Hiroshima photos found.
"On September 18, 1945, just over a month after Japan had surrendered, the U.S. Government imposed a strict code of censorship on the newly defeated nation. It read, in part: “nothing shall be printed which might, directly or by inference, disturb public tranquility.” "
Pascal added:
- In our "modern times", people have been prosecuted for "leaking" photos of coffins returning from Iraq. Nothing to do with intelligence/security issues, purely to control strictly the images of that war. This differs from censorship because...?
- I don't know everything about the end of WW2 in the Pacific (does anyone of those who would tell ever really know?), but don't you think three days is really short notice to declare "they didn't want to negociate/surrender, let's re-bomb them"? After three days, the survivors of Hiroshima hadn't even seen outside rescuers yet!
Okay, I'll immediately grant you that ALL SIDES committed a blatant war crime by mass-bombing civilian cities. (Aah, the nostalgic atmosphere of the Blitz, children sent to the countryside like in the Apprentise Witch or Narnia... Thanks, Adolf, for inspiring the stories!) But me, I'll consider that while the first A-bomb, Little Boy, was open to debate, the second, Fat Man, was needless and therefore a pure war crime. Probably intended as a dissuasive display of America's new weapon, "watch out world, we can kick ass real hard now".
I suggest you watch the very first Godzilla movie, knowing it's a metaphor of the atomic trauma as felt by the Japanese. Makes it the antithesis of the cheesy rest of the series.
- Are you fine as well that they "shockenawed" Saddam? When does the targeting, or the random "collateral damaging" of great numbers of civilians, cease being a crime to become legitimate war tactics? (To say nothing of the Iraq war's legitimacy in the first place.) Afghanistan is being lost for the cause, at best it'll be many very hard years more, precisely because the hot-head "liberators" are doing more damage than the Talibans themselves...
Causing Afghan women to be stuck between the hammer and the anvil. ("A rock and a hard place" in US proverbs, but the French version feels more relevant here, with the repeated pounding image.) Just yesterday, another group of schoolgirls was assaulted with vitriol to the face, three of them in very serious condition... in spite of their burqa being in the way of the acid.
- I know quite well and reliably, from living witnesses, that the German people were far from universally enthusiastic in supporting the nazi regime. It was mostly fear, just like in the Soviet Union later. Can any gaijin (stranger to Japan) claim for sure that the Japanese, even heavily indoctrinated like every population at war, were for the most part warm supporters of the military dictatorship that had taken control of Japan in the Forties? Even if they were, does this lift the Geneva convention: "No targeting the civilians"?
- History is ALWAYS written by the victors. Don't go thinking I believe anything my own country's schools taught me about the past without a few million grains of salt. (Hey, that might explain my hypertension issues at age 29! Hmmm...)
Just cogitational nutrition (food for thought), OK? No attack meant. I "judge ideas, not people." -- [The Disappearance Of The Universe]
I don't claim to know it all, not even to be right in anything here above. But I live by the principle that in politics one must doubt everything, and in war one must heavily distrust near-anything.
I live in Lebanon. War-like propaganda is a daily occurrence here for the last 33 years. (And that's just because I can't remember earlier times!!!) I'm far less depressive than the average citizen since I've decided to completely quit watching the national gall-oozing news.
:-/
"Oh liberty, what crimes are committed in thy name!" -- Manon Roland
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Brass bands
Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away.
-- Sir Thomas Beecham
I couldn't agree more. (Except it might be better to have them indoors, several miles away.)
Some people think rock music is noisy. And I think it's a paradox that many of the same people like brass bands. Those are noisy. Last time I was at an event with a live brass band, I had to leave. Man they were loud.
Update: this is funny: the very minute I posted this, somebody emailed me this.
I'm aware that jazz and brass isn't the same thing, but when I have seen jazz bands (lousy stuff in festivals here and Copenhagen) they usually have a trumpet in them and are noisy, so there seems to be an overlap.
-- Sir Thomas Beecham
I couldn't agree more. (Except it might be better to have them indoors, several miles away.)
Some people think rock music is noisy. And I think it's a paradox that many of the same people like brass bands. Those are noisy. Last time I was at an event with a live brass band, I had to leave. Man they were loud.
Update: this is funny: the very minute I posted this, somebody emailed me this.
I'm aware that jazz and brass isn't the same thing, but when I have seen jazz bands (lousy stuff in festivals here and Copenhagen) they usually have a trumpet in them and are noisy, so there seems to be an overlap.
More Gaiman
I've started reading The Graveyard Book (bought it as audio on iTunes), I really like it.
----
Trying to find this video, I found this one, which is another video guy I find highly irritating. Who listens to this?
----
Trying to find this video, I found this one, which is another video guy I find highly irritating. Who listens to this?
Camera market future
Thom's camera market predictions, article.
One of the things one might think about right now is that if one is considering a serious investment in a DSLR system including several lenses, think twice before choosing Pentax or Olympus. They both make really good products, but they may be forced out of the market, and you'll have no upgrade path in the future.
