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• D.C., where art thou? Rick Lyman cobbles together an article that’s surprisingly readable—and interesting—despite the fact that it revolves around his (Mr. Lyman’s) inability to actually connect with his subject, the inscrutable Dick Cheney. “Desperately Seeking Dick Cheney” is, almost astonishingly, hilarious, and you ought to read it. (NYT: “Desperately Seeking Dick Cheney,” [local version] by Rick Lyman [September 19, 2004])
• Mae West, Pt. 2. And, because Mae West references are apparently coming back into style (not that they ever went out), there’s no sense in breaking the trend. Thus: Catherine Orenstein at Ms. Magazine starts off (and ends) an article on Little Red Riding Hood with mentions of Mae West. (Ms. Magazine: “Dances with Wolves: Little Red Riding Hood’s Long Walk in the Woods,” by Catherine Orenstein [Summer 2004], via MeFi)
• Syrupy Swim. FYI, just in case you were wondering, it’s no more difficult to swim in syrup than it is in water. This is because the drag experienced by swimming through a liquid that’s more viscous than water is essentially cancelled out by the additional force generated with every stroke. According to Edward Cussler of the University of Minnesota, anyway.

  Apparently, the most difficult (or “troublesome,” in the article’s words) part of the experiment was obtaining the necessary permits and whatnot in order to fill a swimming pool with syrup.

  (news @ nature.com: “Swimming in syrup is as easy as water,” Michael Hopkin [September 20, 2004])

I thought maybe an immense review would be appropriate, but ultimately decided against it. My review of Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace is as follows:

Infinite Jest is an atrocious waste of space.

Project Censored covers “the News That Didn’t Make the News” (their words) and publishes an annual list of stories that should have been widely publicized, but weren’t. This year’s list is no different than any other year’s—it’s as disturbing as always. Some of the stories are alarmist, too, as always. The goal of the project isn’t to state fact, though: it’s to pave the way for public discussion of issues that the Media managed to basically avoid, so this alarmism doesn’t really handicap Project Censored’s legitimacy. Go.

Tom Kuntz of the NYT starts off his Sept 5th article by saying, “If the presidential election were Mae West,” but I wouldn’t hold that against him. Actually, it’s an interesting article, despite the fact that it’s not really an article.

What it is is a sampling of comments ranging from 1864 to the present day, all of them declaring the election of that time to be the most important, ever.

E.g., you have Gen. James H. Lane writing in a NYT editorial in 1864:

“We have had many important elections, but never one so important as that now approaching.”

…or Joseph Levenson in 1924:

“I look upon the coming election as the most important in the history of this country since the Civil War.”

…and so on, and so forth. It’s a great exercise in perspective, though the flip-side should be noted, too: that all elections are the most important at that time, since we don’t live in the past or future but the present. Some may be more or less important given their historical context, but that’s history, and if we were able to live according to historical context, there would probably be far fewer problems in the world today.

(NYT: “The Most Important Article in Our History,” by Tom Kuntz [September 5, 2004])

…though there are obviously many more…

BEIJING (Reuters) - A boiler that exploded at a Chinese sauna sailed over a six-story building and landed on an old man crossing the road, Xinhua news agency said.

The 63-year-old pedestrian was killed instantly and three people injured in Sunday’s bizarre accident in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, Xinhua quoted local police as saying.

“A passerby tried to escape when he saw the large object flying toward him, but he was hurt in his leg,” Xinhua said. “Two workers in a restaurant next to the bathhouse were also injured after a wall of the restaurant collapsed.”

(Here are freak accidents numbers 1 & 2, if you’re curious.)

(via Reuters: “Boiler Kills on Impact After Sauna Launch” [September 13, 2004])

Well, the same as you’d address a Duke’s Younger Son’s Wife, of course.

(via TMN)

Hidekazu Kakoi was looking for a fishing spot about six miles off shore when he noticed something bobbing on the horizon. He pulled his boat closer and discovered a man, grasping a duffel bag.

That was just the start of the mystery.

Now recovering on the tiny island of Tanegashima, off Japan’s southern coast, the mystery man has refused to speak to authorities since his rescue Sept. 2. The duffel bag floated away, and local officials say all they have to go on is the fact that he’s Asian, wore a tank-top with a Korean label, and fell, jumped or was pushed into the water with his shoes on.

(via ABC7/AP: “Mystery man has Japanese island abuzz” [September 8, 2004])

In lieu of an actual review, since I’m guessing a movie like Spider-Man isn’t one you need a synopsis and/or thoughtful review for, I’m going to present a pro/con list—reasons why you might like Spider-Man 2 more than you’d expect, and reasons why you might not.

