Ive had my laptop for 3 years, and while it still works well I was kind of ready for a new one. Since I've been teaching most IT classes than anything else, I haven't really been doing much editing, and since I've been studying for even more IT classes, I haven't been taking on much freelance work. I took a careful look at how I've been using my laptop, and I almost never fire up Final Cut any more- its all done on my tower. SO I didnt need Real Ultimate Power™. But I've been spending a lot of time in cafes, and on planes, and sitting in terminals and on hotel beds, and I wanted something smaller. Every time I tried Crystals laptop I thought to myself hm.. this is only a little smaller, but it makes a difference.
So I was already pretty set on buying a 13" aluminum laptop. Just a few things stood in my way- I wanted to make sure it could at least run Final Cut Pro and Motion, and after some testing, found it could- pretty well, in fact! And since it didn't have FireWire I wanted to make sure I could power my USB drives without a power brick, and it could. I also wanted the lightup keyboard but I didnt want to pay extra for the bigger model. And I'd miss the CardBus slot for reading SD cards from my camera but I could always just plug it in with a USB cable. Minor compromises.
Then, Apple goes and blindsides me, and releases a NEW 13" latop... WITH firewire, WITH the lightup keyboard, and... for the first time... WITH an SD card slot! Annnnd its faster... and they DROP the price, to boot. After that, I really couldn't argue any more. Snapped one up. Put my 500GB drive in, and uppded the RAM to 4GB and now its perfect.
It plays Warcraft. It handles final cut. Its got a 500GB drive so It can triple-boot XP, Leopard and Snow Leopard, and its small enough to whip out just about anywhere. It's damn pretty. Oh, and the battery is as good as advertised- I can get 5-6 hours of work done on it, easy. Actual work- with wifi on and everything. Thank you, steve jobs!
Anyone wanna buy a 15" MacBook Pro?
Heres a recent snippet from The Economist:
Without a drastic restructuring neither Chrysler nor GM would have a chance for long-term success. Not only would thousands of workers lose their jobs, but the government would lose tens of billions of taxpayers' dollars. So rather than simply writing a check to the auto industry -- the policy of the previous administration -- the Obama team is focused on fundamentally restructuring these two businesses.
So far, the auto task force has done an admirable job of refusing to rubber stamp the industry's proposals. It's used rigorous analysis to make tough decisions. These decisions include "right sizing" industry capacity by cutting many union and white-collar jobs and closing numerous manufacturing plants and dealerships; making the unions accept lower wages and benefits so that these companies can compete; and cutting the debt crushing these companies by forcing many of the stakeholders -- workers, retirees and creditors (including the government) -- to take equity rather than cash for their obligations.
And here's what the news WOULD be reporting, if Obama was a communist.Our Great and Wise Leader For Life Obama directed Chrysler today to cancel manufacture of all SUV models, trucks and sports cars and only continue to manufacture the Dodge Caliber and Chrysler 300M. So as to not make common workers feel jealousy to their fellow men, the public will only be allowed to purchase the Caliber. The 300M model will be reserved for government officers. In further cost-cutting, all models will be black.
Also, auto workers' salaries are being cut from $2.40 an hour to $1.80 an hour and breaks are shortened to 20 minutes a day including lunch. Of course, health care benefits will not be cut.
Union organizers tried to protest the changes, but quickly saw their error, and have not been heard from since.
We at the New York Peoples' News Reporting Agency applaud this brave and wise move and so do the international markets: the dollar is up to an all-time high against all foreign currencies, as far as you know, and of course, there is no stock market.
Now, I'll admit, theyre awfully similar; but I think you wise readers can see the differences, no?
Someday I'd like to go to a Yankees Red Sox game at Fenway.
Someday Id like to sit in the green monster. Not necessarily on the same day.
See a Jimmy Buffet concert
Eat in a Mario Batali restaurant
I'd like to learn how to solder
And weld
And ride a motorcycle though I probably wont ever own one. At least till I have a midlife crisis but then Ill probably still just get a Ford GT instead.
what's goin on Friday night?
Anyone can make a movie with a plucky kid who always gets underfoot and falls into wacky adventures. But it takes an especially talented team to break that kid out of his two-dimensional stereotype with just a few lines of dialogue, and turn him into someone you really feel for.
