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1 July 2002
[comics] The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. II — Mini preview site for Alan Moore and Kev O’Neill’s new comic … ‘The adventurous proceedings immediately follow the explosive events in Volume One. The year is 1898, and there are strange rumblings in the sky. Flashing lights are dancing across the horizon. The Martians are coming?and our Earth will never be quite the same. The legendary Allan Quatermain, the unflappable Mina Harker, the stoic Captain Nemo, the abominable Mr. Hyde, and the grotesque Griffin Hawley once again are needed by the Empire to overcome the direst of odds. Some will live, some will die?all will be remembered.’ [via Barbelith]
[films] TV Picks of the Week — brief reviews of films on TV this week… Bullitt: ‘Steve McQueen’s laconic San Francisco cop, Frank Bullitt, was a role model for many a detective to come, and so cool he makes Clint’s Dirty Harry look hysterical. But McQueen also makes the character believable; a committed man who feels genuine anger at the corrupt politician (Robert Vaughn) he doggedly trails, while embroiled in a realistically shaky relationship with girlfriend Jacqueline Bisset. The celebrated car chase, up and over the hilly Frisco streets, was another first of its kind, much imitated but rarely beaten.’
2 July 2002
[blogs] Barbeblogs — The Barbelith Underground gets it’s own communuity blog site…. ‘We are neither a cult nor a religion. We are a large group of lightly cracked pots, entertaining ourselves by exchanging bundles of electrons.’ [via plasticbag.org]
[tags: Blogs][ permalink][ Comments Off on Barbeblogs – Barbelith Blogs]
[comics] The WEF Shutdown — Warren Ellis is shutting down his long running Forum … ‘Time for change. I’m all done.’
3 July 2002
[tv] Deconstructing Buffy — why academics can’t get enough of Buffy … ‘This is what attracts the intellectuals: the fact that Buffy the Vampire Slayer allows you to choose whether you are going to wallow in mindless, soapy action, or indulge yourself in the luxury of thought. Either way, it is wonderful.’ [via prolific.org]
4 July 2002
[war] Is this World War III? — Dan Hartnung wonders about a name for the current conflict and discusses the origin of the term “World War II”. ‘…when Germany entered Poland on September 2, it was as if the storm had finally come ashore. The next day, Britain and France honored their mutual defense treaty with Poland and declared war. A famous photograph had a newspaper vendor in a sandwich board which read WORLD WAR DECLARED (OFFICIAL) that same day. ‘ [via Follow Me Here]
[politics] Hell hath no fury like Iain’s scorn — Simon Hoggart’s view of Prime Ministers Question Time … ‘The last question went to Ann Winterton, whose MP husband Nicholas has been recently knighted. The speaker called her Lady Winterton. What a strange country this is, in which two months ago a frontbencher can be fired for telling a joke which ends: “In our country Pakis are 10 a penny”, and is now honoured by the title Lady.’
[comics] More Warren Ellis stuff: - Bad Signal: OPi8 Forum — Warren is creating an invitation-only weblog based in a Delphi Forum [wtf?] … ‘if you think blogs are basically just guys talking about how they have no friends, you need to read these. Actual content by people with lives.’
- Amusing Barbelith Thread on the closure of the Warren Ellis Forum … ‘I will not miss the WEF, and I’m sure another haven for the more pretentious sort of fatbeard will emerge in no time.’
5 July 2002
[world] Like Dallas policed by the Taliban — inside Saudi Arabia … ‘[Saudi Arabia] is a country of astonishing contrasts. Riyadh is a hyper-modern city with ancient social customs. It is Dallas, Texas, policed by the Taliban. Women entirely shrouded in black abayas , with even their eyes covered, go shopping at a Harvey Nichols inside a Norman Foster building. Men pour into the mosque under an enormous neon sign advertising Sony, as if they were entering an electrical goods sale rather than a place of worship. McDonald’s is seemingly on every street corner, and yet it closes its doors five times a day for prayers – making Saudi Arabia unique as a country where the most powerful franchise on earth bends its knees in front of an even stronger brand: Allah.’
