The Augustus.

My blog worth

2006-11-21T03:10:00.000-08:00

My blog is worth $1,693.62.
How much is your blog worth?

Wow for shame CNN.

2006-11-10T01:03:00.000-08:00

Click here for The Huffington Post entry on that Bill Maher censorship on CNN.

Wow. Would never even notice.

John Kerry stupidity verses republican pundit reaction.

2006-11-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

Yesyes everyone knows repubs.. your a little butthurt but that does not excuse stupid quotes from your side either.

I'm mostly curious about William Bennett's quote on CNN...

"This arrogance of the upper classes ... of the privileged classes, toward the military when this is in fact an army that is representative of American society ...''

"The last thing you do is insult our soldiers and their capabilities. John Kerry is going to regret this," Bennett added

This one gets a big big "LOL" from me. How is this man a lower or even a middle class citizen? He spend millions on gambling in Las Vegas while his politicalorg Empower America was fighting against the extension of casino gambling in other states. I hate to tell you Mr. Bennett but you are a member of the privileged class. Anyone who can blow money like that, even if was a long time ago (clears throat .. 2003), can't be less than privileged.

Thats my opinion on that. :dusts hands off:

So Rush Limbaugh ...

2006-10-30T04:49:00.000-08:00

Is he making his symptoms worse now?

Here's the Rush clip..

I say Nay to Rush Limbaugh and conclude this short entry by saying his comments and actions were in very, very poor taste.

A Movie about American Defectors to North Korea?

2006-10-20T04:32:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this NYTimes article.

I'm surprised there were any. If this movie comes around here I would most likely see it. I'm always interested to see/hear the other side of the story. You wouldn't flip a coin without knowing what each side is right?

Privacy advocates speak up.

2006-10-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

Should the government have access to private firms data?

Heck no! My privacy is my right! Cripes our world is quickly becoming Minority Report. This is already to much ..

A 1996 federal law called the Electronic Communication Transactional Records Act regulates data preservation. It requires Internet providers to retain any "record" in their possession for 90 days "upon the request of a governmental entity."

Back when I was 15 ECTRA was passed. I just started producing false logs of my activity. My computer is my house. Do you like peeping toms? That's how I feel about privacy. Little secret... anyone who is a terrorist and is smart enough to use a computer would route there data through black servers around the world. I honestly think the next strike against the US will not be a physical attack but computer attack. One good virus can bring the US to it's knees. Game over.

The new Sony Bravia Ad.

2006-10-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

When Clowns Attack!

Alcohol made me do it?

2006-10-05T00:56:00.000-07:00

Wow. Take a look at this here.

OMG Mark Foley.

Jesus Camp

2006-10-01T15:33:00.000-07:00

Highlights.

Harry Potter is satanic.
Speaking in tongues.
Good camera work and awesome editing.
The background music was well done.

Lowlights.

Praying to a cardboard cut out of President Bush. (wasn't praying to him as it was praying for him. Still this was sort of wierd)
The extremist part of evangelicals without showing what a normal church is supposed to be like.

I have to give this movie a 8/10. Interesting subject matter. It's one of those "Let's see what the other side is doing?" type of movies.

Beatbox Bush

2006-09-23T02:22:00.000-07:00


Wow just think if he did this more often ...

Nice.

2006-09-23T01:59:00.000-07:00

Roger Dean architecture.

I can finally have my house look like the sound of Rush or Yes.

Last post ... a little harsh.

2006-09-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

But that's exactly what certain topics can do to a person. If everyone believed everything they listened/watched on the television or just some website we're in a world of hurt. Piece the facts together + reading books definitely helps things along. Nothing beats a good book on an interesting topic. Best facts right there in a form you can keep forever and won't easily forget about.

The Augustus tip of day (I'm sure everyone's heard this)

Question everything.

So what happened to getting Al Qaeda?

2006-09-08T05:14:00.000-07:00

NY Times Article about the security focus in the U.S.

Well it looks like there going to focus more on the "Growing" cells of smaller more militant terrorists. Reminds me of when we invaded Afghanistan looking for Osama then went into Iraq saying Saddam had everything to do with it. So where are those Weapons of Mass Destruction again? So now that the whole thing in Iraq is settling in the style of US foreign muckary (South America and Southeast Asia just to generalize regions of where our footprints have been) and of course gas prices are going down (Hi Halliburton! I should have invested in you on 9/10/01) what's next? Let's turn the US military and all of our "Other forces" into The Ghostbusters and do a little ghostbustin'! I think Iran has a ton of ghosts to go after. Maybe even that Hugo one down in Venezuela?

Mission Accomplished .... ?

Leaving mic on during Bush speech. Priceless.

2006-08-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

Wow heads must rolling at CNN for this little mistake.

2006-08-24T00:39:00.000-07:00

This is one of those post's where I'm like .. I really can't describe this. So for this I just say ...

Click here.

The ulitmate love story.

2006-08-15T12:48:00.000-07:00

"On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris. The film was limited for technical reasons to 10 minutes; the course was from Porte Dauphine, through the Louvre, to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur.

