Here's your Face on a Fist

While not a science video, this is a good slow motion video of people doing normal things and being struck in the face.

The West, The East, and The Oil

The nation of Georgia recently tried to assert control over autonomous "breaking-away" regions it considered internal, but were opposed by the military intervention of Russia, which they called "peace-keeping." Then they dug in. (Globe)

In the midst of this conflict, Russia dropped some nasty comments about developments in the wider region, namely a missile defence base in Poland. (CBC)

Then started taking (verbal) swings at NATO. (Globe) Why is Russia turning back into the global bogeyman... blame Bush. (Tyee) And why not? Everybody else does. (And by "everybody" I mean Putin.) (Globe) Except Georgia, of course... they're miffed at the Russians and close their Consulate. (Globe)

When the inevitable dissection begins, I'm sure we'll find out it's the same old same old: people fight over resources. (Globe) Best way to get resources is to take them over, hence Russia threatens to annex Georgia. (Globe)

But afterwards, Russia's allies decide they aren't completely behind Russia's aggressive behaviour. So the Russians come out and tell the folks they went to war over (to protect their autonomous identity within the nasty nation of Georgia) that they figure they'll eventually absorb their region into Russia. (CBC) Uh... WTF?!

So why all this?

Oil. Pipelines. Resources. It's called the "New Great Game." (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) Local politico Gordon Price weighs in on the oil issue. (Price Tags) And a strong quote dug up by Price Tags.

Don't anybody just remember this: All You Need is Love!

"The Googling" series, by the Vacationeers

The Straight comes out swinging

Federal Election: What Canadians really want and Federal Election: What Canadians really need by Mike Cowie in the Georgia Straight.

Daily Shizu (neither a daily nor a shizu)

And so it goes. My mind, I mean, it seems, of course. The ongoing collection of the shifting curiosities of my life continues.

I never go to this, but here's the schedule for CITR's battle of the bands: Shindig.

Vancity Buzz (one of my favourite Vancouver blogs) did a great write-up on Zulu Records as part of their small business reviews. (Zulu Records website is here.)

The Georgia Straight has a good article about several issues surrounding biking in Vancouver.

Cirque "too busy" to produce anything for the 2010 Olympics. Or is it after they saw the spectacle put on this year for 2008 they didn't want to put themselves out on the global stage and suck...? Best "chicken" sound written: bwock-bwock-bwock...

Arthur Griffiths, former owner of the Canucks, enters provincial politics by planning to run for MLA as the Liberal Candidate of Vancouver Burrard. This riding is currently held by Lorne Mayencourt (NDP) who won the riding in the last election by 14 votes. (Tyee Hook)

Molson celebrated the 50th anniversary of their Burrard Street brewery. It actually opened in 1953 as a Sick's Capilano Brewery, but Molson acquired it in the fall of 1958. (Van Sun)

Erick Villagomez of re:place Magazine has a fascinating article about Vancouver's east-west streets. Be sure to open up the map graphic. (re:place Magazine)

Small towns in the interior of B.C. are turning to art as commerce. (Tyee)

A city in Israel is using DNA analysis of dog droppings to find and fine citizens that do not pick up after their animals. (Van Sun)

Let's get political for a moment. What's the Matter with Canada by Christopher Flavelle for Slate Magazine. What Makes People Vote Republican by Jonathan Haidt for Edge. I extrapolate this to the wider social realm: The 8 Most Obnoxious Internet Commenters by Toby Francis for Cracked. Explore your morals. Then explore The Undecided, which will assist you in trying to find your political leaning.

Homelessness, poverty, and affordable housing tops the concerns list for Vancouver citizens. Transportation issues tops the concerns list for Vancouver businesses. (Van Sun)

And I have to mention: nobody saw this coming? Dana Larson briefly becomes the Federal New Democrat candidate in the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast, and then resigns over his position on substance use. (CBC) The Straight calls it prohibition.

Finally, a cool Kottle-find about where crayons come from.

A taste of Politics

If you do one thing today, read and do this. Chuck Ansbacher of Only Magazine delivers an eloquent argument in favour of checking your voter status and registering to vote, with links to both Civic and Federal electoral agencies.

The Tyee gives advice for how to exercise free speech during elections and avoid being fined. (That's right: you can be fined for offering your opinion in public.)

Beyond Robson's Sean Orr has thrown his support behind Carr in Vancouver-Centre.

Michael Byers has been nominated by the NDP to take on Hedy Fry in the upcoming federal election. Andrew Dewberry, the "treehouse dad" in Kerrisdale, is running for city hall. The NPA has a range of candidates, and the final slate was just announced.

A round-up of election blogs from The Tyee.
A round-up of election blogs from The Sun.

