The Subconcious Brain - Who's Minding the Mind? - New York Times

The Subconcious Brain - Who's Minding the Mind? - New York Times

If you like this article a lot, pick up a copy of Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life by Steven Johnson.

Painfully Hip » not much else left to live for now, The Simpsons and Linda E. are in Harper’s Bazaar

Painfully Hip » not much else left to live for now, The Simpsons and Linda E. are in Harper’s Bazaar

The Simpsons in Designer fashion goods compared with the actual outfits.

In defense of dangerous ideas :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Other Views

In defense of dangerous ideas :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Other Views

The article is written by Steven Pinker, a Harvard psychologist and gifted author. This well-thought out paper argues for one to not conceal their socially dangerous ideas.

'Discover Your Inner Economist' by Tyler Cowen-- New York Magazine Book Review

'Discover Your Inner Economist' by Tyler Cowen-- New York Magazine Book Review

Looks to be a great read. Definitely next after or somewhere in between the 50 other book I want to read.

Decline of the Dog - New York Times

Decline of the Dog - New York Times

Halal stands are everywhere around the city. Who know they were so sophisticated? This article tells of one run by the former sous-chef at the Russian Tea Room.

Philosophy Now

Philosophy Now - Aristotle's Email - Or, Friendship In The Cyber Age

Interesting insight on the role of e-mail in friendships and relationships.

Message in a Bottle - Bottled Water - Luxury Water - Mineral Water

Message in a Bottle - Bottled Water - Luxury Water - Mineral Water

Some excerpts:
"At Whole Foods (NASDAQ:WFMI), the upscale emporium of the organic and exotic, bottled water is the number-one item by units sold."

"If you break out the single-serve plastic bottle as its own category, our consumption of bottled water grew a thousandfold between 1984 and 2005. (50% increase yoy)"


A well written article about the history of bottled water, its globalization effects by looking at Fiji water, and its ethical and consumer consequences.

We Feel Fine / by Jonathan Harris and Sepandar Kamvar

We Feel Fine / by Jonathan Harris and Sepandar Kamvar

Very cool, visually extravagant site which shows what people are feeling across the world. The program gathers this information from blogs and pictures identifying cases which contain the statement, "I feel...". Word of caution: a fast internet connection is needed. Definitely worth going to!

Mickey Mouse Gas Mask

Mickey Mouse Gas Mask

I must have missed this next to the Mouse Ears and Turkey Legs at the Magic Kingdom

Hitachi finger vein money ::: Pink Tentacle

Hitachi finger vein money ::: Pink Tentacle

Who knew that you could find a new way to use you finger

YouTube - "Thriller" (original upload)

YouTube - "Thriller" (original upload)

Wow! This is so cool and reminds me of Antwerp, in a fun way. Who knew Philippine prison inmates were so talented!

Check out the MORE FROM THIS USER videos as well. This isn't the inmates only dance routine. These guys have got to do an American road show.

YouTube - Is it OK to cite religion as a reason to deny gay rights?

YouTube - Is it OK to cite religion as a reason to deny gay rights?

A fantastic question from a Southern Baptist reverend. Really well thought out and perfectly executed.

YouTube - How do we get beyond empty promises for Darfur?

YouTube - How do we get beyond empty promises for Darfur?

If you're interested about the question then its worth watching the whole video. For those who want to see Anderson Cooper really pin down Sen. Clinton in forcing to make a concise non-politician like answer, skip to the last minute. Go Cooper!

Orthodox Paradox

Orthodox Paradox - NY Times

This article written by Harvard law professor Noah Feldman eloquently describes the ideology of modern orthodox Judaism. Great insights into how people try to live normally in a modern society while following antiquated religious laws.

It is interesting how people mend Talmudic and Biblical writings, conforming them to coincide with modern practices. There is a part in the article which talks about the story of creation in the book of Genesis. While Feldman was attending his Jewish high school, the school's rabbi commented on creationism and evolution. The rabbi did not deny evolution or scientific explanations of the creation of the universe but saw science's reasons in the Genesis's text. The text in Genesis, on the sixth day God created xxxx, was an allegory for the world's creation. The allegory was that one day is the poetic equivalent to millions of years.

What this is saying is that once science reveals certain truths about the world's past and nature, we find different meanings in the words of the Bible. In other words, as soon as something in the Bible is proven fallible followers just change their interpretations of the hard written book. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and styles but when you deny the lack of truth coming from one source (the Bible) and conform it to match stronger theories and still hold belief in that original source, there is a problem. Their should be a truth threshold which people should be willing to cross. Once previous ideas are challenged and proven false or inadequate one should then accept new more logical and rational ideas. This in other words is called learning or education.

Maybe I'm crazy but living my life based on a book written thousands of years ago on how one should tend to their livestock seems not of divine word but of some writer who was on a power trip.

