noise to signal: October 2003

It's that time of year

Although Vince feels compelled to give a tease of his costume for tonight, I'm staying mum.

However, I did come to work in a portable costume... the one designed to cause the maximum peeing-in-costumes by small children wandering the hallways later today:

The final clue

OK, for those of you who are going to get this, it's going to piss you off that you didn't pick up on some of the other clues... for those of you who don't, well, follow the link after the image.

Who is this strange character? Why, it's E.K., of course. Miz Becky bought me a collection of his work for my birthday, and I've been stealing time to work through it ever since.

Zzzzzzzzzzzing!

Joke. Origin unknown.

While walking down the street one day, George "Dubya" Bush is shot by a disgruntled NRA member. His soul arrives in heaven and he is met by St. Peter at the Pearly Gates.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem: We seldom see a Republican around these parts, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in; I'm a believer,' says Dubya.

"I'd like to just let you in, but I have orders from the Man Himself: He says you have to spend one day in hell and one day in heaven. Then you must choose where you'll live for eternity."

"But, I've already made up my mind; I want to be in heaven."

"I'm sorry, but we have our rules." And with that, St. Peter escorts him to an elevator and he goes down, down, down, all the way to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a lush golf course; the sun is shining in a cloudless sky, the temperature a perfect 72 degrees. In the distance is a beautiful clubhouse. Standing in front of it his dad and thousands of other Republicans who had helped him out over the years: Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, Jerry Falwell.

The whole of the "Right" is here, everyone laughing, happy; casually but expensively dressed. They run to greet him, hug him, and reminisce about the good times they had getting rich at expense of the "suckers and peasants." They play a friendly game of golf, then dine on lobster and caviar. The devil himself comes up to Bush with a frosty drink and says, "Have a Margarita and relax, Dubya!"

"Uh, I can't drink no more, I took a pledge," says Junior, dejectedly.

"This is Hell, son: you can drink and eat all you want and not worry, and it just gets better from here!" says the devil. Dubya takes the drink and finds himself liking the devil, who is a very friendly guy who tells funny jokes and pulls hilarious nasty pranks, kind of like a Yale Skull and Bones brother with real horns. They are having such a great time that, before he realizes it, it's time to go.

Everyone gives him a big hug and waves as Bush steps on the elevator and heads upward.

When the elevator door reopens, he is in heaven again and St. Peter is waiting for him.

"Now it's time to visit heaven," the old man says, opening the gate. So for 24 hours Bush is made to hang out with a bunch of honest, good-natured people who enjoy each other's company, talk about things other than money, and treat each other decently. Not a nasty prank or frat boy joke among them; no fancy country clubs and, while the food tastes great, it's not caviar or lobster. And these people are all poor; he doesn't see anybody he knows, and he isn't even treated like someone special!

Worst of all, to Dubya, Jesus turns out to be some kind of Jewish hippie with his endless 'peace' and 'do unto others' jive.

"Whoa," he says uncomfortably to himself, "Pat Robertson never prepared me for this!"

The day done, St. Peter returns and says, "Well, then, you've spent a day in Hell and a day in Heaven. Now choose where you want to live for eternity."

With the 'Jeopardy' theme playing softly in the background, Dubya reflects for a minute, then answers, "Well, I would never have thought I'd say this -- I mean, heaven has been delightful and all -- but I really think I belong in hell with my friends."

So Saint Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down, all the way to hell. The doors of the elevator open, and he finds himself in the middle of barren, scorched earth covered with garbage and toxic industrial waste...kind of like Houston. He is horrified to see all of his friends dressed in rags and chained together, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags. They are groaning and moaning in pain, faces and hands black with grime.

The Devil comes over to Dubya and puts an arm around his shoulder.

"I don't understand," stammers a shocked Dubya. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a clubhouse and we ate lobster and caviar and drank booze. We screwed around and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and everybody looks miserable!"

The Devil looks at him, smiles slyly, and purrs, "Yesterday we were campaigning; today you voted for us."

More really odd spam

Most spam is purely annoying, but this one is another gem of oddness:

From: "Rebecca" < rebecca9075n@earthlink.net >
To: <__________@____.___>
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 1:00 PM
Subject: Re: Davadam - I imagine in the present day he miserably has difficult snags! - 3TqvYBogEVvv2TQdf4

Greetings Davadam!
I suppose you know Robert Chevalier? I'm fully confident he fatefully has tricky setbacks!
Verify this link to help him!

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Good bye, Megan Nassery.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
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I've been blacklisted

... voluntarily, that is.

Did you hear about the NRA blacklist?

It's a 19-page list of organizations, entertainers, and other public figures who have in some way offended the NRA. As NRA executive vice-president Wayne LaPierre said, "Our members don't want to buy their songs, don't want to go to their movies, don't want to support their careers."

Here's the good part:

Actor Dustin Hoffman was so dismayed to find his name missing from the NRA's shadowy 19-page list of U.S. companies, celebrities, and news organizations seen as lending support to anti-gun policies that he wrote to the powerful pro-gun lobby group begging to be included.

"As a supporter of comprehensive anti-gun safety measures, I was deeply disappointed when I discovered my name was not on the list," Hoffman wrote in a letter to the NRA that was released on Tuesday.

