Kill Ugly Radio | Frank Zappa & Elsewhere
Frank Zappa news, weird links, lumpy gravy. Wanna bun?
Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity.
“The use of the word ‘annoy’ is particularly problematic,” says Marv Johnson, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. “What’s annoying to one person may not be annoying to someone else.”
I’m sure internet trolls around the world are shaking with fear.
…or at least a bit heavier:
Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that allows anyone to contribute articles, is tightening its rules for submitting entries following the disclosure that it ran a piece falsely implicating a man in the Kennedy assassinations. Wikipedia will now require users to register before they can create articles, Jimmy Wales, founder of the St. Petersburg, Florida-based website, said Monday.
I just loved the way it worked – almost without (outer) control. Is it the end of the freedom of Wikipedia?
Ooooooh! Blue is my new favorite color.
It’s turning out to be a sad week for rock ‘n roll: Chris Whitley has died of lung cancer at age 45. Having seen him live a couple of times, Whitley’s feverous onstage energy never failed to amaze me — not to mention his unique way of playing the guitar. Some mp3’s are available to download here.
Back in August KUR reported how Michael Brecker had been diagnosed with MDS. Now it seems the initial search for a donor, including Michael’s siblings and children, has not resulted in a suitable match. In a remarkable effort, M-Audio is offering to pay for the testing of as many people as possible at any National Marrow Donor Program center. Let’s hope this gets a big response.
So you know about this bird flu pandemic that we’re all preparing for, right? Turns out Donald Rumsfeld is a major stockholder in the company that patented the antiviral agent Tamiflu. Following Bush’s call to begin bird flu preparations, over $8 billion in emergency funding has been passed by the US Senate. Who benefits? Take a guess. The mind boggles.
Have you heard the news that’s goin’ round here
The man in charge has got to go
Cause he dances round the problem – boy
And the problem is the man in charge you know
Prophetic words from J.J. Cale, wouldn’t you agree?
Quite the unbelievable story this: man discovers he’s black at age 26:
When the baby born to two white parents came out black, the secret became a lie. Throughout his childhood, David Myers was told that his skin color was a disease called melanism. He was lucky, his mother said, because the skin discoloration was all over his body, instead of just splotches of brown like most people had.
I’m having a hard time deciding which one of these I find the most irritating: Bush or Bono?
British comedy legend Ronnie Barker has died aged 76. As a kid, “The Two Ronnies“ was one of my favorite shows. RIP, Ronnie.
And thus the shit hits the fan. I’m one happy space cadet for having bought a regular iPod instead of the nano — although to be fair, there already is one tiny scratch on my screen… :(
Yesterday it was a day of Critical Mass here in Budapest. This town was not really (=really not) designed for bicycle use, so the organisers wished to show the existence of this mass – the ones who want to ride a bicycle. Violá: more than 20.000 (!!!) people came! Okay, you won’t be able to read this article, but clicking on a picture you’ll be able to see it!
The name “Critical Mass” comes from a documentary called Return of the Scorcher made by Ted White in 1992. In a scene George Bliss is examining a typical chinese situation, where some people riding the bicycle just can’t cross the road because of the heavy traffic. While waiting more and more bicyclist come and when they reach a “critical” number they can finally cross safely – together.
The Google Maps page is updated: if you search for “New Orleans”, you’ll find a new category called “Katrina” – a “before and after” experience with one click. An empty town – just unbelieveable.
Some more pictures at Digital Globe.