No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit.

The driver completed the course in about 9 minutes, reaching nearly 140 MPH in some stretches. The footage reveals him running real red lights, nearly hitting real pedestrians, and driving the wrong way up real one-way streets."

I love to see this film get made now. 70's France seemed so much cooler than the uptight France of today. I swear they need to bring Disco back just for the French. :)

Bump Keying.

2006-08-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

Keyless lock entry should become a norm now.

Edit.

I originally found the link for this entry at strangeculture.But due to my forgetfulness I forgot to credit the link to them. That's how interesting this video clip is.

Will cause forgetfulness lol.

Robot suit helps increase your strength.

2006-08-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

Wow think of the possiblities.

Ann Coulter and the history lession.

2006-08-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

Tour de France!

2006-08-05T03:19:00.000-07:00

Tour De France winner may lose crown.

Very interesting. Another american wins the Tour and the french go crazy again. They tried to pin Lance with taking enhancers but now that he's gone ... I dunno it just smells funny to me. Anyways with that little blurb of sports here's a video by Kraftwerk called Tour de France.

Mission Accomplished or Mission Accomplished? Which looks better?

2006-07-20T01:25:00.000-07:00

Here is the full article.

A few designers stand up and refuse to go to the White House for the National Design Awards luncheon. The NDA is like getting a Oscar in the design community. I disagree with them not going. I really wish they would have taken the opportunity to talk to the president themselves. Tell him right to his face how you feel.

If I had the chance I would. I think anyone would.

Ok ok. Now this ...

2006-07-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

.. is a amazing. 4hours + 67 people = awesome.

The Conservative Artist.

2006-07-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

An Uprising on the Right in a World That Leans Left

I think it's easier for the majority of conservatives to get talk radio or a book. Those are generally a free/cheap way to become informed but at the same conservatives should also become more aware of what's going on within the arts community. Have you seen Michael Moore Hates America? The movie was really funny. It was in the style of another Moore film Roger and Me (which I liked). You think other bloggers have seen this movie? Or Rush limbaugh?

As an artist I guess politically I'd consider myself ... nothing. That's why I do abstract art.

Edited post 7.19.2006 : I think might be doing some art based on current events soon on this blog but no Warhol cloning Bush stuff or a abstract tank attacking the white house.

I just want you to think and expand your mind a little more.

A quote (you know I love these)

2006-07-13T01:38:00.000-07:00

First and foremost. A hardy raise of the glass to my friend Mike (MBMc) of the blog Port McClellan (As listed on the right) for his birthday.

I think he's 124 today. ::grin:: Wessssssiiiiiiiiiddddeeeeee!! ;)

I used a Picasso quote on his blog in honour of his birthday but I found one for my blog as well.

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

- Picasso

I guess that's why I continue to push myself in this field. Why I want to finish my education at The Art Center and why I want to design great things for people.

A Quote.

2006-07-10T18:59:00.000-07:00

You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.

Leon Trotsky

To MBMc of The Port. Wessssside!

2006-07-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

Throwin' up the W,
The Augustus.

Italia chiamò!

2006-07-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

Watching Zidane disgrace himself in front of 3 billion people: Priceless.

I'm glad I didn't get into the comment hawking on The Port on the subject of why America should root for France. lol.

The 4th.

2006-07-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!

-- Katherine Lee Bates

What are your thoughts about this adaptation?

An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth

2006-07-02T21:57:00.000-07:00

Taken from Bruce Mau Design.

1. Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.

2. Forget about good. Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you'll never have real growth.

3. Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we've already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.

4. Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child). Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.

5. Go deep. The deeper you go the more likely you will discover something of value.

6. Capture accidents. The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different question. Collect wrong answers as part of the process. Ask different questions.

7. Study. A studio is a place of study. Use the necessity of production as an excuse to study. Everyone will benefit.

8. Drift. Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.

9. Begin anywhere. John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.

10. Everyone is a leader. Growth happens. Whenever it does, allow it to emerge. Learn to follow when it makes sense. Let anyone lead.

11. Harvest ideas. Edit applications. Ideas need a dynamic, fluid, generous environment to sustain life. Applications, on the other hand, benefit from critical rigor. Produce a high ratio of ideas to applications.

12. Keep moving. The market and its operations have a tendency to reinforce success. Resist it. Allow failure and migration to be part of your practice.

13. Slow down. Desynchronize from standard time frames and surprising opportunities may present themselves.

14. Don’t be cool. Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of this sort.

15. Ask stupid questions. Growth is fueled by desire and innocence. Assess the answer, not the question. Imagine learning throughout your life at the rate of an infant.

16. Collaborate. The space between people working together is filled with conflict, friction, strife, exhilaration, delight, and vast creative potential.

17. ____________________. Intentionally left blank. Allow space for the ideas you haven’t had yet, and for the ideas of others.

18. Stay up late. Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you're separated from the rest of the world.

19. Work the metaphor. Every object has the capacity to stand for something other than what is apparent. Work on what it stands for.

