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Not Being Evil | Jan 27, 2006 09:52
I feel a tiny bit sorry for Google as it faces growing criticism over its decision to bend to a Chinese government demand to censor results in that country - or be simply shut out of China altogether - because it's hardly the first company to roll over in this way. And in this Slashdot thread earlier in the week, a number of posters resident in China declared that they'd rather have a clearly censored Google than no Google at all. But when you talk about your motto being "Don't Be Evil", you are in no position to complain if that comes back to bite you.
In some ways, this constitutes an argument against monoculture, even a monoculture as appealing as Google. If you can make something disappear from the overwhelmingly dominant search engine, you're on the way to making it disappear altogether. Example: someone sent me links to two Google Images searches on "Tiananmen Square": one from Google.com, the other from Google China. Spot the difference.
Thanks to dim for the heads-up on this fascinating interview with Stephen Colbert about what he's doing with the Colbert Report.
And to Matt Nippert in New York for noting Glenn "Instapundit" Reynolds' explanation of what's wrong with blog comments in a discussion about the Washington Post's decision to suspend comments after feedback on a column on the paper's website turned septic with "personal attacks, profanity and hate speech":
Some examples of good user communities are Slate's "The Fray" (where I started) and Slashdot. Both, however, are moderated.
My own sense is that it's very hard to preserve civility -- or even a good ratio of interestingness to flaming -- on sites that have high traffic without a fair degree [of] moderation. There's some sort of a threshold after which things tend to break down into USENET-style flamewars, which some people like, but which I'm tired of. I find the comments on Atrios, Kos, or for that matter Little Green Footballs, to be tiresome …
I love open comments, just as I love free beer, free pizza, and other giveaway goods. But I'm not entitled to them. And those who partake, I think, owe a certain degree of civility to their hosts. In an age where there's less control, I think that such informal measures matter more, not less ...
I've never had comments. I get about 1000 emails a day, and I don't have time to look at those, post on my blog, AND moderate comments. And unmoderated comments raise a risk of the kind of thing I mention above, as well as possible libel and copyright issues. I've actually considered bringing someone in to do that, but that seems too impersonal.
There's an Editor & Publisher story with highlights, and the full discussion on 'Ethics and Interactivity" is here. National Review Online's Media Blog has more.
Of course, well-worked vitriol does have its place. Case in point: the sheer comic savagery of The Beast's list of the 50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2005.
Ad, finally (hat tip: James Green), you may have been surprised to read in the Sunday Star Times a claim that: "In another study of thousands of Kiwi primary and secondary children, she [sex abuse researcher Freda Briggs] found 44% of boys had been sexually abused, 10% by babysitters, who were mostly women."
Doesn't sound right, does it? That's because it's not. The survey referred to was covered more than two years ago in the Dominion Post. That story said: "Australian child-sex abuse expert Freda Briggs found 44 per cent of New Zealand boys and girls with learning disabilities, including attention deficit disorder, were sexually abused."
Quite a difference, no? Leaving aside any questions about Briggs' methodology, this is some of the most careless use of source material I've seen in a very long time. There's further sorting-out of the SST's wild style in, of all places, the forums at NZMusic.com.
On and Off | Jan 26, 2006 09:40
Off the Wire, the comedy news quiz programme on National Radio, is no more. Management advised yesterday that it won't be renewed. You don't want to moan about these things - decisions get made, people move on - but I would like to say that I enjoyed appearing on it for three years, that I met a lot of interesting people (and a few very strange ones) and that I learned a lot from working with comedians.
It's true what they say about timing. Phrasing makes a line funny, and learning a bit of it has made my public speaking better value. When the show went on the road it provided a welcome opportunity to drop in on places, like Napier and Nelson, I would otherwise have no call to visit (I have always seemed to be unavailable for Hamilton).
The show wasn't all that funny when it first began, with recordings in the Helen Young Studio; but on the road and at The Classic, there were moments that really cracked me up and, I hope, made people laugh at home with their radios. So cheers all round, and especially to the young men of the Downlow Concept, who produced it: Jarrod, Nigel and Ryan.
In other not-on-National-Radio-any-more news, I was disappointed when I heard that Tom Frewen's 'Today in Parliament' got the chop - but cheered to learn that Tom will now be doing something similar on Radio Live. I would like to think that both programmes will be replaced on NatRad by other actual programmes, but I guess it's more likely to be an extension of the endless vista of "integrated radio": ie, amiable hosts chatting to minor celebrities like myself.
