Nifty Things

Links and descriptions of pages that I think are interesting. In the old days, this might have been called a hotlist!

Eight miles of water: Underground with Manhattan's new aquatic lifeline (131019): Photos of amazing new water tunnel
Doing the work: A facilitation guide (ByronKatie.com) (120210): Is it true?, surely?, reaction?, who would you be without the thought?, turn around.
Zen stories (120126): Including my favorite story of a monk who can be run through with a sword without blinking an eye
The 10 very best Zen stories (120126): Including "may yes, maybe no".
What Is the Koran? - The Atlantic (January 1999) (100105): An article describing Quarnic studies, also see The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran.
Can non-Catholics be saved, according to the Roman Catholic Church? (090409): "The non-Christian may not be blamed for his ignorance of Christ and his Church; salvation is open to him also, if he seeks God sincerely and if he follows the commands of his conscience, for through this means the Holy Ghost acts upon all men; this divine action is not confined within the limited boundaries of the visible Church."
Congress Passes Wide-Ranging Bill Easing Bank Laws (The New York Times) (090327): The source of our trouples, from 1999: "The decision to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 provoked dire warnings from a handful of dissenters that the deregulation of Wall Street would someday wreak havoc on the nation's financial system. The original idea behind Glass-Steagall was that separation between bankers and brokers would reduce the potential conflicts of interest that were thought to have contributed to the speculative stock frenzy before the Depression."
Why is Marijuana Illegal? (090202): A brief history into the odd origins of marijuana policy
The Futile Pursuit of Happiness (071018): Some of the psychology on emotional states
AlterNet: The Mega-Lie Called the "War on Terror": A Masterpiece of Propaganda (071001): Documents a lot of the propaganda for involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq
Zen and the Art of Remarkable Blogging | Copyblogger (070328): Zen as applied to blogging
MyBikeLane - New York Home (070226): Pictures of those in the bike lane
The Bodhisattva Vows and the Four Noble Truths (070223): Beings are numberless, I vow to save them
Desires are inexhaustible, I vow to end them
Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them
Buddha's way is unsurpassable, I vow to become it.
Scotsman.com News - International - Creationism dismissed as 'a kind of paganism' by Vatican's astronomer (060505): And the Pope has no magical power
Blessing the Bombs: The Hiroshima Bombers' Chaplain Faces Christ, by George Zabelka (060410): An essay by George Zabelka, the chaplain who blessed the Enola Gay
The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race (060324): Why the advent of agriculture was unfortunate
MythBusters busted? (060223): Some statistical weaknesses in Mythbusters
The Heart of Fundamentalism (060210): A buddhist take on fundamentalism
When Death Is on the Docket, the Moral Compass Wavers (060208): Results of psychology study that show how be morally distance themselves from unsavory acts
::Torrent Finder :: Search :: (060104): p2p ^
Rucksack Poetry (051210): A great article on the emergence of Haiku in America
Buddhism and Vegetarianism (050809): Are all Buddhists vegetarians?
Male circumcision (050805): A quick history and analysis of male circumcision
PostSecret (050714): See a secret, share a secret
Sex and the single monkey (050413): Gender biases in experimental design.
Derren Brown (050329): Fascinating "magician" who manipulates the suggestible
The Shadow of The Dalai Lama - Part 1.4 The Law of Inversion (050319): "Every type of passion (sexual pleasure, fits of rage, hate and loathing) which is normally considered taboo by Buddhist ethical standards, is activated and nurtured in Vajrayana with the goal of then transforming it into its opposite."
The Japanese Doomsday Guru Shoko Asahara and the XIV Dalai Lama, by Victor and Victoria Trimondi (050319): "...the AUM sect was a consistent and true to the letter pupil of the tantric teachings. The occult magic world view, kundalini yoga, sexual magic, the linkage of power and seed retention, the grasping for the Siddhis, the invocation of the gods, the hastening of the end of the universe, the glorification of destruction, the great fascination with fantastic machines of destruction, the military obsessions, the idea of redemption, hope for a paradise, the claim to world domination, the Shambhala myth -- all of these leitmotifs that were so significant for Asahara are melodies from the repertoire of Tibetan Buddhism, in particular that of the Kalachakra Tantra."
