Via Katherine Gates' book, Deviant Desires: Incredibly Strange Sex, comes this chart of various Fetishes. Compelling and bizarre:

click for jumbo flowchart

Posted at 09:13 AM in Books, Science | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

I never was interested in an electronic reader, but the new Amazon (AMZN) gadget looks quite intriguing: Amazon Kindle "Reader"

This thingie does have some attractive features: The ability to wirelessly grab books anywhere you are is way cool. But this is more than an eBook: It is a wireless device, grabing RSS feeds of blogs, newspaper and magazines. And, unlike Apple's iTunes, you own the books you buy, and if the device is lost or broken, you can re-download all of your Amazon purchases -- at no charge. (Apple's failure to do that is an inexcusable failing, and one of the reasons I hardly buy songs from ITMS).

Can Amazon generate the sort of frenzy reserved for Apple products? Perhaps -- earlier to today, Amazon as saying the Kindle was sold out. However, there are very few companies -- Apple, Harley Davidson (HDI), Tivo -- which have that sort of appeal or can generate that customer loyalty of that sort. I like Amazon, but its doubtful they will ever be in the rabid loyalty group.

Maybe they should tear a page from the Apple playbook -- after Christmas, slash the price 50% or more.

Why? At $150-200, this becomes a more compelling product. Amazon tells me that since the retail price also includes the wireless connectivity, this is already a $150 machine with $10 per month service for 2 years included. But would anyone really pay a $10/mo for the privilege of wirelessly purchasing books?

Some of the initial reviews of the doohickey were pretty good -- endorsements include Michael Lewis and Guy Kawasaki (below), and the NYT's David Pogue.

Criticisms: Version 1.0 has some obvious shortcomings: A few good observations (and one lousy one) via Scoble:

1. No ability to buy paper goods from Amazon through Kindle.
2. Usability sucks. Didn’t they think how people would hold this?
3. UI sucks. Menus? Did they hire someone from Microsoft?
4. No ability to send electronic goods to anyone else.
5. No social network. Why can't my friends see what I’m reading?
6. No touch screen.

The buying of regular Amazon products and send ebooks or other gifts are good suggestions. Social networking ("What I am reading") can easily be adapted to a widget.

In most software products (and this is an embedded piece of software), by version 2.0, the UI gets improved. Perhaps, the build quality/materials will get upgraded. Note that very few devices start out perfect, and even TiVo and the iPod got better over time.

Scoble's all wrong on the touchscreen: You don't really want to smudge the screen you are reading (Besides, I don't believe electronic ink works with touchscreen -- yet).

I would think that after working at Microsoft, Scoble would (heh-heh) know better than to buy 1.0 of anything.

~~~

Lets me make a suggestion to help Amazon out:

If Jeff Bezos wants to make the Amazon Kindle "Reader" a breakout iPod-like product, he has an easy solution: Get the price under $200, charge $5-10 per month for the service, and include 2 free books per month at that price. I would also think pre-loading the gadget with a few gratis books was an automatic. Home run!

I am not the road warrior I once was, but if I were, I would definitely have one of these . . .

~~~

Michael Lewis

Guy Kawasaki

Scoble Criticism:

General Overview:

Posted at 06:17 AM in Art & Design, Books | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

As the poet said, 'Only God can make a tree' -- probably because it's so hard to figure out how to get the bark on.

Eighty percent of success is showing up.

Eternal nothingness is fine if you happen to be dressed for it.

His lack of education is more than compensated for by his keenly developed moral bankruptcy.

How can I believe in God when just last week I got my tongue caught in the roller of an electric typewriter?

How is it possible to find meaning in a finite world, given my waist and shirt size?

I am at two with nature.

I can't listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland.

I don't want to achieve immortality through my work... I want to achieve it through not dying.

I tended to place my wife under a pedestal.

I took a speed reading course and read 'War and Peace' in twenty minutes. It involves Russia.

I was thrown out of college for cheating on the metaphysics exam; I looked into the soul of the boy sitting next to me.

I'm astounded by people who want to 'know' the universe when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown.

If it turns out that there is a God, I don't think that he's evil. But the worst that you can say about him is that basically he's an underachiever.

If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name in a Swiss bank.

Interestingly, according to modern astronomers, space is finite. This is a very comforting thought-- particularly for people who can never remember where they have left things.

It is impossible to experience one's death objectively and still carry a tune.

It is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, and certainly not desirable, as one's hat keeps blowing off.

It seemed the world was divided into good and bad people. The good ones slept better... while the bad ones seemed to enjoy the waking hours much more.

Life is divided into the horrible and the miserable.

Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering - and it's all over much too soon.

Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.

Most of the time I don't have much fun. The rest of the time I don't have any fun at all.

My education was dismal. I went to a series of schools for mentally disturbed teachers.

