UNHINGED (formerly in the skinner box): 2009

Dec 27, 2009

Christmas Lights in the neighboorhood Part 2 of 2 (one is below!)

Christmas Lights in the Neighborhood

Paul by our tree, and then some houses in the neighborhood.
Merry Christmas!
Happy New Year!

My hand is not that steady aiming out the window, or standing in the middle of the street . . . but you get the idea.

Nov 25, 2009

viedo how to shots - click image to make it larger

Sep 17, 2009

I made a blue moon, or a moon blue?

Sep 7, 2009

DOUBLE CLICK IMAGES FOR ORIGINAL SIZE

September 7th Pictures, Fall Crocuses...

Holly

Geranium (re-bloomed!)

Bee on a Flower

AUTUMN CROCUS

acorn dangling from an Oak

the leaves are falling..... slowly . . . the days are shorter . . . my siderial enemeies are lining up.

and the skunk is still strolling by now and then!

Aug 1, 2009

Skunk

We were taking a walk, I saw a skunk across the street. "Skunk" I said - and we turned and walked toward the house - not looking back.... it sauntered across the street into the our front lawn, then, when I raised the kitchen blind it skunk gallopped across the back yard . . .

And its not an animal I'm going to chase for a better shot.... kind of cute 'skunk run.'

Jul 24, 2009

The Nest Is EMPTY

Its hard to believe, less than 3 weeks from pretty blue eggs, to ugly hatchlings, then adorable chicks, now young birds....

Robins Growing fast from john on Vimeo.

VIMEO not Youtube.... youtube has a 10 minute limit, and I was too crushed to cut anything out of the little story.

IF IT WONT PLAY: http://vimeo.com/5734056

Watch a little..... the grown baby, after its first flight into a shrub (about 8 feet from the empty nest).....

(Google owns youtube. so vimeo is a competitor . . . not that I think evil of google, but sometimes it prefers 'its own' family members....)

.....

Jul 23, 2009

Robins growing up fast

I added the CHIRPING from a bird related net page.....

I ADDED THE CHIRPING, youtube sent me a nasty note when I stuck in The Summer Breeze . . . a very nice song....

have been eating and growing up fast. Watch their beaks get pointier, the feathers thicker, their wings flap.

the chirps are robins, but from a robin tribue page.....

WATCH FOR THE SURPRISE HUMMING BIRD!!

next: they fly away

)))))))))))))))))))))))((((((((((((((((((((((
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Jul 14, 2009

picture in picture video experiment.......

. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .make it full screen, right by the sound icon

an experiment with picture in picture gone amuck, note the main picture, at an angle giving it a more real look (?), the the amuck: 4 in little monitors behind it..... a mix of toys..... now where can I put the baby birds? the PC is on desk in the the library . . . .

The baby birds are growing fast!

Jul 9, 2009

the eggs have hatched!

longer:

Yesterday we saw the robin chicks for the first time....

====

its going to be one rocking robin!

Jul 5, 2009

Best bait for your Zombies trapping (according to Pride & Prejudice & Zombies)

from PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES.
,
,
,

Pride & Prejudice and Zombies, from an Austen purist

http://jbeckhamlat.blogspot.com/2009/06/pride-and-prejudice-and-zombies.html is below,

NOW:
an interesting stat:

After all, Seth allowed Jane Austen to do the bulk of the writing (85% of the text is hers) and she had already plotted the basic outline of the book.

http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2009/04/04/pride-and-prejudice-and-zombies-a-review-of-a-high-concept-parody/

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Review of a High Concept Parody
April 4, 2009 by Vic

I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and it made me chuckle, but purists will vomit from the moment they read the opening line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains will be in want of more brains.” If ever a classic was treated with tongue in cheek irreverence, author Seth Grahame-Smith managed to do it. Oh, I imagine that the coldly calculated jingle of cash was also a great motivator. After all, Seth allowed Jane Austen to do the bulk of the writing (85% of the text is hers) and she had already plotted the basic outline of the book. To give him his due, he’s given her half the credit, although he and his publisher will be raking in all the profits of this high concept book.

