randomwalks/dj

iAno is an iPhone application which turns the device (if it's jailbroken) into a functioning digital piano.

See how it works on YouTube.

[via Uberphones]

Originally posted by emily from ringtonia.com, on February 16, 2008 9:23 PM

Baseball Prospectus have unveiled their PECOTA projected standings for the 2008 season.

They predict the Mets to finish first in the NL East with a 96-66 record, while the Braves (86-76) and Phillies (84-78) are projected to finish second and third, respectively.

The team depth charts also project runs scored, runs allowed, team batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

In BP’s Unfiltered, Nate Silver writes, “The Mets really might be the best team in baseball, regardless of what league they happen to play in.”

…yikes…no pressure, right…

…just a point of reference to the potential value of Johan Santana’s addition…the pitcher with the highest VORP (value over replacement player) of any Met last season was John Maine, with 33.7….Santana’s VORP, in what many called on “off-year,” was 57.7…wow…needless to say, BP predicts pitching to be the difference between the Mets and the rest of the division…

…by the way, if VORP sounds like a foreign language to you, check out this column Rob Neyer wrote for ESPN.com, which does an excellent job of explaining it for the layman…i know i’m making it a goal of mine to better understand how it works…my first step is picking up the new Baseball Prospectus book for the 2008 season, which is supposed to ship next week…

Originally posted by D.J. Short from MetsBlog.com, on February 16, 2008 10:42 AM

We’ve kept this a little under the radar, but the first version of the PECOTA projected standings are fired up and ready to go.

For the most part, these numbers conform pretty well to conventional wisdom. In the American League, you have five teams fighting for the four playoff slots, and it looks like the Tigers and Indians — whom we have dead-even at 89-73 — will fight the most compelling battle, as both the Red Sox and Yankees are just a hair ahead of them. And there’s really not anyone who’s all that close to breaking into that hegemony, although the Devil Rays — who we’re showing one game over .500 — could make things interesting if their young pitching pulls together. PECOTA’s also not buying the Mariners as contenders; we simply don’t think they’re going to score enough runs. (And yes, that does reflect the Erik Bedard trade, even though he’s still listed with the Orioles on the depth charts until we put together our next run of the PECOTAs over the weekend.)

As last year, the National League looks to be the more competitive one, with seven teams bunched together between 82 and 89 wins. PECOTA also seems to recognize that there’s been some net swing of talent toward the NL for the first time in ages — we still have the AL netting out a few more wins in interleague play, but nothing like the big discrepancies we saw in 2006 and 2007. Part of the reason why, actually, might be that you have more teams in the AL than in the NL that seem ready to cut their losses and punt on the season. The A’s, Orioles and Twins have all done this more or less explicitly.

And the Mets really might be the best team in baseball, regardless of what league they happen to play in.

Player Forecast Manager (PFM) is also active, as you can see from our Fantasy Page. Thanks to Ben, Dave, and the other Dave for getting this all turned around.

And, yeah, the PECOTA cards themselves … I know, I know. In the meantime, please let me know whether you like this…

…better than this:

Originally posted by Nate Silver from Baseball Prospectus: Unfiltered, on February 15, 2008 7:29 PM

At TPM Cafe, we're wrapping up this week's Book Club on E.J. Dionne's new book.

In his final post, Dionne argues that the era of the Religious Right began in 1980 and may well have ended in 2004 and predicts that broad economic and foreign policy questions will supplant the cultural arguments of the last quarter century.

Arguing this week against the premise of Dionne's book has been Richard Parker, who, in his final post, suggests that the retrenchment Dionne describes is less fundamental and the result of recent political setbacks for the Republican Party. He compares the Religious Right to a trophy wife:

They felt neglected and abused by their Democratic first husband, and started fooling around with the rich Republican. But now they're married to the GOP, and they're surprised that the romance has gone away?

Our thanks to all the participants this week.

Originally posted by David Kurtz from Talking Points Memo, on February 15, 2008 12:33 PM

One iPhone developer has discontinued work on applications for the 1.1.3 firmware, and has mentioned 1.1.4 on its site. Some believe this means that 1.1.4 is coming at the same time as the iPhone SDK.

Read More...

Originally posted by justin.berka@gmail.com (Justin Berka) from Infinite Loop, on February 15, 2008 12:24 PM

Some big news came out last night that Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), an elder statesman and hero of the civil rights movement, was switching his super-delegate vote from Hillary Clinton over to Barack Obama — a huge blow to Hillary's super-delegate strategy.

But is Lewis really switching? Two other reports say he isn't — and that the original New York Times report is wrong.

The Washington Post reported late last night that a Lewis spokeswoman said he was misquoted — but there was a caveat or two in their report:

But the Clinton campaign reported having no word from Lewis on the subject, and a spokeswoman for Lewis, Brenda Jones, said the Times story and a similar one by the Associated Press, saying he was contemplating such a switch, were inaccurate. Both the Times and AP stories quoted Lewis directly after speaking with him; he was not available for comment later Thursday. The Obama campaign also said that Lewis and Obama had not talked recently about a change of heart.

On MSNBC's Morning Joe today, Andrea Mitchell backed up the Post's version of the story, saying that Lewis hasn't actually switched yet, but also added that it was "only a matter of time" until Lewis came out and endorsed Obama.

For our part, we've contacted Lewis' office and hope to get more information soon, so that we can sort out the conflicting reports.