My one regret in life is that I am not someone else.

Not only is there no God, but try getting a plumber on weekends.

On the plus side, death is one of the few things that can be done just as easily lying down.

Organized crime in America takes in over forty billion dollars a year and spends very little on office supplies.

Students achieving Oneness will move on to Twoness.

The government is unresponsive to the needs of the little man. Under 5'7", it is impossible to get your congressman on the phone.

There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?

Thought: Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently there must be a beverage.

To you I'm an atheist; to God, I'm the Loyal Opposition.

What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet.

When I was kidnapped, my parents snapped into action. They rented out my room.

Why are our days numbered and not, say, lettered?

You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred.

What if nothing exists and we're all in somebody's dream? Or what's worse, what if only that fat guy in the third row Without Feathers (1976)

More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.
--Woody Allen, My Speech to the Graduates

Death doesn't really worry me that much, I'm not frightened about it... I just don't want to be there when it happens.
Woody Allen, The Standup Years

The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get much sleep.
Without Feathers (1976)

It's not that I'm afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens.
Without Feathers (1976)

Posted at 06:49 AM in Books, Humor, Philosophy | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

A stunningly revealing interview that Jon Stewart conducted with Easy Al on the 9/18 “Daily Show."  It’s telling that the fin media and Street are ignoring Easy Al’s answers.

Easy Al admits to Jon Stewart:

1) Excess money causes inflation.
2) Fed easy credit favors stock market operators at the expense of savers. 
3) The Fed believes that the market trades more on perception of what the Fed is or will do instead of the actual policies. 
4) The Fed must make the market perceive that the system is sound.
5) The presence of the Fed guarantees there is no ‘free market’. 
6) He still can’t forecast the economy or whether there is a bubble or too much exuberance.

Here's a transcript of the interview (via Dummy Spots):

Stewart: (after Greenspan’s explanation that the market moves on expectations of the Fed move, not the fundamentals of it) So the Fed, or whoever’s leading it, if they wanted to could in fact “goof” on all of us...         

Greenspan: (smiles) You wouldn’t want to.

Stewart: When you say “Open Market,” I always wonder... Why do we have a Fed? Wouldn’t the market take care of interest rates and all that? Why do we have someone adjusting rates if we are a free market society? 

Greenspan: We didn’t need a central bank when we were on the Gold Standard . .  . [Conspiracy theorists note- the Fed was created 20 years BEFORE we decoupled from the Gold Std] . . .  people would buy and sell gold and the markets would do what the Fed does now. . . but by the 1930s most everybody in the  world decided that the Gold Standard was strangling the economy and universally the Gold Standard was abandoned...you need somebody out there or some mechanism to determine how much money is out there because the amount of money in an economy relates to the amount of inflation...

Stewart: So we’re not a free market then - there is an invisible...a “benevolent” hand that touches us...

Greenspan: Absolutely, you are quite correct. To the extent that there is a central bank governing the amount of money in the system, that is not a Free Market, and most people call it regulation.

Stewart: When you lower interest rates, it drives money to stocks and lowers the return people get on savings.      

Greenspan: Yes, indeed.

Stewart: So they’ve made a choice - “We would like to favor those who invest in the stock market and not those who [save]”... 

Greenspan: That’s the way it comes out, but that’s not the way we think about it.

Stewart: Explain that to me. It seems to me that we favor investment, but we don’t favor work. The vast majority of people work, they pay payroll taxes, and they use banks. And then there’s this whole other world of hedge funds and short betting... y’know, it seems like craps. And they keep saying, “No no no, don’t worry about it, it’s Free Market, that’s why we live in much bigger houses.” But it really is, it’s the Fed, or some other thing, no?

Greenspan: I think you’d better re-read my book. 

Stewart: Am I wrong that we penalize work by not making the choice to...

Greenspan: No, what a sound money system does is to stabilize the elements in it and reduce the uncertainty that people confront, and when people confront uncertainty they withdraw and it reduces economic activity...

Stewart: So it’s all about perception then. It’s about making people believe the system is sound. If the stock market is high, people feel confident in spending, and if it lowers, they feel less confident?

Greenspan: Well...uh...I think you have to realize, there are certain aspects of human nature, which  move exactly the way you defined it. The problem is, periodically we all go a little bit euphoric until we are assuming with confidence that everything is terrific, there will be no problems, nothing will ever happen, and then it dawns on us- NO!

Stewart: And then it goes the other way.   

Greenspan: Exactly.   

Stewart: Huge Fear.

Greenspan: I was telling my colleagues the other day...I’d been dealing with these big mathematical models for forecasting the economy, and I’m looking at what’s going on the last few weeks and I say, “Y’know, if I could figure out a way to determine whether or not people are more fearful, or changing to euphoric... I don’t need any of this other stuff. I could forecast the economy better than any way I know.  The trouble is, we can’t figure that out. I’ve been in the forecasting business for 50 years, and I’m no better than I ever was, and nobody else is either.”