So what’s all the fuss about and why are film studios fighting over film rights to this story? Well, long ago in the island of Britain a zombie plague threatened its inhabitants. Thankfully, zombies are slow moving, dead, and stupid, else they would have overwhelmed the English population, decimating the land. The longer zombies have been dead, the less recognizable as humans they become, having lost eyes and limbs and patches of skin, and wearing clothes that are rotten and in tatters. Some zombies are so gross in both looks and eating habits that they cause the observer to vomit, The merest scratch from a zombie will turn a human into one, as poor Charlotte Collins discovers. A comic character rather than a tragic one, her tongue and mouth degenerate early on, causing Charlotte to lisp and talk like, well, a zombie. The thing is, nobody but Elizabeth notices. Hah! In the land of the dead and stupid, even the living are stupid. This plague has been threatening England for at least a generation, but people are still dumb enough to sit near windows at Assembly Balls where zombies can get at them and scoop out their brains, or open doors and windows in steamy kitchens, as the cooks did at Netherfield Park, so that those who were making dinner BECAME dinner.

Jul 4, 2009

Kagan Yale Lectures Ancient Greece

http://oyc.yale.edu/classics/introduction-to-ancient-greek-history/content/downloads.html

CLCV 205: Introduction to Ancient Greek History (Fall, 2007)
Syllabus

Professor: Donald Kagan, Sterling Professor of Classics and History, Yale University

Description: This is an introductory course in Greek history tracing the development of Greek civilization as manifested in political, intellectual, and creative achievements from the Bronze Age to the end of the classical period. Students read original sources in translation as well as the works of modern scholars.

Texts:

Pomeroy, Burstein, Donlan and Roberts. Ancient Greece. Oxford University Press: New York, 1999.

Kagan, Donald. "Problems in Ancient History." In The Ancient Near East and Greece. 2nd ed., vol. 1. Prentice-Hall: New York, 1975.

Herodotus, The Histories.
Plutarch, The Rise and Fall of the Athens.
Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War.

Requirements:
Students will have an opportunity to choose one of two programs for completing their work in the course:

Plan A
Students electing Plan A will take an in-class midterm and final examination. The midterm will cover all assigned readings to that date. Students in this program will also submit a paper on Herodotus, not to exceed 1500 words. The topic for the paper will be announced in class.

Plan B
Students electing Plan B will take an in-class midterm and final examination and will enroll in discussion sections which meet once a week for fifty minutes. These sections will offer the students an opportunity to discuss in detail issues raised in the course. Students in Plan B are encouraged to propose topics for discussion to the teaching fellow who will lead the discussions. Students following Plan B will submit a paper, not more than 1500 words long, on a topic of their own choosing, subject to the approval of the section leader.

Students in Plan B are required to attend their section meetings regularly and to come prepared to discuss the topic announced the week before by the section leader. Classroom participation will be one factor in determining grades.

Grading:
The grades for students electing Plan A will be determined by computing the average grade on the paper, the midterm examination and the final examination; all three will count equally.
Grades for students electing Plan B will be determined by weighing the midterm, final and paper grades at 30% each and performance in section at 10%

Akron, that hotbed of culture, CLETUS is in the building

where there was an acrimonious campaing to SAVE THE SEWERS last fall, now has entertainment to equal:

For your Patriot Day Celebration, after the SPAM, consider:

The festival will be open with free admission July 2-3 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Musical entertainment at Lock 3 Park July 2 will begin at 7 p.m. with Cletus Black, followed by The Machine, America’s Premier Pink Floyd Experience. On July 3, The Juke Hounds and Satisfaction, a Rolling Stones Experience, will
perform, beginning at 7 p.m.

( http://www.akron.com/akron-ohio-entertainment-news.asp?aID=5834 )

for a True ROLLING STONES EXPERIENCE byob no doubt! for the PINK FLOYD experience, well, bring 3.

Happy Holidays!

Jun 30, 2009

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Jane Austen channels George A. Romero . . . .

that illustration is from the pdf version, link below

I am reading the mash-up novel PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES; mash-up, a term often used with videos posted on youtube..... and its illustrated!

It reads like Jane Austen had an affair with Edgar Allen Poe under a portrait of Vincent Price, where they read Dracula to each other (it was written later, I know), along with Clauswitz on War along with Sun Tzu's ART OF WAR. There seems to be bits of flagellation . . . .

