RE: Star Wars Episode 0
-Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Travis Edmunds Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2005 12:46 PM Kevin Street wrote: Heh. :-) Yes, Star Wars is science fantasy or whatever. But it's close enough to be entertaining. Travis Edmunds wrote: The implication here is that Science Fiction is intrinsically entertaining. Something I don't quite agree with seeing as how I've seen and read a few doozies. But that goes for _any_ genre I suppose. Besides, an individual's tastes in individual books and films is more of a deciding factor in the respective entertainment factor as opposed to one's predilections towards any one genre as a whole, I would think. I would also think that that's what you meant anyway... ...right? I guess so. Honestly, I never thought the comment out that far, and didn't mean to say that other genres are less entertaining. But yeah, I suppose I meant that it's closer to science fiction than something like Lord of The Rings, and is thus more interesting to me. The Force stuff can get a little irritating at times, but then they throw a spaceship on the screen and it's all good again. Going to see Episode III tomorrow! :-) -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 267.3.0 - Release Date: 5/30/2005 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: See Kingdom of Heaven
d.brin suggested It's almost out of theaters and this is one you really have to see on the wide screen. It's not Ridley Scott's best film, but it is by far his most vivid - and that's saying a lot. Entering the theater, I passed posters for Bewitched, Mr Mrs Smith, Zorro, Fantastic Four, Willie Wonka, House of Wax, Star Wars, Batman, The Pink Panther, War of the Worlds:... and several other ripoff-remakes that I cannot now remember. And it made me wonder what kind of chickenshit era we are in. Sure, some of them will be cool or funny or well-made. But is there anybody OTHER than Ridley Scott who has the guts to try something new? KINGDOM of HEAVEN may not have the world's most stunning script, but it is very evocative and the big battle is simply fantastic. A real breakthrough. You really felt you were there. Get a ticket before it vanishes! Support originality. -- Don't know about KINGDOM, hasn't come to Korea yet. But see CRASH, too. George A ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: See Kingdom of Heaven
d.brin wrote: KINGDOM of HEAVEN may not have the world's most stunning script, but it is very evocative and the big battle is simply fantastic. A real breakthrough. You really felt you were there. Get a ticket before it vanishes! Support originality. I saw when it first came out. Pretty good film, and yeah it does have great battle sequences. The themes are interesting too, although I don't think the characterizations have that feeling of verisimilitude that you get with a great historical drama like, say, Name of The Rose. These characters often felt...translated to me, like their beliefs and interests were being rewritten a bit for modern audiences. Kingdom of Heaven is a good film, and well worth seeing. But I don't think it's as original as something like Sin City. Imo, we're living in a period where startling originality is shown alongside derivative pablum like Triple X: State of The Union. But then, maybe it's always been that way. Kevin Street -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 267.3.0 - Release Date: 5/30/2005 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: See Kingdom of Heaven
In a message dated 5/30/2005 10:49:49 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: And really well done - great balance, and a clever separation of the good guys and the bad guys. Which aint got nuttin to do with religion. See it for the one fact that unlike Return of the King, rocks thrown from a trebuchet actually LOOK like they were thrown from a trebuchet. Vilyehm ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Friend of Wes on NBC Today show
On Sun, 29 May 2005 00:21:49 -0700, Nick Arnett wrote Wes' dad called tonight to say that a friend of his will be talking about him on the Today show Sunday morning from the Nimitz. Just checked listings... the show is on at 5 a.m. here! Managed to program the VCR. They were aboard the Kennedy in NYC, IIRC. It was his sergeant and one of the guys he went through MOS school with, who was also with him in Iraq. Made the whole thing just that much more real... and I talked to his mom yesterday, who told me that their trip to Camp Lejeune a couple of weeks ago to meet his friends and have a memorial was really good for her. We know more about what he was doing and how he died, which is important, though I can't really explain why -- it has to do with feeling so distant from him, what he was doing, why he was doing it, etc. The more we know, the less distant we feel. Anyway, they said some of what we've heard from everybody who served with Wes -- he kept up his positive attitude all the time, did whatever needed to be done. My wife and I went for our morning walk yesterday around 10:45, which turned out to be fortuitous. When came to the Santa Clara Veterans Memorial, were we had a brick placed in Wes' memory (and had placed flowers on Sunday), the guy who led the effort to create the memorial was there and suggested we hang around because the American Legion would be doing a ceremony. About 50 people showed up, they did some readings, a woman played Taps beautifully and they did a 21-gun salute. We were much closer to the guns this time than at Wes' funeral -- loud, very loud... a bittersweet sound. At least it wasn't a 21- RPG salute. Since Wes' friends talked about it on TV, I'll share how Wes died. He was trading places with his immediate superior, Wesley Campbell Camp Ross, in the turret of his AAV when an RPG hit the two of them. Our Wes was hit directly, died instantly and was thrown about 20 feet. They didn't find all of his body, which is why I may have said here that I consider Fallujah to be his second gravesite. The other Wes was very badly injured and is not doing so well. He was in a medically induced coma in Germany for a while, then returned to Camp Lejeune. He's living near there and is supposed to have surgery June 8, according to (our) Wes' mom, to repair his skull, part of which he lost in the explosion. This has been a very different Memorial Day for me... We also spent a lot of time with the grandkids, including a fun trip to Marine World. Nick ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: The French Say Non!
