... Or is he??
Posted: Wednesday, January 03, 2007 10:54 AM by Will Femia
Dun Dun Dun!! Just when you thought it was safe to ululate, Saddam is not dead. As you might guess, it points out that we haven't seen the actual neck snapping. The reasoning is similar to the kind we've seen with the 9/11 Truth movement. Lots of rhetorical questions.
Speaking of the execution, Iraqi blogger Riverbend's reaction to Saddam's execution is what Richard Engel predicted. Her correction of CNN's translation is also very interesting. (Not every Iraqi blogger shares her feelings.)
The 2007 Bloggies are taking nominations. Yeah, doesn't it seem like there were Weblog awards a few weeks ago? This is the one they give out at SXSW.
Can it really be that this movie made only 30 bucks?
Speaking of stories I didn't quite believe when I saw it, reportedly someone burned up half an island with a gas cooker. Looking at the photo I thought this was surely a photoshop job. Could people really be living so densely on such a small island? Sure enough, it's a place. Unfortunately I couldn't find a map program with satellite view of any worthwhile resolution.
Panoramas.dk has shots up from this weekend. I love these and often argue that we should have them on this site too. I actually prefer them to video. Check out all those camera phones in the Sydney scene. Will the future look back on that and believe it? How many people watched the new year arrive on a two inch screen? It's also interesting to note the different degrees of security in each scene, though I don't know enough about each location to know if it's really a fair comparison.
Speaking of foreign and borderline irrational technology, imagine if you were owning a TV for the first time in 32 years. I often joke that asking, "What's the buzz online" is like asking, "What's on TV" but with many more channels so it was fun to read this guy try to describe what's on TV.
The 10 most outrageous civil liberties violations of 2006
Every now and then blog activity flares up around a ridiculous statement by a public official. Generally, when these are especially absurd I don't bother linking. But sometimes they persist. Such is the case with Congressman Virgil Goode who seems to view the election of a Musilm congressman as a sign of some kind of enemy infiltration.
Speaking of Ahmadinejad, I also clicked this: "Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has suggested that 'Jesus would return to the world along with the emergence of the descendant of the Islam's holy prophet, Imam Mahdi'." The entry is about an Islamic vision of the Apocalypse.
And speaking of Imam Mahdi, understanding his significance puts news about the Golden Dome mosque in better perspective. The Golden Dome mosque "is associated with the Hidden Twelfth Imam, who is expected by Shiites to appear at the end of time to restore the world to justice."
French marchers say 'non' to 2007 - If we all rally together we can stop the madness. Call it a global War on Time.
I've clicked this Amazon warehouse photo in a variety of formats in the past view days. Remember the end of Indiana Jones? We've got a diner in my neighborhood that sells everything from goulash to lobster and I imagine this is what their refrigerator looks like.
Speaking of viral photos, best haircut ever?
Listening so far this morning: Liberation from Talib Kweli & Madlib - Running the link through Technorati it looks like everyone in the world is imploring you to listen to this rap release. It took forever to download, I think because it's got a Mac version and a PC version. (To be honest, this morning I also listened to a review copy of "L Tunes: Music from and inspired by The L Word" that came in the mail yesterday. You can skip that one.)
This year's Edge annual question from the World Question Center: What are you optimistic about? Why? Looking at last year's Clicked I found the link to the previous question, What is your dangerous idea?
It looks like most people are adopting a "we'll see" attitude about a proposed virtual reality network. I don't intend to contribute to any hype but for the sake of recognizing it when it comes up in conversation, here's a quick primer.
Speaking of technical themes to be aware of, this BBC clip on Bluesnarfing is from last Spring, but I don't find the term in an MSNBC.com search so let's get it on the record, particularly for those of you who got Bluetooth headsets for Christmas. (Bluesnarfing is when hackers hijack your phone by connecting through your Bluetooth signal without your knowledge.)
Speaking of Engadget links, is your office cold or maybe you sit under the AC vent? How about a hand warming mouse?
Growing tea at home
There's some debate in the comments about whether pin-up girls rendered in typography (NSFW even though they're just letters) is creative and clever. One critic recommended Bembo's Zoo and Words At Play instead. (Both SFW)
The State of Jihad: A look at the state of the major theaters, and some under the radar, in the Long War
Play old video games in your browser - It works, but it's a small screen. Probably best if you have some emotional connection to the game you choose.
Speaking of throwbacks, when was the last time you saw this as the headline on a blog entry: What Is The Definition Of A Blog? The real point of the post is that there's renewed debate about whether have comments enabled is definitional to blogs. While I agree that using a blog to interact with readers is definitional to blogging, I don't agree that it necessarily has to be done through comments.
Alan has all you could care about with regard to the Chicago UFO story that had stratospheric traffic yesterday on MSNBC.com, but I did also click the Chicago Tribune blog entry on it (mostly attracted by the video link, which turned out to be a Q&A with the Tribune transportation writer).
