NOTE TO SELF: very rewarding film worthy of a high recommendation and more
Last night I watched a very moving and beautiful documentary film, "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill." Shown on a PBS station it was part of the Independent Lens series and featured an hour-and-a-half that passed by like a flash, focusing on a very special man, Mark Bittner and his relationship with the group of wild parrots that make their home in the San Francisco area.
A former musician Bittner arrived in the city a while back to further his musical career but instead ended up sharing his life - and love - with a flock of birds that live there. Like the people who have to survive the urban jungle, the green parrots must fend off predators like hawks and cats who enjoy them as a snack or main course.
For photograph buffs - this is a feast for the eyes in addition to the soul with images of green parrots being themselves. Just didn't want it to be over...
Don't know if it will be repeated but if you see it on your PBS schedule, make a point of watching it. It's that good.
Click here for more information about the film: http://www.wildparrotsfilm.com/
Other interesting sites worthy of a look:
http://www.the-oasis.org/residents/cherryheads.php
http://www.mickaboo.com/
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
ROSIE O IS GONE...GONNA MISS HER
NOTE TO SELF: It just won't be the same without Rosie O'Donnell
She came, she made her presence felt and and now she's gone.
Too bad.
Love her or hate and few people were indifferent but for the brief stint that Rosie O'Donnell was on "The View", there was life to the show. It made for fun viewing because you really never knew what was coming.
The producers and Barbara Walters were aware when they hired Rosie that she was a controversial and colorful character, which was probably one of the reasons for bringing her on in the first place. Too bad they didn't value what she brought to the show: life.
When it comes down to it, who is Elizabeth Hasselback anyway with her claim to fame being a former contestant who came in 4th on "Survivor"?
Sad that it had to come down to this.
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
She came, she made her presence felt and and now she's gone.
Too bad.
Love her or hate and few people were indifferent but for the brief stint that Rosie O'Donnell was on "The View", there was life to the show. It made for fun viewing because you really never knew what was coming.
The producers and Barbara Walters were aware when they hired Rosie that she was a controversial and colorful character, which was probably one of the reasons for bringing her on in the first place. Too bad they didn't value what she brought to the show: life.
When it comes down to it, who is Elizabeth Hasselback anyway with her claim to fame being a former contestant who came in 4th on "Survivor"?
Sad that it had to come down to this.
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Monday, May 21, 2007
IRAQ SOLDIER TRIES TO SELL MEDAL ON eBAY
NOTE TO SELF: IRAQ SOLDIER MAKING PERSONAL STATEMENT OR...?
Not quite sure what to think regarding a soldier facing a court martial attempting to sell his Military Cross on eBay. He received the medal for heroism in Iraq and claims he needed money to help support himself once his stint with the army comes to an end. However military law forbids soldiers in military service to sell their medals. In his defence he claimed that he placed the medal and other items on sale to see what type of price they would get.
He won the Cross for single-handedly defeating a suicide bomber's ambush in Baghdad in 2005 in additon to other military-related items.
Don't bother seeking it out on eBay due to the outcry from those in charge and the medal et al has been withdrawn.
When you thinnk about it, how desperate could the soldier be to put a Military Cross for sale? Makes a person wonder whether it was a political anti-war statement or he desperately required money.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007230300,00.html
Not quite sure what to think regarding a soldier facing a court martial attempting to sell his Military Cross on eBay. He received the medal for heroism in Iraq and claims he needed money to help support himself once his stint with the army comes to an end. However military law forbids soldiers in military service to sell their medals. In his defence he claimed that he placed the medal and other items on sale to see what type of price they would get.
He won the Cross for single-handedly defeating a suicide bomber's ambush in Baghdad in 2005 in additon to other military-related items.
Don't bother seeking it out on eBay due to the outcry from those in charge and the medal et al has been withdrawn.
When you thinnk about it, how desperate could the soldier be to put a Military Cross for sale? Makes a person wonder whether it was a political anti-war statement or he desperately required money.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007230300,00.html
Saturday, May 19, 2007
BRAIN SCANNER SCANS YOUR INTENTIONS
NOTE TO SELF: Don't think too much
A new discovery by scientists could have a scary potential for human-kind.
