a preliminary list

Okay so my contingency plan is to travel around the world.

That means picking where to go. So far, I know this:

• Tickets originating anywhere outside of the US are much cheaper - originating in London looks like it might be cheapest
• I probably need to be on Oneworld ... both because I'll have some status through 2010 and they fly through Easter Island
• Flying west looks like it might be easier, but that doesn't work starting in London - should I actually be concerned about this, business consultant me?

OK! Let's start with a route. These are the must-dos:

• Easter Island (see above)
• Capetown
• New Zealand
• Ayers Rock / Uluru, Australia
• Rarotonga / Cook Islands
• Cairo
• Rio de Janeiro
  
• Petra (Amman, Jordan)

Second priority (you can only do so much in 6 months ..)

• Delhi! (again)
• Berlin (again)
• Varanasi
• Nairobi (best July-Oct)
• Serengeti (best June-early July; avoid March-May)
• Galapagos (best Jan-March)
• Berenty, Madagascar (best May-June, Sept-Nov)
• Morocco
• Sao Paulo
• Buenos Aires (Tierra del Fuego)
• Quito
• Zagreb, Croatia
• Dublin
• Istanbul
• Reykjavik
• Riga, Latvia
• Mongolia
• Angkor Wat (Siem Reap, Cambodia)
• Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
• Hong Kong

Third tier

• Dubai
• Helsinki
• Barcelona
• Madrid
• Munich
• Vienna
• Zurich
• Rome
• Athens
• Provence
• Moscow
• St. Petersburg
• Tahiti
• Tokyo
• Shanghai
• Beijing

concentrated holy water

Evidently flying a chartered flight back from the Vatican does not entitle you to carrying more than 100ml of liquid. Even the Vatican travel agent did not try to argue with TSA officials as several Madonna-shaped bottles of holy water were abandoned at security.

Having just decided to drive around the country to avoid connections, delays, and detainment, I'm starting to get a little tired of the security charade which does little to actually change the probability of an accident.

chinese pollution - growing faster than its economy

Based on a recent article in the New York Times, As China Roars, China is setting new records not only in economic expansion but also in pollution levels. By the end of this year, China will be producing more annual pollution than the United States (holder of the title for, well, forever).

So the article is worth a glance, though the NYT take is a bit tree-huggery. My real question is about sustainable development - what would it look like compared to the current paradigm? What is a sustainable growth rate, given today's endowment of natural resources and available green technology? It's preposterous to develop policy that precludes growth ... what we really need are policy recommendations that encourage sustainable growth and restrict consumption of natural resources through progressive taxation, not quotas. I'm a firm believer in minimizing deadweight loss - I'd love to take a survey on the "value of trees" to the global population and just tax at that rate. It would be so pretty.

when you need a full-size keyboard on a moment's notice..

Engadget brings us news of the lovely keyboard quiver - a pack you can carry on your back, so you'll always be prepared with your keyboard.

I'm so getting one... I hate laptop keyboards.

wal-mart and drm free music ...

Looks like Wal-Mart has joined the movement and is now offering DRM-free music online. For $.94 per track.

Eat that, Apple.

Wal-Mart has debuted with DRM-free tracks from both EMI and Universal. Likely, this is part of Universal's trial program set to run through January 2008.

I have to say I completely support DRM-free. DRM is a terrible way to try to enforce copyright, completely violating any concept of fair use.

a movie you should not see

Sunshine (2007), directed by Danny Boyle of 28 Days Later and Trainspotting fame, is probably the worst movie I have ever seen. No, it is the worst movie I have ever seen. Stop reading now, the rest is spoilers because there is no other way to explain the horror.

First, the plot basis. The sun is about to die, so Earth (all of Earth I suppose ... no commentary on what country, whose initiative, anything like that - essentially, zero context) is sending a giant bomb "the size of Manhattan island" to "restart the sun." There was a previous, seemingly identical mission 7 years ago that failed. This is discussed extensively.

