Why does education and psychology attract the most intellectually weak and unstable students in university? Did anyone else ever notice that? You know: the person constantly interrupting the lecture to ask questions they should have understood from their readings, the one who calls you at 3 a.m. because they are so depressed they are going to commit suicide, the one you initiates a casual affair with you and then starts stalking you all over campus and off: always a psych or ed major in my experience. These are the teachers and caseworkers of today. Little wonder.

Aside: How many suspicious spouses or over-protecive parents are going to buy those GPS recording devices? How long before some savvy marketer disguises one as a cellular phone? Now that this idea is published on the Internet, is it my intellectual property?

Unsolicited e-mail from the government appeared in my in box this morning. Perhaps they should table anti-spam legislation instead.
_________________________

The Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-61, An Act to Amend the Copyright Act. The proposed legislation is a made-in-Canada approach that balances the needs of Canadian consumers and copyright owners, promoting culture, innovation and competition in the digital age.
What does Bill C-61 mean to Canadians?

Specifically, it includes measures that would:

expressly allow you to record TV shows for later viewing; copy legally purchased music onto other devices, such as MP3 players or cell phones; make back-up copies of legally purchased books, newspapers, videocassettes and photographs onto devices you own; and limit the "statutory damages" a court could award for all private use copyright infringements;
implement new rights and protections for copyright holders, tailored to the Internet, to encourage participation in the online economy, as well as stronger legal remedies to address Internet piracy;
clarify the roles and responsibilities of Internet Service Providers related to the copyright content flowing over their network facilities; and
provide photographers with the same rights as other creators.
What Bill C-61 does not do:
it would not empower border agents to seize your iPod or laptop at border crossings, contrary to recent public speculation
What this Bill is not:
it is not a mirror image of U.S. copyright laws. Our Bill is made-in-Canada with different exceptions for educators, consumers and others and brings us into line with more than 60 countries including Japan, France, Germany and Australia
Bill C-61 was introduced in the Commons on June 12, 2008 by Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Heritage Minister Josée Verner.
For more information, please visit the Copyright Reform Process website at www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/home

Thank you for sharing your views on this important matter.

The Honourable Jim Prentice, P.C., Q.C., M.P.
Minister of Industry

The Honourable Josée Verner, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women
and Official Languages and Minister for
La Francophonie

There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio.

If you want it shot, call in Ted Nugent--Tom Green as well. Now there you have the makings of a reality show I'd watch. Screw the writer's strike.

Right sexy!

Geno,

It's only hyphenated if used as a compound modifier preceding the object.

Shrdlu

Schmod @ 25:

I would have preferred to use Piggly Wiggly as an example instead of Safeway, but that makes us Americans seem plain silly.

I'm trying to think of ways our quality of life is better beyond cheaper food and petrol. All I've come up with thus far is we use few vowels in our words, which saves time when commenting on blogs--and I'd take Mexican fast food over fish 'n' chips any day of the week.

Nelson @ #19:

Is your local Tesco twice as expensive as my local Safeway? I've never really thought about it. If so, is it because of US agricultural subsidies, the VAT, the EU, economy of scale?

I wonder if the UN, the Economist et al. take into consideration the cost of food when considering the best country for "quality of life."

I don't know how McDonalds survives in the UK A Big Mac Extra Value meal is over twice the average price in the U.S. and many times more in any airport. And now this?

I haven't been to McDonalds in years, and it's dirt cheap here. Who eats there in the UK? The children of plutocrats?

I think a White Castle franchise might do well over there. That's real American fast food. And they soak up alcohol like no other foodstuff. "Sliders and chips, Gov'ner!"

Flickersticks @ #9:

There is a crapload of celebrities buried there:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Lawn_Memorial_Park_(Glendale)

Granny is in good company.

Yamara is funny.

Blacktiger @ #1,

That you thought it was cool might just mean you've been living too long in your parents basement.

Sorry. Someone had to say it.

Shrdlu

A writer in the Deep South writing in 1932, a time of great political unrest. Does no one see the metaphor?

Waste of batteries.

Irregular Shed @ #6: do you prefer "pedantic" or "pedantical?"

What is more "contemplating the plaque and thriving vegetation" brings to mind very poor dental hygiene.

Technology has changed they way we enjoy music, but the only thing the RIAA cares about is DRM. They're missing the boat.

If the recording industry wants to save itself, why don't they get creative instead of just filing lawsuits and lobbying? If they wanted to get consumers back to buying music on disk, they should add some enhancements. Issue more recordings on DVDs. They could add more than just the usual interviews, concert footage and videos. Why not chart the music for us amateur musicians or add GarageBand files? Include pre-ripped music files and ringtones. They could link to on-line communities of fans and offer exclusives for the purchasers of the DVD. Not only would they be adding value for consumers, it's a great marketing opportunity.