Originally posted by Eric Kleefeld from TPM Election Central, on February 15, 2008 5:03 AM

Visualizing Information: An Introduction to Information Design is a booklet I wrote and designed to introduce advocacy organizations to basic principles and techniques of information design. It’s full of examples of interesting design from groups around the world in a variety of media and forms. It has tips, excercises, and even recommended Free Software packages to help polish up your graphics.

I worked with the Tacitcal Tech collective who provided editorial feedback and helped track down reproduction rights for the images. They’re also coordinating printing and distribution to NGOs. The project was funded by the OSI Information Program. The booklet is Creative Commons licensed.

Download the full booklet at http://apperceptive.com/infodesign.pdf

Originally posted by (author unknown) from Social Design Notes, on February 15, 2008 4:00 AM

Here it is. Here is a trailer for the documentary that I am directing about asexuality. In the not too distant future, I will explain more about it but I figured I would put it up here. More to come ...

First Asexual Trailer - 2/14/08

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Originally posted by Angela Tucker from tuckergurl, on February 14, 2008 6:46 PM

Nice TV ad for the Madrid Metro...a view of the city from underground.

(link)

Originally posted by jason@kottke.org from kottke.org, on February 14, 2008 2:48 PM

The fellow/lady behind the excellent Strange Maps blog is doing a book, The Atlas of Strange Maps. In my mind, I have pre-pre-ordered this book...I hope it gets the well-designed cover it deserves.

(link)

Originally posted by jason@kottke.org from kottke.org, on February 14, 2008 1:22 PM

Why is it a crime in the NFL to videotape the signs and behavior of the other team, and try to gain an advantage by developing an information advantage?  Wouldn’t you want your team to invest in advance scouts, recording every little arm twitch and finger movement, hoping to learn what plays are being called as a result?  Wouldn’t you want your team to develop mechanisms to counter such behavior, and to have the ability to use disinformation to get the other team to put the wrong defense out there?

In all seriousness, why is it cheating?  I would argue that it’s innovation, and if teams can develop new ways to beat their opponents, with 11 men on the field, they should be rewarded for it.  When I first heard of “SpyGate”, and seeing all the ESPN handwringing, my first thought was “Wait a minute…isn’t every team doing this already?”

Innovation in training techniques, offensive and defensive formations, trick plays — this is how teams get better.  Technology exists for precisely this purpose.  Why is it illegal to use technology in a non-invasive way to better your team’s chance of winning?  Or, more to the point, why should it be?

Originally posted by Gary Huckabay from Baseball Prospectus: Unfiltered, on February 14, 2008 1:15 PM

These two “mistranslations” are part of a larger project that consists of translating (or rather, mistranslating) poems from languages I do not know well or at all (in this case, Russian and Hungarian).

Originally posted by David Jacobs from hello, typepad, on February 14, 2008 10:46 AM

In an attempt to improve safety at intersections in Portland, Oregon, the Department of Transportation will install the city's first bike boxes at 14 locations this spring. The city will also launch a marketing campaign, "Get Behind It. The Bike Box: Portland's New Green Space," intended to educate motorists.

As Bikeportland.org reports, large signs will be posted at intersections, and brochures offer an in-depth explanation of bike boxes. Portland DOT Project Manager Rich Newlands said, “we’re specifically concerned with the issue of encroachment. Our target audience with these signs is not the biker, it is the motorist.” 

Originally posted by Jason Varone from Streetsblog, on February 14, 2008 8:13 AM

Here's '92 Clinton campaign manager (and superdelegate) David Wilhelm talking about his endorsement of Barack Obama on CNN this morning. But he gets tripped up on the logic of his argument a little bit. Like what happens if Hillary Clinton ends up with more pledged delegates? Will he switch to supporting her?

Originally posted by Josh Marshall from Talking Points Memo, on February 14, 2008 7:08 AM

By Sarah Boxer

We've Got Blog: How Weblogs Are Changing Our Culture
compiled and edited by John Rodzvilla, with an introduction by Rebecca Blood

Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob
by Lee Siegel

Republic.com 2.0
by Cass R. Sunstein

We're All Journalists Now: The Transformation of the Press and Reshaping of the Lawin the Internet Age
by Scott Gant

The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet
by Daniel J. Solove

Blogwars
by David D. Perlmutter

Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation That's Changing Your World
by Hugh Hewitt

Naked Conversations: How Blogs Are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers
by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, foreword by Tom Peters

Blog! How the Newest Media Revolution Is Changing Politics, Business, and Culture
by David Kline and Dan Burstein

The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet Is Killing Our Culture
by Andrew Keen

Two years ago, I was given a dreadful idea for a book: create an anthology of blogs. It could not be done, I was sure. Books are tight. Blogs are reckless. Books are slow. Blogs are fast. Books ask you to stay between their covers. Blogs invite you to stray. Books fret over copyright and libel. Blogs grab whatever they want with impunity --news, gossip, pictures, videos. Making a book out of bloggy material, if it could be done at all, would kill it, wouldn't it?

Originally posted by Sarah Boxer from The New York Review of Books, on February 14, 2008 7:00 AM

Wired Magazine has created a map outlining the life cycle of a blog post. They have set it up in easy to digest routes detailing: where the blog post goes, what the ping server contacts, what the reader sees and what goes back to the blog. Very interesting read for all the self-publishers out there.

See the map here.

[via Fallon Planning]

Posted by Stephy Pool on February 14, 2008
| Article Link
| Visit IF!