No surprise, immediately after communication with the Earth is interrupted by solar waves (a week early, mind you), they hear the distress signal from the Icarus I original voyage. Since they are only carrying a single payload, they decide to go and get the original payload as well by adjusting their slingshot around Mercury.

Up until this point, it's hokey, but fine. Whatever. I can take it. Someone manually calculates the new trajectory, forgets to adjust the shields. Fine. Idiot, but fine. It's about time something moved the plot along anyway, or this would just be "Apollo 14: to the Sun!" There's an elegant oxygen garden fire, some argument, the forgetful guy goes suicidal. Fine. They link up with Icarus I. Oddly, everything is covered in an inch of literal dust. Ok, a vacuum sealed spaceship is full of dust now and they find the whole ship to be in operational order. This is about where my bent belief systems snap from the strain. Then they find a mass suicide in the main room. Uh, that's just weird, guys. Next, somehow the airlock in between the two ships blows apart and four astronauts have to make a dramatic, suitless space flight back to their ship. Naturally, someone has to stay behind to open the door. Less weird.

Foreshadowing dialogue: "There's no way the airlock broke - someone must have detached the ships manually!" (The dialogue is almost as great as the plot, really). Everyone looks around, pointing fingers and assessing alibis. No one trusts anyone, though luckily there are now few enough people to survive on the available oxygen (see fire, above). Then, while the physicist astronaut asks the ubiquitous ship computer questions, realization comes smashing through. A short take of the amazing, dramatic dialog punctuated by computer pauses:

Icarus (computer) to Capa (astronaut): "Capa, you are in a critical state. There is only enough oxygen left for .. 12 .. hours."
Capa: "Icarus, there is enough O2 left for 19 hours. We calculated this."
I: "No. The crew of .. 5 .. will only survive .. 12 .. hours."
C: "Icarus, there are only 4 crew alive."
I: "No. There are .. 5 .. crew."
C: "Icarus, who are the 5 people in the crew?"
I: "Capa, Cassie, Corazon, Searle, and unknown."

Now, yes, you guessed it. The airlock was indeed detached manually by an INTERSTELLAR PSYCHOKILLER. Yes, I did just say that. After convincing everyone on Icarus I to commit mass-suicide, the INTERSTELLAR PYSCHOKILLER stayed alive in the inch-thick dust, shed all of his skin and decided it was his mission to be the last man alive so that he could speak with G-d. Oh yes, he's not just an INTERSTELLAR PSYCHOKILLER, he is a RELIGIOUS ZEALOT INTERSTELLAR PSYCHOKILLER.

The rest of the plot really is elementary - once you've unleashed RZIT, you just watch people run around and get brutally murdered ... this time, in space.

Somehow, they manage to deliver the payload despite the RZIT and the final scene is a bright sun rising over a wintered Earth, two children making a snowman. Lovely, really.

there are few things that justify a comparison to the middle east

And a theatre ensemble is decidedly not one of them.

I'm not sure why he felt the need to compare a simple process discussion to daily terrorism and a longstanding war. I have decided not to respond to his treatise simply because I do not think I hold enough organizational weight to call him to the carpet on his gross misinterpretation. Moreover, his doomsday threats failed in the one thing he asked for - new ideas. Beyond his grave tone and dire comparisons, he asked only for the things that have already been discussed and dismissed. Asking people to forgive (again) is pointless... what we all need is somewhere to go and something to do, two things he utterly failed to address.

I do believe our group will be around in 20 months. Monday's meeting was tense at times and downright comical at others, but overall the attitude was positive. Some key players chose not to speak on Monday - I believe that was a mistake. They perpetuate the back-room dealing that must be abolished immediately.

The group needs a new style of participatory decision-making appropriate to its size, budget, and current staffing (especially considering the unfilled Artistic Director post). My vision for this is a consensus-based ensemble responsible for artistic decisions, an input-driven staff for business decisions, and a board helping to unite the two with ultimate oversight but little day-to-day interaction.

modern comment on ancient symbol

According to The Sun, PAGANs have threatened to perform rain magic to wash away today's modern chalk symbol which has taken residence next to a traditional symbol thought to represent fertility.