[comics] The storymaker behind Spider-Man — Tommorrow’s World interview with Stan Lee … [via Haddock]
6 July 2002
[bb3] Meanwhile, in the Big Brother House … Adele – “If you want me to be there when you come out will you tell them?”
Alex – “Look, I’ll tell them there is no problem you being there, but don’t just come down for no reason.. just if you want to…”
Adele – “mmmm…” (smooch)
Alex – “… it’s no problem… but I just don’t want you to come down for…”
Adele – “not at all”
Alex – “… no reason”
Alex – (muffled in Adele’s shoulder) “I can’t believe it… I CAN’T”
Adele – “I just… I had a bad feeling… I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know”
Adele – “Do I look fat?”
7 July 2002
[crime] Shadow of doubt? — Is Barry George innocent of the murder of Jill Dando? … ‘Ever the fantasist, Barry George may now be adapting to his notoriety (two tabloid newspapers have advertised tapes of prison “confessions”), but he should be a footnote in this story. Apart from that invisible speck of explosives residue found on his coat, the police found no evidence that he had possessed guns or ammunition in the past 15 years. He had neither expertise in weapons, nor the resources to modify them. He had no car, no money. There was no forensic evidence found in his flat: remarkably, police found no explosives residue there, even though it was assumed that he’d gone home to change straight after the shooting. The two squads of officers, 50 in all, who surveilled his movements for more than three weeks before his arrest gleaned no evidence to assist their case. Dando’s neighbours, the only two eyewitnesses, failed to pick out George in an identity parade.’
[sex] Whorechalking — Tom and Cal reinvent the London Prostitute Carding Industry … ‘…thanks to the magic of chalk and walls you can now be quickly and easily connected to the seediest side of the sex industry wherever you go! Introducing WHORECHALKING. Prove your manhood today. Go fuck something!’ [Related (kinda): Prostitute Trading Trumps]
8 July 2002
[blogs] Gerard and Dan find each other. From this … ‘I’m saying, you simpleton, that to claim that the RSPCA is wasting its time complaining about the welfare of animals while people are dying all over the world, when your own life is so utterly and comically meaningless, is hypocrisy. Or, more precisely, stupidity.’ To this (in about 17 moves) … ‘Mr Dan, where do you live? If it’s London, I’d love to meet up for a (non-alcoholic) drink. You seem like an interesting fellow.’
[euro] A Goosestep too Far? — commentary on Rik Mayall’s pro-Euro Hitler and a brief look at Nazi / Hitler satire …  ‘There is a long heritage of Nazi satire, some funny, some trenchant, some negligible, some stupid (we salute you, Freddie Starr, particularly for that hilarious touch of putting the Führer in shorts). When John Cleese put an index finger to his upper lip and did his gangly approximation of a goosestep through the lobby of Torquay’s most benighted hotel, it was funny and important, particularly as it came in a context of lampooning one Briton’s cartoonish views of Germans.’
9 July 2002
[euro] They Said What? — Eddie Izzard on the Euro: ‘I’m travelling in Spain where everyone’s using the euro. They haven’t all drowned, everyone’s speaking Spanish, they haven’t become English. they haven’t become Welsh, they haven’t become Afghans.’
[politics] A Political Torpedo — a mad profile of Boris Johnson which suggests he could be a future Tory Leader … ‘In many respects he embodies all that is supposed to be politically unacceptable in a modern prime minister. He’s an outrageous toff and an image consultant’s disaster area. What’s more, he has no man-of-the-people credentials at all. Yet, assuming another election defeat, after the disappointment of a decade of William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith, the Tories may well be in the mood for a wild card. The electorate will eventually tire of the joyless puritanism of the Blair-Brown regime. If the Tories want to play the joker, Boris could be their man.’
[comments] I’ve been playing around with the commenting system on LinkMachineGo so let me know if you have any problems… Also, go checkout the Deconstructing Buffy Comments — very insightful. ‘Faith’s just dirty whore sex. Oz is zen personified. But I can’t stop worshipping Cordelia.’