Homosexuality and the Bible By Walter Wink (050315): More interestingly Biblical analysis
10 Things I Have Learned (050308): Much of this sounds like good advice to me
Tests of faith (050224): Interesting summary of science's understanding of belief
New York City Walk (050103): Walking every street in NY
Quitting the Pain Factory (041214): An interesting rant on the virtues of idleness
Do animals have rights? What is the Objectivist position on animal cruelty? What is the Objectivist position on vegetarianism? -- Objectivist Center -- Reason, Individualism, Achievement, and Freedom (041203): Only succeeds by redefining a notion of rights
Textbook disclaimer stickers (041202): Facts and theories
Wired 10.12: A Prayer Before Dying (041129): An explanation of how this study that allegedly showed the power of prayer was not scientifically sound
Streeetmemes (041126): Public stencil site
Josh Rubin: Cool Hunting (041126): Neat gadgets
Six Bible Passages used to Condemn Homosexuality (041123): A scholarly treatment of how the Bible is abused to condemn homosexuals
Bloody Roots Of Jihad (041117): What is it in Islam that lends itself to violence
Arofish (041117): The scrawls of war from Iraq and Palestine
Dark Passage (041110): More urban exploring
Why I am not going to buy a computer (041104): Interesting anti-tech article by writer Wendell Berry.
2001 Pulitzer Prizes (041029): Noted Ian Johnson's prize winning articles on Falon Gong
What the Bible says about Women's Ordination (041028): An interesting consequence of Bernadette Brooten's work
Survival Guide to Homelessness (041028): A useful collection of how to live rough
Philip Toshio Sudo Cancer Journal (041019): A very moving journal of Zen author Philip Sudo
grainbag On-Line Gallery : Art at your fingertips (041015): Nice photographs
fucker. net (040610): Indie Erotica
Everything You Know Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Secrets and Lies (040608): Interesting list of paranoid factoids
Reading the Bible Again for the First Time 00 (040528): Borg is well known for his interesting distinction between naive, critical, and post-critical understanding of religion
Polaroid Scene (040528): New York scenester and their polaroids
Communal Living: Cleaning the House (040522): An account of communal living
Shaft drive bicycle features including the chain-less hub drive-shaft system (040519): Interesting bike concept
Scientists: Bush Distorts Science (040219): The Bush administration draws more fire for distorting science
Veg Porn ~ Your Guide to Hot Stuff for Herbivores (040213): I didn't think we needed our porn, but, heck, why not?
jenyk/dot/com | photography by jasper coolidge (040213): An avid photographer of the bands he loves
ALTphotos.com (040213): Competition for photo.net
CGNetworks - Computer Graphics and Digital Visual Effects (040213): Amazing renderings
Getting in Bed With the Customer (040209): More weirdness from Japan, this time dakimakura, life-size plush pillows of anime characters
Breaking the Pain/Stress Cycle (040205): Informative page on reducing pain and keeping a good attitude
Cake-cutting perfected (040127): Compensation ensures that everyone is happy with their slice
Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture (040123): "A humanist religious organization dedicated to improving the ethical quality of relationships in personal lives and in the world."
Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture (040123): A humanist religious organization dedicated to improving the ethical
Killing the Buddha (040123): "Killing the Buddha is a religion magazine for people made anxious by churches, people embarrassed to be caught in the "spirituality" section of a bookstore, people both hostile and drawn to talk of God."
Tomer Hanuka Portfolio (031207): Excellent illustrations
Director File. Chris Cunningham. (031201): Chris Cunningham directs those cool futuristic videos for Bjork, Aphex Twins, and others
style.org > The Strouhal Number in Cruising Flight (031119): Animals swimming or flying at cruising speed use similar ratios of stroke frequency and amplitude to forward speed.
Equal Time for Freethought (031117): Skeptic news, views, issues, and culture
Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division - dihydrogen monoxide info (031116): Funny site on the dangers of DHMO, Dihydrogen Monoxide
Nobody Tells Me What to Do (031116): A review of parasites that can control their hosts.
moloch.org (031113): A New York City hacker collective
Wooster Collective : Stickers / Posters / Graf / Culture Jamming (031106): A collective of those interested in street art
Take Back Your Time Day (031029): ... a nationwide initiative to challenge the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine that now threatens our health, our families and relationships, our communities and our environment.
