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« Emissions Controls | Main | My Stacks »

June 25, 2007

 Elsewhere

Michael Blowhard writes:

Dear Blowhards --

* Marc Andreessen praises "Infernal Affairs" and lists a lot of reasons not to do a start-up.

* Ed Gorman recalls his days as the publisher of a sci-fi fanzine. Ed blogs here.

* Jewish Atheist whirls insightfully through a whole bunch of movies he's watched recently.

* It's great to see that Mary Scriver's book about her late ex, the Western sculptor Robert Scriver, is now in the catalogue. It'll go on sale in October.

* Half Sigma muses about sexbots.

* Mac buffs: Organize your life with iGettingThingsDone. It looks 'way too complex for me. I'm a happy Yojimbo guy myself -- Yojimbo is iPhoto for your brain, basically. But many people who like a lot of structure -- and who are willing to spend more time than I am mastering a piece of software -- rave about iGTD. Plus it's free.

* So perhaps we'd be healthier if our doctors went on strike?

* Clio does some subtle and canny thinking about artists, money, and making a living.

* Graham Lester (now blogging at a new address) collects some classic Spike Milligan silliness.

* Rachel Lucas and her dog Sunny are charged by a pit bull. In the comments on this posting, visitors offer Rachel advice about how to defend herself against dog attacks. (Link thanks to Tatyana.)

* MB Rewind: I wrote an introduction to the conundrum that was the Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl back when she turned 100 years old.

Best,

Michael

posted by Michael at June 25, 2007




Comments

RE: Sexbots
Unlike some of Half Sigma's commenters, I don't see this as ending the species. People will still want love, relationships etc. But eventually it could end demand for prostitutes. Completely. Safer, cleaner etc. How would the world look without the world's oldest profession?

Posted by: Thursday on June 25, 2007 7:11 AM

RE: Doctors on strike: an interesting article with one HUGE mistake: "Prayer, for example, has been proven to work." No, prayer has been proven to NOT work and in some cases to be more detrimental to a patient's health (although that last bit is most likely psychological.)

I'm sure a little bit of what he has to say is true, but it worries me that people will rely more on "faith" to solve their problems rather than getting competent care. Get second and/or third opinions, learn more about what they're proposing and get a good idea of the risks. Everybody's quick to blame the doctor, but how often do people bother to get second opinions? Learn how to take better care of yourself. In a nutshell...education will get a lot farther than faith every time.

Posted by: Upstate Guy on June 25, 2007 10:19 AM

I wanna second the A rating for Once. Remember, Michael, when you asked me the other day if anything good was playing in the theaters? This is the real deal.

Posted by: Bryan on June 25, 2007 11:24 AM

Will a sexbot ever be feasible? I'm not a tech guy but it seems to me that the near infinite variety of fine movements plus reactions to pressures that would have to be built into such a robot are clearly impossible at present and may never be possible to engineer... he mused lasciviously.

Posted by: ricpic on June 25, 2007 11:51 AM

(1) Rachel Lucas is very funny and, um, outspoken. You should read her post on the pit bull attack.

(2) Some people who have commented here have claimed never to run into crazy, scary dogs. I live in Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley department, and I take a lot of walks. Believe me, there are a lot of dangerous, out-of-control dogs out there. About 9 months ago I ran into a dog who just wouldn't let me pass down a hilly road in the dark that I had to travel as there was no other way home. I picked up a couple of big rocks, although fortunately the owner came out and intervened before I had to use them--I'm not big on chucking rocks at a dog if I don't absolutely have to. But since that time I've taken to walking with a six-foot long staff, so I've got something to fend large hostile dogs off with. I suppose mace or a taser (or even a lead-weighted baseball bat) might be more compact, although so far I've been too lazy to go out and buy one.

But it is astonishing the number of home owners or renters who own good-sized, very territorial dogs and just let them roam free or who can't be bothered to keep them locked up. I'd love for those ignorant jerks to get a taste of their own medicine. I wonder what they think they're up to, letting 100 pounds of Fido roam the streets looking for trouble.

Posted by: Friedrich von Blowhard on June 25, 2007 3:53 PM

Thanks for the link and the compliment. I'm honored. :-)

Posted by: JewishAtheist on June 25, 2007 9:31 PM

Upstate, how many medical plans will pay for that second opinion let alone the first?

Posted by: T.W on June 26, 2007 2:45 PM

She gets dirty looks when her dog squats to pee? That's sexism!

Posted by: expat on July 1, 2007 10:42 PM


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