Armed Dolphins Said Set Loose in Gulf by Katrina

In this topsy-turvy world we live in now, I'm not the least surprised that our government has trained dolphins to shoot terrorists with a toxic dart gun. I know dolphins are smart, but I'm not sure if they can tell the difference between a regular person in a wetsuit and a terrorist in a wetsuit. The dolphins should be trained to kill the oil-makers that price gouge.*

Heres the link if you're interested...

Armed Dolphins Said Set Loose in Gulf by Katrina

* Disclaimer
I do not condone any killing, committed by dolphins or any other animals (including humans).

Morning Becomes Eclectic

KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic has seen some great music recently. The guestlist has included Sigur Rós, Rob Dickinson (formely of the Catherine Wheel), and the Like, among others.

Check out the recent programs here.

If you have iTunes, you can download selected podcasts at this link.

Star Wars = Sell Out ?

(Click the picture above for the full-size version.)

I really like Star Wars (or should it be liked Star Wars).

After receiving this ad from starwars.com I was really sickened.

This really seems to cheapen the idea of Star Wars.

ROKR

So I think this phone looks pretty cool. Its the all new Motorola ROKR E1, the phone is Itunes compatible and actually holds up to 100 songs. Plus it has a built in camera with still and video capture. I may eventually even buy one who knows.

It's finally here - Canon's XL H1

Sooner or later, it was going to happen - Canon's own HDV camera - and here it is.

Check it out - the Canon XL H1, which looks like it will be available in December.

Happy Moon Festival!

Today (yesterday in China) marks the Moon Festival or the Mid-Autumn Festival as it is also called.

Traditionally a time of family gathering, the festival dates back to at least 3,000 years. A time of being with family, and eating the traditional food - moon cakes. I'm not really sure how to describe moon cakes, maybe a type of pastry, with different kinds of filling, from red beans to meats to fruits and more.

If you are interested, here are some informmative links:

Mid-Autumn Festival (Wikipedia)

Moon Festival in China

The Moon Festival: ChinaVista

The Harvest Moon Festival

About.com: Moon Festival

Im here.

yep thats right Im here for my first post. All I have to say is " Im gonna break into your house and grind my feet on your couch, cause Im Rick James!!!!

G.B. Doesn't Care About Black People

Yesterday, while driving, I was listening to KCRW (the program Day to Day) and happened to hear a discussion about the things Bush should say for his speech that night. The main topic was how race played a role in the response to Hurricane Katrina, and things Bush could say to smooth relations, especially among African-Americans. One point of focus was the rap group The Legendary K.O.

A snippet was played from their song George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People, and I believe the lyrics spoke truth to what so many others are still feeling. Yes, it's unabashed and unadorned and extremely critical of the Bush administration, but is it not time for a wake up call and a better understanding of conditions in our society?

The song in .mp3 format.
*Warning: strong language. Listener discretion advised.*

The original stream from NPR.

Snowflakes

I know it's not winter yet, but I love these photos.
I've always had something for symmetry.

www.snowcrystals.com

iPod nano

If you know me well, you know I am a huge Apple computer fan.
And I really love this new iPod. It is a work of art and it is simple to operate (I know because I have a 20 GB iPod).
I've used a Creative Zen and it was clunky and the controls were terrible.

Here are a couple good reads about the iPod nano...

David Pogue: IPod's Law: The Impossible Is Possible

Technical review from ars technica

Linguistic term of the day

gemination (root: ‘geminus;’ Latin, ‘twin’)

Gemination, in phonetic terms, is the doubling of consonants, hence ‘geminating,’ or making ‘twin.’ Arabic and Italian are well known for their geminated consonants, and there are other languages where this occurs. In many cases, a gemination of a consonant changes the meaning of a word altogether.

Example:

note (Italian): ‘musical note’ or a written ‘note’
notte (Italian): ‘night’

Gemination does occur in English, but is probably unrecognizable to the normal native speaker’s ear. Occurrences in English are usually spread over regional areas, and happen in certain dialects. It’s very possible speakers of British English (RP: Received Pronunciation), will geminate the ‘t’ in words like ‘matter,’ (though it doesn’t affect the meaning) whereas speakers of American English would pronounce the double tt sound with a tapped r (sounds like a ‘d’ phonetically, which is altogether another linguistic subject).

Arguments ensue among linguists as to whether gemination actually occurs in English. So the question is, do you geminate? How do you pronounce ‘roommate’? Can you clearly recognize two ‘m’ sounds?

U.N. World Summit

U.S. President George W. Bush writes a note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a Security Council meeting at the 2005 World Summit and 60th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York September 14, 2005. World leaders are exploring ways to revitalize the United Nations at a summit on Wednesday but their blueprint falls short of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's vision of freedom from want, persecution and war.

Link (Close-Up)
Link (Wider Shot)

I can feel my heartbeat splashing on the back of my eyes

Isn't it fitting that my first post will be about my migraine headaches, as I am starting to get a tinge of one now. I had one last night due to the trigger of a low pressure storm front or pollen in the air.
Migraines make me feel like I want to die! I can't even stand the hum of a fluorescent light in the next room or the slightest sliver of light coming from behind a door.
I'll try to sleep this one off.