August 8
Is modern literature too pretentious? "In the bookstore I'll sometimes sample what all the fuss is about, but one glance at the affected prose -- 'furious dabs of tulips stuttering,' say, or 'in the dark before the day yet was' -- and I'm hightailing it to the friendly black spines of the Penguin Classics"
This essay from B.R. Myers in The Atlantic has been expanded into a book. I thought this
defense of Raymond Chandler makes a good point about how literature (or at least its critics) can be exclusionary.
Forget TIPS, TIA is the real deal: DARPA's Information Awareness Office is beginning the bidding process for the development of a next-generation information handling system,
Total Information Awareness (TIA). The system will capture, cross index and maintain pedabytes of information including: financial, education, travel, medical, veterinary, country entry, place/event entry, transportation, housing, "critical resources", government
and communications.
By the way: DARPA's Information Awareness Office is run by by
John Poindexter, who was convicted of conspiracy, lying to Congress, defrauding the government and destroying evidence.
Crazy guy.
Corporate Terrorism Approved "The International Labor Rights Fund filed the suit with the U.S. district court in Washington last year on behalf of 11 villagers from Aceh who contend that they were victims of murder, torture, kidnapping and rape by the military unit guarding Exxon Mobil's gas field."
"the State Department said the lawsuit would "risk a seriously adverse impact on significant interests of the United States, including interests related directly to the ongoing struggle against international terrorism."
I guess the villagers killed weren't part of the axles of evil so it is OK to contract out their murders?
The "Axis of Evil" v. the "Forces of Evil." Saddam Hussein warns the US that any attack on Iraq is "doomed to failure." While the Bush Administration claims that there are no firm plans to invade Iraq, the rhetoric on both sides is intensifying. Are the Hawks on both sides gunning for a showdown? Can a diplomatic solution be reached? If the Bush Administration's goal is to oust Saddam, have we foreclosed any hope of a meaningful "dialogue"? Reportedly, even some generals are wary of invading Iraq. I think containment of Saddam is a much better option than war. Does anyone disagree? What are the alternatives?
Rockbitch have done their last gig. So no more golden condom awards. Rockbitch are/were a band of outrageous gay and bisexual women (and one guy) who live in a sex-commune in France (although they are mostly British). They gained notoriety for their explicitly sexual performances which ended with a golden condom thrown into the audience. Whoever caught it, male or female, would be joyfully fucked by members of the band backstage. Yes for real. It sounds like rock and roll exploitation gone mad but what is surprising is that their philosophy of sexual liberation and magic seems remarkably coherent, and they are very articulate and responsible (a very strong safe sex code). And sexy. Trouble is after a BBC documentary and much abuse in the press it seems they can't play live any more. Is the world just too straight for Rockbitch, or is this the last gasp of sixties hedonism?
