slip into a fascist dictatorship,... More... (in POLITICS)
Kottke points out an article by NYT film critic A.O. Scott about how critics probably love "Sideways," the film poised to take the Academy Awards by storm, because the main character is basically a critic. What he means by that... More... (in MEDIA)
Turns out (according to an Iraqi blogger, anyway) Iraqis are all over the video games. I'm not sure why this gives me a glimmer of hope for that benighted country, but for some reason it does.... More... (in MEDIA)
The New York Times magazine has an interesting article about Al-Arabiya, one of the more moderate Arab news channels. The article makes an interesting point, in that television news is becoming a major force for change in the Arab world.... More... (in MEDIA)
Wired has a great story about the elite pirates who are responsible for most of the illegal content on the net. Provided it isn't all hooey, which given the perponderance of teenage computer nerd dick-measuring involved in the story, it... More... (in INTERNET)
I installed a small, free program called Newsfire on yonder Mac last week, and so far I'm pretty pleased with it. Newsfire reads RSS feeds, which isn't all that different from a bunch of other programs. But it's built with... More... (in INTERNET)
Courtesy of Boing Boing, a blog devoted entirely to T-shirt sarcasm goodness. I have a serious weakness for sartorial sass, so I'll probably check this one out on a regular basis. I'm still pining for a "Streets of Cupertino" tee,... More... (in INTERNET)
Courtesy of Metafilter, a little Steve Perry (lead singer of Journey) fan fiction. Also, a nice little post about the essential weirdness of fan fiction.... More... (in INTERNET)
Wired has an article/interview with Bittorrent creator Bram Cohen, which also delves into the future of the broadcast industry. In typical Wired style, it breathlessly exclaims how network TV is doomed, and how we'll all be watching television on demand... More... (in INTERNET)
Apparently Donald Rumsfeld told troops in Baghdad that Flight 93, the "let's roll" flight where the passengers supposedly took over and crashed the plane, actually got shot down by the military. Faster than you can say "exploding myth," the administration... More... (in POLITICS)
Former weapons inspector Scott Ritter has a column on Aljazeera's English website about how Saddam's intelligence apparatus might be the real force behind the insurgency, and may be using Abu Al-Zarqawi as a cipher that keeps the Americans busy while... More... (in POLITICS)
...which is apparently going to cause more social unrest in the Middle Kingdom. People tend to forget that, yes, China is an enormous market and a giant pool of cheap labour, but the whole reason they went Communist in the... More... (in POLITICS)
Because all of us Mac types exist on a combination of smug pride, envy and good taste (heh), I offer a gallery of sweet-assed Mac setups.... More... (in GADGETRY)
....as per Jason Kottke. I've read some but not all o' this list of brain food, but I'm looking forward to plowing through it.... More... (in INTERNET)
Two more good links from Boing Boing, each with an international flavour. First, a tour into the murky world of pirate DVDs in China. Then for the main course, a tour of bathrooms in India.... More... (in MAIN)
John Battelle is a search engine guru/blogger/prognosticator (and also one of the people who maintains Boing Boing, one of my favorite sites.) He's got predictions on his blog of what will happen to the search/blogging industry in 2005, as well... More... (in INTERNET)
Not gonna say much, since it's late and I've driven and flown a pile today, but I'm in Edmonton, and I'll be here until January 2nd. How's about a freyburg.com meetup for all you fine discussion board folk? Which basically... More... (in MAIN)
Here's an article about the underlying reasons why Japan get all the whiz-bang toys, and we generally don't. It's not a completely accurate article (see Cam's take on it here as a former long term Japan livin' expat) but it... More... (in GADGETRY)
I'm generally on the side of law and order, but I do appreciate a well executed bank robbery.... More... (in MAIN)
I'll be writing the bulk of the next paper in the next two days, and spending most of Thursday on the road and in the air on the way to Edmonton, so posting will be light if not non-existent. Feel... More... (in MAIN)
Thinking about expanding the War on (cough, cough, nonsense) Terror to Tehran, George? Not so fast.... More... (in POLITICS)
The Guardian has a story about how young Iranians have embraced blogging, and are pushing the (admittedly pretty thin) boundaries of free speech in their country. They also have another article about "vlogging," which is a pretty fruity way to... More... (in INTERNET)
When I was a little kid, I asked my dad what the Bay of Pigs fiasco was all about. He said "well, my boy, after the Americans invaded Cuba, Castro traded prisoners for tractors. That guy's got style." And now... More... (in POLITICS)
Not according to me, but as per the Black Table. There's some fine hate here. :)... More... (in INTERNET)
Here's an article about how Google's plan to digitize libraries will sound the death knell for books on paper. I don't know if I buy that; reading a book on a computer, while possible and sometimes necessary, is nothing like... More... (in INTERNET)
The NYT has a short piece asking what exactly it is Bin Laden wants, with all his killing and such. I've often wondered that myself. Ol' Osama's a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them, so you have... More... (in POLITICS)
Apparently the battle for Fallujah, also known as "Holy crap, we'd better clean up this ungodly mess we made," is going to be made into a movie, starring Harrison Ford. What happened, Solo? Did the carbonite give you brain damage?... More... (in MEDIA)
Under Mars is an archive of soldiers photos from Iraq. They range from goofy to striking to pretty graphic, but it's worth a look.... More... (in POLITICS)
Here's a bunch of new special edition iPods Apple probably won't be releasing any time soon.... More... (in GADGETRY)
I'm a little slow on the uptake on this one, but there's a great essay circulating around the interweb about the virtues of doing sweet jack all.... More... (in MAIN)
Or, as a friend of mine calls it, "29-E." :)... More... (in MAIN)
Well, the short answer is I can't. I live in a small town, the movie theatre is the next town over, and they get everything a month after it comes out. It's a really good theatre, with great sound and... More... (in MEDIA)
Apparently Google is going to make the contents of many research libraries, including Oxford, freely searchable. That's pretty cool, though I wonder if it'll do anything positive for their bottom line.... More... (in INTERNET)
MSNBC has an article about the blogging creme de la creme. It's interesting, though they sort of dipped their toes into the blogosphere and said "ah, so that's what it's like."... More... (in INTERNET)
More NYT goodness with a longish story about how the search for Osama Bin Laden has stalled, due to mountainous terrain, not terribly cooperative Pakistanis, and the war on Iraq.... More... (in POLITICS)
According to this article in the New York Times, North Americans use their cell phones for talking first, and messaging (and other data related tomfoolery) second. Asians and Europeans do practically everything on their cellphones, including talk. I can honestly... More... (in GADGETRY)
I just put up a few pictures of myself, Cam, Michiyo and Fan on Flikr. Mars was there too, but the crafty devil eluded the camera.... More... (in MAIN)
Kind of a redundant statement, I know. But now there's a website devoted to ripping into the worst of the worst fan fiction on the web. Which is probably a whole lot.... More... (in INTERNET)
...happened three years ago today. So raise a glass of your favorite alcoholic beverage and drink to the eventual death of television. :)... More... (in MEDIA)
Just got to Vancouver after driving through sleet, ungodly rain, mountain roads, construction and B.C. drivers. Oh yes, and the majority of this fracas was in the dark. I was actually happy to see Vancouver traffic. But at least I... More... (in MAIN)
