"Television has raised writing to a new low." - Samuel Goldwyn
***
"Hope. Pandora brought the jar with the evils and opened it. It was the gods’ gift to man, on the outside a beautiful, enticing gift, called the “lucky jar.” Then all the evils, those lively, winged beings, flew out of it. Since that time, they roam around and do harm to men by day and night. One single evil had not yet slipped out of the jar. As Zeus had wished, Pandora slammed the top down and it remained inside. So now man has the lucky jar in his house forever and thinks the world of the treasure. It is at his service; he reaches for it when he fancies it. For he does not know that that jar which Pandora brought was the jar of evils, and he takes the remaining evil for the greatest worldly good–it is hope, for Zeus did not want man to throw his life away, no matter how much the other evils might torment him, but rather to go on letting himself be tormented anew. To that end, he gives man hope. In truth, it is the most evil of evils because it prolongs man’s torment."
--- Human, All Too Human / Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Someone: i see that and all i can think about is dessert :)
Addendum: "Die Hoffnung. – Pandora brachte das Fass mit den Uebeln und öffnete es. Es war das Geschenk der Götter an die Menschen, von Aussen ein schönes verführerisches Geschenk und "Glücksfass" zubenannt. Da flogen all die Uebel, lebendige beschwingte Wesen heraus: von da an schweifen sie nun herum und thun den Menschen Schaden bei Tag und Nacht. Ein einziges Uebel war noch nicht aus dem Fass herausgeschlüpft: da schlug Pandora nach Zeus' Willen den Deckel zu und so blieb es darin. Für immer hat der Mensch nun das Glücksfass im Hause und meint Wunder was für einen Schatz er in ihm habe; es steht ihm zu Diensten, er greift darnach: wenn es ihn gelüstet; denn er weiss nicht, dass jenes Fass, welches Pandora brachte, das Fass der Uebel war, und hält das zurückgebliebene Uebel für das grösste Glücksgut, – es ist die Hoffnung. – Zeus wollte nämlich, dass der Mensch, auch noch so sehr durch die anderen Uebel gequält, doch das Leben nicht wegwerfe, sondern fortfahre, sich immer von Neuem quälen zu lassen. Dazu giebt er dem Menschen die Hoffnung: sie ist in Wahrheit das übelste der Uebel, weil sie die Qual der Menschen verlängert."
L'origine de Bert
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
"Drive-in banks were established so most of the cars today could see their real owners." - E. Joseph Cossman
***
Taking Back the Initiative from the Human Rights Spoilers - "Today, those conducting the most energetic diplomacy on human rights are likely to reside in such places as Algiers, Cairo, or Islamabad, with backing from Beijing and Moscow. The problem is that they are pushing in the wrong direction. These human rights opponents defend the prerogative of governments to do what they want to their people. They hide behind the principles of sovereignty, non-interference, and Southern solidarity, but their real aim is to curb criticism of their own human rights abuses or those of their allies and friends... These governments tend to say that they support human rights in principle, but oppose only the way that rights are allegedly twisted, used, or perverted by more powerful nations. They mimic the language of anti-imperialism, anti-colonialism, or solidarity with the downtrodden... [On 'hypocrisy'] few people facing slaughter, rape, or arbitrary detention would forsake rescue simply because someone else's suffering is being ignored"
Twitter / bibleanswers - They are following me on Twitter HAHAHAHAHAHA
Bruckner's 9th - less is more - "I am so glad that Bruckner did not ruin his 9th symphony by adding a last movement, a finale, to it... The problem, simply put, is this: How do you finish a long piece of abstract music, with no story to it, and no words, and make the ending really feel like the end of the whole thing, as opposed to just the end of the last part? Before Beethoven, this didn't really arise, since a symphony was essentially a set of pieces, like a set at a jazz club, where you would make sure the ending made a good ending, period. What you did half an hour before was beside the point. But Beethoven tried something more ambitious: pieces of music that might last up to an hour, and that felt like a giant single thing. How could you make that work, when you didn’t have a story as you would in a Shakespeare play?"
I think this person is just seeing what he wants to see
YouTube - Young Girl Talking About Herself - "I was like, she was all
He was all, they were like
We were all like
OMG like totally"
Great mockery of video-whoring
Men become richer after divorce - "Divorce makes men - and particularly fathers - significantly richer. When a father separates from the mother of his children, according to new research, his available income increases by around one third. Women, in contrast, suffer severe financial penalties. Regardless of whether she has children, the average woman's income falls by more than a fifth and remains low for many years."