10 July 2002
[tv] Big Brother, Where Art Thou? — comment on the success of Big Brother 3. More people are watching it but the media frenzy around it has died down … Peter Bazalgette: ‘Big Brother has moved out into populist television. You can’t read the runes after one set of viewing figures but if – and I stress if – we have reached the so-called ‘tipping point’ of the show [Malcolm Gladwell’s description for ‘that moment in an epidemic when a virus reaches critical mass’], we will now start to hear negative remarks from the people who originally lauded it for being a cult revelation.’
[comics] Everything I Need To Know I Learned From The X-Men — the wisdom of X-Fans … ‘When your Dad asks why you need to borrow money telling him its for comics is not a good idea. Not when you’re 24 years old.’
[tags: Comics][ permalink][ Comments Off on Everything I Need To Know I Learned From The X-Men]
11 July 2002
[advert] Wheels Within Wheels — brief commentary on the Mercedes car advert …  ‘…the Mercedes branding of Lucky Star is subtle, verging on imperceptible. Those who watch the trailer and are eager to find out more will unearth not a high-octane thriller, but an invitation to their nearest Mercedes showroom. Whether Mann’s glacé camerawork will then be enough to sustain that interest once they notice the car’s £92,000 price tag is moot. For Mercedes, it is evidently a risk worth taking. The prize, after all, is precious indeed: the neutering of our scepticism when confronted with advertising.’
[questions] You Ask The Questions… Richard Branson … ‘Q: Are you a member of the mile-high club? A: The funniest letter of complaint I ever had was from a Virgin Atlantic passenger who complained that the sinks in the toilets of the new Airbus A340 were too small to fit his wife’s bottom into when they were having sex on board. It included a drawing of a more comfortable sink for future use. As to whether I have ever joined the club. Well… certainly not since Virgin Atlantic started flying 18 years ago, but, having said that, we are not the sort of airline that bangs on the door if a couple have been in there for a few minutes.’
12 July 2002
[comics] Doran Talks Orbiter — Colleen Doran discusses her new graphic novel collaboration with Warren Ellis … ‘To me, being a cartoonist means world-building. We are creating a reality from nothing, and everything matters. People’s costumes matter, their body language matters. The sets matter a great deal – that creates the world, they create the reality for the reader, and it should be complete. I know a lot of artists don’t believe that – they like the art to be very, very simple, and leave the detail up to the mind of the reader, but what about leaving it in the mind of the writer and artist, and allow us to bring you into our world and let the reader visit what we’ve envisioned, a complete vision – something that is three dimensional and totally realized and will take you completely out of yourself.’ [Related: A Distant Soil Website]
15 July 2002
[film] Why Does Everyone Want To Get Into Bed With Him? — profile of Mike Myers … ‘The Austin Powers films do contain some fine things. The opening sequence of the first film, in which Myers, resplendent in frilly collar, jives through a blatantly fake swingin’ London, pursued by crowds of adoring females, is pure delight; and if nothing else, he deserves credit for pulling off the unlikely feat of turning Liz Hurley into a plausible representative of sexual puritanism and female equality. But there is little quality control; Powers picking up a stool sample in mistake for a coffee pot and saying ‘This coffee smells like shit’? gives a new significance to the fact that he listed Some Mothers Do’ Ave’ Em and On the Buses as great British comedies.’
[funny] The Big Book of Sign Language [via Haddock]  ‘Deaf people having sex? Of course not. But they like to talk about it just like anyone else, and the modern lexicon of sign language terminology is exhaustive and more than up to the challenge. Our sign language dictionary concludes with succinct, suitable ways to communicate one’s sexual wishes to a deaf partner.’