My real question is who put Homer there? Is it an ad for the new movie (as the Sun suggests) or did a neighboring farmer just have a stroke of genius? How do you draw the line between censorship and disrespect? It's similar to the discussion of political correctness - something which I think is often overrated.

unwritten law

Saw Unwritten Law at the House of Blues last night. Not a very good show. Scott was either completely strung out, or completely strung out when he wrote the music. Frankly, I'm not sure which.

In either case - he needs to return to his previous state. He's incapable of performing as it stands.

Alternatively, he could look for a new job. I don't think he'll be able to support himself touring. He didn't sell out HoB, even with several local openers. His set lasted about an hour, but only because he talked through half of it. A good quarter of the time spent singing was far out of key.

I wouldn't recommend an Unwritten Law show to anyone at this point.

I'm also down on Metro right now - I went to their box office yesterday during the middle of the day when it is clearly supposed to be open. Instead, I found a sign "Back in 10!" ... needless to say, 20 minutes later no one was around to sell me tickets. I understand the alternative movement and their aversion to commercialism, but then you should just let people come in for free. You can't have a job selling tickets and then not sell them. It doesn't work that way - either you eschew commercialism and you give them away, or you get paid for doing your job and sell me tickets. I will give their box office one more chance, but if I can't buy tickets the second time I just won't go to Metro. I'm not that excited for their middling, commercial-yet-no-dancing shows.

"wait, there wasn't bleach in that, was there?"

What you don't want to hear at a hair salon ...

big love

I don't really watch TV. It's not a big thing for me. My parents have always watched multiple shows (it's on all day) but I've always been far more interested in other things.

I'll leave out the part about trashy television, which I have often turned to when I don't have enough things to do and it's too hot to ride.

In any case, HBO's relatively new series "Big Love" is fantastic. Though I'm not a subscription watcher, I've seen every episode and actually remember to go look for new ones during the season. That's a serious endorsement, coming from me.

This is the second season, and I feel as though the show is only getting better as the characters mature. Following Lost's long-arc format, the show follows a polygamist family living in the modern world. Not only does it challenge basic tenets of American life, it also brings an interesting perspective on traditionalism, consumerism, and what it means to be a family.

I'm not a professional review writer so there's not much else I can do for you except encourage you to watch. It's a good story.

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

A report in the Telegraph suggests that short-term memory erasure is actually possible, and moreover, proven. See Article.

Now that's some scary stuff folks - RFID short-term memory erasure dust. Not only will we know you've been there... you won't know it happened.

Now what rights stand up in a court of law?

ratatouille

This past weekend I went with some friends from work to see Ratatouille, the new Pixar animated film. I really liked it! It was really cute, quite humorous, and generally well-put together. I think what makes Pixar films so successful (Toy Story, Monster's Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, etc.) is their phenomenal grasp of the story and the element of surprise, not necessarily the animation.

The relationship between Pixar and The Walt Disney Company is especially interesting - the creative synergies supposedly come from Pixar's computer animation and WDC's long tradition of showmanship, but I disagree. Recent Disney films have utterly failed in showmanship, some even lack reasonable semblences of story-telling.

For example, who actually went to see Home on the Range (2004)? Brother Bear (2003)? What about Treasure Planet (2002)? Even Lilo & Stitch was basically a failure in comparison to more recent blockbusters like The Lion King, Aladin, or The Little Mermaid and I haven't even touched on the original masterpieces like Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, or Lady & the Tramp. Those are movies that US children experience as timeless classics.

The Walt Disney Company has not brought story-telling to Pixar; Pixar has reinvented story-telling, brought to you by The Walt Disney Company. But good story-telling is not an asset - you can't buy it, you can't trade it, and you can't force it. WDC acquired Pixar for its people and now must decide how best to integrate their own traditional animators (with a whole host of politics, grandfathering, and routine) with Pixar's celebrated experimental approach.

