Via Manu, a cool article on Saul Bass and the art of credit titles. I almost enjoy the opening credits as much as the rest of the movie, so this bit of film history is fascinating.
magnetic fields
I went to see the Magnetic Fields play at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, just south of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was one of the better shows I’ve seen, and just what I wanted — relaxing, yet exciting, funny banter, and a surprisingly good opening act by Australian Darren Hanlon. They played Papa Was A Rodeo, Yeah Oh Yeah (with choreography even!), Chicken With Its Head Cut Off, I Die, I Looked All Over Town, I Thought You Were My Boyfriend, Busby Berkeley Dreams, Reno Dakota, and many many others, including some from earlier albums that I had heard only once, songs from the Pieces of April soundtrack, and one from a Lemony Snicket audiobook. Apparently Lemony Snicket used to be in the band.
The Palace of Fine Arts is one of those venues with a huge wide stage and only 25 rows of seats. I’ve been very happy with concerts in San Francisco — most places are pretty small so that you don’t have terrible views, unlike the Shoreline in Mountain View, which wins the prize in my book for Worst Concert Venue Ever.
If I hadn’t just blown $60 at Amoeba I’d be tempted to buy one of Hanlon’s CDs and/or the Charm of the Highway Strip. Alas and alack…
House of Commons and Scientific Publishing
The BBC reports on a study by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee:
It advises the government to consider allocating funds to universities and other organisations to create online repositories where their research can be stored, and viewed by the public free of charge.
This is one solution to the problem, but not necessarily the best one. It is going to take some gradual change to make this happen. What I find refreshing about this story is that it really is an issue to the House of Commons and that the government in the UK is really looking after its own interest, which is to say the public interest, rather than jumping into bed with big business from the outset. The government pays for this research through taxpayer money and the elected officials actually show an interest in looking after their investment. Compare that to the culture of corporate subsidy and handouts we have here in the US.
Of course, who knows what is going to happen with this report…
leonard on peck
In tomorrow’s Times, John Leonard takes Dale Peck to task. It made me laugh — to better appreciate it, read one of Peck’s reviews first. Hating can get so dull after a while. We don’t need no hateration in this magazine…
o’reilly factor
Here’s a little anecdote from the taping of the O’Reilly Factor. This only reinforces my aversion to watching TV.
search no more
They finally found Bobby Fischer.
physiology of watching porn
From April’s issue of Nature Neuroscience, a note entitled “Imaging gender differences in sexual arousal” by Turhan Canli and John Gabrieli:
Continue reading
Vive la France!
The French are rather bloody:
Aux armes, citoyens,
Formez vos bataillons,
Marchons, marchons !
Qu’un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons !
Happy Bastille Day!
ham jello
This is seriously funny. Even more so because I recall as an undergraduate some discussion of excess ham at Networks being used to make ham smoothies. After reading this I will always think of the dinosaurs being killed off by a giant fat man on fire crashing into the earth.
Update: On poking around, I see that this has been posted on Crooked Timber as well.
and the winner is…
I’m hereby giving the prize for most-hated thing to cancer, in all its multifarious forms.
An Ergodic Walk 