"I was particularly surprised by the omission given my opposition to the loophole that makes it legal for 18- to 20-year-olds to buy handguns at gun shows," he added.

Hoffman's name has now been added to the list which reads like a Who's Who of American business, culture and religion and which ranges from the American Jewish Congress to A&M Records, ABC News and talk show queen Oprah Winfrey.

Now there's a site for you to add your name to the blacklist and join the distinguished group of people the NRA will no longer patronize.

Oh, and a note to answer some of the e-mail I will surely get. I do in fact support the second amendment to the constitution, and the rest of the bill of rights. However, it is a source of constant amazement to me that the NRA, for all their excitement over the text of that amendment, seem to never read the second and third words of that text:

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

I'm not for banning all private ownership of guns. I am for making sure that their sale, use, and ownership is... that's right, "well regulated".

A design success!

About a month ago, one of our marketers came to me and said "Dave! I've got a really fun project for you!"

Naturally all of the hair stood straight up on the back of my neck. Any experienced designer knows that the correct response to that statement is to point the requester to another designer. "Oh, I'm really busy right now, but I think Ann has a few minutes to spare."

"Fun", you see, is marketer-speak for "enormous time sucker with little or no payoff".

Unfortunately, I'm the only designer on our team, so the only person I could fob this task off on is... me. I sighed. "What is it, Steve?"

Steve explained to me that our group was going to sponsor a 10' x 10' carpet square at the Professional Developer's Conference, in LA this year, and that we could print anything we wanted on it.

After conferring with the vendor who was actually going to print the carpet, I found out that Steve wasn't kidding -- we really could print anything we wanted: 200 ppi, 24-bit color, any file format I wanted.

After some discussion, we settled on a map of LA with the conference center pointed out -- the best way to communicate the value of our products.

We went through some tribulations in getting it out -- and it did turn out to be a pretty big time sink -- but Steve's report from the first day of the PDC made it all worth it:

The full MapPoint carpet was uncovered today, and as I suspected yesterday, it looked great!

A number of attendees were seen using it as a paper map – standing on it pointing with their toes while planning where to meet or where a restaurant was. A new game was invented as well – Spatial Twister. “Left Foot Figeroa st.”. “Right hand 45th”.

Here's a large mockup of the carpet square (131k), as well as some action photos:

Theoretically the conference people are going to take up the carpet and send it back to us on a truck once the PDC is over. I'm looking forward to seeing it in person!

Further clues

OK, as promised in the first "guess this show" entry, here are a couple more clues. Surely one of you will recognize these.

If that doesn't do it, then I'll post the final "clue" in a couple of days -- although clue isn't really the right word, since it's also the answer.

Live from the California fires

Jim Ward showed me some photos his Dad took in his neighborhood in San Diego, and kindly let me share them here.

They're apparently on evacuation watch, and looking at the photos, I'm not surprised:

Both images © Harry E. Ward.

Vince also pointed me to an excellent slide show (free registration) in the New York Times today. Those Santa Ana winds are really fanning the flames...

WCW on the need for poetry

From the footer of today's A Word A Day mailing:

It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there.

-William Carlos Williams (1883-1963)

Name that show

Inspired by Vince's movie quiz (itself inspired by the fiendish Dan's Screen Shot Movie Quiz) I'm posting the following two images for your consideration.

I know for a fact that some of you watching should know what these are from. If there are no right guesses, I have two progressively more blatant sets of images that will surely provoke the right guess.

You're right, that is pretty tough.

'Iceman' Grabs Shark to Save Men
Oct 24, 9:59 AM (ET)

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - An Icelandic fishing captain, known as "the Iceman" for his tough character, grabbed a 660-pound shark with his bare hands as it swam in shallow water toward his crew, a witness said Thursday.

The skipper of the trawler "Erik the Red" was on a beach in Kuummiit, east Greenland, watching his crew processing a catch when he saw the shark swimming toward the fish blood and guts -- and his men.

Captain Sigurdur Petursson, known to locals as "the Iceman," ran into the shallow water and grabbed the shark by its tail. He dragged it off to dry land and killed it with his knife.

"He caught it just with his hands. There was a lot of blood in the sea and the shark came in and he thought it was dangerous," Frede Kilime, a hunter and fisherman who watched from the beach, told Reuters by phone from Greenland.

Icelandic author and journalist Reynir Traustason, who knows the trawler captain, said the act was typical of the man.

"He's called 'the Iceman' because he isn't scared of anything," he said. "I know the people in that part of the world. They are really tough."

Gwendolyn Brooks kicks my ass every time

This week's theme over at A Word A Day has been words from the poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks (also here).

As I wrote to Anu, besides the normal entertainment his newsletter gives me, this week he's also reminded me how much I love Ms. Brooks' work.

Discovering to my dismay that we didn't have any of her books in our house (I suspect larceny!), I got down to Elliott Bay as soon as I could and picked up the slim but wonderful classic volume Selected Poems, first published in 1963.

And of course I have a couple of samples for you. The first was originally published in her first volume of poetry, A Street in Bronzeville.

kitchenette building

We are things of dry hours and the involuntary plan,
Grayed in, and gray. "Dream" makes a giddy sound, not strong
like "rent," feeding a wife," "satisfying a man."

