Star Wars realized

I had no doubt it would happen in my lifetime, but I certainly didn't anticipate its immediacy (sort of). Nieman Marcus decided to advertize the first 'skycar' available to anyone interested and capable of paying the modest $3.5 million price tag. A couple catches, ummmmm, first of all it costs $3.5 million. Secondly, word has it only 1 successful test flight has been completed heretofore, so these machines haven't exactly proven their mettle. Finally, they're only really selling purchasing agreements right now; it could take up to three years for the first models to actually ship.

All that practical crap aside, this will definitely be Numero Uno on the Christmas list for 2005. I never did get my Imperial Speeder Bike, so I don't think this oversteps suitable remuneration for past wrongs. Please include leather seats and galactic radio, thanks.

Of note

Right now, in Alaska, a statewide manhunt is underway to catch Robert "Papa Pilgrim" Hale. Papa Pilgrim, the locally famous patriarch of the 17-member Hale clan, has fled in a camper van from 30 charges including sexual assualt, kidnapping, coercion, and incest. The Anchorage Daily News had this to report:

The 17-member family, bound by strict rules that Hale drew from his reading of the Bible, broke apart last winter after a single, horrific episode, described by troopers this week. They said Hale locked a daughter in a small shack on family property near the Kennicott River in McCarthy and raped her repeatedly. Some other family members knew she was in there, heard suspicious sounds and were concerned, troopers said.

It's hard to imagine this stuff even happens these days. Luckily, the chances of Hale escaping unnoticed before winter bears down is almost nonexistent (you try escaping with an 18-inch beard, pilgrim hat, and camper truck). If he tries to hold out past that point, I'm guessing mother nature will apply final justice.

Also, I would give most things to be in San Francisco right now to check out this urban ski-jump of all urban ski-jumps. Unfortunately, my friend Tyson still hates America, so I don't know if his brother Tanner's taking part or not (of note, of note, I was in Manhattan for that road race last weekend, but the man made me work right through it...here's the results showing Alan Webb in 2nd behind Craig Mottram).

Late, not never

Life's been a maelstrom lately and i'm rowing a splintered canoe. So in tardy fashion, as promised earlier, here's some files with a whole bunch of tiny little colored dots arranged in intelligible order to reproduce images I saw. I decided to leave my camera at home when i walked over half the length of the island, which meant I missed some great shots. Most notably, there was a troupe of Capoeira fighters/dancers that put on the most spectacular show. I was introduced to this Brazilian art in DC awhile back and remain fascinated at how demanding Capoeira is in terms of agility, strength, and elegance. So just pretend that I included this.

The wrath of the escalator

The escalator at one of the Metro stops in Virginia decided to devour my friend Taryn's shoe a couple weeks ago. This is the aftermath of the devastation. Although the shoe met it's brutal demise, the foot arose unscathed. Logic would direct most criticism towards the design of the escalator, I, however, decided to blame Virginia and call it good.

B,b,b,b,b,b,baby got back

Alas, my spitefully dedicated readers, but the fatuous words must go on. I apologize for the echoing silence here the last couple days, I was in New York and couldn’t manage to obtain internet access in one of the most wired cities on earth. Go me!

There’s a lot I’d like to say, but life’s insane right now…plus, brevity’s the soul of wit (hence, I will now commence my exegesis). The days were mostly work with little play. I did check out the progression at the Trade Center complex and walk from Wall street up to the bottom of Central Park, over to the Hudson, and back to Times Square. We’re not talking about trivial distances here. If you’re in the Chelsea neighborhood, the Greek Kitchen is a great little restaurant.

I’m also here to proudly claim that in a city teeming with world-class museums, I managed to visit their paragon of high culture: The Museum of Sex (Mosex). If you’re thinking Strip Clubs and porn flicks, I wouldn’t bother wasting the 15 bucks for admission. You might as well stay home and hunt around on the internet. If, however, you’re interested in exploring the historical context of modern sexuality, pornography, and sex education I’d highly recommend dropping by. The curators obviously paid close attention to how their exhibits might be interpreted, because although they dealt with material easily susceptible to crassness and shallowness, they managed to maintain a sophisticated and sensitive treatment.