20. Be careful to take risks. Time is genetic. Today is the child of yesterday and the parent of tomorrow. The work you produce today will create your future.

21. Repeat yourself. If you like it, do it again. If you don’t like it, do it again.

22. Make your own tools. Hybridize your tools in order to build unique things. Even simple tools that are your own can yield entirely new avenues of exploration. Remember, tools amplify our capacities, so even a small tool can make a big difference.

23. Stand on someone’s shoulders. You can travel farther carried on the accomplishments of those who came before you. And the view is so much better.

24. Avoid software. The problem with software is that everyone has it.

25. Don’t clean your desk. You might find something in the morning that you can’t see tonight.

26. Don’t enter awards competitions. Just don’t. It’s not good for you.

27. Read only left-hand pages. Marshall McLuhan did this. By decreasing the amount of information, we leave room for what he called our "noodle."

28. Make new words. Expand the lexicon. The new conditions demand a new way of thinking. The thinking demands new forms of expression. The expression generates new conditions.

29. Think with your mind. Forget technology. Creativity is not device-dependent.

30. Organization = Liberty. Real innovation in design, or any other field, happens in context. That context is usually some form of cooperatively managed enterprise. Frank Gehry, for instance, is only able to realize Bilbao because his studio can deliver it on budget. The myth of a split between "creatives" and "suits" is what Leonard Cohen calls a 'charming artifact of the past.'

31. Don’t borrow money. Once again, Frank Gehry’s advice. By maintaining financial control, we maintain creative control. It’s not exactly rocket science, but it’s surprising how hard it is to maintain this discipline, and how many have failed.

32. Listen carefully. Every collaborator who enters our orbit brings with him or her a world more strange and complex than any we could ever hope to imagine. By listening to the details and the subtlety of their needs, desires, or ambitions, we fold their world onto our own. Neither party will ever be the same.

33. Take field trips. The bandwidth of the world is greater than that of your TV set, or the Internet, or even a totally immersive, interactive, dynamically rendered, object-oriented, real-time, computer graphic–simulated environment.

34. Make mistakes faster. This isn’t my idea -- I borrowed it. I think it belongs to Andy Grove.

35. Imitate. Don’t be shy about it. Try to get as close as you can. You'll never get all the way, and the separation might be truly remarkable. We have only to look to Richard Hamilton and his version of Marcel Duchamp’s large glass to see how rich, discredited, and underused imitation is as a technique.

36. Scat. When you forget the words, do what Ella did: make up something else ... but not words.

37. Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, crack it, fold it.

38. Explore the other edge. Great liberty exists when we avoid trying to run with the technological pack. We can’t find the leading edge because it’s trampled underfoot. Try using old-tech equipment made obsolete by an economic cycle but still rich with potential.

39. Coffee breaks, cab rides, green rooms. Real growth often happens outside of where we intend it to, in the interstitial spaces -- what Dr. Seuss calls "the waiting place." Hans Ulrich Obrist once organized a science and art conference with all of the infrastructure of a conference -- the parties, chats, lunches, airport arrivals — but with no actual conference. Apparently it was hugely successful and spawned many ongoing collaborations.

40. Avoid fields. Jump fences. Disciplinary boundaries and regulatory regimes are attempts to control the wilding of creative life. They are often understandable efforts to order what are manifold, complex, evolutionary processes. Our job is to jump the fences and cross the fields.

41. Laugh. People visiting the studio often comment on how much we laugh. Since I've become aware of this, I use it as a barometer of how comfortably we are expressing ourselves.

42. Remember. Growth is only possible as a product of history. Without memory, innovation is merely novelty. History gives growth a direction. But a memory is never perfect. Every memory is a degraded or composite image of a previous moment or event. That’s what makes us aware of its quality as a past and not a present. It means that every memory is new, a partial construct different from its source, and, as such, a potential for growth itself.

43. Power to the people. Play can only happen when people feel they have control over their lives. We can't be free agents if we’re not free.

A quote.

2006-06-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

"Only the dead have seen the end of the war."

- Plato

Extreme Extremists! (It's Extreme!!!)

2006-06-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

So while I was perusing the internet today looking for the Newsweek article on Pastor Rick I found this ... Total harshness on Pastor Rick.

This is an example of some extremists going too far and taking something way out of context. Pastor Rick never endorsed the game. And to appeal to both sides you get to play the Anti-Christ too lol. It's just a game. Convert the heathens!! (Billy Grahams Bible Blaster, The Simpsons). I'll recant my view once some kid in a small town somewhere goes nuts "Killin' Sinnas!" lol. Geez internet you never cease to amaze me.

Welly welly well. U.S. Soccer Comes Home

2006-06-22T23:44:00.000-07:00

Jim Litke "We Wuz Robbed" complete article here.

"The reason the United States is officially "Going, Going, Ghana!'' from the World Cup, as one headline put it memorably Thursday, is simple. It still hasn't bothered to learn how to play the world's game."

This is totally true. Even with AYSO and club soccer it's still treated like the bastard red-headed step-child of U.S. Sports. It's friggin embarassing. We got our pants pulled down and spanked in front of 1.3 billion people. I know the world wanted the U.S. to go down but cripes it didn't have to end like this.