Anyone can make a movie with a talking dog. But it takes a special team to make that dog a hero, and more of a person than most of the life actors in most of the movies out right now.
Anyone can make an adventure movie with kids, or superheros. But it takes courage to make an adventure movie about a grumpy 70 year old man. And it takes a special kind of team to imbue that grumpy old man with a heart and a soul, and to make children not only like him, but change the way those kids- all of us- look at every grumpy old man; to maybe even teach us the difference between grumpiness and sadness; and that that the old man down the street we always passed by without a second thought is really a person. A person with feelings, and stories richer than anything we would imagine.
Anyone can write a movie about an adventure in the jungle, with beasts and villains and flying ships, but it takes a special kind of team to make the characters more than characters, and the story more than a story- to take their time, and unfold a story about dreams, and disappointment, and the pain and beauty of life. To craft a 5 minute prologue, sans dialogue, that could win an Oscar in its own right.
Anyone can make a movie abouta house, even a flying one. But after that first 5 minute progloue, you will never again be able to look at that house without an acute pain in your heart and a smile on your face.
It takes a special kind of team to accomplish any one of these things. It takes Pixar to do them all. Simply put, Up is a perfect film.
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the majority of the people who voted on the tax cut are the same people who whine about more money for after school programs, arts programs, more police, better roads, more teachers, more more more etc etc etc. Any modicum of economic sense people have goes right out the window when they step into a voting booth.
I voted for the bill, but not because I wanted lower taxes; because I knew an economic disaster was coming and we would have to raise money somehow. If we didnt get it through income tax, wed have to make it through sales tax, and that's fine by me. Well guess what? Now they're raising the sales tax.
Why am I not pissed? Well, we need to spend less. And maybe this will help. A sales tax is more fair than an income tax- tax the people who can afford it. There's no loophole for sales tax like there is for income tax, so in some ways this is MORE fair.
I think we should take it further, though- We already have made groceries and other living necessities exempt from sales tax, something I used to assume was true in all states till I learned its not. People say its confusing but it makes perfect sense to me- Everyone has to eat. Groceries are tax free. But going to a restaurant is a luxury, so prepared meals are taxed. This is really only confusing in one case I can think of- pour your own slurpee at 7-11 and its not taxed; but if someone pours it for you, it is.
Clothes are not taxed, either- up to a point. but there is a luxury tax on clothes. I think I had to pay tax for my leather jacket on the difference above $200 or so. so if it was a $300 jacket I payed tax on $100 of it. Why not institute a sliding tax for meals, too? McDonalds is taxed at 5%; Ruth's Chris is taxed at 10% and the Four Seasons is taxed at 15%. Obviously we wouldn't break it down like this but by a per capita dollar amount. Also, why do we charge an alcohol tax on a bottle of wine in a store but only a meal tax on a bottle of wine in a restaurant?
I'm not anti-tax, at all. But am pro-common sense. Id really like to see ALL gas taxes go to fixing roads, and nothing else. Registration fees go to funding the registry. Restaurant ermit fees go to health inspectors. T fares go to funding the T. And so on, and so on. It makes it a lot harder for politicians to hide where the money is going, and those who use X should pay for X, not X, Y and Z.
The only thing that ticks me off about all of this is that the meals tax and sales tax wont be a nice round 5% any more.
Sure, I am hardly a model of linguistic integrity when it comes to blog posts, but I'm not getting paid to write for Gizmodo, Engadget, Jalopnik, WoW Insider, Lifehacker, or any one of the multitude of ad-supported blogs I read daily. If you are paid to write an article for a crporate site, this should be no different than a writing assignment for a magazine or newspaper. And even worse, if you ARE a commercial site, and my eyeballs rack up your ad impression dollars, you owe it to me to spend even a small modicum of effort editing your own work!
It has been getting particularly bad in the last year or so; this month has been simply atrocious. One of th aforementioned blogs made a post a couple weeks ago, with tips for being a good commenter. one of the tips amounted to, "Enough with the snarky spelling mistake comments! Yeah, sure, we know you want to be the first to point out a mistake, but were only human beings, and were under a huge crunch to write 100 posts every day for you, so lay off!"
