August 2002 Archives

I'm still going through images from my Cape Scott trip, but here's another teaser.

Recently, I've been totally digging on Eels' latest, Souljacker.

I've found that anything where Joe Gore makes a guitar appearance will usually have some merit - his work with PJ Harvey and Tom Waits has been stellar. But the great collaborators don't end there on Souljacker! John Parish, who has also worked with PJ Harvey, is also deeply involved on this album. Combine all this with E's great songs and you have one highly recommended disc. Check it out.

Currently listening to: Eels - Jungle Telegraph.

yanqui u.x.o. is due out November 11th. And apparently it's now godspeed you! black emperor. There's also this, which I don't understand just yet. Off to google.

( ) from Sigur Ros is coming out October 28th. And yes, it's called ( ):

Sigur Ros' eagerly awaited third album is to be released by Fatcat Records on October 28. Un-named and represented only by a symbol best described as a pair of brackets, the record contains eight songs, each of which is also untitled.

Currently listening to: P.J. Harvey - Down By The Water.

An update from Jeff Noon, who has a new novel, Falling Out of Cars, coming out this year. He's also released an online writing game called mappalujo. (via bookslut.)

Currently listening to: the The - ShrunkenMan.

I've been off the past few days on the northern tip of Vancouver Island, hiking in Cape Scott Park. Luckily, the weather cooperated and a wonderful time was had by all. Expect an extensive gallery soon.

Currently listening to: Art of Noise - Beat Box (Diversion One).

As a big-time transit user, BC Transit's (sorry, Translink's) new Trip Planner seems cool, if a bit slow. Judging from the Server attribute returned, I think it's built by these guys. Sounds like a fun problem.

Apple has the trailer for Naqoyqatsi - Life As War.

Also, you can preorder the Koyaanisqatsi / Powaqqatsi 2 DVD set now.

Currently listening to: moby - dog.

As predicted here, the gnus folks are all over statistical spam tracking, and already have some working code.

If you scroll down, on the right there is now a "Book Queue", something I whipped together using Amazon's Web Services and Brad Choate's excellent MTPerlScript plugin for Movable Type.

Currently listening to: U2 - All I Want is You.

Decent article about Wade Davis. If you haven't read his two most famous books, One River and The Serpent and the Rainbow, I highly recommend them both.

"I think there's an idea that people have that life is a linear progression, where you go from A to B to C and so on, and if you don't get to B you won't get to C. In fact it's a total illusion, because anyone who thinks carefully about his own life knows that the pattern of his past is absolutely accidental and serendipitous. The key challenge in life is not to know where you are going to go but prepare your character so when those wonderful moments of serendipity occur, you can listen to your heart and know what it is you need to do."

...

"Even as I make it very clear I don't use drugs any more, I'm happy to say I used them, inhaled and enjoyed them. They changed my life. There are no good or bad drugs, there are good or bad relationships to drugs. I'm lucky to have a good relationship with drugs."

...

Davis is captivated by the stories he sees in northern B.C. He once tried to write about them, but it didn't work out. "It was my first idea of a book, and maybe it will be the last book I'll ever write," he says. "The drama that happens in this valley is every bit as moving, as profound, as inspiring as anywhere else in the world," he said. Yet he faces the obvious problem of writing about people who are his neighbours and friends. "I'm reluctant to write it. The story is still unfolding. I don't want people here to feel I'm here to pry."

Currently listening to: Prong - Controller.

If the very idea of math puns gives you the willies, you should probably avoid Flatterland. Personally, I'm rather enjoying it.

Currently listening to: Glenn Branca - First Movement.

A statistical approach to fighting spam. The problem I have with this is that it would require a fair amount of human sorting to feed the filter. SpamAssassin works right away, and works very well. A combination of the two techniques might be even better; I wonder if the gnus folks are already working on integrating this...

Currently listening to: Godspeed You Black Emperor! - BBF3.

I am learning way too much about the differences between xemacs and emacs. I'd never realized just how much package authors have to fiddle with things to make things work on both.

Currently listening to: Kronos Quartet - KEVIN VOLANS: White Man Sleeps. (And I do.)