The New Statesman has an interesting article on its website about how the British East India Company, the driving economic force and one of the key's of Britain's world dominance for 200 years, prefigured most of the globalization we see... More... (in POLITICS)
Walt Mossberg, the Wall Street Journal's resident technology guru, heaps praise on Apple for its lack of spyware, malware and virii. I "switched" (insert Mac=gay joke here) two years ago, and I'm never going back. Besides being clunky as hell,... More... (in GADGETRY)
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld took a grilling in Kuwait from troops back from and headed to Iraq about the sad state of their equipment. Apparently the troops have been reduced to grabbing scrap metal from Iraqi junkyards and lashing together... More... (in POLITICS)
Boo, Apple! You'd think a company that tries to sell itself as "artist-friendly" would be a little more hands off, but no. They made Francis Hwang shut down his auction featuring a U2 edition iPod stacked with Negativland albums. Bleh.... More... (in GADGETRY)
Rowan Atkinson, who created and starred in Blackadder, one of the best (and funniest) shows ever put on television, is leading the fight against a law in Britain that will restrict criticism and mockery of religion. I normally dismiss most... More... (in MAIN)
I've set up a Flickr account for uploading photgraphs to the web. I'm hoping to phase out the "Real World Adventures" section and point people instead to the Flickr stuff, and maybe post the newest pics somewhere on the blog.... More... (in INTERNET)
More Downhill Battle goodness, this time in an interview about upcoming trends in Bittorrent, television and the copyright wars.... More... (in INTERNET)
I got an email today from Doug Gordon, a producer with Wisconsin Public Radio. He reads the blog (yes, I know, I thought only five people including immediate family read this thing, too) and wanted me to link to his... More... (in MEDIA)
Continuing my posting about the world's greatest band (no, not KISS, G of T), here's a interview with Mark Hosler about what's doing down Negativland's way.... More... (in MEDIA)
The Boston Globe has a good article about the somewhat heavy handed (though possibly necessary) measures being used to rebuild Fallujah. Essentially the Americans are creating a miniature police state to keep things stable in time for the elections in... More... (in POLITICS)
This guy saved a pile of money by consolidating all his telco needs into a VOIP Vonage account. I've saved a pile of money on long distance with my Primus VOIP box, but I'm tempted to move to Vonage. For... More... (in INTERNET)
I disagree with much of this list, but that doesn't make it any less funny.... More... (in MEDIA)
Here's a gallery of the taking and aftermath of the U.S. Armed Forces operations in Fallujah. These pictures are really graphic; I could only get halfway through, and I've got a pretty strong stomach for this kind of stuff. Still,... More... (in POLITICS)
There's a real good column in this Saturday's Globe and Mail by Christie Blatchford about what a complete and total crock the "Greatest Canadian" contest was. The Grope and Flail recently went to a subscription model, which (from what I... More... (in MEDIA)
I'd buy a fez and a Hawaiian shirt, and wear them all the time. But second on my list of sartorial shenaniganry would be these great "Hail Ants" t-shirts. I for one welcome our insect overlords!... More... (in MAIN)
Courtesy of Senor Hollman, here's a link to the teaser for the new Dr. Who series. To be honest, it shows very little, and any fan filmmaker could have knocked the same thing together. And it's in Realvideo, the worst... More... (in MEDIA)
Cam sent me this link (so I'd be fair and balanced) to a story about how EA is admitting they put their employees through the ringer, and will be trying harder to make their lives more bearable.... More... (in MEDIA)
Slate has an article about the Chinese buying up IBM's languishing PC business. Can't say I blame them, but is America making anything besides coffee, bad movies, and war anymore?... More... (in MAIN)
Chris Hedges wrote War is a Force that Gives us Meaning, a really good memoir of his 20 years covering the madness and futility of combat in far-flung locations. He's written a review in the New York Book Review about... More... (in MAIN)
For some reason, I don't remember saying anything about podcasting on here. Basically, podcasting is amateur radio cobbled together on home computers, then sent out to the world and pushed onto an mp3 player. That could be complicated, but with... More... (in INTERNET)
Wired has a short article about a woman in San Fransisco who has moved a lot of her life onto the web. I've undergone a somewhat similar shift in the last year, with Amazon, eBay , Bittorrent, my VOIP phone,... More... (in INTERNET)
After endless bitching from Canadians far and wide (well, fruity Mac cats, anyway), the Canadian iTunes Music Store is finally up and running. I spent quite some time trying to decide what I'd spend my hard earned $0.99 on. After... More... (in INTERNET)
Some fine fellow is auctioning off a U2 vs. Negativland special edition iPod on eBay. It's essentially just a black U2 iPod, which comes with a discography of U2 music preinstaled, combined with a pile of Negativland albums. The packaging... More... (in GADGETRY)
Foreign Policy has a long article on the influence of blogs on politics and policy. While I'm sure the ability to spread stories quickly is both innovative and advantageous, I somehow doubt a bunch of ranting dinks in their bedrooms... More... (in INTERNET)
Apparently Canada is seen as a more desirable location for outsourcing than India and the Phillipines, since we're a lot more culturally compatible with Americans. That may be so, but call centre jobs still suck.... More... (in POLITICS)
So apparently MSN, Yahoo and (most importantly) Google are working on searching digital video on the web. That's kinda nifty, though I can only imagine how tough it must be from a computing point of view. Actually, I can't; I... More... (in INTERNET)
I posted an Extended Edition trailer a while back, but this new trailer is even more extended. :)... More... (in MEDIA)
Though it's kind of tough to figure out who the hell they're talking about half the time. Literary figures aren't exactly roll-off-the-tongue famous to begin with, and a bunch of tweedy Brits aren't any more notable. Still, British newspapers tend... More... (in MEDIA)
I'll be the first to admit I don't care a jot for football, so I probably wouldn't miss Monday Night Football if it sinks into irrelevance. But as a member of the media (two of them, now), I can appreciate... More... (in MEDIA)
Hong Kong has been getting marginalized by Mainland China ever since they took over the joint from the Brits in 1997. Most of the economic whatnot that used to go through Western-friendly HK has now shifted to profit hungry Beijing,... More... (in MAIN)
Thomas Friedman comes up with some fairly wacky mixed metaphors, and he's got a love for globalization that only a wealthy cat who gets to write whatever he wants for the New York Times (lucky bastard) could have, but he's... More... (in POLITICS)
I just went deep into the cellar where I keep the stats for this site. Some of the top search terms that pointed people to Freyburg.com included: "ron jeremy", "ann coulter quicktime", "aol sucks" and (wait for it) "fruit bra."... More... (in INTERNET)
This comic from the 1960's about life in a communist United States is solid gold. The commies close down churches, cause mayhem and blow up the Washington monument. Sweet! Where do I sign up for this "communism" they speak of?... More... (in POLITICS)
Maclean's has an article about how TV shows are the latest targets of miscreants and pirates on the Interweb. About time they caught up. I only use my cable for news. I can't be bothered to keep track of when... More... (in INTERNET)
I dig the traveling, though unfortunately things like earning a living and attempting to build something approximating a career sometimes get in the way. So when that happens, I live vicariously through travel websites. I heard about Young Pioneers (don't... More... (in MAIN)
When I think of Mongolian heavy metal (and I do, often), I don't normally associate the New York Times with the thrashing guitar gods of Ulan Bator. That is, until now.... More... (in MEDIA)
