December 23, 2002

Old Home Videos

A few weeks ago, my sister's husband came across a video tape containing some old home movies. This proved to be very interesting viewing for all of us. My sister wanted to start filming her kids since she's neglected doing so for a few years. They don't have a camera, so I dug around my parents' house and finally found our old Sony Handycam (11 years old, but it still works fine). While rummaging through the box trying to find a battery that would hold a charge (it's been years since we used the camera), I came across a bunch of old tapes. I popped them in the camera and ended up sitting in front of the TV for several hours. It was a strange and entertaining glimpse into the past; from family parties to the odd creative ventures we filmed when we got bored (oh, the masterpieces we could have created with today's digital tools). It's strange watching yourself, your family and friends grow and age through the years. Revisiting old houses. Seeing and hearing the deceased, from grandparents to pets to the next-door neighbor kid who died in a car accident a couple of years back. Brief glimpses into the past... classic, funny, freakish, clever. It was a peculiar and enlightening trip back in time.

We change, grow, and deepen over time (each of us to varying degrees depending upon life experiences, I've come to realize recently), but within each of us is a certain immutable essence visible in childhood (and sometimes adolescence and beyond). Old videos provide a glimpse of your inner self, your inner child.

I was also reminded of my relatively happy, charmed childhood. It wasn't perfect (no one's is), and I have my issues with the past. But many aspects of my childhood were ideal. For those aspects I will be forever appreciative to my parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, teachers and relatives. I don't have children of my own, but I understand what my sister's getting at when she says one of her most solemn responsibilities is to ensure that her children make the happiest of memories.

23 Dec 12:00 | Link | Category: Opinion & Thoughts, Video

December 21, 2002

Androgynous centerfolds

According to a study by Martin Voracek at the University of Vienna and Maryanne Fisher at York University in Canada, centerfold models have become more androgynous over the past 50 years, challenging the idea that the type of female figure that men find most attractive remains the same over time. Voracek and Fisher found that over time, the bust and hip size of the models decreased, while waist size increased. Although weight remained fairly stable, height increased.

It's an interesting study that raises questions about (among other things) the role culture and media might play in the popular perception of what makes a woman sexually attractive to a man. (I can, however, see many holes in their methods. For example, a study of one publication, shaped by editors, photographers, etc., seems extremely limited - how much could that really tell us? I think it might actually tell us relatively little.)

But mostly, my inner adolescent couldn't help snickering at the line, "The pair scrutinised 577 consecutive monthly issues of Playboy, from the first ever edition in December 1953 to December 2001." I picture researchers with stacks of Playboys on their desks and in their cars, endlessly having to explain that "it's part of my research!"

21 Dec 0:28 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment, Human/Primate Evolution & Behavior, Science

December 16, 2002

A few more links...

A few more links...
The photos Kissinger doesn't want you to see
Bigfoot is dead.

16 Dec 2:05 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits

December 15, 2002

John Poindexter. Again.

A while back (November 17, to be exact) I ranted about John Poindexter being appointed to head DARPA's Information Awareness Office. I had a good chuckle today when I read that a number of people have made him the target of personal data profiling as a way to protest the Total Information Awareness project.

15 Dec 23:26 | Link | Category: Current Events

NASA: Reality vs. Fantasy

It has been exactly thirty years since humans last walked on the moon. A sad anniversary, considering the fact that we haven't done anything terribly spectacular since. Wired has an interesting chart documenting NASA's reality vs. NASA's Fantasy (based on planning documents).

15 Dec 23:20 | Link | Category: Science

December 5, 2002

Hubcap creatures

Discarded hubcaps become artistic creations. Check it out at Hubcap Creatures.

05 Dec 18:38 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment

December 2, 2002

Mountain monograms

Those of you from the West / Southwest may be familiar with the peculiar practice of placing enormous letters on the sides of mountains. The rest of you can learn all about it at Mountain Monograms (where readers explore the burning question: WHY do they do it?).

02 Dec 15:00 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment

Move over, Spice Girls!

For a little humorous despair, wander over to livemusicstudio.com. You can even submit demos, but be sure to follow the "song characteristics tips" (such as "The title is up front, the first line of the chorus. It is repeated for memorability"). You never know... YOU could be the next 'big thing,' like the group that makes you want to say "Move over, Spice Girls!" - behold ganguro, the "trendy girls of Tokyo" who...... oh hell, they just don't look entirely human, do they? Which is the point, I guess. Bad music is probably far more palatable when you don't have to focus on the music and can instead focus on teenage girls who look like tripped-out sexbots from a really bad sci-fi flick.

02 Dec 14:49 | Link | Category: Music

Misc. Tidbits

Here are a few web tidbits I dredged up over the weekend...

  • Salman Rushdie wrote a very interesting Op-Ed for the Times.
  • A new outbreak of poaching is threatening mountain gorillas. It's a no-win scenario, really. It seems to me that the two possible paths are 1) extinction by poaching and habitat loss or 2) protection of habitat by essentially turning the jungles of central Africa into zoo-resorts for clueless Western tourists (like myself, admittedly). Both paths are distasteful, but at least the second doesn't involve a certainty of extinction. (Either way, I wouldn't be surprised to see the extinction of mountain gorillas - and most other great ape species - within my lifetime.) It's a shame that most people don't understand how closely related we are to these species - and how much we can learn about ourselves by studing living specimens.
  • Disney claims that The Lion King was an 'original' story, which I always assumed to be true (parallels to Hamlet notwithstanding). But I ran across this site which indicates quite the opposite. It makes perfect sense, because that is the Disney story. Mickey Mouse first starred in "Steamboat Willie," a parody of Buster Keaton's "Steamboat Bill." Most of the famous Disney films are fairy tales, most often taken from the Brothers Grimm. Their latest feature is a rework of Treasure Island. Using such public-domain material is fine. What's outrageous is the fact that Disney and other corporations are using politicians and lawyers to rework copyright law and assure that no one can do to Disney what Disney did to the Brothers Grimm and Robert Louis Stevenson. Lawrence Lessig (who recently argued before the Supreme Court against the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act) discusses the topic often. I agree with his statement that "ours is less and less a free society." Read this transcript from one of his keynotes.

02 Dec 13:35 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits