I’m off on vacation until July 10. I won’t be able to update the Rhapsody Featured Mix Archive so I need your help: if you see a new mix on the Rhapsody music guide home page, save it to your library and email it to me at benw@plasticboy.com. I’ll post them when I get back. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Bond’s Hit Mix: A set of songs picked by Bond. 1. Four Seasons In One Day – Crowded House 2. Wish I Didn’t Miss You – Angie Stone 3. What A Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong 4. If I Ever Feel Better – Phoenix 5. She Wants To Move – N.E.R.D. 6. Just Like Water – Lauryn Hill 7. 1 Thing – Amerie 8. Galvanize – The Chemical Brothers 9. Feel Good Inc. – Gorillaz 10. Breathe – Blu Cantrell 11. Shine – Bond (Pop) 12. Strange Paradise – Bond (Pop)
The Globe has a profile of Mitch Kapor and OSAF.
The Supremes rule unanimously in favor of MGM, saying:
We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties.As many people are noting, this isn’t as bad as it sounds. P2P apps are safe as long as their parent companies aren’t found to have actively induced infringement. Also, remember that this wasn’t the test that the entertainment industry wanted, they had argued that an active inducement test wouldn’t be sufficient and wanted the test to involve the extent to which a device was being used for infringement. Gigi Sohn of Public Knowledge spins this pretty strongly as at least a partial victory:
What this means is, in the absence of such clear expression or other affirmative acts fostering infringement, a company that provides peer-to-peer technology is not going to be secondarily liable under the Copyright Act.
Ones to Watch (June 2005): Listen to this playlist of tracks from our June 2005 selection of emerging artists. Tasty! 1. Riot Radio – The Dead 60s 2. Get Off My Back – The Yards 3. Honey I Been Thinking About You – Jackie Greene 4. Emily Kane – Art Brut 5. Funny Little Feeling – Rock ‘n’ Roll Soldiers 6. A Different Age – The Dead 60s 7. The Devil Is Alive And Well And In DC – The Yards 8. Georgia – Jackie Greene 9. Modern Art – Art Brut 10. Lay Down And Die – Rock ‘N’ Roll Soldiers
Here’s an excellent article in which Natalie Angier takes scientists to task for having a double standard when it comes to religion and supernaturalism.
Consider the very different treatments accorded two questions presented to Cornell University’s “Ask an Astronomer” Web site. To the query, “Do most astronomers believe in God, based on the available evidence?” the astronomer Dave Rothstein replies that, in his opinion, “modern science leaves plenty of room for the existence of God . . . places where people who do believe in God can fit their beliefs in the scientific framework without creating any contradictions.” He cites the Big Bang as offering solace to those who want to believe in a Genesis equivalent and the probabilistic realms of quantum mechanics as raising the possibility of “God intervening every time a measurement occurs” before concluding that, ultimately, science can never prove or disprove the existence of a god, and religious belief doesn’t—and shouldn’t—”have anything to do with scientific reasoning.”
How much less velveteen is the response to the reader asking whether astronomers believe in astrology. “No, astronomers do not believe in astrology,” snarls Dave Kornreich. “It is considered to be a ludicrous scam. There is no evidence that it works, and plenty of evidence to the contrary.” Dr. Kornreich ends his dismissal with the assertion that in science “one does not need a reason not to believe in something.” Skepticism is “the default position” and “one requires proof if one is to be convinced of something’s existence.”
The album of the week is Brian Eno’s Another Day On Earth.
Lindsay Lohan’s Hit List: The star of Herbie Fully Loaded, Mean Girls and more picks her favorite tracks. 1. Bring Em Out – T.I. 2. It’s Like That – Mariah Carey 3. Mr. Brightside – The Killers 4. Beverly Hills – Weezer 5. Little Red Corvette – Prince 6. Behind These Hazel Eyes – Kelly Clarkson 7. Get Right – Jennifer Lopez 8. Get It Poppin’ (Featuring Nelly) – Fat Joe 9. Brighter Than Sunshine – Aqualung 10. Just Lose It – Eminem 11. One Word – Kelly Osbourne 12. How Will I Know – Whitney Houston 13. GO! – Common 14. Feel Good Inc. – Gorillaz 15. Lonely No More – Rob Thomas
Cory Doctorow’s latest novel, Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town is out and available for free download. Man, I haven’t even finished Eastern Standard Tribe yet, I’m going to have to start reading more.
The album of the week is Sleater-Kinney’s The Woods
Neal Stephenson has an interesting op-ed on Star Wars and the cultural signifigance of geeks in NYTimes.