Originally posted by willprotein from Protein® OS -, on February 14, 2008 4:22 AM

Not particularly timely meditations on JJ Abrams' videogame-like monster movie

Originally posted by Keith Stuart from Guardian Unlimited: Gamesblog, on February 14, 2008 3:10 AM

Here are the latest delegate counts from the major news orgs after yesterday's lopsided Obama victories -- they all put Obama ahead of Hillary in total delegates, which is to say, pledged and super:

CNN: Obama 1,215, Clinton 1,190

AP: Obama 1,223, Clinton 1,198

CBS: Obama 1,242, Clinton 1,175

ABC: Obama 1,232, Clinton 1,205

So the largest spread has Obama up by 67. Nonetheless, as Mark Halperin notes, Clinton spokesperson Howard Wolfson this morning repeated the campaign's contention that the campaign will grind on all the way to the convention, calling the contest "essentially a tie."

Originally posted by Greg Sargent from TPM Election Central, on February 13, 2008 4:11 AM

Most random news of the day: Model Erin O'Connor is on the hunt for a date for London Fashion Week in September.

The British beauty is promising "front row seats and VVIP room treatment all the way" - we can already picture the date ending backstage after the show (maybe Vivienne Westwood?), and turning into a game of Truth or Dare with Agyness and Coco...

So how does one win this amazing date? Erin asks for a "wee fashionable limerick", on her Vogue UK blog, of which the wittiest will win.

Our favorite so far? "There’s nothing like a tweed Chanel jacket (Provided there’s a banker to back it). Lagerfeld’s fashioned it. For it you’re passionate! But make sure your account has the cash in it", by Erin's reader Ben Seidler. Just try to be that!

Good luck and cheers!

Originally posted by (author unknown) from Fashionista, on February 13, 2008 4:02 AM

• Brodsky: London Congestion Fee Hikes Will Happen Here Too (Sun)
• Pricing Opponents Skeptical of Parking Permit Plans (Post)
• More on London's Bike Transformation (Guardian)
• Bike Sharing Coming to Tucson? (Tucson Citizen via Bike Commute Tips)
• Quinn Debuts Ferry System Proposal in State of the City (Newsday)
  
• Spitzer: Moynihan Station Will Proceed Despite Shortfall (Sun, AP)
• Garbage Truck Kills Two at Herald Square as Driver Has Seizure (News, NYT, Post)
• Rickety Platform Edges Pose Safety Hazard in Many Subway Stations (AMNY)
• MTA Upgrades Online Trip Planner (Post)
• LIRR Ridership Highest Since 1949 (AP)

Originally posted by Ben Fried from Streetsblog, on February 13, 2008 3:48 AM

Global demand for wood is threatening the long-term survival of Africa's forest dwelling communities.

Originally from BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition, ReBlogged by Leah Gauthier on Feb 13, 2008 at 08:30 AM

Originally posted by (author unknown) from Eyebeam reBlog, on February 13, 2008 3:30 AM

Many people say that allowing illegal aliens to obtain state driver's licenses helps them and encourages them to remain illegally in this country. Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox late last year issued an opinion that licenses could be issued only to legal state residents, calling it "one more tool in our initiative to bolster Michigan's border and document security."

In reality, we are a much more secure nation if we do issue driver's licenses and/or state IDs to every resident who applies, regardless of immigration status. Issuing them doesn't make us any less secure, and refusing puts us at risk.

The state driver's license databases are the only comprehensive databases of U.S. residents. They're more complete, and contain more information - including photographs and, in some cases, fingerprints - than the IRS database, the Social Security database, or state birth certificate databases. As such, they are an invaluable police tool - for investigating crimes, tracking down suspects, and proving guilt.

Removing the 8 million-15 million illegal immigrants from these databases would only make law enforcement harder. Of course, the unlicensed won't pack up and leave. They will drive without licenses, increasing insurance premiums for everyone. They will use fake IDs, buy real IDs from crooked DMV employees - as several of the 9/11 terrorists did - forge "breeder documents" to get real IDs (another 9/11 terrorist trick), or resort to identity theft. These millions of people will continue to live and work in this country, invisible to any government database and therefore the police.

Assuming that denying licenses to illegals will make them leave is head-in-the-sand thinking.

Of course, even an attempt to deny licenses to illegal immigrants puts DMV clerks in the impossible position of verifying immigration status. This is expensive and time-consuming; furthermore, it won't work. The law is complicated, and it can take hours to verify someone's status only to get it wrong. Paperwork can be easy to forge, far easier than driver's licenses, meaning many illegal immigrants will get these licenses that now "prove" immigrant status.

Even more legal immigrants will be mistakenly denied licenses, resulting in lawsuits and additional government expense.

Some states have considered a tiered license system, one that explicitly lists immigration status on the licenses. Of course, this won't work either. Illegal immigrants are far more likely to take their chances being caught than admit their immigration status to the DMV.

We are all safer if everyone in society trusts and respects law enforcement. A society where illegal immigrants are afraid to talk to police because of fear of deportation is a society where fewer people come forward to report crimes, aid police investigations, and testify as witnesses.

And finally, denying driver's licenses to illegal immigrants will not protect us from terrorism. Contrary to popular belief, a driver's license is not required to board a plane. You can use any government-issued photo ID, including a foreign passport. And if you're willing to undergo secondary screening, you can board a plane without an ID at all. This is probably how anybody on the "no fly" list gets around these days.

A 2003 American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators report concludes: "Digital images from driver's licenses have significantly aided law enforcement agencies charged with homeland security. The 19 (9/11) terrorists obtained driver licenses from several states, and federal authorities relied heavily on these images for the identification of the individuals responsible."