[tags: Funny][ permalink][ Comments Off on The Big Book of Sign Language]
16 July 2002
[comics] Dr. Strange — interview with Grant Morrison. Morrison on The Filth: ‘Yeah, well, The Invisibles was filled with sexy, beautiful people, and The Filth is filled with ugly, hopeless people who can’t get sex and all the sex is bad sex. The fashions are ugly, and everything is wrong, but there is a kind of real heart to it, which The Invisibles doesn’t have. The Invisibles is more like Vogue, and I just wanted The Filth filled with flapping comb-overs and hopelessly degraded paunches. I think it’s funny, because it is basically about super spies–but the super spies are garbage men. Everything about it is kind of taking the worst aspects of existence and kind of turning it into super-computer-generated DVD glamour.’ [via Neilalien]
[film] Last Typhoon Cimino Is Back — off-beat profile / interview of movie director Michael Cimino. ‘…the trauma of Heaven’s Gate and its aftermath may not have left Mr. Cimino entirely unchanged. Or so Gore Vidal wondered a while back when he called his former collaborator, for whom he did an uncredited polish on the script for The Sicilian.”Michael,” Mr. Vidal said, “I just read in the newspaper that you had a sex change.” At 62, Mr. Cimino looks like a cross between a cowboy hipster and your great-aunt Bessie.’
17 July 2002
[film] Chronicle of a Death Foretold — Greil Marcus on the Manchurian Candidate, John Frankenheimer and the Kennedy Assasinations … Frankenheimer: ‘I can see Bobby’s face on a big television monitor in the ballroom and I can see his back for real. As I stood there a figure went by me and it was as if there was electricity coming out of his body. I’ve never felt anything like it before or since. Of course it was Sirhan Sirhan.’
[tv] A couple of reports on the current position of the BBC … - Gentle giant? ‘…the corporation is a many-tentacled monster that would be unrecognisable to wireless entrepreneurs of the early 1920s. It has staff numbers that would dwarf many a small city and an annual income of £3.16bn that, if it was a country, would make it a rival of the GDP of Iceland or Mongolia. Plainly the BBC has more global clout than either country. There is no 24-hour rolling news network pumped out from Rekyavik or Ulan Bator. The BBC has more world-class orchestras than either Iceland or Mongolia, and possibly both. Neither has a publicly funded news website that can draw on the journalistic talents of one of the biggest multimedia news-gathering teams in the world. Neither has a film industry that would bear comparison with BBC Films. Neither has Nicky Campbell enjoining people to “join the nation’s conversation” on Radio 5 Live or Anne Robinson debasing that conversation by means of scripted insults on a vile, though extremely popular, game show.’
- Boxing clever: Greg’s debt to John … ‘The air of despair that descended during the dark days of John Birt has been lifted; where once there was discord, Saint Dyke of White City sows harmony. “I remember going to my first meeting of the executive committee and hearing laughter coming out of the door,” cooed the corporation’s new director of television, Jana Bennett, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph last week. “I assumed I was in the wrong place. But when I peeked in, there they all were – and they were actually enjoying themselves.” Over at doom-laden ITV, the only sounds are the scraping of chins dragging along the floor and the occasional splash as another executive jumps ship. At Channel 4 it’s worse: hundreds are waiting to pick up their P45s as Mark Thompson claws back the excesses of recent years.’
[tags: BBC][ permalink][ Comments Off on A Couple of Links on the BBC]
18 July 2002
[comics] Manwithoutfear.com has some great interviews with the creators who have worked on Daredevil notably Bill Sienkiewicz, Ann Nocenti, D.G. Chichester, Scott McDaniel and Kevin Smith … Sienkiewicz on Frank Miller and Elektra: ‘It was like jazz. Frank and I riffed off each other. For example, the character of Garrett in Elektra: Assassin was supposed to be killed at the end of the second issue. When Frank saw what I came up with, he decided Garrett was too good visually to die just yet. Thing is, Frank’s writing really inspired me to play and to take chances, so if he felt he got anything decent from me, it was as a result of getting gold from him. Frank’s keen on letting creative collaborations breathe. That’s part of his brilliance.’
[blogs] As always the conversation around the Guardian’s Great British Blog Competition makes it much more interesting… 
Meta-Blogging: plasticbag.org #1, #2, Blogjam, Inkiboo, Metafilter, Grayblog, not.so.soft, iamcal.com, Wherever You Are, Venusberg, Blogadoon Troubled Diva #1, #2, #3 … plasticbag.org: ‘if you look at the opinions that matter to people, it’s mostly not celebrities or media figures. In many ways, for a large number of people, they’re almost the enemy! They’re relics from the past where for the most part we are kind of the future – the future where everybody is a superhero! Where we all get a slice of the cake, a bite of the cherry. And more importantly, there’s a real feeling that these people most often don’t understand what we’re doing anyway! We’ve seen people like this for years – it’s all PR blurb and airbrushed skin. I don’t think that’s what the weblogging publishing revolution is about! Make them start their own weblogs!’
