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Whitman
“We’re all capable of terrible acts, and we’re all capable of greatness. It’s a question of which angels we’re listening to, I suppose.” On August 1, 1966, CHARLES WHITMAN climbed to the top of the University of Texas Tower and started firing—and the rest, literally, is history. Here’s what happened on that fateful day, in the words of more than three dozen people who got shot, fired back, lost loved ones, saved lives by risking their own, and otherwise witnessed the nation’s first mass murder in a public place. Go read the whole article: 96 minutes (via mefi)
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On Jellies and Fireweed
This is depressing as all hell, but is also a must-read: A Primeval Tide of Toxins We are human; of course we all know how this is going to turn out, and yet, we continue in our set ways because there is no miracle cure.
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Boots on the Ground
This account of the Battle of Panjawai written in an e-mail by a Canadian Light Armored Vehicle commander is a must-read: LINK It’s hard to remember all the wars going on right now. Afghanistan is one most of us agreed on before going in. (via mofi)
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Mad Cow Pool
Rebuilding beef trade with Japan could take years Anybody want to bet how long it is before they find more infected beef and halt importation from the US again? My money’s on three months or less, and this is due one simple factor: Quality control on the US side simply isn’t up to the task of screening every piece of meat – this is an economical impossibility – but the Japanese side will be testing with a vengeance. If meat from an infected cow slips through the US side, it most probably will be found on the Japan side.
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Green Benefits
One of the benefits of working next to an R&D laboratory at an electronics manufacturer is that the guys are always playing around with cold lasers and soldering irons and other manly tools of self-destruction. The lab is also the coolest place in the building as the stupid Cool Biz rules don’t apply in there – the huge industrial coolers keep it nice and icy. We all make it a point to walk through there several times a day. The mad scientists next door are currently developing next-gen hydroponics systems for some project or another. They are testing these systems next to our office windows and on the roof with…
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Crystal Cove
Just some quick news from back home: Crystal Cove State Park has reopened! Crystal Cove is one of my favorite places back home. It’s been a long decade plus away, and one of the things I miss most about OC is the endless coastline (Curiously, in that decade, our area became quite famous because of a stupid TV program. People never used to know where Orange County was and now they’re all like, “oh you’re from the OC? I watch that all the time!” I. Cannot. Relate.) Here’s a recent LA Times writeup: LINK (need a login?)
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Miami Vice Theme Song
Speaking of movies, apparently Michael Mann decided he wanted “nothing to do with the TV series” and hence did not use Jan Hammer’s original masterpiece in the new Miami Vice movie. Apparently there’s no Phil Collins or Glen Frey either.Nothing to do with the original series, eh? That means no Daytona, no Testarossa, not even a Bren Ten! Hmm… I think it’s safe to say, the new movie won’t even come close to touching the Perfect Scene:
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The Fast and the Very, Very Okotta: Hick Drifter in Tokyo
Even though my masochistic hobby of watching horribly shitty movies is fairly wide known, I am still fairly ashamed to say that I sat through the entirety of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift this past weekend. It is was basically the antichrist of cinema and has since burned a hole through both my eyes and the hard drive it was stored on. I will not rip apart the movie point-by-point, because it’s a waste of time. The only things worth mentioning are that: Somebody didn’t do their homework on drifting… (surprise!) I’ll go so far as to say somebody didn’t even bother to watch Initial D. Worst representation…
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Pug Bowling
The intro drags on a bit, but they get a +2 for laying the Gipsy Kings over pug footage:
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Red October
Could it be said that these photos of an underground Russian submarine base are the pinnacle of glasnost? Or am I just being nekulturny? And now that I’ve expended my full knowledge of the Russian language, please move on to the awesome photos on that page.
