Echoes of Kren

Several of Kurt Kren's films - including 31/75:Asyl and 37/78: Tree Again - consist of landscapes time-exposed over a long period, capturing the passage of seasons and collapsing it into the space of a few minutes. They're among my favorite movies. So much so that my own first efforts in 16mm amounted to little more than tweaked recreations. Anyway, this flash video by a Swedish blogger rather reminded me of Kren. Granted, it's a bit antiseptic, as opposed to Kren's aggressively raw formalism. But that's kind of video vs. film there, isn't it?

Link via Boing Boing.

Ode to the Leap Second

Despite our best efforts to tame it, the universe - or at least our tiny sliver thereof - remains as stubbornly intractable as ever. The proof? Later tonight, as we move from 2005 to 2006, every atomic clock will add a leap second, a kind of high-tech fudge ensuring correspondence to the actual rotation of the earth. In honor of the leap second, Create Digital Music is sponsoring a commemorative, collaborative composition. Everyone's invited to send them one second of sound. They'll assemble the lot and post the tune. But hurry! Contributions are due by 24:00 January 1, 2006. You can listen to mine here.

Mr. Greenspan's Comical Reserve

So, since Greenspan, everyone's heard of the Federal Reserve.  Whether or not they're clear what our national bankers are up to.  Luckily, the Fed's established a crash course in economic theory in comic book form, and you can order up to 35 copies of each, free of charge.  Since the 1950s,
the government has used "everyday language and lively illustrations to
describe the major functions of the Federal Reserve and the role played
by each of the various components of the Fed."  From The Story of Money (pictured) to Once Upon a Dime (explaining market exchanges) to Too Much, Too Little (accounting for business cycles), they're both more absurd and more sophisticated than one would imagine. 

But no big surprise.  Hell, Uncle Sam loves comic books.  The CIA bankrolled a doozy after the Granada exercise.  China had the "Little Red Book," and we've got the Fed's funnies.  Your call which is more honest.  I guess those with an especially grim sense of humor might prefer Mao. 

Anyway, I've got the lot of the comics, and can attest to their intellectual interest.  Aesthetically, they leave a little something to be desired.  But if your kid - or your class - needs a nutshell introduction to economics, the Fed's got you covered: supply & demand, interest, inflation, &c. all get a careful, common sense explanation. 

The catalog is here.

Four of a Kind: Carrie's Version

Four jobs I've had: statistic collector for Greater Detroit Bowling Association, security guard, microchip washer, commerical performer.

Four movies I could watch over and over: Rear Window, Mulholland Drive, Love & Basketball, Wild Style.

Four places I've lived: Orlando, FL, Fairfax, VA, Carlisle, PA, Austin, TX.

Four TV shows I love to watch: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Six Feet Under, The A Team.

Four places I've been on vacation: Solferino, Manzanita, Wall Drug, Tumwater.

Four websites you visit daily: Google, The Superficial, MySpace, Coast to Coast.

Four of my favorite foods: peas & cheese, chocolate, manicotti, salad.

Four places I'd rather be: a place with sun, less rain, above 70 degrees, or Paris.

Game of four via Kyle Gann.

Four of a Kind: Brian's Version

Four jobs I've had: Hebrew school teacher's aide, projectionist, library assistant, law clerk.

Four movies I could watch over and over: Mr. Hayashi by Bruce Baillie, The End by Christopher Maclaine, Centuries of June by Joseph Cornell, Les Yeux Sans Visage by George Franju.

Four places I've lived: San Francisco, CA, Brooklyn, NY, Lexington, VA, Olympia, WA

Four TV shows I love to watch: Look Around You, The Twilight Zone, TVW, Iron Chef.

Four places I've been on vacation: Dubrovnik, Yang Shuo, Calgary, the Bronx.

Four websites I visit daily: Gizmodo, The Volokh Conspiracy, Agoraphilia, Chase Me Ladies, I'm in the Cavalry.

Four of my favorite foods: Sen-Sen, Marmite, Tomato Pickles, Bit-o-Honey.

Four places I'd rather be: King Solomon's Reef, Carrie's studio, Coney Island, the Camera Obscura.

Game of four via Kyle Gann.