And there's the question - how do you integrate people? Cultures? Ideas? What does purchased innovation add to the creative process for an existing machine? Can you use an acquisition to get people excited without feeling threatened? I can make the balance sheet work, I can negotiate synergized shipping terms with global distributors, but how can I integrate the people making a fundamentally artistic product on which the entire business depends?

manic sewing circle

I was out on the town last Friday with a few friends and we decided to drop by the Deal's Gone Bad show at Subterranean. While there, I was really surprised by the final opener, Manic Sewing Circle.

Not only did these guys play their instruments well and bang out some good ska, most of them were sporting black Xs ... not because they are straightedge, but because they are under 21. In fact, two of them are under 17. They started as 13 and 14 year olds, rocking out in a basement and have only recently obtained their own cars.

I think this is great. Most of today's classic ska bands are also yesterday's classic ska bands and often, the day before yesterday's classic ska bands hailing from the early 90s. Most ska bands have been playing for more than 20 years.

I'm certainly not criticizing experience and I definitely love Mustard Plug, Deal's Gone Bad, etc. as much as the next guy, but I think it's great that some kids have gotten together and made some really good music. They are really excited, really energetic, and brought out kids to the show who wouldn't have come otherwise. I talked to a few of them afterwards, bought a CD, and told them I thought it was awesome. They're going to be touring with Warped this summer, so they have dates all over the country playing on small stages before they head back to high school.

Nicely done.

iphone hype

PC World has a good run-down of the "in this world" problems with yesterday's hot release.

Notably, short battery life does not play nicely with huge screen accidental touch or proprietary battery construction. Remember, this is your phone. If it dies, you could be SOL since you can't replace the battery and every time it's in your pocket that great big, bright screen is going to light up. I want to see how the accidental touch works, folks.

comment spam

So I'm not exactly sure, but I think my blog has been spammed by someone in Portuguese.

This is an interesting tactic. Why would a bot spam in Portuguese? My guess is that a really high percentage of blogs are written in English (second Chinese, Japanese, various Indian dialects). Portuguese is probably pretty low on the list.

The NYT has a piece on the Technorati Survey that says the common language alternates between Japanese and English. I really want a table that counts the number of blogs and websites by language though - I feel like someone has already crawled for this. My hunch is that Portuguese is incredibly low, what with only two speaking countries and all.

If anyone were to write bot spam, or especially troll spam, why wouldn't you translate it to a common language? The link is the key content - why carry bot ads for a website done in Portuguese? Chances are that just changing the language to English would drastically increase readership. Whether you agree with it or not, English is the language of business.

Naturally, if you are the one Rodrigo that I know in Brasil, please do not be offended and I will look at your site about t-shirts. You would think this is funny.

apartments

So my roommate and I have to move for next year. Our building offered us an extension, but then changed their mind as we are in the only two-bedroom in the building. I don't think we have any rights since we hadn't actually signed the extended lease yet.

In any case, I am now researching apartment options in Chicago and I'm somewhat disappointed by the general lack of organization. Sure, there's tons of apartment ad sites, but none lets me specify location with enough granularity. I know pretty much exactly what streets I am willing to live on - there should be a map on which I can draw a specific search range or at least specify block numbers.

Any ideas on how to implement this easily? They say real estate is about location, location, location.

chicago punk

Bomb the Music Industry put on a great show at Humility Gallery (564 W. 18th Street) last night. Chotto Ghetto opened with a great ska-esque set and I'm about to get their EP.

Humility Gallery is a great space for this kind of show - there's a reasonable amount of room in the basement for both standing and performance. About 80 kids came out last night, and it was a really good time.

Yay scene-building.

bbc wins 'title of year'

In a hands-down, no-one-else-even-comes-close win for the "News Article Title of the Year," BBC presents FBI Tries to Fight Zombie Hordes.

interpersonal relationships...

... completely depend on what you put into them.

Moreover, sometimes it's in your best interest to make sure you put specific things into them - he who holds the information and the pen holds the power.

In other news, you can buy a jet-powered go-kart on eBay.