Whether it's the DHS trying to protect the nation from terrorism, or local, state and national law enforcement trying to protect the nation from crime, we are all safer if we encourage every adult in America to get a driver's license.

This op ed originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press.

Originally posted by schneier from Schneier on Security, on February 13, 2008 1:57 AM

Right on, VG Cats!

(c) as per the notice.

If only.

I'm watching C play Paper Mario. The switching between 2D and 3D is entertaining him no end, although apparently the lack of 4D is somewhat of a disappointment.

Originally posted by Alice from Wonderland, on February 13, 2008 1:37 AM

Does your breathing pattern change when you open your e-mail inbox or check your Blackberry? Do you hold your breath? Longtime TEDster Linda Stone has given a name -- "e-mail apnea" -- to what she describes as a "temporary absence or suspension of breathing, or shallow breathing, while doing e-mail". She has researched how this disturbs our body's balance of oxygen, CO2 and NO and impacts our nervous system. Take a deep breath and read her revealing diagnosis here.

Originally posted by (author unknown) from TED | TEDBlog, on February 13, 2008 12:57 AM

We’re launching our new company and site today. Everyone, meet Next Update. Next Update, meet everyone. We’re still working on a name and domain for the issue tracker, but getting the company site up was an important step that couldn’t wait for that to get worked out. Besides, I wanted to have a more appropriate place for sharing information about the issue tracker and our progress.

I’ll still be blogging here, but from now on, all of the updates for the issue tracker will end up at NextUpdate.com. We’ve also setup a Twitter account, and even the requisite email signup form.

The Name

I’ve had the domain for Next Update for quite some time, and the original plans for it had nothing to do with building a company. However, I always knew that I really liked the name and the URL. With software, there are several layers of meaning within the name that I think really work for what we’re doing. I’m not going to go into them all, but suffice it to say I’m really happy with it.

The Site

It’s still really rough around the edges, and it should definitely be considered a work in progress. The goal was to get something workable up and running as fast as possible so we can stay focused on building the actual application. Plus, we’re big proponents of getting the basics down and then worrying about fine-tuning over time. So despite a plethora of additional ideas, we only have a blog and comments for now. Oh yeah, and an email signup form.

That’s all for now, but we’ll be sharing plenty more in the coming months.

Originally posted by (author unknown) from GarrettDimon.com, on February 13, 2008 12:12 AM

The strike is over and our hosts are back to work. But as soon as they get settled in, they'll be returning with a new post-strike incarnation of United Hollywood Live. Details to come.

And to all the listeners, guests and volunteers who made UH Live - Version 1.0 such a big success, a sincere and heartfelt thank you.

Originally posted by Lew Wasserman's Plumber from United Hollywood, on February 12, 2008 11:38 PM

The video from the First Look at Core Animation CocoaHeads talk for Feb 7 is now available as part 1 and part 2 on Google Video. Slides and projects are available for download as well...

Originally posted by scott from Theobroma Cacao, on February 12, 2008 10:12 PM

very long, absolutely essential reading; gives tremendous insight into the repercussions of documentary filmmaking  

Originally posted by (author unknown) from Waxy.org Links, on February 12, 2008 9:19 PM

Believe it or not...my little girl is four. The day began with a flashy tiara, dangly clip-on earrings, and a hankering for a party. My plan had been to enjoy a quiet day at home, opening presents and playing together, sharing a simple dinner with family, and topping the whole thing off with that famously easy chocolate cake. Luna's plan was a day-long celebration, with a steady stream of well-wishers, lots of presents, lots of playing, chocolate cake with buttercream frosting, topped with fresh strawberries, and chocolate cupcakes, culminating in an impromptu sleepover. How does she do that?

Happy Birthday, Luna.

Originally posted by Lorraine from blueperiod., on February 12, 2008 5:40 PM

As you're watching the returns come in, you might want to check out the conversation at TPMCafe's Book Club about E.J. Dionne's new book, Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics after the Religious Right.

In his latest post, Dionne contemplates the challenges facing Democrats:

As a practical matter, the Democrats have a more complicated task on questions of religion: theirs is simultaneously the party of secular voters, who make up an important minority of its supporters, and religious voters. The political task of creating harmony among these groups is formidable.

Lots of great folks are participating in the discussion.

Originally posted by David Kurtz from Talking Points Memo, on February 12, 2008 4:35 PM

…i took a tour of Citi Field today…i will provide notes and pictures tomorrow…however, for the sake of time, i wanted to relay the following two items…

1) People who are currently have full season ticket plans for this year at Shea Stadium will get first priority to buy season tickets for Citi Field.  The team has yet to make a decision on what will happen to people who have partial season-ticket plans at Shea, with regards to Citi, though they are hoping to make an announcement soon.

2) A Home-Run Apple will be featured below the scoreboard at Citi Field, and will rise out of a gigantic cement canister that has already been built.  However, as the team’s spokesman said, “It may or may not be the same apple that is at Shea Stadium today.” 

…the thing that they do not understand is that, it’s not that we want an apple, it’s that we want the apple…

…there is a very big difference…

Originally posted by Matthew Cerrone from MetsBlog.com, on February 12, 2008 4:22 PM

Chocolate Scrabble: the perfect edible gift for your Scrabble lover. [via swissmiss]

Originally posted by Alaina Browne from A Full Belly, on February 12, 2008 12:48 PM

Ain’t It Cool News has a nice tribute to movie poster artist John Alvin who passed away last week. They’ve posted a small gallery of some of his more recognizable movie posters, and link to this collection as well.

