The New York Times reported on a study done at the University of Texas in Austin (damn Texans) exploring the reasons people have sex. There’s some interesting stuff in there I suppose, but seriously, is this what our great minds of science are doing with their time? Hey, I’m all for fun little studies about sex and everything, but I think I saw the same quiz in Cosmo last week (note: I do not read Cosmo thus I do not know). I mean, I understand that studying sex and the reasons behind it could have some sort of application to human behavior and mating rituals/habits etc., but I got one word for you: “C’mooooonnnnnnn.”

Film’s losing out on some great directors. Antonioni on the same day as Bergman.

Well, that’s sports terminology, and this doesn’t apply to sports, but is nonetheless amazing. Scarlett Johansson is going to play Jenna Jameson. While I would prefer Jenna to play Jenna because Jenna=Goddess, I am also happy for Scarlett who apparently was good friend with a friend of mine back in the day and who I may or may not have partied with (I do not know, I was probably drunk). Don’t you love obscure references to obscure connections like that? Anyway, start the countdown.

UPDATE: Here’s a little bit more on it.

UPDATED UPDATE: Blasphemy! It was all a lie!

When I first read the WTC Boycott Metro headline this morning, I thought the families were finally standing up against the horrible reconstruction plans. Though this was not the case, they are in fact threatening to boycott the rememberence ceremonies this year if they were not held on the WTC site. Bloomberg has said they can’t hold the ceremony there because of the construction (there’s construction there? looks kinda empty to me). Now, I’m fine with Bloomberg saying it’s unsafe and that they can’t hold it there, etc.,etc. whether I think it’s true or reasonable or not. It’s his call in a lot of ways. But the way he went about it, using the word impossible, seems a little extreme to me. He should be willing to compromise, to listen, and not immediately dismiss plans as impossible. There’s got to be some reasonable compromise, right?

Also, interesting in remembering 9/11 news, apparently the debris from the WTC travels around the states. Colorado has it now, and admittedly when I first found this out I wasn’t a big fan. I don’t know how I feel about sending this debris around like art. A year after the attacks, I went to the Venice biannale where in front of the US pavilion, there was a giant beam from one of the towers. It was frightening to say the least. I wouldn’t necessarily say it was touching to me. It was more that I felt that same sadness, which is exactly what I would not want to feel. So, it’s hard for me to see this debris sent around the states and the world, but at the same time, I do understand the want for the rest of the country to see this and feel it. It’s a delicate line to tip toe along. One does not want to be seen as presenting tragedy as spectacle.

While discussing and praising the merits of new high powered laptops and iPhones and all that, I thought I’d take a moment to point you in the direction of AfriGadget, a blog that traces how people (and sometimes companies) are creating new technologies (sometimes by modifying old - there’s an article about a guy who turned his bike into a knife sharpen) to answer problems and address needs in Africa. Some interesting stuff in there that shows some real creativity about what’s coming next.

After coming across this article about plaster castings of people, I started thinking about the whole concept of the body as art, but not in the normal sense of performance art or Julianne Moore flinging herself on a zip line against a large piece of white canvas in The Big Lebowski, but in the sense of actually plaster casting people so that the art can exist outside of the person. The Bodies exhibit did something similar if a little more creepy and museum/learning experience oriented (not to say that you don’t learn from art). This whole plaster casting is almost like creating a copy and making it art (there is more that goes into this whole thing I know). I’m not saying this is good art or bad art or good or bad in any sense, just interesting to consider.

I don’t have much to personally say on the issue, only what the obvious is, but here’s Ingmar Bergman’s eulogy. He did a lot for film that I can’t even think of, nor do I know enough about the man or his films to really speak on the subject, which of course means it’s time for a Bergman film festival in the Shane household.

Things are not going well for one Ron Mexico, aka Michael Vick. If you’ve been following, there’s pretty damning evidence against him in this whole dog fighting, animal cruelty, conspiracy, gambling debacle, and to make matters worse, Tony Taylor has entered into a plea agreement. Generally, this is pretty bad when someone with intimate knowledge of crimes enters into a plea agreement in which all the other defendants have plead not guilty. That’s just not a good sign for the other fellows. At least in my limited legal knowledge. And everyone’s up in arms about it: Senators, representatives, animal rights organizations, other NFL players, big-tittied gambling writers, everyone really. People want blood, so to speak.

And they should get it. If it’s proved that Michael Vick had anything to do with this (or as much to do with it as is being alleged), then he should be held responsible, hands down. And with the recent events of Paris Hilton serving time and now whatever happens to Lindsey Lohan, maybe Vick will actually get what’s coming to him (again, if he is in fact proven guilty). Sometimes I think this is exactly what the NFL needs to do. Goodell has shown some iron-fist ruling techniques with the suspensions of Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson, and Chris Henry, so maybe he’ll actually let this one with Vick play out in the eyes of the law like it’s supposed to. This would be good. Finally send a message that there is some law and order out there. I don’t buy the idea that the NFL or the NBA is full of thugs and that’s why stuff like this happens, but there are bad guys in the leagues just like everywhere else, and they need to face the consequences and penalties of their actions (too easy football analogy/metaphor - I won’t even say it).

UPDATE: Smoking Gun’s got the Summary of Facts.

The classic battle between Macs and PCs has always been power and skills (Mac) versus bang for the buck (PCs). You could get high-end PCs obviously, but the general consensus seemed (and seems) to be that if you’re going to spend the money for a top end laptop or desktop, go back. But here’s the Fujiitsu Lifebook, which for all intensive purposes seems to be able to pack a comparable punch to a Macbook Pro. Similar price range, too.

The real comparability problem comes, of course, with the operating system. I don’t mean this to sound too pro-Mac, but I just can’t imagine running high-end graphics software on a PC. Whenever I’ve used or had a PC it has a hard enough time running Microsoft Office that I can’t imagine it trying to, say, render frames in Final Cut Pro or apply filters in Photoshop. Maybe I’ve just never had a high-end PC, but even in comparably old or shitty PCs and Macs, I’ve always felt the Mac OS not only ran the programs faster, but also integrated them more seamlessly with the general interface of the system. Will Fujitsu’s LifeBook compare to Apple’s Macbook series? Only tests can tell.

Then, of course, there’s always weird shit like this.

That’s 150 a minute! That’s 2.5 per second! That’s 270,000 iPhones sold in the first 30 hours!

And that, my friends, is freaking amazing. This shows the sheer power of brand. Sure, the iPhone is innovative technology, but that’s only half of its selling point (maybe only a fourth). The real reason it sells like proverbial hot cakes is the brand. It’s Apple. It’s Jobs. It’s Justin Lorts (ugh).