NO. No, I'm sorry, but that is NOT a defense. 100 posts? Oh my, you poor people, your whole staff has to labor tirelessly to cut-and-paste press releases and regurgited posts from OTHER blogs, and add one or two lines of witty and unoriginal spin. That must be so exhausting! How about writing 90, or 80, or hell, 50 posts a day, and editing them first? The Boston Globe doesn't seem to have a problem, and that fucker is like 400 pages an issue these days.
Show your readers respect. Hire an editor. This is not negotiable.
Comics have been pretty bad, too. Now don't get me wrong, I am so thrilled that the web gives a cheap, easy way for comic artists with, let us say, off the beaten path ideologies to distribute their stuff to like-minded fans. I grew up loving the Boston Globe comics, but Ive tried reading them again lately and I realized just how derivative, unfunny and lacking in any sort of original thought they really are. Seriously, has Marmaduke, Garfield or Cathy done ANYthing original since Regan was president? Aside from Dilbert and Zippy, I couldnt find anything remotely amusing. And I'll be the first to admit that those are hardly appealing to a broad demographics.
Which is why the internet is so fucking great- I can read comics about D&D, Tech jobs, video gaming, Python programming and otaku; comics that would never, EVER find an audience in a mainstream media outlet.
But theres a downside as well: it seems to me that just because anyone CAN publish a comic on the internet, doesnt mean they should. I would use the word artist reluctantly for over half the comics I read- I'm not expecting everything to look like MegaTokyo, but far too many people think that all they need is a geeky punchline and stick figures to get by. I'm looking at you, XKCD... Abstruse Goose... Cheer Up Emo Kid... Cyanide & Happiness... Order of the Stick.. and the list goes on...
How about some of you funny guys with no drawing talent hook up with some artists who have no sense of humor and you BOTH get famous? That's how comics have workd for 100 years... you think Jai Lee or Alex Ross can write a story to save his life?
In conclusion, internet: shape up. I deserve better.
$ sudo dscl /Search create / SearchPolicy CSPSearchpath
$ sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/DirectoryService/Di
$ sudo killall DirectoryService
$ sudo dsconfigldap -v -a servername.domain.com -n servername -u directoryadmin -p adminpassword -l clientadmin -q clientpassword
$ sudo dscl /Search append / CSPSearchPath /LDAPv3/servername.domain.com
$ sudo /usr/sbin/sso_util configure -r servername.domain.com -a diradmin -p adminpassword -f /LDAPv3/servername.domain.com -v 1 all
Mountain and Sackett Regimental Ties
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The origins of Authentic Regimentals date back to the "Cravat" worn by Balkan brigades of the 17th century. A hundred years later, as the 7th Royal Fusiliers gathered in the Tower of London to protect King James II from the oncoming Duke of Monmouth, they helped establish the Regiments by name as a unique part of British history. The roots of the Authentic Regimental designs can be traced back even further, however, as the court of King Henry V established a Royal Registry of military regalia in 1419. The descriptions of these "blazons" have been incorporated in the creation of the Regimental designs over the ensuing centuries. Even today the colors evoke the unmistakable presence of Heraldic times, azure blue represents loyalty and truth, while antique gold reflects generosity and claret symbolizes valor.
Every Mountain & Sackett Authentic Regimental is a testament to this history. Our fabric is a unique double face repp weave of the highest quality seven ply English yarns, and every tie is meticulously hand crafted; they are made to last a lifetime.
It's still around, and I still hang out there sometimes, but lately I was noticing that it wasn't as crowded any more. I still saw some people sometimes but not as often. Finally I gave in and went out to see what had happened.
Seems people had found this new coffee shop down the block. it isn't as warm and cozy- actually they just redecorated and it's sort of white and sterile but it does have a certain clean simplicity to it. And when I walked in, there were actually TONS of people I knew here. More than were ever at the old place. I was sort of surprised.
I've settled in, and its pretty nice, but it doesn't have the same cozy feel, you know? its sort of crowded and a little loud, and most people just hop in, grab something, say hi and share a few words, maybe talk about the Sox or gay marriage or ask me to join their fan club, then take off. We don't sit around and have long rambling discussions about life the way we used to.
