Don's Journal

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I'm watching Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino, which is a totally wonderful, timely, and essential movie about race relations.
Made me think somewhat about the Packers' Reggie White's comments about race in the late 90's.

White said he has thought about why God created different races. Each race has certain gifts, he said.
Blacks are gifted at worship and celebration, White said.
"If you go to a black church, you see people jumping up and down because they really get into it," he said.
Whites are good at organization, White said.
"You guys do a good job of building businesses and things of that nature, and you know how to tap into money," he said.
"Hispanics were gifted in family structure, and you can see a Hispanic person, and they can put 20, 30 people in one home."
THE JAPANESE AND other Asians are inventive, and "can turn a television into a watch," White said. Indians are gifted in spirituality, he said.
"When you put all of that together, guess what it makes: It forms a complete image of God."

White caught a whole heaping load of shit for that. But can you imagine, or have you ever lived in fear of, meaning so well and being so completely wrong?

Pictures from Pride are up!
What a delightfully photogenic parade!

Bunches more

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I'm on my first brand-spanking new NJ Transit 87 bus. It's smells so nice, and it talks to you. Sheer luxury.

Bastardos
The new Zune HD, coming out this fall, has a little asterisk at the bottom:

Supported 720p HD video files play on the player, downscaled to fit the screen at 480 x 272 – not HD resolution.

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Batteries do come in B size, but only in Europe.

Wolfram|Alpha Fun
Input:
a clockwork orange box office total divided by population of luxembourg

Result:
$ 56.99 per person (US dollars per person) (2007 estimate)

I'm noticing a lot more use of the statement "it is what it is" in our culture lately. I don't find it particularly annoying, and I use it myself sometimes. It just seemed a little silly to me until I remembered High School Geometry.

Reflexive Property of Equality

The property that a = a.

Even though we all know that a = a, 'cause, you know, it's true, it was still required that we put these statements in our geometric proofs. I don't think I understood the wisdom of that until "it is what it is" took hold. For some reason, that obvious statement can be comforting, soothing... perhaps fostering that serenity to accept the things you can't change.

Whoo
I'm listening to some really out there music lately.

My brother Erich had an extra ticket to see one of his favorite electronic artists, Wolfgang Voigt, play selections from his "GAS" series of albums at Columbia University on Friday. Holy crap, dude. Listen to this for like a minute. Just listen. And crank up the bass if you can.

Das Moor - Gas

Most of the music was in this vein. The visual aspect was equally disturbing, consisting of a bunch of concrete and abstract shapes morphing on a screen behind him. Afterward, I felt completely reprogrammed and it was a refreshing feeling of knowing that you just saw something completely unique. I will probably be processing that for a while.

There was also an opening act, a 7-piece orchestra playing Brian Eno's Discreet Music. It is a piece of electronic music that is as old as me, a half hour of deceptively simple and hauntingly soothing lines of interweaving repetition. It was just lovely.

Discreet Music (2004 Digital Remaster) - Brian Eno

It's nice to be exposed to new forms of ambient electronic music. It has so many facets that I've never explored until now.

Leave off the first "H" for Humor!

Which immediately made me think of this truck we saw in Bruges:

This is COOL!

Mild Star Trek spoiler, but nothing too bad.

Scholarly article about just how difficult it is to destroy a planet.
http://scifiwire.com/2009/05/columnist-wil-mccarthy-st.php

The solution to all problems
Form the blazing sword, and chop the Robeast in half.

Duh.
Or, if you're in an excessive mood, try carving the Robeast into sections using radial symmetry.

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Nothing unreal exists.

Oooo!!!
You can see yesterday's launch of Atlantis in HD!
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/hd/index.html

Along with a few other videos which I'm sure are stunning.

Happy birthday,

kellygirlnyc!

Hubble Hubble, who's got the Hubble
I mentioned this mission sometime last year when it was originally scheduled, but it was postponed for a year. And now, here we are.

Atlantis has a scheduled launch at 2:01 EDT today which will be the final servicing mission for Hubble. What makes these Hubble missions so unique is the height to which the orbiter launches - an altitude of around 350 miles, which is almost twice that of the Space Station.

From the Shuttle's perspective at that altitude, the Earth looks much more curved than it usually does, and the astronauts can claim the distinction of being among the farthest-flung humans.

I've never actually watched one of these Hubble launches, so I am so super-stoked.

Because this is the first mission to a destination other than ISS since the Columbia accident, the shuttle Endeavour is already on a second launch pad, Armageddon-style, in the event a rescue should be necessary.

Poll #1394181
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Like the Oliver Platt?

View Answers

Yeah! I would have his babies!
7 (70.0%)

He's aight.
3 (30.0%)

He sucks.
0 (0.0%)

Your riveting lyrics for the day
"Sometimes you kick, sometimes you get kicked."
- INXS, "Kick", from the album Kick

Nobody knows what they're doing anymore.
Really? REALLY?
A low-altitude flyover of NYC by one of the Air Force One planes? For a freaking photo op?

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=7439287&page=1

The mission was apparently approved by the boneheaded Director of the White House Military Office, Louis Caldera. If they wanted an informed opinion as to whether this photo op was a good idea, they could have asked me, since I am clearly smarter and know the right answer.

Daily Show captioned this "Mistakes on a Plane".