But could a dream send up through onion fumes
Its white and violet, fight with fried potatoes
And yesterday's garbage ripening in the hall,
Flutter, or sing an aria down these rooms

Even if we were willing to let it in,
Had time to warm it, keep it very clean,
Anticipate a message, let it begin?

We wonder. But not well! not for a minute!
Since Number Five is out of the bathroom now,
We think of lukewarm water, hope to get in it.

The second poem is from another book, about soldiers and war, called Gay Chaps at the Bar.

the white troops had their orders but the Negroes looked like men

They had supposed their formula was fixed.
They had obeyed instructions to devise
A type of cold, a type of hooded gaze.
But when the Negroes came they were perplexed.
These Negroes looked like men. Besides, it taxed
Time and the temper to remember those
Congenital iniquities that cause
Disfavor of the darkness. Such as boxed
Their feelings properly, complete to tags --
A box for dark men and a box for Other --
Would often find the contents had been scrambled.
Or even switched. Who really gave two figs?
Neither the earth nor heaven ever trembled.
And there was nothing startling in the weather.

Wow. You could tell, when I was reading the second one on the bus, that I was in love... I had that giddy, grinning look, and I was reading nearly aloud, just under my breath.

Fall color

Putting that new cross-processing filter through its paces:

It's true, sometimes I'm too painfully formalist. Whatever. It's my damn blog. :-)

Lunchboxes

Hey, I had one of these.

From the nostalgia-inducing Lunch Box Bonanza! Gallery.

Via Coudal.com, as so many things are.

Photoshop cross-processing

It constantly amazes me that while much of the content on the web that providers want people to pay for is mediocre at best, some wonderful things are completely free.

Case in point: Shan Canfield's wonderful cross-processing actions for Photoshop, which I just discovered yesterday.

Cross-processing, briefly, is a photographic technique where (usually) slide film (E6) is processed in the set of chemicals usually used to process print film (C41). (Less common is cross-processing in the other direction -- print film processed in slide film chemicals) The result is images with oddly skewed colors and increased contrast and saturation.

This technique was a bit overused in the late 1990's, but it can be quite effective when used in the right situation. I like using it (gently) for my photos of Circus Contraption -- the slightly odd look to the colors works well with their style. It can also be used for motion picture film; for example, in the movie Three Kings, most of the desert scenes are cross-processed.

The problem we're running into now, however, is that this process depends on shooting with film. What happens if you're one of the photographers who have made the jump to digital?

That's where Ms. Canfield (also known as Photoshop Mama, according to her site) comes in. She's produced a set of very nice Photoshop "actions", or macros, that do a very credible job of mimicking real cross-processing in a digital tool.

Unfortunately Ms. Canfield's site uses frames, so I can't point you directly to the cross-processing section, but if you go to her site (opens in a new window), click on "shanzcan tutorials", and scroll down to number 23, you'll find them.

"That's all very well and good, Dave, but can you show me some samples?" I'm glad you asked. Here are some samples using the old Photodisc color calibration test image. First, the unmanipulated image:

There are three versions of the action. The first one focuses more on the hue and saturation changes cross-processing creates. The second focuses more on the contrast changes. Here they are:

The third action combines the two:

The really elegant thing about how Ms. Canfield has set up these actions is that the the actions generate cross-process layers that sit above the original, unmanipulated image, and affect it. In the case of the combined action, it creates two layers, one for each of the other actions it includes.

This suggests a few ideas. First, I've found that it's most efficient to just run the third action. Like real cross-processing, the effect on an image is sometimes hard to predict. Having both versions there allows you to turn one or the other off and choose which one you like better -- or change the opacity of one or the other, if you want some of the contrast effect, but not quite as much as her action gives you, for example.

The second idea this suggests is that it's possible to duplicate one or another of the layers if you want more of that layer's effect.

The third idea, which follows on the second, is that it's possible to add other layers to manipulate the effect.

On the left, below, I have a version of the image where I have two layers of effect #1, and none of effect #2, for a stronger hue shift.

On the right I have a version with only one layer of effect #1, plus a color balance adjustment layer (0/50/0 in the shadows and 0/0/25 in the highlights) that mimics the way cross-processing can sometimes make the image go green in the shadows, and warm in the highlights.

One caveat is that because these require layers, they won't work on 16-bit images just yet. But Photoshop CS is right around the corner, which finally allows most features to work in 16 bits. Huzzah!

The possibilities are vast. I'm sure this is giving all of you Photoshop types some great ideas. Enjoy! And mad props to Ms. Canfield, as well.

Hey, kids!

It's "New IM self-portrait time!"

OK, that was odd

Are any of you lot responsible for this spam I just got at work?

From: RE:Your Luke fan club membership!
[mailto:SuFan@ILoveGiraffes.net]
Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2003 3:18 PM
To: David Adam Edelstein
Subject: Hi Welcome Onboard!

