search
Here, Mark Levinson (left) speaks about love. I'm digging it; Home Theater's convergence editor, Chris Chiarella (center) takes notes.
Admiring the fluttering hand.
Those enormous, many-drivered speakers did an incredible job of "disappearing." Behind them, you see a few very special instruments and some of the softest, warmest light.
Here, I'm holding a prototype of the Daniel Hertz-designed "Genius," an integrated amplifier-D/A converter, to be used with the Burwen Bobcat. The Genius should be available in about 60 days, and will…
Hilarious rant by anthropologist Roger Sandall over Lynn Truss' Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of Everyday Life. I have to confess I haven't read TTTH, not least because I didn't enjoy her hectoring Eats Shoots and Leaves. Geeze, if you're going to write a book about the failure of everybody to observe proper grammar, wouldn't you want it to be copyedited to a fair thee well? Ms. Truss didn't proof her proofer—and all I could think as she wagged her finger was that she should have washed it first.
So what got Sandall's dander up? Was it the utter bloody rudeness of accusing…
Ampulex compressa is a wasp that uses its stinger to temporarily paralyze and then hot-wire a cockroach so that the wasp can "drive" the larger critter home, where it can lay its egg on the roach host and seal it into a nursery. When the egg hatches, the larva chews its way into the host, where it feeds itself and then spins a cocoon.
Carl Zimmer writes about how complex all of this really is.
Frankly, I think this site has more Ronald Reagan than it needs, but it does have Richard Nixon's farewell address (man, I never get tired of that one) and a ton of other winners—in both text and MP3. Obviously slanted towards stuff they have audio files for, but a goldmine for those of us who appreciate good oratory.
Stephen Brown argues that Sid Vicious and Mozart shared the quality of primitivism, by which he means the winnowing away of unnecessary complications. I see his point with Sid, but in Mozart's case, I see it as the essence of the refining fire. Still, a good read and well-argued, even though, IMHO, wrong.
Me: We're gonna go see Brokeback Mountain tonight.
Elizabeth: [Gasp of horror!]
Me: What? What's with the gasp of horror?
Elizabeth: Steel yourself.
Me: Why? Am I gonna cry? I'm not afraid of crying. I cry all the time, anyway.
Elizabeth: No, I don't think you're going to cry. But you might wince. A lot.
Me: Oh.
Elizabeth: [Gasp of horror!]
Me: What? What's with the gasp of horror?
Elizabeth: Steel yourself.
Me: Why? Am I gonna cry? I'm not afraid of crying. I cry all the time, anyway.
Elizabeth: No, I don't think you're going to cry. But you might wince. A lot.
Me: Oh.
If you haven't seen the quote unquote gay cowboy movie yet, I strongly recommended that you hop on your horse and gallop into your nearest cinema. Like, pronto, Tonto. Giddie-up. Faster than a single-ended amp on Red Bull.
…