Archive for » February, 2010 «

There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them.

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18
Feb 2010

The console gaming world has finally conspired to produce a game that will all but guarantee your correspondent’s purchase of a PS3 or Xbox 360 this year.  Rockstar Games and Team Bondi offer up their take on the mean streets of the late Forties in L.A. Noire, scheduled for release in September.

Now all that is missing from the pantheon of idealised virtual worlds is a Rockstar-like take on Blade Runner’s Los Angeles, circa 2019.

RELATED: Justin Towell of GamesRadar highlights ten facets of L.A. Noire that differ from its mobster-oriented Grand Theft Auto siblings.  It is highly gratifying to note that for once, the main protagonist is a good guy—a policeman—not the usual blackjack-wielding contractor for organised crime.  Also wonderful to note is that the designers have gone to great lengths to recreate an extremely large and authentic layout for the city, based on aerial photography and hand-drawn maps of the time.

TANGENTIALLY RELATED: Long-time readers may realise that your correspondent is not a fan of mobsters, fictionalised or otherwise, owing to their sociopathic and parasitic nature.  This stems from both familial and fraternal association with law enforcers, personal experience with the victims of crime, and a basic understanding that criminals—however glamorously portrayed—are leeches, existing on parasitic sustenance derived from the livelihoods of the law-abiding.  Entertainment offerings like Grand Theft Auto, Goodfellas, the Godfather films and the Sopranos series have no special place in my heart.  They are momentary fun but perhaps, on greater reflection, paying to have someone glamourise the psychopathic is somewhat counter-intuitive.  This observer prefers to valourise those who catch criminals, as opposed to those who, out of sheer greed and laziness, have made a life’s work of preying on the weak.

And, no surprise, Hollywood offers the mob more sympathetic genuflection than it rightfully deserves.  Denis Faye, penning the Technically Speaking column for the Writers Guild of America, shares some insight on the mafia from FBI agent Joaquin “Jack” Garcia:

The only thing I see that’s phony is that they make them into these likable characters and romanticize them. Like in The Sopranos [Created by David Chase], how Tony’s concerned about his daughter and his son. When these guys take their oath over omertà, they’re taking an oath that their old family no longer counts. It’s their new family, the Gambinos, the Luccheses, the Geneveses, whatever, that becomes their family. If somebody’s child was dying and you’re called in by the boss, you better go there. When I see Tony Soprano roughing around with his kid and being nice – I’m sure some of these guys do that, they have a soft spot – but in reality, they could care less. You know what I mean? They’re criminals; they’re psychopaths, and they’re gonna want to go out there all hours of the day and night just to make money for themselves and enjoy themselves…

[Speaking about real-life Gambino family members Greg DePalma (capo) and son Craig (mob "soldier")]:  You know, I guess when I saw them, I saw how evil they were… Why would you, in heaven’s name, bring your son into that life? Either you’re going to wind up dead, or you’re going to spend a long time in jail. That’s not a good father! You want your kid to become a [law-abiding] citizen.

You sound as though these guys are too three-dimensional in the movies, yet in reality, they’re more two-dimensional.

Yes, right. Think about every mob movie, the way they are. People love what that Mafia represents, but show the other side more, the killing. Think about this. They kill their own kind. If you do something wrong, you are killed. And who kills the guy? The guy who’s closest to the guy who’s going to get whacked, because that’s the guy who’s going to set him up. That’s the life of the mob. Where’s the loyalty? I love you like a brother but now I gotta kill ya? Why is that romanticized?

Sure, there were mob guys I was with who were hilarious. They’d tell stories and I’d laugh. It sounds sick, but sometimes I’d even enjoy the company. But never once did I forget that these guys that I am laughing with could easily stick an ice pick in my eye.

– Faye, Denis.  “Mob Rules.”  Technically Speaking | Writers Guild of America, August 2009.