Stewart: (Leans back in chair)...You just bummed the sh*t outta me!

And here's something I never thought I would type:  Alan Greenspan on The Daily Show

Video via Comedy Central

Posted at 06:43 AM in Books, Finance, Television | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Jon Stewart torments Chris Matthews about his book:

Posted at 05:48 PM in Books, Television | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

I'm always attracted to books that give insight into the investor's mind.

The newest outing from Harvard prof Steven Pinker looks to be just that sort of book: “The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature” explores human cognition:

“The Stuff of Thought” explores the duality of human cognition: the modesty of its construction and the majesty of its constructive power. Pinker weaves this paradox from a series of opposing theories. Philosophical realists, for instance, think perception comes from reality. Idealists think it’s all in our heads. Pinker says it comes from reality but is organized and reorganized by the mind. That’s why you can look at the same thing in different ways.

Then there’s the clash between ancient and modern science. Aristotle thought projectiles continued through space because a force propelled them. He thought they eventually fell because Earth was their natural home. Modern science rejects both ideas. Pinker says Aristotle was right, not about projectiles but about how we understand them. We think in terms of force and purpose because our minds evolved in a biological world of force and purpose, not in an abstract world of vacuums and multiple gravities. Aristotle’s bad physics was actually good psychology.

How can we be sure the mind works this way? By studying its chief manifestation: language. Variations among verbs reflect our distinctions among physical processes. Nuances among nouns illustrate the alternate interpretations built into our most basic perceptions."

-from the NYTimes review

Fascinating concept, completely applicable to the Bull/Bear debate.

A great video of Steven Pinker at TED is below:

“The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature”

Posted at 06:34 AM in Books, Philosophy, Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Most relationships in Hollywood fizzle after a couple months; Hollywood has been going steady with Philip K. Dick for 25 years. Tinseltown's appetite for his trademark paranoid-futuristic vibe is bottomless, and there seems to be no end to the number of his works that get the big-screen treatment.

The streak began with 1982's "Blade Runner" and included "Total Recall" (1990), "Screamers" (1996), "Minority Report" (2002), "Paycheck" (2003) and last year's "A Scanner Darkly." His work has also served as the basis for a play, an opera and a video game.

This Firday's release of "Next," (starring Nicolas Cage) is about a man who can glimpse the future.

"Adjustment Team"

Published: 1954

Riffing on Dick's favorite theme, the fungible nature of reality, real estate salesman Ed Fletcher discovers that the world is nothing more than a giant soundstage controlled by mysterious guardians. Hmm, perhaps Jim Carrey will star.

"Time Out of Joint"

Published: 1959

Ragle Gumm believes he's living in an idyllic town in 1959, but comes to realize he actually lives in the future and that his reality is a fake, created to shield citizens from the truth: that the Earth is engaged in a nuclear war with colonists on the moon.

"Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said"

Published: 1974

Jason Taverner, who lives in a futuristic police state, awakes in a hotel room to find his ID missing. After a few inquiries, he discovers that his entire identity has been erased and even his closest friends don't recognize him.

"Valis"

Published: 1981

After receiving communion in the form of a blast of laser light, Horselover Fat goes on a quest for God, and finds Him in the form of a 2-year-old named Sophia, who confirms that God is actually a reality-controlling satellite orbiting the Earth.

"Radio Free Albermuth"

Published: 1985

In an America ruled by a corrupt president, record executive Nicholas Brady begins receiving transmissions from a mysterious, all-powerful satellite that orders him to organize a movement to overthrow the government.

Posted at 06:33 AM in Books, Film, SciFi | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

I keep getting this emailed to me with different people's names on it. It was written by Dave Barry, and is in his book Dave Barry Turns 50.

25 things I have learned in 50 years
Dave Barry

1. The badness of a movie is directly proportional to the number of helicopters in it.

2. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight-saving time.

3. People who feel the need to tell you that they have an excellent sense of humor are telling you that they have no sense of humor.

4. The most valuable function performed by the federal government is entertainment.

5. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

6. A penny saved is worthless.

7. They can hold all the peace talks they want, but there will never be peace in the Middle East. Billions of years from now, when Earth is hurtling toward the Sun and there is nothing left alive on the planet except a few microorganisms, the microorganisms living in the Middle East will be bitter enemies.

8. The most powerful force in the universe is gossip.

9. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers.

10. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age 11.

11. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

12. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

13. There apparently exists, somewhere in Los Angeles, a computer that generates concepts for television sitcoms.  When TV executives need a new concept, they turn on this computer; after sorting through millions of possible plot premises, it spits out, "THREE QUIRKY BUT ATTRACTIVE YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN AN APARTMENT," and the executives turn this concept into a show.  The next time they need an idea, the computer spits out, "SIX QUIRKY BUT ATTRACTIVE YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN AN APARTMENT." Then the next time, it spits out, "FOUR QUIRKY BUT ATTRACTIVE YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN AN APARTMENT."  And so on.  We need to locate this computer and destroy it with hammers.

14. Nobody is normal.

15. At least once per year, some group of scientists will become very excited and announce that:

* The universe is even bigger than they thought!
* There are even more subatomic particles than they thought!
* Whatever they announced last year about global warming is wrong.

16. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

17. The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy people who are not in them.

18. The value of advertising is that it tells you the exact opposite of what the advertiser actually thinks. For example:

* If the advertisement says "This is not your father's Oldsmobile," the advertiser is desperately concerned that this Oldsmobile, like all other Oldsmobiles, appeals primarily to old farts like your father.
* If Coke and Pepsi spend billions of dollars to convince you that there are significant differences between these two products, both companies realize that Pepsi and Coke are virtually identical.
* If the advertisement strongly suggests that Nike shoes enable athletes to perform amazing feats, Nike wants you to disregard the fact that shoe brand is unrelated to athletic ability.
* If Budweiser runs an elaborate advertising campaign stressing the critical importance of a beer's "born-on" date, Budweiser knows this factor has virtually nothing to do with how good a beer tastes.

19. If there really is a God who created the entire universe with all of its glories, and He decides to deliver a message to humanity, He will not use, as His messenger, a person on cable TV with a bad hairstyle.

20. You should not confuse your career with your life.

21. A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.

22. No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.

23. When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy.

24. Your friends love you anyway.

25. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

-- Dave Barry

Posted at 06:07 AM in Books, Humor | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Sadly, we are losing The Art of The Well-Crafted Repartee.   

Here are some examples of classic repartees from a time gone by:

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."
-Winston Churchill

"A modest little person, with much to be modest about."
-Winston Churchill

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."
-Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."
-William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"
-Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it."
-Moses Hadas

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know."
-Abraham Lincoln

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it."
-Groucho Marx

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."
-Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends."
-Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend.... If you have one."
-George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... If there is one."
-Winston Churchill, in response.

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here."
-Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator."
-John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial."
-Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others."
-Samuel Johnson

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up."
-Paul Keating

"He had delusions of adequacy."
-Walter Kerr

"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure."
-Jack E. Leonard

"He has the attention span of a lightning bolt."
-Robert Redford

"They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge."
-Thomas Brackett Reed

"He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebears, but by diligent hard work, he overcame them."
-James Reston (about Richard Nixon)

"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him."
-Forrest Tucker

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?"
-Mark Twain

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."
-Mae West

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."
-Oscar Wilde

"He has Van Gogh's ear for music."
-Billy Wilder

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... For support rather than illumination."
-Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

Posted at 07:02 AM in Books, Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Michael Covel's site (he's the author of Trend Following)  offers up a PDF of Jesse Livermore's bio 'Reminiscences of a Stock Operator'  (complete PDF). (Its now in the public domain)

Its one of the best market based books you will ever read . . .

Posted at 06:22 AM in Books | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

A timeless list of 5 best American Humor novels, circa late 19th eary 20th century:

1. You Know Me Al
By Ring Lardner
Scribner's, 1916

Ring Lardner thought of himself as primarily a sports columnist whose stuff wasn't destined to last, and he held to that absurd belief even after his first masterpiece, "You Know Me Al," was published in 1916 and earned the awed appreciation of Virginia Woolf, among other very serious, unfunny people. Ostensibly a collection of letters to a friend back home in Bedford, Ind., it traces the first season of a rookie hurler for the Chicago White Sox. Jack Keefe is at once cocky and guileless, suspicious and gullible, innocent and -- you get hints of this along the way -- doomed. But really, really funny.

2. My Life and Hard Times
By James Thurber
Harper, 1933

"The clocks that strike in my dreams are often the clocks of Columbus." This is easily the most beautiful sentence ever written about what is now the largest city in Ohio, and Thurber, alone among the Buckeyes, was the one who was destined to write it. Thurber's tossed-off cartoons ("Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone?") seem to be wearing better than his painstaking prose, at least among highbrow critics. But this brief memoir of growing up in an eccentric family in Columbus before and during World War I is nearly perfect -- and still the funniest and most accessible Thurber.