World-leading neuroscientists have developed a technique allowing them to delve inside a person's brain to gauge their intentions before they act.
This is a scary proposition.
According to an article written in The Guardian in February, the research breaks new ground and raises controversial ethical questions as to how brain reading can or will be used in the future. High resolution brain scans were used to identify patterns of activity before translating them into thoughts.
It works whereby a computer learns unique patterns of brain activity or signatures to correspond to different thoughts. It scans the brain to look for these signatures and predicts what the person is thinking.
Still laughing at people who use foil on their head to stop the enemy from reading their thoughts?
Again, this is a very scary proposition when you think about it. It's one thing to think a thought so to speak, but entirely a whole other issue to actually act on it. For example and thinking down the line, if this type of technology was used by the various law enforcement agencies during questioning, how could interrogaters differentiate a random negative thought to doing an actual criminal act? Or to put it in simplistic terms, a dog barking may annoy neighbors causing them to think bad thoughts but that's as far as it goes for most people. It stops at the thought level and remains there.
Researchers are honing the technique to distinguish passing thoughts and intentions.
Pass the foil please.
Read more about this discovery and the technical aspects of how it works here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2009229,00.html
A new discovery by scientists could have a scary potential for human-kind.
World-leading neuroscientists have developed a technique allowing them to delve inside a person's brain to gauge their intentions before they act.
This is a scary proposition.
According to an article written in The Guardian in February, the research breaks new ground and raises controversial ethical questions as to how brain reading can or will be used in the future. High resolution brain scans were used to identify patterns of activity before translating them into thoughts.
It works whereby a computer learns unique patterns of brain activity or signatures to correspond to different thoughts. It scans the brain to look for these signatures and predicts what the person is thinking.
Still laughing at people who use foil on their head to stop the enemy from reading their thoughts?
Again, this is a very scary proposition when you think about it. It's one thing to think a thought so to speak, but entirely a whole other issue to actually act on it. For example and thinking down the line, if this type of technology was used by the various law enforcement agencies during questioning, how could interrogaters differentiate a random negative thought to doing an actual criminal act? Or to put it in simplistic terms, a dog barking may annoy neighbors causing them to think bad thoughts but that's as far as it goes for most people. It stops at the thought level and remains there.
Researchers are honing the technique to distinguish passing thoughts and intentions.
Pass the foil please.
Read more about this discovery and the technical aspects of how it works here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2009229,00.html
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
WEIGHING IN ON THE ONE AND TWO DOLLAR COINS:
NOTE TO SELF: Buy new wallet...again
The Royal Canadian Mint a while back decided to replace $1 and $2 bills with gold-colored coins. The rationale behind it is that paper money wears out especially the lower denominations that are used more often and replacing them with metal money is more cost effective.
Makes sense, right?
It might make sense to the Mint but it sure don't make sense to we Canadians! At first it was kind-of "different" but as time wore on as did our wallets/pocket books, many of us longed for the "good old days" when paper bills were the norm. Wallets, many of which are not manufactured in Canada, are not created to withstand the weight of large coins, neither are they designed to hold large coins. So along with your plethora of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters plus the loonies and two-nies, it's a weighty situation. Sore shoulder-itis is a common affliction and the coins in general are also a pain in the butt.
Buoyed with confidence that they did a good thing saving the tax payers money, the Mint hinted through the media that a $5 coin could be in the works. This did not go over well with Canadians and at present it remains on the backburner. Let's hope it stays there. Forever.
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
The Royal Canadian Mint a while back decided to replace $1 and $2 bills with gold-colored coins. The rationale behind it is that paper money wears out especially the lower denominations that are used more often and replacing them with metal money is more cost effective.
Makes sense, right?
It might make sense to the Mint but it sure don't make sense to we Canadians! At first it was kind-of "different" but as time wore on as did our wallets/pocket books, many of us longed for the "good old days" when paper bills were the norm. Wallets, many of which are not manufactured in Canada, are not created to withstand the weight of large coins, neither are they designed to hold large coins. So along with your plethora of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters plus the loonies and two-nies, it's a weighty situation. Sore shoulder-itis is a common affliction and the coins in general are also a pain in the butt.