Category: Games  Comments off

Film Noir by Jared DiMartine

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18
Feb 2010

The IT industry is often portrayed as weary soul-destroying labour in a matrix peopled with ungrateful or at least uncaring cubicle drones.  How appropriate, then, that it should give rise to one Jared DiMartine, who has put his time in purgatory to good use—funding a photography hobby and small business that we hope yields great future dividends.  Below are excerpts from Mr. DiMartine’s exhibition “Film Noir“, presented at the Kiehl’s Boutique in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, last February.

Film Noir 4, originally uploaded by jareddimartine.

Film Noir 5, originally uploaded by jareddimartine.

Film Noir 15, originally uploaded by jareddimartine.

Film Noir 12, originally uploaded by jareddimartine.

film noir 18, originally uploaded by jareddimartine.

film noir 19, originally uploaded by jareddimartine.

Category: Ars Gratia Artis  Tags: ,  2 Comments

Random aerospace news roundup—Feb 18th, 2010

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18
Feb 2010
  • Angelina Jolie visited Jacmel, Haiti, and Canadian Forces personnel stationed at the aerodrome there.  Sanctimonious celebrities are annoying, but at least Ms. Jolie has a way of backing her philanthropic exhortations with meaningful finances and action, and for that at least, I give her grudging respect.
  • Dr. William A Edelstein, Ph.D, Visiting Distinguished Professor of Radiology at Johns Hopkins University, notes that the kinetic energy of hydrogen atoms hitting a spacecraft crew at near-light speeds would kill them.  Although there only two hydrogen atoms per cubic centimetre of interstellar space, the effect of travelling at near-light speeds on the crew would administer a dose of more than 10,000 sieverts within a second (7 sieverts is fatal).  The radiation would also affect spacecraft structural and electronic integrity.  With various spacefaring theologies (Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.) seemingly under threat, nerd credulity bristles in the comments section.
  • ODD: (Via Ghost of a flea) President Obama instructs NASA to act as a tool of international diplomacy and work with predominantly Muslim countries.  Indonesia is singled out as an example.  I wonder what Indonesia can bring to the table in terms of manned or unmanned space exploration?
  • Air Power Australia takes a very detailed look at the new Russian T-50 / Sukhoi PAK-FA, with alarming conclusions:

The available evidence demonstrates at this time that a mature production PAK-FA design has the potential to compete with the F-22A Raptor in VLO performance from key aspects, and will outperform the F-22A Raptor aerodynamically and kinematically. Therefore, from a technological strategy perspective,  the PAK-FA renders all legacy US fighter aircraft, and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, strategically irrelevant and non-viable after the PAK-FA achieves IOC in 2015.

Detailed strategic analysis indicates that the only viable strategic survival strategy now remaining for the United States is to terminate the Joint Strike Fighter program immediately,  redirect freed funding to further develop the F-22 Raptor, and employ variants of the F-22 aircraft as the primary fighter aircraft for all United States and Allied TACAIR needs.

If the United States does not fundamentally change its planning for the future of tactical air power, the advantage held for decades will be soon lost and American air power will become an artefact of history.

– Kopp, Dr Carlo, SMAIAA, MIEEE, PEng, and Peter Goon, BE (Mech), FTE (USNTPS).  “Assessing the Sukhoi PAK-FA.”  Air Power Australia, 15 February 2010.

Category: Current Affairs  Comments off

The price of greatness is responsibility

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18
Feb 2010

One cannot help but chuckle all the way through this post by Chris Manno (a.k.a. Jethead).

Yeah, it’s all about the four stripes. A lot of stuff changes the day you put them on.

Sure, there’s the instant recognition from coworkers. They know the reality behind the symbols of authority and reflect that in their very manner. That’s the outward effect. Inward? Well, you know you’ve arrived.

…You have to be confident to earn the respect of the Cabin crew, plus that of your fellow pilots, who are secretly happy about the fact that you have the four stripes, not them, although they do love to kid around. Never mind that it could be–SHOULD BE–them in the left seat now occupied by your sorry lard ass, no one’s bitter.

– “Airline Captain: It’s all about the prestige.”  JetHead, 18 February 2010.

