gokulpod writes "Scientific American reports that a family of animals known as Diatomyidae thought to have been dead for 11 million years has been discovered in Laos. From the article: 'Fossilized remnants of this group have been found throughout Asia with a distinctive jaw structure and molars. It represents a rare opportunity to compare assumptions derived from the fossil record and an actual living specimen to determine overall accuracy of the techniques involved. This discovery also provides a compelling argument for preservation efforts in Southeast Asia.'"
A faulty update sent to users of Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security prevented them from signing into America Online for several hours Wednesday. According to Symantec, the problem was traced to a part of the software that prevents attackers from accessing a computer through open ports.
FleaPlus writes "Caltech scientist Paul Rothemund has developed a new technique for designing and generating self-assembling 2D nanostructures out of DNA. To demonstrate the technique, which is reportedly simple enough that a high-schooler can design with it, Rothemund created patterns like smiley faces, text, and a map of the Americas. The technique might be useful for generating 'nanobreadboard' scaffolds for things like molecular-scale circuitry, protein-based factories, and quantum computers. Rothemund is currently working to extend the technique to 3D nanostructures."
it's been quite excellent here in austin so far. every hour at the pandora booth is surprisingly fun and also kind of intense. I don't usually talk this much. it's sort of like a high school reunion, but it's better because I don't know these people (and let's be honest, it's easier to go to a reunion where no one knew each other back in high school). I'm hoarse. jolly ranchers do not help for this.
I've seen old friends (chris grabau from the undertow collective and bands magnolia summer & waterloo, who I saw last night and who are both in pandora), plus ian brennan, who curated and created the "best of the west" tours that I was lucky enough to do back in the day. and the biggest non-musical thrill so far is that we met dave allen from gang of four! yesterday morning! I'm all a-quiver. looking forward to keeping in touch with him for sure.
we saw the new heavy metal documentary called a headbanger's journey, which was great. expect a continuous flow of metal to be coming into pandora over the coming months. I've kind of got the bug... we've eaten at ruby's bbq. went to the annual pre-sxsw swollen circus show with mostly songwriters and rootsy sorts of folks. it's put on by walter salas-humara of the silos. that was a cool way to kick things off in authentic austin style.
I've seen some great bands, of course. it's amazing how many incredible bands are here. I won't list the bands now, but the major highlights so far have been: field music at the kork/polyvinyl showcase at emo's! field music are 3 brits who sound like early xtc, but even more like the mommyheads (anyone remember them?? they were sf's best band in the early 90s, signed to geffen and got burned by the major label flames....). field music was quirky, brilliant, energetic, with lots of vocal harmonies and shifting time signatures. it's clever music, but beautifully so. their record comes out here in april and I'm on it.
of montreal was absolutely amazing. they all had glitter in their hair and around their eyes, and had weird butterflies on the necks of their guitars. kevin barnes is a white indie rock prince (as in Prince, the artist) - jumping around and effortlessly cranking through a bunch of surprisingly dancey songs. I was kind of expecting more of their psychedelic pop stuff, but I didn't care. they were massively entertaining, weird and great. definitely a favorite band of mine.
and last night I went to the park the van showcase to see the teeth and dr. dog. dr. dog was brilliant, a kind of bizarre mix of the band's rootsy americana and camper van beethoven's brainy angularity. but they have a really buttery feel to their music, so even the angular stuff goes down smooth. lots of vocal harmonies, too. but the teeth, the teeth are my fave new band. I liked their record, carry the wood, which came out last year, but their live show is ridonculous. super high energy very short songs that careen wildly on a pop odyssey through endless twists and turns. the show was reckless, exuberant, surprising and brilliant.
a long post, I know. I have to head over to the booth now. it's friday morning. but just one more thing: I can't help but think of sxsw as a kind of benevolent death star. is it ok to say that? it's just incredibly well-run and organized, so I guess I mean death star more as a compliment than anything.
a couple o photos:
here's tim getting fitted for some earplugs:
a typical sxsw nighttime scene on 6th street:
Dr. Dog setting up:
until later,
mz
so I was at the keynote interview yesterday with young and jonathan demme, which was ok, but I have to make a confession: I have major issues with the big boomer dinosaurs of song. I guess it's mainly because I think they never accepted the teaching responsibility that naturally belongs to leading artists. teaching is a necessity for artists who work in less financially remunerative forms, and I say that's a good thing. it's good for the artists and the students/future artists, and it's good for the art. it creates a scene, community, etc (however insular and backstabbing it might be).
it always bugs me to think that people like neil young never really came down off their rock star mountaintop to teach and share what they do. that's some selfishness right there. that's entitlement. but it goes even further, because not only didn't they teach, but in some vague way they still to this day imply that what they do can't be taught. they characterize themselves as the chosen vessels of the muse, as if they never worked or tried to figure out how to do it. I guarantee you that when neil young was in his teens and twenties, that all he did was try to figure out how it's done. but in the keynote, young trotted out his worn-out old notion that says you have to treat creativity like a wild animal, approach it cautiously, make little noises to get it to come out of its hole, and then carefully try to engage with it for a while before it runs away.