Listen, Netizen!

I've long been a fan of Pittsburgh's "late, lamented" Orgone Cinema, piloted by Greg Pierce, Alisa Dix, and Michael Johnson.  And I'm at least a qualified fan of its namesake, quasi-"scientist" Wilhelm Reich, who specialized in the concentration of "orgone energy."  Or rather, I like WR: Mysteries of the Organism, Dusan Makavejev's wacky riff on Reich's standoff with a still rather prudish Cold War-era American legal system.  So I was quite pleasantly surprised to come across this website, which offers simple plans for "Radionic, Psionic, and Orgone machines" from parts you can buy at Radio Shack.  What a deal!  Apparently, they're "like psychic energy amplifiers," which can "make virtually any dream come true, just turn the dial and go!"  So why not "defy modern day science" on a bargain budget?  Here you see an "orgone accumulator,"  for concentrating orgone energy in your food.  Don't recall about the apple, but the shiraz was certainly saturated with the stuff.  Anyway, if you're more interested in the current whereabouts of the Orgone Cinema crowd, check out this NPR story on home movie day, featuring Greg, among many others.

Bobblehead, C.J., dissenting: Basically a Rational Market After All

For the last four years, the Green Bag ("An Entertaining Journal of Law") has given its subscribers a bobblehead doll representing a Justice of the United States Supreme Court, starting with former Chief Justice Rehnquist, followed by Justices Stevens, O'Connor, and Scalia, in descending order of seniority.  A subscription to the Green Bag goes for $35, an amazing bargain for a publication of such stellar quality.  But the price the bobblehead dolls fetch on eBay makes the subscription price appear even more of a sweetheart deal.  Rehnquist dolls have recently gone for upwards of $2000!  In a recent letter to the Bag, Ira Brad Matetsky suggests that this discrepancy serves to discredit the "efficient market hypothesis" that the Supreme Court relied on in Basic, Inc. v. Levinson.  Now, I certainly take issue with Basic myself, and with its use of the efficient market hypothesis.  But I still think Matetsky gets it wrong.  I could try to explain why myself.  But it's probably wiser to let a real economist do the explaining in my stead.  Luckily, Alex Tabarrok of Marginal Revolution and Tim Harford of Slate recently did just that.  Harford asked, why did Microsoft kept the price of the Xbox at $300 when it was selling on eBay for much more, appearing to "leave money on the table"?  The answer, in a nutshell, is that the demand curve has a very long tail.  Only a very small number of people are willing to pay the exceptionally high price.  Or as Tabarrok puts it, "Raising prices [of a Green Bag subscription] even a little would reduce the quantity demanded a lot and would generate only marginally more revenue."  Link via How Appealing.

UPDATE: Mr. Matetsky corrects my characterization of his letter in the comments.  But I don't think it changes the answer all that much.  The people willing to pay a lot of money for a bobblehead arguably do represent an inefficiency, just a vanishingly small one.

Ode de Fromage

As you may have gathered, I admire both artists and entrepreneurs.  Unfortunately, cross-pollination is minimal.  And when it does occur, the product is often quite dreadful.  I guess the "dismal science" spawns the dismal aesthetics.  Anyway, among the more hopeless examples of the poets of commercialism is James McIntyre, the cheese poet of Ingersoll, Canada.  Essentially, he's the Adam Smith of poetry,  a Scotch-Canadian who extolled the virtues of enterprise, and even wrote a poem about comparative advantage!  Ricardo would be both flattered and appalled.  He's got a fan club (of sorts), and a contest even.  The geographic limitations of which are truly unfortunate.  I'm sorely tempted to write an entry myself.  But instead, I leave you with McIntyre's reflections on market response to surplus commodities:

Hints to Cheese Makers

Addressed to Jonathan Wingle, Esq.

All those who quality do prize
Must study color, taste and size
And keep their dishes clean and sweet,
And all things round their factories neat,
For dairymen insist that these
Are all important points in cheese.

Grant has here a famous work
Devoted to the cause of pork.
For dairymen find that it doth pay
To fatten pigs upon the whey,
For there is money raising grease
As well as in the making cheese.

James McIntyre

Link via Harry Hutton.

You Have to Be Very Careful...