The closing image and caption are not to be missed.

Category: Aeronautics, Diversions  Tags: ,  Comments off

Carl Akeley’s African expeditions, 1896-1927

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Feb 2010

Adventurer archetype Carl Akeley (1864-1926) was an exceedingly productive taxidermist, sculptor, explorer and inventor.  His interest in ornithology begat a need to preserve specimens, so young Akeley read up on the subject and taught himself the basics of taxidermy.  He subsequently landed a job with science education supplier Ward’s Natural Science Establishment, then further refined his craft in jobs with a series of increasingly prominent museums.

Hearing of his achievements the British Museum in London offered him a position, but on his way, he stopped in Chicago where he was enticed to join their Field Museum of Natural History instead. Winning Carl over by the promise of African travel, he led two major expeditions while in their employment, the first in 1896 and later in 1905.

– “Carl Akeley.”  Wild Film History.  Web.  17 February 2010.

Chicago’s Field Museum has posted 136 of Akeley’s hand-coloured slides and black-and-white photographs to Flickr, a selection of which I have excerpted below.  See their Africa Expeditions set for more.

View of trees, hills, grass. Lake Elementeita, Mau Escarpment, British East Africa, c1906. Flickr: originally uploaded by The Field Museum Library.

Trees and scenes, mountain in background. Diorama accessory study. Voi, British East Africa, c1906. Flickr: originally uploaded by The Field Museum Library.

View on river shore with large canoe or boat, abandoned. Mombassa, British East Africa, c1906. Flickr: originally uploaded by The Field Museum Library.

Expedition camp, three tents with members inside. British East Africa, c1896. Flickr: originally uploaded by The Field Museum Library.

Small child in front of tents, holding an unidentified object. British East Africa, c1906. Flickr: originally uploaded by The Field Museum Library.

Young cheetah growling at camera, teeth bared. British Somaliland, c1896. Flickr: originally uploaded by The Field Museum Library.

Young mammal, possibly Bovidae Oryx. British Somaliland, c1896. Flickr: originally uploaded by The Field Museum Library.

Berbera at night. Berbera, Woqooyi Galbeed, British Somaliland, c1896. Flickr: originally uploaded by The Field Museum Library.

Akeley died during his fifth and final African expedition, and is buried in Albert (now Virunga) National Park.  He left behind an enormous and meticulously catalogued collection of specimens—his crowning achievement.  Today, three-quarters of a century after it was first opened to the public, that collection of 28 stunning dioramas continues to amaze visitors to the American Museum of Natural History.

In total, Carl launched five collecting trips to the African subcontinent, joining Theodore Roosevelt on his 1909 expedition while he was working for the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Filmed by Cherry Kearton for the feature, With Roosevelt in Africa (1910) it also provided many specimens still on display in the museum in a wing named in Carl’s honour – the Akeley Hall of African Mammals.

– “Carl Akeley.”  Wild Film History.  Web.  17 February 2010.

Category: Historica, That all men may know His works  Tags: ,  Comments off

Theodore Roosevelt in Africa, c. 1909

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Feb 2010

Silent film scenes presented by the Library of Congress show the 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, touring Africa after retirement from public office.

Category: Historica  Tags:  Comments off

23

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14
Feb 2010

A Nova Scotian court has finally answered the question “How many drunk driving convictions does it take to permanently lose your licence?”

Those of you still on your third or fourth conviction, rejoice!  You’ve got another 30-odd years of driving ahead of you.

Category: Culpae Poenae Par Esto  Tags:  Comments off

PLA officers favour economic offensive against US

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13
Feb 2010

Imperialism and all reactionaries are paper tigers, c.1965 (Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda pages)

There’s nothing wrong with a nation’s uniformed officers musing about possible moves and counter-moves against strategic competitors.  Nor is there anything instantly objectionable about an industry lobbying its national government to take action against the objectionable policies of a major trading partner.  Even the best of friends may, at some point, end up in a bitter war of words or trade (cf. Canada, softwood lumber).