(Thanks, Kenton)

ShareThis

Originally posted by Johnny from Drawn! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog, on February 12, 2008 12:22 PM

From a comment by Anu Gupta on the Movable Type site:

Communities are about giving as well as taking - so if you’re concerned about the lack of “action” in the forums, hey, roll up your sleeves and help, rather than just whine from the sidelines and post unsubstantiated gripes about the “multitude of woes” that people are experiencing.

If you’ve got real issues, and you’ve paid for a license, then raise a support ticket. If you’re moaning about what’s not present in the OS version, then hell, dive into the code and start fixing stuff, or engage with the community to see what’s possible, or pay someone to develop something.

Originally posted by Timothy Appnel from Code / Appnel Solutions, on February 12, 2008 9:34 AM

With the right network setup, copying data over a wireless network can actually happen at a tolerable speed. More than you ever wanted to know inside.

Read More...

Originally posted by iljitsch@gmail.com (Iljitsch van Beijnum) from Infinite Loop, on February 12, 2008 9:12 AM

This just out from the AP:

Iran is gaming its future in Iraq on three fronts, the most public of which has been face-to-face meetings between U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Kazemi Qomi. Another session could be held in March.

While Crocker has insisted the talks have not veered from topics surrounding Iraqi security, the Iraqi officials, some of whom sat in on the meetings, say their scope has expanded.

The result, the officials said, was Iran's pledge to stop backing the Mahdi Army in return for the Bush administration lowering its rhetoric about Iran's nuclear program. The Iraqis who spoke about the talks said they believed the release of the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate in December was a quid pro quo to Tehran for it having turned its back on the Mahdi Army.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

The NIE, in an about-face, said Iran had halted its secret attempts to build nuclear weapons in 2003, contrary to White House claims that Iran was using a civilian nuclear energy program as cover to build nuclear weapons.

Since then, Washington's pronouncements have softened significantly.

Originally posted by David Kurtz from Talking Points Memo, on February 12, 2008 9:03 AM

London Mayor Ken Livingstone is on a tear. Yesterday he announced a £500 million investment in new bicycling infrastructure. Today, he approved a plan to charge the drivers of SUVs, high powered sports cars and other large engine, high emission vehicles a £25 fee ($50!) to drive into Central London's congestion charging zone. Simultaneously, low emission vehicles will become exempt from paying the charge. In a press release, Livingstone said,

The CO2 charge will encourage people to switch to cleaner vehicles or public transport and ensure that those who choose to carry on driving the most polluting vehicles help pay for the environmental damage they cause. This is the "polluter pays" principle. At the same time, the 100 per cent discount we are introducing for the lowest CO2 emitting vehicles will give drivers in London an incentive to use the least polluting cars available.

BBC News has more:

The new charges come into force on 27 October this year.

Transport for London (TfL) estimates about 33,000 vehicles that will now fall into the £25 charge sector drive into London each day.

It predicts about two-thirds of these will no longer come into the charge zone once the new fee is introduced.

London's transport commissioner, Peter Hendy, said the new charges were likely to bring in £30m to £50m a year, with most of this money going on new cycling and walking initiatives...

...The National Alliance Against Tolls said: "This move is not based on logic but on the whipping up of prejudices against those who use these particular vehicles."

Photo: Bennet Summers / Flickr.

Originally posted by Aaron Naparstek from Streetsblog, on February 12, 2008 8:45 AM

"1) Concept before Compilation (who's it for) 2) Hierarchy with Harmony (what's important) 3) Simplicity from Sacrifice 4) Maximum Information at Minimum Cost 5) Engage the Emotion to Engage the Understanding"

Originally posted by Michal Migurski from tecznotes links, on February 11, 2008 10:43 PM

Brendan Canty is the drummer for Fugazi, the rightly revered D.C. post-punk band whose page on the Dischord Records website still states "1987 - present." The group hasn’t played together or released an album since their phenomenal seventh LP, The Argument; in 2002 they embarked on what is looking increasingly like a permanent hiatus. Like his bandmates, Canty has been consumed by various other creative projects: he’s produced albums for Ted Leo and The Thermals, among others; recorded and toured with Bob Mould; composed soundtracks for film and television; directed Sunken Treasure, Jeff Tweedy's live concert documentary; and helmed an eccentric rock DVD series called Burn to Shine. Started in D.C. in 2004, each DVD is shot on a single day with a lineup of bands who each get two takes on one song in a house slated for demolition. Canty will be at The Kitchen Wednesday night to perform live soundtracks to Brent Green’s distinctive stop motion animation films; other musicians on the bill include Jim Becker (Califone) and Fred Lonberg-Holm (Wilco, Freakwater). The 8pm show is sold out; tickets for the 10pm show are still available.

How did this ongoing collaboration with Brent Green come about? Through a mutual friend, Amy Domingues, who is sort of a premiere rock ‘n’ roll cellist. She’s played with a ton of people like Chan Marshall and Fugazi.

She was on The Argument, right? Yes, and now she’s in Nashville recording with Benjy Ferree. She’s the one who introduced me to Brent and we really hit it off. I like the fact that is he just a really hard worker. Besides the aesthetic, which I love.