3. The Devil's Dictionary
By Ambrose Bierce
Albert & Charles Boni, 1911

It is commonly thought that a deep vein of melancholy runs beneath most humor writing -- the tears of a clown and so on -- but it is truer to say that a kind of prettied-up cruelty is the essential element, at least in the funniest stuff. This is why the mean and mocking Ambrose Bierce refuses to die -- perhaps literally: No one has seen him since he disappeared into Mexico, in 1914, hoping to join up with Pancho Villa. He (Bierce, not Villa) left behind a handful of brilliant short stories along with this collection of diabolical definitions, a work of exhilarating and unrelieved cynicism. "Bigot, n.: One who is obstinately and zealously attached to an opinion that you do not entertain." "Forgiveness, n.: A stratagem to throw an offender off his guard and catch him red-handed in his next offense." "Self-esteem, n.: An erroneous appraisement." Once you start quoting, it is very hard to stop -- as you can see. Reading it has the same effect.

4. Westward Ha!
By S.J. Perelman
Simon & Schuster, 1948

Seventy years ago "nonsense" was an honored subclass of American humor, heavy on pointless paradox and wordplay for its own sake. The closest thing to nonsense that's worth reading today: the short pieces of S.J. Perelman, one-time scriptwriter for the Marx Brothers. His work can seem bloodless and slight -- he created nothing as heartfelt as Jack Keefe or as charming as Thurber's Columbus -- but for sheer verbal virtuosity, for his dizzy manipulation of language, Perelman deserves a place at the top of the trade. "Westward Ha!" is an account of a trip to the Far East ("The whole business began with an unfavorable astrological conjunction, Virgo being in the house of Alcohol"). As a travel book it is more closely tethered to reality than most Perelman stuff and thus easier to enjoy. The witty illustrations by his friend Al Hirschfeld are lagniappe.

5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
By Mark Twain
1884

Did someone say "lagniappe"? It was one of Mark Twain's favorite words, which he often used to describe humor in writing. "Humor is only a fragrance, a decoration," he wrote. It's a quality that emerges almost unbidden, as a byproduct of the writer's attempt to tell a story, preach a sermon, make an argument or draw a character. Nowhere was the point illustrated more convincingly than in "Huck Finn," a book known not only for its comic invention but also for its moral grandeur. I don't think there's a funnier episode on paper than the story of the Duke and the Dauphin, just for starters. What a pleasing thought that the greatest work of art that Americans have produced is also one of their funniest.

Source:
Five Best
Some humor doesn't age well, but these American
classics remain funny beyond compare
Andrew Ferguson
WSJ, December 2, 2006; Page P8
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116501376300638480.html

Mr. Ferguson is a senior editor of the Weekly Standard and a columnist for Bloomberg News. His latest book, "Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America" (Atlantic Monthly Press), will be published in May

Posted at 06:41 AM in Books, Humor | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

An amusing if some ribald article in the NY Post: YOUR LAYS ARE NUMBERED

"To a woman, size does matter. But it's not the size you're thinking of. What women really care about is the length of the list of former lovers, which is usually either too many or too, too many. No matter how sexually liberated (or liberally sexual), most women believe that the number of guys they've had sex with (the average being somewhere between 7.2 and 10.5, depending on the survey) really does count."

"20 Times a Lady" is a novel about the excuses women go to keep this a short list:

EXCUSES NOT TO ADD HIM TO 'THE NUMBER'

If he yells out another woman's name

If one or both of you ends up gently weeping

If he might be gay

If he took you out for a vegan meal first

If you're drunk, or you could have been drunk had you been drinking

If you just gave up smoking

If you just gave up having meaningless one-night stands

If it's Tuesday

If he's small

If he's small-minded

If he's Jared Leto

>

Source:
YOUR LAYS ARE NUMBERED   
MARINA VATAJ
NYPost, October 24, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/wjv3b

Posted at 06:13 AM in Books, Humor, Media | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Devastating interview:  Former #2 man in the Faith-Based Initiatives office David Kuos states: "The Bush White House is playing millions of American Christians as suckers."

PLAYING THE JESUS CARD

Posted at 11:03 AM in Books, Politics, Religion, Television | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Ron Suskind appeared on "The Situation Room" to talk about his new book  "One Percent Doctrine," and said:

• the US took out Al-Jazeera office in Kabul purposefully
• the CIA determined OBL wanted W re-elected
• The president made the decision to rely on local forces to get Bin Laden in Tora Bora, over the CIA's explicit objections (They specifically told the president the local forces weren’t capable and shouldn't be relied upon, and we should nail him ourselves).

Pretty astounding stuff:
click for video

via Crooks and Liars

Posted at 11:38 PM in Books, Current Affairs, Politics, Television, War/Defense | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

First, a podcast:  Benjamen Walker talks with authors Jonathan Lethem and Josh Glenn about the Science Fiction genius Philip K Dick.