When i do get to talk to people in here, they keep telling me about this even newer place they're going to more lately. Theyre always too busy to hang out lately, even to just for a couple minutes in this place. But this NEW new place, is totally sweet, and really convenient. its actually just a canteen truck on the side of the road. Yeah, its noisy and smelly and the coffee is kinda crap and no one ever hangs out because its too cold and there are no chairs. but you can walk up, grab and go, and it hardly takes any time at all. You dont even have to get roped into a discussion.
I don't think I'll be checking it out.
This is happening all over; the death of the fourth estate has been long prognisticated and often lamented. But theres more to the story than the internet. Try to find numbers- its not easy, it doesn't make for a god headline. but what they don't want you to know is, most, nearly all of the nation's papers are still operating profitably. The real problem is that their corporate owners –The New York Times, The Tribune and their ilk– made so many horrible investments in the past 10 years, along with everyone else, that they are saddled with too much debt and cant crawl out. Like when you max out your credit card and can only afford to pay the intrest, the principal never gets payed down.
I was a Sophmore in high school and didnt really think much about what I wanted to do. I was lousy in Physics, great in geometry and design. I thought I wanted to be an architect. I didnt own a computer. I played a lot of Nintendo though. I carpooled with my friend Peter. He took soccer after school but I was doing P.E. so I was out early and had to wait for him. i started hanging out in the computer lab because it was one of the only things open. There were about 10 IBM 286s, 2 Mac Ses and 2 Mac LCs. Or maybe IIsi's. Anyway, most of the games were on the Macs so Id hang out and play Shufflepuck and Crystal Quest.
One day someone came up from the school newspaper office. It was Erica Tower, who I liked. no particular reason except she was really, really pretty. and a senior so, like, ofrget it, but anyway, they were having trouble with one of their computers and I was the only one there and I didnt know waht I was doing but it was Erica Tower so I said I'd have a look. It was my first time in thes chool newspaper office. I didnt even know where it was- I thought that door by the bottom of the stairs was just a janitor closet or something.
Mr Lieth was an English teacher, and he was in charge of the paper. I recognized him but Id never had him as a teacher. Anyway, there was a floppy stuck in one of the Macs. I knew you could push a paper clip in in juuust the right way, and.. pop! out it came. I thought it was no big deal; they thought I was a hero. and somehow they asked me to join the paper and I accepted.
2 years later I was the design manager of one of the most highly-awarded high school papers in the country, pulling a 30 hour shift the last weekend of every month to get it out on time. I knew more about computers and design than i ever thought I would, and I was a master of Pagemaker 5 and Photoshop 2.
i went on to work in graphic design, and publishing, and prepress. I was one of the last eople to learn how to strip with rubylith, and make salt prints on a big vacuum table. Then i went on to work in the newsroom of the Christian Science Monitor.
"To injure no man, but to bless all mankind"
A few things you should know abot the monitor: it was roughly 100 years old. It was started by a woman. Tt operated not for profit. it was not affiliated with the church- 250 of 300 employees werent even members, but it did get all the money it needed from the church. This helped it be one of the best, most literary, most unbiased and most celebrated papers of modern times. It had an international circulation of 56,000 which wasnt even close to People but it was no small potato either. Dignitaries, heads of state and kings regularly read it. The White House had dozens of subscriptions. The paper kept its religious views to one article on the back page, no less and no more. It has won seven pulitzer prizes.
I was honored to work in the Boston newsroom and D.C. bureau for 4 years. I was there on the morning of September 11th, 2001 and tried to keep the peace, while reporters and photogrpahers rushed around me for 2 days. i stayed at a hotel enxt door so i could be closeby in case something broke, that night and over many winter storms. I got up at 5AM on sunday mornings, or went to work straight from Rocky. I received an incredibly moving farewell when they had to downsize our support team from 4 people to 1, and I left with severance.
I guess what I'm trying to say here is, I'm one of those old-fashioned guys who still believes in the importance and sanctity of a free press. I still believe in propper grammer even if I don't always adhere to it myself. I hate seeing how journalists are treated in other countries and even our own. I hate seeing what passes for "news" on TV these days. I lost sleep when Jill Carrol was kidnapped and I shed a tear when Daniel Perl was beheaded. And I shudder to imagine a world in the not-too-distant future when Fox, CNN and MSNBC are all we have to hold up as models of news reporting.