I'm sure most of you ran across the news that the French rejected the Euro constitution. How do you think this will effect the US? It won't have a direct effect. But the US reaction to it will. Do you think this will torpedo the EU? That depends on how the other states vote. At first, there would be attempts to save it by making deals behind closed doors. Those deals would be probably in areas where the constitution still allows that state to veto any further changes, while the constitution itself would not be rewritten. Afterwards, the states which voted against would vote again. If that fails, a core group will attempt the 'Europe of two speeds', i.e. to change the EU from a group of 25 into two groups, one going further forward in integration than the other. If that is also vetoed, the core group might create their own constitution, and threaten to secede from the EU. Maybe at that time it would be too late for the other states; the core group might just go forward and secede, happy to leave the spoilsports outside. Frank xponent A Question Of Balance Maru rob -- 5 GB Mailbox, 50 FreeSMS http://www.gmx.net/de/go/promail +++ GMX - die erste Adresse für Mail, Message, More +++ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Re: See Kingdom of Heaven
I cannot support your opinions about Kingdom of Heaven. Perhaps I was expecting too much, perhaps I'm too critic when I see a script that is not exactly well written or when I discovered too many historical errors, but I don't like this movie, specially the main character. He is some kind of demigod, he is able to learn how to fight, strategy, diplomacy and his mentality is more appropiate for a revolutionary modern period, but not for the Middle Ages. If I think about the Middle Ages, my favourite movie is one from the 60's directed by John Huston. That if I'm thinking about fidelity. From an epic perspective I always recommend Excalibur even with its problems. - Presentamos la nueva fórmula para hacerse millonario: Especial Vagos http://sorteos.ya.com ADSL + Llamadas 24 horas: desde 28,95 /mes + IVA. Navega y habla de forma ilimitada. Sin compromiso de permanencia. http://acceso.ya.com/ADSLllamadas/ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Brin: Re: old style conservatives\the white mans burden
I guess my comments would be rather incommprehensible, if you're going to cut them away from the thread they were attached to. (how rude and self serving) I be happy to discuss the topic. If, of course, you'd like to get beyond looking at me like a bug through a microscope. But Hell, it is your blog, do what you want. L.Matusik MSN,etc David Brin [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It was not even remotely comprehensible what point was intended here --- Leonard Matusik wrote: YAWN! Iraq has little to do with oil (though it'd be nice to be able to bid on it in 10 years; shit, the India_China allience will be tough to bid against by then) and mostly to do with the white man's burden. If we're gonna keep our monoply on nukes and trump card power, (and we WILL, thank you very much) then we have to be able to show that we can be responsable ass-kickers (or more responsible that the competition) I wouldn't be surprised to see customer service surveys passed out in Iraq eventually. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Brin: Re: appealing to old style conservatives\a monopoly on nukes
My dear Mr. Pensinger, It would seem to me that those capable of most effectively deploying nukes have a monopoly on nukes. A nuke sitting in my basement is hardly a threat to anyone but me. I would confess to being somewhat ignorant at the latest delivery technologies employed by our friends and esteemed adversaries. I doubt very much, however, they could come close to matching those created by the US military industrial complex over the past 50 years. (and let's not even discuss gods rods, the reserection of project THOR from the 1970's) The POINT of my rabbling discertation(sorry it was so rambling but I'm often in a hurry) (I have things to do around here besides dick on the computer Jack! I have a bunch of kids and a job!) ...is that the current action against Iraq has little to nothing to do with control of mideast oil supplies. (that was, unless I am mistaken, originally what Mr.Brin was discussing) It has mostly to everything to do with power and influence for the future. I believe that what is happening today was part of some evolving contingency plan laid out many years ago. Someone had to get an ass-whupping in order to help keep the rest of the emerging nation-states in line. Iraq was volunteered for obvious reasons. (one of which was, they did not have any WMD's. ie It was fairly safe, as these things go) Now, if that's a little clearer. You may feel free to comment, ignore me, or toss me from your list. Thanks for listening Leonard J Matusik MSN *Southern Institute of Collaborative ChaosNursing* SICC/N Doug Pensinger [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Fri, 27 May 2005 11:16:16 -0700 (PDT), David Brin wrote: It was not even remotely comprehensible what point was intended here Nor I, but I'd be interested to find out why he thinks that anyone has a monopoly on nukes. -- Doug ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
re: kingdom of heaven/this chickenshit era we live in.....