Street writing (031029): Rachelle's photos of her feet and sidewalk graffiti
Disorient Express (031014): RSS feed fo the NYC MTA
tinywords.com: haiku daily (031009): Fresh haiku delivered daily
Street Memes (030925): Street Memes hopes to track the spread and evolution of stencils.
Soft Skull: Home (030923): A local, indie publisher
Subway Outlaws (030922): A history of NYC subway graffiti
Metaphilm (030919): A web site dedicated to amateur film criticism
Bilbo and Frodo Birthday Celebration 2003! (030919): New York has a Tolkien society!
Nobody Died When Clinton Lied (030917): "This slogan has been recently spotted in various locations along the I-5 freeway in southern Orange County, California. As quickly as it appears, it seems to disappear."
Project Censored (030911): The Top 25 Censored Media Stories of 2002-2003
Welcome to The Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club (030910): A page of the club that canoes on the Gowanus canal
Dilbert, Dogbert and Coworkers! (030910): Sometimes I feel like this vegan guy in the Dilbert cartoon, but I do feel a little guilty about it
A Space Oddity? Strange Kansas City marker part of world-wide mystery (030909): A story about toynbee tiles appearing embedded in roads in public places all over the country
Forgotten New York: tour13 (030908): Interesting explorations of New York
Whatever Happened to Cold Fusion (030907): An interesting essay on the Cold Fusion bubble and the failing of a scientific culture
A Quick Overview of Buddhism (030831): A rather useful summary of the basics of Buddhism
Torcon 3 (030831): The 2003 Hugo Awards
Hosai Ozaki: Right under the big sky, I don't wear a hat (030828): David recommends this Japanese poet to me.
A defense of Michael Moore and "Bowling for Columbine" (030813): A response to David Hardy's critique.
Ludwig von Mises Institute (030811): An economics blog a friend recommended to me
Education, Mathematics, Fun, Monty Hall Dilemma (030727): I'm still thinking about this one!
WAMC's 51 Percent (030727): An interesting feminist public radio talk show
The Grand List of Overused Science Fiction Cliches (030726): The title says it all
Cannot find Weapons of Mass Destruction (030716): A fake 404 message about lost WMD
SVG Textorizer Tool (030716): Max Froumentin's neat utility that converts and image to a textual representation using SVG
Fears Of Your Life (030715): "Loggins lives with his parents and likes to take bus excursions and listen to his record collection; he has hundreds of 45s, mostly Motown. "Fears of Your Life" was first published in chapbook form."
Talk To Me! (030715): "Hello from Liz and Bill and welcome to the Talk To Me website. Here you can learn about and contact Liz and Bill, the folks who go all around New York City with a Talk To Me sign while starting up conversations with just about anyone."
Transom: How It Works (030715): "Transom.org is an experiment in channeling new work and voices to public radio through the Internet, and for discussing that work, and encouraging more."
Ancient Egyptian MP3ers (030709): A reference Sing's Fermat's Enigma which described the scholars at Alexandria confiscating books for the library and leaving the original owners with copies.
Neighborhoodies (030707): Customized t-shirts and hoodies
Death by Government: Genocide and Mass Murder (030707): A book describing the extend of 20th century democide, the extermination of hundreds of millions citizens by their own government
Harvard University, Outings & Great Stuff to Do - Beaches and Boating (030703): A nice listing of nearby water fun
Mark Dowie, In Land We Trust (030628): A great history of the concept of the Public Trust Doctrine
Hello Natalie (030625): A found photo album, intriguing.
It's All Relative: Putting Race in Its Proper Perspective (030606): An interesting take on the question of whether race exists in a biological sense.
Salon.com News | "1:30-1:45: Rewind Ace Ventura" (030603): "The breathlessly comprehensive diaries of Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., may not reach the notoriety of, say, Anais Nin's. But the daily, hourly, sometimes minute-by-minute logs of the presidential candidate are generating some minor heat of their own."
War and Intelligence (030602): "an ad-hoc analytical group that began working in the Pentagon in the aftermath of September 11th, and which became formally known as the Office of Special Plans last August. The office is the responsibility of William Luti, the Under- Secretary of Defense, and its director is Abram Shulsky. They argued that the C.I.A. and other agencies, including the Defense Intelligence Agency and the State Department, weren't able to understand the connections between Iraq and Al Qaeda, and the extent to which Iraq was involved in the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction."
