Mssv

The soundtrack CD of Spirited Away I ordered from Play.com arrived today, and it’s wonderful. While I wouldn’t go so far as saying that I don’t like Disney songs - there are, after all, some great ones - would it really hurt them that much to make a film without a single song? If […]

I saw Donnie Darko on Saturday; it’s a teen/SF/thriller/dark comedy movie, and not necessarily in that order. I thought it was very entertaining - there were some great lines in the school scenes, the music and direction was well done and overall the acting was good.
It’s interesting how Donnie Darko turned out. Usually there’s a […]

Such is the power of Google; I go to a lecture by Steve Jones tonight, and five minutes after I get back I can find the exact same image of a bull elephant seal surrounded by its army of penguins used by Steve.

Robert Mundell’s Top Ten Benefits From Winning the Nobel Prize - starts with ‘Can end almost any argument by asking, “And did you ever win a Nobel Prize?”‘

A review of a lecture by award-winning SF author Neal Stephenson, on ‘Newton/Leibniz’, together with a review of Miyazaki’s film ‘Spirited Away’.

In ten minutes, I’m going to be interviewed on a national Japanese radio station about First Words. It’s been a while since I was last interviewed on the radio (BBC World Service) and that time wasn’t live - this time I’ll be live on air, plus it won’t be from an English speaking country. I […]

I don’t really like to talk about my university studies here, but I think this warrants mentioning, especially since it ties in with Neal Stephenson, who’ll you remember is speaking at Trinity tomorrow.
In Cryptonomicon, Stephenson makes the following observation:
[Randy is talking about complicated computer stuff to Chester.]
Chester nods all the way through this, but does […]

My dad tells me, “According to Chinese media, China will send an astronaut to the orbit within the next 18 months. Before 2010, China is committed to moon landing. By the end of this century, there will be a ‘Chinese Moon City’.”
It’s interesting to hear what the Chinese media are saying - I […]

A discussion about chainsaws in Star Trek, elicited by a recent Enterprise episode:
“Historically, the most often raised Star Trek technology issue has involved bathrooms. Burning questions such as:
“How many bathrooms? And where are they located? What are the fixtures like? Did Starfleet adopt the hideous American ‘low flow’ design? Or like most patriots, do they […]

Interesting to see that Ray Kurzweil (so-called AI pioneer) is still using his same old Ramona demonstration at conferences nearly two years on from when I first saw it. Come on Ray - it wasn’t that good the first time round, and it certainly isn’t now.