Cliftonblackhillburglips March 27, 2008
Posted by KG in Etc., Internet, fitness.1 comment so far
http://www.observer.com/2008/nerds-steel?page=0%2C0
Words escape me.
Well, that’s not true. Insightful, analytic words escape me. Probably because I’m still trying to sort out the subculture neologisms (”ripster”??) from the endless neighborhoods-as-signifiers. Not that I was surprised; it is the New York Observer.
Conclusions: I have absolutely no patience for the navel gazing New York set. None. And cooler-than-thou references are boring, empty, and artless.
Collect 200 Patacas March 6, 2008
Posted by KG in Internet, Traveling.1 comment so far
Befitting a world gaming capital, check out Macau’s city website. A boardgame theme! It’s rare that a government website makes me giggle.
Hm. Sino-Portuguese cuisine, modern casinos, ruined old cathedrals… Congratulations, hilariously awesome website, Macau’s been added to my “want to go there” list.
Versimilitude May 24, 2007
Posted by KG in Internet.1 comment so far
OMG! Snakes on a Plane!
Speaking of which, anyone else think the whole SoaP thing was the most forgettable Internet-powered phenomenon ever? Other contenders for that title?
Google First, Ask Questions Later May 18, 2007
Posted by KG in Books, Internet, Language.add a comment
A mixed blessing: realizing your meandering, random, seemingly fascinating thought actually has an exact historical answer that is possibly definitive.
The thought (cooked up while doing situps and watching CNN): When did we start metaphorically mapping ”theater” to warfare? Is it part of human nature to try and separate ourselves from the ugly nature of war by mapping it to the artificial world of theater? Is this symbolic mapping only in English?
The answer: Clausewitz. Thanks, wikibrain!
A new subject I now realize I’m completely ignorant in: Theory of War. I guess Sun Tzu doesn’t cut it.
Who Maps the Map Blogs? May 3, 2007
Posted by KG in Blog, Internet.2 comments
Perhaps it was the consumption of National Geographics my parents received, or the first pages of the volumes in my old Tolkein boxed set, or international travel at an early age. Put me in front of a map — real or fictional — and I’ll spend copious amounts of time staring, tracing my finger, imagining far-off lands and unseen places. Unfortunately, true maps of the Earth are by their nature limited by “geography” and “reality” (see Borges, On the Exactidude of Science). With satellites giving us “exact” depictions of the Earth, it takes a novel way of looking at the world (or political hubris) to make cartography more interesting than just arranging artifacts as they are. Which is why Strange Maps and The Map Room are such great sites. If you’re in the mood for content on how the world could look — or how others might imagine it looks now — I highly recommend them.
(image of the tetrahedral Earth via Strange Maps, and a whole lot of bad science from the early 20th century)