Chess teams checkered by recruiting practice (030602): A story on UMBC's recruiting of chess masters as students, which began when I was an undergraduate there
QuickColor and ColorMatch (030529): A quick palette color selector
On the validity of coining new sociological labels (030527): A paper which includes examples of the observation that many new movements are named by their detractors
The Onion | '90s Punk Decries Punks Of Today (030525): "Nineties punk Drew Tolbert, 29, expressed scorn Monday for the punks of today, denouncing them as phony poseurs unworthy of the word 'punk'".'
Truth about Bowling for Columbine (030515): An interesting analysis of alleged fabrications in Moore's movie.
Technical Tips and Techniques (030505): A few simple swimming techniques
Man Retires Bauhaus T-Shirt(030430): The link is broken, but there used to be a great The Onion article there that I hope to find again one day.
Emergent Democracy (030424): An essay on the Internet and democracy
MS-Word is {Not} a document exchange format (030424): Another essay on why sending Word documents is anti-social
7 Habits of an AntiBlogger at Internet Alchemy (030424): Nice rules akin to my own about not getting carried away with ego-wanking
game girl advance: Genderplay: Successes and Failures in Character Designs for Videogames (030418): An essay on gendered character design
Israel (030418): Interesting article by Phil Greenspun about Israel, terrorism and war in the Middle East: no response to a contentious issue is orthodox, but they all still fit together
Build-It: Save Money with a Linux Media Jukebox (030415): Building a Linux based alternative to Tivo and ReplayTV
The dullest blog in the world (030409): An amusing, though dull, blog
Reasons Not to Invade Iraq (030403): The argument from Bush Sr. and Scowcroft as to why they didn't want to go into Iraq a decade ago.
Museum of Hoaxes Top 100 (030401): Includes the spaghetti harvest, Taco liberty Bell, value of Pi, and selling Internet nodes.
Hawks and Hornets (030401): "...they have sold a sort of incrementalism-without-retreat by which we have only to accept the necessity of getting rid of Hussein to wind up supporting the radical realignment of the Middle East. We accept the Iraqi invasion out of patriotism and conviction, then accept the need to do something about the resultant anti-American assaults elsewhere in the world because we have to."
Bill Moyers on Patriotism and the Flag (030331): Great article on the smarmy politicians waving the flag from their lapel.
Osama must be laughing (030328): The US-led invasion of Iraq has blurred the lines between mainstream, liberal and radical politics in the world of Islam and has dissipated much of the empathy felt by Arabs toward America after the September 11 attacks.
The Empire Needs New Clothes (030321): Great essay on America's dependence on oil.
Bush's real goal in Iraq (030320): Great article on our motivations in Iraq.
War on Iraq is Unequivocally Illegal (030319): A great summary of UN and international law and why a war on Iraq falls afield of these norms.
Emerging Technology: Who Loves Ya, Baby? (030317): Interesting mention of Vonnegut's karass and granfalloon, and Kreb's Inflow social mapping software.
My Own Self (030311): Interesting self portraits of Asya Achween.
The Degree Confluence Project (030310): The goal of the project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location. The pictures and stories will then be posted here.
Just War, or a Just War (030310): Jimmy Carter's clear articulation of "just war" principles and how a war with Iraq fails to satisfy them.
Kansai Scene Magazine :: Kansai Living Guide (030306): On-line bilingual magazine about the Tokyo scene.
Free Drum Lessons and Hand Drum Rhythms Notation Online (030303): I should spend more time on this.
Tamakeri (030301): Just when you thought the Japanese couldn't top themselves, there's a new fetish: ball kicking.
FOUND Magazine (030227): Found stuff including birthday letters, birthday cards, and tick stubs.
What a cute! The blogging is large! (030224): Engrish blogging at its best.
Anime Web Resource (030216): Some great resources on the history of anime.
Nude Weblog Awards (030215): Well, that's titillating at least.
Heather Corinna: pure as the driven slush (030214): Thoughtful analysis and comments on all things personal.
Amazon.com Recommendations: Item-to-Item Collaborative Filtering (030210): Description of the Amazon collaborative filtering techniques.