The UBC Election Stock Market is open for business. And just as the Kitsilano condo market is down through August.

Daily Shizu (neither a daily, nor a shizu)

The director of education at the Royal Society says that creationism should be taught in school alongside evolution and the big bang. Professor Michael Reiss says it's been his experience that in giving the impression students' beliefs are wrong they are unlikely to learn much about the science that one really wants them to learn. He suggests including creationism in the discussion of theories of the universe presented as a cultural world view. I still say it's turtles all the way down.

The American Museum of the Moving Image has put together a web site called The Living Room Candidate, which is a repository of US campaign ads right back to 1952. A great companion for keeping up with the truth and lies of the presidential campaigns is FactCheck.

I liked Charlie Kaufman after seeing a movie he wrote called Being John Malkovich, and even purchased a movie-script of his (when I went through a movie-script phase) for the movie Adaptation. Now he's directed a movie, called Synecdoche, New York. He was interviewed in the CBC offices in Toronto to promote his movie in the TIFF. (A cool word used in the interview: synecdoche is a literary term that means "a part standing for the whole.")

Another problem with fertilizer and assorted run-off from farms and such: algae blooms in lakes that have become "nutrient-rich" now have toxic water that isn't cleaned even by boiling. This is happening in the communities around Prince George, and residents have been issued an advisory to avoid drinking or bathing in their tap water, if it is drawn from lakes.

Here are ten things you don't know about the Earth. The one tidbit my mind caught: there are at least five different objects we could call a "moon" of Earth... sort of...

"Weird Al" Yankovic - Bob (A song by Mr. Yankovic done in palindromes.)

Daily Shizu (neither a daily nor a shizu)

A recent poll on Mister Poll had over 4,000 people vote on what the best television show has ever been. Topping the list: The Wire. (Not exactly scientific, though...)

If you're into dinosaurs, turns out they got lucky. To rise to the top in evolutionary power, that is. It was a spot of bad luck at the end...

The USS Dexter, which in 1929 chased and sank the rum-running Nova Scotian ship I'm Alone in international waters and sparked an international crisis, is going to be scuttled in Lake Michigan to provide Chicago tourists a scuba-diving attraction.

Apparently the five nations that have arctic coastline are not viewed as reputable caretakers in balancing the economic and environmental portfolios of the north, and "international experts" are saying a treaty (perhaps like the one that governs the use of Antarctica) is required. I'm sure the five nations in question are in no conflict of interest in making sure no harm comes to the environment rather than sucking every possible resource out of the area for economic gain...?

Are we still trying to justify Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) as a real sickness? More studies about the "happy hormone" that gets depleted.

And apparently there is a tiny organism that can survive in space. It's not in the article, but is this support for the idea that life came to Earth on the back of an asteroid?

Here's a cool one for the hockey-history fans: a memoir referencing early hockey games, giving insight into the founding and development of the sport.

Since carbon is one of those greenhouse gases, there are warnings coming out saying the destruction of wetlands could release a sort of "carbon bomb" into the atmosphere.

And something I've always lived: drummers need the stamina of athletes.

It's been about 50 years since the rise of the 1960s women's liberation movement (what those of us today call feminism, though the 1960s was really the second wave, which was then followed by the third wave). Here's an interesting article about what empowerment means to today's women.

More scariness in the environment: there are "dead zones" on the ocean floor, where there isn't enough oxygen for life because of the nitrogen-based fertilizer run-off from farms and so on. And the ocean "dead zones" are getting bigger.

The Inuit did not kick the Vikings out of North America.

There's a light bulb that has worked continuously for 70 years in Great Britain.

While the talk this article is promoting has passed, it is still an interesting call-to-arms regarding the growing power of economic corporations over political institutions, and the creation of a new global elite... which is not better than any other "global elite".

There are efforts being undertaken to revive British Columbia's basking shark population. Yes, we (used to) have sharks!

And a fossil hunt in Manitoba found an 80-million-year-old sea creature.

The Amazon hides an ancient urban landscape.

More interesting information about the demise of the Franklin Expedition.

And there's an object that goes around the Sun backwards. (Maybe it's the rest of us that are backwards...?)

Miriam Toews new book

The author of "a complicated kindness" has a new book out.

The Political Analysis of The Redneck

The BBC has an interesting article analyzing the hitherto unexplored political faction that is coming to be known as Redneck.

I'm somewhat certain this stems from John McCain's choice of running-mate in Sarah Palin. The article has a few light moments (I'd expected it to be written by a comedian in a comedic manner) but is surprisingly sincere in handling the topic as the rise in political power of one group. The question I have is whether calling this faction "redneck" is an attempt to deflect painting/smearing them with previously-used labels like "religious-right" or "red-state voters" or so on. (I hate to ask, but: is this putting lipstick on a pig...?)