Reasons why you might like Spider-Man 2 more than you’d expect:

1. The story is written in part by Michael Chabon, who wrote the tremendous novel, The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (if you’ve read it, you probably know why this is an asset to Spider-Man 2; if you haven’t, you should). It’s hard to sum up in one sentence what happens in TAoK&C, because a lot happens, but one salient detail of which you should be aware is, it’s about comic book artists. And WWII and growing up and friendship and all sorts of good stuff like that, but in its most basic incarnation, comic book artists. It’s also exceptionally well-written, as books go. And the story (i.e., plot) is phenomenal. I’m guessing that these are the three major reasons (to recap: [1] focus on comic book artists, [2] quality of writing, and [3] brilliance of story) why Chabon was brought on board to help write the story for Spider-Man 2, but I could be wrong.
2. Bruce Campbell has a cameo, with the role of a “snooty usher.” (As it turns out, he had a role in the first Spider-Man, too, but I’d forgotten that. [He was the announcer in the wrestling ring.])
3. There are a couple surprisingly brilliant comedic moments, some that figure into the movie at large and some that do not, but [almost] all of which are hilarious. The montage with “Raindrops keep falling on my head” as the background music comes immediately to mind, as does an incident involving spiderman waiting in an elevator (guy standing in elevator: “Nice Spidey outfit…” PP: “Thanks.” g.s.i.e.: “Where’d you get it?” PP: “I… made it.” g.s.i.e.: “It looks uncomfortable.” etc.). But there’s more, too.
4. J.K. Simmons, filling out the role of the sharp-tongued, fast-talking newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson once again, is pretty much one of the stand-out characters of the film.

Reasons why you might not:

1. The ending’s predictable. Hell, a lot of the movie is predictable to one extent or another. There are surprises, there are (a few) twists, but on the whole, it’s not the same as seeing a movie like Usual Suspect for the first time. What were you expecting, Spider-Man gets killed 45 minutes into the film?
2. There’s some goop. Yes, Spider-Man 2 is not without goop. And by “goop,” I mean dangerously trite dialogue that may potentially threaten the very sanity of the viewer. Spider-Man 2 has a story to tell, what story deals with romance and the like in a very circumspect way; seeing as there are a few things for the movie to resolve other than Spidey & MJ (like the total destruction of NY, for instance), it’s not like there was a lot of choice here. It was either 1: goop or 2: cut out some of the action. You would have preferred…?
3. You hate big-budget action movies on principle and/or you have particular disdain for comic book characters. If either of these statements describes you, I’m not going to lie and say you’ll love the film. You probably wouldn’t.

Rating: [•••½] out of [•••••]

It might not look like much, but the new EcoBot II from Bristol is the closest thing yet to a completely self-sustaining robot. It eats flies. Flies which as of yet must (essentially) be spoon-fed to it—but the future promises brighter things, if not more pleasant smelling things; hopes for the EcoBot II being able to sustain itself without human intervention are pinned on its ability to attract flies, a feat that the robot would most likely achieve through sewage.

Previous attempts at an autonomous robot have included the “Slugbot” and “Chew-Chew”—the former designed, as you might suspect, to catch and digest the wily feral slug^*, and the latter made to live off of sugar cubes (not a terribly viable alternative in the field of robots intended to be totally self-sufficient).

Progress marches onward.

(via NewScientist: “Self-sustaining killer robot creates a stink,” by Duncan Graham-Rowe [September 9, 2004])

Note:
^* From the official Slugbot page:

“Apart from their relative ease of capture (compared to zebras), slugs were chosen because they are a major pest, are reasonably plentiful, have no hard shell or skeleton, and are reasonably large. It is also more technologically interesting to catch mobile prey rather than just grazing on plants.”

Somewhere between the junk food aisle and the automotive department, Pat Byrd and Bill Hughes fell in love.

(CNN/AP: “Longtime customers wed at Wal-Mart” [August 24, 2004])

Will it be aliens? Impotence? Verneshot? How will the world end?

Exit Mundi has the low-down.

The surprising thing is, the site’s saner than you might expect (hence, I guess, the surprise).

Artnet plays host to the excellent Baghdad Journal, which is written and illustrated by Steve Mumford; it’s probably best described by the first entry’s tagline: “An eyewitness artist’s report from the Iraqi capital.”

(via Everydaymatters)

An excerpt from Tony Blair’s September 14th speech on the problem of global warming:

But tonight I want to concentrate on what I believe to be the world’s greatest environmental challenge: climate change.

Our effect on the environment, and in particular on climate change, is large and growing.

…

The problem and let me state it frankly at the outset—is that the challenge is complicated politically by two factors. First, its likely effect will not be felt to its full extent until after the time for the political decisions that need to be taken, has passed. In other words, there is a mismatch in timing between the environmental and electoral impact. Secondly, no one nation alone can resolve it. It has no definable boundaries. Short of international action commonly agreed and commonly followed through, it is hard even for a large country to make a difference on its own.

(Tony Blair’s September 14 speech, “International action needed on global warming”)

Note: and yes, assuming he stuck with the prepared speech, he did in fact say “Arnold Schwarzenegger’s California.”

Insofar as people are like hamsters, companionship makes our wounds heal faster.

Another way of stating this is that stress prolongs the healing of wounds, but can be offset by the presumed joy of having friends (or, in the case of the hamsters, siblings) to comfort you.