More posts on this topic to come for sure, but must make use of my time and stop here!

One Pornsite Per OLPC? from Guardian Unlimited: Technology

One Pornsite Per OLPC? from Guardian Unlimited: Technology

The internet is for porn.
The internet is for porn.
Why you think the net was born? Porn, porn, porn.

Switch from Plastic to Cloth

This article seems to indicate that people care more about looking green than being green. While this was probably the case all along the stampeding frenzied masses queuing up at Whole Foods for a bag claiming that it is not a plastic bag is as ostensible of a statement to be made. All people have had the option to use cloth bags or reuse plastic bags for as long as they have been around. The bags are trendy and fashionable but the craze to obtain speaks to the momentum of the green phenomenon.

Assigment Zero

The new trend in gaining collective opinions and work from large groups of people is called crowdsourcing. Wikipedia is great example of this. While this may seem like the eventual fallout from James Surowiecki’s book The Wisdom of Crowds it is none the less rapidly creating a stir in all walks of life. Surowiecki also contributed to Assignment Zero.

Wired magazine did a large editorial piece researching how crowdsourcing is affecting people of different lifestyles. The project was called Assignment Zero. The assignment looks at crowdsourcing through art, government, business, today’s thinkers, and other topics.

Crowdsourcing can have many implications Yochai Benkler, an NYU professor an expert on the subject believes, “[This] new mode of production [using crowdsourcing] holds the potential to help address what he calls "the core political values of liberal societies—individual freedom, a more genuinely participatory political system, a critical culture, and social justice.”

A cool t-shirt website (which I've used) which leverages crowdsourcing is Threadless Tees. HERE is an article from Assignment Zero on them.

There is also an article in this week’s Fortune magazine on the review site, yelp.com. Yelp also takes advantage of crowdsourcing to create a site with reviews on restaurants, nightlife, shopping, spas, and etc. Look for yelp.com to explode in popularity.

A Survival Imperative for Space Colonization - New York Times

A Survival Imperative for Space Colonization - New York Times

Interesting article about making predictions

The 7-11 Workout

This is an article by Brian Ashcroft. It can be found here.

Exercising is a problem for Tokyo gals. Manga club meetings and cram school fill up their free time, and there's no money for a gym membership after paying for cell phone bills and Pocky snacks. No wonder conbini fitness is hot. Taking its name from the Japanese word for convenience store, these health outlets offer coin-op workout stations for impulse exercising. The contraptions' foot pads churn up and down and back and forth at up to 1,560 times per minute. (One 500 yen coin — about $4.10 — buys 10 minutes.) Maintaining your balance while you shake supposedly has an aerobic effect, though users never break a sweat. "I love that I don't even have to change clothes," says 17-year-old Midori Nishioka as she bounces on a conbini machine in Osaka. And in case gals are worried about pervs ogling their jiggle, many of the clubs are ladies-only or feature privacy partitions.

This is a really cool idea. I think this is more of fad rather than a lasting concept. If these girls are in a city why not walk around for 10 minutes at a fast pace and save your 500 ¥? This seems like an extension of a video arcade, almost sprouting out of DDR and similar games.

Generation Insights

Two articles have spurred this blog post. Danah Boyd's Viewing American class divisions through Facebook and MySpace and The New York Observer's The New Victorians.

Both are great articles in looking into societal trends. Boyd's article will come across as conventional knowledge for many of us that grew up alongside with MySpace and Facebook as if they were our peers. But for an inspiring intellectual to publish the story validates our own thoughts and feelings on the two social networking sites.

The Observer article was more eye opening for myself and help put a name to different trends I have spotted. The New Victorians seem to be a sub-set of yuppies who really want to grow up earlier. No more acid dropping, drunk fueled sex nights, and crazy raves for these mid 20 year olds (Yes most people don't have that but an extreme comparison is always nice). This group of 20 somethings are quickly looking for that new piece at Williams-Sonoma and how many shades of khaki the Gap has.

Rescue Dawn

Tonight I was lucky enough to catch Werner Herzog's newest film Rescue Dawn. The film is about a US Navy pilot, Dieter Dengler (played by Christian Bale) who becomes a POW during US military action in Viet Nam before the war begins. The movie is based on Dieter Dengler's account of events.

The most impressive parts of this movie was the acting and directing.
Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, & Jeremy Davies all put on a spectacular performance. The driving force in the film was the fine acting. Each one of these actors played a POW. Every now and then we witness actors who put their bodies through tremendous physical stress to comply with characters they play. This movie is the prototype.

Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) is first introduced to us as a fit, in shape Navy pilot who is about to go out on a mission over Laos. Once shot down and captured in the POW camp, we witness Dangler's slow deterioration. His cheeks gradually start to thin until his cheek bones pop out as if they are on the verge of ripping through his flesh. His muscular Navy frame dwindle downs to skin and bones. This is balanced mostly by Eugene (Jeremy Davies) who is sickly looking throughout the entire film. The sacrifice these actors made, including Zahn, for this film is incredible.

Although no too familiar with Herzog's work (although I did sit through most of Fitzcarraldo) his superb directing was noticed and appreciated. Herzog takes you on a visual journey while encapsulating your emotions. There are parts where you become tied up in the movie you forget that this is a re-creation and not live events.

The surroundings of the POW camp reminds us of a tropical getaway yet we frequently are encountered with the fact that this is a place of horror and inhumanity. Herzog draws back the camera for beautiful landscapes of the area and then draws us back in to the bamboo huts holding the POWs.

The film reminded me of present day artsy Deer Hunter. I think Deer Hunter was a better film because there were deeper characters and stories. Rescuse Dawn is a film to see if you want to experience great acting and a visually beautiful depiction of horrific circumstances.

Big Quiz Thing

Tonight I went to the Big Quiz Thing, a quiz night at The Slipper Room (a bar in the LES). I met up with my cousin Sara before she headed off for Israel.

I have been wanting to go to a bar quiz night ever since arriving in the city. Now I know it was for good reason. The night was a fun time. We paired up with 5 other people and had our team named, "...And in the lead." Great name. Some teams had extremely clever names such as "Gerrard Depar-dousche", "Enola Gay Agenda", "Adam Smith's Invisible Handjob."

I did fairly well in holding my own in coming up with correct answers. Being the youngest in the room, I was the least knowledgeable on the 80's music trivia. While my team did not win, all was not lost. At the game's midpoint our team was in 10th place out of 21 teams and we won a free bag of Teddy Grahams, mixed flavors! (YES!!). Our prize was a little sketchy since they were given to your in a brown paper bag. It felt like those bags of candy you'd get from houses on Halloween where the candy was wrapperless and your mom would be afraid that you had poisoned candy.

Our team finished solidly in 8th place. Not bad for an ad hoc team of mostly first time quizzers, myself included. I must highly recommend a quiz night for anyone who has the chance.

Live Earth

Yesterday, I went to Live Earth set in the American state that represents green living, New Jersey. For those who get internet (you are reading this) but live under a rock, Live Earth was the largest worldwide coordinated concert of over 150 artist spreading awareness about global warming. The number of concerned artists and people all over the world who helped put on this concert attests to the growing amount of support the green movement has.

The acts were short and sweet. Musicians had 2o minutes to perform and give their own take on the climate crisis message. My favorite acts were the Dave Matthews Band, Kanye West, and Roger Waters.

Dave had a great set which appropriately included Don't Drink the Water. The 20/30 age set audience which made up most of the crowd took to DMB, reveling in the nostalgic college tunes of the sweet sounding South African.

Kanye did great energizing the audience with his clever wicked rhymes. He had a string orchestra with him which included 2 harps. At one point he ran from across the entire stage and then picking up on the rap song playing without skipping a beat. He sang his most of his hits and the crowd especially appreciated Gold Digger.

Roger Waters, member of Pink Floyd, put on the coolest set. Opening with video of the marching hammer army from The Wall help set the tone very quickly. The best was saved for Water's last song, Another Brick in the Wall. About 20 kids ran on stage Together we Stand Divided t-shirts to sing the chorus of the song. The song's highlight was the floating white pig balloon which went around Giants Stadium which looked as if it belonged in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

The Police finished up the concert ending with Message in a Bottle. The song featured 2 guest artists. Kanye performed a rap verse and John Mayer strapped on a guitar joinign the band (he must have been playing GH2) for the events last song. I'll send an SOS to the world being repeated dozens of times throughout the song made Message in a Bottle an appropriate and expected last song for a day full of messages which spoke those very words.

TRL

Wild, adolescent girls screaming amid flashing lights, tones of blue, and dozens of cameras surrounding. Put this in Times Square and you have MTV's Total Request Live. The use to be cool show (back in my day when Carson Daly was hosting) is now more of an advertising platform for whatever artist is releasing a new album or movie that week rather than a music video countdown show.

The show used to seem cool to me when I was 13 or 14 and I can understand why. The show's concept seems more vain now or maybe that just has to do with aging and maturity. Being on the show was fun as hell even though my fellow interns and I were the only ones in the audience who could legally drive.

The guest on today's show (7/2/07) was T.I. aka T.I.P. He is a rapper from the south promoting his new album called T.I. vs T.I.P. Luckily, I know of T.I. and am a fan of some of his music. He put on two performances at TRL. His performances were carried with passion, thrilling the audience with each rhyme. He really is quite the performer and get an A+ in my book for giving everyone in the audience his album for free. Kudos & thanks to T.I.