ok, first of all, there is something profound about this notion, don't misunderstand me. it's quite true, and it's inspiring. but coming from someone like neil young, there's an antique, sixties, almost cheesy whiff of anti-intellectualism about it that I find both kind of funny and also really really irrelevant. maybe it's some kind of dusty, kerouac-lite romanticism? I don't know, but I've experienced this at bob dylan shows too in the last 5 or 10 years, and I'm a HUGE dylan fan. it reminds me of easy rider, like these guys have a little dude inside themselves cruising around on a chopper, wearing an american flag helmet and thinking "right on man, I'm free out here where no one can touch me, talk to me or tell me what to do." listening to young yesterday, I was thinking: "it's a different world now, neil. you can park the bike and get involved. it's ok."
ok, maybe we all have that little chopper dude inside us, if we're really trying to be honest here. fine. and you can't think your way into making good art, everyone knows that. but come on, any aesthetic approach that systematically amputates a human ability, especially one as central to our nature as reflecting, considering, imagining, thinking, is just wack. call me crazy, but I'm into the whole person making music. use what you've got however you feel you need to, and make sure what you produce is good. that's the game. oh, and it's something everyone can do. that's important.
ok, let the angry replies begin. I know it's probably going to take some back and forth to clarify.... but before the real flames start up, please remember that I know that mr young is a definitive, titanic genius. I have no problem whatsoever with the work he's done over many many years. I lurve his songs and records. I just can't relate to some of the things he says. and I don't think it's crazy to think that superstardom might have distorted his perspective about some things.
just a thought,
mz
Dan writes "The Center for American Progress is proposing an R&D tax credit for open source development." From the article: "Subsidizing open source software development can also be justified on grounds of economic efficiency. Open source software development enhances the ability of other developers to create new products. It also enhances the development and dissemination of knowledge and ideas more broadly. Since the benefits to the broader software development community and the economy as a whole go well beyond the users of an individual software product, a policy that subsidizes open source development would increase economic efficiency."
Ant writes to tell us SearchSecurity.com has an article touting the latest "reality show" idea from the Georgia Tech College of Computing, Information Security Center, and Graphics, Visualization and Usability Center. The "Tiger Team" competition promises to be an "American Idol for security geeks." Students "prep, sweat and show their stuff while a panel of critics decides their fates. But unlike the popular 'reality' TV show, judges aren't determining who can best carry a tune. Instead they weigh students' ideas for making information security more user-friendly, with $50,000 -- enough cash to fund a project for 12 months -- hanging in the balance."
It’s tempting to blame big food companies for America’s big obesity problem. After all, they’re the folks who Supersized our fries, family-portioned our potato chips and Big Gulped our sodas.
Some prominent nutrition experts put out new guidelines Wednesday urging Americans to cut back on calorie-rich sodas while allowing more leeway for alcohol and lots of room for tea and coffee _ up to 40 ounces a day.
For years, millions of Americans have spent billions of dollars on alternative remedies with unproven effects. Now, rigorous science is starting to test those treatments and mostly finds them lacking.
The question of America’s future in Iraq looms larger as the U.S. military enters the fourth year of its war here, waged first to oust President Saddam Hussein, and now to crush an Iraqi insurgency.
Alicia White always made Mother’s Day special. One year, while on a student council trip to the Twin Cities, she went to the Mall of America and used her allowance money to buy her mom jewelry.
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper offers her unique slant on the pop culture world, from TV commercials to the latest "American Idol" gossip, Â in her entertainment blog
Katharine, Chris, Mandisa and Paris all take on 50s night with aplomb
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper offers her unique slant on the pop culture world, from TV commercials to the latest "American Idol" gossip, Â in her entertainment blog
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: "American Idol" dialing program makes predictions, too. Plus: SpaceX sets launch date ... Mystery of the missing moon ... Fighting the next war.
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: "American Idol" dialing program makes predictions, too. Plus: SpaceX sets launch date ... Mystery of the missing moon ... Fighting the next war.
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: "American Idol" dialing program makes predictions, too. Plus: SpaceX sets launch date ... Mystery of the missing moon ... Fighting the next war.
A bus carrying cruise ship tourists plunged 300 feet down a mountain ravine in northern Chile, killing 12 American tourists, authorities said.
A bus carrying cruise ship tourists plunged 300 feet down a mountain ravine in northern Chile, killing 12 American tourists, authorities said.
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper offers her unique slant on the pop culture world, from TV commercials to the latest "American Idol" gossip, Â in her entertainment blog