Well I'm glad the other half of my internal makeup is still innit (Brasil). Even though I know U.S. soccer is awful in the eyes of the public I know there is a ton of players that could dominate the international circuits here but haven't got the backing to do so. :(

Ok one more.

2006-06-20T02:46:00.000-07:00

The original YYZ.

widdly widdly waaaaa widdly waaa

2006-06-20T02:06:00.000-07:00

The Fightin Titan (His link is on the right .. good stuff at his blog if your willing to go) introduced me to Rush awhile back and I was a bit hesitant at first but all that went away after understanding that Rush is pure rock. Anyways the You Tube link below combines two things I love ... Rush and motion graphics. Check it out.

Oh. Saatchi and Saatchi.

2006-06-17T02:29:00.000-07:00

I can sleep when I'm dead. Yes I would probably do that after seeing this commercial a few times.

B-Boy Mr. Rogers.

2006-06-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

Breakdancing Mr. Rogers.

Hahaha I love it!

Fatty almost ruined it for Brasil.

2006-06-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Parreira,

I know Ronaldo wants those 3 goals but I'm sorry. He should have tried to lose that gut before getting back on the field. I know he's had it rough but maybe getting back down to his World Cup 2002 size might help.

Best Regards,

The Augustus.

On this day in sports ...

2006-06-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

June 12th Doc Ellis makes a no hitter in the opening of a 2 game series in San Diego. Oh I forgot to mention he was on LSD.

Haha this link is for Ted "T-dog" Smith

A question.

2006-06-12T03:28:00.000-07:00

Can you be pro-life and support a war?

I just want to know if this possible. So if your reading please answer. :)

Hmm.

2006-06-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

How much is that Zarqawi?

Those figures do not sit well in the Augustus ledger. I think we need an audit before selling the portait off as some "World Series Win".

Tip. Greg

haha The Augustus video site.

2006-06-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

It seems I don't have any real content lately. So, heres another video to make you my forget "Lameness" lately lol.

I've seen this video in ... 2nd grade I think. Still has the same effect. I just love how we reached a understanding both on the micro scale and universal scale. 60/70's graphics kill!

Attention. World Cup Fans.

2006-06-10T04:37:00.000-07:00

Brasil already won and below is the reason why.

:)

2006-06-03T17:39:00.000-07:00

This pleases me very much. Makes me feel a little old because I was 16 when this came out. So you guys can see what I used spend hours downloading or staying up late to watch on MTV back in 97'. haha

Going somewhere?

2006-06-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

This is very interesting. :)

Absolutely brilliant. I'd love for something like this to happen. I might try to build one in Irvine. :)

Some funny on a warm Wednesday evening.

2006-05-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

101 Dumbest Moments in Business.

This is just classic. My favourite is #72 ...

72 How you know your city has an image problem: A) It's being mocked by Sacramento ...

Prior to their home opener against the Pistons, as Detroit's starting lineup is being introduced, the NBA's Sacramento Kings flash images from the Motor City on the scoreboard: abandoned buildings, burned-out cars, piles of rubble, etc. Three days later, the Kings' owners take out a full-page ad in the Detroit Free Press acknowledging "the incredibly positive impact the Motor City has made over the course of our country's history."

Not a normal thing for me but ...

2006-05-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

Interesting test. Take it and post on your blog. It's spot on for me.

It does look like something from Laputa...

2006-05-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

Nice.

Lego building is an excellent way for children to build logical thinking skills and alter those skiils to make something new.

Yonked from Archinect

Wow Genius.

2006-05-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

To my long sleeved friends..

Very nice.

2006-05-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

Just classic.

The people in Iraq are not seeing there freedom with structures that can be seen from space. America needs to be aware of there money and where its going.

Moussaoui gets life but I still don't know the answers.

2006-05-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12615601/

Link Tips for The Port.

Interesting how that turned out. As part of my history final paper I've been reading The New Pearl Harbor by David Ray Griffin and that book is one everyone should read. He provides all alternatives in the 9-11 attacks in a very logical way. I

I found part of an interview he did with the LA times that was also pretty interesting....

Getting Agnostic About 9/11

A society of nonbelievers questions the official version
MARK EHRMAN

Anyone who types the words "9/11" and "conspiracy" into an online search engine soon learns that not everybody buys the official narrative of what took place on Sept. 11, 2001. As a professor emeritus at the Claremont School of Theology, 66-year-old David Ray Griffin would seem to have more affinity for leather elbow patches than tin hats, yet after friends and colleagues prodded him into sifting through the evidence, he experienced a conversion. Now he's spreading the bad news. Griffin compiled a summary of material arguing against the accepted story that 19 hijackers sent by Osama bin Laden took the aviation system and the U.S. military by surprise that awful day in his 2004 book "The New Pearl Harbor" (published by Interlink, a Massachusetts-based independent publisher covering areas including travel, cooking, world fiction, current events, politics, children's literature and other subjects). He recently followed up with the book "The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions" (Interlink), a critique of the Kean commission document in which he suggests that a chunk of the blame for the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil lies closer to home than the caves of Afghanistan. We contacted him at his Santa Barbara-area home for a report on his journey from mild-mannered scholar to doubting Thomas.