Yeah, he’s self-taught, isn’t he? He is self-taught. His first films were made by stringing together about 10,000 individual photographs in iMovie on his Mac. Anybody who goes through the trouble of actually using the tools at hand to make the film he wants to make on his own terms is someone I give lots of credit. I know this isn’t the most well spoken interview ever but I’m trying to get my head together while walking around pulling things out of my daughter’s mouth. She’s eight months old, and while I’m speaking to you she’s crawling around, picking up things to choke on, looking at me and then shoving them in her mouth.

She knows daddy can multitask. Yeah, I’m a lifeguard and a drummer.

That’s fine. What is it you like about his films? I like how beautifully primitive they are, how he exposes his own process by leaving the scotch tape on the prints. That made me think that he is more interested in rugged beauty and wasn’t someone who was going to hide who he really is. There’s an underlying honesty to the way he deals with his art and performance. He gets up there in front of the whole crowd, speaks the dialogue and really exposes himself in his work and in his performance. I know that sounds overtly emo but it’s something that really speaks to me.

There’s so much bullshit and artifice in the art world and music world where people just hide, especially in this age of Pro Tools music perfection and digital effects in photography. Brent chooses to highlight his blemishes. It sort of all goes back to the idea that the things we view as mistakes in ourselves our only considered mistakes because they set us apart from other people. But the mistakes are our individuality. I’ve never asked him if he wants to make a big blockbuster movie but I don’t think that’s where he’s coming from.So when you perform music with his films is it improvised? For the most part, yes. I know the script and the dialogue now, having done it a few times, so I know when something’s going to come up. But he’s usually working on something that he’ll screen without telling me and we have to improvise to it.

Live? Yeah. Which is fine. [Laughs] It’s not always the most successful part of the show but it can be. But even when we know the film a lot of it is improvised.

So are you the one the other musicians are generally following along with? It depends. I think in any improvised situation you get into a pack mentality where somebody’s going to be alpha to a certain extent. And the alpha dog here is always Brent and his script. But sometimes people are better or worse at listening to what the script is suggesting, and that’s when I sort of take over and boss people around. [Laughs] Not boss them around, but I play a little louder so people can follow. Sometimes it’s just first-time people who sit in when we do this. Not often, but it’s happened.

When I played with Califone doing this stuff I would defer to those guys because they’ve toured with Brent and they taught me how much better the musical aspect of it works when you just create a bed of music for Brent’s script. It’s better when we make a soundtrack and resist the temptation to go for the wood blocks whenever someone in the film knocks on a door, you know?

"Paulina Hollers" by Brent Green

Because you run Trixie DVD do you help him with any other aspects of the projects? I helped him with the audio on Hadacol Christmas. But I haven’t helped him with the most recent stuff. The things he’s working on now are pretty interesting; he’s been making more non stop-motion films up in his gigantic barn studio in Pennsylvania. He’s been tying birds to strings. [Laughs]

Live birds? He has. [Laughs] He has. I don’t know if I’m letting the cat out of the bag here, but I’ve just seen some footage of a little girl who’s got strings tied between her and the birds flying above her. He claims to have consulted a bird handler to figure out what the best way to achieve this vision was.

Is this going to be screened in New York? I think he might show some of it; he did when we were at a film festival in Charlottesville.

I see the Seattle Burn to Shine is coming out soon. How did the filming of that go? One of my favorite parts of the day was Jesy Fortino, you know, Tiny Vipers. We shot it up in the center of Seattle by the zoo, and seemingly everyone in the world would know how to get there – but not her. And she calls me and says, “I’m down by the airport. What bus goes there?” I don’t know what bus goes there! But she made it in and was just amazing. Eddie Vedder played a great song on his ukulele. Ben Gibbard played an unreleased acoustic song. I guess I shouldn’t spoil it but at the end the house doesn’t get destroyed, which is kind of a funny thing. At the last minute somebody came by – the day we were filming – and fell in love with the house and moved it down the hill to an empty lot. So instead of being destroyed like the houses in the other films, it ends with this really creepy final segment of the house rolling on the back of a truck in the middle of the night followed by a parade of people.

That sounds cool. It is; it’s a really great ending. It’s a very ‘Seattle-recycles’ kind of ending. The vibe was great at this one but the more of these I do, the more people want to do them and we end up with too many bands because we have a hard time saying no.

What are some of the biggest crises you’ve had to deal with during Burn to Shine? On this one [Seattle] we were shooting on Saturday and I lost our original location on Monday. I was in D.C. and had to find a new place to shoot this – a place that was going to be destroyed – by the weekend. So I called up an architectural salvage place and that’s when I immediately started throwing around the word Fugazi. “Hi, this is Brendan from Fugazi! Does anybody there know Fugazi?” We found this one guy John who really saved our ass. He had these two old outdated bungalows that people didn’t know what to do with. They were going to salvage all the stained glass windows in them and this guy fostered a relationship with the developer who owned the property. The name Fugazi didn’t resonate with him so I started throwing around Eddie Vedder’s name with him and pretty much sealed the deal by saying his wife could meet Eddie Vedder the day of the shoot.

But yeah. Getting a house that is going to be burned, convincing firemen that you’re okay and convincing owners and neighbors that you’re okay and that it’s okay that you’re going to bring 60 people into the house and play rock in there all day long and then film the demolition… the whole thing is really a headache. I love it but it’s so much work. Getting the bands together is a cakewalk compared to convincing people this is a good idea to do in their house.

Will you be joining Bob Mould on tour in March? I would like to but it’s a month long tour and my wife started working again recently. She got offered this great job and I’m not really ready for a month on the road. I did play his last record. I’m also finishing a record with Ian Svenonius who was in Make-Up and Nation of Ulysses. We’re putting the songs together and we’re going to make a film out of it with this guy Tom Bunnell, a visual artist who’s a friend of mine.