They really haven't done a good job thus far. The Pixies DVD was one of my most disappointing purchases ever, much as I love the Pixies. You would think with the incestuous relationship between the film, recording, and gaming industries they would have the talent at their disposal to do better.

Bottom line is if I so wanted, I could get most of the music I want on Usenet, and they way the RIAA has been acting I wouldn't feel that bad about it. But the fact is they have lost control of their content and recorded music has been devalued. That's not going to change. They know they will never win the DRM game, so why not try to earn my money instead of intimidating it out of me?

Some people here had the courage to say what they really, honestly felt. Bravo!

Come on. Nothing to lose your head over.

This has nothing to do with cultural awareness. We apply the same stupid paternalistic, hypocritical attitudes towards our own society. The people who protest this sort of "exploitation" and "objectification" are the most demeaning towards women as they imply they are too stupid to understand they are being exploited and sorely need the protection of the more enlightened.

And what of "objectification?" Why does it only apply to female sexuality? Where is the indignation over the warehousing of the elderly or, say, employing data entry clerks who are only valued for their keyboarding abilities? Why not extend your sense of moral outrage toward the plight of professional athletes who are bought and sold like mere slaves? I am an organ donor. Is that not the ultimate objectification?

It's really all about the deep-rooted fear of sexuality in our society, in particular women's sexuality. Both sides of the political spectrum got to such ridiculous extremes in attempting to control it, but speaking towards the left, shouldn't a woman's control over her own body extend beyond the right to fast, safe abortions and, if she so chooses, exploit her own body for the gratification of other men and women, be it in demeaning photos, table dancing, prostitution, breastfeeding in public, or even eating poop from a cup on video?

I say let women make their own decisions about their own bodies and how to use them, whether it is an affront to your morals or not. They don't need your enlightened bullshit, which is just another form of exploitation.

I do miss St. Cloud. I can't imagine why anyone would find themselves there, but if you do you must go to Bravo Burritos. It's the La Super Rica Taqueria of Central Minnesota. I wonder if D.B. Searles still has Long Island iced tea night. I owe most of my young sexual misadventures to those drinks. Great place to attend university if you are more interested in partying and less in academics. I could have gone to Carlton, but I don't think I would have quite the bank of memories which help me through marriage.

You're right, Wil9000.

Happy Hanukkah, Cory. Oy to the World.

I don't think that's a moped, draycup. It's a Vespa scooter.

That's www.freerice.com. Excuse me for not previewing.

Lost my interest right away. I'm hooked on , but I'm afraid I'm increasing my carbohydrate footprint.

Thanks, Tom. So the article really is just sensationalism, like a few years back when they said a negative vacuum being created at some physics lab was going to potentially destroy the universe.

I really thought I was missing out on something after reading the article, like Paul Davies had been pulling my leg.

A bullet is not a subatomic particle. Newtonian physics applies to this case.

Any PhD in theoretical physics out there? Don't pretend you have better things to do.

I thought the Copenhagen principle was discounted. Does this mean Schrodinger's cat could be half dead and half alive?

I'm collecting dust.

I've grown my own skin: a cautionary tale.

I once stepped on a wire coat hanger from the cleaners. The tip of the hook went fairly deep. It seem to heal fine, until six months later I developed an abscess that made it difficult to even walk. They put me on heavy duty antibiotics for 24 hours, and then a specialist came, cut open the abscess (fluid spattered on the wall behind him six feet away), and stuck a large Q-tip inside my foot and dug about. This was quite painful as analgesics have little effect on abscesses. Once he finished, I got up and fainted from the pain, knocking the instrument tray over. Tests came back negative for any infection. No further treatment was given, except I was to soak my foot in epsom salts each night.

The abscess recurred within a few weeks after the incision closed. I decided it was better to be a gimp than to go through the same painful procedures again. Then one day, the abscess ruptured though the incision. While cleaning the wound, I noticed something sticking out. It was sort of nightmarish, the feeling I got when tugging on little flap of something, then slowly pulling it out to reveal a perfectly formed circle of skin about the size of a fifty-cent piece. It even had print ridges.

The moral of the story is if you have a puncture wound that abscesses, it isn't always a sign of infection. There could be a little part of yourself growing inside. Your physician might never consider this possibility.

Economics will rule the day. P2P accounts for 60% of your typical ISP's bandwidth, and one in three accounts are engaged in some sort of peer-to-peer downloading, likely somewhat higher in France. How many ISPs will cut out that many of their customers? Are companies like Wanadoo, Free, Noos, etc. going to comply if this is made law?

Ah, I remember the good ol' days of P2P, when it was just the Mac community on Hotline. That was true file-sharing: you had to give to receive. Now everyone and their grandmothers are leaching like mad on Bit Torrent. Only the lawyers win in the end, and possibly computer technicians who remove malware. What a mess. At least we still have Usenet.