This is extremely misleading since it looks at per capita incomes. The correct way to look at it is that marriage depresses male incomes and boosts female incomes, so divorce merely corrects this.
Quit-smoking challenge for Malays ends with 15% success rate - "One reason given for quitting was high costs of cigarettes and the economic downturn. Random tests were conducted to verify their smoke-free status."
City tram turned into padded cell - "A Sheffield tram has been turned into a padded cell as part of an £18m campaign against mental health discrimination... Posters give the message that mental health problems are common and many sufferers get on with life and travel to work like everybody else."
I wish I could say the same of most sufferers.
Facebook | Videos Posted by Landon Loomis: Chinese New Years - It's like being in a warzone.
"This, my friends, is why after two very enthusiastic years I am now a Chinese New Year grinch. This may look spectacular, and it is, but after an ENTIRE WEEK of this, including waking up to stray explosions in the morning & getting the shit scared out of you by random blasts as you're walking around during the day, it gets really old really fast."
Resurrecting an Old Heresy - "The problem with the “Prosperity Gospel” is that it is based on two (at least) misunderstandings. The first is a problem defining success... We immediately think of wealth when we define financial success... However, a simple review of Scripture will help us redefine our concept of success... A second flaw in the doctrine of the “Prosperity Gospel” is ignoring the close kinship between desiring money and loving money... It seems incomprehensible to me that God’s desire for me is that I desire those things that will plunge me into ruin and destruction and cause me to wander away from the faith."
Attenborough reveals creationist hate mail for not crediting God - "Sir David Attenborough has revealed that he receives hate mail from viewers for failing to credit God in his documentaries... "They tell me to burn in hell and good riddance."... "They always mean beautiful things like hummingbirds. I always reply by saying that I think of a little child in east Africa with a worm burrowing through his eyeball. The worm cannot live in any other way, except by burrowing through eyeballs. I find that hard to reconcile with the notion of a divine and benevolent creator.""
Bacon Explosion: The BBQ Sausage Recipe of all Recipes - "The other day the guys from BaconToday.com contacted me in search for some barbecue bacon recipes. Of course I have plenty of great uses for bacon in a barbecue pit, but the longer I thought about it, the more I wanted to step it up a notch and clog a few arteries for those guys. Behold, BACON EXPLOSION!!!"
Man's brain infected by eating slugs - "A Sydney-based man who ate two garden slugs as a dare during a party narrowly escaped death from a rare form of meningitis, an often fatal swelling around the brain."
Elevating Science, Elevating Democracy - "The knock on science from its cultural and religious critics is that it is arrogant and materialistic... Science teaches facts, not values, the story goes... But this is balderdash. Science... does indeed teach values. Those values, among others, are honesty, doubt, respect for evidence, openness, accountability and tolerance and indeed hunger for opposing points of view... It is no coincidence that these are the same qualities that make for democracy... If there is anything democracy requires and thrives on, it is the willingness to embrace debate and respect one another and the freedom to shun received wisdom. Science and democracy have always been twins... There is no democracy in China, and some would argue that despite that nation's vast resources and potential, there will not be vigorous science there either"
What piracy crisis? MPAA touts record box office for 2007 - "The MPAA claims that piracy is causing dire harm to the movie business, but the combination of a record $9.63 box office take in 2007 and overheated piracy rhetoric lead us to wonder how bad off the motion picture industry really is."
Singapore Poly's upgrading courses gaining popularity - "I chose Singapore because Feng Shui is an Asian study, so I wanted to study in Singapore where I heard all the masters are. I graduated around 2008 and I have been incorporating Feng Shui into my architecture career ever since."
Poor, misguided girl.
***
Taking Back the Initiative from the Human Rights Spoilers - "Today, those conducting the most energetic diplomacy on human rights are likely to reside in such places as Algiers, Cairo, or Islamabad, with backing from Beijing and Moscow. The problem is that they are pushing in the wrong direction. These human rights opponents defend the prerogative of governments to do what they want to their people. They hide behind the principles of sovereignty, non-interference, and Southern solidarity, but their real aim is to curb criticism of their own human rights abuses or those of their allies and friends... These governments tend to say that they support human rights in principle, but oppose only the way that rights are allegedly twisted, used, or perverted by more powerful nations. They mimic the language of anti-imperialism, anti-colonialism, or solidarity with the downtrodden... [On 'hypocrisy'] few people facing slaughter, rape, or arbitrary detention would forsake rescue simply because someone else's suffering is being ignored"
Twitter / bibleanswers - They are following me on Twitter HAHAHAHAHAHA
Bruckner's 9th - less is more - "I am so glad that Bruckner did not ruin his 9th symphony by adding a last movement, a finale, to it... The problem, simply put, is this: How do you finish a long piece of abstract music, with no story to it, and no words, and make the ending really feel like the end of the whole thing, as opposed to just the end of the last part? Before Beethoven, this didn't really arise, since a symphony was essentially a set of pieces, like a set at a jazz club, where you would make sure the ending made a good ending, period. What you did half an hour before was beside the point. But Beethoven tried something more ambitious: pieces of music that might last up to an hour, and that felt like a giant single thing. How could you make that work, when you didn’t have a story as you would in a Shakespeare play?"
