Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net
12.31.2008
12.30.2008
12.27.2008
movies
so some heavy "seven pounds." i don't mind the whole will smith messianic self-sacrifice thing. i'm not a hater. i did feel the pangs of emotions the writers intended. but will you need to be a little more subtle with those contorted expressions of pain... depression does not manifest as constipation.
"zack and miri" was mostly delightful because i almost always love seth rogen's delivery and have a crush on elizabeth banks. however it became way too cheesy way too fast.
"definitely, maybe" was palatably bitter-sweet, with ryan reynolds' matured-van-wilder type quips and tonnes of eye candy as his romantic interests. tonnes of eye candy. and also a respectably cute father-daughter back and forth.
"the day the earth stood still" was kinda wooden. i didn't connect with the characters at all, except for the part where jennifer connelly hid her phone down her shirt. the robot is off the chain though. and i still like keanu reeves... whatever he does, the stoic expressionless face thing, no one else can do, and there is a niche for that in my movie demands.
i keep playing the "watchmen" trailer on repeat. coolest trailer out right now. i especially like how they mashed up the muse song with the slow mo.
oh. and there's a little movie called terminator coming in may. i'm just a tad bit excited about that.
"zack and miri" was mostly delightful because i almost always love seth rogen's delivery and have a crush on elizabeth banks. however it became way too cheesy way too fast.
"definitely, maybe" was palatably bitter-sweet, with ryan reynolds' matured-van-wilder type quips and tonnes of eye candy as his romantic interests. tonnes of eye candy. and also a respectably cute father-daughter back and forth.
"the day the earth stood still" was kinda wooden. i didn't connect with the characters at all, except for the part where jennifer connelly hid her phone down her shirt. the robot is off the chain though. and i still like keanu reeves... whatever he does, the stoic expressionless face thing, no one else can do, and there is a niche for that in my movie demands.
i keep playing the "watchmen" trailer on repeat. coolest trailer out right now. i especially like how they mashed up the muse song with the slow mo.
oh. and there's a little movie called terminator coming in may. i'm just a tad bit excited about that.
12.18.2008
phase transitions in society
in our universe changes in physical state variables such as pressure or temperature manifest as changes in the organization of matter. if water molecules gain enough energy they break free of the forces that bind them together in one phase (solid or liquid) and the system can change into something with appreciably different characteristics (liquid or gas).
human society can change in ways similar to matter. people are the atoms and molecules and insecurity (about survival or comfort) is the energy that agitates the system. the phase map would be a spectrum spanned by varying degrees of civilization: from war and anarchy to peace and utopia. the civilization we know lies at an equilibrium somewhere between those extremes.
as such, the civilization we know is a system sustained mainly by our sense of security. put less gently, it is an illusion fed by unthreatened resources. history teaches us that under the right conditions phase transitions of society to a more agitated state can happen quite unexpectedly, with complete disregard for the denial of those at the critical point who continue to employ the conventional wisdom of a different phase.
it should be the duty of responsible citizenry to think about the trends in society's state variables (the security of food, energy, shelter, wealth & income, opportunity...) long before we get to the precipice of a painful transition. obvious perhaps but we humans need to be reminded of this since we are subject to the whims of optimistic bias and often avoid critical examination of risk possibilities that may be extreme but are neither implausible nor fantastical.
it would not hurt to emulate a military mind's attitudes to preparedness:
human society can change in ways similar to matter. people are the atoms and molecules and insecurity (about survival or comfort) is the energy that agitates the system. the phase map would be a spectrum spanned by varying degrees of civilization: from war and anarchy to peace and utopia. the civilization we know lies at an equilibrium somewhere between those extremes.
as such, the civilization we know is a system sustained mainly by our sense of security. put less gently, it is an illusion fed by unthreatened resources. history teaches us that under the right conditions phase transitions of society to a more agitated state can happen quite unexpectedly, with complete disregard for the denial of those at the critical point who continue to employ the conventional wisdom of a different phase.
it should be the duty of responsible citizenry to think about the trends in society's state variables (the security of food, energy, shelter, wealth & income, opportunity...) long before we get to the precipice of a painful transition. obvious perhaps but we humans need to be reminded of this since we are subject to the whims of optimistic bias and often avoid critical examination of risk possibilities that may be extreme but are neither implausible nor fantastical.
it would not hurt to emulate a military mind's attitudes to preparedness:
"... prudent net and risk assessment of (1) the myriad waypoints along dangerous trend lines; (2) the sudden or unanticipated arrival at the end of the same trends; and finally, (3) rapid onset of the rarer “Black Swan” are increasingly important...as a tangent note the following excerpt from the same paper linked above. interesting.
... Preemptive examination of the most plausible “known unknowns” represents a reasoned down payment on strategic preparedness and an essential defense investment in strategic hedging against an uncertain and dangerous future."
"Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security. Deliberate employment of weapons of mass destruction or other catastrophic capabilities, unforeseen economic collapse, loss of functioning political and legal order, purposeful domestic resistance or insurgency, pervasive public health emergencies, and catastrophic natural and human disasters are all paths to disruptive domestic shock.
An American government and defense establishment lulled into complacency by a long-secure domestic order would be forced to rapidly divest some or most external security commitments in order to address rapidly expanding human insecurity at home."
career options
economy and work permission issues considered, there may need to be changes to my career plans. here are my initial search results:
1) patriarchitect:
1) patriarchitect:
- role requires at least one testicle. familiarity with female subjection as well as objectification a plus.
- position requires tongue, currently working immune system. does not include medical benefits.
- positions include the barbwire twist, the wheelbarrow, the lizard lock.
- role requires strong opinions about stuff, inability to get into math phd program.
12.14.2008
12.11.2008
headlines
president-elect obama's former janitor arrested for putting obama's office chair on ebay
contrary to stated intentions, pop star britney spears falls for womanizing bastard
christian bale to play elizabeth bennet in "darker, grimier" reboot of pride and prejudice
contrary to stated intentions, pop star britney spears falls for womanizing bastard
christian bale to play elizabeth bennet in "darker, grimier" reboot of pride and prejudice
12.06.2008
deep throughts: christmas
some people say "it's not the gift, it's the thought." but i say both the gift AND the thought should be worth something. that's why, honey, this christmas i'm gonna get you that abortion.
the mainstream media made fun of sarah palin for shooting moose from a helicopter, as if hunting from a helicopter is strange. what they didn't realize was that it made COMPLETE sense because she was actually hunting reindeer.
i think society should be consistent when re-dedicating holidays. christmas to xmas. indian arrival day to arrival day. hanukkah to jews-are-the-cause-of-all-wars.
the mainstream media made fun of sarah palin for shooting moose from a helicopter, as if hunting from a helicopter is strange. what they didn't realize was that it made COMPLETE sense because she was actually hunting reindeer.
i think society should be consistent when re-dedicating holidays. christmas to xmas. indian arrival day to arrival day. hanukkah to jews-are-the-cause-of-all-wars.
12.03.2008
good heavens
the conjunction of jupiter and venus, with a sliver of moon on the side.i was able to see it myself from jersey at night. this photo, courtesy NASA.
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