Shirky: Power Laws, Weblogs, and Inequality (030210): "A new social system starts, and seems delightfully free of the elitism and cliquishness of the existing systems. Then, as the new system grows, problems of scale set in. Not everyone can participate in every conversation. Not everyone gets to be heard. Some core group seems more connected than the rest of us, and so on."
Stupid Computer Tricks (030207): This is really funny, and sad.
Online Journalism Review: Shuttle Disaster Coverage Mixed, but Strong Overall (030204): Analysis of news coverage from on-line new sources including blogs.
Baumol's disease (030204): "Baumol's disease" describes a situation when some service base sectors continue to get more expensive as the fall behind in productivity relative to other sectors.
He Takes Fatal OD as Internet Pals Watch (030203): Not sure how true this story is of someone ODing on their webcam.
blogwhore 2: the revenge of blogwhore (030130): More blogging nonsense, but this time it's the Survivor of blogs.
East West: Bloggies: What Went Wrong? (030130): An informative description of how the bloggies are stupid.
Media Missing New Evidence About Genoa Violence (030129): It's scary that this evidence of police misconduct and brutality has received no media attention
Hello Kaiju (030126): Fighting robots, in Boston: fun!
Internet Topic Exchange (030114): An implementation of blogs being able to form topical clusters.
Hubbert's Peak: A Guide toOil Literacy (030108): Review of a very intriguing sound book.
The Paradox of the Best Network (030108): "The Paradox of the Best Network comes about because as a network gets stupider, connectivity becomes a commodity. Those who own and operate the network have less to charge for."
Renouncing the Fruit (030108): Commentary on Gandhi's work ethic relative to Bhagavad Gita.
Millennium's Tofu/Miso Dip (021108): Yummy!
Dear Jerry Fallwell (020913): "Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?"
Christian Revisionism? Distorting the Historical Record for Religious Ends (020627): Given all this nonsense about "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, this is interested reading.
15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense (020621): "Opponents of evolution want to make a place for creationism by tearing down real science, but their arguments don't hold up"
The 1000Journal Project (020612): "A thousand blank journals traveling from hand to hand across the world..."
Moo Shoes and Aesop (020425): Two vegan shoe stores recommended by a colleague.
Israeli Women in Black (020405): "Women in Black, a group of women who have held silent vigils for peace at major intersections around the country at the same hour every week for almost 15 years. In the past, the demonstrations have been uneventful, rarely marred by conflict more serious than name-calling. But in these chaotic times, marked by seemingly endless bloodshed on Israeli and Palestinian sides, women like Weisgal and Tzemach are coming out in greater -- and louder -- numbers, risking more than ever to voice opposition to what they see as a senseless war."
IPCC Summary on Global Warming (020405): "Indeed, the three warmest years during the last one hundred years have all occurred in the 1990s and the twelve warmest years during the last one hundred years have all occurred since 1983. In addition, there is evidence that precipitation patterns are changing [figure 4], that sea level is increasing, that glaciers are retreating world-wide, that Arctic sea ice is thinning, and that the incidence of extreme weather events is increasing in some parts of the world."
Introduction to Public Choice Theory (020319): "The social phenomena ... of individuals in groups faced with the choice of doing what is best for themselves or what is best for the group."
Harajuku A-Go-Go (020319): A blog entry collecting links to kawaii fashion.
A skeptical look at The Skeptical Environmentalist (020319): Interesting commentary on the book that is discussed everywhere.
The Social Psychology of Modern Slavery (020314): It is sad to see slavery on the rise in "modern" times!
Toonami (020307): Interesting interview on why and how Cartoon Network edits Anime for the American audience -- particularly the fan service.
Christian Urban Legends (020221): Great myths debunked: Cloning Jesus, The Gay Jesus Movie, The Missing Day, and Drilling for Hell.
More MP3 Bull$hit (020219): "As one rock manager computes it, if a consumer buys the standard Gold Plan on Pressplay, paying $19.95 for 75 songs downloaded to a hard drive and 750 streamed so that they can be heard only once, an artist, after these deductions, gets $.0023 per song downloaded."
"Was Democracy Just a Moment?" (020219): The global triumph of democracy was to be the glorious climax of the American Century. But democracy may not be the system that will best serve the world -- or even the one that will prevail in places that now consider themselves bastions of freedom.