Oliver Stone has wanted to make a movie about Alexander the Great for years. He's finally put his vision on the screen, but apparently his vision sucks eggs. That's too bad. Much as Stone can go completely off the rails... More... (in MEDIA)
Cam wrote up a little feature on Freyburg.com on Reactionlab, the site for his design business. He describes me as "fairly tech-savvy guy," which I think is code for "ham-fisted jerk who barely understands the blink tag." :)... More... (in MAIN)
The BBC has a story about how some Europeans are ending up in India and taking jobs that have been offshored there. I'm almost constantly debating whether I should be trying for a better gig here in Canada or just... More... (in INTERNET)
Downhill Battle is a pro-p2p site with a bunch of fairly intelligent commentary, as opposed to "Kazaa is teh SUX00R" that you sometimes find on other p2p sites.... More... (in INTERNET)
Bourdain hosts "A Cook's Tour" on the Food Network, along with having written "Kitchen Confidential," which is a damn funny (and supposedly true) telling of his days as a chef, and a peek into the sordid culinary underbelly. Here's an... More... (in MAIN)
Film Threat used to be a great, sarcastic magazine dedicated to lampooning Hollywood stupidity and promoting independent movies. It's no longer a magazine , but much like Shift, it lives on in website form. They've put up a list of... More... (in MEDIA)
For the second time, I was compared to Moby while walking down the street. This time it was four teenage girls who decided I looked like everyone's favorite musical vegan, and one even sang out "Moby's a gangster...," whatever that... More... (in MAIN)
According to a high-up at Morgan Stanley, America can't sustain it's record deficits, and disaster may be on the horizon. Apparently the credit card debt in the country is just insane, and people are spending a lot of their disposable... More... (in POLITICS)
The Independent has an article about how Prince Charles berated not only a member ofhis staff for ideas above her station, ie) getting a promotion for good work, but also the entire British educational system for instilling hope in the... More... (in POLITICS)
A retrospective on the format nobody uses anymore; well, at least not snobby technophiles like myself and my peers. :) And since I usually link to the Guardian on a pretty regular basis, I'm adding it to the left sidebar.... More... (in MEDIA)
Well, tomorrow will be, more accurately, as it's the 41st anniversary of the debut of the greatest television show ever to grace the tube. And it's coming back next year.... More... (in MEDIA)
The greenback ain't doing that hot right now, though surprisingly I haven't wandered five minutes south of the border in quite some time to take advantage of the situation. Of course, other than cheap gas (which work pays for anyway)... More... (in POLITICS)
This article about Electronic Arts alleges the employees there work like dogs for little reward. Dunno if it's true, though I know a couple of people inside the Fortress of Gaming who could confirm or deny the gist of the... More... (in MEDIA)
Yup, that's right, videoblogging. I got an iSight as a birthday present, primarily because my dad is soon going to be the proud owner of a new 20" iMac G5, and we'll be able to videochat to one another. But... More... (in INTERNET)
So I'm in the grocery store today, glancing at the magazines as I stock up on fibre, eggs, and other-fat busting foodstuffs. I was puzzled as to why so many "teen" publications have people who are pushing 30 on their... More... (in MEDIA)
Gizmodo is a fine resource for gadget freaks such as myself. The webmaster is in Japan right now, and he's blogging the starry eyed wonder one feels when you first wander into Shibuya and realize you've stumbled onto gadget mecca.... More... (in GADGETRY)
The new site not only looks ten times better, it also breaks down my blatherings into different sub-categories. More... (in MAIN)
The paper this week is 44 pages, which hasn't left me a lot of time to post anything to the blog. But I'll do my best to put something up tonight.... More... (in MAIN)
ASCII war movie comedy gold. (via Mefi)... More... (in MEDIA)
A day in the life of Somalia. The most interesting thing about the article is that Somalia is a pure free market. Which, despite the talk of many an economist, in this case means warlords and guns.... More... (in POLITICS)
First there was the "Grey Album", the mash-up of The Beatles "White Album" and Jay-Z's "Black Album" into a really cool new sound. Now feast your eyes on the "Grey Video" where you get to see Ringo hit the turntables.... More... (in INTERNET)
Ok, fellow comic book nerds with ideas above our station...feast your eyes on Graphic Novel Review, a kind of New York Review of Books for the funnies.... More... (in MEDIA)
The Guardian has a great column about how the assault on Fallujah is being seriously under-reported, and how we won't know for months what the marines there are up to. Not that it matters, since the insurgents seem to have... More... (in POLITICS)
About the only show I can make an effort to sit down and devote a half-hour to is the Simpsons. On occasion I'll grab a torrent off the Intarnets and watch something after the fact, but thanks to the advice... More... (in MEDIA)
The Guardian has an article about how Pixar conquered the world.... More... (in MEDIA)
Here's a comparison between the Polar Express and The Incredibles which says the fact that the Incredibles is cartoonish makes it much more palatable, and Polar Express, which is much more realistic looking ends up being creepy-looking. I haven't seen... More... (in MAIN)
Here's a real good plea for sanity down South in Jesusland.... More... (in POLITICS)
Once again, Something Awful knocks one out of the park with a fine ripjob on music magazines. Fallujah, Red States, and crappy music rags...... More... (in INTERNET)
More Slate goodness with a longish essay about the battle of Fallujah.... More... (in POLITICS)
Jane Smiley wrote a screed against the "Red States" in Slate, and the Bookslut has thrown back a fine retort that puts Smiley back in her place at the nearest Starbucks with a copy of Mother Jones. :)... More... (in POLITICS)
Once again, Something Awful knocks one out of the park with a fine ripjob on music magazines.... More... (in INTERNET)
I have seen America's future, and I'm frightened. Sweet Jesus! (and I mean that...)... More... (in POLITICS)
By popular demand (well, alright, one person emailed me and asked me to put it up...:) ), Here's the trailer for Episode III. update: looks like Lucas already extended his clawed grip over hapless Movie-List.com. Head for the torrents and... More... (in MEDIA)
Kottke nails why Bush won the election.... More... (in POLITICS)
American? Here's a guide to getting the hell outta Dodge.... More... (in POLITICS)
More fine expressions of disgust, this time from Boing Boing.... More... (in POLITICS)
A fine note of disgust at yesterday's election results, from a Mac blog, of all places.... More... (in POLITICS)
Well, I was worried about this election when I went to bed, but thankfully we are in safe hands.... More... (in POLITICS)
Screw it, I'm going to bed. This fracas won't sort itself out until the morning, if then.... More... (in POLITICS)
Damn you, Ohio, now I'll never get a decent night's sleep!... More... (in POLITICS)
210-199 with Bush in the lead. This thing is getting to be a nail biter.... More... (in POLITICS)
I'm beginning to get a sinking feeling about this, though as Lord Mansbridge says, "it's early yet."... More... (in POLITICS)
I figure we all want to gripe/speculate/lament the election, so I'm going to create a discussion thing so we can bitch in real time to one another. And.......go! Indecision '04! Discuss, dammit!... More... (in POLITICS)
So tomorrow the fate of the world is at stake. And it all comes down to some lame ass state like Ohio. Whee. By the way, here's an educational film strip. Ohio!?!... More... (in POLITICS)
If you cast your eyes above, you'll see the new-ish, "Prada-ized" Freyburg.com logo, courtesy of Soul Brotha #1, Winson Lai. Winson also did the sexy anime chick downwards and to the left. I wasn't aware my glasses made me look... More... (in MAIN)
Here's an interesting article about a Afghani-Canadian who spent the last 14 months in Kabul, and some of the problems she encountered while she was over there.... More... (in POLITICS)