But in China, where industrial titans can also be uniformed officers in the PLA, those off-the-cuff, thinking-out-loud musings seem a lot less innocent.  Especially when it is coming from the men responsible for developing the PLA’s senior leadership.

The calls for broad retaliation over the planned U.S. weapons sales to the disputed island [Taiwan] came from officers at China’s National Defence University and Academy of Military Sciences, interviewed by Outlook Weekly, a Chinese-language magazine published by the official Xinhua news agency.

The interviews with Major Generals Zhu Chenghu and Luo Yuan and Senior Colonel Ke Chunqiao appeared in the issue published on Monday.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) plays no role in setting policy for China’s foreign exchange holdings. Officials in charge of that area have given no sign of any moves to sell U.S. Treasury bonds over the weapons sales, a move that could alarm markets and damage the value of China’s own holdings.

While far from representing fixed government policy, the open demands for retaliation by the PLA officers underscored the domestic pressures on Beijing to deliver on its threats to punish the Obama administration over the arms sales.

“Our retaliation should not be restricted to merely military matters, and we should adopt a strategic package of counter-punches covering politics, military affairs, diplomacy and economics to treat both the symptoms and root cause of this disease,” said Luo Yuan, a researcher at the Academy of Military Sciences.

“Just like two people rowing a boat, if the United States first throws the strokes into chaos, then so must we.”

Luo said Beijing could “attack by oblique means and stealthy feints” to make its point in Washington.

“For example, we could sanction them using economic means, such as dumping some U.S. government bonds,” Luo said.

– Buckley, Chris.  “China PLA officers urge economic punch against U.S.“  Reuters | US, 9 February 2010.

China is free to pursue its own national interest, of course, but it’s hard to see how the interests of an autocratic corporatist state can long coincide with those of a mature democracy.  One might even say that it is hard to imagine how tighter integration of the Chinese and American economies will lead to anything other than increased conflict.  It is not as if both nations are headed in the same direction, reaching for the same goals.  One is a young lion, anxious to test his growing strength and expand the horizons of his autonomy; the other is an old lion, struggling to maintain the fading status quo.  They will inevitably end up in conflict; one can only hope that it does not become a contest of arms.

Thus it is probably also a good time to remind our southern neighbours of this:

There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion, which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.

– Washington, George.  Farewell Address, 19 September 1796.

Category: Foreign Affairs  Tags:  Comments off

The F.H. Jewell Collection

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Feb 2010

Archivist John Cornelius has done us all a service by preserving a remarkable window into a bygone past—this collection of photographs taken in China between 1921 and 1927 by one Frederick Harris Jewell, marketer for the British-American Tobacco Company.

Early morning in public square, Peking. c. 1920s (© J. D. Cornelius 2008 / F. H. Jewell Collection)

Temple and "Stairway to Heaven" c. 1920s atop Tai Shan ("Sacred Mountain") in Shandong province, elev. 5,069 feet. Significant "Mountain of the East" in Taoist tradition, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. (© J. D. Cornelius 2008 / F. H. Jewell Collection)

Street scene, Hong Kong, c. 1920s. (© J. D. Cornelius 2008 / F. H. Jewell Collection)

You can read more about Mr. Jewell and see dozens more images from China and elsewhere at Mr. Cornelius’ site.  Highly recommended.

Category: Historica  Tags:  Comments off

8 Wing and CFB Trenton get new CO

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Feb 2010

Lieutenant Colonel D.B. (Dave) Cochrane, CD, will take command of CFB Trenton and host unit 8 Wing on February 19th, 2010, following his promotion to full colonel.  Col. Cochrane was previously commanding officer of 426 Transport Training Squadron from 2006 through 2009; this unit prepares aircrews to fly the CC-130 Hercules tactical airlifter.

Col. Cochrane takes over from LCol. David Murphy (8 Wing Operations Officer), who was designated acting CO last Tuesday following the arrest of Col. Russell Williams.

Category: National Defence  Tags: , , ,  Comments off
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