July 2013

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) Some real American history 
Neuro-scientists able to create false memories in mice.
Game over for Zynga? Firm loses 25 percent of daily active users in one quarter 
 Doctor Who actor warns against using social media. It makes you into a phony he says.

Det News critic: Bob Dylan's voice is shot, performances lackluster.  I found this out back in '07 myself. 

"Smart guns" not selling: Who wants one that can be hacked, won't work if the battery is dead, or that can be remotely tracked. disabled? 
More collateral damage from the drug war: Local idiot blows up his house trying to make hash oil via the butane extraction method.
Nate Silver leaving NYT for ESPN: Called Times style political reporting "useless". 
Pentagon discovers that buying weaponry from your enemies is a bad idea, even if it's cheaper.   
Book review: This Town dissects the ecosystem of America's gilded capitol city and its haughty in-crowd
Goodyear to replace its blimps with zeppelins 

 

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Is Bob Dylan a racist because he blows off photo op with Obama?: Bob Dylan is not part of the celebrity cult of Obama worshippers . Good for Bob. Dylan publicly endorsed BO for pres in '08 but still to Dylan, even with that having your picture taken with the pres, whoever that may happen to be, is just gauche. And so good for Bob. But celebrity "garbologist" and stalker A.J. Weberman concludes that this is caused by Bob Dylan being an anti-black racist. I call BS. Dylan has a daughter who is half black and he has been singing about race relations since the early 1960's. Weberman is full of shit about Dylan being a racist. And as for Weberman's "garbology" fame, need I point out that anthropologists have been picking through ancient middens  for many years now and the practice didn't originate with him.

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Ann Arbor city council is shocked to discover that providing a supportive and compassionate environment for homeless street people causes more homeless street people to come to Ann Arbor. Shocking, eh?


The Great Recession is over economists say. Whatever. There is a huge difference between the definition of recession used by economists and the reality of daily life however.

"Detroit Election Commission's rejection of marijuana [ballot] measure defies even stoner logic" - Curt Guyette @ Metro-Times

Bob Dylan is performing in Ann Arbor, East Lansing and Kalamazoo next month. How cool is that? Very, if you like his oeuvre, which I do.

"The sole purpose of Bill Maher’s HBO program Real Time is, it seems, to disappoint viewers by proving that the actors, musicians, and comedians they respect hold exceptionally dumb political views." Michael C. Moynihan @ Reason.com. True enough. But that's pretty much the case of all  celebrity comments and opinions on economics, politics,  and other serious topics IMO. And it's the principle reason I don't give a flying fook about what they think about anything as well. Some, like say Bono, Jerry Lewis and a few others, have made the effort to educate themselves about specific issues. But very, very few others do and that is why their opinions are worthless.

Cui bono? The California Beer & Beveridge Association is heavily funding efforts to defeat a ballot proposal to legalize possession & use of marijuana. That shouldn't really come as a surprise.

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Some thoughts on healthful drinking from Mark Sisson: Go with the red wine or whiskies and forget about the clear liquors, beer, and the rest. Be moderate about it too.

The NYT's review of Sean Wilentz’s book Bob Dylan in America

Democracy as Spectacle: The Messianic Compulsions of our Republic
Some thoughts on American political culture.

Diversity is not our strength no matter what elites tell us.

"How Websites Make You Spill Your Secrets" - MIT's Technology Review


Mexico wary of California proposal to legalize marijuana - Washington Post
I'll bet. There is a lot of money involved here.

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Detroit #3 in the US in bed bug infestation

The list was compiled by the Terminex corporation. Not sure what their methodology was. NYC, Philly were 1 & 2 according to the Terminex study.

I guess the record companies thinks we'll buy anything by Bob Dylan

No matter what the quality. Demo recordings from the early 60's, mono tracks and other such bottom of the barrel scrapings will be up for sale in two months.

"Merchant of Death" wannabe busted (again) for playing with guns & parole violations

Now Effraim Diveroli was in fact set up like a bowling pin by ATF agents, but even so, he fell for it. What a dope. Good riddance.

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Bob Dylan is a pretty good painter as well as a poet and musician. Rolling Stone has 13 of his paintings on display here. The theme is Brazil and they are quite good too, IMHO.

Why networks defeat hierarchies - Kevin Carson @ The Center for a Stateless Society

"So if you wonder why the MBAs at corporate seem to be literally unaware of any alternative to the Nardelli/Fiorina/'Chainsaw Al' model of downsizing everybody and giving themselves a bonus, the answer is: they probably are. Their own power has made them stupid."