But hey, I'm going to be back on 95bFM on Friday mornings. No, not to do a Hard News-style radio monologue - I think I used up my supply of those over 11 years - but just for a yarn with Wallace (and, I expect, Noelle) about the week in the news and on Public Address. So that's 8.15 tomorrow, with red-hot podcast action to follow.
Also, I've agreed to participate in the Third Annual Great Auckland Central Hero Debate, arguing in the affirmative the moot that "the straight line is godless and immoral". That should be funny. The debate is on February the 13th, 6pm at the Hopetoun Alpha. Tickets can be had here.
Meanwhile, as widely expected, Disney has acquired Pixar for $7.4 billion in stock, making Steve Jobs the largest individual shareholder in Disney and beckoning a cross-media synergy that should actually work. This is actually quite exciting. Blackfriars Blog explains what the acquisition means, AppleInsider has quotes from Steve and Disney CEO Bob Iger and CNet News tracks Steve's progress.
It made me think of the story I wrote for Unlimited in 1999, after a memorable trip to MacWorld New York, which offers background on the Apple Computer story and the return of Steve that you may find useful. (I always know where I can find that story in Google: I just search for "unmanageable stoner" … )
And, finally, in not-so-good news, Today in Iraq has been staggering lately. It's sort of the counterpart to Chrenkoff's Good News From Iraq, except it tends to point to actual news stories rather than press releases. Its 'Bring 'Em On' section has listed an average reported 25 killings (usually multiple), attacks and kidnappings in Iraq, per day, lately. There is neither the room, or the reader interest, to carry this kind of news load in conventional media. But that doesn't stop it happening.
TV-Internet cultural crossover | Jan 25, 2006 10:07
Don't be too surprised if you see The Daily Show turning up on local free-to-air television this year. There are negotiations. I hope we get the full-whack daily Daily Show, and that it's on in a decent slot, but apart from that: cool, we get a little bit more of the TV-Internet cultural crossover in real time. The only downside is that it'll take the fun out of downloading the thing.
Out there in the local right-wing blogosphere, there has been a good deal of sniping between National and Act adherents, and, in some cases, between Act party members themselves. Not my quarrel, clearly: the two Act MPs I thought were worth a damn got back in Parliament, the others didn't. Carry on.
But what happens to Act MPs when they rejoin the public? Madder than ever, it would seem. Muriel Newman's latest is really out there on the perimeter. When Newman was in Parliament, she made a couple of statements effectively endorsing the widely-debunked theory that a separate race called the Moriori settled these islands before the Maori: and thus, Maori were not really the tangata whenua.
This week, free of the shackles of public office, she declares a PC conspiracy to cover up the true status of the Moriori, who were really here first. Well, them or the Celts. Or was that the Chinese? Muriel lavishes praise on the work of former submarine commander Gavin Menzies, whose book, 1421, posited an epic journey of discovery by the Chinese navigator Zheng He, suggesting, she says, "that Chinese colonies existed in New Zealand for hundreds of years before the arrival of Maori."
But before Keith and Tze Ming start formulating their land claims: the late Michael King reviewed Menzies' book with respect to its New Zealand section (which, among other things, posits that persons unknown transported a nine-metre-tall giant sloth from South America to New Zealand) and concluded that it "exhibits more false information and a more dishonest manipulation of evidence than any that I have encountered in a book issued by a reputable publisher. The book is, in short, a disgrace."
Muriel claims that resistance among some Maori to National Geographic's global Genographic project is - with the collusion of the government - aimed at suppressing the unpleasant surprise of discovering that the Chinese (or, as noted, some incredibly enterprising Celts) settled here first. Personally, I find the various objections to the genetic research project unconvincing, somewhat arrogant and virtually constituting an argument against knowledge.
But unfortunately, for Muriel, all the evidence from genetic research so far points to the conventional theory: that the ancestors of the Polynesians gradually came south from Taiwan to navigate and colonise the South Pacific, from edge to edge. The nine-metre giant sloth might have been a bit tricky to fit in the waka.
So what is it next week? Suppressed inventions? Mind-control experiments? Can't wait.
On a not-unrelated tip, Adam Gifford has a useful consideration of National health spokesman Tony Ryall's statement that National would be unlikely to continue the very small amount of support available for "unproven" traditional Maori health practices in a few regions. It's not as straightforward as it might seem.
