This has been photoshopped. I'm an expert... I can tell by the pixels.

Dis kitteh has a flavor

NOM NOM NOM NOM

I always heard that word as "douche", and was even more mystified.

If they just listened to heavy metal instead... *shrugs*

...then they could be burned to death by faulty pyrotechnics.

Who? Wha?

This needs to be mashed up with John McCain's green-screen speech, and submitted to Stephen Colbert...

This is one amazing planet we live on.

Things like this are going on all the time, and we barely have a clue about most of them.

The way the characters are dressed isn't that true to the novel. But one interestingly accurate detail is the white step-pyramid building in the background, labeled IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. This is obviously the Ministry of Truth, where Winston works -- it's shown exactly as described in the book.

It is neither a cross between marmite and
linoleum, nor a cross between marmalade and petroleum.

As everyone knows, it is a cross between marble and oleomargarine.

I understood the humor in Jewbacca's comment immediately -- as soon as I was able to figure out what he'd written.

IMO, "disemvoweling" seems like a way for moderators to be both self-righteous and show-offy at the same time.

"Obama is the only man I'd trust with these powers...he's really above the kind of politics the Repugs created."

And thus democracies fall.

#7 is right. In these recombinations, the word "punk" has been drained of all its meaning. This TV is certainly not punk in any sense that I can understand.

Even "cyberpunk" was a somewhat dodgy term, right from the start. I saw William Gibson speak at Barnes & Noble in Manhattan last week, and he said that as soon as they labeled him with it, he ran away from it, and warned other writers to run as well.

#14: Why on earth would you think a coffee shop called Intelligentsia would be a home for snobbish hipsters?

Positively Lynchian.

#2: Art Nouveau is actually a distinct school of architecture that flourished a little earlier than Art Deco.

I think Gloria is correct about the architectural establishment's bias against Art Deco because of its historicism and ornamentation. In spite of this ideological stubbornness, a majority of architects consistently rate the Chrysler Building, an Art Deco masterpiece, as their favorite building of all time.

But Art Deco did have a limited revival in the 1980s. Interior design and furnishings in an Art Deco style were very popular, and there were a number of Deco-inspired buildings, like One and Two Liberty Place in Philadelphia.

So THAT's where the French tradition of train service comes from

...The Amtrak tradition as well.

#5 and #10: Did you even look at the cover pictured above?

"US vs. U.S. in the Battle for Canadian Sovereignty"

"Evil Emissaries of American Interests"

That's hardcore xenophobia. As an American, I'm plenty familiar with it -- our Republican party and Fox News are virtuosos.

If you still don't see it, try substituting "Europe" or "Islamofascism" where appropriate.

As if naming their newest synth "Little Phatty" a wasn't proof enough, this seals it: Bob Moog's company has been taken over by hippies.

...without going off the early-'80s-Pizza-Hut-Back to the Future deep end.

And why not go off the deep end? That's what fashion is all about.

The early '80s was a great time for sunglasses, IMO. I love the giant plastic aviator-ish frames that are making a comeback right now.

Great book. Came out about a year ago, actually. My review is here.

Yay, America-bashing!

A note on the post title: The TSA is not a legislative body, and cannot "outlaw" anything.

A team of MIT engineering students hacked a 1976 Porsche 914 to be fully electric. So far, they've only tested it in parking lots....

"What's next for the electric Porsche? One idea is to modify how the batteries are wired together."

Another idea is to take it out of the parking lot.

George Lucas must have been taking notes when he saw this. Looks like Coruscant.

@43:
I wonder if the watermelon is a jokey reference to that ad (for Sony?) featuring lots of fruit rolling down a similar-looking hill in SF.

Or it could be a reference to Buckaroo Banzai. In which case the proper answer to your question would be, "I'll tell you later."

@55:
I think the guys standing around (the bearded guy in the fez, the dude with the bowtie) are supposed to resemble other characters from the IJ films.

Steampunk!

If I use this, can I put the information into a TPS report?

Jimh: Yeah, I'm thinking George Lucas definitely got this issue of Popular Science...

Cool article.

But that would be Lhasa, not Llasa (as in the post title).

I'm amazed that the word "steampunk" was not used anywhere in this post.

I was there in 1974 at the first Suicide practices in a loft in New York City.
I was working on the organ sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart started up his first band.
I told him, "Don't do it that way. You'll never make a dime."
I was there.
I was the first guy playing Daft Punk to the rock kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
Everybody thought I was crazy.
We all know.
I was there.
I was there.
I've never been wrong.

I used to work in a record store.
I had everything before anyone.

Freddie: Yes, the fact that Blu-Ray is winning over HD-DVD probably means they feel validated, and will spend another 20 years of trying to force people to adopt their proprietary Sony formats. If the company lasts that long, that is...

But this is pretty funny.

Wasn't Spaceship Earth originally sponsored by AT&T?

I know the entity now called AT&T is not exactly the same one as back in '82... but "the new A&T" does have a relationship with Apple via the iPhone.

However, it looks like the new sponsor of the ride is Siemens. Interesting that it's now a German company rather than an American one.

Mockery of Mr. Morris is missing his very valid point.

As #15 says, few people understand new technologies in depth. If you are the head of a major corporation, you have to hire people to explain these things to you... but you are always at risk of hiring someone who tells/sells you bad or unworkable technology.

Companies are misled all the time by tech consultants who lead them into expensive boondoggles. It's a big problem, whether or not smug geek commenters on teh interwebs recognize it.

The Visorganizer could be the next tacky baby-boomer accessory.

If someone actually made these, Wal-Mart would sell millions of them.

It's bizarre to hear people act like they've been somehow cheated by Radiohead.

The linked post describes many of the same things mentioned in an essay published earlier this year by Marie Mutsuki Mockett.

I like how the can openers will open "even odd-shaped or dented cans!"

Finally, I can get into that dented can of beef stew I've had at the back of the cabinet for years. Mmm... botulism...

JPW: You've never seen a DP shoot film with a handheld camera? With the right camera and a competent DP, it can be done without too much trouble, and is in fact done all the time. Sometimes the jitter is a desired effect.

Camera support (and related things like dolly and crane moves) can make a shot look like more money has been spent on it. But the only thing at issue here is lens quality... and the DV footage above shot thru a 35mm lens looks great on that front.