I don’t know whether to be appalled or fascinated by this image of Mikhail Gorbachev being used to advertise Louis Vuitton luggage. Well, OK, I’m appalled. It would be rather like seeing Nelson Mandela advertising smack and crack. Ah, alright, that’s been done, but then that was a joke. This Gorbachev image is not – and it stinks. The one saving grace might be the book, but even here the effect is of a post-ironic comment that robs the image of any real power. Ah, Gorby, that you have fallen so low!
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Bat-Boy
Interesting story of how a boy substituted echo-location ability for his missing sight.Leave a comment
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The End of an Era
Damn! Misteraitch has announced that he is closing down Giornale Nuovo. That is a shame. If nothing else, it alerted me to the existence of Pulcinellopedia Piccola, which remains a book that I seek. And of course, GN provided many more riches than that alone…Leave a comment
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Phantoms In The Brain
I’ve mentioned VS Ramachandran’s terrific book on the architecture of the mind: Phantoms in the Brain a number of times before. He’s also a very good presenter and communicator. Here he is talking about Phantom Limbs, Synesthesia and the Capgras delusion with his customary lucidity and humour. Highly, highly recommended.2 responses to “Phantoms In The Brain”
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This one featuring Ramachandran is somewhat older and partially in Dutch: VPRO Noorderlicht (realplayer).Another one you’ve probably come accross already: Reith Lectures 2003 (audio)Cheers,Jim
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Jim, thanks very much for the Nooderlicht link – I hadn’t seen that. Good stuff. The Reith Lectures I had heard.
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Government and the Hominid Troop
George Monbiot has an interesting column in today’s Guardian, pointing out that while he and the former chairman of the Northern Rock bank both trained as zoologists, they draw very different conclusions from their examinations of the same evidence. Worth reading.Leave a comment
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Kees Moeliker Strikes Again…
Let it not be said that Kees Moeliker is afraid to take the search for science into areas in which others dare not tread…2 responses to “Kees Moeliker Strikes Again…”
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Was it the lice, or the homosexual necrophilia in mallard ducks that drew you? I’d also like to know how he discovered this. Oh the uplifting effects of a large glass of wine and your blog. ty Geoff.
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Oh, I’ve been keeping an eye on Kees since his well-deserved win of the 2003 Ig Nobel prize for his discovery of homosexual necrophilia in mallards (he happened to be in the right place at the right time, as it were). He followed up that sterling work by stuffing the sparrow that was responsible for the Netherlands losing its bid to win the Guiness Book of Records place for falling dominoes. And now he’s in search of pubic lice. Hats off to him!
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The Melbourne Edge
After my recent post that suggested that Melbourne was perhaps a worrying place to be, I’m delighted to redress the balance by referring you to this post over at Cosmic Variance. The Edge sounds like a terrific experience. Of course, for those of us with vertigo (e.g. Martin), the word "terrific" takes on the original overtones.So, Mary and Katy – have you tried it?Leave a comment
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We’re Doomed…
Courtesy of Vaughan, over at Mind Hacks, I bring you yet another episode in the ongoing "We’re Doomed" saga. What really made me pause is the snippet that the robot that will be deployed on the border between North and South Korea is manufactured by Samsung. Now I fully understand the reason behind the phrase "a sensible bit of Samsung". Clearly, some Samsung employees are just as scared as the rest of us…Leave a comment
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Robert Hooke’s Notebook
Robert Hooke‘s notebook is now online. You can leaf through it as though it is an actual book.(hat tip to PZ Myers)Leave a comment
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Dumbledore Was What?!
Well, according to JK Rowling, Albus was a friend of Dorothy. Damnit, we’re everywhere…10 responses to “Dumbledore Was What?!”
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She should have kept her mouth shut. Dumbledore being gay adds nothing to the narrative and is only going to enrage the fundies who are already having it pulled from schools and libraries in America on charges of witchcraft. The only purpose it can serve is the one you cite, that we’re everywhere, but that’s old news.
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"She should have kept her mouth shut"? I’m disappointed in you.