ITS far more than TOLERABLE.

a bit of comparison can be fun,

Zombiefied, 3 chapters: http://irreference.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/zombies_pp7-16.pdf

Original text: http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/ppv1n01.html

Zombiefied:

IT IS A TRUTH universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains. Never was this truth more plain than during the recent attacks at Netherfield Park, in which a household of eighteen was slaughtered and consumed by a horde of the living dead.

Original:

IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

++++++++

ZOMBIEFIED, next few grafs, featuring the harpie wife and enduring Mr. Bennet:

“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is occupied again?”

Mr. Bennet replied that he had not and went about his morning business of dagger sharpening and musket polishing—for attacks by the unmentionables had grown alarmingly frequent in recent weeks.

“But it is,” returned she.

ORIGINAL, next few grafs.

``My dear Mr. Bennet,'' said his lady to him one day, ``have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?''

Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.

``But it is,'' returned she; ``for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.''

+++++++++++ big bucks in the right idea.....:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6650434.html?q=Pride+and+Prejudice+and+Zombies

Zombie Mash-up Lands Author Six-Figure Deal
By Rachel Deahl -- Publishers Weekly, 4/9/2009 8:24:00 AM

Seth Grahame-Smith's surprise hit from Quirk Books, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, may have been launched as something of a lark, but that hasn't stopped its author from landing a major deal. Grand Central Press editor Ben Greenberg has just inked a two-book deal with Grahame-Smith for a rumored $575,000; Grahame-Smith's first book for GCP, which currently has no pub date, will be Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. (A rep from GCP would not comment on the size of the advance.)

Grahame-Smith has, up until this point, written tongue-in-cheek pop culture titles for Quirk such as The Big Book of Porn: A Penetrating Look at the World of Dirty Movies and How to Survive a Horror Movie. But after the unexpected success of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies--which came on assignment from Quirk's editorial director, Jason Rekulak--he has been lifted into another literary stratosphere. (Quirk currently has more than120,000 copies in print of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, after publishing the book on April 1.)

The proposal for Grahame-Smith's new book sold at auction Wednesday and the story is a loose sketch of Lincoln's life with one twist--honest Abe is the world's most skilled vampire hunter. Claudia Ballard at William Morris handled the deal, which was for North American rights. We also hear a film proposal has already started circulating and that William Morris is also handling film rights.

++++

of interest only to a librarian, but the terms are hyperlinkes, so if you like a topic you can find other similar works. Click zombies in your local library catalog and see what you can find! (probably librarians)

Subject Bennet, Elizabeth (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
Darcy, Fitzwilliam (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
Zombies -- Fiction
Young women -- England -- Fiction
Show similar items
Social classes -- England -- Fiction
Show similar items
Family -- England -- Fiction
Show similar items
Sisters -- Fiction
Courtship -- England -- Fiction
Show similar items
England -- Fiction
Parodies

Jun 29, 2009

Blue Eggs and White Mushrooms (2 videos)

Orange has laid her blue eggs, and she winked a proud wink.

++

and BLACKIE, all black squirrels are called blackie, was caught dining in tree . . .

but are they magic? the volume is a bit loud, the song short and repeated.... but fits......

ah, nature. Yes, magic, blackie jumped on a flying carpet and landed at Skyway for a burger.....

remember, you can go full screen by clicking the screen icon in the lower lefthand corner, befor the up arrow carrot.

Jun 27, 2009

Pride and Prejudice (with a zombie or two?)

Everything about PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, I plan to download a copy and count how many times the word 'tolerable' is used.

http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/pridprej.html

================================================================

Pride and Prejudice

VOLUME I

CHAPTER I (1)

IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in
possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be
on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well
fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is
considered as the rightful property of some one or other of
their daughters.

``My dear Mr. Bennet,'' said his lady to him one day, ``have
you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?''

Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.

``But it is,'' returned she; ``for Mrs. Long has just been
here, and she told me all about it.''

Mr. Bennet made no answer.

``Do not you want to know who has taken it?'' cried his wife
impatiently.

``_You_ want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing
it.''

This was invitation enough.

``Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield
is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of
England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to
see the place, and was so much delighted with it that he agreed
with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession
before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the
house by the end of next week.''

``What is his name?''

