Toffler's books Future Shock and The Third Wave are two of my favorite sociology books. I really have to re-read them again soon. I became introduced to Future Shock after reading the late John Brunner's spectacular novel Shockwave Rider. Pay no attention to the crass knock-off of Shockwave Rider (the TV show Pretender).
Alvin Toffler and the Third Wave
"In the annals of contemporary change literature, Alvin Toffler is the 600-pound gorilla. He and his wife and collaborator Heidi Toffler have written a baker's dozen of books that have all been best-sellers, starting way, way back in 1970 with Future Shock. The family tree of thousands of books about the future, and about how to cope with it, all lead to the leafy canopy where he makes his roost."
Friday, February 20, 2004
How To Network With Blogger
How To Network With Blogger
"In 1973 a guy named Mark Granovetter wrote an article called The Strength of Weak Ties. The thing was lousy with brilliance and included the idea that you're more likely to get a job through a friend of a friend than a close friend. I think he even had pie charts backing him up. Very scientific, but it's not the seventies any more.
"Now it's the future and we have lots of social networking web sites that show us our weak ties. So many in fact that people are getting overwhelmed. Folks, you don't need a hired hand to manage your social networking duties. If you're a Blogger user, then you're already signed up to the ultimate networking tool--one that plugs you into a world blind to height, weight, and eye color; where your thoughts, opinions, and ideas represent who you are.
"I invite you to join me in an only slightly different dimension. A dimension in which Blogger exists as 'Push Button Networking for the People.' In this version of reality, Blogger does not change, just our perception of it. Let's tour some crazy features to see how blogging doubles as social networking of a different color."
"In 1973 a guy named Mark Granovetter wrote an article called The Strength of Weak Ties. The thing was lousy with brilliance and included the idea that you're more likely to get a job through a friend of a friend than a close friend. I think he even had pie charts backing him up. Very scientific, but it's not the seventies any more.
"Now it's the future and we have lots of social networking web sites that show us our weak ties. So many in fact that people are getting overwhelmed. Folks, you don't need a hired hand to manage your social networking duties. If you're a Blogger user, then you're already signed up to the ultimate networking tool--one that plugs you into a world blind to height, weight, and eye color; where your thoughts, opinions, and ideas represent who you are.
"I invite you to join me in an only slightly different dimension. A dimension in which Blogger exists as 'Push Button Networking for the People.' In this version of reality, Blogger does not change, just our perception of it. Let's tour some crazy features to see how blogging doubles as social networking of a different color."
Paranoia XP
The Computer is Your Friend. The Computer Announces the return of Paranoia.
Paranoia XP
"This blog is for the use of the people working on Paranoia XP, the next version of the Paranoia tabletop roleplaying game. The people you'll see posting here are Greg Costikyan and Eric Goldberg (two of the original designers); Allen Varney and Aaron Allston (who are primarily responsible for writing the new version); and Alex Fennel and Matthew Sprange, who run Mongoose Publishing, which will publish the game. Greg is maintaining the site. We'll also invite Daniel Gelber (the third of the original designers) and Ken Rolston (who worked on the second edition) to chime in.
"In other words, all of these folks will have IDs and passwords allowing them to post; however, everyone and anyone is invited to comment."
Paranoia XP
"This blog is for the use of the people working on Paranoia XP, the next version of the Paranoia tabletop roleplaying game. The people you'll see posting here are Greg Costikyan and Eric Goldberg (two of the original designers); Allen Varney and Aaron Allston (who are primarily responsible for writing the new version); and Alex Fennel and Matthew Sprange, who run Mongoose Publishing, which will publish the game. Greg is maintaining the site. We'll also invite Daniel Gelber (the third of the original designers) and Ken Rolston (who worked on the second edition) to chime in.
"In other words, all of these folks will have IDs and passwords allowing them to post; however, everyone and anyone is invited to comment."
Thursday, February 19, 2004
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
hsHome Page
Home Page
"The pictures and information contained hereon can be very unsettling for some peoples realities. Our observation's show that over 7 out of 10 people when viewing certain pictures that relate directly to their belief systems have a tendency to shut down the reasoning part of the brain and show signs of nervous tension. We believe that this directly relates to reality programming that has been instilled in our race since its conception. 'By whom', is the ultimate question that needs an answer. Please proceed with caution."
"The pictures and information contained hereon can be very unsettling for some peoples realities. Our observation's show that over 7 out of 10 people when viewing certain pictures that relate directly to their belief systems have a tendency to shut down the reasoning part of the brain and show signs of nervous tension. We believe that this directly relates to reality programming that has been instilled in our race since its conception. 'By whom', is the ultimate question that needs an answer. Please proceed with caution."
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Words Fail
Censor Scooby Doo?
"The Bush administration has decided that people with bad hearing have bad judgment, too, and need special guidance from the federal government.
So the U.S. Department of Education is declaring about 200 television programs inappropriate for closed-captioning and denying federal grant requests to make them accessible to the hearing-impaired.
"The department made its decisions based on the recommendations of a five-member panel. Who the five members are, only the government seems to know, and it isn't saying. But the shows they censored suggest a perspective that is Talibanesque.
"The government is refusing to caption Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, apparently fearing that the deaf would fall prey to witchcraft if they viewed the classic sitcoms.
"Your government also believes that Law & Order is too intense for the hard-of-hearing. So is Power Rangers. You can rest easy knowing that your federal tax dollars aren't being spent to promote Sanford and Son, Judge Wapner's Animal Court and The Loretta Young Show within the deaf community. Kids with hearing problems can forget about watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, classic cartoons or Nickelodeon features. Even Roy Rogers and Robin Hood are out.