Riverbend blogged about the Iraqi translator murdered during the abduction of Christian Science Monitor journalist Jim Carroll. She discovered it was her friend, Alan, the guy who used to run the local record store, who loved Pink Floyd and knew everyone. It's sad.
Some late entries for the Big Day Out blogging collection: the reggae blog NiceUp covered Channel One Sound System (who I really cannot account for missing); Lemon pointed out the extremely prolific photoblogging work of Petra Jane; and the legendary Jimmy Kumura provides an extremely amusing account of seeing the Stooges and stuff.
And finally, the younger boy and I replicated the Mentos-and-Diet-Coke experiment on Monday afternoon. We didn't quite get the three metre fountain as-seen-on-the-Internet, but we're refining our technique for further experimentation (more Mentos, we figure). Meanwhile, here's our video of the experiment.
NB: The video is in the tiny-wee 3GP format used by current videophones. It will definitely play in QuickTime, not so sure about Windows Media. I quite like this format - the file size is well handy - and I'm keen to publish any interesting mobile video you readers care to send me. Just click "reply" below and I'll get back to you with an email address.
People Like Us | Jan 22, 2006 12:15
View the gallery for this post
You need your mates at the Big Day Out, and your mates need you. And so it was that a little texting, but mostly some spooky force of attraction, drew us together in the crowd, until there were a dozen of us, friends, happy as hell to be there with each other, sharing an understanding. We were going to see the Stooges.
The first two Stooges albums mean a lot to some of us. They were archetypal. The songs were iconic, but primitive enough that you could aspire to play them. We saw Iggy Pop as the progenitor, perhaps even the prophet, of punk rock. People who didn't get the Stooges probably weren't People Like Us.
I saw Iggy last time he came and played the Auckland Town Hall. Unlike a lot of people, I didn't really like it. Call me a purist, but I thought it lacked authenticity; too much LA-session-guy guitaring. The Stooges show at the Big Day Out, on the other hand, was right. It was funny and exciting and weirdly moving. Iggy looked magical under the lights: a golden body in skin-tight blue jeans.
Images. My darling, fortysomething and mother of two, pogoing like the teenager I met all those years ago. Our friend Richie, who is a major Stooges fan, pretty much going nuts for an hour. All of us, and everyone around us, just having a party.
I watched a little of the White Stripes from the stand after that, and it was okay, but (especially after Iggy) it seemed a bit serious. The first time I saw the White Stripes, at the King's Arms, they kicked off with 'You're Pretty Good Looking'. I sort of miss that White Stripes.
My darling got a (bad) coffee and we walked around the site for a while, just taking in the late-in-the-piece spectacle. We parted company and I ran into the rest of the crew at 2ManyDJs, who finished off in the Boiler Room. The Belgians served up whacking great slabs of cheese, but they did it really well. It's not hard to see why the mash-up format is so popular. They take a song that's already in your head and mess with it and probably slam it together with some other iconic tune. And then they crank it along with all the most beloved devices of modern dance music. I ultimately prefer my dance music with house grooves and girly vocals, but this was bloody good fun (and way better than the Chemical Brothers last year). I Should Be Doing My Masters blog certainly got into it:
2 Many Djs: Oh my fucking lord! That was one of the most amazing things I've ever heard. They mixed The Franz Ferdinand into The Prodigy. AC/DC into Madonna. They played Pump Up the freaking Jam! Pump up the Jam! Who has the balls to play that and get away with it! It sounds trite but it is dance music for people who listen to rock music. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Surprise of the day? Franz Ferdinand. I'm not really a fan, but I thought they were mostly pretty good and occasionally ('Take Me Out') really brilliant. Shihad were everything you'd want them to be - they just own that big stage: everybody Singalongapacifier.
DJ James Murphy's Boiler Room set was very cool, although at the time the tent was very, very hot. The Go! Team didn't quite work for me, but I was in the midst of a 45-minute spell (after James Murphy) when my back, my ankle and my head hurt, so that may have been me rather than them. I didn't see all of Shapeshifter but they were a bit of a revelation: liked the new MC and loved the version on 'Murder She Wrote'. Complaint? The Stooges could, in my humble opinion, have been quite a lot louder.
The more indie the bill at the Big Day Out, the smaller and nicer the crowd. This was a very indie bill, attended by a pathologically sensible crowd of (we guessed) 30,000. Most of them were trollied in one way or another (I always get the impression that for a good many people, it's the one day in the year they take ecstasy), but you'd look for a long time to find any inappropriate behaviour. The cops were even more relaxed than usual, and there were only 13 arrests. Only three people went to hospital, and that was for dislocated knees and elbows, not BZP overdoses.
