lickety jackblog

snowballin'

so i guess i said i made a movie this summer. well, by "movie" i meant hardcore porno.

TINA!

posted by candycanesammy @ 1:10 PM 13 Comments

What does one say?

This is something new. I can't tell if China's been suckered into declaring its penchant for absurdity- infused oppression, if they've really just lost their minds in Beijing, or if they simply can't stand those smarmy Tibetans with their magical powers, but this is totally over the top. From the article:

"In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission[...]The law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is 'an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation.'"

The article does go on to point out why this isn't strictly hilarious, but even China's behind-the-scenes motive of putting itself in the position to choose the next Dalai Lama seems far-fetched. The current Dalai Lama has already indicated that he won't reincarnate in China-controlled Tibet, anyway. So where in the world will this next Dalai Lama come from and who will find him?

posted by dan @ 9:55 AM 0 Comments

Killer Thriller

So, in my maturity (ha) I am gaining an appreciation of NPR programing, especially the Sunday morning piece Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me. Due to an odd set of circumstances I was able to listen in this past Sunday while driving to New Orleans with two div school friends. (It was my first time in the city and I got to meet up with Sarge.)

Anyway, the topic of this week's 'Bluff the Listener' was: "Everybody in the whole cell block, was dancing to the jail house rock." Three stories about prison reforms boosting inmate morale. (nice play on the anniversary of Elvis' death.)

All three options, as always were ridiculous, but without question the strangest one was true. Over 1,000 of inmates in a Filipino prison have been working to recreate Micheal Jackson's music video Thriller. And it turns out, they copy the dance moves surprisingly well. And apparently that's only practice.

According to the NPR reporting fights, gang activity, and extortion have gone down. This begs a number of questions, how long have they been practicing? Are they forced to do so? And how do you say to a bunch of imprisoned men, "hey, you know what would be fun...if we imitated a man who should be in jail as he sings about otherworldly beings!"?

posted by skirt @ 12:57 AM 2 Comments

The Wait is Over, Jackblog!

Eight years after the last significant rules upgrade, Wizards of the Coast has announced the summer 2008 launch of 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons! Start your partying* now!


*No, not that kind of party. I mean, it's time to get your adventuring party together!

posted by dan @ 10:01 AM 0 Comments

Someone to cheer for

I'm always a big fan of the Little League World Series on ESPN. This year the Hamilton West Side All Stars have made it to the big stage in Williamsport, PA. Their bodies fueled by Richards Pizza, these little sluggers are my new favorite team in Ohio. Jump on the band wagon, Jackblog, and root these guys to the Championship!

Labels: religion

posted by Vyux @ 3:17 PM 0 Comments

Didn't these guys see 'The Matrix'?

Here's a little update on the use of robots in the ongoing Iraq War (via Wired's "Danger Room" blog):

"After years of development, three 'special weapons observation remote reconnaissance direct action system' (SWORDS) robots have deployed to Iraq, armed with M249 machine guns. The 'bots "haven't fired their weapons yet," Michael Zecca, the SWORDS program manager, tells DANGER ROOM. "But that'll be happening soon."

That's ominous. There are currently only three SWORDS-bots in Iraq, but Zecca is paraphrased in the article saying he thinks that number will increase dramatically once the Army gets to see these droids in a firefight. This guy Zecca sounds kinda like a geek gone bad, a robo-dork who's just a little too excited about seeing his war-bots begin to slaughter people. This isn't BattleBots.

But that's really only part of it. The larger concern for me and (I think) most people, is the inevitable man vs. machine battle royale that's just around the corner. Now they've got guns!

Here's a link to a National Defense Magazine article on the same topic and a New Scientist blog post from April about the ethics of robot-on-robot violence.

Labels: iraq, robots, science

posted by dan @ 9:47 AM 12 Comments