d.brin wrote: KINGDOM of HEAVEN may not have the world's most stunning script, but it is very evocative and the big battle is simply fantastic. A real breakthrough. You really felt you were there. Get a ticket before it vanishes! Support originality. Kevin Street wrote: I saw when it first came out. Pretty good film, and yeah it does have great battle sequences. The themes are interesting too, although I don't think the characterizations have that feeling of verisimilitude that you get with a great historical drama like, say, Name of The Rose. These characters often felt...translated to me, like their beliefs and interests were being rewritten a bit for modern audiences. Kingdom of Heaven is a good film, and well worth seeing. But I don't think it's as original as something like Sin City. Imo, we're living in a period where startling originality is shown alongside derivative pablum like Triple X: State of The Union. But then, maybe it's always been that way. It's just shocking to me that folks can mobilize the huge amounts of capital to produce some of the low grade pond scum out there. (for peace sake, I shall not name names; just use the Farce Luke) Especially when the is so much GOOD STUFF out there that hasn't been tapped. LIKE Uplift Wars, Deep Range or Heart of the Comet. Maybe the authors of these works just want too damn much for the film rights. :D The bright side is that I don't think I've ever seen so mcuh amateur theatre, sculpture, or music being slung out through informal channels as there is today. If one want creativity one just has to look for it. Some stuff being put out by an army -average joe amateurs- is pretty stunning. Perhaps it's the evolutionary treand for the arts to return to an amateur passion rather the a professional job. Shoot, with the cheap new tech, I can have a whole video production studio delivered to my door for less than $5K (within 3 days!) Now, PURE GENIOUS! , that's a little rarer. Maybe that's the purpose of the crap offerings , it makes the decent mediocre fair being offered at the box office look, well, decent. (especially when you compare it to SOME of the crap out there!) __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Islamic Neocons
Anybody smarter than me see any paralleles between what happened in Saudi Arabia with Whahabi-Whatis Islam and the Neocom movement in the US? -Leonard Matusik RN/MSN - Yahoo! Mail Stay connected, organized, and protected. Take the tour ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Orwell quotation
Does Killer Bs Discussion have an orthodoxy? (or isn't anybody allowed to ask the question?) d.brin [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: 'Hear me: an unconscious people, an indoctrinated people, a people fed only partisan information and opinion that confirm their own bias, a people made morbidly obese in mind and spirit by the junk food of propaganda is less inclined to put up a fight, ask questions and be skeptical. And just as a democracy can die of too many lies, that kind of orthodoxy can kill us, too.' -- from Bill Moyers' address at the National Conference on Media Reform. http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/16/1329245 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l - Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Brin: Re: old style conservatives\the white mans burden
Atrocious. I commented right after your full and complete remark, which was right above. Your claims of victimization are as credible as the president's. --- Leonard Matusik [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I guess my comments would be rather incommprehensible, if you're going to cut them away from the thread they were attached to. (how rude and self serving) I be happy to discuss the topic. If, of course, you'd like to get beyond looking at me like a bug through a microscope. But Hell, it is your blog, do what you want. L.Matusik MSN,etc David Brin [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It was not even remotely comprehensible what point was intended here --- Leonard Matusik wrote: YAWN! Iraq has little to do with oil (though it'd be nice to be able to bid on it in 10 years; shit, the India_China allience will be tough to bid against by then) and mostly to do with the white man's burden. If we're gonna keep our monoply on nukes and trump card power, (and we WILL, thank you very much) then we have to be able to show that we can be responsable ass-kickers (or more responsible that the competition) I wouldn't be surprised to see customer service surveys passed out in Iraq eventually. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
re: kingdom of heaven/this chickenshit era we live in.....
It's just shocking to me that folks can mobilize the huge amounts of capital to produce some of the low grade pond scum out there. (for peace sake, I shall not name names; just use the Farce Luke) Especially when the is so much GOOD STUFF out there that hasn't been tapped. LIKE Uplift Wars, Deep Range or Heart of the Comet. Maybe the authors of these works just want too damn much for the film rights. With all due respect to Dr Brin, just because Uplift is a great literary world doesn't mean it'll translate to film; look at the dreadful mess the HG2tG turned out to be once it hit the big screen... no, source material isn't a guarantee of quality. -k- __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: more thread suggestions
3) and what about the huge sudden influx of spanish speakers to the US? Sudden? Been happening more or less at a steady rate. Immigration applications were down for the past 2-3 years (although they recently spiked back upwards the first few months of this year, reportedly) I'm a health care professional in North Carolina and MAN the demographics are monster! I tell all my grumbling redneck staff who say ,those people otter larn to speek 'merican that money talks and BS walks Cater to these folks, show them respect and they will spend their money with you. I believe this and pure social darwinism will demonstrate that the only businesses succeeding are those who also believe it. What will US culture look like in 10 years because of this? What about the evolution of language in general? Could you elaborate on how social darwinism applies here? \ -k- __ Yahoo! Mail Stay connected, organized, and protected. Take the tour: http://tour.mail.yahoo.com/mailtour.html ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Intel quietly Adds Palladium DRM and Backdoor Networking to New Processors
On May 28, 2005, at 7:52 PM, kerri miller wrote: We all know our [operating system] friends don't crash that often, but it does happen, Tucker said. Oh, that's priceless. Huh. This Tucker character obviously uses Linux. Or Mac. -- Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books http://books.nightwares.com/ Current work in progress The Seven-Year Mirror http://www.nightwares.com/books/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: The French Say Non!