Hi Folks

Luke's secret following here
Everyday our lives go by we sit here with love growing in our hearts for having discovered the FICTITIOUS one Luke Fictitious

also found as

lukefictitious

we even tried

___.lukefictitious.___

But today is a very special super beautiful day beyond our wildest dreams and fantasies because today we discovered {the can't say it site} has been updated and now we are filled with joy and excitement for having found the fictitious one!!!!! luke fictitious that is!

This is a very special day please understand we must express our love for fictitious.
And we have now added our second fan site to the web our first fan site might be up there still but we don't dare tell anybody where it is because if we do they take it down and then just how can we fullfill our meaning and mission in life?

So good luck to you we hope you find our fan site and rejoice! Now we have yet another reason to celebrate perhaps this email has reached you and you can join us in knowing somewhere there is such a wonderful find as fictitious.

Please also send a copy of this email to all your friends {it might bring you luck} {only your nice friends bring good luck} Your list is never big enough....

WOW It's a great day!

GIVE US AN L
L
GIVE US A U
U
GIVE US A K
K
GIVE US A E
E
WHAT DOES THAT SPELL?
LUKE LUKE YEA LUKE

OH HOW WEEEEEEEEEEEEE LOVE FICTITIOUS

And 1 more thing

3 5 7 9

who do we think is great and fine

fictitious fictitious yea fictitious!!!!!!!

we currently do our searches with www.msn.com

Looking at www.lukefictitious.com, it looks like it might be a file-swapping service... but what a weird e-mail, no?

Sell your stock in News Gothic

The New York Times is standardizing on Cheltenham:

Starting today, the front page and main news sections of The New York Times are receiving a gentle typographical face-lift.

In place of a miscellany of headline typefaces that have accumulated in its columns over the last century, the newspaper is settling on a single family, Cheltenham, in roman and italic versions and various light and bold weights. A narrow variation will be used for The Times's signature one-column headline, which often appears at the top right of Page A1 on the main article of the day.

[ . . . ]

Before today's change, at least six headline typefaces commonly appeared on the front page. That kind of variety was customary for newspapers in the early 20th century, possibly because metal type was too costly and scarce for printers to stock full ranges of size within a family.

You can read the full story here (free registration blah blah blah). Don't miss the helpful graphic demonstrating the changes.

One typeface I'm going to particularly miss is Bookman Antique, which I enjoyed as a headline face on their inside pages:

(graphic shamelessly stolen from their article)

I understand and believe in the value of standardizing on one type family, but I always felt that Bookman Antique gave a nice, sturdy, trustworthy feel to those multi-column heads that Cheltenham doesn't convey.

It's a little damp here today

It's really pouring -- 1/2" deep rivers flowing down the fire truck access ramps by our building, splashing up over my shoes, cleaning the spiderwebs from roof drains that are usually just moistened by the gentle mist that normally passes for rain here. And it's warm, too, nearly 70°F (20°C).

It's almost a tropical rain, reminding me of storms in Hawai‘i -- like the one that trapped my former girlfriend in Hawai‘i Kai one winter break. She saw me off at the airport, drove home, and it rained something like 24 inches in the next 12 hours. She called me the next day, very grumpy. "I'm fucking trapped in the corner of the island." I of course had returned to the Eugene Mist and wasn't terribly sympathetic.

Those of you familiar with my opinion on the Eugene Mist and other northwestern weather phenomena (this is the only part of the country where "occasional sun breaks" are a regular feature of the weather forecast) will probably be surprised to hear that I really love hard rain like this. Partly it's because the weather is actually doing something instead of just dithering ineffectually like a whiny city council member.

The other reason I like this weather is because it's tied to an important moment in my emotional growth -- the moment I realized that my mother is a human being, not just The Mom.

It was when we were living in China, probably 1981 or so -- I was 10 or 11. We were spending a few days at Beidaihe, a resort town on the coast. It was stormy, and I was grouchy and annoyed because I wanted to go outside but I was sure that Mom wouldn't want us to go out and get all wet and muddy.

She surprised me, though, actually suggesting that we go for a walk on the beach. "But, uh... we'll get wet... are you sure?"

"Yeah! I've always loved to walk outside when it's stormy."

My young mind was blown wide open. Moms like to do messy things? They enjoy weather?

I never saw her quite the same way after that.

More bookfest

That's right, I didn't have enough bibliophilia the first day, I had to go back -- partly to hear my friend Tiffany read:

Tiffany was there as part of a group of writers and poets associated with Clear Cut Press, a relatively new Northwest publisher with an interesting model: Interested parties can get their books by subscribing to the series of 8 books Clear Cut Press is planning to publish over the year. Based on the great readings today, I'll definitely be subscribing.

Bookfest was great, as always. Interesting speakers (Sherman Alexie's rant about vegans and thumbs was hysterical), cool small presses (like the aforementioned Clear Cut Press), and lots and lots of books. Mmmm... bibliogasm.

Here are a few more pix from the two days I was there.

Eric's demo at NW Bookfest

This morning I went to the Northwest Bookfest, partly to soak up the book vibe but also to see Eric Gower (a fellow member of the WELL's cooking conference) give a demo of some recipes from his new cookbook, The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen.

Mostly he demoed while giving us a piece of his mind about Japanese cooking in the US and in Japan, salt, combining flavors, brightening food with citrus, the importance of beautiful pottery, and the tragedy of eating good food without a good wine.