You only have two days to get 2004's scariest Halloween costumes.... More... (in POLITICS)
Looks like our favorite bearded crazy man is back. I wonder if this latest missive from Bin Laden is a signal to his minions to unleash some pre-election chicanery. I also wondered, while I was reading his screed, why anyone... More... (in POLITICS)
Edmonton isn't known as the most attractive city in the whole wide world, but these desktops from an Edmonton photographer sure make the E look purty. Mountain adventure and pretty pictures..... More... (in MAIN)
Sorry I didn't put anything up yesterday, but I was stuck (voluntarily) up in a cabin on Apex Mountain watching the Red Sox-Cardinals games with a fellow ink stained wretch. Despite the satellite dish, the internet connectivity wasn't exactly "fiber... More... (in MAIN)
I have no idea why I didn't post on this before, but some enterprising fellow invented a TV turner-offer. "So what?" you say, "my remote does that already!" Ah, but does your remote turn off any TV in a given... More... (in GADGETRY)
Here's an interview with the guy behind Get Your War On. Sorry I can't post more, got still more stuff to write for the paper.... More... (in MEDIA)
I've got a few things to burble about, but I have to haul my ass into work and crank out a bunch of articles. Hopefully I'll be able to spew forth bile and info tonight.... More... (in MAIN)
21 reasons the U.S. went to war.... More... (in POLITICS)
Who's worse? The French or the Saudis? Clearly, the answer must be....the Norwegians. :) Or maybe the Swiss, those clock making bastards...... More... (in POLITICS)
Zombie neocon skankbot Ann Coulter apparently took a pie in the kisser a couple of days ago. Here's the video. (Mac folk, be warned, the site hates Safari, and it doesn't much like Quicktime either. Plus you have to sit... More... (in POLITICS)
Here's a mixed bag of stuff.... Hunter S. Thompson goes off on Bush in high style. If Bush slagging isn't your thing, check out this Rocket Punch goodness, courtesy of a site dedicated to the gloriousness of Japanese toy robots.... More... (in POLITICS)
If you've ever wanted to see an educational film about sexual harassment in the workplace starring a cowboy, now you can.... More... (in MEDIA)
Two things I love...Something Awful and ripping into the tragic little webcomic known as Megatokyo. Gold!... More... (in INTERNET)
The NYT was a great (and long) article on how America won the war but is losing the peace. Good stuff. Oops...... More... (in POLITICS)
Exhaustion and overwork are conspiring against me, but by gum I'm gonna post something. In these perilous times, it's important to have a Sushi USB drive. Also, apparently the number of people who grabbed the torrent of the Jon Stewart... More... (in GADGETRY)
The trailer for the Extended Edition of The Return of the King. Sweet.... More... (in MEDIA)
I've just started reading the latest New York Times magazine, with a showcase article about Dubya's scary faith in the almighty and his Mission From God. Deeply disturbing. Dubya, Jon Stewart, Smart cars, etc... More... (in POLITICS)
Sorry the posting was light (ie. non-existent) yesterday. I took off to Penticton last night to hang with Jeremy J. Nuttall and his crew of Port Moody Irregulars. We had a fine time, imbibing beverages and engaging in shenanigans. This... More... (in MEDIA)
Jon Stewart was on Crossfire a couple of days ago, and he completely destroyed the mewling, screaming pundits on the show with wit, calm and by stating the obvious. Presumably, he was on the show to promote his new book,... More... (in POLITICS)
Ron Reagan lays the smackdown on Dubya. And just to continue the "son of a President thinks another son of a President is a dork" thread, here's more smackdown form John Eisenhower.... More... (in POLITICS)
For some reason, Edmonton (of all places) has spawned many anchors who now work in the States. There's Leslie Miller, who is now down in Seattle. So is Ross McGlaughlin, who used to work at ITV (and hung around with... More... (in MEDIA)
How technology failed in Iraq. Found this on V-2.org. What the? My commanding officer wants to sell me herbal viag8ra?... More... (in POLITICS)
Juan Cole, the webmaster of Informed Comment (which I mentioned a few days ago, there will be a quiz later) has a great comparison of what life in America would be like if people lived under the same conditions as... More... (in POLITICS)
A blog from out of Baghdad, by a resident. For those of you who suspect you MAY not be getting the whole picture from FoxMSNBCGlobalBBQ. yow...... More... (in POLITICS)
Here's another Bush mash-up, sent to me by John Driscoll.... More... (in POLITICS)
There's a good article on the Guardian's website about George Bush's recent transformation into "Furious George". Though I usually find Daily KOS (the author's blog) a little too shrill for my liking, he raises some good points, like the fact... More... (in POLITICS)
Uh, excuse me? You forgot Poland.... More... (in POLITICS)
Torturing Sims. Comedy Gold.... More... (in INTERNET)
Living right next to the border, I get to listen to NPR without having to pipe it through my computer. Though the network is best known for a Prairie Home Companion and other folksy schmaltz, I was surprised to find... More... (in MEDIA)
Superman dies. One thing I do know, Clark, is you were put here for a reason...... More... (in MEDIA)
You might wonder why I'm posting so damn much today. It's because I installed a new bit of kit called Marsedit, that makes posting to my blog about as easy as thinking about something and then deciding to write about... More... (in INTERNET)
Here's an interesting article in the NYT about Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, supposedly Al Queda's #1 overachiever in Iraq.... More... (in POLITICS)
So I haven't put anything on here about Alexander, the new flick coming from Oliver Stone this Christmas. I'm not exactly sure what I think of this film; Stone certainly has the chops to make an epic film about one... More... (in MEDIA)
So like a lazy bastard I never put anything up about the second debate. Bush did better this time out, actually arguing instead of grimacing and looking like somebpdy just kicked him in the nuts. He still went over the... More... (in POLITICS)
Want to listen to the presidential debates? Toodle over to Torrentocracy, where you can grab audio files of the debates and some stuff from Outfoxed and Uncovered. You'll need to install Bittorrent, but I'm assuming most of you thieving bastards... More... (in POLITICS)
A Burger King at the Bagram Air Force base in Afghanistan. Odd but true. And a neat little video slamming Bush. Nice graphics and typography, though the message leans towards the "Coke and Thomas Friedman caused 9/11" camp. I'd be... More... (in POLITICS)
Once upon a time there was a great site called Adcritic, which posted really clever ads online. Not surprisingly, it got bought out, or lost money, and ended up folding and coming back in a more corporate form, minus the... More... (in INTERNET)
Remember that Akihabara site I posted a while back? I found another one, which appears to get updated more than once every two weeks. Update: Me dumb. It hasn't been updated since last year, though it does have an interesting... More... (in GADGETRY)
Overheard on my evening walk..... Two teens, a boy and a girl, are passing by me. The girl is Avril Lavigned up, while the boy is Straight Outta Duggan Wigga as high as Wu-Tang Get gangsta style. As they pass,... More... (in MAIN)
Here's a video outlining the Republican vision for the future. :) Thanks to Cam for sending me the link. Now hire him for design stuff, so he can feed his wife and impending kid. :) Terror 9/11 WMD BBQ!... More... (in POLITICS)
This debate is more than half over, and so far Kerry seems to be a lot more coherent and making some decent points. He even seems to be sticking with short answers intsead of wonking out. But I doubt it... More... (in POLITICS)
Nerdy gold for all: The trial of Han Solo in the matter of Greedo shooting first, and Avengers action figure shenanigans. Tomfoolery!... More... (in MEDIA)
Metal Gear Solid was a fantastic bit of gaming for the original Playstation. I somehow missed the second game by not buying a Playstation 2, but now the third (and supposedly final) chapter in the Snake saga is at hand.... More... (in MEDIA)