How did you join the ranks of those questioning the official account of the 9/11 events?

I was rather slow getting on board. For the first year and a half I just accepted the conventional view, really the blowback thesis, that this was blowback for our foreign policy. When a colleague suggested to me about a year after 9/11 that he was convinced our own government or forces within our own government had arranged it, I didn't accept that. Then several months later another colleague sent me [a link to] a website that had a timeline. Once I started reading that and saw all those stories drawn from mainstream sources that contradicted the official account, I decided I needed to look into it more carefully, and the more I looked, the worse it got. I considered it an obligation to kind of organize, compile the evidence and put it out there for the public.The Internet is full of 9/11 conspiracy theories. What have you contributed to the discussion?My main contribution has been the second book, [showing] that the 9/11 commission report is not worthy of belief, and the implication of that is that they were covering up the government's own guilt.

What would constitute a "smoking gun" against the official 9/11 account?

There are many. By just ignoring them, the 9/11 commission implicitly admitted they couldn't answer them. The towers coming down into a pile only a few stories high is a smoking gun. Many laws of physics had to be violated if the official story about the collapses is true. [The collapses] had all the earmarks of a controlled demolition by explosives. One of those is total collapse into a small pile of rubble. The fact that Building 7 [a skyscraper near the towers] collapsed when it had not been hit by an airplane, and collapsed in seven or eight seconds, that's a smoking gun. The fact that standard operating procedures were not followed that morning, and we've gotten three different stories now by the U.S. military as to why they did not intercept the planes, that's a smoking gun. The Secret Service leaving the president and themselves wide open to being attacked by [not responding immediately], that's a smoking gun. I can't say one is bigger than the other. You've got six or seven that are equally big.

Critics of the official 9/11 account seem to draw sinister inferences from instances where people, buildings or physical objects didn't react or behave as one might expect in theory. For example, if the hijackers were devout Muslims, why were some drinking, eating pork chops and cavorting with lap dancers? Doesn't real life unfold inconsistently, even bizarrely?

That's true, but the 9/11 commission simply ignored those questions. They're creating this image of fanatics who were so devout and convinced of the truth of their religion that they were ready to meet their maker, yet here's all this evidence that suggests they were not devout at all. [The commission] simply ignored evidence.

Dissenters also seem to find it suspect that in a dire emergency, individuals and agencies bumbled, fumbled, delayed, dropped the ball or choked. Won't that occur in any emergency?

Well, of course, that is the official theory. It's a coincidence theory that just happened to be that on those days, everybody became terribly incompetent. Take the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration]. They've got these standard procedures: If a plane goes off course, if you lose radio contact or lose the transponder, you call the military. On this day we're told these FAA officials hit the trifecta. They got all three of these things, and yet they would stand around debating, "Should we call the military? No, I don't think so." And when they finally call, the people at headquarters won't accept their calls because they were in conference or wouldn't pass the call on. They have roughly about 100 hijack warnings a year where planes have to be scrambled, but suddenly they become just all thumbs. The whole thing is just implausible. The other thing is, if you've got accidents, screw-ups, some ought to go one way and the others the other way. Here everything goes the same way. Everybody fails to do their jobs in relation to something to do with 9/11.

With others, you have alleged that inconsistencies, omissions or lies in the 9/11 record point to a cover-up, or even collusion or orchestration, by the American government. What would motivate such a scenario?

You've got liberal Democrats and Republicans and Independents who are appalled by what Andrew Bacevich [a professor of international relations at Boston University] called "the new American militarism" in the book "American Empire." New meaning, qualitatively different than before. This post-9/11 push to a new level has made the world an enormously more dangerous place. Many people apart from thinking about 9/11 as an inside job have decided that the United States is doing what [Princeton University emeritus international law professor] Richard Falk calls a "global domination project." Chalmers Johnson [Japan Policy Research Institute president], a previous conservative, now says that we have become a military juggernaut intent on world domination.

Have you followed polls on what the public believes about 9/11?

There was a Zogby poll in New York. The question asked was, do you believe the government had advance knowledge of the attacks and consciously let them happen? Forty-nine percent in New York City said yes. I believe it was 43% statewide. That is a pretty remarkable figure. In this country there has not been a poll that asked, do you believe the government actually planned and orchestrated the attacks? The question has been raised in Europe and Canada and has gotten to somewhere around 20%. It would be interesting to have such a poll in the United States.

Conspiracy theorists are often dismissed as marginal types. Where do your views on 9/11 place you in the eyes of your peers in academia?

One thing to point out is, the official account itself is a conspiracy theory. It says that 19 Arab Muslims under the influence of Osama bin Laden conspired to pull off this operation. The question is not whether one is a conspiracy theorist about 9/11. It's which conspiracy theory do you find most supported by the evidence?

