A collection of digital wonders and some other stuff.
I’m not sure I could do this myself, but it’s something for possible consideration in dealing with my continuously overflowing inbox: Sentenc.es — A Disciplined Way To Deal With Email.
There are a number of different sentence numbers for your own response policy at http://two.sentenc.es/, http://three.sentenc.es/, http://four.sentenc.es/, or http://five.sentenc.es/.
If you’ve got an hour to spend, this Google Tech Talk by David Weinberger is worth a listen. In it he explains how the breakdown of categorization designed for physical objects when applied to digital or abstract objects (such as thoughts) can be overcome through new kinds of categorization—ie. tagging.
This is a video of four people driving along a Saudi Arabian road with three of them outside the car doing what what appears to be sliding on concrete wearing nothing special on their feet.
[Only in Saudi Arabia – YouTube]
Constantly being remixed with new subtitles on various themes, scenes from the 2004 film “Downfall (Der Untergang)” by Oliver Hirschbiegel, set in 1945 showing Hitler’s last 10 days in his Berlin bunker, recently turned into a meta meme, making fun of the remixes with a remix. Unfortunately, that old version was taken down by a bogus DMCA request, but Brad Templeton, an EFF chairman, has created this fun and clever meta version to replace it.
A small selection of other versions:
Check out this very interesting video of Lilly, the almost two year old master of the map. Apparently she showed off her incredible talent when she appeared as a guest on Oprah recently.
[The Original Video of Lilly: The World Map Master – YouTube]
There is less than an hour before the Oscars air. I’ve decided to make some predictions again this year.
Best Original Screenplay:
Diablo Cody – Juno
I loved the writing in Juno—very clever.
And the winner is: Diablo Cody – Juno
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Cate Blanchett – I’m Not There
And the winner is: Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Julie Christie – Away From Her
And the winner is: Marion Cotillard – La Vie en Rose
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men
He has creepy down!
And the winner is: Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
“I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!” Loved it.
And the winner is: Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
Best Director:
Ethan and Joel Coen – No Country for Old Men
This movie was a bit insane, but some of the subtleties in performances were fantastic.
And the winner is: Ethan and Joel Coen – No Country for Old Men
Best Picture:
No Country for Old Men
I would rather see There Will be Blood get it, since I enjoyed it more. The unresolved plot in No Country for Old Men was a bit frustrating but it’s a movie that stays with you and I think it’s a sure thing for the win.
And the winner is: No Country for Old Men
Of the seven categories I made predictions on, I got 5 of them right. I think I am getting much better at predicting these things than I have been in previous years.
I’m not sure if it can be considered sci-fi, since Bubble City takes place in the real world involving potentially real technology, but it’s got enough techie panache and thrilling conspiracy that make it the most fun fiction I’ve read in awhile.
Bubble City, a serial novel currently being written by the brilliant Aaron Swartz.
A few weeks ago I received a comment on one of my flickr photos that was an obvious phishing attempt. I promptly erased the message but just to be safe, I emailed my friends and family and warned them to be on the lookout for such dangers on the web. I soon realized that my parents, for example, have no idea what phishing is, and probably many other folks out there don’t either.
Take McAfee’s short ten question phishing quiz and see if you know how to recognize a real site verses some malicious site after your passwords and bank accounts, and if not, educate yourself in the process. I scored 9 out of 10 — somehow the fake Amazon site tricked me.
How well did you do?
Update: The quiz is gone.
After six very spread out seasons, The Sopranos series comes to a close tonight. Here’s a sheet and some suggested rules to set up a household pool about who’s going to die, how, and other predictions.
Personally, I think Tony’s going to get whacked.