I thought Canada was science fiction. I've only seen it in that Michael Moore film Canadian Bacon, but if Cory cited it, it must be real.

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

This seem very hard for many people to believe: it must be genetics, individual metabolisms, bad research, etc.

Well, long before Atkins many physicians were recommending a meat-only/low-carbohydrate diet not based on conventional wisdom, but on the anecdotal evidence of their patients and the notion that the 8000-year experiment with cereal production was a mere dot on the timeline of human evolution.

That may seem too simplistic: eat like our distant ancestors and be healthy. Didn't they lead lives of tenuous existence and privation? Weren't they burning off all that wooly mammoth fat being chased by saber toothed tigers and trying to steal fire from neighboring bands of humans? Didn't they exercise a lot more?

Actually, no. Field studies by Marvin Harrison and other anthropologists show that pristine pre-state societies expend relatively little time and energy on hunting-gathering and have a significantly more leisure time than we do today. Presumably, they do not spent in working out on a treadmill.

I have to point out as well I find it disturbing is that many posters here cling to this parochial attitude that obesity is a result of sloth or a character flaw: people just aren't doing enough to lose weight, they are lazy gluttons. This attitude is prevalent in our society and is causing people serious harm: discrimination, self-loathing, depression, even death.

Kudos to Cory for bringing this issue forward and talking about his own weight issues and everyone else who shared their own. We really need a lot more understanding.

Good grief. This spawned a discussion? Cory Doctorow's font preferences?

This is truly the end of civilization.

Oops. Sorry, Ant.

Isaac:

There is no evidence for God and substantial evidence of global warming; moreover, the consequences are not imaginary in this case.

AnneBonney,

I don't think this is at all about departmental politics or the personal bias of researchers. Having worked in research science, I seriously doubt that 90% of researchers could be bought out by special interests.

And let's not forget that generally one side is peer-reviewed, one side issues press releases. One side is funded by largely by public money, one largely by private money.

And of that public money, of the roughly $2 billion spent on climate research by the government, only half goes into actual research. That may be more than to AIDs research, but it is a tiny, tiny fraction of military R&D. Climate change is certainly not an industry as some would have us think.

That's not to mention severe climate change is potentially a bigger threat to human health than AIDs, but of course we don't know with 100% certainty, but precious little in this world is 100% certain.

I am appalled by you moderation nazis: "Let's consider both sides of the issue...."

Jesus. When something has the potential to drastically and inexorably change life on Earth don't you think it might possibly be a good idea to err on the side of caution?

And whether global warming is caused by human activity or natural reasons, does cutting down on human emissions hurt? If you buy a Prius are you putting Saudi oil workers out of work? Are you cutting into the Exon-Mobile pension fund? Does this bother you?

And let's look at the economic motivation on both sides: gargantuan energy interests that depend on a fossil-fuel thirsty world to keep energy costs high and--I don't know here--let's say the solar panel and hydrogen fuel cell lobbies. Who has the power to produce the most pseudo-science? What's the motivation of the environmental scientists? Are they trying to secure tenure or increase their pitiful research budgets by creating an artificial crisis? Come on now.

Good point, Yamara. We, as Americans, must ever vigilant in protecting our sovereignty. We follow American laws, not the laws of physics, motion, thermodynamics, the fittest, Kepler's Law, or any of these primarily foreign laws being taught in our schools and institutes of higher learning. Same goes for protocols: the Montreal Protocol, the Kyoto Protocol...didn't we fight and win wars against these people? Now the pinko-lefty-Mac-using-cosmo-swilling-Gore-loving libtards say we should let the Japs and Pepe LePew dictate our domestic policy? You'll have to pry my SUV keys out of my dead hand before I'll let that happen.

Well, it's not like there isn't precedence for this. Are you all too young to remember the Iran-Contra affair? It's not a giant philosophical leap from drug money to defeat the commies to drug money to defeat the more recent conservative bugbear: liberals. [Shudder.]

Where's my damned picturephone and hoovercar with the bubble top?

I think that's really Rufus Wainwright in drag.

Ms. Hernandez,

#16 is damned funny.

Shrdlu

Would Timothy McVeigh have been on the list? Doubt it. What's more I seriously doubt the the terrorists will be coming though any border checkpoint, and it's not going to be a nuclear bomb in a briefcase.

This administration has only listened to expert advice that suits it's political ambitions, and for the most part that has been fear-mongering and no real action. We are left vulnerable on many fronts.

That the money-bloated Department of Homeland Security should produce such excesses should come as no surprise. More poor management.

Now I have that damned Pixies song stuck in my head:

"Give me help, give me help/You can lev-a-tate me...."

You're welcome.