"American Porn", American Porn Naked Capitalists, A Rough Trade
(020211): The Frontline, Salon NYTime, and Guardian articles related to the US porn industry.
No King But Jesus? (020211): "Attorney General Nominee Ashcroft's Church-State Views Spark Unholy Furor"
Why Porn isn't Prostitution (020231): As long as you don't have fun, it's legal.
Guy's Keyboard (020224): This is so bad it's funny.
Liquid Generation (020116): Cool series attacking Chicago Real World and mass com modification.
Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments (020110): The title says it all!
Texas-sharpshooter fallacy and Law of Fives (020109): Two "fallacies" which I used to call selective site: if you are looking for something, you're likely to notice it more often.
Yoshitomo Nara (020109): Another cool Japanese pop artist.
Marfa (020109): I'd like to visit Judd's exhibits in the refashioned army barracks out in the desert one day.
Yuki Terai (011130): Official home page of a Japan Computer Generated Pop Idol.
Energy Crisis? (011115): When will the Joy Ride End?; The End of Cheap Oil; Titanic Sinks
American Crusade 2001 Trading Cards (011115): Collect them all!
My New Filing Technique Is Unstoppable (011101): Gerald's collection of the best of those comics.
The Constitutions Role in Wartime (011023): A summary of how liberties suffer during war.
Way Back Machine (011018): Web archive back to 1996 that is implemented very well.
Noah's Ark: Why it's a load of old cobblers (011012): Why 6 day creationists and other bible literalists are silly.
Funky Librarians! (010710): Interesting references and blog.
How Stuff Works (010705): Nice geeky site with explainations of "how stuff work"!
Karl Marx’s Top 25 Reading List for Resurgent Radicalism (010618): Nice reading list!
Webcam Astronomy (010612): I'd like to get back into astronomy, but light pollution pervades.
Top 200: The Rise of Corporate Global Power (010604): Interesting factoids about corporate dominance.
takeshi murakami (010604): I was wearing a Mr. Dob t-shirt before I even knew what it was!
v-nv-mobilize (010601): Good non-violence discussion list.
Love on Trial (010516): A book about a marriage destroyed by the public's compulsion with a case of a high society man marrying a women who is revealed to be black.
The Middle East: Snakes & Ladders (010429): A good analysis of the present violence and why it is truly pitiful that the man responsible for the present crisis (Sharon) is in power because of it.
BioDiesel (010408): Clean fuel alternatives.
If I Became an Anime Character (010328): "this page is dedicated to everything I would and wouldn’t do if I ever became an anime character."
OT III - Scientologys "secret" course rewritten for beginners (010317): "According to Scientology theory, we are all multiple personalities made up of hundreds of compacted extraterrestrial entities. We have reincarnated for 75 million years since this happened to us all. Scientology has claimed that this is a business trade secret..."
Engrish (010309): Funny simplicity.
All you base are belong to us (010226): Need I say more?
Looks aren't everything, say scientists (010212): More work on marriage markets: "They conclude that — as mothers have been saying for years — we would all be much happier if we thought less about looks and more about other qualities such as personality or a sense of humour."
Computer-mad generation has a memory crash (010205): "Growing numbers of people in their twenties and thirties are suffering from severe memory loss because of increasing reliance on computer technology, according to new research. "
Are Neurons Partly Responsible for Empathy? (010202): Mirror neurons "fire both when you perform an action and when you observe someone else performing that action. Researches think this explains how we 'judge intentions and feelings' and may 'answer important questions about human evolution, language and culture."
Dot-Coms Say 'Unions Not Welcome' (010129): Do tech workers need or want unions?
Lightsaber Effects (010125): Digital affects for your own movies: Lightsaber Effect Rotoscoping In A Premiere Filmstrip
GuerrilaGirls (010123): Subversive feminist media hackers.
Digital Lekking (001228): "Men flaunt their mobile phones to impress women"
How to Develop Student Creativity (001219): Good paper on teaching creativity via a metaphor with the Investment Theory of Creativity
Shepard Fairey Interview (001208): Man behind Obey at feedmag.
Camborg (001106): Surreptious snap-shots.
Open Content(001023): Copyleft like licenses for writing.
Spooky News: A report on CIA Infiltration and Manipulation of the Mass Media (001022): Interesting report of the CIAs continued infiltration of the Mass Media, from the Church Report to the present.
