Monday, February 21, 2005

Harry Frankfurt on The Daily Show. Karen Bennett (Philosophy, Princeton) reports that Harry Frankfurt is scheduled to be on The Daily Show, presumably promoting his book On Bullshit. The date is now set to be March 14, though that doesn’t seem to be absolutely certain. Non-philosophers should feel free to be less overjoyed with excitement at a philosopher getting this much attention, but I think it’s rather fun, and that episode won’t end up being one of the Daily Shows that I miss - or fastforward through the interview. [Crooked Timber] 9:47:33 PM    comment []

Stay Free! Daily  Via sLop via unmediated 9:40:14 PM    comment []

GONZO, RIP: A NEW WORLD NOTES EULOGY. I relied on his influence most in the beginning of New World Notes, when I was first trying to figure out how to be a journalist in a world full of stories that somehow seemed both stranger and more... [New World Notes] 9:35:31 PM    comment []

Hunter S. Thompson directory at Salon, including Allen Barra's review of Kingdom of Fear, the millennial Paris Review interview, Ralph Steadman's thoughts on whether Thompson should have a gun, and the seven vices of highly creative people. 4:39:36 PM    comment []

Three from BNA News: CHOICEPOINT DATA BREACH COAST TO COAST The AP reports on the aftermath of last week's ChoicePoint data breach. Last Friday, the Los Angeles task force in charge of the criminal investigation said the number of people vulnerable to identity theft in the case could reach 500,000. Sen. Bill Nelson, of Florida asked federal regulators Friday to oversee data-brokering companies the same way they do other companies that handle financial and medical records. A.G. DEMAND CHOICEPOINT EXPAND SECURITY BREACH DISCLOSURE Attorneys general in 38 states have joined an open letter to ChoicePoint, demanding that the data-brokering company do for their states' residents what they did for Californians ? inform anybody affected by the security breach that they may be vulnerable to identity theft. ChoicePoint said it is mailing notifications to 145,000 consumers in a number of states, warning them that their data may have been stolen. The company says it will identify those states within several days. Column calling for similar requirements in Canada PERSONAL EFFECT OF FILE SHARING SUITS EXAMINED The Daily Texan examines the personal impact of the recording industry's file sharing lawsuits. The article highlights the pressure the industry exerts on the lawsuit targets to settle their cases for several thousand dollars at a time. 12:38:58 PM    comment []

Shotgun Golf With Bill Murray, by Hunter S. Thompson, at ESPN. HST: "I'm working on a profoundly goofy story here. It's wonderful. I've invented a new sport. It's called Shotgun Golf. We will rule the world with this thing." BILL: "Mmhmm." HST: "I've called you for some consulting advice on how to launch it. We've actually already launched it. Last spring, the Sheriff and I played a game outside in the yard here. He had my Ping Beryllium 9-iron, and I had his shotgun, and about 100 yards away, we had a linoleum green and a flag set up. He was pitching toward the green. And I was standing about 10 feet away from him, with the alley-sweeper. And my objective was to blow his ball off course, like a clay pigeon." BILL: (Laughs.) HST: "It didn't work at first. The birdshot I was using was too small. But double-aught buck finally worked for sure. And it was fun." BILL: (Chuckles.) HST: "OK, I didn't want to wake you up, but I knew you'd want to be in on the ground floor of this thing." BILL: (Silence.) HST: "Do you want to discuss this tomorrow?" BILL: "Sure." HST: "Excellent." BILL: "I think I might have a queer dream about it now, but ..." (Laughs.) HST: "This sport has a HUGE future. Golf in America will soon come to this." 9:38:30 AM    comment []

Ruffling Big Bird's Feathers. The government should make a long-term investment in public broadcasting's freedom from political oversight. [NYT > Opinion] 6:35:12 AM    comment []

R.I.P., Hunter S. Thompson. fear and loathing and death. Hunter S. Thompson killed himself with his own gun. Poor, poor bastard. I loved Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. But that was written thirty years ago. F. Scott Fitzgerald (an author I loathe, incidentally) famously wrote, "There are no Second Acts in American lives." It seems true enough in modern American literature. It seems amazingly, amazingly true in American counterculture literature. [gapingvoid] IN MEMORY OF HUNTER S. THOMPSON. "I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they've always worked for me."... [Begging To Differ] Herald Tribune Writer Hunter S. Thompson Kills Himself Daily Mail Journalist Thompson takes own life Guardian Unlimited Writer Hunter S. Thompson Kills Himself ABCNEWS.com Writer Hunter S. Thompson Kills Himself Reuters 'Gonzo' Godfather Hunter S. Thompson Kills Himself   You can read  his full rant about endorsing Kerry. And somewhere here I've got a link to Thompson's essay titled, roughly, "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved," but Google isn't finding it.   Other coverage of Hunter here. 6:30:15 AM    comment []