50,000 MIA

Courtesy The Dark One, a great story about a historical tall tale that turns out to be true.

The remains of a mighty Persian army said to have drowned in the sands of the western Egyptian desert 2,500 years ago might have been finally located, solving one of archaeology's biggest outstanding mysteries, according to Italian researchers.

Bronze weapons, a silver bracelet, an earring and hundreds of human bones found in the vast desolate wilderness of the Sahara desert have raised hopes of finally finding the lost army of Persian King Cambyses II. The 50,000 warriors were said to be buried by a cataclysmic sandstorm in 525 B.C.

In the Comments, your favorite Fortean tale.

It Was Never Guaranteed To Be A Just Universe

What wakes liberal writers up at night -- I mean that eye-snap of soul-gnawing, nauseating dread -- is not social injustice, is not the fear of creeping fascism, is not rage against corporate greed ...

It is the haunting certainty that Jonah Goldberg will die happily in his sleep without ever comprehending that he's an idiot.

(Yeah, I tried reading Liberal Fascism. It's just that bad.)




EDIT: One of the commenters wrote:

Wow. Great way to insult half of Leverage's audience. You do realize that there are conservatives that watch and enjoy the show, don't you? This kind of commentary which spews vitriol towards a particular viewpoint only damages and taints the Leverage brand.

I'm sorry, that wasn't my intent at all. Let me clarify.

Goldberg isn't an idiot because he's a conservative. There are quite a few conservatives I both like and admire. We have many conservative fans of the show, because enjoying a good con show, or relishing watching protagonists taking down rich bad guys is neither conservative nor liberal. A fun show is a fun show.

Goldbeg's an idiot because he writes what he writes the way he writes it.

If I'm "spewing vitriol at one particular viewpoint", it's at shoddy research, childlike logic and a truly Cthulhu-level hubris. *

But if you equateGoldberg's massively awful thinking and writing with the conservative movement -- that is, if in your world-view you are OBLIGATED to admire or agree with Goldberg just because he's conservative royalty -- then that's the sort of lockstep, blind hero worship I don't respect in anyone of any ideological stripe.

If you consider an insult to Jonah Goldberg an insult to all conservatives, that's your problem. Not mine. And, frankly, an insult to thinking conservatives.









*(I also found Michael Moore's latest film an embaressment. But this post isn't about him.)

"Say it. Out Loud."

Courtesy a commenter at i09.



I hate those goddam books.

Okay, So What Does the Bill DO?

In all the sturm unt drang, easy to lose track of what got in and what didn't. Steve Benen gives you a primer. And, of course, all this has to go to the US Senate, the most undemocratic institution in America. So, you know, this is less than halfway there.

Netflix Friday #2: AUDITION

Ahhh, Takashi Miike. For a long time one could just assume that if you were a horror fan or geek, you'd already seen this. But it's been ten years now. Newer and shinier Japanese horror has come, gone, and been mulched into tweener entertainment. Newer Japanese horror conforms to standard plot structure and pacing.

Takashi Miike thinks standard plot structure and pacing are for little girls.

The first time I saw this movie was during a Japanese Horror Film Marathon on DirectTv. I'd just gotten a big-screen, my friend Mike and Lovely Wife sat down to grab some late night horror.

For a while it's ... kind of a romantic comedy. A Widower, still devastated by his wife's death a decade earlier, is urged by his teen-age son to start dating again. His cheerfully amoral TV producer friend concocts a cunning plan. They'll going to hold auditions for an imaginary TV series in order for our sweet, likable but socially awkward Widower to meet young women.

Hijinks ensue!

If by hijinks, you mean staring at the screen, screaming "What the fuck? WHAT THE FUCK?"

It happens in a moment, in one shot, a tectonic shift in the movie. The train goes off the rails. And the train is on fire, and full of dynamite and naked clowns who live under your bed.

Be aware -- the pacing is glacial, and this is not a shock-horror movie. It's a slow accretion of creepiness. Do not even bother to watch this while there's daylight. This is meant to be watched at midnight, uninterrupted, to let it wash over you. For a good half the viewers, it'll be a "meh." For the half who find just the right night, it's a mood, a tone poem of unease.

No spoilers in the Comments, but feel free to recommend some other horror fun.

Your Entertainment Setup

Ran into an interesting design problem the other day. The house we moved into (it was a flip, old house/new wiring) has one of those iPod docks in the front room. Pop in the iPod, play though speakers built in through the whole house. The CD player and AV receiver running the system are tucked away in a nook, on a shelf just above the stacked washer/dryer units. The wires for the system run from a hole in the wall behind them, into the back of the receiver.

Now of course, you don't need to do a hard-wire hookup anymore -- just connect your A/V receiver up to an Airport Express and stream your music. Which is what I was intending on doing last weekend ...