Second, an R. Crumb comic on  The Religious Experience of Philip K. Dick

click for comic

Posted at 08:30 AM in Books | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

George Orwell never had it so good:

via Patriot Boy

Posted at 06:08 AM in Books, Humor, Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

“The R. Crumb Handbook,” the most recent in a series of biographies of such luminaries as Elvis, Marilyn and Jackie O., was put together by Peter Poplaski with Crumb offering occasional comments. There is also an accompanying CD of music by Crumb and his various musical groups—the Cheap Suit Serenaders, Les Primitifs du Futur, et al. The music itself poses no threat to the string bands from the '20s and '30s Crumb adores (here's a bet that this inveterate collector of 78s doesn't even own a CD player). But the joy and verve which it's played hints that inside the ornery artist who's playing these tunes lurks a joyous and unironic spirit: R. Crumb, musical softie.

Source:
Still Truckin'
By Malcolm Jones
Newsweek, 10:58 a.m. ET March 11, 2005
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7151500/site/newsweek/

Posted at 08:29 AM in Books, Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

An utterly brilliant send up of the now clichéed "What Would Jesus Say" emem is over at whatwouldbillhickssay.

Hicks, for those of you who may have missed him, was one of the most brilliantly funny scathing social critics of the last century. We've discussed his work repeatedly in these pages.

Bill was a follower of Jesus the philosopher, and hated money grubbing preachers ("middlemen") distorted Christ's message of love and forgiveness.

A classic example of Hick's biting yet subtle wit is this comic bit: After a show down South somewhere, a few redneck types come up to Hicks as he is sitting with a book in a cafe:

Looks like we got ourselves a reader they threatingly observe.

One of the rednecks says: "We don't like what you said last night about Jesus."

To which Hicks deadpan replies. "Oh. Forgive me."

The site is filled with fans observations of how Hicks might have responded to some of the more moronic ideas circulating the world today.

Be sure to read the two linked articles, below . . .

>

Sources:
What Would Bill Hicks Say
http://whatwouldbillhickssay.com/

Too close to the bone
Bill Hicks' biting routines kept him a cult comedian
Jack Boulware
San Francisco Chronicle, December 26, 2004
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/a/2004/12/26/ RVGU1ACM8U1.DTL&type=books

A censored comic's message grows louder
Tom Feran
Plain Dealer Columnist, December 12, 2004
http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/ 1102761266230872.xml

Hat tip to Will Sargent

Posted at 12:04 PM in Books, Humor, Philosophy, Politics, Religion | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

click for larger image

I was stunned to learn of Hunter S. Thompson's suicide last week -- I was off the grid and unable to access any media or email.

Thompson was a phenomenally talented writer. His book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (sub-titled, A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream). remains to this day one of the funniest things I ever read. Get the hardcover, which is brilliantly illustrated by Ralph Steadman

You can also check out his 1965 Nation article on Motorcycle Gangs: Losers and Outsiders   

Sources:
Hunter S. Thompson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_S._Thompson

Hunter S. Thompson dead at 67
'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' author takes own life
CNN, Monday, February 21, 2005 Posted: 3:49 PM EST (2049 GMT)
http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/02/21/thompson.obit/

Posted at 04:38 PM in Books, Humor, Media, Philosophy, Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The ultimate collection of The Best of 2004 lists.

If you can think of it, its here:  Sex, Music, Film, Books, Video Games, Ideas, Science, DVDs, Blogs, Words, Media, Architecture, Dance, People, Art, TV, Tech, Law, Radio, Sports, Automobiles, Comics, Travel and more.

If you can think of a "Best of 2004" list topic, its here.

List junkies will spend a week on this one . . .

.

Source:
Fimoculous "Of the Year" lists
http://www.fimoculous.com/year-review-2004.cfm

Posted at 07:13 AM in Books, Design, Film, Food and Drink, Games, Music, Sports, Television, Travel, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

100 Science Fiction Books You Just Have to Read
http://listsofbests.com/list/29

very cool list, via linkfilter.net

Posted at 01:03 PM in Books | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Here's a fun game... First, look up the most popular and critically-acclaimed books, movies, and music on Amazon. Click on "Customer Reviews," and sort them by "Lowest Rating First." Hilarity ensues! It's the Amazon.com Knee-Jerk Contrarian Game!

Post your own favorites in the comments!

Here's a fun game... First, look up the most popular and critically-acclaimed books, movies, and music on Amazon. Click on "Customer Reviews," and sort them by "Lowest Rating First." Hilarity ensues! It's the Amazon.com Knee-Jerk Contrarian Game!

via Waxy

Miles Davis, "Kind of Blue" "This is one of the worst albums I've ever bought. It's so boring and lifeless. Good to fall asleep to." "its boredom,nostalgia and scarcely concealed contempt make it the perfect background music for this narcissistic age of ours." "I found Mr. Davis' playing to be laughable at best. Finally, it's irritating; and confusing that so many people laud it." Abbey Road I bought this album because I totally thought the guy on the right was Kate Hudson's husband. So I mean, I THOUGHT I was scoring some QUALITY stoner grooves or like, something kinda White Stripey.