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Curb your disappointment. The response to any claim to be gay, which is especially relevant in this case, is "so what?" Now the focus is going to be on "Dumble-back-dore" or other such nonsense, instead of on a seminally admirable character in a great story-telling series. His being gay has no relevance at all to the stories and only opens up another political front to the detractors. I don’t want to be known as a gay writer, are you that gay retiree?
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"His being gay has no relevance to the stories" – well, that’s your opinion; maybe Rowling thinks otherwise. She certainly seems to have posited it as an aspect to the character, which gives an additional layer to the back story. And I’m sorry, but kow-towing to detractors is a slippery slope if you ask me. I’m a retiree who is gay – yes, so what, but why should I refuse to acknowledge that fact. If, instead, some wish to view me as "that gay retiree", that’s their problem. I don’t give a toss.
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Sorry, I’m back again. Your comments continue to nag away at me. I get the feeling that you’re either saying "don’t rock the boat" or that "being gay is not an issue". If it’s the latter, then why on earth should it bother you if Rowling says something about the back story of a character? And if it’s the former, then, sorry, but clearly the boat still needs to be rocked. No one would be happier than me for the fact that someone is gay to be a non-issue, but I think that we all have a long way to go before that.
A story: last week, my niece, her husband and their 9 year-old son came to stay with us. During the week, my niece suprised me by saying that she and her husband wanted her son to see for himself how ordinary Martin and I were, because the environment outside their home was somewhat anti-gay. I was suprised because I just take it for a fact that we are "ordinary"; but also somewhat dismayed that Andy could be growing up in an environment (in the Scottish countryside) where anti-gay prejudice is still a force.
That’s why I continue to say that I am happy to be seen as gay. It’s ordinary, but until it is seen as such, I will never shut up about it. -
I take your point Geoff, and agree, the boat still needs to be rocked in certain instances. Just not in this one. As for never shutting up about it, you need to do as you see necessary. As for me, being gay is no more an issue for me than my heterosexual friends being straight, though I acknowledge that the world sees us still as different. But I am different in so many other ways, I want that celebrated too. To my way of thinking, my being gay should be a non-issue to all but the man I love. And that’s how I live my life. My best friend is a straight male who often teases me by vocally appreciating good looking women on the street. I rebut with the good looking guys. He gets it. Ordinariness. I hope that’s the message your Andy gets. And hats off to your niece for trying to get him to see it that way.
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Hmmm. Let’s see. Most days at school the kids make anti gay cracks – they use it as an insult and a limiter to many actions that boys take or things they enjoy. Its seen as a bad thing. Still.
Maybe by getting to like Dumbledore as a character first, only to discover he is a dreaded gay, will help. If they liked Dumbledore before, without even noticing he was ‘abnormal’ and a ‘gay-boy’ – maybe it will make them think. Fuck knows, something needs to. Excuse the language, I’m half way through a bottle here. -
having said that – it will for sure fire up the fundies even more, equating gays with witches and all that good stuff. Maybe Dumbledore’ds sexuality is irrelevant in a kids book – did she really need to add it? Time will tell.
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Gelert, "maybe Dumbledore’s sexuality is irrelevant in a kid’s book". Maybe it is – and let’s not forget that it is never made explicit in this case; Rowling revealed it outside of her printed words. But I’m still very glad that she did it. Whether she did it to tweak the noses of the fundies ("Let’s rock the boat") or whether she honestly does not see it as an issue ("his being gay should be a non-issue to all but the man he loved"), no-one but Rowling knows the truth.
But in the wider sense of "should sexuality be irrelevant in a kid’s book", I’m all for it being a topic; if it makes sense and a good story, then why ever not?
Another story. Many (many!) years ago I was round at a friend’s house for dinner. There were six couples, two straight and one gay. One of the straight couples had their young son with them. He was about three or four at the time. The dinner was a very al fresco affair, we sat around on sofas and the floor, eating and talking. At one point, I leaned over at kissed my boyfriend on the cheek. Instantly, the boy was galvanised – he’d never seen a man kissing another man – and he was quite visibly surpirsed and not a little shocked. His parents did the right thing and said it was very ordinary, Geoff and Brian happen to be in love, and he relaxed and dinner carried on as if nothing had happened. Which, in a way, it had. -
Oh, and I see Philip Hensher comments on the Rowling affair in today’s Guardian. I agree with his sentiments. And I had forgotten about Balthamos and Baruch, the angels in Pullman’s His Dark Materials. I wonder whether Hollywood will airbrush out the fact that they are gay?
