Relevant Science

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

10 Stars That Always Make the Same Movies

The voice is quiet, the action loud. He has been wronged, and somebody he loves has just been brutally murdered. He is out for revenge, and he’s bad enough to get that revenge, even as he saves: 1) a damsel in distress, 2) a child in distress, 3) a puppy dog in distress, or 4) your choice, in distress. So, which actor are we talking about? That depends; if the voice has a New York / New Jersey accent, it’ll be Steven Seagal. If the accent is French, it has to be Jean-Claude Van Damme. If it sounds like he has his mouth full of marbles, it can only be Sylvester Stallone.
Seagal,Van Damme and Stallone aren’t the only typecast actors in predictable movies; joining them here are other notables who rarely get to break the mold.

Steven Seagal / Jean-Claude Van Damme / Sylvester Stallone – The macho man’s macho men; the movie titles don’t matter much,the stars are pretty much interchangeable. All three are set to star, together, in The Rocky Streetfighter Above the Law IV. It’s possible I’m kidding, but it wouldn’t be by much.
Seth Rogan – Usually a semi-loveable slob who often, incongruously, ends up with the hot chick. His vehicles include: Funny People, Pineapple Express, The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up.
Jim Carrey – There were no special effects used in The Mask,Carrey’s face really does all that stretching, as in: Ace Ventura, Dumb and Dumber, Pet Detective and Bruce Almighty.
Hugh Grant – The somewhat shy and awkward British charmer, who bumbles his way through: Nine Months, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Sirens and Love Actually.
Samuel Jackson – Samuel Jackson is a baad, baad dude, and his baadness is a predictable thing in: Shaft, Snakes on a Plane,The Negotiator and Pulp Fiction.
Angelina Jolie – Hard, sexy and cynical, she provides a female counterpart to the macho men. Her films include: Gone in Sixty Seconds, Tombraider and Wanted.
Morgan Freeman – The Voice. His voice glides, calms and soothes, even if he’s telling you he’s about to kill you. God may have given him this voice just so he could play God, in Bruce Almighty. The roles might vary, from God to a sadistic killer, as in Se7en, but whether he’s showing you the pearly gates, or the other gates, he will assuage your nerves.
Adam Sandler – Gets the most out of zero social skills and a borderline certifiable insanity, most notably in: Mr. Deeds, Happy Gilmore, The Waterboy and The Wedding Singer.
Cameron Diaz – Plays the blind bombshell to a “T”. No, not “blonde bombshell”, but “blind”. How else can you explain a girl who looks like she does, but still ends up with Mike Myers, Jim Carrey and Ben Stiller. She has starred in: There’s Something About Mary, The Mask, Very Bad Things and Shrek I, II and III.
Will Ferrell – Over The Top, when used to describe Will Ferrell, may be classic understatement. He reprises himself as a clownish oaf in: Elf, Anchorman, Zoolander, Austin Powers and Blades of Glory.

Taken From Satellite Dish

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

For Mexicans Looking North, a New Calculus Favors Home - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

Khan Academy offers free education to anyone with an internet connection | Matador Network

10 Internet Classes That Should Be Taught in Grade School

A good education should prepare its students for those tasks and issues that they are most likely to face in their adult lives. We know that computer literacy has become an essential part of that preparation in the 21^st century. We can probably also agree that these digital natives – a generation born in cyberspace – face some unique challenges. So I say it’s time to revamp their curricula. Let’s introduce some coursework that better suits their needs and fills a few gaps, shall we? I give you, dear reader, 10 internet classes that should be taught in grade school:

Microsoft Word Training – If for no other reason than to develop clerical skills, this staple of office tools is a must-have for our future workforce. Something as ubiquitous as Microsoft Word – indeed the entire Office suite – should be required learning for our kids.
Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University – You don’t have to look far nowadays to see the economic fallout that results from financial ignorance. It isn’t too early for grade school kids to receive a scaled-down primer on fiscal responsibility, and to learn how to handle (invest and save) money.
Social Media Etiquette – Like it or not, Facebook, Twitter, online forums and chat rooms, and other social networking sites have become fixtures of 21^st century social interaction, and we need to teach our kids how to use them. This particular course is geared toward college students, but a version aimed at adolescents who are already active on social media sites just makes sense.
Poetry Classes – Poets are the conscience of society and the blacksmiths of language. What better way to enhance the minds and hearts of our future than exposure to an art form that can expand our children’s vocabularies and promote artistic and articulate self-expression?
Cultural Diversity Training – There are numerous courses and webinars available to corporate clients who wish to educate their workforces in cultural diversity. I say it’s time to start this training earlier, and instill tolerance and respect in our youth before they graduate to adulthood.
Fitness/Nutrition – With childhood obesity at epidemic proportions, it may be time to include some education on fitness and nutrition while Junior’s already sitting on his keister at the computer.
Sex Education – This is a lightning rod issue for most parents, and there is anything but a consensus as to the proper timing and approach. Some even question whether the responsibility lies with schools rather than at home. The reality is that sex is already in our kids’ faces far sooner than it should be, via popular cultural and media. How they respond to the messages they’re getting has far-reaching consequences which can neither be left to chance nor for a later date to address.
Internet Safety – As our children learn to interact, research and surf online, there is no more important prerequisite than an education in internet safety. This needs to be required learning for both grade-schoolers and parents.
Environmental Awareness – A curriculum that makes it fun as well as informative to “think green” is long overdue for all of us. Let’s start with the generation who will inherit this planet.
Conflict Resolution – The importance of learning how to settle disputes peacefully, as with this lesson plan, cannot be overstated. This should be part of every grade school’s curriculum.

The grade school years are when children begin to develop socially, and establish their sense of self. It seems disingenuous to delay the kind of education we’ve discussed here until afterward. Parents and teachers need to re-examine what children need – and when they need it – in order to best equip them for adulthood.

Taken From Internet Service Providers

10 COLDEST PLACES ON EARTH WHERE PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIVE

If you’re like me you are okay with some cold weather. Seasonal changes are great and break up the monotony. Living where it’s always hot or always cold would get really boring I would think. When you think of really hot places you think of the desert. A desert is considered to be a place that receives less than 10 inches of rain annually. When you think of really cold places you might think of Antarctica, but do people really live there? Check out 10 coldest places on earth where people actually live.

Oymyaken, Russia: The temperature stays around 30 degrees below zero here. You’ve heard about secret agents that mess up getting sent to Siberia? This is the place they are talking about. This area is in the Northeast corner of Yakutia a republic in Russia an area in Siberia about the size of India. This area holds the record for the lowest temperature ever recorded by humans at 96.16 degrees below zero. A nomadic people live in this region and herd reindeer.
Northice and Eismitte, Greenland: Temperatures of minus 50 are often seen in this region. Living in an area like this is challenging for more reasons than you’d think. Did you know that when it’s this cold that ink in a ballpoint pen will freeze? How about gasoline, it freezes at –150, but if it has water in it then it will freeze at a higher temperature. Children living there can only play outside for 20 minutes before having to come in to prevent their lungs from freezing. The people in this area have adapted to the cold. These areas were sites of different expeditions to the area. Northice actually started out as North Ice and Eismitte translates to Ice Center in German. The sun does not set between May 13 and July 30^th each year and it does not rise between Nov. 23 and Jan. 20.
Whitehorse, Canada: The population is 30,400 here and the temperatures a just a few degrees warmer than Northice, Greenland. Whitehorse is located in the Northwest Territory of Yukon in Canada, just East of Alaska. Native Americans mostly populate this area and the city came about from the fur trade in the late 1800’s. The Yukon tribe made a claim on the land that was recognized by the government in 1991. In 1896 a mining group found gold in this area and that started the Klondike gold rush, which ended when the gold ran out in 1910.
International Falls, MN: This is one of the coldest places to live in the United States. Typical lows in the winter would be minus 32. Lows have been seen as low as minus 55 degrees. One of the biggest industries in this area is logging and products involving wood. International Falls is right on the border of Canada and connects with a bridge where the Canadian Customs waits on the other side. Strangely enough tourism is their second largest money generator. They boast many winter sports such as ice fishing, snowmobiling, cross country skiing and others. Auto manufacturers also use this area as a great testing ground for how well their cars do in the winter. The population is 6424.
Prospect Creek, AK: The coldest temperature ever recorded in the United States was in Prospect Creek, AK in January 1971 the temperature was minus 94. In the 1970’s approximately 20,000 people lived here while working on the Trans-Alaska pipeline. Since 1977 when the pipeline was completed there hasn’t been much going on in this area. The occasional mining expedition may go through here, but today this area is considered uninhabited. Although, if you travel 25 miles to the Northwest you will arrive in Bettles, AK, population 43.
Dras, India: This area receives so much snow that it is cut off from the rest of the region for several months of the year. It’s winter lows are normally –31 degrees. The lowest recorded temperature was minus58 degrees. Dras is most noted for the Kargil War, which was fought in 1999. The war was fought between Pakistan and India. The war was over who controlled national highway 1D. This is a very harsh region during the winter, but reaches the upper 80’s during the summer.
Verkhoyansk, Russia: The population is around 1300 with most people being fur traders or reindeer herders. Similar to Oymyaken it’s located in Stalin’s Death Ring. Stalin used to send the political exiles to this region to work on Kolyma highway. It was such a harsh region that it is said that 1 prisoner died for every meter of the highway. The road is 2000km long. The locals call it the “road of bones”. The coldest temperature recorded here was minus 93.6 degrees in 1892.
Yakutsk, Russia: This is noted as the coldest city in the world with a population of 210,000. The ground never thaws here and temperatures have been measured as cold as minus 84. Frostbite can occur after only a few minutes in these temperatures.
Snag, Canada: The lowest temperature here was minus 81.4 degrees. Snag is not far from Whitehorse. When this temperature was measured the area was inhabited about a dozen fur traders and 8-10 native people at the airport and it got so cold that the thermometer didn’t even go that low they had to modify it.
Grise Fiord, Canada: With a population of 141 this extremely cold area reaches lows of minus 80 degrees. This town was formed during the Cold War to claim their rights in the high arctic. The population was made up of native Americans and they were promised game to hunt and other things and they weren’t provided so they were promised relocation in a year, but once Canada found out it would damage their claims on the area if they were to move these people the offer to relocate was taken back. The tribe realized they could hunt whales and were able to stay there. Much later an official apology was issued to these people and they or their descendants were compensated monetarily.

From Movers and Packers

Yoani Sánchez, Cuba’s Voice of a Blogging Generation - NYTimes.com

Social Media in Universities Almost Ties Metropolis!

Remo Ruffini Still with Us

``There is therefore the very exciting possibility that the actual details of the process of gravitational collapse can be inferred in principle from the structure of the P-GRB or of the “genuine” short GRBs: from their duration, spectra and time variability.''

``12. Conclusions
I have summarized the vast scenario made possible by the unprecedented technological possibilities of observing SNe, GRBs, GRBs associated with SNe, all the way to neo-neutron stars and proto-black holes. The corresponding theoretical work is rapidly expanding over new regimes of ultrarelativistic ﬁeld theories and encompassing all fundamental interactions. A novel uniﬁed approach to nuclear physics, neutron stars, white dwarfs and gravitationally collapsed objects is rapidly emerging. All this oﬀers unprecedented possibilities to enlarge our knowledge of fundamental physics and relativistic astrophysics, as well as to reach an understanding of yet unexplained phenomena of fundamental physics.''

From arXiv

Who needs String Theory, when one has Real Physics!

Hooray for Ruffini!

My friend Alexei Vladimir Filippenko there with the great scientists!

Previous work by Professor Ruffini here.

[1107.0862] Fundamental physics from black holes, neutron stars and gamma-ray bursts

[1107.0862] Fundamental physics from black holes, neutron stars and gamma-ray bursts

Great Article by Remo Ruffini

IFFHS

Chicharito

Beset by Protests, Chile Offers $4 Billion for Education - NYTimes.com

BitCoin

Watching Al Jazeera I saw a bit on BitCoin. Interesting stuff.

Wikepedia

Call to Technical Young People by Julian Assange

All those technical young people that read my blog, maybe you'll like to hear the whole two hours of last weekend's Historic Event with Julian Assange, Slavoj Zizek, and Amy Goodman.

A brilliant and valiant statement

(Taken from CubaDebate)

ATTENDING to other matters currently
priorities momentarily took me away from the
frequency with which I wrote Reflections during
2010; however, the proclamation of the revolutionary
leader Hugo Chávez last Thursday, June 30, obliges
me to write these lines.

A brilliant and valiant statement The
President of Venezuela is one of the men to have
done most for the health and education of his people;
given that these are subjects in which the Cuban
Revolution has accumulated the most experience, we
were happy to cooperate to the maximum in both
fields with this sister country.

It is absolutely not the case that
that country lacked doctors; on the contrary, it
possessed them in abundance, including quality
professionals, as in other Latin American countries.
It is a social question. The finest doctors and the
most sophisticated equipment might be, as in all
capitalist countries, in the service of private
medicine. Sometimes, not even that, because within
underdeveloped capitalism, like the capitalism which
existed in Venezuela, the wealthy class had
sufficient income to have recourse to the best
hospitals in the United States or Europe, something
which was habitual and which nobody can deny.

Worse still, the United States and
Europe were and are characterized by seducing the
best specialists from any exploited Third World
country into leaving their homelands and emigrating
to the consumer societies. Training doctors for that
world in the developed countries implies fabulous
sums that millions of poor families in Latin America
could never ever pay. That happened in Cuba until
the Revolution accepted the challenge, not only of
training doctors capable of serving our country, but
also other nations of Latin America, the Caribbean
or the world.