Dude, was I wrong.

Like, are there ANY phat beats on this thing? Um, NO--I heard they don't tour at all--I bet they can't dance, 'cause not one of their boy band harmonies has a kickin' beat behind it, so what's the point?

And what's with the look? I mean, dude, hit a gymn already, and like, catch Queer Eye like even once, and get some product in your hair.

And those lyrics...they don't take it from the streets to the suburbs (props to Eminem) or the suburbs to the suburbs (shout out to tha Kid)--in fact THEY DON'T RAP AT ALL. I Want You (She's So Heavy)--I mean, sure we all want the hot girl, but do you have to make the other girl who's fat feel bad by telling her that? Too cold. And what's with Carry That Weight--is the guy going with the fat girl after all, or has he gotten fat himself? Confusing. Give Me "your body is a wonderland" any day.

Speaking of heavy, forget slammin' tracks--these guys are ENGLISH, so they don't hit it like like Korn or Limp Bizkit or Phantom Planet. And okay, yeah, Sun King was kind of cool to chill to, but it would be better if it lasted like, twenty minutes with the same downbeats going all the way through--you can't get halfway through your doobie before the song is like, over. And Polythene Pam right after? Freaked me out, man.

So, in summary, check out a real band like Incubus.

posted by par on July 2, 2004 12:20 AM

Posted at 05:09 AM in Books, Film, Humor, Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Taboo Tunes: A History of Banned Bands and Censored Songs

From the medieval eras diabolus en musica to the Dixie Chicks firestorm of late, Elvis to Eminem, from Puff the Magic Dragon to Cop Killer.

A unique compendium of several centuries worth of scandalously morbid murder ballads, blasphemous satanic songs, paeans to intoxicating substances, raunchy sex ditties, and radical political anthems along with the dirt behind historical efforts by censors to squelch artists and their ideas. Taboo Tunes flips the rocks over and casts a much-needed spotlight on the largely untold story of the various societal forces be they repressive governments, busybody community organizations, or self-appointed moral guardians who have throughout history attempted to regulate the conduct of others and limit what forms of public expression are acceptable.

Note that ancient (451 BC) Roman law that defined the singing of bawdy songs as a disruption of public order an infraction punishable by death.

Far from simply recounting dusty old history, Taboo Tunes brings readers fully up-to-date by documenting some of the under-reported impacts that reactions to the 9/11 terrorist attacks have had on music. Most folks probably remain unaware that, for example, within hours of those traumatic attacks Americas largest radio chain (Clear Channel) imposed a ban on further airplay for over-150 particular songs. Or, that the Secret Service leaned on the managers of one popular-if-a-bit-rebellious rock bands Web site resulting in perfectly legal content being disappeared. Or, that the nations largest Internet provider, America Online (AOL), suddenly began cutting service to punish subscribers for simply getting involved in online chats about the political dimensions of certain hit song lyrics. Or, that the Crime Prevention Resource Center (CPRC) recently proposed the creation of computerized databases for law enforcement agencies to monitor the Internet traffic and musical proclivities of suspicious youth. Or that, in the wake of 9/11, certain risk-aversive record companies altered a few new records over concerns that various lyrics or graphics might be offensive to the shell-shocked American psyche. And that, according to the cruelly misnamed USAPATRIOT Act of 2001, anything the authorities now decide to define as advocating terrorism including: home computers, libraries, diaries, and music can be targeted and seized by the FBI.

Taboo Tunes digs deep to examine serious complexities within key censorship issues. Among those are: Threats to authority posed by the intrinsic power that songs have to suggest new and different ideas to people; The constitutional principal of Free Speech as it applies to the arts; America’s traditions of dissent as expressed through music; The varying manifestations of censorship from the political Right and Left; The role that the radio and record industries play in America’s informal censorship “system;” And, perhaps most significantly, the patterns of censorial behavior which have occurred and reoccurred throughout time. As Blecha writes: “By surveying this historical landscape it is hoped that we can gain a more informed understanding of how crusades to ban music—usually in the guise of “protecting society”—have been woefully misguided, often destructive, occasionally comical, and remarkably unsuccessful.”

Posted at 05:37 AM in Books, Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Here's an impressive collection from someone who has way too much time on their hands:

"For those of you wondering about all this stuff, these are book covers and movie posters, mostly from the '50s and '60s, which I find humorous. Some are from science fiction movies that actually good, such as Blade Runner and Metropolis, and some are from movies that aren't, and some are from books that obviously aren't. They are all real."

OK. His hand washing obsession is your gain -- go have a gander . . .

