I used to stir ’Pong because he never had people in his photographs. So I was amazed to see this image from Earthdance the other weekend. He was lifted bodily above the mosh pit by eager partiers — just check their faces! ’Pong took plenty of other photos, before sunset and after dusk, all of them well worth consideration.
Two quick reads, and a quote
Yes, I’ve been busy. I don’t want to fall off your radar entirely, so here’s a couple of things I’ve read recently which will be good for your brain.
- All bloggers can now stop writing. The erudite and exceptionally English Stephen Fry has joined the blogosphere. His first post is an astoundingly detailed and well-informed essay on the evolution of the Smartphone. Anyone who can talk intelligently about Project Dynabook is worth masturbating over, IMHO. Pass the tissues please, Stephen?
- “Karl Rove could put faecal matter on his lapel and call it a boutonnière. Goodbye and good riddance,” said the redoubtable Garrison Keillor in No wonder they called him Turd Blossom. OK, not recent news, but a fun read. Thanks to Perceptric Forum for the pointer.
And the quote?
Admit it — back in the 20th Century, none of you imagined that World War III would be Robots vs Muslims. Seems obvious now.
The quote is from Gizmodo’s coverage of this video of a Packbot robot getting blown up by an IED. Thanks to The Long Tail for the pointer.
And now, to find time to write some more…
Aust population grows faster than ever
According to the latest figure from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia has just experienced its fastest population increase ever! In the 12 months ending March 2007, we saw 307,100 new residents, 46% through “natural increase” (porking, I assume) and 54% through net migration.
Watching 29,000 aircraft
This isn’t a new video, but certainly one I like: a time lapse video of flight patterns over North America as they unfold over the course of a day.
You can clearly see the wave of activity following the time zones east to west as the morning commuter flights do their thing. International flights follow a different drummer.
One of the reasons I like this video is that it reminds us we’re all part of something much, much bigger. In this case it’s the human-made world of aviation, but like the Powers of Ten video, it helps generate a sense of perspective.
Thanks to The Long Now Foundation for the reminder — and follow their blog for many more similar reminders, such as a 35-year time lapse of the Tokyo skyline and some slow art.
I’ll write more about The Long Now Foundation another time.
Weekly Poll: Revealing comments
If you listen closely to the conversations between you and your friends, you’ll discover tiny little phrases that reveal who you really are.
So this week’s poll — yes, I know it’s a week late, deal with it! — asks you to choose from a number of phrases the one you’re most likely to use in conversation. Go to the website to vote.
[poll id=”10″]
Last week’s results: Yes, without a doubt, Duran Duran is the greatest band in the history of pop.
Antony Green’s Election Guide online
Ãœberanalyst Antony Green’s guide to the 2007 federal election is now online. That is all. At ease.