subtitles

December 27, 2005

Shocked, Shocked

This is from maybe a week ago or more, but it's Colin Powell talking about detained prisoners and Casablanca - a rather nice analogy.

Posted by subtitles at 6:25 AM

May 27, 2005

Cancer in Rats

On the way to collect my visa, the cab's radio was turned to some Chinese radio station with the woman constantly repeating "aspartame" so as to make me think I should go have a look at what the news has been saying about it. Long story short, I'm trusting Wikipedia not to be full of crap, unlike most news outlets. Aspartame is safe. As you'd think, there are more nut-jobs out there than you'd wish to know about, spreading all kinds of FUD about it. But Louis, when he can't get Hansens, will take diet vanilla coke any day. But apparently the reason for the resurgence of idiots is the switching of Coke and Pepsi to Splenda.

Posted by subtitles at 8:56 AM

May 10, 2005

Lest We Forget.

The Inq. The original article. The act of aggregation twice. Like a very slow noose. Oh, and the subjective ambivalence of what is "not true", and the rabid frenzy that is journalists. Hardtalk.

Posted by subtitles at 9:40 AM | TrackBack

May 9, 2005

The Lovely Thrust Monica Moore - Economist Totty

For some reason the Economist decided that they're not going to post the photo they used along with this article in the their print edition. I'm sure there are any multitudes of reasons, though perhaps not least the critical response towards the economist of the hosting costs of pictures of hot women.

But being who he is, the august writer who inhabits the role of scriptor for this site (how over-worked it that?) had discovered the whom of which the Economist had been representing, and have found her bio on the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders website. The photo in the Economist is rather a bit more striking.

It's interesting that you watch a documentary about Debbie Does Dallas, which features the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders - or perhaps just their uniforms - at the same time this article gets noticed. Really a rather fetching as well as striking picture, as I've mentioned - and which you are welcome to peruse, should you come over. Or visit your news-stand before friday and look at the US section.

Apparently she's a rookie, so not as featured as some of the others, and unfortunate (or not) she shares her name with someone who uses that name as a pseudonym - for an industry in which such things are de rigeur, for particular reasons. I really do wish I could find more of Margo.

Posted by subtitles at 11:06 PM | TrackBack

May 8, 2005

Mothers' Day Special

So long as he loved his mum. Charming stuff, and free to ether. The things you never think you'll never find a use for, and phrases that stick in your head.

Posted by subtitles at 1:16 PM | TrackBack

May 5, 2005

The Punting of the Lark

Aside from the fact that I hadn't heard about Wee Kim Wee, let's see what the Economist has for us this time round, in terms of being snarky about their little scratching post. Funny bunch the Economist are (bottom of page):

All for art

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew might be an octogenarian, but his close ties to China's government mean his views on the country remain widely sought. As tensions between Japan and China flared in April, Mr Lee said that China needed to channel its rising power into “cultural revitalisation” rather than “military muscle”. Mr Lee, no slouch in fostering restrictions of all sorts at home, even urged China to relax its tough social strictures in order to “encourage freedom of artistic expression and the free exchange of ideas.” Rumours that China's leader, Hu Jintao, is taking up watercolour painting have yet to be confirmed.

Gambling who gives a fuck.

Posted by subtitles at 3:33 PM | TrackBack

I'm Just Saying, It's Not Wrong That This Should Make Me Smile And Be Happy

Well it's wrong in the sense that I have a rather inappropriatedly sized organ of veneration, but other than that, it's good news for everybody that there's been a breakthrough towards Doha getting back on track.

Peter Mandelson isn't made to look as sleazy as he was portrayed in the The Deal. And I suppose you'd really need a congressman from Ohio for this kind of thing - though I might be mistaken, and it's more (post?)industrial than agricultural? But really aren't all US states pretty agricultural, especially the ones in the middle?

Posted by subtitles at 12:32 PM | TrackBack

April 22, 2005

Flat Tax and The Myth of Cheap Chinese Labour

Flat tax is best left to them to tell you about - again it's one of their Greatest Hits. Leader, Article and Insert.