We have never stolen the
intelligences of other peoples. Instead, tens of
thousands of doctors and other high-level
professionals have been trained free of charge in
Cuba in order to return them to their own countries.

Thanks
to their profound Bolivarian and Martí revolutions,
Venezuela and Cuba are countries in which health and
education have been exceptionally developed. All
citizens have the real right to receive general
education and professional training free of charge,
something that the United States has not been able
nor will be able to guarantee to all its inhabitants.
The real fact is that the government of that country
invests one trillion dollars in its military
apparatus and its military adventures every year.
Moreover, it is the largest exporter of weapons and
instruments of death and the largest drugs market in
the world. Due to that trafficking, tens of
thousands of Latin Americans lose their lives every
year.

This is something so real and so
well known that, more than 50 years ago, a president
of military origin condemned, in bitter tones, the
decisive power accumulated by the military-industrial
complex in that country.

These words would be too much if it
were not for the odious and repugnant campaign
unleashed by the Venezuelan oligarchy's mass media
in the service of that empire, utilizing the health
difficulties that the Bolivarian President is
experiencing. We are bound to him by a close and
indestructible friendship, which emerged out of his
first visit to our homeland on December 13, 1994.

Some people were surprised that his
visit to Cuba coincided with the need that arose for
medical attention. The Venezuelan President visited
our country with the same objective that took him to
Brazil and Ecuador. He did not come with any
intention whatsoever of receiving medical services
in our homeland.

As is known, a group of Cuban health
specialists have been providing their services to
the Venezuelan President who, faithful to his
Bolivarian principles, never saw them as undesirable
foreigners, but as the sons and daughters of the
gran Patria (Greater Homeland) for which the
Liberator Simón Bolívar fought until his last
breath.

The first contingent of Cuban
doctors left for Venezuela at the time of the
tragedy in the state of Vargas, which cost the lives
of thousands of noble Venezuelans. This action of
solidarity was nothing new, it has been a rooted
tradition in our homeland since the early years of
the Revolution; ever since, almost half a century
ago, Cuban doctors were sent to the recently
independent Algeria. That tradition deepened as the
Cuban Revolution, in the midst of a merciless
blockade, continued training internationalist
doctors. Countries like Peru, Somoza's Nicaragua and
others in the hemisphere and in the Third World,
suffered tragedies due to earthquakes or other
reasons which required Cuba's solidarity. Thus our
country became the nation with the highest rate of
doctors and specialized health personnel in the
world, with a high degree of experience and
professional capacity.

President Chávez went to great pains
to attend to our health personnel. Thus the bond of
confidence and friendship was born and developed
between him and the Cuban doctors, who were always
very appreciative of their treatment by the
Venezuelan leader who, for his part, was capable of
creating thousands of health centers and furnishing
them with the equipment needed to provide services
free of charge for all Venezuelans. No other
government in the world did so much, in such a short
time, for the health of its people.

A high percentage of Cuban health
personnel provided services in Venezuela and
moreover, many of them taught certain subjects as
part of the training of more than 20,000 young
Venezuelans who are beginning to graduate as
doctors. Many of them began their studies in our
country. The internationalist doctor members of
Battalion 51, graduated in the Latin America School
of Medicine, have earned sound prestige in
fulfilling complex and difficult missions. My
relations in that field with President Hugo Chávez
developed on those bases.

I should add that throughout the
more than 12 years since February 2, 1999, the
President and leader of the Venezuelan Revolution
has not rested for one single day and, in that
respect, he occupies a unique place in the history
of this hemisphere. He has devoted all his energies
to the Revolution.

It could be affirmed that for every
extra hour that Chávez dedicates to his work, a
president of the United States rests for two.

It was hard to believe, almost
impossible, that his health would not suffer some
kind of breakdown and that happened during the last
few months.

As a person used to the rigors of
military life, he stoically endured the pain and
problems affecting him with increasing frequency.
Given the relations of friendship developed and the
constant exchanges between Cuba and Venezuela, plus
my personal experiences in relation to health, which
I have lived through since my July 30, 2006
proclamation, it is not strange that I would notice
the President's need for a rigorous health check. It
is too generous on his part to attribute any special
merit to me in this context.

I admit, of course, that the task
which I imposed on myself was not an easy one. It
wasn't hard for me to notice that he was not in good
health. Seven months had passed since his last visit
to Cuba. The medical team dedicated to attending to
his health had asked me to make that move. From the
very first moment the President's attitude was to
inform the people, with total clarity, of his state
of health. For that reason, being already at the
point of returning, he informed the people about his
health up until that moment via his Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and promised to keep them informed
in detail.

Every treatment was accompanied by
the rigorous cellular and laboratory analyses
undertaken in such circumstances.

One of the examinations, a number of
days after the first operation, produced results
that indicated more radical surgical measures and
special treatment for the patient.

In his dignified message of June 30,
the President, notably recovered, speaks about his
state of health with total clarity.

I admit that the task of telling our
friend of the new situation was not an easy one. I
could appreciate the dignity with which he received
the news which – for him, with so many important
tasks on his mind, among them the commemorative
event for the Bicentenary and the formalization of
the agreement on Latin American and Caribbean unity
– much more than the physical suffering implied by
radical surgery, signifies a test, as he expressed
it, comparable to the hardest moments that have
befallen him in his life as an unyielding combatant.

Together with him, the team of
people attending to him, people whom he described as
sublime, have waged the magnificent battle to which
I have been witness.

I unhesitatingly affirm that the
results are impressive and that the patient has
unleashed a decisive battle which will lead him, and
with him, Venezuela, to a great victory.

His plea has to be communicated
exactly in all languages, but above all translated
and subtitled in English, a language which can be
understood in this Tower of Babel into which
imperialism has converted the world.

Now Hugo Chávez’ internal and
external enemies are at the mercy of his words and
his initiatives. Doubtless, there will be surprises
for them. Let us give him the strongest support and
confidence. The lies of the empire and the betrayal
of the traitors will be defeated. Today there are
millions of combative and conscious Venezuelans whom
the oligarchy and the empire can never subjugate
again.

Fidel Castro Ruz

July 3, 2011

4:12 p.m.

Translated by Granma International

Taken From Granma

Goodman interviews Assange and Zizek 7-2-11 - Politics and Economics - Political Forums

Relevant Science Wikio Ranking

Taken From Wikio

Hemingway, Hounded by the Feds - NYTimes.com

Historic Event!

Pakistan’s Spies Tied to Slaying of a Journalist - NYTimes.com

Lost in the Noosphere!

Today I acted so twentieth century!

My friend Edgar invited me to a virtual forum on E-everything, organized by the Guerrero State Government. Promptly at 9 AM I went downtown where I assumed the meeting was going on. When I didn't see any forum activity, I checked my netbook. I had neglected to see how the event was being held.