There was a rumor over the summer that Fugazi would reunite to play a Fort Reno show again, which seemed to me immediately bogus. My impression is that you guys aren’t getting back together, and definitely not for just one show. Yeah. [Laughs] I mean, we might do it for a benefit kind of thing. But everybody is doing something different. Almost all of us have kids now. Fugazi was a real full time activity and the reason we stopped a few years ago was because it didn’t feel like Fugazi when we only did it twenty percent of the time.

But you’re right, I don’t see us putting it all back together, which would be a lot of work. We still see each other all the time, except for Joe, who’s moved to Rome. If there was a burning desire for us to get back together and do it, we would do it. There’s nothing necessarily stopping us. But I don’t see it happening. I’ve got to say, it doesn’t feel like things are pointing in that direction. It just doesn’t seem like that would necessarily be a step forward for any of us. It doesn’t really make sense, you know?

I love the guys. Everybody continues to make music and everybody is plenty stimulated in their lives. I don’t see us going back to Fugazi. I think everybody was pretty much ready for a break by the time it was done. Then again, we never put it out of our heads, really. A lot of the reasons why we stopped were logistical because of kids and things like that. It was mostly kids and death. Kids were being born and almost all our parents were dying at the same time. Everybody was like, “Okay, we need to take a break.” I’m not saying all our parents are dead but everybody in the band lost somebody.

It was interesting seeing the four of you split amicably. For someone like me, Fugazi is one of a small handful of bands who have consistently articulated, through music, a lot of things inside myself. So when this hiatus kept lasting it got confusing because I'm thinking, “Okay, they’re all making music but not together. What’s stopping them from doing it together?” The split was amicable and the last album is as great as anything the band has ever done. But recently it’s starting to make more sense because you see everyone getting fulfillment making music and doing projects on their own, which wouldn’t be possible while doing Fugazi, which seemed like an all-consuming project. Yes, that’s exactly right. When you do an all-or-nothing project you have to eek all of your artistic fulfillment out of it and you have to earn the dough from that project, too. Everything has to come from that one thing. And you end up being frustrated. No matter how fulfilling it is, the limitations of the other personalities and limitations of the system Fugazi set up for us to live in, in terms of economics, in terms of method of touring… I stand behind all these things but something had to give, you know? I just felt like we were going to the same well to many times. I know I was in danger of being Rip Van Winkle, of waking up at 40 and realizing that I really only did one thing and I had other things I wanted to do! And I couldn’t do them all and I couldn’t make Fugazi do everything I wanted to do, because that wouldn’t be fair.

Do you go back and listen to the albums? Sometimes. I have a ten year old. You know, I have kids who play music and they make me listen to it sometimes. I don’t actually listen to the records so much but sometimes I listen to the Youtube stuff, that’s really interesting. A lot of the more memorable shows in my mind are up on Youtube, like Gainesville in 1988, which was the hottest show I ever played. But I don’t listen to the records really. I’m not sure I have them all. [Laughs] I give them away. I get a new box every time they get remastered. But The Argument was one of my favorite records we ever did and it was the last record and made me feel like at least we stopped on a high note. But you also have to realize that record really took three years to make. It’s just too long, you know. It kind of gives you the inkling that maybe your parameters are set a bit tight, you know.

What are the songs you’re most fond of? Let me see. I liked Bed for the Scraping. I remember writing that and thinking, “That’s a pretty good song!” I don’t know. I don’t really have specific favorites. I guess looking back on it, and this has very little to do with me, but when you look back at Suggestion and realize Ian [MacKaye] was writing Suggestion at the age of 20, that he deserves so much credit for that song. To be young and bold enough to write a song about rape, as a man, is something to be proud of.

One more question. That song Walken’s Syndrome. What is that sound at the beginning that sounds like an animal being tortured? I don’t remember the beginning.

I’ll play it now. Yeah, I think that’s Ian jamming his malfunctioning guitar head against something. No animals were tortured during the making of that record.

Originally posted by John Del Signore from Gothamist Weekly Favorites, on February 11, 2008 2:47 PM

In a column that seems designed to mend fences with Obama backers (yes, that's sarcastic), Paul Krugman comes right out and says that "most of the venom" in this race is coming from Obama supporters, and suggests that a "cult of personality" has formed around the Illinois Senator. That's really throwing down the gauntlet. Krugman also says some noteworthy stuff about the "Clinton rules" of punditry. More on that right here at The Horse's Mouth.

Originally posted by Greg Sargent from TPM Election Central, on February 11, 2008 12:37 PM

I had to actually LEAVE THE HOUSE today (I know, shock, horror) and it's disgustingly cold outside. Did I cave in and wear pants? NO!

"But Erin," I hear you saying, "How can I continue my skirt- and dress-wearing ways when it's ONE DEGREE (F) outside?"