The 21st Century version of the time capsule is personal, automatic, and doesn't require a shovel.  "Deposit" a message at FutureMe, and they'll send it to you on the day you specify, up to 30 years in the future.  The 30 year limit is a bit of a mystery, as a "virtual time capsule" robust enough to last that long is likely to make it even longer.  Still, it tempers their otherwise boundless optimism with a note of humility.  Which I rather like.  Anyway, I found writing a message more difficult than I'd expected.  The possibility of actually seeing it again - however slim - lends uncomfortable gravity to an otherwise pleasant diversion.  Which I take to be part of the premise.  You can also browse (anonymized) notes from others, which present varying degrees of vulgarity ("I hope you do not wear sweat suits like your mom and let your hair look all shitty."); banality ("I used to think I knew myself."); and inscrutability ("don't eat any bananas on the 4th of october.").  Most are quite dull, but the dross is leavened with a few gems.  And a touch of ingenuity.  Nothing says you can't use the system for reminders of imminent responsibilities.  And, as my brother can attest, FutureBrian can certainly use a reminder of birthdays, &c.  Link via GeekPress.

Whisky & Bitters

Anyone interested in the Early American Republic will enjoy Richard D. Fuerle's Rebellion!, a musical-theater account of the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion.  As I understand it, the rebellion sprung out of the federal government's attempts to generate revenue through its new powers of taxation.  In an attempt at equity among the states, it looked to tax articles of general consumption, eventually settling on whisky, the consumption of which was about as general as one can get.  Not to mention rather excessive, as best I can gather. 

However, the tax fell exceptionally heavily on whisky producers in western Pennsylvania, who had few other options for transporting their produce to market.  Rather than transport bulky commodities at prohibitive expense, they transformed them into whisky.  Aggrieved, and still fresh from revolution, they disputed the taxes in the same terms.  Arguably, they had a case, although they got a smackdown from the Supreme Court in 1796, when it upheld the constitutionality of a tax on carriages as an indirect rather than a direct tax. 

In any case, the Pennsylvanians rose up in arms, then got put down by the federal militia, led by Washington &c.  A sad day for tax protest, from which I suspect it's never fully recovered.  It's a long way down from appalled revolutionaries challenging taxes on constitutional principle, to crackpots looking for an excuse not to file.  But G-d bless 'em anyway, even good old Mr. Cheek! 

Incidentally, I find the song entitled Capitalism particularly amusing.  For the title alone, if nothing else.  Though "Mercantilism" would have been a touch more apt, given that it was the Federalist Era.  If a touch more cynical, too.

Link via Alina Stefanescu of Totalitarianism Today, who also provides an exceptionally thoughtful and perceptive review of Walk of the Line.

Is He Is Or Is He Ain't?

David Adesnik of OxBlog recounts an amusing episode, in which a guess as to his party affiliation was premised on his decision to wear a bowtie.  Adesnik's inquisitor proposed that the class of bowtied individuals is populated entirely by Republicans, and asked him to falsify that premise by naming a Democratic bowtie aficionado.  Adesnik's devastating response: the inimitable Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam.  While I'm unsure of Farrakhan's Democratic bonafides, he's certainly no Republican.  In passing, I can't resist mentioning Farrakhan's pre-crackpot career as a calypso singer.  My personal favorite is his rendition of the deliciously Lola-esque Is She Is Or Is She Ain't?, one more timeless ode to the successful transvestite.  Incidentally, my "African name" appears to be Zaghawa.  What's yours?

UPDATE!: As both a commentator and Adesnik note, former Illinois Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Paul Simon also wore a bow tie.  How groovy is that?

MapQuest for Masters of the Universe

The internet toy for today is notably useful.  Map of the Market provides a visual representation of the stock market.  Instructions for use are here, but really, it's pretty self-explanatory.  And seems remarkably useful, at least insofar as it makes it easier to get your head around the market as a whole...  Apparently, Bedersen and Shneiderman of the University of Maryland developed the map.  Link via we-make-money-not-art.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005: Mr. Johnson's Tender Revue

Despite feeling a bit under the weather, Carrie was intent on seeing her friend Melanie Valera of Tender Forever (pictured) perform at Arthouse Designs. Unfortunately, she usually plays weekend shows, and Carrie has to work.  I'm rather a fan of Melanie's myself, as I mentioned earlier, and very pleased we made it.  Especially because this was her "record release party."  Or at least a simulacrum thereof, as she was selling copies on the road.