On May 29, 2005, at 5:09 PM, Robert G. Seeberger wrote: I'm sure most of you ran across the news that the French rejected the Euro constitution. Yeah. What I've been missing in the flurry of coverage is the actual constitution itself. Anyone have a link handy to the text of the document? How do you think this will effect the US? I think most *citizens* of the US don't give two shits. Overall, since Europe's body will apparently remain the same for a bit longer now, it's hard to imagine the vote having a significant effect. Do you think this will torpedo the EU? Why would it? They've been working on it for a long time now. This is just another speed bump, I suspect. -- Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books http://books.nightwares.com/ Current work in progress The Seven-Year Mirror http://www.nightwares.com/books/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Orwell quotation
On May 28, 2005, at 4:16 PM, d.brin wrote: Good seeing some of you at the excellent FiRe Conference. I have an article in a new book of critical essays about George Orwell. But the following is cribbed from a recent speech by Bill Moyers. Frankly, I do not always find him on. [...] Without a trace of irony, the powers that be have appropriated the Newspeak vernacular of George Orwell's 1984. They give us a program vowing no child will be left behind, while cutting funds for educating disadvantaged children[...] I learned recently that the NCLB act has a not-at-all publicized proviso stating that children's progress reports will be kept on file at the Pentagon (parents can choose to opt out of this but they have to KNOW about it first). This gives the term No Child Left Behind a very sinister possible interpretation. -- Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books http://books.nightwares.com/ Current work in progress The Seven-Year Mirror http://www.nightwares.com/books/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: more thread suggestions
On May 29, 2005, at 7:41 AM, Leonard Matusik wrote: 2) what is the deal with this new trade agreement between India and China? Is it there any substance to it? What effect will the mere symbolism have? Should I learn to speak chinese as much as I need to learn to speak spanish? What power could a NAFTA-like allience composed of 1/4 of the human population exert on the the other 3/4? The trade agreement between India and China is surely nothing compared to the trade agreement already extant between the US and China. 3) and what about the huge sudden influx of spanish speakers to the US? As kerri pointed out this isn't all that sudden, nor that huge. What's happening is more people are paying attention to it now. The number of people crossing the border into Arizona, for instance, hasn't substantially *increased* in quite a number of years; according to the INS, in fact, the number of deportable aliens in the US has *decreased* in the last half decade. http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/aboutus/statistics/ENF03yrbk/ ENF2003list.htm and http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/aboutus/statistics/ENF03yrbk/ 2003ENF.pdf What will US culture look like in 10 years because of this? What about the evolution of language in general? This isn't as bad as you might suspect, being on the front lines as it were; however, hand-wringing over US culture seems very strange. The US doesn't have a culture. Or, more accurately, major cultural icons in the US include Ronald McDonald and Wal-Mart. It's very difficult to find buildings that are over 150 years old in this nation. We don't have a deep enough social tradition to claim a culture, let alone be worried about a threat to one. As for language -- even though ebonics has been recognized for over a decade as a legitimate dialect, English remains the de facto official language of the US. I would worry more about how Netspeak will affect English. Do u c ? ;) 4) NEW TECH/NANOTECH What will the effect of the latest cool toy or technology have on the human species. Such as? Many people here seem cynical about our arrogant consumerism but Why is it really a BAD thing? It is just pointless guilt or is there really a Karmic debt to pay? If you rate your self-worth solely on whether you have the latest newest widget, you're never going to be happy. It's really that simple. Since endless consumerism relies entirely on convincing a body of people that their happiness is limited by what they are *lacking* (actually or only perceptually), it makes sense to question the values that are being indoctrinated. [FTR, karma refers to any volitional action. Karma is conventionally understood in the Western mind to mean something like universal justice or tit-for-tat; this could be an artifact of the Western idea of a god who judges right and wrong. Karma is nothing of the sort. Karma is simply action, energy, volitional behavior. There is no such thing as a karmic debt.] 5) resource exploitation/exploration: EARTH FIRST, we'll strip mine the other planets later. This sounds harsh, but what are our real obligations in the matter? Is the earth REALLY that fragile? Is the eco/tree hugger/Gia worship movement REALLY that kooky? The question can be put much more relevantly: Regardless of how robust Earth is, is it possible to disrupt its ecosystem sufficiently to cause human extinction? That's a considerably more parochially interesting question, and one even the most selfish conservative will have to ponder carefully, particularly if he doesn't want his grandkids cursing his name. -- Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books http://books.nightwares.com/ Current work in progress The Seven-Year Mirror http://www.nightwares.com/books/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: more thread suggestions