19 July 2002
[science] Strange Blood — Wired Magazine takes a look at artificial Blood. ‘…we’re in South Africa, where the human immunodeficiency virus has slipped into the veins of at least 4.5 million people. That’s 10 percent of the population. Some estimates put it much higher, at 25, 30, or even 40 percent, and all studies agree that the numbers are climbing, making this country among the hardest hit anywhere. The result, in addition to the obvious misery and death, is a blood shortage of huge proportions. Necessity breeds invention, however, and it can also cut through snares of bureaucracy. As Cappy’s pale, anemic body is wheeled into intensive care, Levien tells the nurses there to “hang a bag of aitchbock.” That’s H-B-O-C, for hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier – the generic term for Hemopure, a therapeutic substance made by Cambridge, Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical firm Biopure and approved for use nowhere in the world except South Africa. This is artificial blood, and it’s clean and pure and fresh from the tap – never touched by human hands or human pathogens. To collect Hemopure for an injured South African, you don’t need donor drives or questionnaires or tourniquets or risk. All you need is a head of cattle.’
[tags: Health][ permalink][ Comments Off on Wired Magazine on Artificial Blood]
20 July 2002
[blogs] Couple more quotes about the Great British Blogs Competition… - Blogjam: ‘…the Internet has turned me slowly from an outgoing, gregarious, popular fellow into a shallow, reclusive computer dweeb with very few remaining friends, and blogjam is the nearest thing to a serious relationship I’ve had in some time. In summary, I think blogjam warrents some recognition for putting up with me. It’s the very least she deserves.’ [via Wherever You Are]
- Blogadoon: ‘I suspect Blogadoon is too strong on cock and spite, too weak on tech and eye-candy to rate well in any kind of mainstream beauty contest.’
21 July 2002
[blogs] One last quote about Great British Blogs, from Life as it Happens: ‘What does Anita Roddick know about blogging? And Alan Rusbridger? Granted, something of this response is the idea of the Outside World peering into the blog golfish bowl (“But you don’t understand!” “You’re not one of us!” “You don’t get it!”) Assuming they are reading as everyday readers, why should they not? On the other hand, those who do not blog on a regular basis may well miss the fine points of the game.’
[wifi] Sunday Doonesbury — Garry Trudeau on wireless networking … ‘Man… Great Hotspot. Why would anyone pay for this stuff?’
22 July 2002
[bb3] In It to Win It — Brian Sewell discusses Tim … ‘Tim, 100 per cent, is a humourless wimp with no sense of fun, no ability to let slip the middle class inhibitions that so undermine his frail sense of security. Not for Tim a knockabout race with supermarket trolleys (his hair might be disarrayed), not for Tim a venture into uncomely drunkenness, not for Tim a romp of any kind, for this is a boy still dominated by the suburban manners of his mother, a boy who in his own esteem has stumbled onto the stage of a farcical pantomine.’
![Hate #14 -- Buddy Bradley Shaving [click to buy at Amazon]](https://i0.wp.com/www.timemachinego.com/linkmachinego/images2/buddy.jpg?resize=162%2C260) [comment] For the Hell of It — Julie Burchill on the Daily Mail. The Mail compared to comics: ‘The secret with the Daily Mail, as with the Sun, is to read it not as a newspaper but as a comic in which someone has forgotten to do the drawings. But whereas the Sun would be Viz, the Daily Mail is a dark, nihilistic number, like Hate or Hell-Blazer.’ More: ‘What is the Daily Hell scared of? How long have you got? On one day last week, you could have chosen from the abortion pill, gay rights police, dogs, white people having black babies, taxes, single mothers, career women, exams, teachers, doctors, taxi drivers, unions, drugs, compensation, Big Brother, HRT, sugar, vitamin pills, foreign beer and girls who go on holiday to Greece and drink too much (though in Daily Hellville half a shandy is probably “too much” for a woman).’