I think this person is just seeing what he wants to see
YouTube - Young Girl Talking About Herself - "I was like, she was all
He was all, they were like
We were all like
OMG like totally"
Great mockery of video-whoring
Men become richer after divorce - "Divorce makes men - and particularly fathers - significantly richer. When a father separates from the mother of his children, according to new research, his available income increases by around one third. Women, in contrast, suffer severe financial penalties. Regardless of whether she has children, the average woman's income falls by more than a fifth and remains low for many years."
This is extremely misleading since it looks at per capita incomes. The correct way to look at it is that marriage depresses male incomes and boosts female incomes, so divorce merely corrects this.
Quit-smoking challenge for Malays ends with 15% success rate - "One reason given for quitting was high costs of cigarettes and the economic downturn. Random tests were conducted to verify their smoke-free status."
City tram turned into padded cell - "A Sheffield tram has been turned into a padded cell as part of an £18m campaign against mental health discrimination... Posters give the message that mental health problems are common and many sufferers get on with life and travel to work like everybody else."
I wish I could say the same of most sufferers.
Facebook | Videos Posted by Landon Loomis: Chinese New Years - It's like being in a warzone.
"This, my friends, is why after two very enthusiastic years I am now a Chinese New Year grinch. This may look spectacular, and it is, but after an ENTIRE WEEK of this, including waking up to stray explosions in the morning & getting the shit scared out of you by random blasts as you're walking around during the day, it gets really old really fast."
Resurrecting an Old Heresy - "The problem with the “Prosperity Gospel” is that it is based on two (at least) misunderstandings. The first is a problem defining success... We immediately think of wealth when we define financial success... However, a simple review of Scripture will help us redefine our concept of success... A second flaw in the doctrine of the “Prosperity Gospel” is ignoring the close kinship between desiring money and loving money... It seems incomprehensible to me that God’s desire for me is that I desire those things that will plunge me into ruin and destruction and cause me to wander away from the faith."
Attenborough reveals creationist hate mail for not crediting God - "Sir David Attenborough has revealed that he receives hate mail from viewers for failing to credit God in his documentaries... "They tell me to burn in hell and good riddance."... "They always mean beautiful things like hummingbirds. I always reply by saying that I think of a little child in east Africa with a worm burrowing through his eyeball. The worm cannot live in any other way, except by burrowing through eyeballs. I find that hard to reconcile with the notion of a divine and benevolent creator.""
Bacon Explosion: The BBQ Sausage Recipe of all Recipes - "The other day the guys from BaconToday.com contacted me in search for some barbecue bacon recipes. Of course I have plenty of great uses for bacon in a barbecue pit, but the longer I thought about it, the more I wanted to step it up a notch and clog a few arteries for those guys. Behold, BACON EXPLOSION!!!"
Man's brain infected by eating slugs - "A Sydney-based man who ate two garden slugs as a dare during a party narrowly escaped death from a rare form of meningitis, an often fatal swelling around the brain."
Elevating Science, Elevating Democracy - "The knock on science from its cultural and religious critics is that it is arrogant and materialistic... Science teaches facts, not values, the story goes... But this is balderdash. Science... does indeed teach values. Those values, among others, are honesty, doubt, respect for evidence, openness, accountability and tolerance and indeed hunger for opposing points of view... It is no coincidence that these are the same qualities that make for democracy... If there is anything democracy requires and thrives on, it is the willingness to embrace debate and respect one another and the freedom to shun received wisdom. Science and democracy have always been twins... There is no democracy in China, and some would argue that despite that nation's vast resources and potential, there will not be vigorous science there either"
What piracy crisis? MPAA touts record box office for 2007 - "The MPAA claims that piracy is causing dire harm to the movie business, but the combination of a record $9.63 box office take in 2007 and overheated piracy rhetoric lead us to wonder how bad off the motion picture industry really is."