--- Warren Ockrassa [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On May 29, 2005, at 7:41 AM, Leonard Matusik wrote: 2) what is the deal with this new trade agreement between India and China? Is it there any substance to it? What effect will the mere symbolism have? Should I learn to speak chinese as much as I need to learn to speak spanish? What power could a NAFTA-like allience composed of 1/4 of the human population exert on the the other 3/4? The trade agreement between India and China is surely nothing compared to the trade agreement already extant between the US and China. On the topic of China, The Atlantic had a cover story last month about the New Cold War that we could have with China if things soured - http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200506/kaplan for the opening excerpt. Alas, I didn't buy a copy, and am not a subscriber, so I can't speak to the quality of the article itself (even if it was written by Kaplan..) If you rate your self-worth solely on whether you have the latest newest widget, you're never going to be happy. It's really that simple. Henry Rollins has his own film review show now on IFC. In one of his rants about the way the world is, he started frothing about consumerism as relates to films, something to the effect of when I walk into a 7-11 and don't blink an eyelash at a cardboard cutout of Darth Vader hawking Cheez-its to me, things have gone too far! On Karma.. you don't owe, but there are repurcussions to the forces you exhert, yes? -k- __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new Resources site http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Islamic Neocons
Depends on what you mean by Neocon. Wahhabism is a very literalist approach to Islam and has had a radical influence on global Islam in the late 20th and early 21st centuries AD. There are some weak parallels with literalist North American approaches to Evangelical Protestant Christianity. It is also true that American Evangelicals are very very Republican, but in my book the Evangelical caucus and Neoconservative elements in the Republican party are merely allied, not identical. On Tuesday 2005-05-31 05:32, Leonard Matusik wrote: Anybody smarter than me see any paralleles between what happened in Saudi Arabia with Whahabi-Whatis Islam and the Neocom movement in the US? -Leonard Matusik RN/MSN - Yahoo! Mail Stay connected, organized, and protected. Take the tour ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Will someone, anyone please explain to me..........
On May 29, 2005, at 6:29 AM, Leonard Matusik wrote: ...how and when has this list has ever participated in carefull thought experiments about plausable tomorrows. This list is a community of people who are interested in the writings of David Brin and his fellow Killer Bees -- Gregory Benford, Greg Bear... and recently inducted members Stephen Baxter and Vernor Vinge. These authors represent the portion of the science fiction genre that takes science seriously, emphasizing careful thought experiments about plausible tomorrows. The only ones to whom the description above necessarily applies are David Brin, Gregory Benford, Greg Bear, and Vernor Vinge. The rest of us will continue to emphasize careless thought experiments about implosive todays. Dave ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: The French Say Non!
On May 31, 2005, at 11:38 AM, Warren Ockrassa wrote: Yeah. What I've been missing in the flurry of coverage is the actual constitution itself. Anyone have a link handy to the text of the document? http://europa.eu.int/constitution/index_en.htm Available in 21 languages. Dave ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Orwell quotation
On May 31, 2005, at 7:33 AM, Leonard Matusik wrote: Does Killer Bs Discussion have an orthodoxy? (or isn't anybody allowed to ask the question?) No orthodoxy: ask away. If you think Dr. Brin's post (or anyone else's) is full of crap, you are certainly free to try to prove it or provide a demonstrably better alternative view. Dave ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Orwell quotation
Behalf Of Dave Land On May 31, 2005, at 7:33 AM, Leonard Matusik wrote: Does Killer Bs Discussion have an orthodoxy? (or isn't anybody allowed to ask the question?) No orthodoxy: ask away. If you think Dr. Brin's post (or anyone else's) is full of crap, you are certainly free to try to prove it or provide a demonstrably better alternative view. Just remember to change the subject to start with Brin: as Dr. Brin filters the list and only reads those posts that start with that string. Kinda annoying when you are responding to one of his posts, but that's life... Oh, and, good luck... ;-) - jmh ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Will someone, anyone please explain to me..........