If you only want a camera and kit lens, this is not really a problem, so go wild.
I actually think it's a grave pity, because I really like both Olympus and Pentax. Until the millennium, I had never owned a Canon or Nikon camera, but I had owned a Pentax ME Super, twice, and an Olympus OM2. Both makes make wonderful products with personality and innovation. But it seems the research money to compete in the electronics market, which is what the camera market has become part of, are simply too big to allow any but the very biggest companies to compete easily. If those two brands leave the DSLR market, we may see much less variety. For example, without them we would have no in-body image stabilization. Let's hope it goes differently.
Of course currently the great white hope is the big-sensor compact market, including the Micro Four Thirds platform. The event of speedy on-sensor autofocus and new high-rez screens and electronic viewfinders may give us compact cameras with professional capabilities. And this may make DSLR cameras much less relevant to many photographers. Especially serious enthusiasts, because for them a small-sensor camera might not be good enough, but they still care about bulk and weight. And who knows what amazing cameras we may see in this area in the future.
Update: actually, thinking about it, I think the Micro Four Thirds idea may be flawed. When I want a serious and flexible camera, my Nikon D90 is compact enough. And when I want a much smaller camera, I really don't care if it has exchangeable lenses. If I want something really portable, I'm not likely to bulk it up with extra lenses. So I think a fixed-lens (zoom or not) big-sensor compact is a better idea.
Wellick said:
A minor correction: in-body stabilization is available in Sony cameras (Minolta heritage) as well as in Pentax & Olympus.
Yes, good point. Although I doubt that Sony would have included it if they hadn't enherited it from Konica-Minolta, a company which has already buckled under.
One of the things one might think about right now is that if one is considering a serious investment in a DSLR system including several lenses, think twice before choosing Pentax or Olympus. They both make really good products, but they may be forced out of the market, and you'll have no upgrade path in the future.
If you only want a camera and kit lens, this is not really a problem, so go wild.
I actually think it's a grave pity, because I really like both Olympus and Pentax. Until the millennium, I had never owned a Canon or Nikon camera, but I had owned a Pentax ME Super, twice, and an Olympus OM2. Both makes make wonderful products with personality and innovation. But it seems the research money to compete in the electronics market, which is what the camera market has become part of, are simply too big to allow any but the very biggest companies to compete easily. If those two brands leave the DSLR market, we may see much less variety. For example, without them we would have no in-body image stabilization. Let's hope it goes differently.
Of course currently the great white hope is the big-sensor compact market, including the Micro Four Thirds platform. The event of speedy on-sensor autofocus and new high-rez screens and electronic viewfinders may give us compact cameras with professional capabilities. And this may make DSLR cameras much less relevant to many photographers. Especially serious enthusiasts, because for them a small-sensor camera might not be good enough, but they still care about bulk and weight. And who knows what amazing cameras we may see in this area in the future.
Update: actually, thinking about it, I think the Micro Four Thirds idea may be flawed. When I want a serious and flexible camera, my Nikon D90 is compact enough. And when I want a much smaller camera, I really don't care if it has exchangeable lenses. If I want something really portable, I'm not likely to bulk it up with extra lenses. So I think a fixed-lens (zoom or not) big-sensor compact is a better idea.
Wellick said:
A minor correction: in-body stabilization is available in Sony cameras (Minolta heritage) as well as in Pentax & Olympus.
Yes, good point. Although I doubt that Sony would have included it if they hadn't enherited it from Konica-Minolta, a company which has already buckled under.
Real estate trends
These are UK data, but it's the same in many countries now.
"Are we in a bubble? Just look at this graph, then answer the question. Here you can clearly see the last two house price crashes and the enormous boom that we have recently experienced. Who knows what the future will actually look like for this graph but we are well off the long run trend line which is worrying in itself."
It seems this is adjusted for inflation, though it seems incredible that house prices should be growing so much above general inflation. I've no clue what that indicates.
"Are we in a bubble? Just look at this graph, then answer the question. Here you can clearly see the last two house price crashes and the enormous boom that we have recently experienced. Who knows what the future will actually look like for this graph but we are well off the long run trend line which is worrying in itself."
It seems this is adjusted for inflation, though it seems incredible that house prices should be growing so much above general inflation. I've no clue what that indicates.
Bishop's castle
One-man built.
Update: more pics.
I think one makes arches by first making them in wood, then laying the stones on top of them.
That ceiling is amazing. The videos I saw were very poorly done, that they didn't show that.
He's a bit of a shrinking violet, though.
That ceiling is amazing. The videos I saw were very poorly done, that they didn't show that.
He's a bit of a shrinking violet, though.
Teresa Brewer - "Music Music Music"
I quite like Teresa's voice.
This also has to be one of the most catchy tunes ever written. (Despite rhyming "nickel in" with "nickelodeon"...)
This song is almost 60 years old! First published as a B-side on a single in 1949. How time goes. (Oh, and it was Teresa who sang it originally too.)
This also has to be one of the most catchy tunes ever written. (Despite rhyming "nickel in" with "nickelodeon"...)
This song is almost 60 years old! First published as a B-side on a single in 1949. How time goes. (Oh, and it was Teresa who sang it originally too.)
Internet use 'good for the brain'
Internet use 'good for the brain', article.
"A University of California Los Angeles team found searching the web stimulated centres in the brain that controlled decision-making and complex reasoning."
"A University of California Los Angeles team found searching the web stimulated centres in the brain that controlled decision-making and complex reasoning."
Monday, November 10, 2008
Iowa State Fair - Hog Calling Contest
Iowa State Fair - Hog Calling Contest
... And this is a winner.
When I heard about hog-calling (in a thirty-year-old Muppet show), I imagined the winner would be judged on actually success in making pigs come to him. But it seems it's judged on entertainment value, at least these days.
And if viewers at home are wondering how to actually do it themselves, thanks the lord for educational TV:
... And this is a winner.
When I heard about hog-calling (in a thirty-year-old Muppet show), I imagined the winner would be judged on actually success in making pigs come to him. But it seems it's judged on entertainment value, at least these days.
And if viewers at home are wondering how to actually do it themselves, thanks the lord for educational TV:
New dentist
A woman was sitting in the waiting room for her first appointment with a new dentist.
Looking around the room, she noticed his DDS diploma, which listed his full name. Suddenly, she remembered a tall, handsome, dark-haired boy with the same name who had been in her high school class some 40-odd years ago.
Presently, her new dentist called her in.
Upon seeing him, she quickly discarded any such thought that this dentist was her old classmate. He was a balding, gray-haired man with a deeply lined face who looked way too old to have graduated the same year as she. Besides, his name was a common name. Still, she couldn't resist asking him if he ever attended her school. "By any chance, did you ever attend Lawton Senior High School?" she asked.
"Yes, I did!" he said proudly. "I'm a Wolverine."
"When did you graduate?" the woman asked.
"In 1966," he answered. "Why do you ask?"
"I remember you!" the woman answered. "You were in my class!"
The old man looked at her closely. "Really?" he said. He then asked, "What did you teach?"
Looking around the room, she noticed his DDS diploma, which listed his full name. Suddenly, she remembered a tall, handsome, dark-haired boy with the same name who had been in her high school class some 40-odd years ago.
Presently, her new dentist called her in.
Upon seeing him, she quickly discarded any such thought that this dentist was her old classmate. He was a balding, gray-haired man with a deeply lined face who looked way too old to have graduated the same year as she. Besides, his name was a common name. Still, she couldn't resist asking him if he ever attended her school. "By any chance, did you ever attend Lawton Senior High School?" she asked.
"Yes, I did!" he said proudly. "I'm a Wolverine."
"When did you graduate?" the woman asked.
"In 1966," he answered. "Why do you ask?"
"I remember you!" the woman answered. "You were in my class!"
The old man looked at her closely. "Really?" he said. He then asked, "What did you teach?"
Neil Gaiman interview
Neil Gaiman interview.
Neil is amazing. I still kick myself for missing the first several issues of Sandman (since I didn't like the artist) when Neil "exploded onto the scene" (see that's one of those journalistic phrases I'm trying to avoid) in the late eighties. And since then he's had more artistic "home runs" (another one), and more varied ones, than any other writer I can think off right now.
Oooh, he's got a new book out! "The Graveyard Book". And it's already on audiobook, even better!
One of the great things about Neil is that he can be totally politically incorrect (like write a "childrens' book" about a serial killer), and yet he is so relaxed and disarming that he's never attacked about it, that I have heard.
Below is a brief clip I found, Neil saying why he supports the Comic Book Legal Defence Fund (which helps defend comic book artists or dealers attacked on their freedom of speech.
I couldn't agree more, freedom of speech is one of the most essential rights, perhaps even the most essential right. All human progress is carried forward by communication. (And I've just donated $500 to CBLDF.)
Neil is amazing. I still kick myself for missing the first several issues of Sandman (since I didn't like the artist) when Neil "exploded onto the scene" (see that's one of those journalistic phrases I'm trying to avoid) in the late eighties. And since then he's had more artistic "home runs" (another one), and more varied ones, than any other writer I can think off right now.
Oooh, he's got a new book out! "The Graveyard Book". And it's already on audiobook, even better!
One of the great things about Neil is that he can be totally politically incorrect (like write a "childrens' book" about a serial killer), and yet he is so relaxed and disarming that he's never attacked about it, that I have heard.
Below is a brief clip I found, Neil saying why he supports the Comic Book Legal Defence Fund (which helps defend comic book artists or dealers attacked on their freedom of speech.
I couldn't agree more, freedom of speech is one of the most essential rights, perhaps even the most essential right. All human progress is carried forward by communication. (And I've just donated $500 to CBLDF.)
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