I came back home. My friend was in his weekly radio program, I just heard his voice for a second saying goodbye!

I made a fool of myself today.

The tablet will be the center of the connected lifestyle — Online Video News

The 10 Absolute Creepiest Moments in David Lynch’s Oeuvre

When your name becomes an adjective, you know you've made it. Case in point: the word "Lynchian" now means, essentially, a movie characterized by stark images, eerie moods, arresting sound design, and often graphic and twisted depictions of the human form. In other words, it's like watching the most beautiful nightmare you've ever had, torn between wanting it to end and wanting to see if it gets weirder. He's a masterful, remarkably assured filmmaker who's proven himself to be one of the American greats, yet even by his own special standards, the scenes below are full-on creepy. They're dark and ominous, and they share a common fear of the unusual and unknown. Many of them are marked by the sudden appearance of something unsettling that's made all the more so for the way it just kind of shows up in the middle of a scene that's already surreal. Don't know what we mean? Throw some headphones on and get comfy, then. Time for a trip down Lynch's rabbit hole.

Agent Cooper's dream in Twin Peaks: Twin Peaks was the kind of daring, what-is-going-on type of TV show that now exists on cable. But in 1990, you could actually get a network to take a chance on a murder mystery that chucked the whodunit plot in favor of weird characters, dream sequences, and pie. Agent Cooper's dream at the end of the second episode (after the two-hour TV-movie pilot) became an instant pop culture sensation thanks to its style, execution, and indescribable oddity. It's vintage Lynch, and it set the stage for the rest of the show's iconic run.
The appearance of the Navigator in Dune: Lynch's version of Frank Herbert's sci-classic is, well, not without its flaws. Lynch spoke out against the film, saying that producers had kept him from having final cut and implementing his vision. Still, the film remains a stark and often ugly work of modern art, and it's packed with the physical grotesqueries for which Lynch is often known. Easily the most unnerving is the giant navigator that at once is phallic and vaginal, a mutant in a glass case who can fold space and time and who has paid a bodily price for being submerged in the magical spice that gives him his powers. It's impossible not to see him and feel a chill.

The Guild Navigator

Dune at MOVIECLIPS.com
Frank Booth's dry-humping fit in Blue Velvet: Blue Velvet was Lynch's art-house redemption after the bloated mess of Dune, and he didn't mess around: the film's loaded with the symbolism and sexual themes that are prevalent in much of Lynch's work. Chief among these is a wild man, Frank Booth (played with insane lust by Dennis Hopper), who gets off by dry-humping the female lead while huffing from a gas mask. Even for a movie that kicks off with a guy finding a severed ear, this is a rocky scene.
The chat with the Mystery Man in Lost Highway: It sounds misleading to merely refer to Lost Highway as unsettling, as if the rest of Lynch's c.v. was a lighthearted romp through Candyland, but there are some really spooky moments here that almost defy description. (David Foster Wallace memorably profiled Lynch during the film's production for Premiere magazine.) The plot is almost too Lynchian to try and sum up, but it starts out dealing with a man (Bill Pullman) who finds himself haunted and stalked by a pale old Mystery Man (Robert Blake). After a brief vision of the Mystery Man, our hero meets him at a party and has a supremely eerie conversation with him that seems to break the rules of space and time.
The figure behind the diner in Mulholland Drive: Originally written as a TV pilot before being retooled and partially reshot, Mulholland Drive is a haunting Mobius strip of a movie that slides back and forth between dreams and reality in ways specifically designed to leave viewers unsure of what's happening. The creepiest moment is one that feels totally unrelated to the surrounding story, too. Set at a diner called Winkies, the scene deals with a man confronting a nightmare that turns out to be real. It doesn't matter how many times you've seen the movie, or what your theories are about this scene's meaning: it will still scare you. Here's part one; the conclusion is below.

A Living Nightmare

Mulholland Dr. at MOVIECLIPS.com
The mythical origin story in The Elephant Man: Probably the most accessible film Lynch made until 1999's The Straight Story, The Elephant Man was nominated for a host of Oscars and earned praise for its cast. The opening of the film, though, is vintage Lynch, blending sight and sound into a weird metaphorical origin story that sees a woman trampled (and maybe more) by a herd of elephants. Even in a film as straightforward as this one, the Lynchian vibe is inescapable.
Club Silencio in Mulholland Drive: Only Lynch could make such a moving and beautiful scene so rattling. The final moments of Mulholland Drive exist almost outside of time and reality, playing with the fabric of dreams and death just like the rest of the film. We get our heroines back, briefly, freed from suicide and sex games and everything else that's plagued every version of them, and we also get a stirring song that raises the nature of seeing versus believing.
The shooting at room 47 in Inland Empire: Totally nonlinear and endlessly challenging, Inland Empire offers some of Lynch's most upsetting imagery (which is saying something). The movie's basically a series of scenes that only loosely form a plot, and the action comes to a head when Nikki (Laura Dern) confronts the evil Phantom and shoots him, only to see his face turn into a grotesque version of her own. Seriously, this will mess you up:
The televised rabbits in Inland Empire: Significant portions of Inland Empire involve a faux-sitcom set featuring a three-member family with human bodies and rabbit heads. The images come from Rabbits, a series of video shorts Lynch made in 2002. On paper, the set-up sounds like a cheesy kids comedy, but in Lynch's hands, it becomes so weird and menacing and uncomfortable that you don't know what to do.
Every single moment in Eraserhead: Lynch's first film remains his most disturbing. Shot on a shoestring budget in the 1970s, the film is a gross, often revolting work that revolves around a deformed creature with no limbs and a monstrous face. Placing a heavy emphasis on emotional states over linear narratives, the film is a blast of bizarre visions and creepy encounters that Lynch will never top. (Not that he should.) Even for Lynch die-hards, this is a tough one.

Taken From Zen College Life

10 Most Controversial Prisoner Pardons in History

Every day, thousands of prisoners seek forgiveness and a lessening of their penalty through the appeals process. Those who are forgiven for their offense and released of their punishment have been granted a pardon, which is typically ordered by a head of state such as a president, monarch or church authority at the federal level and by a governor or a pardon board at the state level. The criminal justice system gives prisoners the right to appeal their convictions and bring justice to the defendant, but every once in a while some controversial pardons make their way through the cracks. Here are the 10 most controversial prisoner pardons in history:

