Wednesday, August 20, 2003

What is sampling?. What is sampling? To some, sampling is an art. To others it's a question of permission and legality. With modern technology, movies and tv shows can also become great sources of samples, as seen in the The Top 1035 Sample Sources List. [MetaFilter] Nifty link there for the top sample sources - did you know that Blade Runner is the most sampled source ever, it seems? [Andrew Bayer Is Fairly Unbalanced] 5:38:32 PM    comment []

Potter pirates blocked in India (the Bookseller). The Delhi High Court has issued a landmark injunction to stop an Indian publisher producing illegal translations of J K Rowling's titles. The injunction, against Pune-based company Pushpa Prakashan and its translator Vikas Shukla, resulted from raids by Indian police on the publisher's premises. Police seized 653 copies of unauthorised Marathi language translations of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", and 615 covers of an unauthorised translation of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". The publisher and typesetter were both arrested, although the translator was not caught. 10:09:32 AM    comment []

Male cheerleaders and chicken hawks. While Republicans smear Democrats as unpatriotic, a look at the war record of many GOP leaders -- including President Bush -- shows a remarkable aversion to the front lines. Part 3 of "Big Lies." [Salon Headlines] 6:47:41 AM    comment []

George W: Howard Dean wannabe?. The Washington Post's political column reports today on the new Bush/Cheney campaign site, which "invites grassroots supporters to join the President’s team and spread his positive message." President Bush's campaign will unveil a Web site today that allows proprietors of online journals -- Blogs or Web logs -- to "get the latest campaign headlines and inside scoop posted instantly to your site through a live news feed from GeorgeWBush.com!" Bush's campaign is leaving nothing to chance as his devotees spread his message. The automatic feeds are offered in horizontal and vertical versions. Clearly cognizant of the Web frenzy over Democrat Howard Dean, Bush's aides held a conference call to preview the site, which replaces a bare-bones one that has raised $1.3 million from 6,000 donors since the campaign launch May 16. The "grassroots" functionality also allows users to enter their zip code and obtain local listings of call-in talk shows and provides talking points for them to use if they get on-air. One extremely clever feature enables users to select from a menu of pre-written paragraphs to compose an email to local newspaper editors -- again targeted by the user's zip code. Thanks, Josh! [Smart Mobs] 6:45:31 AM    comment []

Return of rock's Angry Old Man. Neil Young knocks the mass media and consumer culture in his brilliant -- if sometimes incoherent -- new "musical novel." [Salon Headlines] 6:40:05 AM    comment []

Technology Briefing: Biotechnology. ANTHRAX DRUG GETS FAST-TRACK DESIGNATION;. [New York Times: Technology] 6:37:38 AM    comment []

The Evil Truth About PowerPoint. Information design guru Edward R. Tufte argues that PowerPoint style routinely disrupts, dominates and trivializes content while ignoring the most important rule of speaking: Respect your audience. Part 2 of a two-part Wired magazine series. [Wired News] 6:35:57 AM    comment []