Dance Parade 2008. Starting at 1 pm. This Saturday.
Parade route information here.
The think tank Brookings Institute examines the past and current endeavors of DARPA and the US military via programs such as the now defunct "Land Warrior," "Future Force Warrior," and "Z-Man Project" among many others aimed at bringing to reality much of the technology underlying the fictional super hero Iron Man from his "superhuman strength, virtual invulnerability, the ability to fly...[to his] array of weapons." For instance:
Much like Iron Man’s powered armor, future soldiers’ protections will also be computerized. The plan is for new body armor that, instead of Kevlar, is filled with nano-materials that are connected to a computer. It would normally be as flexible as regular uniform made of fabric. But, like how a crash-bag works inside a car, it would activate whenever the system detects a bullet strike and turn as hard as steel in an instant.[...]
"When you have a uniform with this new nanotechnology, it can absorb unlimited numbers of machine-gun rounds," tells the Army’s soldier systems representative “Dutch” DeGay. The pliability could even be controlled. Gloves could turn into real-life brass knuckles, to give them a punch like Mike Tyson. Or, if the soldier gets hurt (such as from tripping on a rock while reading an email with their eyepiece), the uniform could go rigid to create a tourniquet or cast. The fabric could even be woven in with "nanomuscle fibers" that simulate real muscles, giving soldiers more an estimated “25 to 35 percent better lifting capability."
I found it interesting however that in the military's research into various exoskeleton and augmented armor, in addition to bio and chemical based enhancements (eg. anti-sleep pills), soldiers' had one priority pragmatic concern: "There was one feature that the soldiers wanted the suit to have most of all: a quick way to get out of it."
Read rest here.
Cleveland Indians infielder Asdrubal Cabrera turned a triple play last night against Toronto. His is only "the 14th unassisted triple play in major-league history." Kudos. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOYKQe6qQSU]
Accused during the 2006 campaigns by Republicans that he would lead a "radical homosexual agenda" Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts and chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, which oversees the full and entire financial services industry, has surprisingly bridged the partisan gap and "emerged as a key deal-maker" despite or because of his sharp wit.
“I think that Barney is misunderstood in some quarters as just being a hard-bound ideological liberal,” said Michael G. Oxley, the former congressman from Ohio who preceded Mr. Frank as chairman of the Financial Services Committee, “when in fact his legislative career has been really full of accomplishment and understanding of how markets work and how systems work.”[...]
“Because he is looking to get things done and make a difference, he focuses on areas of agreement and tries to build on those,” Mr. Paulson said. “He doesn’t waste anybody’s time, your time or his.”
And, he added, “It’s always more fun to work with someone who has got a sense of humor.”
Read rest here.
Two fish are in a tank. One looks at the other and says, "You man the guns. I'll drive."
Dear Claritin, Is it so necessary for you to omit that one last additional pill? Sheesh.
This is my favorite video on YouTube of soccer great Zidane. Effortless. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F65WJfJDQdE]
I try to stay busy.I take out the trash, I sweep the floor. Try to keep myself occupied. Cause I know you don't live here anymore.
- Wilco, Hate It Here
Jake Adelstein writes a fascinating article in the Washington Post about organized crime and the mafia in Japan.
Most Americans think of Japan as a law-abiding and peaceful place, as well as our staunch ally, but reporting on the underworld gave me a different perspective. Mobs are legal entities here. Their fan magazines and comic books are sold in convenience stores, and bosses socialize with prime ministers and politicians. And as far as the United States is concerned, Japan may be refueling U.S. warships at sea, but it's not helping us fight our own battles against organized crime -- a realization that led to my biggest scoop.
He was the first US citizen to join the regular staff of a native Japanese newspaper and covered the local crime beat (!) which inevitably included the mafia whose fingers and muscle reach far and wide in Japanese society--a place Adelstein calls his "adopted homeland." It's a fascinating read that highlights the frustrating lack of communication and cooperation from the Japanese law enforcement community as well as revealing the darker sides of the mafia: In addition to numerous front companies, many publicly traded companies also have strong mafia ties. However, worse still: child pornography which is legal to "own" in Japan, continues to play a significant role in their criminal enterprise portfolio.
Adelstein also discusses his pursuit of a big scoop about top mafia boss "Tadamasa Goto" which eventually led to threats against him and his family leading to the present situation where "the FBI and local law enforcement are watching over my family in the States, while the Tokyo police and the [Japanese National Police Agency]" are currently protecting Adelstein.
Read rest here.
I know many of these pictures have been circulating around the Internets for awhile, but like rocky road ice cream...it never gets old. Checkout these "ruined" photos, like the one below. Although I don't think they're ruined. If anything they are AWESOME.