(Science Daily/Ohio State University: “Study: A Little Help From Friends Makes Wounds Heal Faster” [August 4, 2004])

EFF has an incredibly thorough list of internet-accessible information that’s been curtailed as a result of anti-terrorism measures: information removed by governments, by ISPs, by website owners; you name it, this list has it. Not the information itself, but brief summaries of the type of information and links to articles discussing its removal.

My favorite is Z:

Z Don’t: Zooming in You are not blowing anyone’s mind with your vivid closeup of the intricate textures of that tree bark. Your photo of the S from the stop sign is not poetic. Yes, the ant looks big because you zoomed in, but no, that’s not interesting.

Incredibly bitter, tongue-in-cheek, somewhat malicious at times, and probably not actually helpful to anyone, but a quirky collection of Dos and Don’ts nonetheless.

(As an added bonus, whoever put the feature together had enough smarts that they avoided adding the extra apostrophe. You know, the extra apostrophe that everyone’s always so anxious to add to plural words that they’re not used to seeing plural [e.g., do –> dos being improperly rendered as do’s].)

(2003) Robert Rodriguez - Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Danny Trejo, Rubén Blades, Willem Dafoe, et al.

Synopsis: The plot of ‘Once Upon A Time In Mexico’, while not out-and-out absent, is somewhat tenuous; think ‘Desperado II’ (Or ‘El Mariachi 3′, but who’s keeping track), throw in a violently eccentric CIA agent, ex-FBI, a coup attempt, and some absurdly out-of-place flashbacks, and you have OUATIM. It’s El Mariachi (i.e., Antonio Banderas) back for revenge, but drawn there unwillingly. Johnny Depp is CIA, Mickey Rourke is a fugitive from the U.S. (though this fact is only incidental to the plot), Pedro Armendariz, Jr., is the President of Mexico, and Willem Dafoe is the dread Barillo.

Review: You have to give Rodriguez credit: he not only directed, but wrote the music, wrangled the cameras, and edited the thing; it’s almost surprising he didn’t do the stunts himself and handle the special effects. Unfortunately, the man needs to learn how to delegate responsibility. ‘Once Upon A Time In Mexico’ is halfway decent—particularly towards the beginning—but taken as a whole, it’s weak, confusing, and awkward. Surprisingly, Johnny Depp (or his character, anyway) might very well be one of the highlights of the movie. Depp as CIA Agent Sands is downright hilarious, with campy, offbeat lines and a murderous irreverence that fits very well with the tone of the movie. At one point, he’s at a bull-fight wearing a T-shirt that says CIA in big block letters. And he’s got a third arm, which is an interesting gimmick. Sands also keeps the movie from getting bogged down by El Mariachi’s melancholy, which is a good thing for the movie. Unfortunately, there are plenty of things to bog down the movie. For starters, Salma Hayek’s parts are all awkwardly grafted into a story where, essentially, they don’t belong (much less make any sense). Likewise, these parts seem to be leading somewhere—a side-story, perhaps?—but then end abruptly, leaving the viewer in a dead-end. ‘Desperado’ in all honesty was not outstanding, so it should come as no great surprise that its sequel isn’t exactly a five-star masterpiece. ‘OUATIM’ is darkly fun and maybe slightly higher on the ‘Must See’ list of fans of ‘Desperado’ or ‘El Mariachi,’ but it’s probably best left to its own devices.

Rating: [•••] out of [•••••]

(via Worldwatch Institute)

Hurricanes can wreak horrific structural damage and lead to loss of life, but you knew that already.

What you might not be thinking about are the numerous benefits of hurricanes. No, they don’t revive your immune system or add years to your life (or your house). But they can clean out waterways, help re-build barrier islands, and crush invasive species.

Another interesting side-benefit, not as incidental as might initially seem, is that hurricanes redistribute heat, drawing it out of the tropics and moving it towards the poles. Without hurricanes, the tropics would be much warmer than they already are, and the poles would be much colder.

(In spite of these obvious benefits, you might find yourself asking, “Why don’t we try to destroy tropical cyclones by nuking them?” I know I’ve asked myself that question more than once. Well, as it turns out, the problem isn’t just where the nuclear fallout would end up [though that would definitely be a major obstacle]: it’s really an issue of energy, which goes back to the whole heat redistribution issue. According to the Hurricane Research Division [appropriately enough] of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, yer average well-developed hurricane releases the heat equivalent of a 10-megaton bomb every 20 minutes, releasing energy at a rate close to 5 times that at which human civilization devours it. Which, however you slice, dice, or spin, is a heck of a lot of energy.)

(AP: “Hurricanes Bring Environmental Renewal,” by Rachel La Corte [September 6, 2004]; Ecology.com: “Our Friend The Hurricane,” by Dr. Jack Hall; AOML HRD FAQ: “Why don’t we try to destroy tropical cyclones by nuking them?”)

If you wanna eat at one of the Best Restaurants in the World (as determined by Restaurant Magazine), you’d better be prepared to shell out. The cheapest fare on the 10-best list rates at $165; the most expensive meal starts at $375.

(via WPR: “50 Best Restaurants in the World 2004″; based on Restaurant Magazine list)