admin – Page 279 – On The 8 Spot

March 27, 2009

rePost:Signalling ang The Kindle:Marginal Revolution: Tom Foster on the Kindle

: Image via CrunchBase

This makes me wonder what is far stronger the need to signal what you are reading or the ability to hide what you are reading?? See, I’ve read a few books that I’d call my guilty indulgences, books I wouldn’t read in public or without their covers covered. And yes if you look at my desk I have a couple of these books, and with the ability to hide them effectively they would comprise a larger percentage of the books I own.

I wonder if Kindle advocates are underestimating how important it is for people to show those around them not just that they like to read, but also what they like to read?
via Marginal Revolution: Tom Foster on the Kindle.

March 25, 2009

What's Playing? Jumper by Third Eye Blind

: Image by BigBlue via Flickr

Jumper
Third Eye Blind
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies
That you’ve been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand
The angry boy, a bit too insane
Icing over a secret pain
You know you don’t belong
You’re the first to fight
You’re way too loud
You’re the flash of light
On a burial shroud
I know something’s wrong
Well everyone I know has got a reason
To say
Put the past away
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies
That you’ve been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand
Well, he’s on the table
And he’s gone to code
And I do not think anyone knows
What they are doing here
And your friends have left
You’ve been dismissed
I never thought it would come to this
And I
I want you to know
Everyone’s got to face down the demons
Maybe today
We can put the past away
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies
That you’ve been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand
I would understand
Can you put the past away
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
I would understand…

March 24, 2009

Praise To Effort:I like:This Week in DVD: Quantum of Solace, Bolt, Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter, and More | /Film

You just can’t say enough about how much Watchmen was such a labor of love for Snyder’s. I’m definitely buying the dvd.

WATCHMEN: TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER & UNDER THE HOOD
Some viewers may have been less than thrilled with Zack Snyder’s film adaptation of Watchmen, but the mere fact that these two shorts exist should at least earn him respect amongst fans for how passionate he was about the project. Not only did he create an animated version of the comic-within-the-comic from Alan Moore’s graphic novel, he also created a mock-documentary to try to replicate the excerpts of Hollis Mason’s autobiography. While I can’t say I particularly like the idea of these being released on their own separate DVD, seeing as how Tales of the Black Freighter will actually be included in Snyder’s Director’s Cut of the film (and I can only assume that Under the Hood will be included as a special feature), it’s nice to have them easily accessible right now instead of having to wait several months.
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: ‘Story Within A Story: The Books of Watchmen’ featurette.
via This Week in DVD: Quantum of Solace, Bolt, Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter, and More | /Film.

March 24, 2009

Hey Paul Krugman

: Image via Wikipedia

lyrics from nyt freakonomics blog here:
Hey Paul Krugman,
Why aren’t you in the administration?
Is there some kind of politicking that I don’t understand?
I mean, Timothy Geithner is like some little weasel.
Wasn’t he in a position of power
when all this sh*t went down in the first place?
When I listen to you, things seem to make sense
When I listen to him, all I hear is blah, blah, blah.
Hey Paul Krugman,
where the hell are ya, man?
‘Cause we need you on the front lines
not just writing for The New York Times.
I’d feel better if you were calling some shots
instead of writing your blog and probably thinking a lot.
I mean, don’t you have some influence?
Why aren’t you secretary of the Treasury?
For God’s sake, man, you won the Nobel Prize.
Timothy Geithner uses TurboTax.
When I listen to you, things seem to make sense.
When I listen to him, all I hear is blah, blah, blah.
Hey Paul Krugman, where the hell are ya, man?
(Obama Breakdown)
Sing it with me!
When I listen to you, things seem to make sense.
When I listen to him, all I hear is blah, blah, blah.
Hey Paul Krugman, where the hell are ya, man?
Your country needs you now.

March 24, 2009

rePost:Dying Alone:The dead man who wore pajamas – part II at Paulo Coelho’s Blog

We live in a culture of self absorption and in this world were we are ever connected to Die Alone is a great tragedy. I try to see the silver lining, I imagine that the dead man who wore pajamas was someone like miyamoto musashi, self recluse for purposes of enlightenment, but this is just me not wanting to see what I fear maybe the way I may go.

