trade globally, govern locally

Posted on Wednesday, 2003 January 22 by Anton

“Remaking the World in Our Image: Interventionist Globalism vs. Libertarian Localism,” by Lee McCracken. (From Rational Review again.)

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nature vindicated

Posted on Wednesday, 2003 January 22 by Anton

Remember those gymnasts whose nudity has done so much for my hit-counts? (Search strings leading here in recent weeks include an amazing number of variations of “romanian gymnast(ic)(s) women nude naked dvd japan tokyo chiba”.)

Bucharest Mayor Traian Basescu says he wants to show his support for the girls’ gesture of having the courage to do what they want with their lives

by giving them the key to the city. (Ananova, link from Rational Review, January 02.)

Posted in eye-candy | Leave a comment

a narrow view

Posted on Wednesday, 2003 January 22 by Anton

US judge rules that The X-Men (and a number of other Marvel characters) are not human. Worse, she did so at Marvel’s request. (Link from Eliezer S. Yudkowsky, from John Hughes.)

Posted in cartoons, futures | Leave a comment

hobbits and wizards

Posted on Wednesday, 2003 January 22 by Anton

I haven’t heard much discussion of the casting of LotR.

I’d cast Merry and Pippin the other way around, for two reasons. Billy Boyd as reckless young Pippin is (to my eye) much more mature in demeanor than Dominic Monaghan as his slightly older and soberer cousin Merry. Boyd’s Glasgow accent would fit more naturally on a Brandybuck, a clan on the fringe of the Shire whose names have a Celtic flavor against the English of the Shire proper.

Saruman was noted for his seductive voice, so I’d cast Ian Richardson. Christopher Lee can be Denethor.

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thud

Posted on Wednesday, 2003 January 22 by Anton

I wonder whether statistical “deaths by firearms” include victims of blunt trauma with an empty gun; though I doubt it’s a big number.

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the way the future was

Posted on Tuesday, 2003 January 21 by Anton

Who is this Bill Walker?

Fortunately, real life is too chaotic to predict via linear extrapolation. If Nero had tried to predict history with linear extrapolation, his picture of 2003 would have included: Imperial legions from the only world superpower carrying eagle emblems, marching into wars against minor nations in the Middle East, in order to build up the political careers of the powerful and unscrupulous. He would have predicted the Middle Easterners forming terrorist groups to retaliate in protest against the Imperial images and unveiled women defiling the Holy Lands. Nero could never have foreseen the modern world, with our ocean farms, Mars terraforming, and asteroid cities.

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Smash and Blaze

Posted on Tuesday, 2003 January 21 by Anton

A Small Victory: protest porn. Some of the less naughty bits:

As all around them entwined and cheered, forming an orgy of peaceful feelings, Smash and Blaze came together in a frenzy of lust, passion and a desire to rid the world of capitalist pigs.

“Let’s do it for anarchy,” Blaze whispered breathlessly.

“Let’s do it for the children of Iraq,” Smash mumbled in Blaze’s ear.

Their breath was heavy, their chests heaving up and down as they explored each other’s tender skin and unwashed hair.

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