June 7/03                                                                            More in weblog archive
	'The Magic Negro' Michael Clarke Duncan's kindhearted giant In an online discussion a year or so back I was trying to explain to someone why I hate The Green Mile so much. I saw The Green Mile at a preview where almost everyone in the theatre - including two of my good friends - were unashamedly bawling at the tragedy of Michael Clarke Duncan's character going to the electric chair after doing so much for the white people in the prison. I wasn't really able to articulate why I found that movie so hilariously hackneyed but Jeremy Love from Gettosake succinctly described Duncan's character as 'the Magic Nigger'. Basically, this is a recurring character in cinema played by a black person who appears for no other reason than to help a white protagonist realize something about themselves and become a better person. Will Smith's Bagger Vance from The Legend of Bagger Vance. Morpheus from the Matrix movies is another obvious example. These are characters who have no depth, they only appear to impart mystical wisdom or powers. What the Washington Post explains is that this phenomenon in cinema speaks to a problem that white people have in communicating with black people. Read it here >>

	June 6/03                                                                            More in weblog archive
	CIA spies 'five years behind' in computer use This is a computer, 007 A report by a former CIA agent reveals that stifling security and outdated databases put CIA working practices using computers 'five years behind' computer use outside of the agency. CIA agents have to work with two desktops, one secured with access to the outside and the other entirely internal. Most CIA agents search for information by picking up the phone to call colleagues rather than search using computer databases. Read the BBC article here >> The igloo search concludes Momus himself was kind enough to respond to my query about his igloo. Others have also sent in their suggestions. Apparently, you can order it online through the designobject store (page 3). Listed as "Large Chill Out Room". $400 U.S. Made by David Sevoir in Hong Kong.

	June 4 /03                                                                            More in weblog archive
	Sublet from Momus Folkatronic musician Momus has put up a notice on his website asking if anyone would like to sublet his apartment in Berlin for two months. It looks really good. And he has an igloo inside his apartment. I could use an igloo. It's a disgrace that I am Canadian and I've never had an igloo. See Momus' apartment here >> Searching for an Inflatable Igloo I went looking for one just like Momus' and this is the first thing that turned up. Apparently, I had better hurry up and buy it because there are 'limited stocks'. Here's another one.

	June 3 /03                                                                            More in weblog archive
	Fidgital 2002 DJ Set I'm not the only one who is late with his work. Keith Gillard has released his 2002 DJ mix set on his site. There's some really cool stuff here. I'll listen to it this afternoon. Check it out for the track list. >> Baiting.org If you like sick humour, check this site out. It's devoted to people baiting cybersexers with their ridiculous come ons in order to provoke them, usually causing the other partner to bail. bloodninja: Baby, I been havin a tough night so treat me nice aight? BritneySpears14: Aight. bloodninja: Slip out of those pants baby, yeah. BritneySpears14: I slip out of my pants, just for you, bloodninja. bloodninja: Oh yeah, aight. Aight, I put on my robe and wizard hat. BritneySpears14: Oh, I like to play dress up. bloodninja: Me too baby. BritneySpears14: I kiss you softly on your chest. bloodninja: I cast Lvl. 3 Eroticism. You turn into a real beautiful woman. BritneySpears14: Hey... bloodninja: I meditate to regain my mana, before casting Lvl. 8 & !#*@& of the Infinite. BritneySpears14: Funny I still don't see it. bloodninja: I spend my mana reserves to cast Mighty **** of the Beyondness. BritneySpears14: You are the worst cyber partner ever. This is ridiculous. Read more here >>

	May 30/03                                                                            More in weblog archive
	Giger's Batmobile design Someone on the Emporium found a link to an H.R. Giger design for Batman's vehicle that never founds its way into Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever. Pity. It looks like an obscene medical instrument and could easily have been used for a prop in Dead Ringers. I love it. If only Batman kept up with the leather and SM chic from the second Batman movie. Obviously that style has lived on in the Blade movies and in Daredevil. See the designs and the models here >>

	May 29/03                                                                            More in weblog archive
	Attacking en echelon in practice Last night as I wasted time playing Medieval: Total War I decided to employ a tactic I had only read about and never really seen adequately described. This tactic is called attacking en echelon. I never knew the benefit of this maneuver. The attacker, when faced with a solid line from the defender, attacks so that one edge of his advancing line is slightly farther ahead than its neighbour so that the attacking edge looks like a slant. The leading unit comes into contact with the enemy line first. (This was used unsuccessfully in Gettysburgh as an attempt to concentrate the attack on one portion of the Union line. ) When I tried this in the game twice I believe I finally understood its benefit. At least from the results in the game, what this tactic does is put pressure on one single part of the defending line and can also draw out more units on that line, thereby disrupting its cohesiveness. When the defending line deforms and comes apart, it can create gaps that can then be exploited by your following troops that come into contact later and later. See this diagram that I made to illustrate this >>

	May 28/03                                                                            More in weblog archive
	The Vinnell Corp targetted in Saudi bombings earlier this month Little reported in the initial news of the revitalized 'al Qaeda' attacks on the western compounds in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago was that the tenants of one compound were the staff of a private company called the Vinnell Corp. This is a company with close ties to the U.S. military and, in the past, with the CIA. Until recently, it was a subsidiary in a group of companies controlled by the Carlyle Group, a conglomerate that is tightly intertwined with members and friends of the White House. According to this Almeda Times-Star article part of their role in Saudi Arabia was to train the monarchy's hand-picked internal security force. What this means is that the anti-monarchist bomber's targets were specific against the roots of power of the Saudis rather than randomly pointed at westerners. Read the article here >> Also: in the LA Times

	May 27/03                                                                            More in weblog archive
	On playing Medieval: Total War To celebrate almost finishing the music video I decided my spare time needed some suckage so I purchased Medieval: Total War. This turned out to be some bad timing as I also just got a paid contract to do and the battle between them was unequal. I wasted some hours on the weekend waging war against sprites. This is really a very fine battle strategy game that is nicely balanced between playability and historicity. The only glaring problem is with the camera control system. Terrible, horrible, excellent feature article This Washington Post article is one of the most chilling and compelling pieces of feature writing I've read recently. It recounts the events leading up to a savage road rage attack in which one man with a history of mental problems and PCB abuse beat to death a man a third smaller until an off-duty police officer put an end to his rampage. The way the article is written is gripping. It reminds me of a similarly excellent article that charted the path of the Beltway sniper duo as they wandered across the country, meeting people and shooting them on their way to Maryland. Read the article here >> More tweaks due on "Hit and Run" video It turns out that I lost some music synching in my last edit of the "Hit and Run" video. So I'm due one more evening's worth of editing to make it just that much nicer.

	May 26/03                                                                            More in weblog archive
	"Hit and Run" video reloaded I believe that this is the proper candidate for the final "Hit and Run" video. Aside from fixing errors, the changes I made created more time for the party footage which, if you were involved in it, you'd know was one of the more involved parts of the production. I played with more splitscreening (thank you Adobe After Effects!) and threw in a hopefully funny druggie animation. Everything else was tweaking timing. See it here (same URL as before so clear your cache). (25.7mb) "Rooting for the Robot" This LA Times article (registration required) effectively encapsulates just what was bothering me about The Matrix: Reloaded, that Neo and his cohorts had so transformed themselves into superpowered beings that they became really as inhuman as their allies and, because they no longer were underdogs, had become dull. The article goes in depth about the relationship between humanity and our mechanical opposition throughout literature. Read the article here >> Previous blog here >>