Then I thought of the dead man in his pajamas, of solitude so utter and abysmal that for twenty years nobody in this whole wide world had realized that he had simply disappeared without leaving a trace. And my conclusion is that worse than feeling hunger and thirst, worse than being jobless, suffering for love, in despair over some defeat – worse than all this is to feel that nobody, absolutely nobody in this world, cares for us.
Let us at this moment say a quiet prayer for this man and let us offer him our thanks for making us reflect on how important our friends are.
via The dead man who wore pajamas – part II at Paulo Coelho’s Blog.

March 23, 2009

Challenge To Wallstreet::Grasping Reality with Both Hands: Needed for AIG and the TARP: Silicon Valley Compensation Schemes

Punitive taxes on compensation that takes the form of long-term restricted equity stakes is a dangerous and destructive move. If the compensation bill that emerges from the conference committee does not allow TARP-receiving companies to offer such SVCSs, then Obama should veto it.
And if the traders of Wall Street then quit en masse? If they say that they are going to “Go Galt” if they don’t get their traders’ options to take the money upfront after assuring us shareholders that they have made us a lot of money, that their positions and strategies are sound, and that they have prudently managed the risks? Well, then that tells us something about what they really think the true value of their work product has been.
via Grasping Reality with Both Hands: Needed for AIG and the TARP: Silicon Valley Compensation Schemes.

March 23, 2009

Best Read: Eric Musselman's Basketball Notebook: Be willing to share

“The greatest difficulty with the world is not its ability to produce,
but the unwillingness to share.”
via Eric Musselman’s Basketball Notebook: Be willing to share.

March 23, 2009

What's Playing: The Wrestler by Bruce Springsteen

: Image by ANTWRANGLER via Flickr

lyrics copied from here,
The Wrestler by Bruce Springsteen
Have you ever seen a one trick pony in the field so happy and free?
If you’ve ever seen a one trick pony then you’ve seen me
Have you ever seen a one-legged dog making its way down the street?
If you’ve ever seen a one-legged dog then you’ve seen me
Then you’ve seen me, I come and stand at every door
Then you’ve seen me, I always leave with less than I had before
Then you’ve seen me, bet I can make you smile when the blood, it hits the floor
Tell me, friend, can you ask for anything more?
Tell me can you ask for anything more?
Have you ever seen a scarecrow filled with nothing but dust and wheat?
If you’ve ever seen that scarecrow then you’ve seen me
Have you ever seen a one-armed man punching at nothing but the breeze?
If you’ve ever seen a one-armed man then you’ve seen me
Then you’ve seen me, I come and stand at every door
Then you’ve seen me, I always leave with less than I had before
Then you’ve seen me, bet I can make you smile when the blood, it hits the floor
Tell me, friend, can you ask for anything more?
Tell me can you ask for anything more?
These things that have comforted me, I drive away
This place that is my home I cannot stay
My only faith’s in the broken bones and bruises I display
Have you ever seen a one-legged man trying to dance his way free?
If you’ve ever seen a one-legged man then you’ve seen me

March 22, 2009

rePost: Liked This :Movie Review: I Love You, Man – Capturing the Modern American Male Condition | /Film

Image by Andrew Huff via Flickr

Read the whole thing here , I didn’t want to post the whole review.

Nice Movie Review from /film
But what I appreciated most was the way that the film captured the modern American male condition with thought and humor. On the whole, when men get married, study after study has demonstrated that they are more likely to depend more on their spouses for emotional support than they do on others, as opposed to females, who are typically able to maintain a more extensive social network. As a result, widowed men experience higher rates of depression and shorter periods until remarriage. When you couple this with conclusions such as those found in sociologists Robert Putnam’s book, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of the American Community, you end up with a profound cynicism about the emotional life of the modern American male that’s become fairly pervasive in our culture (see: Fight Club). Putnam paints a pretty bleak picture of American social life, claiming that the ties that have bound us in our communities (e.g. bowling leagues) have withered dramatically to the detriment of civic engagement. In other words, these days, it’s difficult for men to keep quality male friends, and even harder for them to make new ones.
via Movie Review: I Love You, Man – Capturing the Modern American Male Condition | /Film.

March 22, 2009

There Is But One Race…So Say We All-

There Is But One Race…So Say We All–
I don’t know why but I feel I am in a precarious emotional state right now, so take these words with a grain of salt,
I loved this video!

Edward James Olmos, on his authority as Admiral of the Battlestar Galactica, tells the assembled crowd at the United Nations there is no race but the human race (so say we all).