Maximum respect: our 14 year-old friend Jessie, who did very well on her debut festival experience, and her dad, who was admirably sober for the duration. Special thanks to David Slack for his kind hospitality, and to Andy M for being my longtime partner in crime. As I said on the night: dude, you and I are serious motherfuckers. (Although, I will grant you, that made more sense at the time than it does in the sober light of day.)
I am not one of life's natural photographers, and I didn't take as many pictures with my phone as I'd meant to, and none until dark, but here's Andy:
And some babe in the crowd at the Stooges …
And the Boiler Room, right at the end of the night:
There are a few more in the gallery.
Coverage? I liked Alan Perrott's wry story on the demographics of Big Day Out attendance. It's not really about age, although there is a certain threshold of physical endurance, but attitude. I think the reason that the punters look forward to the Big Day Out is that it's a chance to rub sweaty shoulders with a lot of People Like Us. More or less.
Paul McKessar was described in a couple of reports as a "police spokesperson". Which you may find amusing if you know Paul. And the NZPA dispatch said "a 35,000-strong crowd were unrelenting in their energy and screaming yesterday at the marathon 12-hour Big Day Out music event at Auckland's Ericsson Stadium." Unrelenting in their energy and screaming? Was this translated from another language?
But the best stuff, really, is in people's blogs.
Peter McLennan at DubDotDash has an informed and extensive review, and makes a good point about the access point to the alternative stages. It was the only real choke point in the whole stadium, and when it came time for the Fat Freddy's crowd to pour in, it needed someone managing it.
Plog reported extensively, and noted the guy - there's always one - who ventures into the mosh pit and then decides he wants personal space:
But to him I say this. What the hell are you doing in a fucking mosh pit surrounded by thousands of sweaty people all bounding and moshing to the music and having a fucking good time if you want to "groove to the music"?
Sorta Beautiful took some pictures, and Conscious Effort has a report and a video clip from Concord Dawn's set in the Boiler Room (which may look to the uninitiated like one of the levels of Hell).
Han nah at Let's Walk Slowly made me think I should've caught a little Brunettes big band action.
Simone's Welt said: "Bei Bilderbuchwetter und ner Superatmosphaere haben wir Iggy and the Stooges, Franz Ferdinand, Kings of Leon, The White Stripes, Wolfmother, Henry Rollins und, und, und gesehen." Yeah, baby!
Ever wondered what's going on with the Goths at the BDO? Insanity Parade reports in black.
Or wondered about the people who go on the fairground rides? Alex reports.
Cia spent a whole hour in the silent disco.
Alex at oppositeoffair pushed on and went to a funny-sounding gig in someone's flat the next night.
Clarity at The Home of Drunken Fences moshed for Wolfmother.
Of course there's always going to be someone making a road trip from Whakatane (where's the Naki?!). "We bought 8 boxes of 12," reports Dee Bizaird. "6 tui's and 2 export gold for me … 4 and a half hours after we left whakaz we finally got to nilesh's sisters in Manukau!!!"
Out of Her Head She Sang said "Fuck yeah i got to crowd surf when kings of leon were playing woohoo.thanx to the older guy behind me who got me up there and fukn saved my life lol." Let's hear it for older guys …
Susan of Susan's Space sorted out Lovi, the Big Day Out virgin: "It was after this that lovi had the issue of her lifetime about whether she wanted a pottle of chips or not…"
Foxiesgirl at My Overactive Imagination liked Mudvayne best of all: "Literally the best (non-sexual) half hour of my life, & my throat is still sore from screaming."
Sally and Kt from Yorkshire had it large on the holiday of a lifetime. Unfortunately, the next day Sally got sucked by a leech. Drew blood and everything.
Cute as a Button had the best day of her life: "Even if when I got home I had insomnia because I took one too many party pills and I didn't get to watch the whole Fat Freddy's gig or Rhombus."
Hay Ray represented Avondale, but needs to work a bit harder on not being a dick. More time on Operation Dance Like No One's Watching, pal, less on Obnoxiously Pushy and Selfish Guy.
And meanwhile, your favourite right-wing bloggers had a "Friday night free-for-all" ("Go over to Silent Running tonight for all the fun.") doing, well, what they usually do …
And finally, Mon Mon missed the event but turned up at the airport the next day and got a really sweet picture of herself with Iggy. "He was so lovely," she says.
Of course he was.
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