Apparently, a couple of the original opening acts either couldn't make it, or couldn't perform.  So instead, Andy McCloud put on a puppet show, entitled Pinochle & Pistachio, which featured a series of popsicle-stick puppets singing silly songs.  I found it very amusing, especially the green drunk with a long red nose.

It was a bit too dark to get a good shot during the show proper.  But here's Andy putting away the puppets after the program...

...and here's a better picture of him.

Someone kindly provided homemade cupcakes for the audience, which Carrie proclaimed "excellent."  After polishing off two.  Here's Warren, enjoying a cupcake of his own.  The expression on his face surely reflects the quality of the confection he's enjoying.

Nicholas Taplin was also at the show, taking pictures as usual.  His camera's a lot better than mine (no great feat, really), a fact driven home to me by the fact that he could take pictures without a flash when I couldn't get a thing.  The time for an upgrade is nigh.

Calvin Johnson, the owner of K Records, opened for Melanie.  They'd just come back from a US tour, her first experience of fly-over America, and Calvin recounted several episodes from their adventures while gently strumming his guitar.  He was quite funny in a low-key way.  I've been K Records and Calvin Johnson fan for over a decade now, but haven't seen him perform for ages.  I think the last time was with the Halo Benders at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco.  Probably 10 years ago.  So it was a real treat to see him perform. 

In addition to the stories, he also played several songs.  Including a Dusty Springfield cover, Just a Little Lovin'.  You can see a Vidster video of another song here.

Melanie was also excellent, albeit in a rather more animated way.  The "band" Tender Forever consists (essentially) of just her.  And the instumentation is nearly as limited: a keyboard or guitar accompanied by a CD, with Melanie singing.  Often, it's just the CD, sort of Karaoke-style.  Rather like Momus, actually.  In any case, she really gets into the performance, dancing around the room right along with her audience, bouncing about like a superball.  Calvin noted that in North Carolina she'd managed to stage-dive without a stage, a notable feat indeed.  Although she's small enough to make it at least feasible.  She too told quite a few stories, in a thick, but quite comprehensible French accent.  I knew many of the songs, as I'd gotten them from her website.  But after the program I got her debut LP, silkscreen cover designed by Carrie's friend Jean (as with the CD).  I shot some video of Melanie as well, but the (only) unfortunate consequence of her vigorous dancing was that she was rarely directly in the lights.  And the Vidster don't like ambient lighting.  So the visuals are a bit on the minimal side.  Still, there's a short video available here.  It's unusual in that Melanie's playing the guitar rather than the keyboard, apparently a newfound skill?  I was impressed.

The balloons were in keeping with the festive theme.  So I close with Carrie's photo of her friend Lindsay, sitting rather forlornly on the far side of the room.  No worries.  She was just taking a cupcake break, I think.  In any case, we left a tad early, owing to general fatigue.  So I topped off at home with a listen to the new LP.

Monday, December 12, 2005: Olives & Spectacles

Sunday night Carrie and I had dinner at the Olive Garden.  It's hard to know exactly why, as the experience was every bit as mediocre - ok, vaguely distasteful - as we'd expected.  Everyone there was very nice, but the food has no character whatever.  And the room feels like a tarted up Denny's.  Though, actually, I like Denny's ok.  I guess it's the tarting up part I don't care for.  Anyway, we took it all for a learning lesson.  Should've gone with Ben Moore's.

Next day, it was Ralph's instead, and cooking at home.   Carrie eyed the beeswax cosmetics, which she's quite fond of.  But they seem to price the stuff in troy oz.  A little rich for either of us.

I thought the specs in the rack might make for some interesting visual effects.  They seem to just get in the way.  I guess x1.5 ain't all that strong.

