links for 2006-06-17
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A service that allows users to download online videos to the hard drive.
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I’ve been meaning to post something about the actions in Oaxaca, and this will have to do.
self-proclaimed cultural mongrel
When I was an undergrad at the University of Oklahoma, the campus art museum installed a seven-foot fiberglass sculpture of a horse in front of the art museum. The sculpture, Mesteño by Luis Jimenez, was particularly striking at night when its red eyes glowed. Of course, more than a few people thought an airbrushed fiberglass horse with lightbulbs for eyes was a little tacky, especially when it sat on a particularly prominent corner of campus. My friend Aaron even performed a prank mocking the sculpture. I thought the sculpture was great, though, I loved that OU had installed some challenging art and the negative response it received. It provoked discussions of taste and white privilege on campus. While people may not have articulated their reactions in the most sensitive ways, Jimenez certainly succeeded in provoking a discussion about art on campus
I learned today that Jimenez died Tuesday while working on a piece. A chunk of the sculpture he was building fell and cut an artery in leg, leaving him to bleed to death. He was working on another giant horse, this one for the Denver airport. I’m saddened to hear this news, since I found his work moving and added much to my undergrad experience. It’s a pity there won’t be more of his work for the world to enjoy.
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links for 2006-05-31
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Awesome, the opinion in the Apple vs. Doe case cites a “cooperative encyclopedia.” I like the phrase “cooperative encyclopedia” - do editors get a discount on granola or hog feed?
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moving right along
I’m moving this blog to a new and, hopefully, more reliable host. Expect some downtime as the domain name propagates and I try to get WordPress up and running.
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linkdump for 2006.05.06
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I don’t care if this was on bOINGbOING, I want about a half-dozen of these for my apartment. I’ve got a decent amount of bookshelf space these days, but this would be nice for the books I’m currently using for classes.They need an extra-large size for cou
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Although I’m reluctant to point to articles on the most widely read blog, bOINGbOING, this thread about CSPAN’s funding model and the status of its programming is really interesting.
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examinees who passed
Congratulations must go out to my pal Jordan of twitchgamer.net and EFF-Austin on passing the February 2006 Texas Bar Examination! It’s a scary thought, but Jordan can now practice that ol’ timey Texas Justice.
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bunch of peeps in this joint
Noticing the burst in Peeps-licensed product this Lent, a bOINGbOING reader asks, “How interesting a story can you get about Marshmallow chicks and bunnies?” I doubt the official Peeps canon includes “Peep Research: a study of small fluffy creatures and library usage” by Susan Avery and Jennifer Masciadrelli, but it’s certainly my favorite peep-related text.
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an unshakable faith in technology
Ed Felten has an interesting post on his blog about the dynamics of technology policy. Trying to reconcile how Republicans can hostile to science in some endeavors like global warming research, while supportive of technological initiatives in others, he suggests that there’s a strain of techno-libertarianism in their behavior. Like their belief that free markets will produce social good, technological advancement will improve society. It’s a blog post, so I won’t criticize it for it’s lack of evidence, but it seems that most technology policy decisions are chosen between the interests of two competing sets of technological utopians, and the interests with the most money and influence win out. For example, the current debates about network neutrality pit the computer industries (and the oft-neglected consumers) against the telcos, which have a century of practice lobbying the government. Despite the wealth of the computer sphere, the telcos are apt to win out. Similarly, the DRM battles pit the computer industries against Hollywood. Although Felten is right in suggesting that former MPAA head Jack Valenti is a techno-utopian for believing that impregnable DRM can be made, these policy decisions seem to be more rooted in banal power politics, rather than out of ideology or an interest in consumers.
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sooner magic
I switched off the Oklahoma/Oklahoma State “bedlam” game after OSU took the lead with 4.7 seconds left in the game. I thought OU was sunk - they had not been playing well the whole game - but it looks like they pulled out their fourth straight one-point victory. Wow, I don’t know if this bodes well for the NCAA tournament, but I suppose this might suggest OU could do well, since much of the play in the tournament involves winning close games. But, boy howdy, couldn’t the Sooners win a game or two with a commanding lead?
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vital connection
My host is apparently having problems with its MySQL installation, so this blog has been going down intermittently for the past few days. It’s embarrassing to have an error message pop up on my front page - it looks like I can’t edit a config file - and it’s frustrating to submit trouble tickets about the problem, only to get a terse reply from a tech support staffer telling me the site is back up. Is the problem being worked on, or are they just letting me know when the MySQL load is lighter? Can anyone recommend a cheap host for a modest blog? I’d like about 500MB of space and a minimum of 1GB of transfer. (I guess the bandwidth really does reveal how few people read my site.) If you read this before you see another “Database connection error” message, you’ll know what’s going on. If not, this post is pretty much useless.