23 July 2002
[bb3] Baying For Blood — Why the press hates Jade and has the tide turned? ‘Jade Goody is poor. She is badly educated and not terribly bright, and so she says remarkably silly things such as “East Angular? That’s abroad. Is there not a place called East Angular abroad?” Her father is in prison, her mother is disabled, and she has admitted to shoplifting when she was younger. She is also of mixed race, which accounts for the distinctive, full features which have seen her lambasted for not being sufficiently “English rose” for the nation’s sensibilities. But – perhaps most importantly – most of the criticism that has been targeted at Jade, explicitly or not, is because she is a woman.’
[comics] Yahoo’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Movie preview page — ‘…I guess what we have to do is cross our fingers, hold our breaths, and hope that the film itself somehow captures some wink of the magic of Moore’s writing. Maybe. Can Stephen Norrington do it? His first film went direct-to-video, his third has yet to be picked up for distribution, which leaves us with Blade. Blade is a bloody, violent romp of a vampire movie, and while I did enjoy it for exactly what it was, I don’t get anything from it that yells to me “this guy would rock as the director of LoEG”.’ [via Cheesedip]
24 July 2002
[bb3] It’s Imperative that I spot any Nudity — behind the scenes at the Press Agency covering Big Brother 3 … ‘Rob Kelly, 21, works for a press agency, Kent News and Pictures. For the last eight weeks, he’s watched Big Brother for 12 hours a day. His eyes must not leave the screen. If he needs the loo, someone stands in. Every three to four minutes, he fills in a log of the housemates’ activity. When his shift finishes at 9am, another “monitor” immediately takes over for the next 12 hours until Kelly resumes his watch at 9pm.’
[comics] Interesting selection of MP3’s from musical collaborations between Alan Moore and Tim Perkins … [via Bugpowder]
25 July 2002
[politics] You Ask The Questions — Ann Widdecombe … ‘Q:Were you pleased with When Louis Met Ann Widdecombe? Why wouldn’t you let Louis into your bedroom? A:I was not unhappy with the final programme. I invited Louis into only those areas of the house where I would invite anyone else. I am entitled to some privacy and I cannot believe the nation is remotely interested in my bedroom or bathroom.’
[comics] Millarworld — Official Mark Millar site lauches along with WEF-alike Forum … ‘As you might expect, the contents inside have something of a bias towards me, but I’m paying for this thing so I like to enjoy that little luxury.’ [via Barbelith]
[tags: Comics][ permalink][ Comments Off on Launch of Mark Millar’s new website]
26 July 2002
[blogs] Swish Cottage rates Great British Blogs … Fine summary of Plep: ‘A staggering array of random links. The Bifurcated Rivets that’s fun to read.’ [via Sashinka]
[comics] After the Snooter — preview of Eddie Campbell’s new autobiographical comic. Includes two sample chapters: Eternity and Running A Publishing House Out of the Front Room … ‘As well as examining his life as an artist in his forties, Campbell looks back on what his childhood self expected of him, and rejuvenates his social life by surrounding himself with a new gang of youthful reprobates. Ongoing collaborator Alan Moore offers an alternative role model, heading his own midlife crisis off at the pass by deciding to worship a sock puppet and dig a cave under his house.’ [via Bugpowder]
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[film] Postive review of Austin Powers in Goldmember … ‘Who else but Myers can deliver this kind of exuberant, ambitious, mainstream screen comedy? Adam Sandler? Chris Rock? They are simply not in his league. In the course of an interview to promote this movie, Michael Caine has again unburdened himself of his view that Britain is a nation of losers and that he is not appreciated here. A baffling view, considering that he has been knighted, honoured and otherwise idolised. But I wonder if his chronic discontent may have been reawakened by this film: the fact that it takes a Canadian working in Hollywood to satirise a British icon so persuasively, so affectionately, and with such mouth-watering box-office results? Isn’t that what we should be doing with our industry?’ [Related: Trailer]
[tags: Movies][ permalink][ Comments Off on Guardian Reviews Austin Powers: Goldmember]
27 July 2002
[web] AOL RIP? — Douglas Rushkoff on AOL / Time Warner’s Problems. ‘…AOL’s purchase of Time/Warner heralded the end of the dot.com bubble. AOL was cashing in its casino chips. And just like the gambler who trades in his colored plastic disks for real cash, AOL’s Steve Case understood that his run was over and that it was time to trade in his stock certificates for those of a company that had genuine assets.’ [via Evhead]
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[comics] Long three-part Newsarama interview with Mark Millar #1, #2, #3 … ‘I know a lot of creators really hate the Internet because it’s an unedited forum where readers can tell you what they’re really thinking and share this view with hundreds of thousands of people. They’re also down on it because the ‘net provides spontaneous response and people say the kind of things they might reconsider if they were to put it all in a letter and mail it. However, I think the Internet has become the lifeblood of the industry and it’s at the absolute heart of the recovery we’re experiencing at the moment.’