Singapore Poly's upgrading courses gaining popularity - "I chose Singapore because Feng Shui is an Asian study, so I wanted to study in Singapore where I heard all the masters are. I graduated around 2008 and I have been incorporating Feng Shui into my architecture career ever since."
Poor, misguided girl.
Post ID: 2841043413802301562
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
"Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money." - Jules Renard
***
Orchard Road on the first day of Chinese New Year was pretty much the same as on the second day last year (and certainly the second day this year, i.e. today), complete with cars speeding down the (relatively) deserted streets, i.e. more crowded than continental European cities on a Sunday.
Some Japanese teens didn't seem very happy, probably because they were conned by this sign outside Wisma Atria:
"Business as usual for the Chinese New Year on 26 & 27 January 09"
What Business as usual in Wisma Atria means
One of the few ice cream men selling ice cream - with a surcharge
The rare disfigured ad, on boarding outside Mandarin
And despite the 5 megapixels, autofocus and Carl Zeiss lens, my Nokia 6220 Classic is still inferior to a real camera. I should've used my real one (in my bag, but I was lazy and wanted to test my phone). Meh.
***
Orchard Road on the first day of Chinese New Year was pretty much the same as on the second day last year (and certainly the second day this year, i.e. today), complete with cars speeding down the (relatively) deserted streets, i.e. more crowded than continental European cities on a Sunday.
Some Japanese teens didn't seem very happy, probably because they were conned by this sign outside Wisma Atria:
"Business as usual for the Chinese New Year on 26 & 27 January 09"
What Business as usual in Wisma Atria means
One of the few ice cream men selling ice cream - with a surcharge
The rare disfigured ad, on boarding outside Mandarin
And despite the 5 megapixels, autofocus and Carl Zeiss lens, my Nokia 6220 Classic is still inferior to a real camera. I should've used my real one (in my bag, but I was lazy and wanted to test my phone). Meh.
Post ID: 370938916574400160
"I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork." - Peter De Vries
***
Hotties and Notties
"In 2006, James Felton, Peter T. Koper, John Mitchell and Michael Stinson conducted research that sought to establish, inter alia how perceived hotness of professors affected their RateMyProfessors evaluations for teaching quality. As part of this exercise, Felton et al. ranked (Table 2 in their paper) the relative hotness quotients of 36 different academic disciplines. My estimable colleague John Sides prepared a nice graph of the Felton et al. data (see below).
"
All in all, this is yet another confirmation ofbigoted prejudices popular wisdom, despite the obligatory protestations:
- Academicians in general aren't attractive
- The worst looking discipline in Arts and Social Science is Economics
- Women's and Ethnic Studies are near the bottom of the heap (as some people say, you can't find an attractive feminist)
- The Sciences fare worse than the Arts
- Law is pretty high up there
- Biology fares better than the 'harder' sciences (Physics is rolled into 'Science', which might explain the low ranking)
- The 3 worst fields (in descending order) are Engineering, Computer Science and Chemistry
A surprise was how badly Business fared, though.
***
Hotties and Notties
"In 2006, James Felton, Peter T. Koper, John Mitchell and Michael Stinson conducted research that sought to establish, inter alia how perceived hotness of professors affected their RateMyProfessors evaluations for teaching quality. As part of this exercise, Felton et al. ranked (Table 2 in their paper) the relative hotness quotients of 36 different academic disciplines. My estimable colleague John Sides prepared a nice graph of the Felton et al. data (see below).
"All in all, this is yet another confirmation of
- Academicians in general aren't attractive
- The worst looking discipline in Arts and Social Science is Economics
- Women's and Ethnic Studies are near the bottom of the heap (as some people say, you can't find an attractive feminist)
- The Sciences fare worse than the Arts
- Law is pretty high up there
- Biology fares better than the 'harder' sciences (Physics is rolled into 'Science', which might explain the low ranking)
- The 3 worst fields (in descending order) are Engineering, Computer Science and Chemistry
A surprise was how badly Business fared, though.
Post ID: 2222539163174297669
"What we pretend to be we often become." - Darth Krayt
***
Japan trip
Day 16 - 21st June - Matsushima Bay (Part 4)
Here and there there were shops selling charms. Apparently it wasn't a temple monopoly.
Next I went to another of the islands (the one with Godaido) accessible by walking from the mainland.
Red Bridge
Godaido, open to the public once every 33 years
View through pine trees
I am amused by the shrine'sdispenser vending machine presumably selling shrine-related material (apparently the thing the woman was tying to the rack - I thought you tied your wishes, not pre-printed material?)
