The 100,000 dead figure that’s being tossed around for civilian casualties in Iraq is much trumpeted, but seems to be on shaky ground. Make no mistake: whatever the number, it’s grotesque; it’s unacceptable, and shocking, and unfortunate. But 100,000 it’s not. Fred Kaplan takes the 100,000 number to task in Slate. (Quick aside: if you’re […]
Long Article, Long Tail. Big Idea.
Chris Anderson’s “The Long Tail” in Wired Magazine makes for a great read; it takes a stab at explaining a whole host of pop-culture phenomena by linking them together under a seemingly counterintuitive proposition: people’s tastes are not reined in by scarcity. Put more simply, in a physical world—the one defined by movie theaters, book […]
Posted by Ben on October 31, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/long-article-long-tail-big-idea/
Really scare the kiddies this Halloween
Carve political pumpkins. Printer-friendly patterns of John Kerry and George Bush at FabulousFoods.com. (via This Modern World)
Posted by Ben on October 29, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/really-scare-the-kiddies-this-halloween/
Kubrick and Politics
Last night1, Turner Classic Movies kicked off a monthlong series called “Party Politics and the Movies,” in which senators are invited to choose and introduce their favorite films. John Edwards was the inaugural guest, and his selection was almost shockingly bold: Dr. Strangelove. … Edwards was bashful about drawing parallels, but host Ben Mankiewicz finally […]
Posted by Ben on October 29, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/kubrick-and-politics/
More Barbie
In related (but unrelated) news, [1] Barbie fell off the list of favored Christmas wish toys in Britain, while [2] yet another artist twists Barbie’s image to her own will. All the gory details: “The Barbie doll has for the first time failed to appear on the list of toys expected to top British children’s […]
Posted by Ben on October 29, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/more-barbie/
Wipe that smile off your face
Police in the battleground state of Pennsylvania are looking for a man who robbed a bank Thursday night wearing a George W. Bush mask. (TSG: “Man Robs Bank Wearing George W. Bush Mask” [October 18, 2004])
Posted by Ben on October 29, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/wipe-that-smile-off-your-face/
Of course it’s not a bird, you ninny
It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s a bull moose hanging by its antlers from an electrical power line in the middle of the Alaska wilderness. This is one of those truly bizarre stories that seems absolutely hilarious until you actually think about it, at which point it turns morbid and sad. (Check out […]
Posted by Ben on October 27, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/of-course-its-not-a-bird/
With a name like Gatorama, it has to be good
Gatorama in Palmdale [FL] sells more than 15,000 pounds of alligator meat a year. The famed roadside attraction is one of Florida’s original gator farms. Owners Allen and Patty Register not only sell raw gator meat, they also have a restaurant serving gator ribs and other specialties. … Just in case visitors forget where they […]
Posted by Ben on October 25, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/with-a-name-like-gatorama-it-has-to-be-good/
Making a robotic elephant trunk is harder than you’d think
Were this lobster not made of industrial-strength plastic, metal alloys and a nickel metal hydride battery, Dr. Ayers … seemed frustrated enough to drop [it] into a boiling pot of water and serve it up for dinner. Mr. Snakebot complains it’s hard to get funding these days. A maker of robotic flies—who happens professor at […]
Posted by Ben on October 21, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/making-a-robotic-elephant-trunk-is-harder-than-youd-think/
What Mistakes?
GRABEL: President Bush, during the last four years, you have made thousands of decisions that have affected millions of lives. Please give three instances in which you came to realize you had made a wrong decision, and what you did to correct it. Thank you. BUSH: I have made a lot of decisions, and some […]
Posted by Ben on October 19, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/what-mistakes/