Dark Alliance (001022): The original story that implicated assent by the CIA for crack cocaine profits to be sent to the Contras. Also see Summary of Memorandum of Understanding from HR Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999.
Independent Media Centers (001012): City specific Web sites for publishing real people's reporting on civil events.
Englebert (001004): Douglas Engelbart's 1968 demo of our modern computer interface (with mouse)! The documentary clips are kind of spacey and surreal which is very cool beyond the historical geek factor.
TofuGuide (000931): I know someone who knows someone who runs this veg*tarian restaurant review.
Hawking Rapping (000918): What Hawkin's rapping might sound like.
Engrish (000901): Funny English usage in foreign contexts.
The Vietnam War and the Tragedy of Containment (000726): Brief but complete history of Vietnam involvement.
Open Letters (000723): The personal made public.
Sputnik7 (000721): Watch films (anime!) on-line.
Pornographic Origami (000714): <giggle/>
Honda Insight (000714): This could actually prompt me to buy a car!
Naked Pictures of My Ex-Girlfriends (000711): Nicely designed flash site for an interesting book, I guess they all consented?
Turning Point (000711): I've been enjoying these ads in the NYTimes, particularly the one critical of the Internet!
Astounding Web Sites (000706): A last, great hope for finding good sites without the greedy commercialists and smarmy cliques.
Natasha Epperson (000705): Very nice fetish photography.
Humanoid Robot (000705): When can I buy one!?
AdCritic (000630): Web site with current/funny commercials, too bad they are all in quicktime.
Andre the Giant bombs the world! (000622): I've been a Shepard Fairey fan since '96 (as anyone who's seen my bikes can attest). I always liked Salon, even as their stock continues to dive. What will I do when the go out of business and sell their site to DoubleClick so it can serve banners to all the suckers coming to read good articles?
Lessig's Letter to Bill (000621): Good Point: "The charge is that you have chilled innovation of a certain type – that while you have encouraged and supported the innovation that has made your operating system more valuable to consumers, you have attacked and undermined innovations that might make the power of your OS less secure."
Kennedy, 60 Minutes, and Roger Rabbit: Understanding Consipriacy-Theory Explanations of The Decline of Urban Mass Transit (000620): One of the most lucid historical policy analyses I've read, and it challenges one of my favorite urban myths: that GM purposefully destroyed public transit system.
Scott McCloud (000615): Nice comic on the potential of on-line comics.
Natacha Merritt (000614): Regardless of what you think of her photography, the book title is an interesting play on the cross over of online diaires and web cams.
Numbers Stations on Shortwave (000526): "All available evidence indicates that the majority of these transmissions are connected to espionage activities."
Stinky Meat (000517): A cool experiment in letting meat rot. You know most people eat this stuff?
5K (000511): Winners of the contest to create nifty pages under 5K.
Shadow of the Hegemon: A sequel to Ender's Shadow. Finally!
Clean Sheets (000422): Smart and erotic writing on sex, sexuality, and related issues.
Shoujo Manga (000419): Japanese Comics by Women for Girls of All Ages
The Rocket Car (000417): The true story behind the rocket car!
http://www.michelle7.com/ (000414): Cool photogrphy.
Showdown With The Pinkertons (000413): Corporations run web sites and hotlines so children can anonymously report each other. This speaks well to the amorality of corporations: "... scrapping WAVE America was never really on the table, and it was clear the company wasn't particularly interested in refuting any of my arguments, or those of the people who had e-mailed me theirs. I wouldn't swear that they disagreed. It simply didn't matter. The point was, there was a market for school-safety programs like this, and if Pinkerton didn't pursue them, somebody else would. The corporatist ethic doesn't allow for relinquishing potentially lucrative markets to competitors, any more than it does for conventional notions of right or wrong. In that sense, the meeting was exhausting and, probably, largely pointless. If there was leverage, it was in the fact that Pinkerton clearly wanted to go forward with its program in the least controversial way -- another corporatist hallmark.... Theirs is a simple equation, a statement right from the contemporary corporatist heart: they perceive a profitable opportunity in the security market, one created not by them but by irresponsible journalists, lazy educators and exploitative politicians. Someone will fill it. Might as well be them. "
Why Democracy is Wrong (000411): A huge rant on democracy. I myself believe democracy is over rated. It offers two things (1) mechanism of making policy and (2) legitimacy. Particularly instances do not succeed at either very well.