The myth of cheap labour is something I reference with more glee - I'm not exactly sure why, but it gives me a great sense of well being when bubbles get burst - who would've thought I read the Economist eh? I think it's especially pleasing in that it puts into perspective so much protectionist twaddle about giant sucking sounds, to some extent at least. That and the unnatural exuberance that is the jerky swaying. Article here.

I think because these are Greatest Hits pieces, they're all free to ether.

Posted by subtitles at 12:37 PM | TrackBack

Ouch

I wouldn't wonder why I found this incredibly relevant to me, but I sort of winced while laughing at it. The rather evocative title of the Inq article is "Jilted teen's naked pix plot backfires", have a look at it here.

Posted by subtitles at 10:44 AM | TrackBack

Teaching the Greens to Love the Green

I'm not sure what or how much to write about the article, but I view it as the Economist doing what it does best, and writing energetic and aspirational prose while doing it. If only as a pragmatic means to achieve at least achievable ends, this is what is most sensible and sustainable. Activists should embrace it, and the Republicans would do well to use it to outflank the opposition, as some of them already have - or the Democrats should wake up.

And so, Rescuing Environmentalism. The longer article is here. Only the Leader is free to ether.

Posted by subtitles at 10:08 AM | TrackBack

April 12, 2005

List of things to call dibs on before Louis fucks off

Semester starts in August, might be leaving as soon as June or July, so stuff to be acquired by then - cheap or free depending on who you are and what you want.

29 inch TV.

Philips 5.1 Home Theatre in a box audio system/DVD Player (able to change regions) - plus manual, remote, 2 IKEA speaker stands. 2 other stands come with the system normally, so total of 4 stands.

IKEA work-table (adjustable legs for height), chair.

Lamps: 1 Alien Spaceship from IKEA, with CFL bulb, 1 stand-up 3 bulb paper shaded from IKEA.

120 GB IDE hard drive (I think it's a Western Digital 8mb cache Caviar), maybe a 160 GB SATA drive if you make a good offer and I have time to back up. Lite-On Combo Drive. Also make me an offer on a 2.6 gig 800FSB HT chip.

Linksys 4 port router, more ethernet cable than I know what to do with, Cable Modem x2 (one was for my digital phone service).

Shoe Rack x2
2 Metal dustbins, Brita water filter container
Pillows and linens? Cordless Phone. CD-Rack, Power strips, coiled extension cord.
Manky carpet - with rug pat.

Maybe my Bass Amp, if it can't take US power supply.

I'm sure a bunch of bits and bobs that I can't think of right now. I'm unlikely to part with my LCD monitors, even the shitty 15" CMV one - any scenario that pays me for it what the market would allow would still require me to put out more money to buy another one.

Posted by subtitles at 1:41 AM | TrackBack

March 31, 2005

The Familial Expression of Civil Disobedience

I'm sure, or I would have thought, that people would have notices the irony of something. That Bulimia is about control, often a reaction, probably from early on, to family, and their desire for control, for dominion - such that I've ever written about it as the familial expression of civil disobedience. And the irony therein.

Posted by subtitles at 5:51 PM | TrackBack

If you saw some silly fucker in Burger King pissing himself

If you saw some silly fucker in Burger King pissing himself, that was because after playing Britney's 'Do Something', the silly woman on the radio couldn't help but unconsciously follow the inflection of the song when saying the title. So yes, pissing himself.

Posted by subtitles at 1:21 PM | TrackBack

March 29, 2005

It's the Static, not the Waves

I keep thinking I need to remember to even just mention it, so that people on the way to Coventry can step the fuck off. The leader (subscription) and the article (not).

Posted by subtitles at 7:34 PM | TrackBack

March 23, 2005

Hands Wringing

I refer you to this.

Posted by subtitles at 1:38 PM | TrackBack

March 21, 2005

Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine Released Now Online - Get It Here

There will be no proselytizing here, it'd be just too silly to say too much, go find a news service worth a damn and read it. Get it here - live torrent link - ed2k link - another ed2k link. None of these are verified yet, I'll correct the post as necessary.