Egads. Another beatnik reference: City Lights founded by Lawrence Felinghetti. How about a reference to Dorothy Parker and the Algonquin Round Table or some other literary clique on occasion?

Glad to know that trees are finally fighting deforestation and greenhouse gasses at the source.

All that's not to mention many of our armed forced are concentrated in these area. Glenn Beck never loved America enough to serve it, he was too busy being drunk and polluting the airwaves.

In addition to kicking him in the groin repeatedly, he should also be restrained while he watches his home burn. Until you've been there, you have no idea how devastating it is.

Ruggerredhawk:

I LOVE oranges. Apples really piss me off. So what? I can't stop myself. Sorry.

Shrdlu

Yet is is perfectly legal to have a company who is a major contributor to the GOP with a CEO who actively fundraises for George W. Bush make electronic voting machines. What a country.

Analogy truly is the weakest from of reasoning.

I think what people forget here is that since the ouster of Gil Amelio and the restoration of Steve Jobs to the throne, Apple's business model has been to control every aspect of their products to the greatest extent possible, and this has extended to the iPod and iPhone.

This isn't necessarily greed. For example, Apple could make a pile of money licensing OSX to run on non-Apple hardware, especially since switching to x86. (People might argue this might hurt their core business, but Microsoft hasn't done too poorly in the OS business.) But one contributing factor to why OSX is far superior to Windows is that Apple does control the hardware OSX runs on, or at least that is what Apple seems to believe.

So while iTunes is tightly integrated with Apple software (apart from the reasonably priced iLife, all free) people scream "proprietary" and "greed," but I'm more likely to believe that Apple is trying to control the total user experience, which they believe they can do better than anyone else, and they may be right.

Likewise, tying the iPhone to a service plan with AT&T isn't necessarily a money-grubbing deal with the devil, albeit not necessarily the best choice of carriers. And frankly, I expected much more from the iPhone, but I didn't expect it to be unlocked, and I don't expect any company to warranty or support a product if I go at it with a soldering iron. What's more, early adaptors of new products always get screwed one way or another.

But look at it this way: if you laid out six C-notes for a cell phone, you must be doing pretty well, and if you had the balls to hack a $600 phone, you are either doing exceptionally well or are dangerously compulsive. In the second case, you have bigger problems, but you should all get a better grasp of reality and perhaps give thanks that you can afford to be so stupid.

How 'bout a little Marlowe set to music? This is from the 1995 film Richard III. The singer is Stacey Kent. The lyrics do not start until 2:15, so be patient.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzEz1b_TPN8

"The moon gives light and shines by night"

Deep. Not exactly "The Wasteland," is it? Okay, he uses the poetic contraction "o'er," but other than rhyming this bears little resemblance to poetry.

I don't know. For 36-year-old, Cory Doctorow sure has some boomeresque tastes.

C'mon, Cory. The baby boomers were not the be-all and end-all of Western civilization. Disney, the Beatniks, Dylan: you're stuck in a time warp, man. And Bob Dylan produced great poetry? Examples?

I really don't think children should read Ginsberg.

Santos,

Have you ever seen Tiny Toons? 'Nuff said.

Shrdlu

You're hardly a Luddite. I am a fan of Hergé and the old animated series, but I couldn't be less interested in any motion-capture animation production. That's sort of akin chamber music played on a synthesizer. And with Jackson and Spielberg directing, you can bet it will be technically overwrought and devoid of the charm of the Tintin series.

My money is on George Lucas as the third director.

>

I don't get it. "Pecuniary?" Does money fall out of human genital organs when stimulated in Alabama? And why specifically "human" genital organs? Are animal vibrators okay then? And why "genital organs?" Is it okay to stimulate other organs, say nipples? Are there parts of human genitalia that aren't considered "organs?"

I am confused.

I've read most of this stuff, and even attended a speech by Ginsberg. I'm left with the feeling there was nothing to understand.

As for Kerouac, the artists he tried to emulate like Céline and Charlie Parker (think improvisation) were worlds beyond him. He knew enough to be infatuated with great artists, but never really synthesized some great literary voice, as he thought. I think he simply didn't have the intellect. Perhaps it was all the "tea" he smoked.

In the end, he was just a French-Canadian from Lowell, MA who went to Columbia on the G.I. Bill and fell in with some pretty funky people. Had his literary attempts ended up moldering in his mother's attic amongst vapors of ragout de boulette, the world would be no more the worse off--but then again, we wouldn't have that Snack Attack song from Godley and Creme, and that would be a shame.

Who can get that into Kerouac? Not the best novel I ever read--in fact it' so bad, reading On The Road can be hazardous to your health. (He, he.)

For reasons I cannot recall, I do have the original Rhino Records Kerouac Collection boxed set if anyone is interested. Very attractive packaging, never been played.