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John and Tony
Today, while rummaging through the bran-tub that is the Web, I came across two stories that made me pause and reflect. The first is Peter Wilby’s review of John Simpson’s autobiography: Not Quite World’s End in today’s Guardian. I like John Simpson. Probably more pertinently, I trust John Simpson. When he speaks, I tend to listen, and find his words meaningful.Now, Wilby’s review points out some of the more sentimental and woolly side of Simpson, complete with some potentially rather un-PC sexism ("Fatherhood – and we perhaps shouldn’t inquire too closely into why two daughters from an earlier marriage didn’t have this effect – has "utterly" changed his view of the world, and particularly of war and death"). But still, the end result is that I continue to trust Simpson, and I’m tempted to purchase his memoir to read for myself.That memoir, as Wilby says, apparently: "…combines meticulous reporting with attitude. Much of it can be read as an epitaph to the foreign adventures of the Blair era and, as such, it is fair, forensic and utterly devastating".Which brings me on to Tony.Unlike my attitude to Simpson, "trust" is no longer a word I personally could now ever associate with Blair. My response to him, from the halycon days of 1997 when I truly believed that Britain was poised to take a step forward, has been poisoned by his deeds and has undergone a complete volte face. Now, he is a "peace envoy" for the Middle East Quartet. yet his language at this event is hardly pitched to be diplomatic. Instead of working for peace he seems determined to pile up the bonfire for the conflagration.One response to “John and Tony”
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Agreed. We had such hopes in 97 and then Tone decides he wants to get presidential and crawls into bed with that moron across the water. Such promise, such disappointment.
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Makers of Universes
Here’s George Bernard Shaw proposing a toast to Albert Einstein…Wonderful to see this rare footage from 27 October 1930, and to hear GBS speak. Hat tip to Nicholas WhyteLeave a comment
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Drowning in Features
Jeff Atwood, over at Coding Horror, makes what I think is a very valid point: adding features into new releases of software applications can spoil the software. I’ve seen it happen a number of times to applications that I use. What started out as a terrific little application that did one job very well indeed degenerates into bloatware that contains features that I never use and never wanted. The performance often goes down the toilet as well.A case in point, for me, is Nero. I first bought it to burn some CDs, and that’s all I ever use it for. In the meantime, it has bloated into a huge suite of applications, which often cause more trouble than they are worth. The online updating mechanism, for example, has never, ever, worked properly for me. I have to download a complete fresh install. What started out as an application of less than 10MB (as I recall) now weighs in at a staggering 178 MB. I won’t be upgrading to version 8 of Nero.Leave a comment
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Life Imitates Art Again
Simon Sellars, over at Ballardian, reports on his growing feeling that Melbourne (his home city) is taking on the feeling of Ballard’s Kingdom Come. Disturbing.Leave a comment
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Gaudí’s Glory
Jonathan Jones has a good piece on the life and work of Anton Gaudí in today’s Guardian. Barcelona is my favourite city in part because of Gaudí’s glorious architecture. If you ever get the chance to visit Casa Batlló, jump at it; you won’t be disappointed.Leave a comment
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50 Key Dates
Richard Overy makes his choice of the 50 key dates in human history. Looking at those associated with the sciences, then I would broadly agree. However, I really do question his choice of 1959: Invention of the Silicon Chip. That, to me, is mere packaging; the real key date was 1947 when Bardeen, Brittain and Shockley invented the transistor – a totally new technology that replaced thermionic valves.2 responses to “50 Key Dates”
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Hi Geoff,I have your blog as feed in my RSS reader and have been picking up interesting pointers from time to time. As you, I am with interest following the debate on religion/atheism centered around people like Hitchens, Dawkins, Harris etc having read their books (and on their side). I also share your interest in science and evolution. On this particular posting re invention of the chip I couldn’t resist making a comment. I think the innovation of the chip isnot just packaging. The new idea was that you could have a complete circuit including resistors (and to a lesser extent capacitors) made out of silicon on a silicon substrate. If it weren’t for this invention we might still be limited to something like SLT as was used in System/360 which in no way could have followed Moore’s law.Groetjes,Jim
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Hi Jim,
Weeell – I see your point, but without the (silicon-based) transistor in the first place, the silicon chip would be unlikely to arise. So I’m still going to vote for the transistor as having the key date. I see I’m also supported in this by my copy of The Science Book, which lists 250 key dates in the history of science. The transistor is in, but the chip is not…
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BibliOdyssey: The Book
Peacay, over at his BibliOdyssey site, announces that an honest-to-goodness book will shortly be published containing a selection of the images he has found on the Internet. For bibliophiles everywhere, it sounds like a wonderful Christmas present.Leave a comment
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The Poison of Prejudice
Over at a Fistful of Euros, Douglas Muir writes a commentary on a rather depressing piece by Serbian writer Vladimir Arsenijevic. It’s worth reading.Leave a comment
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Microsoft & Flickr
It’s very nice to see that with the latest version of the Windows Live Photo Gallery Beta, I can now publish photos directly into Flickr. Excellent.