The American Conservative has a terrific article by former Bush speechwriter Matthew Scully. Scully argues that conservatives should be opposed to factory farming and animal cruelty in general. While there is much in this article that I don’t agree with, it provides an excellent framework for arguing about animal rights with conservatives on their terms. Here are some choice quotes:
If one is using the word “obligation” seriously, moreover, then there is no practical difference between an obligation on our end not to mistreat animals and an entitlement on their end not to be mistreated by us. Either way, we are required to do and not do the same things. And either way, somewhere down the logical line, the entitlement would have to arise from a recognition of the inherent dignity of a living creature. The moral standing of our fellow creatures may be humble, but it is absolute and not something within our power to confer or withhold. All creatures sing their Creator’s praises, as this truth is variously expressed in the Bible, and are dear to Him for their own sakes.and
Having conceded the crucial point that some animals rate our moral concern and legal protection, informed conscience turns naturally to other animals—creatures entirely comparable in their awareness, feeling, and capacity for suffering. A dog is not the moral equal of a human being, but a dog is definitely the moral equal of a pig, and it’s only human caprice and economic convenience that say otherwise. We have the problem that these essentially similar creatures are treated in dramatically different ways, unjustified even by the very different purposes we have assigned to them. Our pets are accorded certain protections from cruelty, while the nameless creatures in our factory farms are hardly treated like animals at all. The challenge is one of consistency, of treating moral equals equally, and living according to fair and rational standards of conduct.Scully also comes up with my favorite one-line response to my least favorite comment about vegetarianism:
When people say that they like their pork chops, veal, or foie gras just too much ever to give them up, reason hears in that the voice of gluttony, willfulness, or at best moral complaisance. What makes a human being human is precisely the ability to understand that the suffering of an animal is more important than the taste of a treat.[via Treehugger]
Crunk Kingpins (Explicit): Coming out of the Dirty South, the “Crunk Revolution” changed the game and dominated charts in the new millennium. 1. Still Tippin’ – Mike Jones feat. Slim Thug and Paul Wall 2. Some Cut – Trillville 3. Get Back – Ludacris 4. Salt Shaker – Ying Yang Twins (featuring Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz) 5. Girlfight – Brooke Valentine (featuring Big Boi/Lil Jon) 6. GAME OVER (FLIP) – Lil’ Flip 7. Freek-A-Leek – Petey Pablo 8. Sugar (Gimme Some) – Trick Daddy feat. Ludacris, Lil Kim, and Cee-Lo 9. U Don’t Know Me – T.I. 10. Stand Up – (featuring Shawnna) – Ludacris 11. Goodies – Ciara 12. Back Then – Mike Jones 13. Let’s Go (Amended) – Trick Daddy 14. Slow Motion – Juvenile (featuring Soulja Slim) 15. Get Low (Feat. Ying Yang Twins) – Lil’ Jon & The East Side Boyz 16. Bring It Back – Lil Wayne 17. 24’s – T.I. 18. Get Crunk – Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz 19. Neck Of The Woods – Baby (featuring Lil’ Wayne) 20. Never Scared – Bone Crusher (featuring Killer Mike/T.I.) 21. Damn! – (featuring Lil John) – Youngbloodz 22. Heart of Tha Streetz – B.G. 23. One, Two Step – Ciara 24. Chickenhead – Project Pat 25. How We Ride – Mannie Fresh
Bonnaroo 2005: 1. Ain’t Life Grand – Widespread Panic 2. Gravedigger – Dave Matthews Band 3. Alive Again – Trey Anastasio 4. Banana Pancakes – Jack Johnson 5. She Talks To Angels – The Black Crowes 6. The Lucky One – Alison Krauss 7. Golden Age Of Radio – Josh Ritter 8. Paper Thin Walls – Modest Mouse 9. John The Revelator – Gov’t Mule 10. Scratch & Sniff – Bela Fleck 11. Quit Hollerin’ At Me – John Prine 12. Carolina – M. Ward 13. The Bear – My Morning Jacket 14. Star Star – The Frames 15. Mental Breakdown – Yonder Mountain String Band 16. Ya Viene El Sol – (live) – Ozomatli 17. Bongo Joe – Galactic 18. Becky – The Benevento Russo Duo 19. Freedom – Jurassic 5 20. Reggae Got Soul – Toots & The Maytals
Edd Dumbill points to a great article on programmer productivity. These are issues that any manager of programmers should familiarize themselves with if they really want to understand how programmers work. Experiencing Stuckness first-hand changed the way I think about multitasking and priorities. I used to think that switching back and forth between tasks was pointless because it would just mean that all tasks, except for the lowest priority one, would be done later than if I worked on them serially. For this reason I always wanted my managers to assign absolute priorities to the tasks they wanted me to do, so I would know what order in which to work on them. Then I realized that I was wasting lots of time banging my head against tasks on which I was stuck. These days I set a time limit, if I’ve been struggling with a problem for more than half an hour with no progress I switch to something else and come back to it later with a fresh perspective and, hopefully, new insight. So now I prefer it when managers give me multiple tasks with vague priorities, there’s nothing more frustrating than having to work on a stuck problem.