That does not, however, imply that they hide anything. Noooooooooooooo, trust me. You’ll see your fair share of bawdy movies, candid interviews, and exotic contraptions. I found it refreshing to openly learn about a universal, yet often cloaked, human drive. Go check it out.

On a side note, the gallery entitled “Men Without Suits: Objectifying the American Male Nude Body” made me think about gyms. I think the modern gym would be one of the most fascinating developments of our modern world for a time traveler from the past to see. The whole idea is kind of space age in its own way…people running in place in stale, white rooms while lined up right next to each other with their headphones on. Although never receiving a second thought, those modern gyms didn’t really become normal until the 20th century.

Alright I’m done rambling. Flickr’s “is having a massage” right now, so I’ll post a few pics later.

Devastating and Serious

Here's a couple notes of interest:

Devastating: A Louisiana scientist working on one of my committees at the Academies forwarded this unbelievable graph our way. As you can see, an absurdly indestructable buoy managed to weather the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina's eye and record the storm surge at the mouth of the Biloxi River, where it feeds into Mississippi Sound.The blurb on the master copy that doesn't show up on this image is the following: "One surviving gauge measured the whole storm, a little inland on the Biloxi River.....a 25-ft wall of water. This might be the first measurement of such a surge ever. “Incredible”." Although a crippling surge has been discussed exhaustively in the wake of the hurricane, for me, seeing this rare and horrific documentation kind of pounds the point home. They essentially dealt with a tsunami, on top of a hurricane.


So as not to make light of the situation along the Gulf Coast in any way, I'll label this second element as only 'Serious'. DCist just reported that Dr. Dremo's Bar in Arlington-that bastion of high culture and sophistication-will no longer host Beer Pong on their premises (Scroll down on that link and check-out some interesting reader input). Apparently, the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverages Control found Dremo's guilty of violating statutes under their purview. As you can see in DCist's post, some aren't totally convinced this is true. Anybody have any legal insight into this tragedy? Also, call me ignorant, but isn't that beer pong game pictured on DCist absolutely ridiculous. 36 cups?!

Arrested attention

Arrested Development launched its third season tonight. I'll repeat what i've preached since becoming a relatively late convert to the show last spring: nothing else on cable rivals this for comedy. I should qualify that statement by conceding that i don't watch a whole bunch of television, but try to atleast get a feel for what's out there. So, I'm begging you, if there's a show airing that you think ranks with or above Arrested Development for humor, please, for the love of the deities, tell me about it.

Lots of juicy new twists and turns surfaced in this season's inaugural episode, maybe the most notable being that Oscar has his own blog. Here's a wonderful excerpt:

When I woke up in the infirmary, I was surprised to find out that my stabber was the leader of an equal rights gang called: RAVIOLI or Rapists Against Violence Against Insects. When I went to apologize for killing the ants, I pointed out that ravioli doesn’t work as an acronym and they stabbed me again.

"Shouts and Murders"...are you kidding me! Brilliant. Basically everything on the show was funny, minus a creepy shot of George Sr. as an awakening Blue Man. Actually, that was funny too.

Darfur, Revisited

Nicholas Kristof contributed a poignant article in Sunday’s New York Times addressing the Bush Administrations response to Darfur’s genocide. I like this article for a couple reasons. First of all, Kristof takes a bold, unequivocal stand against the Bush Administration’s insufficient response to the inhumanity still unfolding in Darfur. I think it’s important that a respected journalist writing for the most prominent publication in the nation, if not the world, voices such strong discontent obviously charged by real emotion. Erudition and academic-laced writing has it’s important place in those op-ed pages; however, it’s refreshing to hear plainspoken talk when somebody’s deservedly pissed off about something of utmost importance. I applaud Kristof for being relentless in has outspoken stand against the administration’s tepid involvement.