``Bingley.''

``Is he married or single?''

``Oh! single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large
fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for
our girls!''

``How so? how can it affect them?''

``My dear Mr. Bennet,'' replied his wife, ``how can you be so
tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one
of them.''

``Is that his design in settling here?''

``Design! nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very
likely that he _may_ fall in love with one of them, and
therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes.''

Jun 26, 2009

meanwhile, in the crazy house!

The Master and Margarita (English subtitles). Part 3 (1/5)

no blue eggs yet.....

For the first time Orange, the Robin, spent the night in its nest, maybe eggs are there, or on the way?

hope to get that picture this weekend (for weekend update).

===

Now, if you rub this hard enough:

Think ARABIAN NIGHTS.......

Jun 23, 2009

New Neighbors, Construction, Little Ones anticipated

We call her Orange.

Talk about feathering your nest, and no hammer! The nest is right outside the living room window, where the squirrels frolick in the winter. And how she rotates to evenly build, like a winged whirling derb-robin. Note the one on the grounds gets the worm (and it was the afternoon....)

experts say:

The quintessential early bird, American Robins are common sights on lawns across North America, where you often see them tugging earthworms out of the ground. Robins are popular birds for their warm orange breast, cheery song, and early appearance at the end of winter. Though they’re familiar town and city birds, American Robins are at home in wilder areas, too, including mountain forests and Alaskan wilderness.

from: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_robin/id the link has a lot more.

My camera will be watching for the next step: Blue Eggs or the neighborhood stray cat (we throw sticks and rocks at it, nasty looking with its one eye . . . ), but it can run like the wind....

end

Jun 20, 2009

SNL: Digital Short: Iran So Far

for the Infidel pigdogs?

heheheheheeee

A study in Bricks

Clearly I have slipped of the deep end:

Jun 18, 2009

Trusting the Nightly News?

Do you think they still have a research department at NBC, or was this just sloppy writing?

LEWIS: LA's Iranian community has been estimated at about 750,000 people. So
many live here in Westwood near UCLA that the place has been nicknamed
"Tehrangeles." (NBC 17june09, text below)

There is something wrong with that stat:
http://losangeles.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm

in 2000 there were 415,195 blacks in LA, now there are nearly twice as many Iranians?
in 20000 there were 369,254 Asians, and now there are twice as many Iranians (not Persians or Arabs or some some catch-all group).

But: the Persian – American web page quoting statistics states

http://www.namakmag.com/demographics.html
4,167,000 living outside of Iran (including US)
1,650,000 living in the United States (all ages)

Highest concentration in California (estimate of 700,000-825,000 is approx. 50% of U.S. Total) California population primarily located in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles and Orange County Second highest concentration in Washington DC area (est. 100,000)
Other States with large Iranian concentrations include: New York, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, Washington Average number of individuals per Iranian Household is 2.83

+++++

NBC News Transcripts

June 17, 2009 Wednesday
SHOW: NBC Nightly News 6:30 PM EST NBC
Iranian expatriates in Los Angeles worried about Iranian election
ANCHORS: BRIAN WILLIAMS

REPORTERS: GEORGE LEWIS
BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor:
The whole world is watching the extraordinary events in Iran, perhaps nowhere more so in this country than parts of Los Angeles. That's become home to hundreds of thousands of Iranian ex-pats in recent years. They're watching, and as NBC's George Lewis reports tonight, they're worried about what they see.
GEORGE LEWIS reporting:
The Iran television network headquartered in Los Angeles has become must-see TV for Iranians, with four channels of information about the situation back home. The shows are broadcast around the world via satellite and command a big audience in Iran in spite of government efforts to jam the signal. In one studio the sportscaster is airing video of street demonstrations instead of soccer matches. While in another the host of a phone-in show is taking calls from a squad of citizen journalists in Tehran.
Mr. SINA JAFARI (Iranian TV Producer): People tell them about the situation, tell them that what's going on, give them brief news, and they are very upset and they want to be heard.
LEWIS: LA's Iranian community has been estimated at about 750,000 people. So many live here in Westwood near UCLA that the place has been nicknamed "Tehrangeles." Last night in this neighborhood Iranians staged a show of solidarity with the anti-government protesters back home. As in Iran, these demonstrations are organized via the Internet using Facebook and Twitter.