Sadly, the bookfest didn't have a health department permit to allow the audience to taste the dishes; but we got to take a look at them, anyway.

On the left is Ceviche Japonesa; on the right are some noodles with Edamame Mint Pesto.

I highly recommend the cookbook, by the way. I've made several dishes from it (including that edamame mint pesto), all of which have been excellent. One neat thing about the book is that although it's neither expressly a technique book, nor a book of quick recipes, it nevertheless does a good job of teaching techniques that can be used in other combinations, and nearly all of the recipes can be done in 30 minutes or less. Tasty food, quickly -- what could be better?

You can check out his website for some sample recipes and other good info.

Tomorrow: Brunch with more WELL folks, plus back to the Bookfest to see Tiffany read. What can I say, I lead a rich life.

I'm not sure this is going to help

Here's a move sure to re-assure non-radicalized Muslims that the USA is only interested in targeting terrorists, not all Muslims:

The Pentagon has assigned the task of tracking down and eliminating Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and other high-profile targets to an Army general who sees the war on terrorism as a clash between Judeo-Christian values and Satan.

Ooooops. Maybe not.

Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin, the new deputy undersecretary of Defense for intelligence ... the former commander and 13-year veteran of the Army's top-secret Delta Force is also an outspoken evangelical Christian who appeared in dress uniform and polished jump boots before a religious group in Oregon in June to declare that radical Islamists hated the United States "because we're a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christian ... and the enemy is a guy named Satan."

Discussing the battle against a Muslim warlord in Somalia, Boykin told another audience, "I knew my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."

"We in the army of God, in the house of God, kingdom of God have been raised for such a time as this," Boykin said last year.

On at least one occasion, in Sandy, Ore., in June, Boykin said of President Bush: "He's in the White House because God put him there."

(I particularly enjoy the fact that it was Oregonian loonies that he was speaking to. Why is it always Oregon? Sure, they've got guns and compounds in Idaho, but they're not as weirdo as the Oregonians. Must be the rain.)

Here's the full article from the LA Times.

Again with the office plants

What can I say, the light was beautiful Monday.

So if I shot these on Monday, why am I posting them now?

Because today, it looks like this outside:

Oh. It's you. I remember you.

Not to say we told you so...

but, you know, we told you so.

Iraq War Swells Al Qaeda's Ranks, Report Says
Oct 15, 7:32 AM (ET)
By Peter Graff

LONDON (Reuters) - War in Iraq has swollen the ranks of al Qaeda and galvanized the Islamic militant group's will, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said on Wednesday in its annual report.

The 2003-2004 edition of the British-based think-tank's annual bible for defense analysts, The Military Balance, said Washington's assertions after the Iraq conflict that it had turned the corner in the war on terror were "over-confident."

The report, widely considered an authoritative text on the military capabilities of states and militant groups worldwide, could prove fodder for critics of the U.S.-British invasion and of the reconstruction effort that has followed in Iraq.

Washington must impose security in Iraq to prevent the country from "ripening into a cause celebre for radical Islamic terrorists," it concluded. "Nation-building" in Iraq was paramount and might require more troops than initially planned.

"On the plus side, war in Iraq has denied al Qaeda a potential supplier of weapons of mass destruction and discouraged state sponsors of terrorism from continuing to support it," the report said.

"On the minus side, war in Iraq has probably inflamed radical passions among Muslims and thus increased al Qaeda's recruiting power and morale and, at least marginally, its operating capability," it said.

"The immediate effect of the war may have been to isolate further al Qaeda from any potential state supporters while also swelling its ranks and galvanizing its will."

Full story here.

Cat Names

Edgar
Edgarino
Shredgar
Dipshit
Cletus (the slack-jawed kitty)
Pookie
Pookarino
Pookaroo
Pook-laroo
Pook LaRue, the cowboy poet

Rusty
Rustabus
Fuzzy butt
The Princess (pronounced prins-ESS)

The little furry masters

Beautiful time-lapse

Here's a beautiful composite image and time-lapse movie shot from the photographer's apartment in Toronto.

(Via Coudal Partners)

A healthy sense of self-mockery ...

... is a beautiful thing.

Gary Coleman divulges the top 10 things that would be different if he had been elected governor. (Realvideo)

Possibly my next camera

I was delighted to see the announcement last week of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1 -- it may turn out to be my next camera.

I have to admit that I find digital SLRs, like the Canon EOS 10d (or even the much heftier 11 megapixel 1ds) tempting.

But when I look at my shooting style, what do I shoot with? My Leica rangefinder. I don't shoot that often with my Nikon SLR -- mostly the odd commercial job, or cases where I need a 24mm lens, which I don't have for my Leica. (Which suggests that maybe I should trade my entire SLR system in on a Leica 24mm lens... but I digress).

I don't really need the extended lens choices of an SLR. I don't shoot super-wide angle, nor do I shoot long telephoto, both of which require an SLR so you can actually see what's going on. 90% of my shooting is at 50mm. If I need to get a little wider, or a little closer, I switch to a 35mm or a 90mm. That's basically it.