Also, Brian Steidle, the former Marine Captain mentioned in the article, participated in a panel discussion I attended at the end of August. Although accompanied by prestigious and war-hardened fellow panelists, Steidle’s gruesome pictures constituted the most compelling testimony offered that night. As Kristof describes Steidle’s pictures in this article, they show “men, women and children hacked to death. Other photos were too wrenching to publish: one showed a pupil at the Suleia Girls School; she appeared to have been burned alive, probably after being raped, and her charred arms were still in handcuffs.”

Regardless of the political repercussions and the delicate policy balance involved in antagonizing Sudanese officials by disseminating these photos, testimony like this should never be quelled. Instead, these heart-wrenching photos should be broadcast on all the major television stations, daily newspapers, and prominent websites throughout the world. We’ve had enough whitewashing, now it’s time to face the gruesome reality of human beings slaughtering other human beings with machetes.

What’s most dumbfounding to me is the fact that Steidle adamantly stressed that the United States government had surpassed most others in the world with their response to Darfur. Although not satisfied with the extent of US involvement, he unambiguously praised the few steps taken, especially a year ago when Bush explicitly characterized Darfur as a ‘genocide’. In return, Steidle’s been “blacklisted from all U.S. government jobs.” Something doesn’t add up.

I’m glad Kristof’s continuing to sound his note of discontent and I’m glad he’s doing it in a genuine and moving manner. (Thanks to K-Research Labs for vital input)

Say it like you mean it

DJEZI, a jockeyer o' disks originally from DC, concocted a tune with the help of Public Enemy, Grandmaster Flash, and the Furious 5 cuts that features an interview with New Olreans' Mayor Ray Nagin subsequent to hurricane katrina. it's pretty cool, have a listen from his website (press "MP3 download whole song, hi-fi" under the title "Sugar Ray Nagin"). This luscious find now based in Orlando just released his second album, Day-maybe my favorite listen at this very second....and this very second. To hear more tracks and an interview, PLACE CURSOR HERE AND CLICK OVER AND OVER AGAIN (if link annoys you like it did me, download from here by pressing "play" after Trampoline House Podcast #3 - djezi presents Day.

You can't run away (from problems) on a treadmill

Although you’re more likely to encounter most of the animals in the Anchorage zoo while cross-country skiing down one of the city’s urban trails, a few key exceptions to this rule reside in those pens. Most notably, the zoo has remained defiant through much controversy and maintained their 23 year old African elephant, Maggie.

This decision sickens me for all the reasons it sickens everyone else.

I arrived in Anchorage in the middle of January-halfway through their winter. By the time the ice and snow retreated enough to spend a considerable amount of time outside without warm clothes and equipment, I was getting stir crazy. That occurred in May. I’m not kidding, it was May. Relative to much of Alaska, Anchorage lies to the south and experiences the mellowing influences of coastal weather. However, let’s underscore the fact that it gets brutally cold up there and legitimate winter weather spans roughly six months (according to my sister and brother-in-law who live up there, it’s been pouring rain and hovering in the 40’s and 50’s for weeks now…it’s only September). Regarding my struggles with the weather, I wasn’t exactly living in the tropics, or even California, prior to moving there. So, although the climate shift proved substantial, it wasn’t as significant as might be experienced by someone or something moving from, ohhhh, let’s say the Sahara.

But guess what? Maggie belongs in the Sahara. Her genes didn’t arm her with the defenses necessary to combat harsh temperatures, cold winds, snow and sleet. Nor does any of the vegetation she’s used to stand a chance of growing up there.

Furthermore, as mentioned in the article, elephants herd together. Maggie, however, had one companion up until 1997 and has since spent her days among alone or among humans. Not only would this significantly alter her natural behavior (which constitutes one of the fundamental reasons for building zoos-to educate people about how animals act in the wild) but probably inflicts psychological distress in the form of loneliness and depression.