Mr. MANI TURKZADEH (Protestor): There's been a lot of a brutality from the regime in Iran towards the peaceful demonstrator, and I'm doing my part as a human, as a Persian, to--with these dear friends. We're all here together.

LEWIS: It's the brutality that scares this Persian grocer, who gave her name only as Humira. She says she's been trying to phone her family in Iran without success for three days. Sharona Sagian and her brother say they have similar fears.

Ms. SHARONA SAGIAN: We have family members there, and we are worried for their safety.

Unidentified Woman: Freedom for Iran!

LEWIS: LA's Iranians say they'll keep protesting as they worry about the safety of their loved ones in these turbulent times. George Lewis, NBC News,
Enhanced Coverage LinkingNBC News, -Search using:
Company Dossier
News, Most Recent 60 Days
Company Profile
Los Angeles.

+++++++++++++++++++
END

Jun 17, 2009

What are you reading?

I am reading a biography of Rimbaud this week. Short.
I read a bio of Wizard of Oz author, L Frank Baum, a while back, then The Boys from Brazil and AND: THE STEPFORD WIVES, both by Ira Levin.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/jbeckhamlat

books books books and more books.... books books and more books novels mysteries horror gothic romance (hum, not yet), donna-tart ira-levin saul-bellow anthony burgess orwell 1984 library libraries books novels read bookstorebooks books and more books novels mysteries horror gothic romance (hum, not yet), donna-tart ira-levin saul-bellow anthony burgess orwell 1984 library libraries books novels read bookstorebooks books and more books novels mysteries horror gothic romance (hum, not yet), donna-tart ira-levin saul-bellow anthony burgess orwell 1984 library libraries books novels read bookstore

Tequila, now and forever

Jun 14, 2009

Desktop in honor of AA (Alchoholics Anon) meeting in Akron

a rant:

Should AA -Alcholics Anonomys be replaced with HSA - Heavy Smokers of America?

This is my AA weeeknd desktop, an homage to temptation, -the key to creativity:

yes, AA founded in AKRON, where there is little to do but drink (what does that say for Barberton?? then what does that that say for Norton???).

Seems they are also members of Hells Angels. They often are pot bellied unshaven 55 year olds with thin gray pony taled hair scraggling down their hunched backs. Not Bohemian types mind you, but tobacco smoking (like clouds on the horizon when you spot a few of them) types humming the National Antham while the last Marlboro is clenched between their broken teeth... too many falls?

where is my ABSINTHE, in some trashcan in customs no doubt... bring on the wormword and chop of an Ear....

Jun 11, 2009

Ice Cream Truck going down our Street, volume up?

I tried my digital camera, and new software. This is our streets full length - turns on to Kimberly from Bryce and off of Kimberly (on to Worthington). The music is the sound of the ice cream truck........ when it plays music that means its out of ice-cream, right?

the youtube version, double click and try full screen (after u click CLICK!)

Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream
Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream
Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream
Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream
Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream
Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream
Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream
Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream
Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream
Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream
Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream
Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream
Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream
Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream Ice cream ice cream

Lonely Island

art forms.....

are changing

Jun 8, 2009

Academic Earth

http://www.academicearth.org/

Academic Earth is an organization founded with the goal of giving everyone
on earth access to a world class education.

As more and more high quality educational content becomes available online
for free, we ask ourselves, what are the real barriers to achieving a world
class education? At Academic Earth, we are working to identify these
barriers and find innovative ways to use technology to increase the ease of
learning.
We are building a user-friendly educational ecosystem that will
give internet users around the world the ability to easily find, interact with,
and learn from full video courses and lectures from the world’s leading
scholars. Our goal is to bring the best content together in one place and
create an environment in which that content is remarkably easy to use and where
user contributions make existing content increasingly valuable.
We invite
those who share our passion to explore our website, participate in our online
community, and help us continue to find new ways to make learning easier for
everyone.

.

SO GO LEARN SOMETHING

Jun 6, 2009

ComicBooks Periodic Table of (of Comicbooks)

http://www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/html/oxygen.html

http://www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/

Welcome to the Periodic Table of ComicBooks. Click on an element to see a list of comic book pages involvingthat element. Click on a thumbnail on the list to see a full comic bookpage. For technical information about an element, follow the link toMark Winter's WebElements. Werecommend that you start with oxygen to see some of our best stuff.There's something for everyone here!