Ugh. My schedule is starting to cheese me off. It ain't fun having no time to blog. Speaking of blogging, the New York Times magazine has a huge article on political bloggers and their coverage of the campaign (name: wfrey,... More... (in POLITICS)
Once again my work schedule and exhaustion have conspired to keep me from updating the site. I'll try to get some pithy insights online by tonight.... More... (in MAIN)
Many people hate the Yankees, because they buy their way into the World Series, amongst other things. But this sign rocks, no two ways about it.... More... (in MAIN)
Now here's a cool (well, alright, neat) idea; take old school MUDs (multi user dungeons) and make 'em playable on a cell phone. Of course, I've got my mobile gaming covered, between retro arcade action on my GBA SP, and... More... (in INTERNET)
Akihabara is the technology mecca of Tokyo. There's a million billion gadgets of all shapes and sizes in the shops there, and each time I've been to Japan I've paid a visit. It's like Klondike Days on crack. Anyway, there's... More... (in GADGETRY)
Once again the end of the week paper writing crunch has robbed me of posting. Damn you, crunch! I zipped down to the States for lunch today (only place to get decent Mexican food), and I was struck by how... More... (in INTERNET)
So Meg Hourihan, one of the founders of Blogger, has (no surprise) a blog. She announced on it the other day that she's giving up website development as a career and switching to what she really loves, cooking. I decided... More... (in INTERNET)
Another bit of Photoshop gold from the Something Awful goons, this time detailing new changes in the Star Wars trilogy DVDs. I've decided Uncle George won't be getting my money this time around. I've spent who knows how much on... More... (in INTERNET)
On the third anniversary of the debacle that set the whole ball rolling in Afghanistan and Iraq, it's good to know that at least Colin Powell didn't completely lose his marbles like his colleagues did. And though the French love... More... (in POLITICS)
There's a website set up called "Project Rebirth" all about the rebuilding at the World Trade Centre site. It's kind of neat to poke around, even though I know next to nothing about architecture, and what little I know about... More... (in MAIN)
Looks like even my new chosen career isn't safe from outsourcing. Not that I'm too worried about people in Bangalore reporting on the goings-on at Osoyoos town council meetings. :)... More... (in MEDIA)
Apparently Britain is a nation that enjoys the new and exciting sport of extreme weekend drunkeness. And in the "two idiots with time on their hands" department, Mars and myself have come up with a new reality show called "Extreme... More... (in MEDIA)
In case you've always wanted to write a fantasy novel but weren't sure how, here's the instructions. :)... More... (in MEDIA)
I'm in Vancouver, but it was a bit of a screwaround getting here. Fellow reporter Jeremy, from the Princeton paper, proposed we share car duties, as his vehicle has been giving him copious jive. I was cool with that, as... More... (in MAIN)
There are days when the isolation and low pay make the small town journalist's lot an unhappy one. But there are also days like today, where I get to meet interesting folk I would never have access to otherwise. This... More... (in POLITICS)
Wired has an article about how three of the titans of anime will be releasing cel-based goodness at the same time soon. Though I've long since tempered my love for Japanese cartoonery, I have to admit this crop of filmic... More... (in MEDIA)
The new iMac. Snazzy. Purty....... More... (in GADGETRY)
The New York Times (!) has an article about why Star Trek is sucking, and how maybe it should be put to bed for a while. Can't say I disagree. I always liked TNG, but the new shows seem to... More... (in MEDIA)
I've been running my ass off with work, but I might as well throw some decent links at all five of you. Bookslut, a blog/review site that will appeal those of you with a literary bent, is sometimes off but... More... (in INTERNET)
Foreign Affairs is one of those grey, thick magazine-ish tomes that inexplicably show up on the shelves of Shoppers Drug Mart every once in a while, chock full of insightful analysis and not much in the way of star profiles... More... (in POLITICS)
I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that I dislike practically everything about driving. Being a reporter in a small town means I don't have a lot of choice in the matter, but the least I can do is... More... (in MAIN)
I had a bunch of things to post about today, but work and productivity somehow got in the way. So here's excerpts from an interview with Neal Stephenson, whose monstrous brick of a tome I am currently reading.... More... (in MAIN)
I'm busier than hell this weekend, but here's a funny timeline showing how an Apple product gets created. (courtesy of Lillerant) Why won't my iPod produce holographs of Princess Leia?!?... More... (in GADGETRY)
Even though the site is a libertarian cornerstone and generally smells a little Ayn Rand-ish, this rant about highfalutin' art types is kind of funny. And for all three of my fellow Mac buddies (four? five?), check out the musings... More... (in MEDIA)
Here's an article from the Atlantic about a journalist in Kabul who managed to snag one of Al Queda's hard drives. Seems there were emails from Osama and all sorts of other goodies on the beast. Makes for some interesting... More... (in MEDIA)
Something Awful dances around the line between comedy and blasphemy with their caustic take on Watchmen, the greatest funnybook ever written.... More... (in INTERNET)
A whole mess of crazy crap to link to: -Nothing says solid gold comedy like the governor of New Jersey resigning on account of fruitiness. It's about time Joisey let New York City know they can't keep all the gay... More... (in POLITICS)
I'll put something profound and meaningful on my blog later, but for now, revel in the glory that is a all-female Iron Maiden tribute band. RAWK!... More... (in MEDIA)
A lovely (and laugh out loud funny) parable about how real life and the Internet differ. hilarity... More... (in INTERNET)
A bunch of Silicon Valley insiders say "Google not so hot", as far as long-term stock picks go. What they say has merit, since even though everyone uses Google (including me), it is increasingly a one-trick pony, though it's a... More... (in INTERNET)
There's an article in the Detroit Free Press about "starchitects," architects who go beyond obscurity to become famous, and then start cranking out the same building over and over. Architecture interests me, because it combines art, engineering and design, three... More... (in MAIN)
I haven't reviewed any movies in a long while, primarily because being out in the boonies means seeing films at least a month late. But thanks to the world of Bittorrent, I'm not completely in the dark. I grabbed Spidey... More... (in MEDIA)
I didn't see much of Kerry's big speech yesterday at the Democratic National Convention, but what I did see was pretty impressive. I still think he's a bit of a flip-floppy vote follower, which by the way is about the... More... (in POLITICS)
Here's an account from some guy who had dinner at Bill Gates' house. The Bill's place sounds pretty cool, though that's not particularly surprising seeing as how he's the richest guy in the world and can afford to have libraries... More... (in GADGETRY)
Arrrggh! I'm having a hell of a time keeping the site updated, thanks to a combination of a lot of work, a screwy schedule, lack of inspiration and probably a fair bit of burn-out. So my apologies to all of... More... (in MAIN)
I'll throw down more later, but for now check out "I Hate Music," where a very snarky Brit rips the living hell out of....well, practially anything musical.... More... (in MEDIA)
William Shatner sings Pulp's "Common People." Gold! Oh sweet mercy...... More... (in MEDIA)
I'm fundamentally lazy, as well has having the programming skill of a mollusk. But I'd like to spitball a few ideas around on features I'd like to see (but haven't yet) on websites: -Why isn't there a "Billboard Top 10"... More... (in INTERNET)
I don't know what Salon does to convince Alan Moore to talk to them, but hey, I'm grateful. If you ever deign to read comic books, this is the guy to seek out. Buy everything this brotha writes. Who watchs... More... (in MEDIA)
