Today’s Slack-Jawed Musical Interlude
Peter Bergman of Firesign Theatre, dead at 72
If you don’t remember Firesign Theatre, you should.
Story here.
Ralph McQuarrie Dead at 82
The conceptual artist who provided so much style in creating the world of Star Wars died on March 3rd. According to his website:
It is with the deepest sadness that we announce the passing of Ralph McQuarrie.
People say you should never meet your heroes. Ralph was the exception to that rule. We were all fans of his amazing art long before we were blessed with his friendship. But once you got to know Ralph it was impossible not to become a fan of Ralph the man.
Ralph was a very special person for many more reasons than his undeniable brilliance with a brush. He was an especially kind, sensitive, deep, modest, funny and fascinating gentleman. And as fine a role model as any one could have wished for.
His influence on design will be felt forever. There’s no doubt in our hearts that centuries from now amazing spaceships will soar, future cities will rise and someone, somewhere will say…
“that looks like something Ralph McQuarrie painted.”
Friday DIY: Drunken Popsicles
Duct tape can do anything.
1. Start with an unfrozen popsicle—which is basically a packet of sugar water.
2. Use the syringe to make a hole a the top of the pop and pull out some of the fluid.
3. Use the syringe to inject vodka into the pop.
4. Cover the hole with a bit of duct tape, and shake vigorously (or you’ll end up with a frozen end and a liquid end)
5. Toss into the freezer and leave it overnight.Presto! Alcoholic popsicles, ready to eat. You just cut the top off and squeeze ‘em right into your mouth. They are surprisingly delicious. Now let’s talk ratios.
From Gizmodo.
Congratulations to Demián Bichir and A Better Life
Demián Bichir has been nominated for Best Actor for his performance in A Better Life, which I reviewed here. (Story by Roger L Simon.)
With no false modesty (and little of the other kind) I’ll quote myself:
If the Academy is watching, and a bigger name actor isn’t playing a mental patient or tragic leftist politician, that one scene should get Bichir one of those gold statues.
Why Does Fat Taste Good?
First is was salty, sweet, sour, and bitter.
Then salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami.
Thai Mahler
My old friend (and SF author) Somtow Sucharitkul (a/k/a S.P. Somtow), as well as being a science fiction writer, is a brilliant orchestral composer and director. He has been bringing Mahler to Thailand for some years, and now hopes to conduct a performance of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony — some people say it’s the greatest of Mahler’s symphonies, although I actually prefer the Ninth — but it costs money. He can accept Paypal.
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Anne McCaffrey, Dead at 85
McCaffrey created the Dragonriders of Pern series, and The Ship Who Sang, one of the first stories to really explore the question of cyborged humans with emotional depth.
Sarah A Hoyt has the story here.
Writing Quote of the Day
I suspect I have spent just about exactly as much time actually writing as the average person my age has spent watching television, and that, as much as anything, may be the real secret here. – William Gibson
Air Travel Quote of the Day
“We don’t anticipate a water landing. If we had, we all would have called in sick today.”
Joss Whedon does Much Ado About Nothing (!!?)
Would I make up something like that?
Bellwether Pictures proudly announces the completion of principal photography on MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, a modern version of Shakespeare’s classic comedy adapted and directed by Joss Whedon (Marvel’s upcoming THE AVENGERS, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”). Filmed in just 12 days entirely on location in exotic Santa Monica, the film features a stellar cast of beloved (or soon to be beloved) actors – some of them veterans of Shakespearean theater, some completely new to the form. But all dedicated to the idea that this story bears retelling, that this dialogue is as fresh and intoxicating as any being written, and that the joy of working on a passion project surrounded by dear friends, admired colleagues and an atmosphere of unabashed rapture far outweighs their hilariously miniature paychecks.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING is the first feature from Bellwether, a micro-studio created by Joss Whedon and Kai Cole for the production of small, independent narratives for all media, embracing a DIY ethos and newer technologies for, in this particular case, a somewhat older story.
John McCarthy, inventor of LISP and father of AI, dead at 84.
More here.
Steve Jobs, Dennis M Ritchie, and John McCarthy — it’s been a rough month for computer people.
New Web Comic
Ninja Nun, by Robert A Hoyt (Sarah Hoyts son).
I don’t promise it’s always safe for work, but it’s funny.
Interesting Beta: Bitcasa
One of the odd things about computer tech and the Internet is that many things are incredibly cheap. Data storage is one. Not so many years ago (1972) a terabit of storage, 128 gigabytes, was a room full of video tapes, and didn’t work very well. Now I’ve got 40 times that sitting on my desk.
About the same time, 1200 baud, 1200 bits per second, was about the fastest home network connection. Now I’ve got about 18,000 times as much and could easily get more.
A consequence of this, cheap storage and even cheaper fast networks, is that it becomes more economical to keep data out in what’s now called “the cloud.”
A new beta service on the web has been announced, called “Bitcasa.” Basically, they’re going to offer unlimited storage in the cloud, encrypted and managed. I don’t know much about the company, but they’re now offering the chance to sign up for the beta.
They also have an interesting scheme with that: sign up and you get a link to pass around to friends; the more people who sign up, the higher you move in the queue to get a Bitcasa account.
Yes, that link adds to my score. If you care, you can always take this link, which doesn’t.