Roger Clinton, Jr.: If the name Roger Clinton sounds familiar that’s because he is the half-brother of former President Bill Clinton. In 1985, Roger Clinton was arrested and pleaded guilty for cocaine-related charges. He served more than a year in prison and was controversially pardoned more than a decade later by his brother, Bill Clinton. After his criminal record was erased, he was charged with drunk driving and disorderly conduct in two unrelated incidents.
Aslam P. Adam: Aslam P. Adam was a Pakistani drug trafficker who was convicted of conspiracy to posses and distribute $1 million worth of heroin. Adam served eight years of his 55-year federal prison sentence, but was controversially pardoned by former President George H.W. Bush two days before he left office in 1993. The pardon came as a shock to all, but Bush never gave an explanation for his peculiar actions.
Marc Rich: In 1983, billionaire financier Marc Rich was indicted for tax evasion and charged with 51 counts of tax fraud. The commodities trader was also in trouble for running illegal oil deals with Iran during the hostage crisis, therefore violating a US trade embargo with Iran. During his prosecution, Rich fled to Switzerland and was surprisingly pardoned by former President Bill Clinton, who claimed Rich’s charitable donations in the Middle East helped bring peace to the area.
George Steinbrenner: In 1974, George Steinbrenner, the longtime owner and managing partner of the New York Yankees, was charged with 14 criminal counts for obstruction of justice and conspiring to make illegal contributions to President Nixon’s 1972 re-election campaign. Steinbrenner was pardoned by President Ronald Reagan for the election law case, in which he was fined $15,000 but never served jail time. The caveat was that Reagan required Steinbrenner to admit to the crime in order to receive the controversial pardon.
Caspar Weinberger: Caspar Weinberger served as Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan and was one of six individuals involved in the Iran-Contra Affair. Weinberger was suspected of participating in the transfer of U.S. anti-tank missiles to Iran, and was charged with two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice in 1992. Weinberger was pardoned by President George H.W. Bush, which stopped the legal proceedings against those involved, including the president who was also a former member of the Reagan administration. This pardon led to the Iran-Contra cover-up conspiracy.
Elliot Abrams: Elliot Abrams is a former assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs, who was convicted of two misdemeanor charges for withholding secret government information from Congress, concerning the support of Nicaraguan contra rebels. In 1991, Abrams was sentenced to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service. One year later, President George H.W. Bush pardoned Abrams and he was later appointed to another special assistant position by President George W. Bush.
Richard Nixon: President Richard Nixon was controversially pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, a year after his resignation. In 1974, President Ford announced the pardon on live television and explained his reasons for forgiving any crimes he may or may not have committed. Essentially, Ford wanted to put an end to the Watergate scandal and bring some relief to the Nixon family, but many believe the men had previously agreed to the pardon when Nixon resigned. Nixon continued to proclaim his innocence until the day he died, and his pardon may have been the reason why Ford lost the 1976 presidential election.
Mark Felt and Edward Miller: Mark Felt and Edward Miller are known as the highest-ranking convicted criminals in the FBI because of their involvement in the 1978 invasion of Vietnam protesters’ homes and offices during the Nixon presidency. The unwarranted break-ins were done to notify the FBI and President Nixon of any suspicious activities and stop any terrorist influences among the draft dodders. Although Ronald Reagan’s Justice Department advised against it, the former president pardoned Felt and Miller for their criminal convictions. Reagan’s reasoning for the pardon was that the men were acting on an honorable mission to protect the nation.
Jimmy Hoffa: Jimmy Hoffa was a labor union leader and president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union who was convicted of jury tampering, attempted bribery, and fraud in 1964. During his 13-year prison sentence, President Nixon pardoned the labor union leader under the condition that he step down as the Teamsters’ president and not manage any labor organization until March 1980. In return, Hoffa supported Nixon’s re-election campaign, but may have defied his wishes by trying to reunite with the Teamsters before his disappearance in 1975.
Patty Hearst: Patty Hearst, the granddaughter of publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst, was convicted of bank robbery in 1976, after she was allegedly kidnapped by an urban guerilla group called the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) who organized the San Francisco bank robbery. Although Hearst’s defense attorney claimed she was abused and brainwashed by the group, she was still found guilty of bank robbery. Hearst was sentenced to seven years in jail and served two before she was freed by Jimmy Carter, who commuted her sentencing. President Bill Clinton gave her a full pardon in 2001 and it became of one his most controversial presidential pardons.

Taken From Criminal Justice Degrees Guide

20 Essential TED Talks for Women

Women today have more options and freedoms than they’ve had at any point in history, but there’s still a long way to go for true equality in the workplace and everyday life.

Whether you’re a college student working to get ahead in a male dominated field or a woman already in the working world and meeting that glass ceiling head on, you know about the harsh realities that face women in our own country. You’re likely no stranger to the even more perilous conditions that threaten women around the world. It can all be a bit disheartening, but there is hope for change. These TED Talks will show you the power of women as leaders, mothers, workers, and thinkers and provide inspiration to keep pushing things forward.