I write about this today because the zoo announced they purchased parts to construct a 16,000 pound treadmill upon which Maggie can exercise during the protracted northern winters. This extravagant gesture will do little to quell the storm of controversy surrounding the zoo’s decision to house and keep Maggie. Instead, it seems this costly and untested device serves to buy the zoo more time while they persist in mistreating this natural treasure for their own benefit.

Normally, I get a kick out of reading through the Oddly Enough news section because most of the wacky stories provide harmless, head-shaking anecdotes about ridiculous people. This story just pisses me off. I’m not the first to call for Maggie’s removal from the zoo, but it bothered me while I lived up there and it still does today. The Anchorage Zoo needs to acknowledge their inability to properly house this animal, regardless of the elaborate contraptions they devise. Maggie should not spend another winter in Alaska.

Life wish fulfilled, arrrr

Holy crap, it's finally here again! Mark yerrr calendars maties, fer the nineteenth of September...that's a Monday for ye leperous scalawags that don't know...is TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY. Arrrrrrrrr. Many thanks to sailor Judy fer tossin' the anchar an' pointin' out this fine treasure.

May the [fill in appropriate term] be with you

A couple years ago, my family introduced me to Belief O’Matic. It’s a 20 question quiz that attempts to prod your thoughts concerning spiritual, religious, and moral issues. Based upon your response to these questions, and the importance you assign each query, the little gnomes running through cyberspace shovel your replies into an algorithm that spits out a list of religions/philosophies to which you adhere best. Today, I decided I to revisit the gnomes.
Much to the chagrin of my grade school teachers (Sr. Jackie, especially), nothing monumental shifted in the ensuing years since I last used this tool to probe my spiritual depths. In other words, let’s just say that Secular Humanism, Unitarian Universalism, Liberal Quakers, Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants, Nontheists, and Theravada Buddhism didn’t not, not, not fit my outlook.
Try it for yourself, then run straight to the local building that houses your favored institution and convert because the Belief O’Matic reigns omnipotent and omniscient…

Shenandoah'sh sho shweet

Myself and some fellow hardened woodsmen undertook an adventure in Virginia's backyard this weekend. See how we learned this and other really important lessons about nature in my pictures collection (Switched over to my usual account).

Drawing an important, but difficult line

One of the projects I’m participating in at the National Academies seeks to determine the extent of Ecosystem impact due to fishing and make recommendations about halting or reversing the damage. This has proven an interesting and complicated topic for a number of reasons.

For one thing, the volume of our global oceans dwarfs any scale we typically discuss, which makes it incredibly difficult to gather the requisite data. The five oceans (yes, 5…in 2000 the International Hydrographic Organization denoted the Southern Ocean which surrounds Antarctica and extends to 60 degrees latitude) cover 70% of the earth’s surface and dive to depths of over 36,000 feet. That’s an unimaginably vast region to monitor. Although satellites, an international fleet of research vessels, and unmanned buoys distributed in all corners of the globe constantly process information, it’s not even close to enough.

Then there’s the problem with data we do collect. Available information focuses on a few lucrative target species that can be gauged relatively accurately. Although this data seems mostly reliable, the preponderance of the information comes from the fisheries themselves, which presents the possibility of bias (although fisheries argue somewhat convincingly that they have an invested interest in maintaining a robust stock more than anyone, hence, why would they distort numbers to increase fish abundance). Regardless, these condition of these key fish stocks are known pretty well.

The impact on subspecies, non-target peripheral species, and non-fish marine life remains largely unknown, however. This occurs in a couple ways. For instance, the enormous nets used by commercial and industrial fisheries aren’t selective about which species they sweep up. Therefore, although a trawler in Northern California might only gather fish in an area known for high rockfish concentration, that doesn’t mean the rockfish will always swim there and it doesn’t mean the rockfish will exclusively swim there. Inevitably, many undesired lifeforms meet their demise in a confused tangle of net. Some choke themselves or slit their own throats on the netting, others are eaten in the melee, still others manage to escape but leave behind a crucial fin or an eye, thus leaving them prostrate to the brutal Darwinian forces operating in the seas. Those that don’t die on the boat are thrown back in an often mortally weakened state that basically guaruntees their imminent end. All these species perish to nobody’s benefit and most of them are not accounted for.

