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Sunday Roast: how do you know penguins DON’T speculate about nuclear physics?

June 4th, 2006
Cas

Due to the fact I didn’t Roast anything last week, today it is going to have stuff from the past couple of weeks. Do I care if this makes me look slow off the mark? No. I don’t care. So there :P
Enough with the sillyness - on with the show:

I’m starting to get a bit bored with my theme at the moment. It’s definitely time I upgraded both my WP and K2 to the latest (I’m still running WP 1.5 *blush*) - one of the things that has been bugging me is how my archives are handled. Archives are part of what makes blogging a joy, but it’s currently a hassle to browse through them. Then, of course, the beautiful Kristin steps in with her archives page template and all my troubles are sorted (or will be when I get around to that upgrade).

As if the madness wasn’t enough, they’re talking of making the prequel to Da Vinci Code. *Beats head against desk* Of all the wonderful books out there to make into movies, they choose Angels and Demons. I’d like to rant about how bad the first film was, but I haven’t seen it yet, so I can’t. Just take all the things I’ve said previously about how Dan Brown couldn’t write his way out of a paper bag, and take it as read I think the film is/is going to be just as bad. And that I don’t think Angels and Demons is any better.

Ever been a bit befuddled about where to start with all this CSS stuff? Scrivs to the rescue! He has a great resource on learning CSS.

I had something pithy to say about this BBC article about the semantic web, but I can’t remember what it was. I am mildly bemused at their choice of picture to illustrate the article (a beach?!) but then BBC Online can always be relied upon to have some truly bizarre image choices. I’ve got a feeling I was going to go off on a rant about the semantic web, but as I have the memory retention of a brain injured goldfish, you’re saved. That, and I can’t really bad mouth the work of Dr Hall and the other Southampton chaps. Home department and all that :D
Let me get one thing straight - I do NOT watch Big Brother. I never have, and heaven forfend, I never will. At the same time, it can make conversation in the office a bit dull:
The Boss: “Did you watch BB last night?”
Me: “No”
The Boss: “Oh…”
*Silence descends on the office*
So it’s lucky that the BBC can be relied upon to have at least one article a day on the show. My favourite bit of news so far was when one of the contestants quit because he didn’t want the fame. You do have to ask yourself why he went in the house in the first place…

I do so love it when someone else does a rant for me. Saves me the effort of having to write it. Christian Montoya is remarkably eloquent on some of the more annoying things webdesigners inflict on us.

I had a crack at why Wikipedia bugs me recently. This article on Digital Maoism does a much better job.

I was never a big boy-band fan: if you’d told me that Take That were coming to my school, I’d probably have said I had band practice that lunchtime or something. If it had been Jason Donovon on the other hand… *swoon* Anyway, just because they didn’t float my boat, doesn’t mean that some people won’t be very happy at the news East 17 are to reunite for a comeback gig.

Apparently, the U.S. Justice Department wants companies to keep web usage records. My spidy-senses are all a tingle over this one. It’s just very hard to get the idea of 1984 out of my head.

Another rant I don’t have to write: hideous mistakes people make in their sidebar. Remember people, less is more!

It’s nice when a site you’ve been reading for a while gets the appreciation it deserves - Christian Montoya got selected for 9rules as well. I see the caliber of the other sites that have been selected along with Bright Meadow, and I start to get an inferiority complex. Why me?! I’m just not in the same league!

It’s not often a book review will make me want to read a book. I much prefer the ‘walk through the bookshop/library picking books at random’ technique to find me new things to read. Or recommendations from friends. But after this review I find myself wanting to read “American Movie Critics: an anthology from the silents until now”.

And on that note, I am off to see what ingredients I need to make cheesecake. I should be going to the gym, but I don’t want to. I want to make cheesecake.
Au revoir!

Continue the conversation
3 Responses to “Sunday Roast: how do you know penguins DON’T speculate about nuclear physics?”
Joy
June 4th, 2006 at 4:52 pm

I think Angels and Demons is going to be exactly like Da Vinci Code since the style is the same. Da Vinci Code stayed very faithful to the book, but then the book was quick enough.

About the US government and privacy, soon, there will be none. Looks like 1984 style surveillance has started right in front of the public. No more hiding of that fact. Wired has done amazing investigative journalism to nail AT&T. However, Bush is using Terrorism as an excuse to give the intelligence community unparalleled powers. Patriot Act is a prime example of that..

Speaking on 1984 and Big Brother. It’s an interesting concept. I wonder if that’s happening right now with the intelligence community. I guess not because that requires resources that the government doesn’t have. Atleast not until Artificial Intelligence matures to automate investigating for security risks..

Cas
June 4th, 2006 at 9:10 pm

Hi Joy,
Therein, unfortunately, lies my problem - if the film(s) were going to depart from the book, that would be good. I was hoping the film would tighten things up, refresh the dialogue, things like that, but apparently it didn’t. You can be too faithful sometimes.

I think we might have to agree to disagree on this one - I find Dan Brown mind-blowingly bad. I wish I could erase the memory of his books from my brain, but sadly I can’t. You, on the other hand, seem to quite like him. *shrugs* Everyone has different tastes, and it would be a very boring world if that were not the case :)
Certain aspects of the Big Brother state certainly do exist already. The UK is one of the most surveilled places on this planet, for example, with all the CCTV we have around the place. Thing is? Most people like it there. It makes them feel safe, protected against a world that they feel is increasingly more dangerous, but is in fact statistically safer than ever. And already we have a global media that is trying to control what we think and feel, and the information we receive. Some aspects of the modern world certainly have very, very scary implications. But that people are aware of these implications and fighting them is a good sign. Shows we’re not going gentle into that good night.

(And oooh look, I can get poetry references into my comments now. I must be good and worthy of 9rules after all!)

Joy
June 4th, 2006 at 11:18 pm

to each, his/her own. you are right about people have different tastes in things. makes for diversity and lively conversation ;).

about BB in the UK, I’ve seen the surveillance system on the roads. It does seem to give people a sense of security as long as they can trust the controlling system or government. I can see such technology being used in countries like China and Iran for controlling their masses. As for privacy, I’m sad to think negatively but we are fighting a losing battle. I predict that in another few generations, personal privacy will be a luxury for few, if that. I really do see us heading to an Orwellian world. But that doesn’t mean, I will stop protesting the gross attempts to undermine our freedoms. It just means at some point, we have to accept reality and adapt..

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