I have no idea who Cafferty or Hemmer are—nor do I care—and the elephant-playing-soccer thing isn’t exactly outrageously different, but this back-and-forth is positively surreal. I don’t want to say comical, because it would’ve depended in part on how the conversation went, what w/ inflection and all that. But it’s a delightful little dialogue (what […]
Unpleasant imagery
Marysville police say they arrested a 23-year-old man wearing nothing but cheese early Sunday. (AP: “Police arrest cheese-covered naked man” [July 19, 2004])
Posted by Ben on August 9, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/unpleasant-imagery/
A napkin’s a napkin’s a napkin
There are people you’d like to thank, but you’ve forgotten the list (again) and so you’ll have to hack together an impromptu speech, something cobbled together on white and faintly stained napkins from that laughable coffeehouse down the street. But: a napkin’s a napkin. (Of course, there are variations in size and quality and color […]
Posted by Ben on August 8, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/napkin/
Elephant (***1/2)
(2003) dir. Gus Van Sant – w/ Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson, Elias McConnell, Jordan Taylor, Carrie Finklea, Nicole George, Brittany Mountain, etc. Synopsis: In what is essentially a fictionalization of the Columbine school shootings (and school violence more generally), Gus Van Sant explores a day in the life of a school that about […]
Posted by Ben on August 7, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/elephant/
It’s not invented, but it brings joy to lots of people
Despite a few seemingly poor questions late in the game (e.g., “can it be used more than once?” and “was it invented?” ), and despite a few of the more arguable answers I provided, the artificial intelligence of 20Q managed to guess that I was thinking about an elephant! Imagine that. Neat-o. Play it yourself, […]
Posted by Ben on August 6, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/elephant/
It’s getting kind of hectic up in this piece
Song parody. Web site JibJab strikes out into allegedly charted waters with “This Land Is Your Land” political parody, running into unexpected hot water from the nefarious copyright-holders of the Woody Guthrie song. EFF strikes back. (via MeFi, etc.) Security, what security? Respectful of Otters has an interesting anecdote about security, what anecdote essentially points […]
Posted by Ben on August 5, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/its-getting-kind-of-hectic-up-in-this-piece/
Thomas Pynchon, meet Homer Simpson
Starting Line-Up of Guest Voices for Season 16 Fox Press Release – July 15, 2004 …TV/film stars Ray Romano, Kim Catrall, James Caan and Joe Mantegna; rapper 50 Cent; famed architect Frank Gehry; and author Thomas Pynchon are among the upcoming guest voices on THE SIMPSONS airing Sundays (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (via PLANetizen: […]
Posted by Ben on August 4, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/thomas-pynchon-meet-homer-simpson/
The Rights of Photographers
Via BoingBoing, we find an excellent resource on what you reasonably can (and cannot) expect to photograph, and what to do if someone tries to stop you, confiscate your film, etc. Originally in PDF format, the full text follows (see next page). Note: I’m providing the text as an easier alternative to the PDF; I’m […]
Posted by Ben on August 3, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/the-limits-of-photography/
Gio
As promised, here are more puppy pictures of Giovanni. Click on the thumbnail pictures to open up the big photos in (of all places) the photo gallery. If you wanna see. Gio trotting through grass: Reflecting/pondering/watching a bug: Sleeping: Pulling on a shoelace (mine):
Posted by Ben on August 3, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/gio/
Boardwalk Empire
Atlantic City. Ah, Atlantic City. Boardwalk Empire, in telling the unlikely story of Atlantic City’s rise from unpopulated sandy dunes to highly populated, brightly flashing casinos, tells a story that’s quite interesting, if you’re into the whole beach development/political corruption/materialistic greed sort of thing. It’s a story of graft, but with a nostalgic tilt. All […]
Posted by Ben on August 2, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/boardwalk-empire/