Beyond that, although the fish might escape the net, their habitat might not. Imperiled coral reefs, mangrove forests, and sediment beds constitute just a fraction of the habitat damage inflicted by these nets. Do you really think the fish will survive without that vital protection?

Then, there’s the clutter left behind: oil, nets, boats, ropes, pulleys, aluminum cans, drums, etc. etc.

Now, consider the cascading effect of severely diminishing one top-tier predator from the oceans. Blue marlin and swordfish, for example, once thrived in the central north Pacific, but their numbers plummeted in the second half of the 20th century. This allowed the small tuna population, the prey of those larger predators, to thrive. If given sunlight, the grass will grow. Or perhaps a fish species disappears the fed off the microscopic life at the ocean’s surface. Algae thrives, maybe to the point of taking over vast areas.

So does this constitute ‘damage’ to the ocean’s ecosystem, or is this just humans playing their role in evolution and natural selection. Sure, we kill off one species, but that means something else thrives. How do we decide if we should stop or even reverse an ecosystem (given the dubious argument that it is possible) and if so, to what former point on the temporal scale will be determine the pristine, wilderness ocean? If we do condone human invasion of the seas to gather nourishment where do we establish the cut-off point for such intervention and manipulation?

I don’t count myself among those promoting a complete withdrawal from the seas. I’ve fished before and I will happily fish again. My personal philosophy is that humans are another type of animal that uses primarily intellectual and technical ingenuity to subsist, rather than physical ability. Either way, we still need to consume to survive, just like any other animal. In reality, the gigantic net is only an extension of the spear. The exception, of course, being that the spear doesn’t kill things it doesn’t intend to kill. I think if you fish, then you should eat what you catch. I’d say the same about hunting. Therefore, I look forward to the advent of techniques that allow targeted fish, and only targeted fish, to be caught in humane ways.

By diversifying our diets and avoiding unnecessary and inhumane kills, I think we can move closer to impacting the ecosystem less while remaining realistic about the fact that we are member-crucial members-of this global community and will invariably leave our mark. We adjust to what we know, and if more types of cuisine passed down our throat, we’d realize there’s no reason to concentrate on just a few. This ensures that no species diminishes to the point of extinction. The important thing is that the consumer ultimately drives the market. If you disagree with the harvesting of a particular type of species, don’t eat it. If you think others should do the same, offer a convincing argument defending your position. Screaming at somebody won’t do the trick.

Lest this entry turn into a novel and cheap proselytizing, somebody put a muzzle on me. I’m running away to the wilds of Virginia for the weekend, so fare ye well. (ps. i wrote this kinda fast and gotta cruise so i apologize for any glaring grammatical mistakes, missed words, etc....also, as always, i apologize for myself in general)

Baghdad files

My roommate, whom i affectionately refer to as Evander Holymaher, was recently deployed to Iraq through the department of justice. While en route from Baghdad airport to the International Zone aboard a Blackhawk helicopter, he shot some incredible video from his camera. Check out the video from a link through our buddy Jake's blog (I tried to facilitate this on my blog earlier in the week, but for a number of reasons could not carry the video without server space...which i do not have).

Oh, and Jake's blog speaks volumes for the value of this medium. Give the guy a break for his shorter, less frequent postings because he just started law school and has a library to read. Plug, plug. Plug, plug.

A DC night.