...how and when has this list has ever participated in carefull thought experiments about plausable tomorrows. I've been getting the fruit of this list for several months and all I ever see the members do is complain about today. If there is somebody, ANYBODY interested in extrapolating the factoids and blather into visions of (preferably positive) future visions, please post on this thread. I'd reccommend starting a new thread about it. Most of the SF I've been reading lately has been genre fiction, so while it's entertaining it's not anything I would call seriously thought provoking. Damon. Damon Agretto [EMAIL PROTECTED] Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum. http://www.geocities.com/garrand.geo/index.html Now Building: Ertl's TIE Fighter -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 267.3.2 - Release Date: 5/31/2005 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Orwell quotation
On May 31, 2005, at 1:22 PM, Dave Land wrote: If you think Dr. Brin's post (or anyone else's) is full of crap, you are certainly free to try to prove it or provide a demonstrably better alternative view. Politely, though. As much as possible. ;) -- Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books http://books.nightwares.com/ Current work in progress The Seven-Year Mirror http://www.nightwares.com/books/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: more thread suggestions
On May 31, 2005, at 12:15 PM, kerri miller wrote: On Karma.. you don't owe, but there are repurcussions to the forces you exhert, yes? Sure -- volitional action has effect. That doesn't mean, however, that there's some kind of battery that's storing energy of some sort or other. -- Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books http://books.nightwares.com/ Current work in progress The Seven-Year Mirror http://www.nightwares.com/books/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: The French Say Non!
- Original Message - From: Dave Land [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Killer Bs Discussion brin-l@mccmedia.com Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 3:19 PM Subject: Re: The French Say Non! On May 31, 2005, at 11:38 AM, Warren Ockrassa wrote: Yeah. What I've been missing in the flurry of coverage is the actual constitution itself. Anyone have a link handy to the text of the document? http://europa.eu.int/constitution/index_en.htm Available in 21 languages. Since I posted the question, I have heard a bit more commentary on the situation. Much of it concerned Chirac and how the vote will effect his government. Well, he has a new anti-American Prime Minister, but I don't yet see that as being important. Two of the tidbits I heard sounded interesting. One was that the rejection vote was caused in part by sovereignty questions. The other was that the inclusion of Turkey and the expansion to 25 states would diminish Frances power. If true, these are the most notable bytes of the story. Tomorrow the Dutch are supposed to reject the Constitution. This, it is purported, will pretty much keep Britain from joining the EC. My thoughts thus far as to how this effects the US pretty much boil down to the future becoming multipolar or remaining more or less unipolar in short, medium and longer terms. The advent of a strong Europe would speed multipolarity I'm guessing and diminish US power relatively. If the EU ends up cratering, the US will have more freedom to counter China and India. I'm not really well versed in global politics at this level and would be interested in any opinions or opinion pieces anyone here might have to offer. xponent A Crossroads Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Will someone, anyone please explain to me..........
Ah yes Never mind then. sorry I shall look for another list to bother with those things. In the mean time, I shall do my best to behave on this one. thanks... ok ... Leonard Matusik [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dave Land [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:Tue, 31 May 2005 13:11:40 -0700 The only ones to whom the description above necessarily applies are David Brin, Gregory Benford, Greg Bear, and Vernor Vinge. The rest of us will continue to emphasize careless thought experiments about implosive todays. Dave On May 29, 2005, at 6:29 AM, Leonard Matusik wrote: ...how and when has this list has ever participated in carefull thought experiments about plausable tomorrows. This list is a community of people who are interested in the writings of David Brin and his fellow Killer Bees -- Gregory Benford, Greg Bear... and recently inducted members Stephen Baxter and Vernor Vinge. These authors represent the portion of the science fiction genre that takes science seriously, emphasizing careful thought experiments about plausible tomorrows. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Will someone, anyone please explain to me..........
On May 31, 2005, at 5:20 PM, Leonard Matusik wrote: Ah yes Never mind then. sorry I shall look for another list to bother with those things. Now now, don't take personal offense where none was intended. There'll be plenty of opportunity for that later. What kinds of futurist scenarios were you looking for? F'rinstance you mentioned nanotech. My personal feeling on that is it's limited. I mean, what we'll be able to do with it is limited. I have a pretty strong hunch that the future really lies in biological engineering. The characters I write in one future universe, for instance, live in a time when infectious diseases are all virtually wiped out by -- get this -- a modified version of an HIV-like virus. It lives in the body and augments the immune system rather than destroying it. Fast-moving cancers are still a problem, though -- because of course they don't track as an infection. Slower cancers can be diagnosed and treated. And you don't get IVs out of bottles. You get a *slug* on your arm instead, one that determines what's wrong with you based on how your blood tastes to it, and synthesizes necessary compounds, feeding them into your system directly. (Shock, pain treatments, etc.) Of course we're not talking the next few decades here... In the mean time, I shall do my best to behave on this one. Why buck the trend? -- Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books http://books.nightwares.com/ Current work in progress The Seven-Year Mirror http://www.nightwares.com/books/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
brin-l-books update
The ongoing project for brin-l listees to rate books based on the unproved notion that we might have similar tastes :) This year's Hugo nominated novels have been added to the database. There are 811 books in the database and 1948 book ratings so far. The site has been updated so as to not require cookies to work. This should make things a bit easier for some people. http://books.scattersoft.com Anyone who registered before but forgot their password, just contact me and I'll sort it out. Any suggestions for books to add to the list (ones you are going to go and rate highly as soon as I add them) can be emailed to [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ Mac OS X is a rock-solid system that's beautifully designed. I much prefer it to Linux. - Bill Joy. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Will someone, anyone please explain to me..........