I'm ashamed by the fact that apparently it leaked since the beginning of the month, so I'm just another johnny-come-lately, but whatever. The torrent file is intact, but the sound quality isn't spectacular, I'm wondering if the donkey links are better. I'm now wondering how I missed this on isohunt. Ok, the second ed2k link completed, and the sound quality is *much* better - it's all in 192kbs.

After getting all of them, you'll realise that the second ed2k link is the best - the torrent is awful, the first link is of variable quality, the second has them all at 192. The "bonus" track with the first ed2k is just the alt mix of Better Version of Me - not worth it, though get both, since, well, it's free.

Posted by subtitles at 3:10 PM | TrackBack

March 14, 2005

China, Taiwan, All Your Base Are Belong To Us - and The Arbiter of All Meaning

Just because I keep seeing things talking much alarmist about what's happening with China's anti-secession law to stop Taiwan from declaring independence - I point you to the arbiter of all meaning. It's a law enacted mostly to appease the nationalists - meant to leave the administration with plenty of wiggle room with regards to what actually warrants what and what actually counts for what. Move along, nothing to see here.

Posted by subtitles at 12:27 PM | TrackBack

March 13, 2005

Titties and Beer

I can't seem to keep the break of Innocent Man by Billy Joel out of my head - 'I am, and innocent man, oh yes I am, an innocent man'.

I really like the recent episode of the Eric Rice Show - honestly, if I might be so bold: yes, no doubt your advertisers like short packaged shows that are about something etc. but the show is at it's best when it's flabby and you're just hanging out, messing about. It's not about whether or not you're pimping something - though I'm sure the act of pimping affects things regardless - it's just the feeling of people being themselves and goofing off around stuff. There's an accompanying video, which you can find here. They look like it tastes like ass.

So yes, they can be entertaining as they once were, but not a post will go by about them that I don't mention the absence of Esto-Jen, who is now knocked up Rice's fuckbuddy-child, locked in a basement, doing nothing but getting baked.

Anyone who can recommend me a podcasting tool that doesn't suck (iPodder was just pointless) will have erected for them bonkers scaffolding. But honestly, just having the feed on Klipfolio seems to do me pretty well - it's only a minute or so away once the headline shows up. I don't listen to them on the move because I don't move, so it's all on my spacious sound system - and if I do move, that's what the Economist is for.

Fire. And please, if you want to watch the series, just go here and get it, since it's aired on Sky in the UK already. Though the HRHD rips might be nice.

Posted by subtitles at 4:45 AM | TrackBack

March 9, 2005

Amy Acker and David Mamet

Promising casting, despite Scott Foley, for a new pilot developed by David Mamet. The show's called The Unit, it'll be about a special forces unit - I hope Amy's not just one of the family members. Apparently Mamet's writing the pilot, which should be good. He's working with some guy from the Shield, which I've never really watched, but never found terribly impressive.

I watched the episodes Mamet directed, and the ones with Rebecca Pidgen; again, it's difficult to transcend the series - hopefully it's better when he's the one starting it all off. It wasn't till recently that I found out that he had written for TV earlier, for Hill Street Blues (well, one episode) - though he did start out in theatre like I thought, but was confused about for a bit. His IMDB page is more informative in that respect. Rebecca Pidgen's quite comely. His films are really rather good, so here's hoping. I've always thought Amy Acker flitted about particularly well, so promise all round.

Posted by subtitles at 11:09 PM | TrackBack

I Am Not A Blog

Breaking news everyone, apparently, I, subtitles, am not a blog. Well yes I do refer to myself as a bog, or the act of me as boggling, but now I've heard it from a higher power. The almighty BlogExplosion. This is what I sent back to them, what they sent me is below:

Below is the mail you sent me telling me my blog is "not a blog". Well, it uses Movable Type, and the top post is the latest, so I don't see what you're going on about. If the top few posts were there mocking your service, well, that's not unearned now is it? Kindly look at my not-blog again and get your editors to stop smoking crack on the job.

This was what I recieved from you:

Your site was denied for not being a blog. We only allow blogs or
blog related services to be added to blogexplosion.