And why do I shoot with the Leica? First of all, of course, is that it's a beautifully made camera that makes me happy to use. As a designer, I like using well designed objects.

But taking that away, it's really a question of three features. First, the Leica is small, light, and inobtrusive. Nobody looks at it twice, because it looks like an amateur camera.

Second, the lens quality is amazing. The arguments over whether Leica lenses are as good as they're supposed to be will continue to go back and forth, but in my experience, using my cameras, the Nikon lenses don't come close to them.

Third, it has total manual control. Rather than reinventing the wheel, I'll quote Mike Johnston's recent comments on the subject:

The issue you're talking about more generally is called "responsiveness," and it's something that a fairly large number of photography enthusiasts (both digital and film) are relatively ignorant about these days, because we have a whole generation that's grown up with autofocus and even a fledgling group that knows digital alone. You refer to it as "oneness with the image." That's maybe a little metaphysical for some people, though I know what you mean. Looked at in a more quotidian way, it simply means that the camera will do exactly what you tell it to, very, very quickly, and you won't have to think about it (i.e., get distracted by it) much.

Automated systems and controls interposed between the impulse to photograph and the recording of the photograph work against responsiveness. For instance, manufacturers have worked very hard to make autofocus more and more responsive since the mid-1980s when it began to become common, but it's still a step between you and the picture. And by "controls interposed," what I mean is anything additional that you have to "set" before you're ready to shoot. This is why, during my entire "career" (I use the term very loosely!) of teaching and writing for photographers, I've consistently been critical of cameras with too many bells and whistles, and of zoom lenses. Neither are sins, but both interfere with responsiveness.

[ . . . ]

It's very important to realize that THIS IS WHAT HIGH-TECH CAMERAS ARE TRYING TO EMULATE. When Garry Winogrand stepped out of his apartment and went down to the street, he looked at the light and set his shutter speed and his aperture. He knew the light and he knew his film and he knew what he needed. No matter how complex the light meter in a modern camera — whether it has 32 metering segments and a complicated algorithm embedded in a chip, or a thousand tiny color sensors — this is all it's trying to do: set the aperture and the shutter speed properly. When Robert Frank learned to set the focus of his Leica by judging the distance to his subject by eye and then the position of the focusing tab by feel, it was so he could focus as he brought the camera up to his eye. No matter how complex and fast the AF system in a Wunderkamera — whether it has a whole fleet of little red spaceship focusing points in the finder, or the latest whiz-bang AF sensor chip — this is all it's trying to do: set the focus properly.

Which brings us back to the DMC-LC1. Bearing in mind that the only things I know about this camera are from a couple of articles (here and here), it seems like this camera might fulfil my requirements: Total manual control (easily accessed, not buried like in my Canon G3), a gorgeous Leica lens (28-90mm equivalent, which is exactly the range I like to shoot with), small (I'm guessing based on the photos), and -- reportedly -- low shutter lag.

That last one is the only real concern I have. Shutter lag on most non-SLR digicams is terrible. It makes them largely unusable for fast-moving subjects (yes, I know about prefocusing, but that's not the same as being truly responsive). If it really does have a minimal shutter lag, then I may be buying a new camera in the spring.

More holiday fun

Halloween is really my favorite holiday. It's the only time of the year when my ghoulish tendencies, well, fit in better.

Case in point: This game made me giddy with laughter. Representative screen shot:

That's right! Grab the kids and drop 'em in the pot!

An october gift to you

In honor of the approaching holiday, here's a bit of desktop art for you:

Download full-size image (225kb JPEG, 1600 x 1200 pixels).

Is Miz Becky trying to send me a message?

If so, babe, spam is a weird way to do it.

From: Rebekah Kelly
[mailto:rebekah_kelly_jr@onthenet.com.au]
Sent: Saturday, October 11, 2003 4:02 PM
To: [my other e-mail address]
Subject: Scientific breakthrough Penis pills

He was so cute then

While going through some things, I found an old photo of the brother-thing, probably an early example of my portraiture work from when we were in China in the 80's.

NOAA is editorializing

Miz Becky noticed that NOAA's weather page for Seattle was editorializing this morning (emphasis mine):

THE AREA OF LOW PRESSURE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR RECENT COOL AND UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL SHIFT EAST LATE TODAY OR EARLY TONIGHT. ALAS...YET ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL BEGIN AFFECTING THE COAST LATE TONIGHT...WITH PRECIPITATION OVERSPREADING THE ENTIRE AREA ON SATURDAY. EXPECT COOL...SHOWERY WEATHER ON SUNDAY IN THE WAKE OF THIS SYSTEM.

As a side note, despite the fact that NOAA is an acronym, around our house we pronounce it as though it were a Hawaiian word for weather forcasting: Noa'a.

My God, it's full of stars!

The horrible baby name list

If you have a bunch of time to kill, and need to feel superior about other people's horrible, horrible names for their children, spend some time with Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing.

As they say on the site: The following is a catalog of naming questions and suggestions posted on several different baby naming bulletin boards going back as far as early 2001.

Some samples:

We aren't having kids for another year or two, but we like Kellyna Nychole, Taryn Mykah and Mykenzie Kathryn for girls.

