crazed monkey

Check this weblog out and then view the source. This makes my XHTML1 strict weblog look like bad HTML with Netscape extensions, and it even validates as XML and also validates as RSS. How cool is that? Seriously, this is what it’s all about.

I think I just creamed myself.

Posted on November 20th, 2002 in computers, internet - No Comments »

I finished A Song of Stone last night. Frank was right, this book is to be avoided - not because it isn’t well-written, but because the plot progression is just so damned depressing. The book starts off relatively upbeat where we find the narrator, his lover and their servants in the process of fleeing their castle because of a civil war. Yes, I said upbeat because, in retrospect, this is the happiest moment in the entire book. It is as if Banks decided to drop his characters in an already depressing scenario, then asked himself “How could I make their lives worse?” and wrote whatever immediately came to mind. Then again, war is never positive, and this book successfully drives that point home. As there are no victors in war, so there are no winners in this tragedy.

I have yet to write a review for Everyone in Silico, which I finished last week. I hope to get on that in a day or so, but I’m too lazy to write something decent at this point.

Posted on November 20th, 2002 in books, culture - No Comments »

Following Vic’s example I have added comments thanks to Haloscan. However, I have chosen to use the bare minimum Javascript so there is no dynamic displaying of the total number of comments as of yet.

Posted on November 20th, 2002 in meta, site - No Comments »

Just when you thought she was whore enough, Mattel is releasing a My Scene Barbie aimed at the pre-teen market. This new Barbie features “crop-tops, low-riding jeans and bare midriffs” to appeal to girls who are ditching their Barbies after they turn 7 due to the influence of images in music videos and on the internet. Some scary quotes:

The images they soak up are often of scantily clad women for whom female empowerment is all about sex appeal, [Debbie Gordon] said. Mattel is trying to harness that trend with the launch of My Scene, she said.

And the generic marketing quote of the day:

“They’re cool and edgy,” [Angela Scardillo] said. “They have the street credibility and a look that tweens recognize in their real life through movie stars, in magazines and in their high schools.”

To those who can’t believe that I am writing about Barbie: I have a 5-year-old niece and so this trend concerns me greatly.

Posted on November 19th, 2002 in culture - No Comments »

Today’s Globe & Mail has an interesting article about the sixteen known Canadian WWI veterans. The paper published thirteen names and stories last week, but three more have recently been added. Not suprisingly, the youngest of these sixteen is 102 years old.

Posted on November 16th, 2002 in culture - No Comments »