None taken Warren, I was smiling when I sent it (not smirking either!) I'm sort of interested in a scenario where the next Thomas Edison(s) pop up in places other than the USA. Technical (bio or otherwise) renders US superiority obsolete. Consider the harware and info, both new and surplus, just out there for the purchase. Also, there are place where respect for patent law and government restrictions are non-existant or winked at. Innovation and reverse engineering are cheap. It doesn't have to something grand either. Consider the new LED flashlights. My understanding is that LEDs are nanotech devices. These things will practically blind a person on a pitence of power. We are then left as a nation of lab rats, dedicated to the adverse effects of overindulgence. All of our intrigues, our plotting, and our fears will eventually melt into a historical tribute to Ozymandous (sp?) (oh F-ing yeh. We'll also likely continue to be the f-ing keepers of *ckSukNG-ing Team America World Police, YAH! ) and I can LIKE or DISlike that. It doesn't change the high probability that it will be true. Oh well, that's life Leonard Matusik [EMAIL PROTECTED] (a handle, incidentally, which has nothing to do with nanotech; hell, I won't even own a cell phone) Warren Ockrassa [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:Tue, 31 May 2005 17:35:14 -0700 On May 31, 2005, at 5:20 PM, Leonard Matusik wrote: Ah yes Never mind then. sorry I shall look for another list to bother with those things. Now now, don't take personal offense where none was intended. There'll be plenty of opportunity for that later. What kinds of futurist scenarios were you looking for? F'rinstance you mentioned nanotech. My personal feeling on that is it's limited. I mean, what we'll be able to do with it is limited. I have a pretty strong hunch that the future really lies in biological engineering. The characters I write in one future universe, for instance, live in a time when infectious diseases are all virtually wiped out by -- get this -- a modified version of an HIV-like virus. It lives in the body and augments the immune system rather than destroying it. Fast-moving cancers are still a problem, though -- because of course they don't track as an infection. Slower cancers can be diagnosed and treated. And you don't get IVs out of bottles. You get a *slug* on your arm instead, one that determines what's wrong with you based on how your blood tastes to it, and synthesizes necessary compounds, feeding them into your system directly. (Shock, pain treatments, etc.) Of course we're not talking the next few decades here... In the mean time, I shall do my best to behave on this one. Why buck the trend? -- Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books http://books.nightwares.com/ Current work in progress The Seven-Year Mirror http://www.nightwares.com/books/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: Having Fun With Intelligent Design
On 5/23/05, Dave Land [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Folks, Today at lunch, Nick and I were reading reading selections from The Art of Peace by Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido. It is a tiny book that contains 100-some sayings excerpted from Master Ueshiba's writings. Among them is this: If your opponent strikes with fire, counter with water, becoming completely fluid and free-floating. The following article describes an Aikido-like counter to the growing trend of state school boards to insist that science instructors teach intelligent design as an alternative to evolution, and to teach that evolution is just a theory. http://www.alternet.org/story/22039/ Excerpt: All teachers know that their first and hardest job is to gain the student's attention and interest. What subject best attracts a teenager's undivided attention? Sex. Happily, when it comes to evolution, sex is central. I recommend that biology teachers begin by discussing Elisabeth A. Lloyd's decidedly scientific book, The Case of the Female Orgasm. No school board member should complain. The book's subtitle, Bias in the Science of Evolution, clearly fits with the new requirement that teachers critique evolutionary theory. Darwinians can explain the male orgasm. After all, the male ejaculation is necessary for the survival and perpetuation of the species, and if giving the male great pleasure while doing so promotes that, then natural selection would eventually endow the male orgasm with that characteristic. When it comes to the human female orgasm, however, evolutionists are stumped. No other female of the animal kingdom experiences an orgasm. Professor Lloyd examines 21 evolution-based explanations for the female orgasm, and demolishes every one of them. Dave Pardon my ignorance, but something is not scanning here: intuitively, I'd expect the mystery to go the other way- why a male orgasm, rather than why female. Consider: the expense for a male of sex (just the act) is neglible, almost non-existent. Not so for a female; if from an evolutionary perspective, the sex suceeds, that leads to one hell of an expense, esp. for a human (15 or so years of childrearing, and, of course, the pregnancy itself). So it would make sense that a female would need an ulterior reason to have sex (and voluntarily take on that immense cost)- hence an orgasm. This reasoning doesn't really hold for males, since they don't need a reason. Or am I missing something basic here? ~Maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Will someone, anyone please explain to me..........