So far we have come up with;
Boys;Finn, Drake, Regan, Hazen, Tannith
Girls; Mehina, Miette, Acenzion, Reina, Sarika, Taise.

Andreana Calida [last name]
Damita Nicole [last name]
Adoncia Noella [last name]
Kamaria May [last name]
Elliot Ness [last name]

Then, of course, there are the really depressing entries:

I'm a 18 year old mother, and my twin daughters (they are now almost 2 years old) are named Vanessa Aisleigh and Maya Reese. My other favorite names are: Girls: Ashton, Lexi, Elisa, Morganne, Madeleine, Shoanie, Kendel
Boys: Reed, Jack, Cortlend, Dane
I hope that all of the teenagers out there realize what they are doing before they do it. Even though I love my daughters, I made a mistake that will change my life forever.

Hello everyone! Im 15 weeks pregnant and I know I have a lot of time to think on a name, however, the father of the baby is no longer around, I have two older sons whos names are Aaron James, and Andrew Michael... no I didnt at the time had one thought that they both started with "A's". But since so many think so would like to name this next child with an "A" name. I have found: Alyssa, Alexia, Alea, Abigail that I like. Last imput from father of baby was.."going to break the cycle of the "A" name thing....Ugh! Men! What do you think, any good advice for me?

Would like something not so common. Help!

That's not a bad suggestion

Linux creator Linus Torvalds on how to end virus and worm attacks:

"When you have people who hook up these machines that weren't designed for the Internet, and they don't even want to know about all the intricacies of network security, what can you expect? We get what we have now: a system that can be brought down by a teenager with too much time on his hands. Should we blame the teenager? Sure, we can point the finger at him and say, 'Bad boy!' and slap him for it. Will that actually fix anything? No. The next geeky kid frustrated about not getting a date on Saturday night will come along and do the same thing without really understanding the consequences. So either we should make it a law that all geeks have dates -- I'd have supported such a law when I was a teenager -- or the blame is really on the companies who sell and install the systems that are quite that fragile."

From the New York Times, via RISKS.

(I do feel compelled to suggest that that line of reasoning -- not Torvald's alone, to be sure -- is akin to blaming the US Postal Service for kids playing mailbox baseball... Sure, the mailboxes could be built stronger, but fundamentally the kids are committing a crime...)

This morning's odd graffiti

The strange road of memories

We were at the Hugo House last night, partly to hear Sherman Alexie speak on the topic "How Dungeons and Dragons Saved My Life".

He was kind of sheepish about "outing" himself as a D&D fan, but he described it as a way to escape his bad situation in the real world, and as one of the things that taught him storytelling.

Of course Alexie's admission made me nostalgic for my old obsession with D&D, which then reminded me of the story I'm about to tell you. Which may give more amusement to those of you who know the characters...

I was admitted to the eigth grade at Iolani while we were still in China (admitted as a "foreign student", apparently), which meant that although they could see my test scores and writing samples and whatnot, they couldn't do the "entry interview" until we got back to Hawai'i. And since most of the staff was still on summer vacation, I did my entry interview with Charles Proctor, the assistant headmaster, hereafter known as "Chuck", because he hates it.

Chuck and I talked for probably half an hour; I don't remember anything about the interview, except that at the very end he asked me if I had any more questions. I thought for a moment, and asked "Do you have a D&D club here?"

Chuck's face fell. "Oh. You're one of those." (Not, mind you, "them". "Those.")

Full of attitude at 13, I scowled back. "Yeah, I'm one of those! I didn't know there was anything wrong with it."

With a sour look, he turned back to the pile of papers on his desk, and mumbled "Yeah, there's a games club."

We were done for the day, but that exchange started an arc that continued right through until my graduation. We'd clash regularly, often with me sitting in that same chair in his office, him trying to provoke a reaction in me, but never getting one. "You're a lump! Is that what you want to be? Why are we wasting a spot in this school on a lump?"

It probably didn't help things any, in 9th grade P.E., when I cut in front of his younger daughter in a soccer game. She went down hard and wrong, and I learned just how sickening the sound of a radius bone breaking is. Chuck blamed me, of course, and our already poor relations deteriorated.

More clashes, a few great teachers left because they couldn't stand him, and more sessions in his office.

And then came graduation day. Chuck was reading the names of the graduates, as he always did, droning through the list with the regularity of a pasty-faced metronome. "Laura Duckworth... Laura Duguay... Tammy Durez..."

And then a pause. Not a long one, half a beat at most. "David Edelstein." Another brief pause, and then back to the metronome: "Laura Fan... Lana'i Ferguson..."

As I walked across the podium I could hear my father's laugh in the audience. I winked at Chuck as I walked by. And the look on his face matched the look on mine: There was nothing more he could ever do to me. I had passed out of his sphere of petty influence. He had lost.

Loony or parody?

I can't tell.

The above diagram shows how you can make your own Eternal Life Rings. You can use ceramic or rare earth magnets. You can find ceramic magnets in every hardware store. Ceramic works good, but you can purchase higher quality magnets from a scientific project specialty store. (Example: Edmund's Scientific) Since it is an eternal life device, it is better to purchase good quality, powerful magnets for the sake of your great health. Rare earth is a little more expensive, but they are much more powerful than ceramic. I recommend rare earth magnets. You can use plastic or plastic tape to make the rings.