I have more to say, on what needs to be done to save print journalism but its way too late right now. I'm going to pick up a paper tomorrow, if there's one to pick up. And for the rest of you: read some real news.
http://www.economist.com/
http://www.csmonitor.com/
http://www.npr.org/
http://www.ap.org/
There ya go. I still say Apple was plannin on pulling out of the expo a long time ago. The whole industry has realized for awhile now the hype and one-upmanship around expos was getting out of hand. Sony, Fujitsu, Avid, Cisco... theyre all backing off. This was inevitable, and better for everyone, particularly the poor bastar programmers who have to work tooth and nail to get their projects done in time for an artificial deadline.Dear Apple Community,
For the first time in a decade, I'm getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.
Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.
I've decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.
As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.
Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause — a hormone imbalance that has been "robbing" me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.
The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I've already begun treatment. But, just like I didn't lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple's CEO during my recovery.
I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple's CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for
Apple first.So now I've said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.
Steve
Before Randy Couture and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, there was Edward William Barton-Wright and bartitsu. Bartitsu was probably the first instance of what we know today as mixed martial arts. Mr. Barton combined elements of boxing, jujitsu, cane fighting, and french kick boxing in order to create a self defense system that could be used by discerning gentlemen on the mean streets of Edwardian London. It grew to such popularity that even Sherlock Holmes was practicing bartitsu in his mysterious adventures.
While bartitsu died in the early 20th Century, E.W. Barton left a legacy in the field of martial arts. What follows is a brief history of bartitsu as well as a guide to get you started on learning the martial art of gentlemen.
http://artofmanliness.com/2009/01/05/bar |
| From Medieval Mano... |
Wonderful night, as always. something like 50 people total, biggest night ever. Heres to many more! huzzah!
And now, just like that, its winter. woah!
Ah, yes, Washington DC. Our nation's capital. The cradle of Liberty... or was that Philadelphia? No matter. Every spring, Washington comes to live in a bloom of white and pink cherry blossoms and meticulously cared-for lawns and parks. Unfortunately, I have arrived in the ides of November, where verdant greens have turned a staid gray, blending in well with the marble columns and masonic stonework that form the bedrock of this city.
I am exploring my hotel, the Club Quarters, and run into an old friend in the lobby, Jeff Greenberg. Jeff is a jovial fellow, gregarious and charismatic, who never fails to make everyone in the room feel like the center of attention. All this makes a fantastic instructor. Jeff is just checking in as well, and after catching up, he asks me, "So, are you coming out with Joel and Iva tonight?" I was unaware there were any plans, and I am a bit tired and should be preparing for the next day's tradeshow, but I can't resist that impish gleam in Jeff's eye. he is daring me to come adventure, and who am I to say no.
Joel and Iva have driven down from New York, and Iva made reservations on the way at some place downtown that she hears is pretty fantastic. I have learned to trust in Iva- in every city she manages to find the most interesting hotspots. (Flash back to footage of Salsa dancing in Miami, the B.B.King lounge in New York & just about everything we did in Las Vegas).
Unfortunately, they don't know where were going, only a name- Marrakesh. And the District of Columbia is not kind to tourists after dark- this city shuts down at 5 PM, and the only people you're likely to see are paralegals stumbling home after a 6 martini dinner. But Jeff's iPhone comes to the rescue, and we head to the Dupont Circle area- if you thought 17th street was bleak after dark, you haven't been to DuPont circle. I'm pretty sure I am going to be offered crack any minute now. But we stay in a pack and cross the street, where we discover a squat, beige building with undecipherable Arabic writing. no valet, no awning, no windows. Just a large, red door inset with iron rivets reminiscent of Jabba's palace. Joel knocks, and I tell jeff, if Bib Fortuna answers, I'm out of here.
Well, it's not bib, just a jovial Moroccan with a sash and a fez. If he was any more cliched, he would be telling Indy not to eat the dates. he greets us and brings us in to a palacially-sized room with low benches and tables, walls replete with tapestries and the sort of intricate tilework that is de regeur in northern Africa and causes migraines everywhere else. The level of detail is astonishing. Their web site claims they teat you like you're in a Moroccan home, but I feel like I'm in a Moroccan palace.