You know what happens when people protest their government? The terrorists win. Holding pens?... More... (in POLITICS)
I tried to post something twice this morning about Martha Stewart, only to have Blogger tank on me. Anyway, I guess it all boils down to "hahahahaha!" When Martha did the walk up the court steps, I heard some woman... More... (in MAIN)
Mmmm, that's good (if old) TV bashing. :)... More... (in MEDIA)
The Japanese geek hierarchy. I can categorically state this chart is right on the money. Nane?... More... (in MAIN)
Check out this review of "Outfoxed," the new docu-polemic floating around about Fox News. You'll have plow through one of Salon's ads, but this glimpse into a ultra-right wing loonjob network is probably worth it. Particularly since we don't get... More... (in POLITICS)
Yesterday I was waiting for YAP (yet another parade) to zip down Main Street so I could take pictures for the newspaper, and as I was standing there I started talking to a couple of cyclists sitting outside at the... More... (in MAIN)
I decided to toodle down to the States today, just for the hell of it. I went down to Omak, Washington, which is a fairly small place about an hour away. I wandered into a bookstore, where I spied a... More... (in MAIN)
This will probably only interest a couple of my buddies in the Crowsnest Pass, but here's a history of the Greenhill tavern, the greatest force in liver destruction since Mickey Mantle. :) Scroll down until you get to the picture.... More... (in MAIN)
Once again my post-slackery has been inexcusable. Other than the fact that I rushed off to Edmonton for a wedding, then rushed right back to Osoyoos. Regardless, have you ever wanted to integrate your old Sports Walkman case and your... More... (in GADGETRY)
Happy Canada Day. I'll leave it at that, as I'm sure the Lillerant will throw down some enthused raving about how great this country is, along with a couple of "Dybya Sux0rs!" By the way, I'm pleased to see that... More... (in POLITICS)
I'm watching Fahrenheit 9/11, thanks to the miracle known as "screwing that guy who paints movie sets." Overall I think it's not bad, though it's more propagandic polemic than documentary. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, since it'll at... More... (in POLITICS)
The New York Times has a pretty good article about the Enron follies, and what Ken Lay is up to right now, which mostly consists of waiting to put on the shackles. Sorry for the lack of updates...lack of time,... More... (in MAIN)
It looks very much like the House of Saud is in dire straits. Anyone who looks vaguely Western is getting gunned down, but when they run out of blue-eyed devils to kill, you can be damn sure they'll start gunning... More... (in POLITICS)
So it turns out that Jack Ryan, a U.S. politico, was married to Borg saucepot Seven of Nine. They got divorced, and now she's claiming he took her to sex clubs. WTF? I don't know about you, but if I... More... (in POLITICS)
You'll have to go through the "Salon Premium beg-fo-mercial", but check out this expose of Reverend Moon's ties to Congress. This guy has been a five-star lunatic since I was a kid, but....yikes. And here's a "grassroots organization" (PR firm)... More... (in POLITICS)
Man, I've been slack as hell with the updates. Oh well, here's some grist for the mill... First off, carry your own damn shoes, Timberlake. On a more serious note, this is a great radio program from NPR about the... More... (in MAIN)
I question both the tongue-in-cheek factor and the bias of this screed against Bush, but that doesn't make it any less funny, or scary. And in the odd but true department, I ran into the first captain of the Crowsnest... More... (in POLITICS)
I just updated (finally) the reading links on the left. I didn't bother putting in "alt" field book reviews, so if you miss those, let me know and I'll add them.... More... (in MAIN)
I've been reading "The Origins of the Crash" by Roger Lowenstein for the last little while, which details the sordid details behind the late 90's bubble. I was aware (in a vague sense) of all the corruption Enron and others... More... (in INTERNET)
Ok, I'm about the only guy who'll think this is cool, but apparently 19th century British newspapers are coming online soon. FInally, I'll be able to find out who won the Crimean war. :)... More... (in INTERNET)
This may be in bad taste. No, scratch that, it most definitely IS in bad taste. But it's funny nonetheless. Four more brraaaaaaaiiinnnnssssss!!!!!... More... (in MAIN)
Apple released a new doodad called "Airport Express" today. It's basically a streamlined Airport Extreme station with a USB, ethernet and audio out port. It has some neat ideas behind it, like being able to stream songs over your home... More... (in MAIN)
"The Empire of Tea" is a book I haven't read yet, but this review makes it look mighty interesting. You never think about the weird twists and turns everyday stuff takes (and took) to hit your breakfast table.... More... (in MAIN)
Anchorman could be terrible, but on the other hand it could be the cinematic equivalent of a story from one of the ITV old-timers. Plus it has a gang war between TV stations! I'm gonna have a hard time keeping... More... (in MEDIA)
Newsweek has a "gee whiz that's amazing" feature on the new smartphones. It tends to veer into "the phone will replace the PC" territory every so often, which I don't buy, but it's interesting nonetheless. But lest you think we're... More... (in MEDIA)
Sweet mother of crap! Looks like Lillerant is beating me on the updates! This cannot stand. Also, he appears to be turning a corner and being "happy" or something. I'll stick with contrary curmudgitude, thanks. :) At any rate, tonight... More... (in MAIN)
I just got back from my sister's grad in Victoria. I'm one tired fool, but I'll try to dig up some links later for y'all.... More... (in MAIN)
McSweeney's can be really snotty, but this profile of possible vice-presidential candidates is pretty damn funny, particularly the rip job on semi-hot but mostly evil Ann Coulter. I say "Bearded Saddam" for Veep....... More... (in MEDIA)
Today I met one of the founders of Expedia.com. Turns out he lives here, at least some of the time. Now, that's pretty out of left field, but it doesn't beat the fact that the inventor of Kentucky Fried Chicken... More... (in INTERNET)
So I drop off my cable modem at the Persona offices today, and give my name. I got a "ah yes, the person who loves us the most.." in response. I wasn't aware that Persona had a hate-on for me,... More... (in INTERNET)
With my bout of sickness and a rapid-fire road trip, I have been extremely lame in the blog updating department. Why, I'm almost as neglectful as a common Lillerant! :) I'm going to try to make up for lost time... More... (in MAIN)
I'd like to thank everybody who came out to lunch on Saturday. But apparently we didn't have quite the wing-ding that a certain Lillerant drunkenly participated in on the weekend. Eats, Rick's stag, etc bbq...... More... (in MAIN)
I finally got rid of the Crowsnest Pass Promoter link, and added a Globe and Mail link. I realize the Globe can't compete with the incredible journalistic powers of the Promoter, but there we are.... More... (in MEDIA)
Just about finished with being a sickly fop. Also just arrived in Vancouver. Looking forward to seeing my fellow ink stained wretches (Cactus Club on Robson, 1pm, Saturday, be there you bastards!) Many apologies for the lack of updating. Between... More... (in MAIN)
I'm sick as a dog with a flu of some sort. I'll try to keep the updates coming, but I'll be sleeping and sucking down OJ for the next couple of days. Meanwhile, here's some comedic brutality about babies.... More... (in MAIN)
Last year I put a bunch of books on Amazon.ca, which offers a feature for selling of used books by using them as a go-between. I did alright, averaging maybe two books a month in sales. Nothing special, but since... More... (in MAIN)
Just to cheer things up a bit around here, check out this tale of Ed Bradley being treated poorly at an Apple Store. Goofball clerks....... More... (in MAIN)
I think it's pretty obvious that I'm no fan of the Bush administration's adventures in Iraq. But seeing shit like this makes me want to lob a couple of JDAMs down the throat of a militant or two. WARNING: The... More... (in POLITICS)