Don't use conductive material: metal for the brace of the ring because metal will consume the magnetic flux of the magnet that is suppose to fluxuate into your finger; the brace of the ring should be nonconductive. If you want, you can buy the rings from us. Our rings are professionally made, one-size-fits-all in plastic housing.

Watch out for the polarities. If you put the rings on with the wrong polarity, you could get sick within hours! Use a compass to indicate North and South pole if necessary. A compass's North needle always points to the magnet's South pole.

If you are not handy or simply don't have time, feel free to buy a set of eternal life rings from me. My rings are one-size-fits-all plastic rings which only need simple adjustments. Our rings are professionally designed. The braces of the rings are of course nonconductive. Very comfortable to wear and are powerful. I only build my devices with the best quality magnets possible.

Check out the site.

Pixellated

Caught!

Rusty is not at all pleased that I caught her in the Edgar is a dork pose.

Click the horsies

Following closely on the heels of the cat town theme... how about doo-wop horses? (macromedia flash)

Also, don't miss the home page of the strange Swedish TV show this is from.

(Thanks to Dylan)

Cat Town

Despite my determination to not be a digest form of Mimi Smartypants, I am compelled to pass on this recommendation:

I also recommend Cat Town, because it is completely retarded and thus contains a nugget of genius. This is a very complex and sophisticated line of reasoning, it's okay if you are not there yet.

I definitely recommend listening to the Cat Town Theme.

It what?

Someone at our local Walgreen's has inflated expectations about what Jell-o can do.

Top of the world, ma!

The best thing about this stupid human trick (Realvideo) from the Letterman show is the way the guy looks around at the end.

His expression says "Well, here I am... this is as good as it's ever going to get for me."

Gravity-defying Graffiti

Shows to look forward to

Miz Becky and I have finally figured out our travel plans for visiting my parents (and, apparently, the brother-thing) this year.

My only real constraint on the timing was that we'd be there in time to see this show at the Honolulu Academy of Arts:

BRETT WESTON IN HAWAII
September 30, 2003 through January 4, 2004
Holt Gallery

Born in Los Angeles and son of the celebrated American photographer Edward Weston, Brett Weston (1911-1993) grew up in and later became a part of his father’s circle of California-based photographers devoted to the promotion of "straight" photography, the revelation of the poetry of external reality through the optical objectivity of the camera and meticulous printing rather than individual "artistic" statements. This exhibition showcases Weston’s Hawaii-based work, with its presentation of the fifteen prints that comprise his portfolio, Hawaii, Leaves and Lava. Striking details of Hawaiian leaves and powerful images of the Big Island’s awesome volcanic landscape are compelling for their reflections of Hawaii.

Imagine my delight to find out that there are going to be two other photo shows going on at the same time:

IN FOCUS: A HAWAII PHOTOGRAPHY INVITATIONAL
November 20, 2003 through January 11, 2004
Graphic Arts Gallery

Invited artists present an exhibition of new photographic works.

IN CELEBRATION OF LIGHT: PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE COLLECTON OF CHERYE R. AND JAMES F. PIERCE

December 4, 2003 through January 11, 2004

Henry R. Luce Gallery

Featuring the Cherye R. and James F. Pierce Collection, the finest private collection of photography in Hawaii. Among the photographers included in the collection are Alfred Stieglitz, W. Eugene Smith, Diane Arbus, Imogen Cunningham, Minor White, Ansel Adams, and Brassai, among many others. For nearly 30 years, the Pierces have collected prints by photographers active throughout the 20th century and up to the present day. From over 500, the Pierces have selected about 125 prints for display presenting fine examples of masterworks and various printing processes. The works will be presented thematically with separate categories for the urban and natural environment, still lifes, animals, nudes, the modernist impulse, and the human condition. The collection also features works by some of Hawaii’s leading photographers including several works by Franco Salmoiraghi.

Oh yeah, and it'll be nice to see my family, too. :-)

The joys of having a public web site

I seem to get a lot of e-mails like this, regarding either this site or my photography portfolio site.

From: Randy Smith
To: dae@davidadam.com
Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2003 12:15 PM
Subject: Request for linking to us from your resource page.

Good Afternoon:

Please consider adding a link to us on your resources page:

http://www.noise-to-signal.com/

We are Foodservicedirect - a leading online supplier of restaurant supplies including cookware, glassware, bar supplies and paper supplies.

Thanks for your consideration!

Randy Smith
Marketing Services
Foodservicedirect.com
27 Forest Ave.
Locust Valley, NY 11560
Telephone: 516-759-9000
email: randy@foodservicedirect.com
url: http://no.i'm.not.going.to.link.to.you.com

They've clearly harvested a bunch of e-mails and sites and haven't bothered to target it in the least -- semi-personalized spam asking me to give them free advertising.

Which probably sounds good to a testosterone-drunk marketeer, but makes me think they're just an idiot.

Does anyone else get these asinine e-mails?

The hostas are giving up the ghost

It must really be fall now.

Some mornings...

... it's more Orwellian here than others.