Jeff Milner

I recently added Danah Boyd’s Blog to my feed list because she consistently writes very insightful entries. Today I read her excellent post on growing up in a culture of fear; I liked it so much I thought I would share.

How do youth come of age in this society? What good is it to restrict every social space that they have? Does anyone actually think that this is a good idea? Protectionist actions tends to create hatred, resentment. It destroys families by failing to value trust and responsibility. Ageist rhetoric alienates the younger generation. And for what purpose?

I received an email from a student from India that is an acquaintance of mine (he had dinner at my house once), whom is trying to raise funds for disaster relief after the huge earthquake in India and Pakistan. I thought this was a neat idea for a fundraiser:

Hello! I am a fourth year student here at the University of Lethbridge, and I am writing to advise you of an event coming next weekend, which I believe you may be interested in. Having been grieved by the recent tragedy in northern Pakistan and India, and by the meager international response, I (and several other concerned students) have begun planning a fund-raiser for Saturday, November 12th, 2005. We aim to hold a fantastic Amazing Race, modelled after the popular T.V. show! Teams will spend an afternoon racing across Lethbridge, completing challenges and discovering more about their community in an attempt to reach the final pit-stop first. Great prizes (including gift certificates to the Mongolie Grill, Montana’s, and other local businesses) will be awarded to the top three groups. The cost is only $9.00 for an individual, or $25.00 for a team of three to five. All proceeds will go to Samaritan’s Purse.

Please let me know if you are interested in participating, volunteering, or simply donating to this urgent cause. Moreover, if you could spread the word among your club members and the rest of the student body, that would be greatly appreciated! The success of this event, and the number of lives we can impact, depends upon your response.

Unfortunately I think I November 12th is when I’m going to be in Edmonton (area) visiting my sister, otherwise I would like to get some friends together and take part – a fun and exciting way to help people in need.

The San Fransico Chronicle has a series of stories they are running about the allure of suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge.

This image shows how many people have comitted suicide off the bridge and where they jumped at each numbered lamp post along the bridge.

Please leave a comment here if you’re into the whole backmasking thing. Have you tried it? What have you found? Do you think there is something to it, or do you just think it’s all a coincidence? This is the place to leave your comments on what you’ve discovered from your own experimenting.

If you don’t know where to start, Audacity is a great open-source, freeware audio editor for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. Among its features is the ability to reverse audio files.

My friend Gavin writes short stories and posts them on the web so that we can indulge in a minute or two of his brilliance. I just read one of his excellent stories, The Jumper, and I loved it. If you don’t think it’s hilarious, you are probably an android.

The surprise hit for the Xbox 360 might turn out to be The Outfit. If video games are your thing, especially games where you get to blow up EVERYTHING, check out The Outfit preview by Matt Felske.

Happy Halloween! Here is the story behind Stingy Jack and the Jack O’Lantern.
(Why link when you can copy / paste…)

The Irish brought the tradition of the Jack O’Lantern to America. But, the original Jack O’Lantern was not a pumpkin.The Jack O’Lantern legend goes back hundreds of years in Irish History. As the story goes, Stingy Jack was a miserable, old drunk who liked to play tricks on everyone: family, friends, his mother and even the Devil himself. One day, he tricked the Devil into climbing up an apple tree. Once the Devil climbed up the apple tree, Stingy Jack hurriedly placed crosses around the trunk of the tree. The Devil was then unable to get down the tree. Stingy Jack made the Devil promise him not to take his soul when he died. Once the devil promised not to take his soul, Stingy Jack removed the crosses and let the Devil down.

Many years later, when Jack finally died, he went to the pearly gates of Heaven and was told by Saint Peter that he was too mean and too cruel and had led a miserable and worthless life on earth. He was not allowed to enter heaven. He then went down to Hell and the Devil. The Devil kept his promise and would not allow him to enter Hell. Now Jack was scared and had nowhere to go but to wander about forever in the darkness between heaven and hell. He asked the Devil how he could leave as there was no light. The Devil tossed him an ember from the flames of Hell to help him light his way. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed out Turnip, one of his favorite foods which he always carried around with him whenever he could steal one. For that day onward, Stingy Jack roamed the earth without a resting place, lighting his way as he went with his “Jack O’Lantern”.

On all Hallow’s eve, the Irish hollowed out Turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets. They placed a light in them to ward off evil spirits and keep Stingy Jack away. These were the original Jack O’Lanterns. In the 1800’s a couple of waves of Irish immigrants came to America. The Irish immigrants quickly discovered that Pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve out. So they used pumpkins for Jack O’Lanterns.

(via some halloween site)

Bruce’s new haircut. (2MB QT Video)