Mixmaster BBC

Filmmakers will be pleased to learn that the BBC has decided to allow (fairly) open use of a selection of news clips from its library.  Apparently, for an unspecified period of time, it is providing a "creative archive license" to all 80 of the clips available here.  In other words:

"You are welcome to download the clips, watch them, and use them to create something unique. This is a pilot and we want to understand your creative needs. We'd like to see your productions and showcase some of the most interesting ones we receive."

The World Cup, Falklands War, Tsunami, &c.: It's all a bit more ... dramatic than I tend to prefer.  But I imagine others will find the subject matter quite appealing.  Should I get around to making a compilation myself, I'll be certain to post it here.  And, of course, I'd be very interested to see anything anyone else makes.

PS At the risk of sounding churlish, it does seem only proper that a publicly-owned (or at least publicly-funded) institution ought to permit its nominal "owners" free use of what it produces.  That's certainly true of the gov't material in the Library of Congress and National Archives.  Though I don't suppose PBS (or the CPB) is quite so generous.

Link via Rick Prelinger, who himself generously provides a vast amount of video material for free download at the Internet Archive.

UPDATE: Apparently, the BBC material is only available to people in the United Kingdom.  Frankly, I'm really disappointed.  Especially because there's a North Korea clip.  And anything featuring the dynamic duo of Kims pere et fils is something I want to see.  Any UK readers willing to send me a copy?  Any UK readers at all?

Hey, It's Playing My Song...

Quirky internet gimmick of the day: the iTunes Signature Maker by Jason Freeman.  Basically, it goes through your iTunes folder, cherry-picks snippets from your most-frequently-played songs, and combines them into a short collage.  You can listen to mine here.  Please feel free to post your own in the comments.  Link via Create Digital Music.

From Little Rascals to Rangoon...

Christmas is approaching, so Carrie's casting about for appropriate presents.  Luckily, she's pretty good at it.  I suspect I'd be well-advised to retain her services in making my own selections.  The key recipient is her nephew Ethan, who we'll be visiting (among others) in Dallas over the Christmas holiday.  Hence, destination toy store.  On the way there, we ran into Justice Sanders's long-time administrative assistant Sylvia Campbell bustling down 5th Avenue on her way to the Washington Center for the Performing Arts.  Her daughter Kiki's a fairy (I think) in the Nutcracker, and was overdue for makeup and pictures.

Anyway, after a bit of poking around, she settled on a couple of things.  I'd say what, but that'd spoil the surprise if Ethan's reading.  I hear he's precocious for one.  Myself, I got some "super-strong" refrigerator magnets made to look like push-pins.

Ok, so fast forward a few days.  Carrie's has a hankering for awhile to visit the Asian market on the westside.  And it's high time for me to pay it a visit.  Carrie was hoping for one of the Japanese sodas with a marble for a stopper.  Too bad they didn't have any.  But I filled a bag with knick-knacks, including sesame oil and ginger candies, &c.

Carrie got some Pocky, as you can see.  (Take the quiz here.  I didn't even qualify as a Pocky-proper, tarred as "Cap-Cap Ice Cream Cookies.").  But hunger compelled a visit to Wendy's.  Which I haven't visited for ages.

My teeth still hurt, so I got a Frosty.  Not bad.  But I like the square hamburgers.  Round bun, square burger.  Ok.  Anyway, we used the drive-thru, which was the best part.  They've got a digital signs and so on now.  Never seen that before.  I made a little movie of the whole experience.  Which the girl at the window thought was pretty funny.

The Cat & Consequences

So, the big purchase for the weekend was a laser pointer from American Science & Surplus.  Wasn't the only thing I bought from them...

...but it was surely what Hooper liked best.  She's fascinated by the little red dot.  And clearly doesn't want to know where it's coming from.  Too much fun.

Carrie says more Vitamin A.  That Hooper can't see past her nose anyhow!

UPDATE FROM CARRIE!: Brian as I recall I never said that hooper could not see past her nose. I recall telling you that as a kid I ate alot of carrots in order to see in the dark. And the only reason I'm eating them now is because some one took away my smokes. It's been an awsome week!
FURTHER UPDATE!:  Of course, doll, I take full responsibility for impugning Hooper's vision.  Or rather, her perceptiveness.  And I do recall your carrot-based anecdote.  Carrots for cigs strikes me as a good trade.  Whatever's lost in cachet you can make up in volume!