We sit on couches along a low round table, and Joel is the first to notice there isn't a fork or knife in sight. Just as he is saying "I'd better wash my hands", Jaffar returns with a bronze tray and pitcher of rosewater, and his assistant brings towels. We wash our hands, then dry, then more towels are daintily placed in our lap. We don't even mind that they're terry cloth. I am silently glad I wore clean socks- just in case they plan on anointing my feet with oil next.
Well, we dont have to bare our piggies after all, and Jaffar retreats with the water and returns in a flash with a drink menu. We decide on the Moroccan Red. When in Rome, after all. It's about this time we notice we are the only ones int he restaurant- it seems that the busy time is around 5, but now its after 8, so all the attention is being heaped on us. They've been expecting us, so the first dish comes out right away- oh yes, I forgot to mention there's no menu at Marrakesh, it's all pre fixe.
The first course is a large platter of cooked eggplant in tomato sauce, Medeterranean cucumbers and peppers, and carrots with corriander. Along with a large basket of bread to eat it with, thankfully. I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty, but stewed tomatoes and eggplant just doesnt lend itself to digital extraction. The food is tasty, fresh, and I even eat a few carrots. but I draw the line at the cucumbers. What can I say.
We're told this is only the first course of 7, and the second round is up now- Layered filo dough pie with Chicken, assorted nuts, almonds, eggs, parsley, and onions. We all look at each other, and no one wants to be the first to dig in and ruin its perfect symmetry. We all go together, fingertips piercing the flaky pastry and releasing a fragrant aroma of the Mediterranean. Mmm, saffron and Jasmine, it doesn't get much better. its like a gentle caress from a mocha-skinned belly dancer while reclining ina hammock on a warm spring day. Or something like that.
On the inside is rice, chicken and spices, contrasting nicely with the sweet sugar. I keep being told this is traditional Moroccan food, but I can't help feeling that the average Moroccan is only treated to such a feast once, maybe twice in a lifetime. Perhaps at a wedding, or a funeral, or maybe both would have to happen on the same day.
Every once in awhile I bite into something squishy amongst the pieces of chicken and lumps of sticky rice, and perhaps were I in Chinatown, this would elicit alarm, but here I feel safe, among friends, and I'm positive that although i only met jafar minutes ago, I already feel safe with him- he would not dare desecrate his establishment with sub-par ingredients. So I happily munch the glutinous masses without wondering what they are. mark would be proud.
Speaking of belly dancers, the music that has been playing throughout the restaurant all night has been a soft, melodious mix of traditional and African pop music. A nice, but unobtrusive accent, not loud enough to inhibit conversation. We only really take notice of it once it abruptly stops. Maybe they have to switch CDs? The meager remains of the chicken pie is taken away, and suddenly music starts blasting from the speakers overhead- this time loud, fast, and energetic. you almost want to get up and dance. Almost. The thing is, its a bit out of place, and we all look from one another, wondering whats up. I'm sure Jafar is rushing to the back room at this moment to turn down the CD player, but just then, the curtains part and it is not Jafar who bursts out from the kitchen but Samira Shurk, a lithe and lovely lady spangled with beads and wearing very little aside from a swirl of silken veils. He whorls and gyrates her way to our table, a smile and a wink given before she flies off into another dervish. If she notices we are the only patrons, she doesnt show it, dancing form here to there, always back to our table of course.
And then, she pulls a rapier off the wall, and, well, some things you just have to see for yourself. I look to Jeff, who has been enjoying the wine and looks like he could leap up at any moment and join the fray, but all too soon (although im sure far to long for Samira- im exhausted after one round of Dance Dance Revolution, I cant imagine how she keeps this up for 15 minutes), Samira is gone, and jafar returns with a chicken, covered in dates and olives.
We are quite satisfied by now, and if this were the last course we would be perfectly happy, but no, next is a coffee-table-sized platter of Tajine of lamb with honey and almonds. Oh, sweet merciful death. One bite of this dripy, sticky, gamey concoction and you would gladly sack Jerusaelm. Jafar, more wine please!
Iva is bemoaning the lack of any sort of vegetarian dishes- she was enjoying the lamb and chicken so it cant be a dietary or moralistic concern, simply aesthetic? the waiters seem to read their mind, or eprhaps its just serendipiy, but the 5th course is a metric ton of steamy cous cous piled high with every vegetable to ever have grown in the middle east- dates, peppers, onions, olives, carrots, parsnips, chick peas, raisins and several I don't even care to identify. At this point we are so exhausted we barely pick at it, but what we do taste is warm, buttery and just delightful. This is a feast worthy of returning crusaders.