Jun 4, 2009

Movie Type: Mockumentary, Media Satire

love those terms, would mockumentary be a neologism?

http://www.answers.com/topic/zelig

Jun 2, 2009

JD SALINGER cracks the crypt lid to call out the Lawyers

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/5425799/JD-Salinger-starts-legal-action-against-sequel-author.html

London Telegraph

JD Salinger starts legal action against sequel author
JD Salinger has started legal proceedings against the writer, publishers and distributor of a sequel to his famous novel The Catcher in the Rye.

Published: 1:52AM BST 02 Jun 2009

Lawyers for Salinger, 90, have filed a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan, seeking to force a recall of what it says is a copycat book titled 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye, by someone writing under the name JD California. It also seeks unspecified damages.

The lawsuit said the right to create a sequel to The Catcher in the Rye or to use the character "Holden Caulfield" belongs only to Salinger. The lawsuit says Salinger has "decidedly chosen not to exercise that right."

Besides California, identified in the court papers as "John Doe," the lawsuit also cites Windupbird Publishing, an obscure company allegedly based in London; a Swedish publisher, Nicotext; and SCB Distributors, based in Gardena, California.

In 60 Years Later, scheduled to be published in Britain this summer and in the United States in the autumn, a character very much like Caulfield is 76 years old, an escapee from a retirement home and identified as "Mr. C." The novel is dedicated to Salinger and the author is a character in it, too, wondering whether to continue Caulfield's story.

"The Sequel is not a parody and it does not comment upon or criticise the original," Salinger's lawsuit claims. "It is a ripoff pure and simple."

The lawsuit presented California as a mysterious, unsavoury character, of uncertain name and location. "His precise whereabouts are unknown, despite due investigation," according to the court papers.

Aaron Silverman, the director of SCB Distributors, said that California was a resident of Sweden. A man identifying himself as California said that he lived outside of Goteborg, Sweden. He called the legal action "a little bit insane" and said that Salinger had control over the names of his characters, but not over his style or perspective.

"To me, this is a story about an old man. It's a love story, a story about an author and his character," said California, who added that John David California was his pen name. He declined to give his real name and said that he did not intend "John David" as an homage to Salinger, whose full name is Jerome David Salinger.

"I did not mean to cause him any trouble," California said.

A recluse living in rural New Hampshire, Salinger has not published in a book in decades and has rarely been heard from in public - expect when taking legal action.

In 1982, he sued a man who allegedly tried to sell a fictitious interview with the author to a national magazine. The impostor agreed to desist and Salinger dropped the suit.

++++
John David California the New York based author of the new sequel to the Catcher in the Rye Photo: JULIAN SIMMONDS

end

May 26, 2009

old songs with new images... techno-hybrids, mash-ups?

Watch... comments? can you name any of the movies used?

Music video featuring "In The Year 2525", by Zager and Evans.

In the year 2525
If man is still alive
If woman can survive
They may find

In the year 3535
Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lies
Everything you think, do, or say
Is in the pill you took today

In the year 4545
Ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes
You won't find a thing to do
Nobody's gonna look at you

In the year 5555
Your arms are hanging limp at your sides
Your legs not nothing to do
Some machine is doing that for you

In the year 6565
Ain't gonna need no husband, won't need no wife
You'll pick your son, pick your daughter too
From the bottom of a long black tube

In the year 7510
If God's a-comin' he ought to make it by then
Maybe he'll look around himself and say
Guess it's time for the Judgement day

In the year 8510
God's gonna shake his mighty head
He'll either say I'm pleased where man has been
Or tear it down and start again

In the year 9595
I'm kinda wondering if man's gonna be alive
He's taken everything this old earth can give
And he ain't put back nothing

Now it's been 10,000 years
Man has cried a billion tears
For what he never knew
Now man's reign is through
But through the eternal night
The twinkling of starlight
So very far away
Maybe it's only yesterday

In the year 2525
If man is still alive
If woman can survive
They may find . . . .

May 22, 2009

a touch of class, a touch of dementia? didn't I spot her in the Library last week?