Site reviewed:
subtitles
http://newblog.fallingbeam.org/blog/

Sincerly,
BlogExplosion Team

This is the link to my trouble ticket. So what? Even when they cut and paste their responses they can't type properly? Sincerely is spelt with and 'e' (well, more than one). I get the feeling they were right, and BlogClicker *is* better.

Posted by subtitles at 8:33 AM | TrackBack

Mariah's New Video - It's Like That

It's nice to have a Mariah single out - not exactly like Christmas, but it's fun. The video isn't bad - she looks good in it, though my only complaint is that excessively straightened hair isn't exactly the way I'd go. Very flattering shots of her though. This is what i got, there's another version I saw, but the quality's not quite as nice.

Mariah_Carey_-_It's_Like_That SVCD (tulare).mpg

If you want, I also saw a bunch of Making The Video bits floating about, so that might be fun for you, I'm just not that in to the process as I would have been. It's in SVCD, so if you're like me and your WMP keeps locking up - I advise you to play it in powerDVD or whatever DVD software you have. I also wonder where they're releasing all this - and where the torrents are - it's likely that video releasing has stuck to using ed2k, since with smaller files the wait isn't that much longer than with a torrent, especially when people are swarming.

Yeah, and also wanted to get rid of that god-awful banner at the top of the page.

Posted by subtitles at 5:37 AM | TrackBack

March 8, 2005

The Economist - Medicaid Budget Reform, Medicare

In many ways I treat American Politics the way other people might treat Sports.

So it's only right that I provide a primer of sorts for some of the issues - and I say provide, rather than write, since that's what the Economist is good for. I mean, honestly, I didn't even know the difference between Medicare and Medicaid till I read the article. It's pretty short, and is just an incidental piece on the likely upcoming battle over the the Medicaid Budget - but it serves well as an informative piece on the principal political and economic issues.

I sometimes wonder if I should refer to myself as subtitles - as in 'when subtitles was young', or some such - much as the Economist does; particularly their columnists. Now if you learn anything from watching the West Wing, it is that referring to yourself by something other than your proper name is a distancing gesture - put simply, you'd sometimes be better off thinking of yourself as the office or the function or the magazine or the column, rather than the person.

The Economist does not tell substantive stories about individuals - they leave that to the hacks at the BBC and those other rather disreputable organisations. There is an obsession with the particular that can move to the point of being inaccurate. People who are more willing to tell you stories of people they've met than to, at least part of the time, tell you about statistics of change, can and should be subject to the phrase caveat emptor - buyer beware, be careful of what they are selling. The individual at many times can be subject to so many tugs and pulls and can with such finality be swayed by something other than what is right - which is why at times being a person is just less than helpful. If you can help more people than you could before, that has to be a good thing, especially if you otherwise do no harm to anything except people's predjudices.

Perhaps it's not the best idea to blog policy - but again, that's what the Economist is for. I'm reminded of the image of the ship in Golding, and the mast, dipping sometimes into darkness. As Mr. Clements said.

Which my way of delaying you reading the article till I post the link at the end - Narratives, Stories, The Particular, are things that can affect us to an undue extent (take it from someone who watches as much television as I do), and I'm not one to romanticise the aggregate, the mean, the statistical and mathematical - it can only truthfully be thought of as dismal. But the will to move contrary to instinct and at least some of the time to be rational and detached, is, and you would think, has always been, a force for material progress, for general wellbeing, the inching towards less bad.

It takes great mettle to write communicative prose about subjects that are otherwise dismal, arcane and inflammatory. I'm not saying this is the acme of that, I'm just feeling the need to tell you why this won't be the last time I link to articles like this.

Posted by subtitles at 6:21 AM | TrackBack

March 7, 2005

Save Estro-jen

Ok, so maybe the EricRice show doesn't suck so bad. I think it helped that he wasn't being podcast crazy. Did I just miss these the last time? This one was the one before the latest one. Really, I'm not really that in to some of the things he talks about, like cars right now, but he's got a pretty good radio voice. Yeah, now getting the past episodes, and I'm getting pretty into it, so here's me biting it. I'd want to write more, but I'll save it for later. Still wish Estro-jen was back.