"Sports programming took a heavy hit, too. The government has decided that people with hearing problems don't need to watch NASCAR, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League or Professional Golf Association tournaments."
"The Bush administration has decided that people with bad hearing have bad judgment, too, and need special guidance from the federal government.
So the U.S. Department of Education is declaring about 200 television programs inappropriate for closed-captioning and denying federal grant requests to make them accessible to the hearing-impaired.
"The department made its decisions based on the recommendations of a five-member panel. Who the five members are, only the government seems to know, and it isn't saying. But the shows they censored suggest a perspective that is Talibanesque.
"The government is refusing to caption Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, apparently fearing that the deaf would fall prey to witchcraft if they viewed the classic sitcoms.
"Your government also believes that Law & Order is too intense for the hard-of-hearing. So is Power Rangers. You can rest easy knowing that your federal tax dollars aren't being spent to promote Sanford and Son, Judge Wapner's Animal Court and The Loretta Young Show within the deaf community. Kids with hearing problems can forget about watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, classic cartoons or Nickelodeon features. Even Roy Rogers and Robin Hood are out.
"Sports programming took a heavy hit, too. The government has decided that people with hearing problems don't need to watch NASCAR, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League or Professional Golf Association tournaments."
AskOxford: Tolkien and the OED
AskOxford: Tolkien and the OED
"In a much-publicized media and phone-based poll conducted by the BBC over the last few weeks and culminating in a grand finale on Saturday 13 December, J. R. R. Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Rings was voted Britain's favourite novel, beating Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, which was also on the final short list.
"Most readers of The Lord of the Rings know that J. R. R. Tolkien was a Professor of English Language and Literature, but few know that before he became a professor, Tolkien spent some time working on the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary. The Dictionary evidently enriched Tolkien's mind; he later said that he ‘learned more in those two years than in any other equal period of my life’."
"In a much-publicized media and phone-based poll conducted by the BBC over the last few weeks and culminating in a grand finale on Saturday 13 December, J. R. R. Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Rings was voted Britain's favourite novel, beating Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, which was also on the final short list.
"Most readers of The Lord of the Rings know that J. R. R. Tolkien was a Professor of English Language and Literature, but few know that before he became a professor, Tolkien spent some time working on the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary. The Dictionary evidently enriched Tolkien's mind; he later said that he ‘learned more in those two years than in any other equal period of my life’."
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Julius Schwartz, RIP
The passing of a man who's like will never again be seen in the worlds of comics. It would be easier to list the things that he didn't do than what he did do. Along with Stan Lee, Julius Schwartz was responsible for what we now know as the "silver age" of comics. He will be missed. Click here for the AP wire service obituary.
Julius Schwartz Tribute at DC Comics
Julius Schwartz, one of the best-loved and most influential members of both the comics and science fiction communities, died Sunday morning, February 8, in Winthrop Hospital in New York from complications from pneumonia. Schwartz was 88 years old.
Schwartz, who was popularly called "a living legend" and served as DC's Editor Emeritus, will be remembered as one of the founders of science fiction fandom, as a comic-book editor whose vision spanned five decades with DC Comics, and as the architect of comics' Silver Age, revitalizing the careers of such super-heroes as Batman, Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern and The Justice League of America.
"DC has lost a living legend this weekend and a true original," says Paul Levitz, DC's President & Publisher. "Julie was an editor who entertained and educated millions over three generations, performed the near-impossible feat of getting great work out of his contributors without ever ruffling their feelings, and taught many of us our craft. If the measure of an editor is the respect of his peers, he was immeasurable — for his peers who loved and respected him were often legends in their own right. Most of us were simply left in awe."
Check out further tributes at Mark Evanier's site.
And here is the one from Neil Gaiman's site.
Another rememberance at Mike Grell's site.
Julius Schwartz Tribute at DC Comics
Julius Schwartz, one of the best-loved and most influential members of both the comics and science fiction communities, died Sunday morning, February 8, in Winthrop Hospital in New York from complications from pneumonia. Schwartz was 88 years old.
Schwartz, who was popularly called "a living legend" and served as DC's Editor Emeritus, will be remembered as one of the founders of science fiction fandom, as a comic-book editor whose vision spanned five decades with DC Comics, and as the architect of comics' Silver Age, revitalizing the careers of such super-heroes as Batman, Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern and The Justice League of America.
"DC has lost a living legend this weekend and a true original," says Paul Levitz, DC's President & Publisher. "Julie was an editor who entertained and educated millions over three generations, performed the near-impossible feat of getting great work out of his contributors without ever ruffling their feelings, and taught many of us our craft. If the measure of an editor is the respect of his peers, he was immeasurable — for his peers who loved and respected him were often legends in their own right. Most of us were simply left in awe."
Check out further tributes at Mark Evanier's site.
And here is the one from Neil Gaiman's site.
Another rememberance at Mike Grell's site.
Deposit or Withdrawal?
Make sure you click the link for the photos too...
Deposit or Withdrawal?
"A Friesian cow took a detour from a wedding where she was meant to be a guest of honour, wandering into a German bank where she was caught on security cameras sidling up to the tellers. Top German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Friday published four robber-style photos of the cow, named Paula, strolling into the Sparkasse savings bank in Wunstorf, a small rural town in northern Germany. REUTERS/Handout/Sparkasse Hannover "
Deposit or Withdrawal?
"A Friesian cow took a detour from a wedding where she was meant to be a guest of honour, wandering into a German bank where she was caught on security cameras sidling up to the tellers. Top German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Friday published four robber-style photos of the cow, named Paula, strolling into the Sparkasse savings bank in Wunstorf, a small rural town in northern Germany. REUTERS/Handout/Sparkasse Hannover "
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