HAPPY HOLIDAY WEEKEND!!! Check out a movie! I hear her mother was a librarian!

http://www.filmsite.org/suns.html

Sunset Boulevard (1950) is a classic black comedy/drama, and perhaps the most acclaimed, but darkest film-noir story about "behind the scenes" Hollywood, self-deceit, spiritual and spatial emptiness, and the price of fame, greed, narcissism, and ambition. The mood of the film is immediately established as decadent and decaying by the posthumous narrator - a dead man floating face-down in a swimming pool in Beverly Hills.

the best scene:

the entire movie:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AAD7EA5E6993661B&search_query=sunset+1%2F+boulevard

didn't I spot her in the library last week?

can you find waldo desmond?

happy holiday weekend

May 18, 2009

Alex Rybak, not quite a teen Suan Boyle, but fun to listen to.

Not quite Susan Boyle ( http://jbeckhamlat.blogspot.com/2009/04/exclusive-susan-boyles-first-ever-song.html ), but fun and light and summery (is that a word?)

The song, "Fairytale", is sung by the Belarus-born Alexander Rybak and features a distinctly Eastern European sounding jaunty rhythm and even Cossack-style dancing.
(APF 12May09, Proud Russia hosts Eurovision extravaganza)

RYBAK: FAIRYTALE

&

backstory:

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1899117,00.html

How the West Won: Norway Takes the Crown at Eurovision
By William Lee Adams Monday, May. 18, 2009

Critics deride the Eurovision Song Contest as a cultural Chernobyl, an ostentatious talent show in which gaudiness and sex appeal have more currency than musical ability. During the May 16 final, watched by more than 100 million people worldwide, contestants once again called upon their decidedly nonmusical charms: the Greek entry ripped his shirt to expose a waxed chest, while the Albanian entry wore a pink tutu and stood on a wind machine. But in the end, Alexander Rybak, a boyish fiddle player from Norway, stormed to victory because he had the best song — and he didn't even have to flash anyone.

"I won because I had a story to tell," Rybak, 23, told reporters after setting an event record with 387 points, which put Norway well ahead of second-place finisher Iceland, which scored 218. In "Fairtyale," Rybak mixed stellar vocals with Scandinavian kitsch. He sang about his obsession with a lost love while a folk troop performed a centuries-old Norwegian mountain dance consisting of backflips and exaggerated push-ups. "In Russia, they like nostalgia and melancholy," he said, explaining why he thinks his wistful tune appealed to millions of voters in Russia and former Soviet states. That his folksy ditty channeled the sounds of Vladivostok more than Oslo probably didn't hurt.

In recent years, East European nations have dominated Eurovision — Russia won last year, Serbia the year before, and Ukraine finished second both times. It may seem like sour grapes, but commentators from losing countries (the U.K. finished last in 2008) have consistently complained that the public phone vote used to determine the winner has ensured that historical ties always trump song quality. An entry from Greece, for example, could still earn top points from Cyprus, even if the song is painful to listen to. (See a TIME package on loving Eurovision.)

Last night, under new rules designed to stop this type of bloc voting, 50% of the points were awarded by the traditional public phone-in and 50% by a panel of music producers in each country. Advocates of the new jury system will be quick to say it helped Norway transcend borders — with a mix of fans and more objective industry experts voting, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia all awarded Norway the maximum 12 points, thereby snubbing one another. But since Eurovision has no plans to reveal which national juries voted for which countries, its actual effect is difficult to determine. In any event, it's likely the East would have voted for Rybak anyway; he was born in Minsk and speaks fluent Russian, and in recent weeks he has become a media darling in the Russian-speaking world.

This year's event was the most expensive in Eurovision's history, with Russia forking over an estimated $35 million to stage it. In return, locals were privy to some camptastic performances. In a delightful English-as-a-second-language moment, Romania's Elena Gheorghe, the daughter of a priest, sang that her "hips are ready to glow, this record is so hot and I have so much to show." American burlesque star Dita von Teese stripped down to a black bustier to play the title role of Germany's entry, "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang"; she had originally hoped to go further, but officials warned her to respect "cultural differences." And the Ukraine's Svetlana Loboda, singing "Be My Valentine," did the splits on a ladder set inside an oversize wheel (which she paid for by mortgaging her house). The blogosphere has since labeled her a "stripper in a hamster wheel."

