Thursday 30 December 2010

Harbinger

Remember the wailing and gnashing of teeth I expect to accompany re-districting?
The state of Ohio will lose two congressional seats thanks to the latest U.S. Census figures, and liberal stalwart Dennis Kucinich is worried his seat is on the chopping block.
In an e-mail to supporters Wednesday, the seven-term Democratic congressman and two-time presidential candidate says the Republican-controlled Ohio legislature is likely to eliminate his heavily Democratic Cleveland-area district.
This could just be Kucinich making a play for donations, but I wouldn't be surprised if his seat were eliminated.

Friday 24 December 2010

To The Game Grid

God bless the internet! I'm planning to watch the new Tron film, and so just had to watch the original again. My first memory of this film involved the rapid destruction of a whole box of Cadbury's Roses - right down to the dreaded coffee creams- by the scene where the protagonists attempt to reach the I/O tower to contact Tron's user. I can't have been much older than five.



The film actually hasn't aged too badly in my opinion, but then again maybe its just me showing my age. I'm sure my niece and nephew would balk at the very dated special effects. I do think that the pace of the film is far too sluggish. Decent performances by Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner though. Let's see if the re-up is any good - trailers below.



Friday 10 December 2010

Rethinking Russian Humour

I remember a friend of mine regaling me with tales of her experiences in the Soviet Union, and trying to get me to understand the unique aspects of Russian humour... I laughed at none of the punchlines. I think I may have seen the light, because this dig at the US over Wikileaks has me in stitches.

The Chinese basically got all pissy at what they perceived as Western sanctimony, and went and staged their own awards ceremony, The Confucius Prize. This latest salvo by the Russian government uses Assange - a man I'm sure they'd like to discover has come up missing - to expose the kind of  hypocrisy they would like to keep hidden in the case of their own interests. You have to laugh.

Wednesday 8 December 2010

Oh, My Goodness...

Young City Extraordinaire takes me back.

Fujimama's Boys' Brunches. Abso-fucking-lutely! Good food, beautiful people, great conversation. How I miss those weekend brunches after a night out in good old Tokes. Plum liqueur - made with honey and brown sugar- on the rocks. Pork and rice with chopped okra and kimchi. Yukke at the Korean restaurant in Shin Okubo. Braised taro at the Chinese restaurant in Shiba. Unice, with the great food but awful service. Baobab, great food, greater cocktails, and the one and only Ikuta; keep playing that funk, man.

It was a good time. Will such a thing be mine to experience again, I wonder.

Tuesday 7 December 2010

Sunday 5 December 2010

Friday 3 December 2010

Fascinating

Nasa scientists have discovered a species of bacteria that can live on arsenic. A quite exciting find, as it may herald new research into the biological history of life on Earth, evolution, and life on other planets. Stories below.

Image: Mono Lake/Henry Bortman

Wednesday 1 December 2010

So, about that foul mood...

I had landed a job, a rather good job in some respects. Now it is gone from me. 

At the moment I do not have a mouth with which to tell the tale. I need to get to a better place first, and I fear that will not be happening anytime soon. My good friend tells me I may have dodged a bullet, but I remain haunted by visions of my nascent career being smothered in its sleep.

Wikileaks

Can't really say I have too much beef with them. Secretary Clinton's claims that this latest release of data has put lives at risk are an exaggeration, methinks. And only serves to make me tune out the politicians falling over themselves to condemn Julian Assange in the strongest terms possible.

I got a kick out of news that many leaders in the Arab world, wanted the U.S. to take action against Iran's nuclear programme. Mark Klieman's comment elicited a good laugh:
... the Saudis (and our other Arab quasi-friends) are willing to fight Iran to the last American.
 A hit! A palpable hit! Perhaps it's because I've been in such a foul mood lately that I find this whole brouhaha rather amusing.