Does your role as a 9/11 dissenter depart from your life's work as a scholar and theologian?

At first glance it may seem strange, but the task of a theologian is to look at the world from what we would imagine the divine perspective, [which] would care about the good of the whole and would love all the parts. [So] 9/11, if it was brought about by forces within our own government for imperial reasons, is antithetical to the general good.

American gang members claim Iraq first.

2006-05-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

Gangs Claim Turf in Iraq!?

Here's a nice question for everyone... why are gang members in the military? Why is this going on? I love how the American tax dollar is spent hiring gangsters to fight over there.

The power of the alternative.

2006-04-28T04:33:00.000-07:00

A fully realized hydrogen powered city?

Is a Hydrogen Economy possible? I think the Danish may have this solved very soon. The construction starts in 2007. This should be very interesting. We destroy too many "Nouns" here to care. Working concepts like H2PIA we see at Disneyland for our amusement. So to see something like this realized says alot about the rest of the world.

inhabitat.com gets the nod for the above link.

For your listening pleasure ..

2006-04-28T04:07:00.000-07:00

I have a few things I like to do outside blogging. I love design and art. I love to make both and I love making music as well.

For yor listening pleasure. A track I made a while back but I just sort of completed with a pretty good master. I might be releasing this in a EP/LP soon.

Do the mario!

2006-04-27T13:58:00.000-07:00

College students Re-Enact Super Mario Brothers.

This is classic. :)

An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth by Bruce Mau

2006-04-26T02:13:00.000-07:00

I have this posted near my desk in my home studio.

1. Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens
to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness
to be changed by them.

2. Forget about good. Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good.
Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good
you'll never have real growth.

3. Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where
we've already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we?re going, but we will know we want to be there.

4. Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child). Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in
casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow
yourself the fun of failure every day

5. Go deep. The deeper you go the more likely you will discover something of value.

6. Capture accidents. The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different question. Collect wrong
answers as part of the process. Ask different questions.

7. Study. A studio is a place of study. Use the necessity of production as an excuse to study. Everyone will
benefit.

8. Drift. Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.

9. Begin anywhere. John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice:
begin anywhere.

10. Everyone is a leader. Growth happens. Whenever it does, allow it to emerge. Learn to follow when it makes
sense. Let anyone lead.

11. Harvest ideas. Edit applications. Ideas need a dynamic, fluid, generous environment to sustain life.
Applications, on the other hand, benefit from critical rigor. Produce a high ratio of ideas to applications.

12. Keep moving. The market and its operations have a tendency to reinforce success. Resist it. Allow failure and
migration to be part of your practice.

13. Slow down. Desynchronize from standard time frames and surprising opportunities may present themselves.

14. Don?t be cool. Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of this sort.

15. Ask stupid questions. Growth is fueled by desire and innocence. Assess the answer, not the question. Imagine
learning throughout your life at the rate of an infant.

16. Collaborate. The space between people working together is filled with conflict, friction, strife,
exhilaration, delight, and vast creative potential.

17. ____________________. Intentionally left blank. Allow space for the ideas you haven?t had yet, and for the ideas of
others.

18. Stay up late. Strange things happen when you?ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you're
separated from the rest of the world.

19. Work the metaphor. Every object has the capacity to stand for something other than what is apparent. Work on
what it stands for.

20. Be careful to take risks. Time is genetic. Today is the child of yesterday and the parent of tomorrow. The
work you produce today will create your future.

21. Repeat yourself. If you like it, do it again. If you don?t like it, do it again.

22. Make your own tools. Hybridize your tools in order to build unique things. Even simple tools that are your
own can yield entirely new avenues of exploration. Remember, tools amplify our capacities, so even a small tool can make
a big difference.

23. Stand on someone?s shoulders. You can travel farther carried on the accomplishments of those who came before
you. And the view is so much better.

24. Avoid software. The problem with software is that everyone has it.

25. Don?t clean your desk. You might find something in the morning that you can?t see tonight.

26. Don?t enter awards competitions. Just don?t. It?s not good for you.

27. Read only left-hand pages. Marshall McLuhan did this. By decreasing the amount of information, we leave room
for what he called our "noodle."

28. Make new words. Expand the lexicon. The new conditions demand a new way of thinking. The thinking demands
new forms of expression. The expression generates new conditions.

29. Think with your mind. Forget technology. Creativity is not device-dependent.

30. Organization = Liberty. Real innovation in design, or any other field, happens in context. That context is
usually some form of cooperatively managed enterprise. Frank Gehry, for instance, is only able to realize Bilbao because
his studio can deliver it on budget. The myth of a split between "creatives" and "suits" is what Leonard Cohen calls a
'charming artifact of the past.'

31. Don?t borrow money. Once again, Frank Gehry?s advice. By maintaining financial control, we maintain creative
control. It?s not exactly rocket science, but it?s surprising how hard it is to maintain this discipline, and how many
have failed.

32. Listen carefully. Every collaborator who enters our orbit brings with him or her a world more strange and
complex than any we could ever hope to imagine. By listening to the details and the subtlety of their needs, desires, or
ambitions, we fold their world onto our own. Neither party will ever be the same.