On 5/31/05, Leonard Matusik [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: None taken Warren, I was smiling when I sent it (not smirking either!) I'm sort of interested in a scenario where the next Thomas Edison(s) pop up in places other than the USA. Technical (bio or otherwise) renders US superiority obsolete. Consider the harware and info, both new and surplus, just out there for the purchase. Also, there are place where respect for patent law and government restrictions are non-existant or winked at. Innovation and reverse engineering are cheap. It doesn't have to something grand either. Consider the new LED flashlights. My understanding is that LEDs are nanotech devices. These things will practically blind a person on a pitence of power. We are then left as a nation of lab rats, dedicated to the adverse effects of overindulgence. All of our intrigues, our plotting, and our fears will eventually melt into a historical tribute to Ozymandous (sp?) Ozymandias. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias ~Maru IPU bless wikipedia! ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Orwell quotation
Uh, actually David.. I take the position that most people, including myself, are full of crap (meaning they operate from a relatively large deficit of self-knowlege, their motives are flawed, their meanings unclear). I am, of course, very oriented toward the views of Dr. Carl Rogers in this matter. But to the point actually, Dr. Brin and I share many common viewpoints. That is why I was attracted to this list. We differ on few points (like my use of punctuation and his incessable hand-wringing over the neocon invasion) woops atrocious behavior on my part, really though, I do agree. sorry,.. really. Leonard Matusik [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dave Land [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:Tue, 31 May 2005 13:22:41 -0700 On May 31, 2005, at 7:33 AM, Leonard Matusik wrote: Does Killer Bs Discussion have an orthodoxy? (or isn't anybody allowed to ask the question?) No orthodoxy: ask away. If you think Dr. Brin's post (or anyone else's) is full of crap, you are certainly free to try to prove it or provide a demonstrably better alternative view. Dave ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l - Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new Resources site! ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: Having Fun With Intelligent Design
At 08:31 PM Tuesday 5/31/2005, Maru Dubshinki wrote: Consider: the expense for a male of sex (just the act) is neglible, almost non-existent. Not so for a female; if from an evolutionary perspective, the sex suceeds, that leads to one hell of an expense, esp. for a human (15 or so years of childrearing, and, of course, the pregnancy itself). So it would make sense that a female would need an ulterior reason to have sex (and voluntarily take on that immense cost)- hence an orgasm. This reasoning doesn't really hold for males, since they don't need a reason. Or am I missing something basic here? Human males are generally significantly stronger than human females, so if the male is sufficiently motivated, it's not like the female has much choice, particularly if the male in question is the dominant male of the tribe and so controls who gets to eat? -- Ronn! :) ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: Having Fun With Intelligent Design
I want to bank on divine-selection favoring strong pair bonding as the motive. Coupled with a high desire for sexual novalty, further strengthes the case that A)God is a comedienne or B)God has no gender Leonard Matusik -[EMAIL PROTECTED] Maru Dubshinki [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:Tue, 31 May 2005 21:31:45 -0400 Pardon my ignorance, but something is not scanning here: intuitively, I'd expect the mystery to go the other way- why a male orgasm, rather than why female. Consider: the expense for a male of sex (just the act) is neglible, almost non-existent. Not so for a female; if from an evolutionary perspective, the sex suceeds, that leads to one hell of an expense, esp. for a human (15 or so years of childrearing, and, of course, the pregnancy itself). So it would make sense that a female would need an ulterior reason to have sex (and voluntarily take on that immense cost)- hence an orgasm. This reasoning doesn't really hold for males, since they don't need a reason. Or am I missing something basic here? ~Maru On 5/23/05, Dave Land wrote: .. then natural selection would eventually endow the male orgasm with that characteristic. When it comes to the human female orgasm, however, evolutionists are stumped. No other female of the animal kingdom experiences an orgasm. Professor Lloyd examines 21 evolution-based explanations for the female orgasm, and demolishes every one of them. Dave ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Welcome Re: more thread suggestions
Leonard wrote I'm a health care professional in North Carolina and MAN the demographics are monster! I tell all my grumbling redneck staff who say ,those people otter larn to speek 'merican that money talks and BS walks Cater to these folks, show them respect and they will spend their money with you Woohoo, another healthcare provider, if we keep adding a healthcare worker every few years we will have serious block leverage in a few hundred years. That is as much futuristic scifi as I can think at this point, but welcome aboard. Dee (up to my eyeballs back in PT school) ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Orwell quotation
Leonard wrote: Does Killer Bs Discussion have an orthodoxy? (or isn't anybody allowed to ask the question?) All is Brin. -- Doug ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: a special holocene gathering Wednesday 3pm
In a message dated 5/31/2005 8:06:57 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Naturally, it is come-if-convenient. Drop by if you happen to be around and free and able... thanks! david brin I am reminded of a bit from the World of Beachcomber. Male voice: I'm free and able to come. Sexy female voice: I'm always able, but I'm never free. Vilyehm ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Orwell quotation
John Horn wrote: Just remember to change the subject to start with Brin: as Dr. Brin filters the list and only reads those posts that start with that string. Thanks for the reminder! I totally forgot. Kevin Street -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 267.3.2 - Release Date: 5/31/2005 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