Large Hadron Collider (LHC) - explanation for laypeople

Bugliosi at the Hearings for Limits on Executive Power

The opening statements of Vincent Bugliosi, best known as the lawyer that prosecuted Charles Manson, at U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearings discussing constitutional limits on executive power.

Google digitizes old newspapers

For fans of history, Google has digitized old newspapers as part of their archives on Google News. Here's the story on the official blog. And another on Google Blogoscoped.

And here's a quick search I did for "Vancouver" limited to "1890" which returned 448 articles. Granted, they are not all about Vancouver B.C., but still pretty cool.

911 Call: Officer bakes pot cookies with wife and thinks they're dying

I remember the first time time stopped for me. Yet I still have to go to work tomorrow morning.

Viva la Vida by Coldplay

But that was when I ruled the world.

Round-up of The Arts

Let's just start with an article from The Tyee about the death of pleasure-blogging...

And move on to the idea that the identity of Banksy has been discovered...

Then to Jimmy Fallon honing his late-night skill in preparation of taking over NBC's Late Night next year by putting out some webisodes...

And for the Nature-as-Art category, 30 incredible abstract satellite photos....

Here's a 1964 interview with Ayn Rand for Playboy Magazine...

Videos of David Lynch and Donovan talking about where ideas come from...

The impact of the creative class on communities...

The lawsuit is over: there will be no Doors without Jim Morrison...

And for anyone looking at putting tiles in their bathroom, check out this arty tile-work...

And now your musical tastes are in tune with your personality...

How to read a movie, by Roger Ebert...

Daily Shizu (neither a daily nor a shizu)

University of Victoria professor releases book to show it is possible for someone to become "a superhero" along the lines of Batman, with proper training and resources. The Caveat: don't count on a long career.

Here's a list of fictional films that have been referenced in Seinfeld.

If you're looking for a problem to solve, here's a list of unsolved problems.

It was nice to see, a while back, that U.S. President George W. Bush finally got some time to get back to an old hobby of his from when he was Governor of Texas: approving executions. And while we're on the subject, here's a piece on how the President and delegation were briefed on how to talk Canadian, eh?

But here's a really interesting post from "Google Blogoscoped" with an overview of H.G. Wells writing in 1936 about the "World Brain". Fascinating and relevant.

Here's how to print topographical maps. Here's a website about ampersands. And here's a web-comic that is very odd, called xkcd... best line so far: "Those of you who know their periodic tables should be laughing right now."

Here's a site where you upload a headshot of yourself and it shows "your" yearbook photos going back to the 1950s...

And here's a pdf download about "How to be a good intern", though it works for how to be good in any organization.

And the latest Big Problem: tanorexia... apparently tanning is addictive...

Greek Pagans held a ceremony at the Acropolis for the first time in centuries... to protest against a new museum.

Increase in Crypto-biological Activity

I'm not sure yet what to make of this, but there seems to be an increase in "unexplained" sightings.

There were a record number of UFO sightings in 2007. There was a total of 836 sightings, an increase of 12% over 2006.

The legendary Ogopogo was sighted at the end of July.

And some berry-pickers in Ontario saw Bigfoot. And not like that rat-rug in a cooler trick like down south.

Hmmm. Let's have a chat about Charles Darwin.

Suicide as Art

Half-a-century ago a 20-year-old woman jumped off the Empire State Building. About four minutes later, an art student who was across the street when the incident happened took a photo. The photo was used in Time Magazine, and was later appropriated by Andy Warhol for use in one of his prints. While a morbid idea, Jason Kottke describes this interesting story on his site.

Westbam-United States Of Love-Loveparade 2006 Anthem

Important Skill to Learn: How to Open Beer Bottles with a Piece of Paper

Conspiracy Analysts' Alert: US$ is Masonic Code

Two bits on music-related tidbits...

Chuck D tells musicians to cut out the middle man and sell directly to consumers.

And here's a great video explaining one of the most important 6-second loops in the history of music.

Doomed of History: The Arctic

I read the news over time and I start to feel like we're missing patterns and events that are rushing us toward obstacles and conflict. Here's the progress of the Arctic Problem, up to now.

Global warming is both a problem and an opportunity. Scientists predicted that there was a 50-50 chance the arctic would be ice-free this summer.

And that means open waters and new trade routes... and people are starting to notice.
The Americans have changed their northern policy. The Canadians are quietly studying the continental shelves to bolster claims. Plus there's that whole Russian thing that needs to have an eye kept on. So we need to bolster the forces at home, sort of. (Here's a bit more on that.)