Sheryl Sandberg: Why we have too few women leaders: Why don’t women get to the top of their professions and take on roles as CEOs and executives? The reasons are complex, as you’ll learn here, but Sandberg also provides some helpful advice for women who do want to reach those top echelons.
Hanna Rosin: New data on the rise of women: Women have come a long way in the past few decades and, as you’ll see in this talk, are even surpassing men in several important areas both in the US and other countries around the world. What does this mean for women? Hanna Rosin discusses the long-term implications of this shift and what it means for women today and in the future.
Sheryl WuDunn: Our century’s greatest injustice: Author of Half the Sky Sheryl WuDunn talks about oppression of women around the world in this talk. While the stats and stories are saddening, she also showcases a solution in education, which can empower women and help break them out of the cycle of oppression.
Isabel Allende tells tales of passion: Author Isabel Allende is known for her powerful, emotional, and sometimes romantic novels, but she also has a passion for helping women. In this talk, you’ll not only hear about her writing, but also her work though a foundation that’s dedicated to empowering women and girls.
Brenda Laurel on games for girls: As most young women and girls will tell you, it isn’t that they don’t have any interest in using a video game system, it’s just that most games don’t really appeal to their interests. In this lecture, you’ll learn why that is and how developers can work to create games that attract this largely untapped market.
Kavita Ramdas: Radical women, embracing tradition: For many women around the world, there is a clash between the ideals of women’s empowerment from the West and their own traditional culture. In this talk from the director of the Global Fund for Women, you’ll see how some women are successfully navigating the space between the two and making the world a better place for women (and men) around the globe.
Halla Tomasdottir: A feminine response to Iceland’s financial crash: Stereotypical feminine values are usually looked down upon, if not outright laughed at, in the business world. Yet this enterprising businesswoman used them to help her financial company weather one of the worst economic crises in decades, proving that what is common may not always be what is right.
Eve Ensler: Embrace your inner girl: Creator of The Vagina Monologues Eve Ensler aims to inspire girls and women to embrace their inner girl and celebrate being a woman, with all the joy, pain, and power it may bring.
Courtney Martin: Reinventing feminism: Defining what feminism is can be a difficult task, as it means something different to every woman and every generation. In this talk, Courtney Martin, editor at Feministing.com, shares some of the paradoxes of her generation’s quest to define what feminism means to them.
Madeleine Albright: On being a woman and a diplomat: One of the most respected and widely-known women in politics in the world, Madeline Albright paved the way for the scores of women in the political sphere today. In this talk, she shares why women’s issues shouldn’t be dismissed in foreign policy and her own journey as a woman in politics.
Sunitha Krishnan fights sex slavery: Sex slavery is a multimillion-dollar business in many countries around the world, ruining the lives of many women and girls, some at an extremely young age. Sunitha Krishnan has dedicated her life to rescuing the victims of sex slavery and shares some powerful stories and hope for the future.
Mitchell Besser: Mothers helping mothers fight HIV: In Sub-Saharan Africa, HIV infections are more common than anywhere in the world, often spread to women from unfaithful husbands and passed on to children from their mothers. In this talk, Mitchell Bessner showcases the power of women to band together for change as he discusses a program dedicated to helping women support and educate each other on HIV.
Johanna Blakley: Social media and the end of gender: If you’ve ever seen an advertisement, you know that they are usually blatantly sexist and make use of gender stereotypes quite liberally, yet things may be changing with the power of the web. Hear from Johanna Blakley on how social media may just change how advertisers interact with women.
Eve Ensler on security: Feeling disenfranchised? Listen to this talk from Eve Ensler on the desire for security in our lives and some inspirational stories of women who are making changes and becoming more secure in their own right.
Kiran Bedi: A police chief with a difference: Kiran Bedi isn’t just amazing for being the first female director of the Indian Police Service and the warden of one of the country’s toughest prisons, but also her commitment to making change. She is an exceptional leader and shares some of her stories here. They may just inspire you to take on that dream you thought was impossible.
Hans Rosling and the magic washing machine: In decades past, women who stayed at home had little free time to read or pursue hobbies. The advent of technologies like the washing machine, however, created change in the home and in society at large, an effect you’ll learn about in depth in this talk from Hans Rosling.
Mother and daughter doctor-heroes: Hawa Abdi + Deqo Mohamed: Often referred to as the "Saints of Somalia," this mother-daughter duo have taken on the oppression and terror that affects women in their country head on, opening a hospital and school to build a stronger community and better future.
Deborah Rhodes: A tool that finds 3x more breast tumors, and why it’s not available to you: Learn why the politics of medicine may be keeping an amazing diagnostic tool out of your hospital from breast cancer expert Deborah Rhodes. Would the same politics come into play for medical devices designed to help only men? It’s certainly something to think about.
Liza Donnelly: Drawing upon humor for change: New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly takes a look at the expectations and stereotypes of women in a humorous way through her drawings, many of which she showcases here.
Shirin Neshat: Art in exile: Exiled Iranian artist Shirin Neshat shares her work in this amazing TED Talk, tracing the lives of women in the years before and after the Islamic Revolution in the country and a small glimpse into the lives and identities of many Muslim women.

Taken from Accredited Online Colleges

Monday, July 04, 2011

Very Restless with Over Two Cups of Coffee

I heard once that a mathematician is a machine where you pour coffee in, and get theorems out.

I had my fill today, and are very, very restless.

There are two articles producing this state, here, and here.

Steve Jobs has mastered the job of outperforming everybody competing with him, first link, the IT industry is going through an important change, second link.

While at Lucent I got confused; first by the collapse of the best industrial lab ever created by man; Bell Labs, and then by the lost decade of the 2000s, where stupid people sent talent to play in the big Casino that Wall Street became, and then small minded types in Illinois, put their money in houses for nobody.

Now what I expected, is happening, the cloud is being born, and talented people like Jobs, are ripping off big payoffs.

What am I waiting for, this caffeine inside my body is making me feel that I should just go up North, and pick up the gold that is everywhere, and few people see.

Just saying.

Chavez

Relevant Science

Readers may wonder about this blog's name. Where is the Science in Chilango?

In a recent note, Cohen and I, the word is used to describe this author. I am a Proud Chilango. Where is the Science there? relevant or not.

In my defense I contend that a blog is a private conversation. If you like what you find here, you come back. I accept contributions that are sent me by other sources. Some of them have been successful. Here is a recent one: 20 Colleges ..., presently number seven in page views since May 2009:

My stated goal is to help high school students to consider a science career.

OK, then what about Chilango?

I am a Mexico City physicist working in Chilpancingo Guerrero, Mexico. My views about my city and my country are tainted by my scientific mind. I read opinion pages, and relate them to my life, I make them relevant to myself. In that respect I could have called my blog, a Rationalist View of Reality. I search for the connections, based on my concept map. I hope my concept map is scientific.

New York City, as viewed by Roger Cohen, is a similar place as Mexico City, as seen by me. Both places are so big, with so much diversity, that I cannot see a bunch of small town hoodlums to take over them, as it is happening right now, in many small Mexican towns.

And Chilpango?

Go to Wikipedia

Message from President Chávez to the Venezuelan people

"I hope for much from time. Its
immense belly contains more hopes than past events
and future events have to be superior to past ones."
Simón Bolívar.

President Chávez Time
and its rhythms, time and its mandates, time and its
designs, as Ecclesiastes notes, bring me today to
read this communiqué to the Venezuelan nation and
the international public, as attentive as they have
been to the situation of my health since it began to
show signs of deterioration some weeks ago.

After the excellent tour that we
made of Brazil and Ecuador this past June 5 to 7, we
arrived in Cuba and its solidarity of always to
conclude the event with a review and the signing of
new cooperation agreements.

I confess that, from the point of
view of my health, I had only planned to have a
check of my left knee, already almost recovered from
that injury in early May.

Throughout my life I have been
committing one of those errors that could perfectly
well fit into that category which some philosopher
called "fundamental errors": neglecting my health
and, moreover, being very remiss in terms of medical
checks and treatment. Without any doubt, what a
fundamental error! And above all in a revolutionary
with certain modest responsibilities like those that
the revolution has been imposing on me for more than
30 years.

However, already in Havana in the
evening of Wednesday, June 8, there we were again
with Fidel, with that giant who has already exceeded
all times and all places. Certainly it wasn’t
difficult for Fidel to realize the discomforts which,
beyond my left knee, I had been trying to conceal
for a number of weeks. He questioned me almost like
a doctor, I confessed almost like a patient, and
that night all the immense medical advances that the
Cuban Revolution has achieved for its people and a
good part of the world were placed totally at our
disposition, with the initiation of a combination of
examinations and diagnoses.

It was thus that a strange formation
in the pelvic region was detected and warranted an
emergency operation given the risk of a generalized
infection. That was Saturday, June 11, in the very
early hours of the morning, a few hours before the
announcement which was read to the country and to
the world, and which has prompted so many
demonstrations of solidarity that I am touched at
every second.

After that operation which, in
principal, managed to drain the abscess, an
intensive treatment with antibiotics began, which
was effective and led to a notable improvement.
However, and in spite of my generally positive
progress, throughout the process of draining and
treatment, some suspicions arose as to the presence
of other cell formations not previously detected.

And so another series of special
cyto-chemical, cytological, microbiological and
anatomic studies immediately began, which confirmed
the existence of an abscessed tumor presenting
carcinogenic cells, which made a second operation
necessary, in order to totally remove the
aforementioned tumor.

It was major surgery, but without
complications, after which I have continued making
satisfactory progress, while receiving complementary
treatment to combat the various types of cells found
and thus continue along the road to my full recovery.

Meanwhile, I have been and am being
kept informed and in command of the actions of the
Bolivarian government, I am in constant
communication with the Vice President, compañero
Elías Jaua and my entire government team.

I am infinitely grateful for the
numerous and enthusiastic demonstrations of
solidarity which I have received from the Venezuelan
people and other sister peoples, as well as the
heads of state and government of countless countries
in the world, with the conviction that all of that
love, all of that solidarity, constitute the most
sublime energy which is promoting and will promote
my will to win this new battle which life has placed
before us, and, in a very special way, I thank the
Cuban people, the Cuban nation, Fidel, Raúl, all
this medical legion which has placed itself at the
forefront of this battle in a veritably sublime
manner.

However, I have also been very aware
of a certain degree of anguish and uncertainty which,
throughout these days, these nights, has been
running through the body and soul of the Venezuelan
nation. I believe that beyond manipulative attempts
on the part of certain well known sectors, those
sentiments were and are inevitable, and are part of
human nature itself, this being surrounded, moreover,
by circumstances which frame it and often shake it,
as is occurring in this case.

From the very first moment I assumed
full responsibility in terms of ensuring the strict
veracity of the bulletins to be transmitted,
fundamentally for two sets of reasons: in the first
place, the medical-scientific reason and, in second
place, and in a very specially careful way from the
very depths of my soul and conscience, the humane
reason, the reason of love, to be more precise, the
reason of love!

We have already talked a bit about
the first; in other words, the medical reason. It
has been a slow and careful process of approximation
and diagnosis, of advances and discoveries
throughout various stages, during which rigorous
scientific procedures have been implemented which
did not admit any haste or pressure of any kind. The
supreme guiding principle sustaining this powerful
reason is full scientific verification, beyond the
indications and suspicions that were appearing.

And, in relation to the reason of
love, I am now obliged to talk to you from the most
intimate part of myself. At this moment, I am
remembering the 4th of February of that year of
turmoil, 1992. That day, I had no alternative but to
talk to Venezuela from my decline, from a road that
I felt was dragging me towards a bottomless abyss.
As from a dark cavern in my soul the "for now,"
burst out and then I sank.

Right now those fateful hours of
April 11, 2002 also come into my mind. Then, as well,
I sent that message to my beloved Venezuelan people,
written from the Turiamo Naval Base where I was a
prisoner, an overthrown and imprisoned president. It
was like a song of pain, shouted from the depths of
another abyss, which I felt was swallowing me in its
throat and I was sinking and sinking.

Now, in this new time of
difficulties, and above all since Fidel Castro
himself in person, the Fidel of the Moncada Garrison,
the Fidel of the Granma yacht, the very same
Fidel of the Sierra Maestra, the giant of always,
came to tell me the harsh news of the carcinogenic
discovery, I have begun to ask my Lord Jesus, the
God of my fathers, Simón Bolívar would say; to the
Mantle of the Virgin, as my mother Elena would say;
the spirits of the savannah, as Florentino Coronado
would say, to grant me the possibility of talking to
you, not from another abysmal path, not from a dark
cavern or a night without stars. Now I would like to
talk to you from this steep path via which I feel
that I am already emerging from another abyss. Now I
would like to talk to you with the sun of dawn which
I feel illuminating me. I think we have achieved
that. Thank you, my God!

And finally, my beloved compatriots;
my adored sons and daughters; my dear young
compañeros, the girls and boys of my people; my
valiant soldiers of always; my brave workers, men
and woman; my dear patriotic women; my beloved
people, all and one in my heart, I am saying that
wanting to talk to you today from my new ascent
towards the return has nothing to do with me myself,
but with you, a patriotic people, a good people. I
did not want nor do I want at all that you should
accompany me along paths that sink into an abyss. I
invite you to continue with me to scale new summits;
there are semeruco trees there in the
mountains and a beautiful song to sing which the
poet of the people, our dear Alí Primera, keeps
singing to us from his eternity: "Let us go then,
let us go, with our father Bolívar in the vanguard,
to continue climbing the peak of the Chimborazo!"

Thank you, my God! Thank you, my
people! Thank you, my life!

Hasta la victoria siempre!

Nosotros venceremos!

Havana, this dear and heroic Havana,
June 30, 2011.

From the patria grande, I say
to you, from my heart, from all of my soul, from my
supreme hope, which is that of a people: "For now
and for always we will live and overcome!

Thank you very much! Until my return!

Translated by Granma International

From Granma

(31) More Hispanics in U.S. Calling Themselves Indian - Digg

10 Rules Parents Should Enforce About Cell Phones

It is quite common for kids, teens and younger, to have their own cell phones these days. With these new privileges there also should be some new rules laid down by the parents. Here’s a few that they might consider.

Pause the thumbs – When someone speaks to you while you’re texting, it is appropriate to pause your thumbs and quit texting long enough to look the person in the face and give them your attention. Texting isn’t like verbal communication. You won’t have to worry about forgetting what you were saying. It will still be sitting there in mid-sentence when you go back to it.
Surrender them at bedtime – Most kids have a hard enough time getting enough sleep without having the temptation of communicating with their friends all night long via their cell phone. Make it easy for them, and collect the phones before bedtime.
No loaning your phone – Kids are always asking to borrow each other’s things. A cell phone can be expensive to replace and it can also gain extra charges from overuse. No loaning out your phone to your friends.
No phones at the table – If the phone is there, they’re likely to be using it in some way. If your family tries to make mealtime, family time, keep the phones away from the dining room.
No phone until after homework - “It’ll only take a minute.” Those are words often heard from the mouths of teenagers. Thirty minutes later, you’ll be reminding them to hang up. The homework will take ten times as long if they have their cell phone on the table next to them.
No embarrassing photos – Photos of your siblings half-naked are not to be taken with your cell phone and sent to all your friends. Responsible use of the camera function should be required.
No texting in church – Many churches give this gentle reminder as their services start via the overhead screen. As a parent, you should be setting it as a ground rule before they arrive at the service.
No phones on family night – If you’ve tried to create an evening during the week for your family to spend time together. Cell phones are bound to work against your goal. Parents and kids should turn them off.
Battery charging is up to them – Cell phones are a good opportunity for kids to learn personal responsibility. Make them responsible for keeping the battery charged. The consequences of not following through are immediate and directly correlated to their actions.
Drive with both hands – Obviously, this isn’t just for kids, but teen drivers are especially susceptible to distraction. Tell them to keep their cell phone out of reach or turned off when they are in the driver’s seat. Absolutely, NO talking or texting on your cell while behind the wheel.