The world of electronics is a fickle place. Back in the old days, Sony stood for quality products. Well, those days are over. Apple (!) has been whupping Sony's ass for a while now with it's iPod and iPod Mini... More... (in GADGETRY)
Here's a profile of the wholesome and tolerant environment that hillbilly U.S. soldier who enjoys violating the rights of Iraqi prisoners comes from (thanks, Cam!) I was a little surprised that Rumsfeld took the fall on this one. I expected... More... (in POLITICS)
I'll put up more substantial fare later, but for now here's some primo screaming from everyone's favorite starship captain (with Tom Jones lending a hand), and an ode to the glories of our computational yesteryears.... More... (in MEDIA)
The 10 least essential summer movies of summer 2004. Yuks aplenty. upcoming stinkeroos....... More... (in MEDIA)
There's a good article about Colin Powell on GQ's site (of all places.) Looks like Powell is the least maniacal guy in the Bush administration, not that that comes as any surprise. I especially liked the part where Paul Wolfowitz... More... (in POLITICS)
Success! I finally wrestled the Telus demons to the ground. VOIP works, the wireless is spitting out 802.11 goodness, and the Persona devilry is no more! Until Telus screws everything up again. (crosses fingers...)... More... (in INTERNET)
Im amazed that Lillerant hasn't posted this before me, but the Americans have taken ball-dropping idiocy in Iraq to a new level. It's a neat trick that the US plans to liberate Iraq by torturing prisoners and humiliating them. Way... More... (in POLITICS)
New York Press has another edition of the annual "50 Most Loathsome New Yorkers" list. Since I live in Osoyoos (or as I calls it, Tatooine) and not New York, a few of the locals are unknown to me. But... More... (in MEDIA)
File this one under "horseshit"; a new study from the Pentagon says that the attacks in Iraq are primarily caused by Saddam's secret service. C'mon. Suicide bombers for a guy that hid out in a hole for months? And what... More... (in POLITICS)
First I go through bandwidth hell with Persona, and now my Telus connection has flaked out on me. It was working to a point yesterday, after all the rigamarole of getting the network to recognize my MAC address, but no... More... (in INTERNET)
After much struggle and strife, I've got my new ADSL connection up and running. The goofy thing about ADSL is that you have to register the MAC address of every device in order to get it to work right. I... More... (in INTERNET)
So it looks like Iron Chef America is a big ol' bust. Why don't dorky TV marketroids (American and Canadian) ever realize that crazy crap from foreign lands must remain untouched to be cherished? Supposedly Chairman Kaga is nowhere to... More... (in MEDIA)
Bush apparently has a huge war chest of campaign money. But he ain't spending it on good advertising, that's for sure. Check out these terrible ads. My favorite is the one making fun of John Kerry with old-fashioned black and... More... (in POLITICS)
Remember, kids, Communism=The Beatles. Which must make the Rolling Stones something akin to anarchist moon-men who feast on lymph glands. All you need is Marx, Marx....Marx is all you need...... More... (in MEDIA)
It's official; Persona is the WORST ISP I'VE EVER DEALT WITH. These guys are worse than Telus, or Shaw. 18 days into the month, and they've already capped me. And I've been careful...I've only downloaded a couple of tv shows,... More... (in INTERNET)
So I've owned a Mac in one form or another for the best part of two years now, and I've come across some software that makes life a hell of a lot easier. For the three other guys on here... More... (in GADGETRY)
Pure comedy gold to be had from the 10 worst album covers of all time. I have to get my hands on some of that "zip zap rap." Now that's some stinky cover action...... More... (in MEDIA)
So the Bush administration is referring to their opponents in Fallujah as "terrorists." Hold the phone, boys. I can get behind calling people who hijack planes and fly them into buildings terrorists. I can even accept when Al Queda sneaks... More... (in POLITICS)
So I spent the last two days in Vancouver, stuffing my gullet and hanging around with some old buddies. I noticed that driving into Vancouver is a traffic nightmare, but once in Vancouver it wasn't nearly as bad. Of course,... More... (in MAIN)
Why is it that when I take a shower, the smoke detector in my apartment goes completely nuts, but when I grill something, with actual smoke coming off whatever meat I'm subjecting to Extreme Brownian Action (tm), the detector doesn't... More... (in MAIN)
Once again I've left the updating on the back-burner. I'm a regular Lillebuen! :) Let's remedy the situation. First off, Iraq is looking like one hell of a mess. Can't say I'm surprised, though. Did anybody really doubt that the... More... (in POLITICS)
This guy has a really interesting take on what Google is up to. Everything he's saying makes sense, and given the fact that I rely on google not only for searches and news but also as a universally accessible spell-checker,... More... (in INTERNET)
I've been compiling a glossary and guide in my head to the Crowsnest Pass, now that I'm settled somewhere else. So for your erudition and entertainment, here's my walkthrough to the CNP. Best place to eat: Bistro on Main....yummy, relatively... More... (in MAIN)
Stealing music and what-not off the Internet is A-OK in this country (thanks, Musashi!). That's good to see. What's not so good is the cable fascists I'm presently forced to deal with, who make my new found freedom a moot... More... (in INTERNET)
So my Primus Talkbroadband phone was acting weird for the last couple of days. At first, I thought my run of good luck was up and that I'd come down with a bad case of the Lillebuens. Turns out that... More... (in INTERNET)
There's a good article on The National Review's site about how the Internet hasn't really done squat to promote democracy, despite all the dot.com broohaha about the net empowering people. I don't know if I agree with everything in the... More... (in INTERNET)
Rogers just introduced the Treo 600 to Canada. Urge to completely dump Telus...rising.....though the hefty $800 price tag will keep me from getting it, at least until a couple of eBay auctions pan out. Now if only Apple would get... More... (in GADGETRY)
CHUD is running a story on 100 movies that have been overlooked. I'm only up to #26, but I agree with most of their evaluations so far. And this guy has come up with a way for AIM and iChat... More... (in MEDIA)
There's a new website up called BannedMusic that carries "illegal" tunes. So far there isn't much up, though they do have both the "Grey Album" (Jay-Z and the Beatles, remixed) and the Double Black Album (Jay-Z and Metallica.) It's always... More... (in INTERNET)
I'm busier than hell at the moment, with no let-up until the weekend. I'll try to get something whipped up by then.... More... (in MAIN)
As far as I know, this is the world's first zombie blog. I suspect it's some sort of sly promotional tie-in with the Dawn of the Dead remake, but it's pretty damned funny nonetheless.... More... (in INTERNET)
I cracked open the Vancouver Sun today to find that fellow Star Wars freak and Corus-sufferer Shane Turgeon was featured in a story about collectibles. Way to go, Shane! The link goes to some goofy pay system where you can... More... (in MEDIA)
Some neighbour in my new shag-rug Shangri-La has foolishly left his wireless network in an insecure state, so of course I'm going to take advantage of this state of affairs until Monday, when my high speed net connection is supposed... More... (in INTERNET)
I'm in Osoyoos, though I have yet to find an apartment. I've got a line on one, but I have to wait until the end of today to find out whether I've been approved or not. Here's hoping, or I'll... More... (in MAIN)
There's an article on CNN.com about Americans moving to India for employment. Slashdot also included a link to Indian job boards, so out of curiosity I check ed it out. Lo and behold, apparently Canada has a severe need of... More... (in MEDIA)
Sorry for the sparse updatery, and it'll probably be worse for the next week or so. I'm assuming it'll take at least that long to get set up with a high-speed connection in Osoyoos. At any rate, here's a fine... More... (in MAIN)