I don't know how you can do it, but this is how I do it; in addition to my dress or skirt I wear:

-- two pairs of tights (this, alone, is warmer than most pairs of pants)
-- wool socks inside my boots
-- a silk undershirt (if I can remember where I put mine away in the spring, always a problem)
-- a wool turtleneck sweater
-- a hat, no matter how dorky I look in hats
-- lip balm applied to about the thickness of cake frosting (not really about keeping warm, but essential nonetheless)

and ... the secret weapon: if it's REALLY, REALLY cold, I keep handy a stock of those three-dollar chemical warmers you can buy in the drugstore. I'm not sure how they work -- it could be little imps released from hell in there, but as long as they pump out the heat, I don't care. Putting one on top of your undershirt, between your shoulder blades (or even wearing one of the ones that looks like a belt, which are nearly invisible under a sweater) means you can laugh at the cold. (It may be a sniffly, pathetic, whimpering laugh, but still: laughing.) The best part of those chemical warmers is that they last ALL DAY and you can keep one handy in your bag, just in case. (The only thing I haven't tested is whether or not they set off the metal detector at the airport; last time I traveled wearing one I made a quick stop at the ladies' room to take it off. I try not to annoy the TSA with my unusual accessories any more than necessary.)

Also, La BellaDonna had some good comments about dressing for cold weather in the comments to this post, ... feel free to add more hints and tips in the comments here, as well!

Originally posted by Erin from A Dress A Day, on February 11, 2008 9:11 AM

In the past few weeks, Pangea Day has received more than 1,200 film submissions from filmmakers in 40 countries, and the films keep on coming! There are four days left until submissions close on February 15 -- still time for you to submit your film and tell your story to the world on Pangea Day, May 10, 2008.

To submit to Pangea Day, register your film at PangeaDay.org or WithoutaBox.com. Then, you may upload your film to YouTube, or mail it to us:

TED Conferences
c/o Pangea Day
55 Vandam, 16th Floor
New York, NY 10013

Visit PangeaDay.org to find out more ways to get involved -- by hosting an event or joining others to share in this global film festival.

Originally posted by (author unknown) from TED | TEDBlog, on February 11, 2008 7:30 AM

Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne will be at the TPMCafe Book Club this week discussing his new book, Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics After the Religious Right. Dionne lays out his premise in his first Cafe post:

Souled Out insists that religious faith does not lead ineluctably to conservative political convictions. It argues that the era of the religious Right is over. Its collapse is part of a larger decline of a certain style of ideological conservatism that reached high points in 1980 and 1994 but suffered a series of decisive and I believe fatal setbacks during George W. Bush’s second term. The end of the religious Right does not signal a decline in evangelical Christianity. On the contrary, it is a sign of a new reformation among Christians who are disentangling their great movement from a political machine. This historic change will require liberals and conservatives alike to abandon their sometimes narrow views of who religious Americans are and what they believe.

We've got a great line-up for this week's discussion, including Richard Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals, Alexia Kelley of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, J. Peter Scoblic of The New Republic and the Carnegie Endowment, Richard Parker of Harvard University, Brian McClaren of Emergent Village and Sojourners, and Garance Franke-Ruta, lately of washingtonpost.com. Please join in.

Originally posted by David Kurtz from Talking Points Memo, on February 11, 2008 7:02 AM

Slice has it, via Chowhound, that Di Fara's raised their prices from $3 to a shocking $4 a slice and upped their sodas to $2 a can. Predictably the Chowhound thread is long and convoluted, but Adam Kuban wades through and sums it up thusly: "There's some lively debate going on on the thread, from the predictable ("It's worth it!" "Fewer people will come; more for me!") to debates on free market capitalism and whether proprietor Dom DeMarco is beholden to a strong euro and rising import prices or just a shrewd businessman trying to fleece suckers...I'm a sucker, I'll admit. So I'll still go." [Slice]

Originally posted by Amanda from Eater, on February 11, 2008 4:00 AM

An intriguing new “urban computing” in the form of “communicating bamboo” has been developed by Orange Labs (A France Telecom R&D subsidiary). The point of such urban devices is to make WiFi hostpots more visible in public spaces and to access push-based services (mp3 download, vocal announces, etc.). Beyond the “((o))” signs that are starting to be used to show that there is wifi in the vicinity, this project is curious since it provides people with a more tangible artifacts. Related to this project is the idea of “Data Forest” in which the bamboo would be an anchor to digital services (hence a forest made of lots of bamboos). (Via fabien eychenne). For people who can read french, there is a video about this service here (presented by Emmanuel Mahé).

Why do I blog this? What is interesting here is the design of something tangible that would reveal that digital-yet-invisible services are available. A new sort of urban furnitures to some extent. I bet the designers also expect different uses to appear such as wifi picnic Nintendo DS group-play or other weird behavior yet to be described.

Originally posted by Nicolas Nova from Pasta&Vinegar, on February 11, 2008 2:13 AM

Here's a new art site trying to grapple with the fact that we're 5 years into a never-ending war, and most of us have moved on to pretend that it isn't happening.

Artists At War is just starting out, but it's worth taking a look at and thinking about contributing to. it's a good thing to ask artists to respond to the larger world and to think about the war. Here's what they have to say for themselves:

Enter art, culture, TV, fashion and filmmaking. What does the current cultural output say about our subconscious grievances, fears and desires percolating below the surface in a society where we perpetrate unfounded war abroad? What role is culture playing in galvanizing a collective understanding about the troubled times we’re living through?

War threatens our imagination as well as our humanity, which are qualities that every artist thrives on. This website seeks to provide a solid foothold of subversive artwork that can support a thread of defiance and demystification through the culture at large.

Artists At War is a collaborative project organized by LA artists Steven L. Anderson and Thomas McKenzie. New projects will be posted monthly ad the first project is work by Los Angeles artist Charles Irvin, with four pieces that explore the nature of the political press conference.

Originally posted by (author unknown) from Just Seeds: Blog, on February 10, 2008 3:26 AM