You may agree with all or some of these, regardless, as a parent you should definitely take the initiative to set some ground rules for the proper use of your child’s cell phone.

10 Reasons to Ask for Someone's Phone Number

10 Common Ways to Lose Your Cell Phone

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Taken From Shop Phone Service

Sunday, July 03, 2011

It Gets Even Worse - NYTimes.com

10 Reasons People Hear News FIRST Now from Facebook

So there’s this new social networking service online you may have heard of – FaceBook? Yes, of course you’ve heard of it, unless you’ve been exploring deep space for the past seven years. It’s all but replaced the telephone as a communications medium between friends and family; so it’s small wonder that a growing number of people count on FaceBook as their primary source for news as well.

The following is a list of ten reasons why people are getting their news first from FaceBook:

Because They’re There – The first and most obvious reason is that many people are spending so much time on FaceBook that they’re getting all their information there, from family events to current events. That is, when they’re not sharing hugs, or planting crops on Farmville.
Widgets – Many people have their desktops and browsers set to display notifications directly from FaceBook. As such, these notifications tend to be the first thing they will see when booting up their PC, or while they’re working at their desks. So when news breaks, it’s no surprise that Aunt Clara’s wall post will be the first you’ll hear of it.
Causes and Groups – One facet of FaceBook’s popularity has been the proliferation of various interest groups on the website. Many FaceBook members who join such groups also get updates and news reports on issues relevant to their common interests, via FaceBook messages.
Newsgroup Profiles – Just about every entity you can think of has a FaceBook profile associated with it. If your source for news is CNN, and you’re a frequent FaceBook user, chances are good that you’ll be getting your news feeds via CNN’s FaceBook page as well.
Going Legit – A December 16, 2008 article on the Australian website TheAge.com, reported that lawyers in Canberra had been granted the legal right to serve court documents to defendants via those defendants’ FaceBook profiles. The point being that as FaceBook continues to shape our social, political and commercial lives/livelihoods, users are increasingly dependent upon it for information of all sorts, including their news.
Going Mainstream – As FaceBook has become the foremost means by which many family members keep in touch, it also tends to be the primary source for hometown news, via updates from relatives on FaceBook.
Trust – has always played a major role in where an individual turns for their news sources. As social networking services such as FaceBook provide members with a vehicle by which to develop their own individual networks of friends and affiliates, it’s only natural that this extends to how they stay informed as well.
Following the Herd – News agencies are like any other businesses. They are driven by numbers: audience size, advertising revenues, etc. And like any other business, their parent media companies are following those numbers; and those numbers are telling them that FaceBook membership represents one huge global market.
Scooping the Tube – The immediacy of the social media platform makes for a faster means by which to disseminate information. As opposed to the lag involved in traditional news production, it’s an attractive alternative for sharing news. So more news outlets are breaking stories via FaceBook.
FaceBook Members - Some events and other newsworthy items are being shared on FaceBook pages by the news-makers themselves before they actually become mainstream news. Corporate, celebrity and political entities are using profiles on sites like FaceBook and Twitter to share their news prior to the stories being picked up by the media.

There’s no question that social networking services have altered the way we communicate and socialize. Much like cell phone texting did previously, they continue become more prevalent as a medium for keeping us up to date on everything from our social calendars to current news and notifications.

Taken From Broadband Service Providers

Pendulo.mx | El Vaivén de la Noticia | Chihuahua México

Legal Trips to Cuba Made Easier for Americans - NYTimes.com

Saturday, July 02, 2011

Cohen and I

Today Roger Cohen has written a paean to New York, [link]. I myself love my Mexico City. Talking today with my cousin Andres Figueroa, the grandson of the Mexican General, Andres Figueroa Figueroa, and nephew of Mexican Historian, Arturo Figueroa Uriza ; I told him, that the small towns of Mexico, are being taken, one by one, by criminals that walk the streets with bullet proof vests, and military grade weapons, and that our civilized City of Mexico cannot be thus taken.

Both Mexico, and New York, can face these forces of irrationality successfully.

I am a Proud Chilango.

Beautiful People!

What a Treat: Two Philosophers and a Courageous Woman

Live from London right now. Julian Assange, Slavoj Zizek, and Amy Goodman!

Chomsky Urges Chavez to Show Mercy to Judge - NYTimes.com

Friday, July 01, 2011

Most Distant Quasar: Mortlock's

arXiv

Carbon?

The biggest and earliest Quasar known, had Carbon!

arXiv

Was life in the cards so early?

Guineans Fear Repercussions as Strauss-Kahn Rape Case Falters - NYTimes.com

One Revelation After Another Undercut Strauss-Kahn Accuser’s Credibility - NYTimes.com

Dopamine and Video Games

One does get satisfaction playing video games. Could it be that this virtual reality satisfaction will take us away of real life satisfactions?

The Matrix Trilogy is one of the earliest examples I've seen where virtual reality fights and almost wins over real life.

This is relevant for me, because I've lived my life detached from regular "real" satisfactions, like powerful positions, and the like, in exchange of the freedom to satisfy my own agenda.

So far so good. A life well lived, I don't complain.

All I need now is to get a good dopamine hit, when I hit the holy grail.

Flotilla’s Problems Mount, and Activists See Hand of Israel - NYTimes.com

Qaddafi Threatens Europe With Attacks - NYTimes.com

Why Did the Absence of the Corpus Callosum in Kim Peek's Brain Increase His Memory Capacity?: Scientific American

Fire menacing Los Alamos lab nears record size: Scientific American

End of the World Plagues?

Moamar Gaddafi is threatening Europe with Locust and Bees.

Robert Fisk: UN blames Hezbollah for Hariri bomb murder - Robert Fisk, Commentators - The Independent

Yes, I got a Blank email!

Kids in Palestine

Public - Private

I have worked in Mexican universities for over thirty years now. We went through a stage of revolutionary zeal, everybody was in the Union, janitors, professors, librarians, you name it. After a while the Intellectuals gave rights to the working class, and they then did not work. Bathrooms were awful, classrooms were messy, and there was no way to make them work: They took our measure!

Now, we do still have those politicized janitors, they go to Union meetings and what not; but they don't clean!

We have a solution though. There are so many unemployed people here, that we can convince some to clean the bathrooms for an entrance fee. We pay a dime to use the toilet. Private Enterprise Works!

I feel a little guilt for inviting students to send code online for a fee.

What the heck, pay for code. It is alright!

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Women today have more options and freedoms than they’ve had at any point in history, but there’s still a long way to go for true equality in the workplace and everyday life.

Monday, July 04, 2011

Related Posts :

Sunday, July 03, 2011

Saturday, July 02, 2011

Friday, July 01, 2011

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