33. Take field trips. The bandwidth of the world is greater than that of your TV set, or the Internet, or even a
totally immersive, interactive, dynamically rendered, object-oriented, real-time, computer graphic?simulated
environment.

34. Make mistakes faster. This isn?t my idea -- I borrowed it. I think it belongs to Andy Grove.

35. Imitate. Don?t be shy about it. Try to get as close as you can. You'll never get all the way, and the
separation might be truly remarkable. We have only to look to Richard Hamilton and his version of Marcel Duchamp?s large
glass to see how rich, discredited, and underused imitation is as a technique.

36. Scat. When you forget the words, do what Ella did: make up something else ... but not words.

37. Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, crack it, fold it.[br][br]

38. Explore the other edge. Great liberty exists when we avoid trying to run with the technological pack. We
can?t find the leading edge because it?s trampled underfoot. Try using old-tech equipment made obsolete by an economic
cycle but still rich with potential.

39. Coffee breaks, cab rides, green rooms. Real growth often happens outside of where we intend it to, in the
interstitial spaces -- what Dr. Seuss calls "the waiting place." Hans Ulrich Obrist once organized a science and art
conference with all of the infrastructure of a conference -- the parties, chats, lunches, airport arrivals ? but with no
actual conference. Apparently it was hugely successful and spawned many ongoing collaborations.

40. Avoid fields. Jump fences. Disciplinary boundaries and regulatory regimes are attempts to control the wilding
of creative life. They are often understandable efforts to order what are manifold, complex, evolutionary processes.
Our job is to jump the fences and cross the fields.

41. Laugh. People visiting the studio often comment on how much we laugh. Since I've become aware of this, I use
it as a barometer of how comfortably we are expressing ourselves.

42. Remember. Growth is only possible as a product of history. Without memory, innovation is merely novelty.
History gives growth a direction. But a memory is never perfect. Every memory is a degraded or composite image of a
previous moment or event. That?s what makes us aware of its quality as a past and not a present. It means that every
memory is new, a partial construct different from its source, and, as such, a potential for growth itself.

43. Power to the people. Play can only happen when people feel they have control over their lives. We can't be
free agents if we?re not free.

Ethanol

2006-04-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

Checking out the latest postings from The Port it made me think about the efficiency of Ethanol. I found a report that seems to clear up some doubts on the subject.

June 29,2005 Ethanol's Potential

It can work but only if your using a plant that has a lot of potential. I say we should grow fast grasses that use little water in the midstates somewhere and sell the surplus corn to countries that used up there food land for fuel lol.

Also I know in Brasil this is a commonly used fuel. My cousin has a WV Jetta with a dual engine in São Paulo where my father's family is from.

Here's a Wikipedia article on Brasilian Ethanol. :)

Walken 2008

2006-04-23T00:06:00.000-07:00

Christopher Walken 2008?!

The tap dancing dear hunting android is running for president. Awesome.

ChinaArc

2006-04-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

Chinese Chinese !

Even the Chinese are doing good design. I think it's funny that we lead and invent then just let it go. Other countries develop and spit back to us. It's 2006 .. act like it America.

Hello Saturday.

2006-04-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

Conan O'Brien Hates my Homeland.

Seriously one of the funnier bits on his show in recent years. One of my favorites ...

Israel
Hey, remember when life in Israel was vibrant and carefree? Man, that was the day.

I hope Conan is funny when he replaces Leno.

The real OC.

2006-04-21T12:46:00.000-07:00

Manufactured Community?

Brilliant idea. Making people blend and form a community. Now if they only thought about this back when Irvine was being formed ...

George Bush v. John Lennon.

2006-04-20T23:23:00.000-07:00

Interesting piece of video art.

If only conversatives were a bit more technically savvy then you could see a rebuttal on this video. With some more peaceful images or whatever you might want to see. I just think the timing is pretty damn good on this video.

Very nice.

2006-04-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

Frank Gehry v. Tiffany ?!

It almost has this retro feel to it. Brilliant collaboration.

Brilliant.

2006-04-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

Now this is what I like to see.

Recycled Fuselage

Genius. Recycle the fuselage of an airplane and convert into a building or housing facilities. This is what American architects should looking towards. Greener projects. Contrary to popular belief there is only 1 Earth. Care not for yourself but for the future generations of your genealogy.

We are the Robots.

2006-04-11T06:12:00.000-07:00

I always wondered how James Brown influenced Kraftwerk until I went back and really listened to some of there material. James Brown was very big on repeatition and funky guitar stuff. James Brown was doing something in Soul/R&B/Rock that was never done before. Kraftwerk mimiced this with there invention of electronic rock. The synths and drums where something that was never before in that context. Before Kraftwerk it was all related to classicly composed music and working scores on paper. Switched on Bach is a record that comes to mind. Still a very good record mind you but it didn't leave the hallowed grounds of a already used form. To say Kraftwerk had a big influence on music would be an understatement. Here is one of my favourite videos..

Trans-Europe Express.

Kie-pee-REEN-yah!