Update: Here's another ruined/awesome photo of Hillary Clinton posing with a couple fans and one stalker that the Secret Service agent in the background needs to take down. RIGHT NOW. STAT.
The morning "time bomb." I could use one of these to add to my current collection of three different alarms that go off each morning.
Ya'know Suge Knight? Co-founder and CEO of Death Row Records, he is also one of the baddest mofos out there. Suge is basically the hip hop bogeyman.
Remember Deebo? He was that ginormous neighborhood bully in the classic hood stoner film Friday who basically runs around on a "permanently borrowed" bike robbing his neighbors and knocking them out when they try to put up a struggle. Suge Knight IS that dude. And just like what happened to Deebo at the end of that movie, Suge Knight recently got knocked the fffffuck out at a club!
TMZ has the details and more photos, including of the underdog pulled off the upset. Best to skip town for a while would be my advice to this brave cat, because unlike a cat, us people folk only have one life. I bet Diddy did a little Harlem shake after he heard about this.
By way of satire this video is pretty hysterical. I have the feeling that it isn't too far off the mark of what the current "strategizing" meetings in the Hillary camp is like at the moment. I really can see her screaming at Carville, Wolfson, McAuliffe, and Bill:
I will fuck you all in half! The superdelegates were supposed to trump the fucking voters! ...My supporters are the dumbest fucks in the country! Still bitching about NAFTA!
And one bead of sweat rolls down Carville's shiny bald head while Hillary lights into them spewing, "What other working-class photo-ops do they expect me to do? Take a shit in a fucking outhouse?!" Hahaha.
Remember people: This is political satire. Of course Hillary is not Hitler.
[Thanks Kaizar]
In the New York Times, Edward Luttwak explores the unexpected implications of Obama's Christianity among Muslim cultures. Under Muslim law, by virtue of being born to a Muslim father, Barack Obama was born Muslim. By the same logic, Obama's decision to become Christian means his conversion is a betrayal and crime to the Muslim faith that should be met with extreme persecution, including execution by beheading, stoning or hanging. Although a direct plea and intervention by Pope John Paul II in 1994 for a Christian convert in Iran resulted in a "last-minute reprieve...the man was abducted and killed shortly after his release."
Luttwak writes:
At the very least, that would complicate the security planning of state visits by President Obama to Muslim countries, because the very act of protecting him would be sinful for Islamic security guards. More broadly, most citizens of the Islamic world would be horrified by the fact of Senator Obama’s conversion to Christianity once it became widely known — as it would, no doubt, should he win the White House. This would compromise the ability of governments in Muslim nations to cooperate with the United States in the fight against terrorism, as well as American efforts to export democracy and human rights abroad.
One man's enlightened conversion is another man's criminal apostasy.
Read rest here.
Update: Some people have written points of clarification to Luttwak's aforementioned op-ed piece.
[Thanks Kaizar]
Illustrated with stick figures, here's a good simplified explanation of what the whole subprime mortgage failure situation is all about.
This is how Jay Z and Beyonce roll when a restaurant is closed.
"Pop Burger had just closed," said a source. "There was a loud knock on the door, and Jay and Bey, who was still in her ball gown, were at the door with their Maybach waiting." The East 58th Street spot opened its doors and bagged up cheeseburgers and fries, which the famished duo took to go.
At least Jay and Bee were kind enough to take it to go.
A contestant on show Britain's Got Talent puts a cool refreshing spin on a tired Michael Jackson impersonation routine. Keep watching it past the initial dance routine for the surprise twist. The pay off is worth it. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA2B5X0LhMY]
The music "Nachna Onda Nei" is by Tigerstyle--two brothers classically trained in traditional Punjabi folk music and instruments who later joined the Bhangra scene in clubs in Scotland and England. Check out their MySpace page to listen to and download a nice set of their songs. And you can watch a bunch of this dance entertainer Suleman Mizra's pop impersonation acts on his YouTube page.
Colbert and Korean pop singer Rain have a dance off. USA! USA! USA! [youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=19yAP5FBGkc]
Back story of the simmering feud between Colbert and Rain is explained in the clip below. Will someone please step in and establish a DMZ zone between these two before children and innocent back-up dancers get hurt???
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=beWdU6PE3Xo]
His name isn't mentioned too often in (admittedly asinine) discussions of celebrity Don Juans, however I've maintained that John Mayer's consistent ability to snag quality arm candy gives him some sort of an underdog status. When news that he's dating [insert name] hits the wires, everyone reacts with surprise but people shouldn't be surprised: he has quite a track record and history of attracting some premium sorts. Amusing to see ESPN pick up on this story and dare to compare John Mayer with the Lothario of all Lotharios, the Sultan of Twat himself Derek Jeter. Of course, even more amusing is the predictable backlash from the readers.
Feel free to file this blog entry under "Idiocy" and "Waste of my time."