This Chosun Ilbo report describes how Korea is in a hurry “to turn what sounds like science fiction into everyday life.” To me, as someone who knows SF pretty well, this is a little bit of a scary proposition, especially considering other elements of Korean culture. For one thing, Korean netizens came out shockingly in favour of censorship during the blog ban a few summers ago, despite the fact that censorship violates a civil right that people only a generation before were fighting to wrest from the country’s dictators; personal security doesn’t seem to have been enough of a concern …
Month: April 2006
For You Fellow Aspirants
You may not see anything new here but it’s worth looking at Robert Sawyer’s Letter to Beginning Writers just the same.
Hi-Octane Vegetarian Lifestyle
Another link from Boing Boing, this time about increased biofuel efficiency in vegetarians and vegans. But I hardly eat meat, and it’s not helping me much…
Why Sing We?
Music gives biologists fits. Its ubiquity in human cultures, and strong evidence that the brain comes preloaded with musical circuits, suggest that music is as much a product of human evolution as, say, thumbs. But that raises the question of what music is for. Back in 1871, Darwin speculated that human music, like bird songs, attracts mates. Or, as he put it, prelinguistic human ancestors tried “to charm each other with musical notes and rhythm.” But more recent work by scientists suggests that music might have played a much different role than this — bonding groups of early humans together …
Viruses and Your Passport
A warning from the Netherlands about how using RFID in passports may just be a bad idea at this point.
A Violently Executed Blog
Adam is right. George Will needs to shut the f*ck up instead of trying to convince us global warming is good. Adam rants: People that are able to tell their asses from hot rocks have no difficulty understanding that climate data collection and analysis has improved over the last several decades, and that all of the data we are seeing indicates that things are going to get hotter, faster – and soon. Mosquitos that carry malaria and dengue fever are spreading northward, polar bears are losing habitat, glaciers all over the world are getting smaller, and some pencil-necked twit thinks …
Cockroaches Cooperate?
Apparently so. Via Weird is Relative, I think.
You Gotta Give Respect To This Outfit
Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I mean, someone has to fight these ID-fantasists.
Urville, France and Other Imagined Places
Apparently I missed out on the attention that was lavished upon this film about am autistic artist who has created an imaginary city in France. (That link is to a video page. I’m partly posting it so I get a chance to see it on my other PC; it’s not loading well on the laptop so I’ll try at the office.) I found the link on Maureen McHugh’s blog, but apparently boingboing also had a post about it. It triggered for Maureen a post on worldbuilding, which is interesting. I haven’t actually gone on a binge of mapping and worldbuilding …
Zohar Studios
Stephen Berkman is a very weird man. But, you know, in a cool way. Wacky camera obscura/photographic oddity. My friend Jack would probably love some of this, though you’d never know it from his pictures. Via Boing Boing.