The Japanese are not as obsessed with money as the Chinese but their temples are adept at extracting money from you. You tie the paper to the rack and wish it comes true, but this fortune is from the gods (implicitly) so why should you need to tie? Incidentally, that was the woman who was upskirted by the wind on the cruise (but who didn't seem to mind)
"Please use anyone"
Matsushima Bay Plaque
Island view
Nice drain. No, really.
To get onto the biggest (IIRC) of the islands accessible from the mainland I had to pay a toll:
"Fukuura Bridge Toll Gate... Historical Interest such as Kitchen Middens and an old Shrine of Benzaiten, the Goddess of Wealth, seduce visitors to pleasant stroll"
Err
I decided to have some ice cream first.
They had edamame (soybeans in a pod) ice cream. That sounded disgusting, but I should've tried that, since it was the closest to squid ink ice cream I'd seen (and might ever see).
In the end I settled for mango. Not as smooth and creamy as a real soft serve (colder and firmer when pressed out), but alright.
Me on Red Bridge to island
Red Bridge
Islands
From the middle of the bridge
Island shore
Moored boats
The mysterious view returns
I don't know why there're 3 ropes here. Maybe it's for efficiency - 3 people can pull them at the same time.
Guide to the view
Actual view
Map of Fukuura Island. Note that the toilet is listed as an attraction.
Like in Ueno Koen, the maps on the island kept changing orientation. Maybe it's a Japanese thing.
At one of the lookout points, I had my first mass graffiti (and the second graffiti) sighting in Japan. Tsk.
I also clambered down the slope to the beach for more intimate shots.
Near enough to swim or even wade
Seaside rendezvous
Picnic.
The Tourist Attraction Toilet. In all fairness, you have to admit that it is a nice toilet. I don't know why there's a chain though - maybe the place sees a lot of lightning.
At this point the fog was really heading in, so I decided to head to Sendai.
"Earthquake! Tsunami comes! Immediately Evacuate Quickly!" - More comforting words
Crap dispenser. It seems too many idiot gaijin use foreign coins on this one (or maybe their dispenser is lousy and can't tell Y100 coins from 1 cent-equivalent coins from elsewhere.
***
Japan trip
Day 16 - 21st June - Matsushima Bay (Part 4)
Here and there there were shops selling charms. Apparently it wasn't a temple monopoly.
Next I went to another of the islands (the one with Godaido) accessible by walking from the mainland.
Red Bridge
Godaido, open to the public once every 33 years
View through pine trees
I am amused by the shrine's
The Japanese are not as obsessed with money as the Chinese but their temples are adept at extracting money from you. You tie the paper to the rack and wish it comes true, but this fortune is from the gods (implicitly) so why should you need to tie? Incidentally, that was the woman who was upskirted by the wind on the cruise (but who didn't seem to mind)
"Please use anyone"
Matsushima Bay Plaque
Island view
Nice drain. No, really.
To get onto the biggest (IIRC) of the islands accessible from the mainland I had to pay a toll:
"Fukuura Bridge Toll Gate... Historical Interest such as Kitchen Middens and an old Shrine of Benzaiten, the Goddess of Wealth, seduce visitors to pleasant stroll"
Err
I decided to have some ice cream first.
They had edamame (soybeans in a pod) ice cream. That sounded disgusting, but I should've tried that, since it was the closest to squid ink ice cream I'd seen (and might ever see).
In the end I settled for mango. Not as smooth and creamy as a real soft serve (colder and firmer when pressed out), but alright.
Me on Red Bridge to island
Red Bridge
Islands
From the middle of the bridge
Island shore
Moored boats
The mysterious view returns
I don't know why there're 3 ropes here. Maybe it's for efficiency - 3 people can pull them at the same time.
Guide to the view
Actual view
Map of Fukuura Island. Note that the toilet is listed as an attraction.
Like in Ueno Koen, the maps on the island kept changing orientation. Maybe it's a Japanese thing.
At one of the lookout points, I had my first mass graffiti (and the second graffiti) sighting in Japan. Tsk.
I also clambered down the slope to the beach for more intimate shots.
Near enough to swim or even wade
Seaside rendezvous
Picnic.
The Tourist Attraction Toilet. In all fairness, you have to admit that it is a nice toilet. I don't know why there's a chain though - maybe the place sees a lot of lightning.
At this point the fog was really heading in, so I decided to head to Sendai.
"Earthquake! Tsunami comes! Immediately Evacuate Quickly!" - More comforting words
Crap dispenser. It seems too many idiot gaijin use foreign coins on this one (or maybe their dispenser is lousy and can't tell Y100 coins from 1 cent-equivalent coins from elsewhere.
Post ID: 8979270324467539864
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