Next saturday I'll be heading out to a new gig at the Osoyoos Times. Supposedly it doesn't snow in that part of Canada, which makes me a happy cat. Luckily, the Primus box will allow me to keep my two... More... (in INTERNET)
Life is good. Martha goes to the big house..... More... (in MEDIA)
I've been putting the paper together myself for the past week, so I haven't had a lot of time to post, but just thought I'd let all you fine cats know that CJSR is available online. It's pretty sweet to... More... (in MEDIA)
Now that's a website. By the way, make sure to add your sassy comments to Lillerant's new caption contest, which features yours truly.... More... (in INTERNET)
I've watched the Academy Awards for a long time, and this is probably the first time they got nearly everything right. If I participate in Oscar pools, I usually throw in what I want to win, not what probably will... More... (in MEDIA)
Here's a video that lacks razzle dazzle, but makes up for it in sheer hilarious, barely-hidden kid show crudity. Apparently this actually did hit the airwaves in Britain in the early 80's at some point. Regardless, you'll laugh your "twanger"... More... (in MEDIA)
Time for some audio-visual coolness from the Land of the Rising Sun. First up, a new trailer for AppleSeed. Mmm, cell-shady. Next, some live action movie that looks pretty cool. I'll be damned if I could tell you what it's... More... (in MEDIA)
Ever wondered how Nazi scumbags spend the weekend? This article gives a pretty chilling glimpse into a rather extreme gathering. And speaking of right wing maniacs, check out this interview with a retired colonel who says that Iraq was in... More... (in POLITICS)
Yesterday I went to Didsbury, to visit an old family friend (who has known me ever since I was a baby.) We took off this morning and flew around in his plane, but first I'll describe my journey there. I... More... (in MAIN)
Though it kind of comes of as a love letter to the new American Empire, this article in the Atlantic about the head U.S. military poobah in Mongolia is an interesting read. And if you want to read about the... More... (in POLITICS)
Don't know why I didn't mention this before, but Lillebuen has a fine anti-Telus screed on his site. And speaking of phones, my BC number now works. Took a while, but it is functional.... More... (in INTERNET)
That's right, I went ice fishing today. It's only the second time in my life that I've fished, and I caught 4 trout. Which was really no great accomplishment, as the people I was with caught more than I... More... (in MAIN)
I finally tossed in the towel on Avantgo. Their pathetic lack of Mac support is one thing; there are workarounds for that. But they didn't even support Palm OS 5 (which the Zire runs on) until recently, and now that... More... (in GADGETRY)
If you've ever wanted to see what too much university will do to a person, here's your chance. In fact, a lot of the "A-list" bloggers seem to be pretty smug and satisfied with themselves. I'm at a loss as... More... (in INTERNET)
Still battling the Avantgo/Virtual PC combo. I will be victorious! I'm a few days late with this, but Lucasfilm will apparently be releasing the original trilogy on DVD. Of course, it won't really be the Holy Three; it'll be the... More... (in GADGETRY)
Curse Greyhound. I'm so tired from my late night arrival in Blairmore that I can barely see straight. I did get a replacement for my dead Handspring Visor while in Edmonton. The Zire 21 is Palm's bargain unit, but it... More... (in GADGETRY)
In a flash of midnight shift brilliance, Senor Ligtvoet and Schapansky have come up with Lord of the Blings: The Brotherhood of the Bling. That's right, an all-black cast for the greatest trilogy of films ever made. :) Kind of... More... (in MEDIA)
Though I find it hard to believe that anyone will be able to top George Romero's original classic, this trailer for the Dawn of the Dead remake (out this March) is pretty damn good. And don't forget to pick up... More... (in MEDIA)
Dunno if I've ever mentioned it before, but Toshi Station is just about the best fusion of funk, Photoshop and the Force on the net. All you nerds need to get over there post-haste. I dropped my ancient Handspring Visor... More... (in INTERNET)
Want to see the Superbowl ads the CRTC keeps from Canadians? Here you go. Also, I didn't watch the game, but apparently Janet Jackson was (literally) shaking her moneymakers. Tyson vs. Secretariat: The Slaughter in the Water...... More... (in MEDIA)
There's a really good editorial in the Guardian about the Hutton inquiry. A tip o' the hat to my dad, who pointed this article out to me.... More... (in MEDIA)
Ever wanted to see colonialism in action? Here's your chance. Video of American troops blowing the crap out of Iraqi insurgents. Not for the faint of stomach. There's also a terminally crappy Realvideo version here. By the way, you'll need... More... (in POLITICS)
Nerd update! Here's a list of deviations from book to screen for Lord of the Rings. I'm not gonna read it, because the whole thing smacks of the eternal "Star Destroyer vs. Enterprise" debate that permeates geekdom. But I'm sure... More... (in MEDIA)
Jesus H. Christ, it's cold. I've got a huge window overlooking my bachelor suite, and it's been leaking heat all day. I had to don longjohns indoors, which is sort of silly when you think about it. At any rate,... More... (in MAIN)
So there are two ways to get to Edmonton from Blairmore. You can drive, which I've done in the summer and fall, but will not attempt in the winter. It's a seven hour drive, and my skill level behind the... More... (in MAIN)
Got the Primus box today, and it works just fine. Except that I think Telus has some nefarious blocking going on, since I got a busy signal on my parents regular phone and both cell phones (all Telus). When I... More... (in INTERNET)
I have to say that I'm pretty surprised that Kerry took Iowa. I thought Dean had it in the bag, but his defeat and subsequently maniacal sorta-kinda concession speech has me wondering. In other political news, the saucetastic fascist front... More... (in POLITICS)
Wired has a good "memo to the MPAA" that pretty much sums up everything I've argued about why Hollywood should spend less time chasing "pirates" and more time finding a way for me to give them my money in exchange... More... (in INTERNET)
Sorry that I've been so slack about updating the site. Busy busy busy. I have no intention of voting for the new Conservative party when it soon springs forth, but I have to say I heartily approve of Belinda Stronach... More... (in POLITICS)
Just added a Lillerant logo (designed by the 'Buen himself) to the left hand side. Click that Che Guevera-esque visage to read his trenchant thoughts on all sorts of balderdash.... More... (in MAIN)
Space was running the animated Lord of the Rings film from the 70's a while back. I originally saw this when it came out in the theatre, and I've had 20-odd years to wipe it from my memory. But these... More... (in MEDIA)
Just added a link to the Crowsnest Pass Promoter to the left side of the site. What PG Shotgunner demands, I do.... More... (in MEDIA)
The destruction of Telus has begun! Primus is offering broadband Voice over IP, much like Vonage in the States. For about $35 a month, I'll be able to get an Edmonton and a Vancouver number, so the 90% or my... More... (in INTERNET)
So I'm sick with some sort of cold/flu/something or other. Luckily I've got 4 days off, so I'll be sitting on the couch sucking down chicken soup and orange juice. At least it gives me time to watch some movies... More... (in MEDIA)
Here's some more random stuff... A cool interview with Bruce Sterling in Reason magazine, and an audiio interview with Senor Sterling (scroll down a little bit to find it.) And here's something that really bakes my potatoes...Apple put out the... More... (in MEDIA)
In praise of nerds! Nerd!... More... (in MAIN)
It's time for a crazy crap roundup! First up, the good folks at some Pork Council somehwere have produced "Pork 4 Kids!" Fun fun fun! No young proto-fascist should be without the talking Anne Coulter doll! And finally, through the... More... (in POLITICS)
We have about three days to put the paper together, so updates may be sparse for the next little bit. But check out this fine history of the Iraq war told entirely in lies in the meantime.... More... (in POLITICS)