Living in DC does afford some unique opportunities. After leaving work last night, I grabbed some indian food and walked about a mile to the Supreme Court building to file past Chief Justice Rehnquist's body as he lay in repose in the Great Hall. The crowd, as far as i could analyze, consisted mostly of Hill staffers congregated and socializing in small groups. Although the crowd didn't exude rowdiness, neither did they stand in silent mourning. I think by the time I arrived, more people were attending to drink in a bit of history than to lament the death of an American giant (regardless of your political sway, you can't deny Rehnquist's stamp on the current American political and social milieu). I would count myself mostly among the former and slighly among the latter. Here's a couple more pics that might be of interest. Actually, they're not particularly exciting, I'm gonna just say that straight up. Hey, let's see you file past a dead body ringed by secret service and make it more interesting. jerks.

Chicago, where I ate for 96 hours straight

Nothing like a height ordinance at home to make you appreciate a spectacular skyline. Check out some of my other Chicago shots from last weekend.

Body Worlds-When science met art

Among the many super-duper-neato things I did over the weekend in the Windy City, I checked out the Body Worlds exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in South Chicago. For those not familiar with this exhibit, a little history: Gunther von Hagens finished his medical studies in West Germany in the mid-70’s after a tumultuous few years in Communist East Germany. After practicing medicine for a few years, he invented the plastination technique which enabled the cessation of body decay by replacing water and fats in a dead body with polymers. This dearth of water denied destructive microorganisms the environment they need in order to colonize and eat away at dead flesh.

Armed with this powerful ability to maintain the presentation of a body, von Hagens eventually decided to put together an exhibit exploring the wonders of the human body. Hence, Body Worlds. Educational in nature, the exhibit explores each major functioning unit in the body (muscular system, skeletal system, digestive system, nerve system, etc.) by using the bodies of donors (people bequeath their bodies upon death) dissected and segmented in various ways. Sometimes you’re looking at an isolated organ, other times your looking at a body in a running pose with all the skin stripped away to enhance the effect of muscles in motion.

Although the entire exhibit captivated my interest, von Hagens’ work with the human circulatory system has to be one of the most astounding things I’ve ever witnessed. The handlers injected a red polymer dye into the blood vessels of chosen donors until the corpses’ entire network of vessels was glutted with the solution. Once dry, this polymer hardened and maintained its shape. Next, a combination of chemicals and ultrasound dissolved the overlying tissue and bone, while leaving the polymer-filled circulatory system completely intact. When finished, a surreal 3-dimensional representation of the human form remained that showcased places where vessel networks exist and nerve ends concentrate (i.e. lips and eyelids). The example shown at left offers some idea of the beautiful resulting cast. It made you look at the human body in a whole new way.

I highly encourage anyone passing through Philadelphia (October 7-April 23, 2006) or Toronto (September 30-February 26, 2006; Body Worlds 2…it’s actually in Cleveland until September 18th) to take a couple hours and find out what cirrhosis of the liver looks like.

Respected Local Publication's Standards Plummet-DCist Post

Hello, hello, hello. I've been remiss in updating, and for that, i am one sorry dude. sorry to the point that i'm banging my head on a concrete wall, unleashing soul-piercing wails of anguish. i got some weird looks in the coffee room. Anyways, I've been gulping in the joys of Chicago and hope to post some pics later on.

In the meantime, that something i wrote a couple days ago ended up turning into the something else. Here's a link to a revised article I wrote for DCist about Sudan-oriented efforts in DC. Hopefully (for me, not the general populace), this will be the first of many contributions.

Thank you, thank you, thank you

Salman Rushdie’s first novel in years is due on the shelves next week (depending on what continent or country you’re in, it might already be there): Shalimar the Clown, gotta love it. I, for one, am ready to start tap dancing on my cubicle in elation. Rushdie’s fusion of the fantastical, the philosophical, the poignant, and the perspicacious (sorry, I’ve been wanting to use that word for awhile, and damnit, it fits) always wrings my soul dry when I read him. Easily one of my favorite authors alive today. For those interested, here’s an interesting article about the man, the myth, the pointy-eyebrowed one.