Posted at 05:25 AM in Art & Design, Books, SciFi | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

50 years of art. 25 books. Two books per year for 12 1/2 years

I was an enormous Charles Schultz fan growing up; had a huge Peanuts collection that seems to have gotten misplaced over the years. Now I can replace the entire lot collection in one fell swoop: The Complete Peanuts

From the publisher:

This first volume, covering the first two and a quarter years of the strip, will be of particular fascination to PEANUTS aficionados worldwide: Although there have been literally hundreds of PEANUTS books published, many of the strips from the series’ first two or three years have never been collected before — in large part because they showed a young Schulz working out the kinks in his new strip and include some characterizations and designs that are quite different from the cast we’re all familiar with. (Among other things, three major cast members — Schroeder, Lucy, and Linus — initially show up as infants and only “grow” into their final “mature” selves as the months go by. Even Snoopy debuts as a puppy!) Thus THE COMPLETE PEANUTS offers a unique chance to see a master of the artform refine his skills and solidify his universe, day by day, week by week, month by month.

PEANUTS is one of the most successful comic strips in the history of the medium as well as one of the most acclaimed strips ever published. (In 1999, a jury of comics scholars and critics voted it the 2nd greatest comic strip of the 20th century — second only to George Herriman’s Krazy Kat, a verdict Schulz himself cheerfully endorsed.) Charles Schulz’s characters — Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, and so many more — have become American icons. A poll in 2002 found Peanuts to be one of the most recognizable cartoon properties in the world, recognized by 94 percent of the total U.S. consumer market and a close second only to Mickey Mouse (96 percent), and higher than other familiar cartoon properties like Spider-Man (75 percent) or the Simpsons (87 percent). In T.V. Guide’s “Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All-Time” list, Charlie Brown and Snoopy ranked #8.

Sign me up!

via linkfilter

Posted at 07:02 AM in Books, Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Delicate. Abstract. Phallic. Gorgeously designed. Four pages of "rare and valuable" Isaac Asimov book covers. Some are truly beautiful. From West Virginia University's brand-new home for an Asimov geek's recently donated collection. Rare and valuable artifacts that include autographed first editions.

via Metafilter

Posted at 11:58 PM in Art & Design, Books, SciFi | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Along with "epiphany", one of my favorite, "created" words:

serendipity \ser-uhn-DIP-uh-tee\, noun:
The faculty or phenomenon of making fortunate accidental discoveries.

The word serendipity was formed by English author Horace Walpole (1717-1797) from Serendip (also Serendib), an old name for Sri Lanka, in reference to a Persian tale, The Three Princes of Serendip, whose heroes "discovered, quite unexpectedly, great and wonderful good in the most unlikely of situations, places and people."

Source:
Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=9&q=serendipity

Posted at 07:05 PM in Books | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

A very cool collection of the entire series of cards Mars Attacks cards from Topps, circa 1962.

There are three galleries of 66 cards in total. You can start with the first gallery, here.

Posted at 07:28 AM in Books, Film, SciFi | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Very nice comparison engine for new and used books. Fetchbook scans over 80 bookstores in seconds, and presents a list of stores in price order. Search by title, author or ISBN. Simple, clean interface (ala Google).

Works well and is recommended.

via linkfilter

Posted at 07:53 AM in Books, Shopping | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Very nice discussion of C. J. Cherryh at Brain Fertilizer; Cherryh is one of my favorite SciFi authors, and her Merchanter's Luck series is terrific. I particularly love The Pride of Chanur" trilogy, which has now expanded to 5 books. (It's 25 cents used at Amazon, you can pick up the entire series for a coupla bucks, ya cheap bastids).

Here's what Nathan has to say about it:

I've been falling in love with C. J. Cherryh over the last few months. Er, maybe I should clarify: I've been falling in love with her writing. I don't know why she isn't more widely respected. The more I read her work, the more I consider her greater than even Robert A. Heinlein.

Yeah, she's that good. Let me count the ways:

1) She's prolific
2) She knows how to conceive and communicate alien thought. I think it was Campbell who said, "Show me an alien who thinks as well as humans, but differently than humans." She does it, in spades. And invents languages that boggle human understanding.
3) In her "merchanter" novels, she's created a future history that is far more complicated and complete and realistic than anything anyone has ever done, in my opinion. Far better than Heinlein's, Asimov's, or even Tolkein's.
4) She knows men and women. And nails 'em in every novel.
5) She has been writing for decades with greater consistent quality than anyone I've ever known. Again, far better than Heinlein, whose good stuff fell only in a period that lasted about 15 years, and stopped about the time he started being obsessed with sex and becoming a woman, which coincided with the first word of "Stranger in a Strange Land" (Yeah, that's a controversial opinion, but it's mine).

Good discussion, go check out the rest . . .

Posted at 10:04 AM in Books, SciFi | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack