Hodgepodge

There's no cohesive theme or anything to this post. I just felt like doing a little link roundup and queue dump to clear the ol' pipes out a little bit. Seemed like a productive day of surfing the Web yesterday. Heh..."productive." :)

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I know I said I was going to lay off the Philly news for a while, but I just wanted to quickly touch on this article. In a nutshell, it's about how Kensington (one of Philly's worse neighborhoods) was getting a lot of attention back when we were hunting a serial killer, but now that he's caught, it's kind of back to business as usual, which is apparently bad times. (The article's title: "In Kensington, residents united by fear." So, you know. At least they're not being sensationalistic about it or anything.)

The article talks about an effort by police a few years back to clean the place up called Operation Sunrise. Here's a quote: "The sound back then of police helicopters thrumming overhead and the sight of fresh boards on windows of long-abandoned buildings provided a glimmer of hope to many of Kensington's law-abiding residents, who hoped that one day, maybe, they would get their neighborhood back." Dude...how fucking bad is your neighborhood when police helicopters and boarded-up abandoned buildings are the good times?!

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In slightly more...international...news, here's a quick video clip from the BBC about an interesting new drug-smuggling device used to get marijuana across the border from Mexico into the U.S.: a catapult. See, sometimes the old ways are the best! And you thought stoner engineering was limited to bong construction.

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This OiNY somehow made me feel good inside. I think it's because it's not people being stupid or mean.

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You ever seen those pictures where a news station or something has a funny misapplied caption or crawl to go with an image? Well, here's another one.

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So...I can kinda understand the impulse to not involve the authorities in your problems. I mean, that's a choice, right? You try to handle things on your own. I can even understand trying to solve some of these problems with guns. I don't endorse or approve, but I understand. But...all your problems? House fire? Chest pains?! Meet the new spokesman for the NRA. [UPDATE: Sorry, kids, I got Tiny House'd again. This story is a satire. Pretty good, though, huh. :) ]

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So...I'm not real big on Lady Gaga. It's not totally her fault; I mean, you try being a poker dealer at the height of "Poker Face" being a hit single, and I don't care how big a fan you are, it'll wear on you. It may not seem like much, but when a song actually makes a run at dethroning Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" as the most oft-repeated song at a poker table, that's really saying something. ANYway, overall, I can take her or leave her. I mean, fine, if you want to wear a meat dress or an outfit made of Muppets...or whatever the hell this thing is...I basically understand what kind of attention-getter you are, so my instinct is to not pay attention.

Even so, I was still mildly surprised to hear that in developing the first in her new line of designer fragrances, Madonna-come-lately there is apparently angling for something that smells of blood and semen. What are you going to call that one, Prom Night?

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And, lastly, I will say only this: Apocalypse Moby.

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Peace out, everybody. Have a good weekend!

Put it in your ear

So I was taking some time this weekend, as I do, to do some catching up on some podcasts. Which, by the way, is how I keep up with my NPR shows these days. In that vein, I'd like to take this opportunity to plug this latest episode of Radiolab. First off, in general, Radiolab is fun times because I feel like they really take a keen, modern approach to using audio as a medium. Which, I guess, is kind of the whole point. I mean...it's called "Radiolab," you know? Anyway...so that's fun. But beyond that, it's basically just...you know...one of those NPR shows.

This specific podcast episode, though, I found particularly interesting. It's titled "Lost & Found," which is just kind of a loose idea tying together three separate segments, but the show had a lot of cool stuff!

The first segment had to do with how people process spatial awareness and orientation. Very neat stuff...very much in support of the idea that we have very specialized brain functions and that something can go wrong with part of our brains and not (necessarily) affect the other parts. This is something I run into over and over in my very occasional forays into neurostuffs, and it's always fascinating.

Second, in actually a pretty closely-related segue, they examine some non-human ideas about orientation, specifically in a way that I think tribblewing in particular may find enjoyable. Then, also, they explore a different way of people being oriented which may at first seem non-human, but really it's just a major cultural difference. Unless, for some reason, you spent any particular amount of time in Eskridge, Kansas. As I have.

The third part is scientifically unrelated to the first two, but it's heartwarming and is about the triumph of the human spirit and all that, so...you know. Do with that as you like. :)

Anyway, yeah...that's my podcast recommendation for the moment: the "Lost & Found" episode of Radiolab. Enjoy!

Live-action Axe Cop

So I know some of you are fans of Axe Cop. Just in case the news has slipped by unnoticed, some fans have been putting together a live-action movie based on the comic, basically a Watchmen-style panel-by-panel recreation. The thing was unveiled at the anniversary party in L.A., but it, as all things must, is headed online. Part 1 is currently up and can be checked out here. Enjoy!