Interview with Irvine Welsh, who has a new book (Porno) coming out soon:

From his perspective, the onset of DIY porn is neither a good nor a bad thing. Maybe, like swearwords, it is merely a way of defusing something intrinsically frightening, shedding a garish light on the shadows and taboos of sex. "When we break taboos," he says, "it doesn't mean we also break moral codes. Unless they're psychotic, people know the difference between right and wrong, good and bad. Nobody's born wanting to rape and kill. People have a basic morality that comes from their humanity. We have to institutionalise some kind of moral framework only so we can all live within the same one. Nothing wrong with that."

(via bookslut)

On Saturday I hiked up Lynn Peak for the first time. It was a tough hike, especially at my fitness level (I think fitness crater would be a more accurate description), but it was completely worth it for the view at the top. I managed to summon up the energy to press the shutter release a few times, so there is a small gallery of photos.

Well, my emacs mode for posting to MovableType weblogs is ready for testing. Rather than a wide release, I'd like to seek out willing beta testers to shake out as many obvious bugs and gotchas as possible. When the initial public release happens, it will be GPLed.

So, if posting to MT from the comfort of emacs sounds like something you'd like to do, please mail me.

Currently listening to: My Bloody Valentine - What You Want.

Nice quote at bookslut about comics as literature.

Listening to Sonny Sharrock - Promises Kept (the sax solo here still blows by mind).

This is some text for you to enjoy.

UPDATE: This is an update. Please also to enjoy. Also, enjoy the fact that I nuked the previous entry instead of this one, because I am so SMRT.

In case you're curious, I am working on an Emacs movable type interface. It's getting there.

FURTHER UPDATE: I can now retrieve a list of posts. more of the
testing

Hey, again with the
testing. Enough already! (Not just yet, sorry. I hate it as much as
you do, maybe more. Fuuuuun)

Matt Johnson interviewed by Johnny Marr.

Hey, Indigo, here's an idea: try competing instead of complaining. I mean really, now that Indigo/Chapters has wiped out all major competitors, to turn around and claim government protection is just laughable. This book industry protection legislation (or, to be more precise, the extent of it) is one of those things about Canada that I just don't understand, much like letting Canada Customs censor books.

This is mildly risque, but it's just so amusing.

I've been enjoying Rick McGinnis' movie blog since I discovered it a while back. I especially like this post about projection problems at the multiplex. I haven't noticed as many problems here, perhaps because the projectionist union hasn't been completely gutted here. Yet.

I did have an amusing experience watching an improperly matted Hannibal - the brain eating scene wasn't quite as gruesome when you could see the boom mike swinging above the actor's heads.

Canada's getting fatter too - not really a surprise, although I'd be interested in seeing stats by province. Doughnuts play less of a cultural role here in BC, in my experience. I'm also on a one-man mission to reverse the trend, at least on a personal level.

So, the paving crew couldn't find the owner of an abandoned car; they did the logical thing and paved around it.

There must be a couple people around that can meet these requirements:

Bachelor’s degree required, degree in Computer Science or related field preferred. 1-2 years of experience in systems integration and development, package implementation, and/or interactive design. Knowledge of multiple technologies, including but not limited to JavaScript, Java, Xbox Programming, Assembly, Java 3D, JMF, Lingo, DirectX, MacOS Programming, HTML, DHTML, XML, Visual Basic, PL/SQL, C/C++, Perl, TCL, RDBMS, .NET, Site Server, COM/DCOM, Flash, and Shockwave. Experience with relational databases and user-centered analysis and evaluation techniques preferred. Ability to define, create and complete a technical task without a great deal of guidance. Ability to be creative and innovative, and work well independently and as a team-player in a fast-paced consulting environment. Strong communication skills to interact with clients as consultants and be part of a workshop team.

And:

* Writes bug free code. Follows standards set for the team. Leads by example. Works across components and identifies and fixes problem areas in their components and activity

To me, this just screams "don't apply here", although maybe that's just because I don't fix problem areas in their activity.

Unsurprising article about how diseases are marketed so pills can be sold.