Posted by subtitles at 5:31 AM | TrackBack

March 6, 2005

The Party of Abortion - But Not Every Day

Most likely the Democrats decided that they had to see what their opponents did well, compromise, and try at least some of it. Think Ten Words/Game On. Hence Anti-Abortion Democrats getting more play.

That's one of the softenings that Dean's been bringing up again and again when he was stumping for DNC chair, and now you know why. I think it was a good-ish move - your core base is just going to have to trust you that you're not going to sell them out (and you won't) but it gives you a national profile of compromising on the issue - though really only allowing a few to go off the leash if their conscience wants them to.

I think it's an effective way of stopping the Democrats from being seen as the party of abortion. And me, I'm a sucker for Howard, so when he says that he respects Pro-Life Democrats, and that there are ways to bring them into the party, I believe. He talks about them being people of conviction, which I think he believes.

And he's got a good line to sell it, that these are people who want to look after the children after they're born as well as before. He wants the message to be more on the Democrats terms - talking about health care, social programs etc. Makes me wonder if a big Medicare overhaul push is going to be part of the mid-term blitz - if only to counter the Social Security thing they're fighting against.

All this reminds me of what I said when I first saw the ad for the birth control patch. 'Yeah, I've really got to quit that bad habit - babies'.

Posted by subtitles at 10:45 PM | TrackBack

Ricecast

There's a new Eric Rice show, actually the first I've heard, and instinctively it's probably not as good as BuffyRadio, but just remember that he's much better on the air than he is writing. Evangelising shouldn't be just so much about blagging. podcastpodcastpodcast. I'm still holding out till he manages to get Estro-jen back on, but so far 'it doesn't suck'. High praise huh? It's just that the slickness of the show (and the set pieces) betrays a desire to approach a kind of professionalism that is a bit distancing if you're looking for sincerity.

Part of me thinks that his site/content is too much weighed down by the industry and commericial side of things and cuts out the 'him' in all of it, which is what I was lauding in some other places. Too much pimping. And it's not even about the commercialism (I'm me after all), it's just that the almost unseemly enthusiasm makes people look at you funny. Much like Scoble going on about RSS feeds - I know he doesn't mean it, but it makes him sound like a crank.

Spatula phone is fun though. And the flickr splicing thing on his feed was what really got me to stop subscribing - annoying as fuck. When you get a new headline you expect there to be content, not piccy-snaps. That's what convinces me that advertising on the feed proper is desperately unwise - the feedburner amazon links at the bottom thing is okay, but it only works in IE, and as I said before, boo-yah be-atch.

Just so we're clear about this - I'm Nobody.

Posted by subtitles at 9:56 PM | TrackBack

March 5, 2005

Mariah's New Album - Inlay Picture - Mugsy

Found this on Mariah Daily.

Oh, and mugsy's back on Alias, for all of one shot. Wonder if she'll be back.

Posted by subtitles at 5:21 AM | TrackBack

Grey's Anatomy - Katherine Heigl

The lovely Katherine Heigl is gonna be in this new series that's coming out soon, supposedly premiering on ABC on March 27. Read more about it on TVTome, the ABC site, and Katherine Heigl Online - where you can find all things Katherine Heigl. The image below is provided courtesy of them, you can find more in their gallery for Grey's press kit.

If you notice, the tags they wear all say SGH, but, well, probably for Seattle General Hospital. Mmmm... Katherine Heigl... in a labcoat... Is anyone else wondering why her name in this series is so similar to the one in Roswell? From Isabel Evans to Isobel Stevens. Inventive.

Posted by subtitles at 4:16 AM | TrackBack

March 4, 2005

Pimpy McPimp

Economist seems to really know how to pick their cover pictures. Personally they seem to be able to be particularly wry and particularly evocative. Not to mention their writing manages to discuss things that good prose sometimes finds difficult to discuss. I think the shirt says "Betty Boop".

As a headline though, I must say this one was particularly good, as I mentioned previously.

If I'm not wrong, most (perhaps all) off the stories they post on their RSS feed should be free to ether.