2006-04-03T22:35:00.000-07:00

I was posting on The Port today about a Brasilian restaurant I really like and I thought about my favorite drink Caiprinha. It's a nice cocktail to enjoy just about anytime of the year but especially in the summertime. The drink is real easy to make.

1 lime

2 ounces of cachaça

Sugar to taste

Ice cubes

Wash the lime and roll it on the board to loosen the juices. Cut the lime into pieces and place them in a glass. Sprinkle with the sugar and crush the pieces (pulp side up) with a pestle (Or something to break it up a bit) just enough to release the juice but not too much or you'll make it bitter. Add the cachaça and stir to mix. Add the ice and stir again.

Ok now your thinking .. what the H is cachaça? It's like Brasilian rum and you can get it here or maybe World Market/BevMo. You can also experiment with other types of liquor for something new and interesting.

Filed under: lol

2006-03-30T21:28:00.000-08:00

Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, and Gorbachev are on a train heading towards communism.
Suddenly the conductor says, "Oh no! There are no rails left. We can not move on."
Lenin says, "no problem, Saturday is Lenin day and we will all work for free and cut down trees and build the rails."
Then Stalin says, "no, we must find out whose fault this is and kill them."
Khrushchev disagrees and says, "no, we can plant corn in the fields, sell the corn to the American and we can buy the railroad."
Brezhnev says, "no, we must all sit in the train and sway back and forward so we have the appearance of forward motion towards communism."
Finally Gorbachev stands up and says, "Comrandes, you don't understand the modern times. There is a new spirit of glasnost and perestroika. We need more transparency. We need more openness." At this point, he opened the windows and started shouting, "there are no rails! There are no rails!"

Productivity Theft.

2006-03-30T14:10:00.000-08:00

Warning game will take productivity from your workday. :)

The Fightin Titan

2006-03-29T03:34:00.000-08:00

Ted is one of my good friends. Sometimes I can be of a .. pain but he deserves an apology for some of my comments on his blog. My feelings about the New Orleans clean up are not that strong but I did take it too far. Immaturity aside I apologize for pushing your buttons Ted.

In case you don't know on the right The Fightin Titan has been linked since day one. Conversative or not you'll still learn something. Click here and you'll go right (lol) to the action.

Plumbers Crack Makes There Unions Act Dumb.

2006-03-28T10:22:00.000-08:00

Luddite Plumbers Unions Versus Flushless Urinals

I agree with the Rosenberg article but what the unions don't see is that good design will cost a bit in the long run. The sensors will need replacement and so will the toilets as well. Unions already charge an arm and a leg to come fix toilets and pipes aready. So they'll just charge a bit more to fix these toilets when they break as well. I think unions should be more like think sessions that designers have together instead of hot beds of madness controlled by union leaders. I think the saddest part of this is the unions poorly designed website. We have DHTML and java or even flash to make it look a little better. Sad.

Tip: The Port.

Breaking News!

2006-03-26T02:02:00.000-08:00

This will make you want to club more often.

Light Space.

Just want to know ... how much? And when can I get one? :)

Damn Candians.

2006-03-26T01:46:00.000-08:00

Velo-City?!

Now this is interesting but then again I could see a bunch of crack addicted drunken whinos getting in there and ruining it.

Oh Cubicle !

2006-03-23T16:07:00.000-08:00

My goal in life is to never work a job that makes me stay in a cubicle. I think it's honestly degrading. Keep you trapped in a little box all day and let you go only to come back 16 hours later to repeat lol. Office Space is the movie for this post. Smile everyone it's Thursday.

Here's a interesting link about Cubicles from CNN.

Camouflage

2006-03-15T13:20:00.000-08:00

Check out this photography. Time and effort. Yesh!

Desiree Palmen

The way.

2006-03-11T18:26:00.000-08:00

My first computer was a Apple. My 2nd-145th computer was a PC. My last computer will be a Apple. I've read this commencement speech by Steve Jobs at the Stanford graduation last year and thought it would be good reading for anyone interested. His words mean a little more to me now than before.

Read the speech here.

2006-03-11T14:48:00.000-08:00

So. First saturday off from work in a while and I'm taking it all in stride. Well I might have a few satudays off for while without a job to go.

Surplus. That's why I was let go apparently. It's nice that your reduced to a number with a SS# and numbers to clock in and check your bank statements. Further reduction implies "Feeling more like a formula" and "less human" when they gave me notice on Thursday. I had two choices from my former District Manager at that point.

1. Work out my 2 weeks notice.
2. Not work and get paid for 2 weeks.

My last day was yesterday from Merrill Corporation based in the Newmeyer and Dillion law firm. Bittersweet it was. I didn't care for my job as much as I loved the people. I wish companies would realise this. It's all about the people. Treat them well and they shall do the same for you. I figure I'll go in and tie up some loose ends next week. Another chapter in my life is over. I'll miss the people but I promise I will not be a stranger.

Coming soon.

2006-03-10T04:09:00.000-08:00

Content and plenty of useless stuff to waste your productive time away at work/home. :)