Jesus Had a Goatee (000411): I've been converted!
Gnutella (000410): Tres cool way to find files.
Constructor (000408): constructor animates and edits two dimensional models made out of masses and springs
Tips and Tricks for Digital Photography (000405): Correcting barrel distortion and such.
Keep a Web journal, get fired ... or worse (000328): Interesting story of how you could get fired with a site like this.
Salon: Hello Kitties (000308): "In a country that favors group-feeling to individualism, two fashion-based subcultures, 'egg girls' and 'little gals,' cause a big stir."
Do MP3 Encoders Sound Different? (000307): Nice discussion of the various encoders, I use LANE.
Latex Sheets (000307): Eeewwww.
Mullets (000223): There's now a site to accompany the the book:
Weblogs (000223): Wired has a story entitled The Web the Way It Was, "A weblog, or blog, is a regularly updated list of links and commentary to interesting material on the Web." I don't know, weren't people always doing this, and they just never stopped? Big deal. And how is this that different from a journal, zine, or other thing.
Search Engine Friendly Tools (000216): Web Site Garage: Summary Report; Meta Medic; Search Engine Placement Secrets
Scarlet Letters (000215): Nifty femme driven erotica site.
http://undergroundfilm.com/ (000215): Good site for indie/underground film production.
Sleaze Nation (000215): Great underground site with cool photography but inaccessible design.
Tony Ryan (000210): Nifty nude photography who did the cover of Cherotic (r)Evolutionary #8.
Anarchic Reading: Economist writer recommends the following book which tells of a tribe leaving their chief if he turns out to govern poorly: My Traitor's Heart A South African Exile Returns to Face His Country, His Tribe and His Conscience
Beer Frame: The Journal of Inconspicuous Consumption: Excellent zine that loves and critiques product design and marketing.
Sci Fi Literature 101: Potential useful source of new science fiction authors for my reading list.
The Fray: Might be a neat personal writing site, I like the bi-line, "the fray is a place for people who believe the web is about personal expression and a new kind of art" but I can't figure shit out on the site, hard to place myself and read.
The Adventures of Loneranger: Lisa pointed out that I should sue them as they my idea! (And they probably didn't, and I obviously stole my title from a TV show.)
TERRA SERPENTES: I need to find this CD, it sounds very cool!
loud paper (0131): dedicated to increasing the volume of architectural discourse
Quote of the New Century (0128): Monica Lewinsky on CNN's Larry King Live discussing her miraculous Jenny Craig weight-loss: "I've learned not to put things in my mouth that are bad for me."
Controversy (0127): A forthcoming book " A Natural History of Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion" has created a little firestorm. Reminds of me of one of the most compelling though upsetting things I read last year, "Hooking Up Protective Pairing for Punks".
Ekova, "Heaven's Dust": heard on NPR's , cool song writer along Dead Can Dance and Cocteau Twins.
NetSlaves (000125): Horror stories of working the Web.
Cure for Hiccups! (000125): This worked, though not immediately and I had to do it repeatedly as I had hiccups for 7 hours!
what we play for WRCT: Search for mp3s played by this station as I am likely to like them. (000125)
GyP Imagine. (000120): Nice graphics and icons.
Michael Harkavy, kinky photography (000120): Good local photographer
fogo archive: Cambridge Soundworks speakers, hifi.com free DVD player deal (000125): Awesome deal if you get a free DVD player!
Pangea Vegan Products The BFB--coming soon! (000119): I want one! Also the Vegan Doc Martens.
Salon Travel Singaporeans riot for Hello Kitty (000119): Silly.
What Larry Doesn't Get: A Libertarian Response to Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace (000117): Wrote response to David and cc:d Larry, the real question is yes natural language evolves, but everyone is a consumer and producer, not necessarily so in computer expression.
RDF Schema editor (000116): Should play with this.
Directory of Volunteer Opportunities in Cambridge: Should get off my bum and volunteer.
Ethical Wares: Nice shoes!
milk-subsitutes: Good description of various non-dairy products.
Hiroshi Kamakura (9910): Japanese digital photographer.
Manifest: A pre-napster like version of the Communist Manifesto that comes with GPL software for sharing text files.