28 July 2002
[booze] The Puzzling Red Wine Headache [login as: linkmachinego/linkmachinego] — this link is for Vaughan … ‘It may be caused by “compounds found in the skins of grapes and they are either naturally occurring or produced through fermentation,” Dr. Freitag said. He would postulate no further. “It’s not as if there are hundreds of thousands of dollars for funding” studies to determine the cause, Dr. Freitag said. There is actually a stigma to studying the subject. “I’ve entertained the idea of looking for grants to study this and I’ve been told, `Don’t go there, it’s bad P.R.,’ ” Dr. Freitag said.’ [via Follow Me Here]
29 July 2002
[tv] Enough of Big Bruv – for now — comment from Barbara Ellen … Even though I’ve been disenchanted for several weeks, there I was on Thursday, watching again as moody model Alex issued a quasi-Shakespearean speech from the bottom of the Big Brother staircase. Priceless. It was all about his regrets: Regretting coming in, regretting staying in, regretting everything. A broken man apologising to himself and the nation, a bit like Hamlet with designer face fuzz and hair gel. Watching him, swaying about in self-pitying grandeur, you couldn’t help but think: Excuse me, you have regrets? How do you think I feel? How do you think any viewers feel?’ [Related: Big Bro 3 – The Last Night]
[911] Reach for the Sky — Salman Rushdie on 911 and what should happen on the site of the WTC … ‘At Ground Zero that November day, the hollow air seemed to gather and shape itself into those huge lost forms and soar upwards towards the memory of billowing fire. “That was where it happened,” I kept reminding myself, “not down here, but up there.” I tried to identify cubes of empty space “up there” that might correspond to the exact locations of the twin crimes, wanting, a little crazily, to repossess those spaces by the pure force of seeing. An aeroplane passed overhead and made me wince.’
30 July 2002
[comics] Notes on League of Extraordinary Gentlemen v2 #1 — annotations to Alan Moore’s latest comic … ‘Gulliver Jones is greeting John Carter. Carter, as mentioned, was created by Edgar Rice Burroughs and debuted in ?Under the Moons of Mars? in 1912. Carter was a Virginian (note his manner of speaking here) and a Civil War Veteran who was transported to Mars in 1866 through a zeta beam. (Well, okay, through astral projection.)’ [via Usenet]
[books] Fundamentally Unsound — Salon takes a look at Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye’s Left Behind series … ‘Left Behind cloaks itself in the conventions of ordinary airport thrillers, but it does far more than just provide a Christian alternative to decadent mainstream entertainment. It creates a Christian theory of everything, one that slates current events into a master narrative in which the world is destroyed and then remade to evangelical specifications. It’s an alternate universe in which conservative Middle Americans are vindicated against everyone who doesn’t share their beliefs — especially liberals and Jews.’ [via Follow Me Here]
31 July 2002
[comics] A couple of Hate Cover Wallpapers I’ve been working on … [thanks to Team DOLnet for the scanner and Photoshop tips]
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