But not even a spectacle like that could blind viewers to the controversies, which at times seemed louder than the songs. In March, Eurovision officials formally disinvited Georgia from participating because its entry, "We Don't Want to Put In," seemed to mock Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the wake of the conflict in the breakaway region of South Ossetia. On May 15, the chief of the Russian jury withdrew after he was spotted enjoying a caviar lunch with eventual winner Rybak in Moscow, potentially compromising his impartiality. (Read "Eurovision in Russia: Politics and Pop Music.")

And just hours ahead of the final, Moscow's riot police squashed a gay-pride rally, hauling away about 40 demonstrators. Critics said that clamping down on gay activists at Eurovision seemed decidedly out of tune with the show's mission to promote peace and harmony among the competing countries. As Rybak said himself, "Why did [the police] spend all their energy stopping gays in Moscow when the biggest gay parade was here tonight?"

See a TIME package on Eurovision's memorable moments.

==================
more?
http://www.youtube.com/user/alexanderrybak1

end

Sunday Drive

it looked like this! I did not carry a camera, made for easier observing. Next time. So I found one:

We took an early morning drive -7:30ish, first through the neighborhood up and down, round and round. Then a stop at Walgreens. THEN down a road towards what has been described as pastoral. 10 or 15 miles and we were near the Metro park. We have trees, but that is absurd! Further and further.

Suddenly a red-winged blackbird flew past us. First one I have seen in years. Made the excursion worth the few dollars in gas.

Next week the hunt will continue!

May 14, 2009

Political Remix Video (PRV)

http://www.politicalremixvideo.com/

This website showcases and promotes some of the best, most innovative and inspiring examples of Political Remix Video. These remixes use and transform appropriated footage (and audio) from popular culture to create new fair-use video works. For us the word “political” refers to works that are critical of not only of political institutions and government policy, but also social and cultural issues like gender, race, sexuality and environment. This blog is managed and edited by two remix artists and media activists.

About Political Remix Video

Political Remix Video (PRV) is a genre of transformative guerilla media production whereby creators critique power structures, deconstruct social myths and challenge dominate media messages through re-cutting and re-framing fragments of mainstream media and the popular culture.

These remix works have their roots in the tradition détournement where artists twist and subvert mass media, re-purposing it to present alternative messages and narratives. Although PRVs vary widely in form, topic and message, they share are a few common aspects.

First, PRVs present political messages. The word “political” in this context refers to works that are critical of not only of political institutions and government policy, but also social and cultural issues like gender, race, sexuality and environment.

Second, PRVs are guerrilla works as they use the appropriation of corporate intellectual property without the permission of the copyright holder. In addition, these remixes are often highly critical of the source media, making the work particularly vulnerable to DMCA takedown notices.

Third, PRV works utilize and embrace dominant media forms as the structure of their alternative messages. These include short news segments, TV ads, speech excerpts, movie trailers and music videos. Unlike most contemporary “video art”, remixers are not critiquing sound bite-driven forms of mainstream media through the construction of a non-narrative. Instead, PRVs attempt to form an argument and convey a message in a familiar structure, using the framework as a vehicle to deliver subversive political messages. This makes PRVs accessible to the general public, not just the art world or academics. This accessibility of both form and message is one of the core aspects to the works in this remix genre.

PRVs are an increasingly popular and relevant form of remix that can, at best, challenge dominant power systems and institutions while questioning media driven myths in our society, our culture and ourselves. These works “should” be classified as a fair use of the original work in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107.

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In détournement, an artist reuses elements of well-known media to create a new work with a different message, often one opposed to the original. The term "détournement", borrowed from the French, originated with the Situationist International; a similar term more familiar to English speakers would be "turnabout" or "derailment". Détournement is similar to satirical parody, but employs more direct reuse or faithful mimicry of the original works rather than constructing a new work which merely alludes strongly to the original. It may be contrasted with recuperation, in which originally subversive works and ideas are themselves appropriated by mainstream media.

May 10, 2009

Size of name indicates how many by that author, more like a fonted list, cannot figure out CLOUD CODE

BUT the links do not work in google...