Archive for June, 2006
Right of Admittance Reserved
Thursday, June 22nd, 2006
Two thoughts I’ve had while visiting five museums over the past three days.
What are museums afraid of losing by allowing visitors to take photographs or video?
I understand not allowing flash photography in order to protect light sensitive materials, but I can turn off my flash. Curators seem afraid of information disseminating beyond their walls into a culture, which may very well fulfill the reason for museums’ existence. Exhibits should be compelling enough to warrant a physical presence. If they do, then the museum loses absolutely nothing by allowing visitors to enjoy the age of mechanical reproduction.
I always find the best art in museums is in the gift shop.
Curators always put the crap they can’t sell in the galleries.
Wanderlust
Monday, June 19th, 2006
Quick thoughts, as internet access is neither cheap nor free:
- My first trip to Europe lasted five hours during my layover in Amsterdam.
- I spent more time in an airplane and in airports to get to South Africa than I did working last week.
- KLM is far superior to its US counterpart (Northwest Airlines) because of its excellent food, flirty flight attendants, and wine with dinner.
- South Africa’s winter is much like Boston’s spring and I’m cold.
- I’ve dropped every Dioxicycline pill on the floor by accident before taking it each day and I may pick up something worse than the malaria it’s supposed to guard against as a result.
- Words cannot describe how excited I am to be on this trip.
Go to Grey Matters Media’s blog for official coverage.
Boston Calling Johannesburg
Saturday, June 17th, 2006I’m in Newark Intl (the worst designed airport ever for connecting flights) on my way to South Africa for two weeks.
Arthur & I are researching our next Grey Matters Media documentary with Robbie.
Not that I blog regularly anyway, but I may or may not have regular internet access to update.
Edit: Blame the Grammar Nazi
The PC Weenies
Wednesday, June 14th, 2006The PC Weenies: Something for Ryan
Quote
Wednesday, June 14th, 2006She looks like a Barbie. Ugly girls can’t afford to be mean. Sorry, it’s true.
— Steph referring to Ann Coulter
Link: Gay Bomb
Wednesday, June 14th, 2006BBC News: US military pondered love not war The US military investigated building a “gay bomb”, which would make enemy soldiers “sexually irresistible” to each other
Political Quiz
Sunday, June 11th, 2006I took the (flawed?) How Liberal Or Conservative Are You? quiz that Bryan took and here are my results:
Overall: 55% Conservative, 45% Liberal
Social Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal
Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal
Fiscal Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal
Ethics: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal
Defense and Crime: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal
No doubt my political views have significantly changed over the past five years, but I would argue that the definitions of conservative and liberal have significantly changed. No party exists that believes in smaller federal government, lessening foreign entanglements, a balanced budget, responsible business growth (ecologically sustainable and not in a foreign country), personal social freedoms, overhauling public education, and overhauling intellectual property laws. I’m hoping for something good from Unity08.
Internet Crossroads (*very* important!)
Friday, June 9th, 2006Today seemed like a giant April Fool’s Joke played on the American people by the federal government.
- The US House of Representatives voted down an amendment to protect net neutrality. (More…)
- An appeals court ruled that the FCC has the power to order broadband internet companies to make their networks wiretap friendly for law enforcement. (More…)
- The NSA is funding research into the mass harvesting of the information that people post about themselves on social networks. (More…)
If you haven’t already, now might be a good time to send a donation to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. They’re fighting the battles that protect the liberating balance of the internet.
Surprises Wrapped in Cellophane
Tuesday, June 6th, 2006A few Sundays ago, Arthur and I were watching CBS Sunday Morning. I quite enjoyed my first viewing of the show. One of the stories featured Carole King. Apparently she wrote every song that I associate with an era and I had never before heard of her.
Arthur always has a surprise for me when I travel away from the apartment and leave him behind. He expects the same of me, which works to his favor since he travels solo more often than me, but this is not relevant. I purchased Carole King’s The Living Room Tour
On a tangent, Arthur doesn’t like secrets and can’t hide a surprise himself. He demands that I give him hints about his surprises. My favorite hint this round: She likes to be wrapped in cellophane. (For those who don’t get it, CDs come wrapped in cellophane for some reason that I cannot explain. This is the first CD that I have not purchased from the iTunes Music Store in over a year. DRM has really annoyed me lately, but wasteful uses of plastic don’t make me happy either. Balancing the moral issues of the environment and intellectual property rights can be difficult.)