Okay, now we really are stuffed, so the final three courses are mercifully light- mint chamomille tea, a basket of fresh fruits and of course the requisite baklava. Is it a law they serve baklava at places like this? The only thing wrong with these lovely flaky honeyed triangles of pistachio goodness is that everyone insists on arguing where they originally come from- Arabia, Persia, Greece, Africa... of course we all know they're originally Armenian. but perhaps I'm biased.
People say that its Turkey and the soporific effects of tryptophane that causes the classic post-Thanksgiving coma, but I say any good mea can lower the blood pressure if its taken with enough quantity, enough wine, and enough good cheer. Its a miracle we could lift our bulk from the couches after such a feast, and all too soon its time to shuffle back to our cold hotel rooms to rest up for the week to come. But I will never forget Jafar, Samira... or Samira's abs. Thank you, Marrakesh, and next time you're in Boston, stop by my palace. I can't promise you 15 pounds of cous cous and I don't know how to work with filo dough, but I have a futon to lay on the floor, some locally made mead, and you can stay as long as you like.
- Location:Washington, DC
Road to Mac OS X Leopard: QuickTime, iTunes, and Media Features
An Introductory Mac OS X Leopard Review: Core Graphics and the New UI
- Music:The Kinks - This Time Tomorrow
1938: Orson Welles dramatizes the Martian invasion of Earth during an episode of his popular radio show. Many listeners believe the invasion is real, triggering a mass panic.
Adapting freely from H.G. Wells' science fiction novel War of the Worlds, Welles and his Mercury Theatre On the Air actors recast the story as a realistic sounding news broadcast.
It began with a fake bulletin that interrupted some dance music, announcing that "incandescent gas" explosions had been observed on Mars. Another bulletin followed shortly, reporting that a "huge, flaming object" had just crashed on a farm outside Grovers Mill, New Jersey.
Further bulletins followed with Welles mobilizing his cast of "radio reporters" and "government officials" to paint the ghastly, unfolding picture of a Martian invasion. The drama climaxed with a reporter's breathless description of one of the alien invaders emerging from its spacecraft:
"Good heavens! Something's wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake. Now it's another, and another. They look like tentacles to me. There, I can see the thing's body. It's large as a bear and it glistens like wet leather. But that face. It … It's indescribable. I can hardly force myself to keep looking at it. The eyes are black and gleam like a serpent. The mouth is V-shaped with saliva dripping from its rimless lips that seem to quiver and pulsate.... The thing is raising up. The crowd falls back. They've seen enough. This is the most extraordinary experience. I can't find words.... I'll have to stop the description until I've taken a new position. Hold on, will you please. I'll be back in a minute."
It was never Welles' intention to throw a genuine scare into anyone. A disclaimer at the top of the show explained that what followed was a dramatization, but if the listener missed the announcement it would be another 40 minutes before another one was issued. By then a lot of people had been taken in.
The resulting hysteria -- people fleeing in their cars, barricading themselves inside their homes -- led to calls for stricter regulation of radio broadcasting to prevent this sort of thing from occurring again. Fortunately, it was the Roosevelt administration and not the Bush administration that steered the ship of state in those days, and the furor eventually died down.
The famous broadcast was also an unintended demonstration of the power of radio to influence a mass audience, a fact that was already well understood by the National Socialists, then in power in Germany. The Nazis, led by their astute propaganda chief Josef Goebbels, made radio their medium in way that no one else has, before or since.
- Mood:gleeful
Danny at Gadget Lab got a hands on with the Burton Sleeper Hoodie, which they are calling the "Bestest Ever." The hoodie has the usual snowboard related essentials, such as hidden MP3 player/ticket/passport pockets and extended cuffs with thumbholes. But what makes this hoodie really stand out are the built in earplugs, inflatable neck pillow, and sleeping mask. Though the plane on the front probably means this is designed with frequent flyers in mind, we know every snowboard bum will be using this as their bed. Said to be coming soon, the Burton Sleeper Hoodie will only set you back a single c-note.
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