Update 25 October 2007: Ah well, I spoke too soon. The Upload to Flickr facility in Windows Live Photo Gallery has a bug. The IPTC/XMP Description metadata field in image files is not preserved during the upload process. Instead, the contents get overwritten by the content of the Title metadata field.Update 26 October 2007: I sent an email to the Microsoft Photography Blog, and I’ve had a reply back. It turns out that they do preserve the image metadata, but for some reason they map the XMP Title field to the Flickr Description.Why on earth do they do that? It seems to me to be much more logical to map the XMP Dublin Core Description field into the Flickr Description field… That’s what Flickr’s own uploading tool, Flickr Uploadr does, after all. With WLPG, I end up with files on Flickr where the Flickr Description doesn’t actually correspond with the image metadata shown under Flickr’s "more properties". It makes no sense to me.So now I have the situation where Microsoft’s own Photo Info plug-in correctly displays the Description field; all my other image tools correctly display XMP/IPTC information, but WLPG corrupts the Description field on Flickr because it marches to a different tune. I’ll continue to stick with Flickr Uploadr, thanks very much.Update 27 October 2007: I’ve had a further email reply from a member of Microsoft’s Windows Live Photo Gallery team. He agrees with me that the mapping of the Title field into the Flickr Description field is a bug, and he has logged it as such. Hopefully, it will be corrected in a future version of WLPG.Update 17 September 2008: The latest version of Windows Live Photo Gallery was released as a beta today, and wouldn’t you know it – that bug is still there… Here’s a photo uploaded to Flickr with the Flickr Uploadr tool. See how the description field says what it is supposed to say? And here’s the same photo uploaded with Windows Live Photo Gallery. See how the description field has been overwritten by the file title field? Gah…Update 21 September 2008: I’ve described a further bug in Windows Live Photo Gallery that is a showstopper as far as I am concerned.Update 17 December 2008: The version of WLPG released yesterday (build 14.0.8051.1204) has fixed the mapping bug. Hooray.5 responses to “Microsoft & Flickr”
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[…] pleased to see that at least one bug in Windows Live Photo Gallery that I reported to Microsoft over a year ago has finally been […]
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[…] known about by Microsoft for nearly a year, but still has not been fixed in this new beta, is the “Publish to Flickr” bug. It’s probably even a very simple fix – a change to a single line of code would […]
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[…] of the bugs to be fixed would be the one that is in the “Publish on Flickr” process. As I wrote back in October last year, during the upload process, the XMP Title field gets put into the Flickr Description field. What […]
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[…] of Windows Live Photo Gallery, along with a number of other Windows Live products. Unfortunately, the “Publish to Flickr” bug that I pointed out is still there in this version. So I won’t be using it to upload my […]
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[…] Recently, I blogged about the facility that Windows Live Photo Gallery has to upload photos into Flickr. This is just a heads up to those of us who care about image metadata (“the truth is in the file”) that not everything is smooth about the upload process. WLPG makes a mapping decision that I find bizarre. I’ve updated the original blog post with the details. Share this:EmailFacebookTwitterPrintLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. […]
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Geoff Coupe's Blog 
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