27. oktober 2003

Longhorn screenshots Screenshots of Longhorn 4051, a recent build of the next version of Microsoft Windows, has been leaked. 8:10:25 PM    comment []

Does this belong at a peace march? Belligerent Bunny Blog has been to the so-called peace march in Washington DC, and brought his camera. Have a look! 7:57:05 PM    comment []

More Matrix 3 For those who can't get enough previews of Matrix Revolution, check out this 1:26 minute Neo vs Agent Smith fight. Req. Media Player, decent bandwidth, sound, all that. 5:33:28 AM    comment []

A rare moment of clarity in the German press German blogger David Kaspar translates an astonishing (and, I am told, rare) piece of introspection in the German press. What began as legitimate criticism of the Bush government has now established itself as an aggressive anti-Americanism, an anti-Americanism that the German correspondents in Washington find difficult to resist or counter: The themes on which they report are selected by their bosses back in Germany. [...] As a good German he was naturally against the Iraq War, said a colleague from the "Zeit" newspaper. But he would have also preferred it had his newspaper just once presented all of the American motivations and reasons for action on the front page. The journalist from the "Boston Globe" retorted that that was the very crux of the matter. European journalists always think that they have to take sides while American journalists make an effort to present all sides in an attempt to provide objective reporting." I have looked in vain for similar candor in the Norwegian press. What these German journalists have realised about themselves (and I can only take their word for it), is very much true in Norway as well. The media here is extremely uniform, with few or no dissenters, and ironically they accuse the American media for the same thing. It will be hard to argue that e.g. the New York Times and Fox News are part of the same "uniform" US media. In Norway, all media is essentially far to moderate left, at least on international issues. While you're at David's blog, note his recent article about Chancellor Schröder's devastating decline in the polls, which David interpretes as his anti-Americanism backfiring. At least, it can't help him any longer. 5:10:43 AM    comment []

American gothic, American brats The painting American Gothic, made by Grant Wood in 1930, is one of those cultural icons that are copied and parodied endlessly. Norwegians, at least those that did not grow up reading Mad magazine, may be totally ignorant about this strong artwork, and miss the countless references to it in popular art. American Gothic, Grant Wood. Oil on beaverboard, 1930 The Simple Life Promotional. Fox TV. Pixels on screen, 2003. The example above (right, if you wondered) is a promotional photo for the "reality" show The Simple Life, where the beautiful, rich and spoiled 22-year olds Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie is sent to a farm to work on minimum wage. I found the picture in a Norwegian newspaper article. The journalist doesn't appear to see the reference to the iconic painting. I realised when I saw the reference to the famous painting that I had no idea who had painted it, or what it was called. This googling helped me find its name. The term "gothic" refers to the building style of the house behind the couple (not a church, as I thought). And unlike what most people seem to think, it depicts a farmer and his daughter, not his wife. In real life, the models were the artist's daughter and their dentist. That, I assume, explains the facial expressions. 2:51:26 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 02.11.2003; 14:56:18.