But the ice keeps shrinking.

And Canada announces an extension of the northern jurisdiction. But to make it viable, we need to get folks to move up there... but before that happens we need to improve the economy and invest in the region. And we need to identify and defend the resources in the region. Then it's all over the media: Canada is talking tough... Canada is being assertive...

And the ice keeps breaking apart.

But we start building, you guessed it: icebreakers!

Now the Americans want to have a chat about the definition of "international" and "internal" waters.

And the ice... the ice... two words: ice shelves.

And none too soon: the Northwest Passage is open, for the second time in history, and the second year in a row. By the way, want to move to Nunavut?

Anyway. Let's hope it all ends better than it did for these poor buggers: the Franklin Expedition.

Urban(e) Round-up of Vancouver and City-related Tidbits

To get us started, the Vancouver Sun put together a nice little synopsis of the latest statistics about Metro Vancouver. And here's a site that's mentioned in the article about census results and looking at British Columbia.

And a couple of tidbits from StatsCan... folks with higher income or education tend to go to more "cultural events" like movies and theatre. Who would have guessed that one? (It's actually an interesting study, even if there's a bit of the "well-duh" factor happening.) And transit-ridership across the country seems to be going up.

Unfortunately, incivility is also on the rise. Maybe all those transit riders are getting cranky and we need to convert to biofuels. Of course, it could just be all them damn kids with their rebellious ways, prompting a review of the Juvie Act. But if you want respect on transit, you have to give respect.

But transit isn't the only problem. Right across the board, no matter where they live, Canadians are in a hissy about waiting for anything.

Before I forget, in case you missed it or didn't notice: the Speaker City mural is gone... you know, the one on the corner of 4th and Fir with all the (somewhat dated) celebrities.

And maybe this will help the incivility: they caught the purse-snatcher. Or perhaps the damn kids will do themselves in: remember, drink responsibly, kids.

Or maybe stay inside more: finally, a CanCon Adult Channel.

Here's something different: Urban Scrumping as described by Vancouver MetBlogs, which is going out and gathering free-range fruits and vegetables... and an interesting example of an urban scrumping map from some guys in California...

Interlude: some nice urban paintings...

Here's an excellent article by Gordon Price about the decline of the small-town business model.

And one on re:Place Magazine about Bar Culture in Vancouver and London.

Here's some footage Jason Kottke took of impromptu swing dancers in a New York park.

And finally, a review of the social and economic trends in British Columbia.

I'm a Marvel... I'm a DC... and I'm... Hellboy...

Great series of parodies of the Mac/PC commercials done to comic book movie heroes.

Review of "The Man Game" by Lee Henderson

A good article about "The Man Game" by Lee Henderson. In his first novel, Henderson uses the Vancouver of 1886 as the setting.

There's also a list about little-known Vancouver historical facts that the author dug up in his research.

"Away" by The Feelies

For the science-types: Sound of Jello wobbling...

Daily Shizu, Pt. II (neither a daily nor a shizu)

Up to six cups a day of coffee won't kill you early, says study.

Shelter is a right, and Victoria's homeless should be able to tent in public parks if there are no shelter spaces available, argues lawyer. What next? The right to food? Or clothing? C'mon!

"Probe" announces one-third of people shot by Tasers require medical attention. Conservative Rubber Glove announces three-thirds of people shot by firearms require medical attention.

A simplified-living challenge: to whittle your possessions down to 100 items... here's a Time Magazine story about such downsizers.

Top of Mars may have been stuck by a big asteroid.

Photos of rice-paddy art.

And the next big porn craze: airport scanner nudity. (I think I'm on the cutting edge of this craze... that I hope never comes true...)

And the tombstone of Ian Curtis, lead singer of Joy Division, was stolen.

And this just in: early gadget buyers are "arrogant". Huh. No way.

And the Left-Handed Conspiracy... Operation: The White House (Again).

There's a secret vault that contains all the Lego sets in history.

In case you're worried about the sky falling, here's a site that tracks satellites and shuttles.

But it's the ones you don't know about that will be the problem... and here I'm talking about asteroids falling into the Earth...

And finally for this round-up of back-logged tidbitting... in honour of the Start of School, here's an item from the guys at Google suggesting some educational thoughts for learners everywhere... basically a "what we look for in an employee" blurb, but interesting in general.

The Daily Shizu, neither a daily nor a shizu

An interesting educational site showing the periodic table of the elements with corresponding videos when you click.

And if you've not seen McSweeney's site, it's a good one to check with regularly.

Here's a video of some guys jumping over bulls in Spain. If this is the new bullfighting, and the bull just gets some running exercise...