Posted by subtitles at 6:25 PM | TrackBack

March 3, 2005

MSN Messenger - Charlie Sheen getting Divorced - Post Roundup

New Beta of MSN Messenger, build no. 7.0.632, you can find it at the usual locations. It's another leaked beta, and mastaline's patch apparently still works with this one.

For those who missed it, I've got a rather informative ICQ patch posting on how to get rid of the ads in the new ICQ/ICQLite. Also I've noticed people are actually downloading/trying out the proxo/opera/economist stuff I've been uploading - unless that's just the search bots.

Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards getting divorced - looks like no more cameos. I must have forgotten that Sheen was in Ferris Bueller as the punky guy in the police station who hooks up with the sister.

Posted by subtitles at 11:31 PM

Got Krista Allen?

Something must have stuck in watching Unscripted - and by the way, what I said about Peep Show applies to that as well, only less funny - that I'm now rooting for Krista Allen having gotten, well, another pilot. It's not like Unscripted wasn't going to launch careers yes/no?

What's more interesting is that she was in 2.5 Men, as Olivia during an episodes with one of my favorite titles. Did You Check With the Captain of the Flying Monkeys? Hopefully 2.5 Men can keep from sucking for what's left for a season and never let the first half of this season ever happen again.

Posted by subtitles at 9:21 PM | TrackBack

No One Expects the Fantastic Four

Is it just me, or do the Fantastic Four trailers look pretty damn shite? The Human Torch bit was okay, but please, the Michael Chiklis (Thing) being funny? That was just wrong. Even Reed Richards looked pretty off - and while I had thought that Jessica Alba would be okay in it, it's starting to not look so good. For the record, The Hulk is still be best film of the genre to date - this looks incredibly potboiler.

Broken inside.

Posted by subtitles at 7:49 AM | TrackBack

Higher Love - Economist Special Report on Higher Education

This rather warmed my heart when I read it, so I thought I'd point you to it. If you subscribe, you can read it here. Or else you can get this nicely produced pdf. And yes, printing to pdf from Firefox is still the prettiest, even more so than using the Adobe IE toolbar.

It's on Higher Education, and it appeals to the lash not-in me. But nonetheless incredibly sensible, and should make the mortified chew hard.

Posted by subtitles at 3:57 AM | TrackBack

March 1, 2005

Anna Paquin in Steamboy

I've never watched Akira, but apparently this is by the same guy who did that. Steamboy has Anna playing the main character from what I can see. Apparently all Japanese boys are necessarily effeminate sounding. As always, this is where I get all my Anna updates. I'm just wondering if I'll end up being bothered, and really whether it'd just be too weird. Alfred Molina and Patrick Stewart are in it too.

Posted by subtitles at 4:15 AM | TrackBack

February 26, 2005

The Gates, get it?

Well, even if the Other Plaice thinks he's boring, at least he knows what's funny when he sees it. There's a boggler who got his photoshop on and decided to coin himself a headline: Bill Gates changing name to 'The Gates'. Scoble's post is here.

Posted by subtitles at 4:51 AM | TrackBack

February 25, 2005

Michelle Branch is married!! And having a baby!!

Michelle Branch is married!! And having a baby!! With her bass player who's twice her age!! She apparently got married last May??!?

Ah well.

There'll be more news here eventually. Apparently it all emanates from People Magazine.

She'd been trying out her new duo/band thing, the Wreckers, recently - hence the appearance on One Tree Hill.

Posted by subtitles at 9:47 PM | TrackBack

February 23, 2005

In praise of MBA's?

It's time for another bunch of the Economist's bread and butter holy grail articles - digging deep into their world view, their ideological convictions if you will, much like they did with their issue on CSR (subscription required).

This time it's actually a rather fitting companion piece to the CSR stuff, with a rebuttal of the idea that MBAs are *killing America* - or some such. These are free to ether. There's their leader, then the longer article.

I've also decided to be whatever it is that I am, and use this to inaugurate my "News" category - that's not the most descriptive way of putting it, but it's as good as it gets, probably.

Posted by subtitles at 11:47 AM | TrackBack