... until I discovered that the power outlet running the AV receiver was behind the washer dryer stack. No way I'm pulling down a half-ton of machinery to plug in an Airport Express that probably won't fit back there anyway when you replace the washer/dryer. By hiding the power outlets behind the appliances, the designer made the wiring cleaner, simpler -- and utterly un-upgradable. Of course, why would you upgrade? You can hook up your speakers to your iPod! When will we ever invent anything cooler than that?

I theory, I can't even unplug and replace the AV receiver without pulling out those appliances. Remember, when installing anything in your house:

a.) Assume it will break, or you will need to remove it at some point.
b.) Remember you will be pissed off and impatient when doing so. Design backwards, to minimize your own frustration. The longer it takes to make it pretty, the longer it'll take to tear it out it when you need to. When, not if. When.

Actually, let's make this more than a grouse. Your entertainment setup, in the Comments.
Mine is very simple:

-- Sharp Aquos 42'
-- Tivo Series 3 HD (with those accursed Time Warner cable cards that reset themselves every three months). When I moved back to LA, went with Time Warner Cable after years of satellite for the Tivo interface. I have experienced a DVR without the Tivo interface. We will never speak of it.
-- Xbox 360
-- Apple 1Tb Time Capsule/Router
-- Rivet
-- Handbrake

Both the Tivo and Xbox have access to Netflix Streaming, the Tivo also gives access to Amazon VOD and now Blockbuster streaming. The Xbox also plays my ripped media stored on my Time Machine (it's connected by an ethernet cable) through Rivet. Apparently Orb, the stream-everywhere program is now available on Mac, so I'll download it just to give it a try and report back.

Considering getting an OPPO region-free DVD player, but to tell the truth I usually just rip my (personal, legally purchased) foreign DVD's with Mac the Ripper and then convert them to mp4 with Handbrake . *

You can use just Handbrake now, apparently, but I got into the habit of the two step process and some irrational part of me likes breaking the task down into specialized programs for each step. If you have any settings you like for Handbrake, toss 'em in. Tuning Handbrake is a sub-hobby all its own.

No, no Blu-ray. Regular old HD is just fine, thanks. I don't upgrade often, or go for the biggest/most expensive. My fetish for one-bag travelling extends all the way down through my life.

Ezra Klein Wonks So You Don't Have To ...

The first part of his interview with the head of the largest managed health care company in America is here. If you've never been over there before, rip through the archives. Ezra has a remarkably clear writing style, and manages to do an excellent job of translating arcane health care terms into things people can understand.

Assuming you want to understand, and you're not just a crazy person who thinks making sure you don't lose your house when your kid gets sick is the moral equivalent of Dachau.

BeaucoupKevin's Halloween Comic

Dear Kevin:

Yes, this interface. This is what I've been waiting for, since I saw Yves Baclan do it. Although I think he uses the concept a bit more artfully -- creating movement or adding information by playing with the layers on the original frame -- I think your execution is the dead-simple version that can be most easily utilized by the majority of web comic creators. Expect a phone call this weekend.

This links to the thing I mentioned on Twitter about e-print formats. But basically -- look, Flash. It works everywhere. It's already here. Stop trying to re-invent the wheel, Longbox.

Netflix Friday #1 - INVASION: EARTH

Welcome to the first in what will be a "as long as my attention lasts" series, Netflix Friday, focusing on "Watch Instantly" selections from Netflix. There are a lot of shows you can stream off Netflix on your computer, or Roku, or through your Xbox 360 or Tivo HD -- but much is what we might generously call off-brand. I think it's worth the time to give you some choices for those rainy Sundays when you're in the mood for something right now.

Invasion: Earth has a very dumb title. It also has a truly creepy alien invasion narrative linked to some real world anomalies (creeping chromosomal feminization), time-lost humans, aliens who are alien, and pretty well-done SFX for a BBC production at the time. Most impressively, it has Maggie O'Neill as the lead (!) scientist (!!) using her goddam brain to piece together the alien plan. The manly RAF pilot -- who would become the lead in any other version of this mini-series -- has a good run but at no point distracts us from the fact that Rather Large Brains are required to unspool alien intentions.

And even then, it might not do us any good. These are creatures who have mastered interstellar travel. To paraphrase Warren Ellis, 1.5 million Earthling children die every year from diarrhea -- we have not yet mastered drinking water.

Tonally, I adore this thing. You know how a lot of alien invasion movies start with "Holy Shit, We Are In Way Over Our Head," but then swing into "Those Aliens Underestimated Our Plucky Resourcefulness!"?

Yeah. Not so much on the second bit.

I am obligated to admit that the 100 year alien invasion plan I used in Blue Beetle was heavily influenced by the effect this show had on me in the 90's. Bonus points for Fred Ward doing yeoman's work as the American general. Because in any British sci fi, it's only a matter of time before the Yanks show up with the heavies ...

Don't read any spoilers, and just enjoy. All six episodes of Invasion:Earth are your Netflix Streaming recommend for this weekend.

"Every Time."

Nicely done, Greg and Lou.

I would like to note that those claw SFX are BETTER than the ones in this year's Wolverine movie.