Not to get all sappy

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on September 27, 2008 1:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A quick note to mention about this whole 25th anniversary of GNU, etc. For better and worse I am not able to approach software without GNU, and the GNU philosophy of open things makes me happy and is, to me, a central part of my thought and relationship with computers. So, um, thanks Richard. If you ever need a place to crash or someone to do folk dances with (or someone to play recorder with - we can mesmerize the butterflies together), I'm your man.

Back to Something Resembling Something

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ds

on September 24, 2008 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Labs' In Quotes - Type in a term and compare the quotes made by different politicians, including Dick Cheney, John Edwards, and, of course, the two current presidential candidates.

The Comics Journal has a preview of the Small Press Expo.

Your Free Will Astrology for the week.

"Fun with WiFU and Bluesniffing"

"Surf Jacking Secure Cookies"

Report and video from a Lynda Barry reading. I just finished What It Is (the link is to Drawn and Quarterly's page on Lynda Barry, where they have samples of her work). It may be up there with Alec: After the Snooter. Both works overwhelm me.

The shape I'm in

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ds

on September 15, 2008 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mock on, Mock on, Voltaire, Rousseau

Mock on, Mock on, Voltaire, Rousseau;
Mock on, Mock on, 'tis all in vain.
You throw the sand against the wind,
And the wind blows it back again.

And every sand becomes a Gem
Reflected in the beams divine;
Blown back, they blind the mocking Eye,
But still in Israel's paths they shine.

The Atoms of Democritus
And Newton's Particles of light
Are sands upon the Red sea shore
Where Israel's tents do shine so bright.

(via The Guardian)

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ds

on September 13, 2008 8:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

David Foster Wallace is dead.

Writer David Foster Wallace found dead

Marion Ettlinger

David Foster Wallace was found dead last night at his home in Claremont. He was 46.

Claremont police say the novelist and humorist who wrote 'Infinite Jest,' hanged himself Friday night. He was 46.

By Joel Rubin, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
5:31 PM PDT, September 13, 2008

David Foster Wallace, the novelist, essayist and humorist best known for his 1997 tome "Infinite Jest," was found dead last night at his home in Claremont, according to the Claremont Police Department. He was 46.

Jackie Morales, a records clerk at the Claremont Police Department, said Wallace's wife called police at 9:30 p.m. Friday saying she had returned home to find her husband had hanged himself.

Wallace won a cult following for his dark humor and ironic wit, which was on display in such books as "Girl with Curious Hair" and "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men." In 1997, he received a MacArthur "genius" grant.

Born in Ithaca, New York, Wallace was teaching writing at Pomona College.