Buoyed with confidence that they did a good thing saving the tax payers money, the Mint hinted through the media that a $5 coin could be in the works. This did not go over well with Canadians and at present it remains on the backburner. Let's hope it stays there. Forever.
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Friday, May 11, 2007
OUTSOURCING U.S. NEWS...FROM INDIA???
NOTE TO SELF: Send note to Lou Dobbs.
Be afraid, U.S. journalists...be very afraid.
There was a job posting presumably in Pasadena, CA, seeking a journalist based in India to report on the city and political scene in Pasadena, California.
You read it right: a journalist based in India! Talk about taking outsourcing to the extreme.
"James Macpherson, editor and publisher of the two-year-old Web site pasadenanow.com, acknowledged it sounds strange to have journalists in India cover news in this wealthy city just outside Los Angeles. But he said it can be done from afar now that weekly Pasadena City Council meetings can be watched over the Internet. And he said the idea makes business sense because of India's lower labor costs."
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/MediaNews/2007/05/10/4169470-ap.html
www.pasadenalivingmagazine.com/contents.html
If this is indeed the reality then this is out-sourcing taken to the extreme. A very scary precedent for anyone working in the print/news business.
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Be afraid, U.S. journalists...be very afraid.
There was a job posting presumably in Pasadena, CA, seeking a journalist based in India to report on the city and political scene in Pasadena, California.
You read it right: a journalist based in India! Talk about taking outsourcing to the extreme.
"James Macpherson, editor and publisher of the two-year-old Web site pasadenanow.com, acknowledged it sounds strange to have journalists in India cover news in this wealthy city just outside Los Angeles. But he said it can be done from afar now that weekly Pasadena City Council meetings can be watched over the Internet. And he said the idea makes business sense because of India's lower labor costs."
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/MediaNews/2007/05/10/4169470-ap.html
www.pasadenalivingmagazine.com/contents.html
If this is indeed the reality then this is out-sourcing taken to the extreme. A very scary precedent for anyone working in the print/news business.
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Friday, May 4, 2007
CALLING WHOOPIE! "THE VIEW" NEEDS YOU!
NOTE TO SELF: Send note to ABC to hire Whoopie
After the surprise announcement of Rosie's leaving "The View", the question now is who will replace her. Has to be somebody who is opinionated with a mind of her own, witty, is relaxed in front of a camera but most of all, is a talented and entertaining performer.
Enter Whoopie Goldberg, my choice.
Given the above-mentioned criteria in my opinion, she is a perfect fit like the proverbial well-worn glove.
Her recent guest appearance on the show showcased her ability to communicate her views on a variety of subjects and her standup comedienne ability as is the case with Rosie, makes her as mentioned the perfect fit. She is sassy, impertinent, funny and very talented.
Some Whoopie quotes:
"I am where I am because I believe in all possibilities."
"Normal is nothing more than a cycle on a wash machine."
"I don't have pet peeves, I have whole kennels of irritation”
"We're here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.”
"And I don't believe that I have to stay on one side of the fence or the other. I don't believe that there is any good career move or bad career move. I believe there are only the things that make me happy. "
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
After the surprise announcement of Rosie's leaving "The View", the question now is who will replace her. Has to be somebody who is opinionated with a mind of her own, witty, is relaxed in front of a camera but most of all, is a talented and entertaining performer.
Enter Whoopie Goldberg, my choice.
Given the above-mentioned criteria in my opinion, she is a perfect fit like the proverbial well-worn glove.
Her recent guest appearance on the show showcased her ability to communicate her views on a variety of subjects and her standup comedienne ability as is the case with Rosie, makes her as mentioned the perfect fit. She is sassy, impertinent, funny and very talented.
Some Whoopie quotes:
"I am where I am because I believe in all possibilities."
"Normal is nothing more than a cycle on a wash machine."
"I don't have pet peeves, I have whole kennels of irritation”
"We're here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.”
"And I don't believe that I have to stay on one side of the fence or the other. I don't believe that there is any good career move or bad career move. I believe there are only the things that make me happy. "
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
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