Category Archives: General

General

The Natural inspiration dies…

Didn’t realize that the character who (SPOILERS!) nearly kills the character of Roy Hobbs in both the book and the subsequent movie version of The Natural was based on one Ruth Steinhagen, who it was reported passed away last year:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/ruth-steinhagen-dead-_n_2900060.html

After reading this, the sequence in the movie (I haven’t read the book) takes on a more startling atmosphere.  One of the more troublesome aspects of fame is that one can become a target of a stalker, just as Chicago Cubs baseball player Eddie Waitkus was and, afterwards, others have been.  Luckily for Mr. Waitkus he survived the assault by Ms. Steinhagen and, in reading the article, one finds that the baseball player decided not to press charges against her following her psychiatric treatment.

Still, others, perhaps none as famous as John Lennon, weren’t so lucky.

General

Time Warner Looking to Sell All Magazine Titles…

Further evidence of the digitalization of media:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/time-warner-selling-magazines_n_2820894.html

I’ve felt it for a while now.  It started during the heights of the economic downturn, when my local newspaper went from being thick with advertisements to becoming an emaciated ghost of its former self.  At about that time the tablets were just becoming hot and I, like many others I suppose, gave it a try.  Since then, I’ve read most of the information I’m curious about online…though one should realize in this age of near instant information sharing there are sites prone to spreading misinformation or downright untruths.

The Sunday edition of the my local paper has grown since the worst of times a couple of years ago, but I firmly believe we’re transitioning into a time when most “paper” works, be they magazines, newspapers, and, yes, books, will be picked up by the general population in electronic versus paper format.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

I suppose there are elements of both to be found.  There is something undeniably comforting about carrying an actual a paper product and the risk of “breaking” it is far lower (especially if your reading takes you to the beach).  Further, many readers/tablets are difficult to use in broad daylight.  On the other hand, there is an  incredible ease to purchasing any book/magazine/paper you want near instantly by downloading it to your computer.  Plus, having electronic files versus physical products certainly frees up space in your home otherwise taken up by these products.

In time, I predict tablets and readers will become more weather/water resistant and easier to read in broad sunlight.  Thus, it seems to me a matter of time before paper products become a very small part of people’s lives and, therefore, it does not surprise me that Time is intent on unloading those products.

General

Karma

Fascinating read from Huffington Post, concerning a waitress who, while serving a customer, made a rather incredible discovery:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/brianna-priddy-waitress-stolen-drivers-license_n_2821419.html

So…what are the odds of serving a person who happens to have your stolen driver’s license on them?  Pretty long odds, obviously.  Which is why it certainly makes one smile to see the end result.

General

The Scariest Secret Weapons of WWII

Fascinating and surprising -I hadn’t heard of some of these!- list related to the above:

http://www.mandatory.com/2013/02/15/the-scariest-secret-weapons-of-world-war-ii/

Of the ones listed, the very first one, the “Vortex Cannon,” intrigued me the most.  Very interesting concept though understandable why it couldn’t/wouldn’t work.

General

1922 Kodachrome test footage

Fascinating article, found on Slate magazine, concerning 1922 test footage of Kodachrome film.  This represents some of the very earliest color film footage ever:

 http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2013/02/08/early_color_film_from_1922_actresses_vamp_for_the_camera.html

If you don’t want to read the article full article (it’s brief but quite fascinating), here’s the actual footage:

General

Bank Robbers going the way of Blacksmiths?

Another fascinating article, this on on Time magazine’s website, by Brad Tuttle concerning the declining rate of bank robberies around the country:

http://business.time.com/2013/02/06/bank-robbers-going-the-way-of-blacksmiths/

I tend to agree with the article:  Bank robbery is too high risk/low reward.  Interestingly, ATM machines are hit and electronic types of theft continue, but it appears actual, physical bank robberies are on the decline.

General

Extra-Terrestrial Discovery could happen in…10 years?

Fascinating article by Lee Spiegel for HuffingtonPost.com concerning members of the World Economic Forum (yes, the World Economic Forum) at Davos wondering what the social implications might be if evidence of Extra-Terrestrial is realized within the next decade:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/01/alien-life-discovery-implications_n_2568280.html

Given the advances we’re in discovering what lies in other solar systems, it appears logical that eventually we will find a solar system, and subsequent planet within that solar system, that is near identical -or close enough- to conditions on Earth to wonder if there is life on said planet.

As with the previous decade in terms of scientific advances, I look forward to see what happens next.

General

News of the not-too-terribly-surprising:

From CNN, Postal Service to end Saturday mail delivery:

http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/06/news/economy/postal-service-cuts/index.html

They will, it should be noted, continue their package delivery on Saturday.  Package delivery, in this modern computer (Amazon) world, remains a vital way of getting products to people and therefore has a definite future.

Mail, on the other hand, is becoming less and less important as a way of communicating between people and/or paying bills.

It’s fascinating to see how much of an impact computers have had on the general economy.

Record/Music stores?  Pretty much a thing of the past thanks to MP3s.

Bookstores?  Rapidly going the same way thanks to Kindle, Nook, and tablets in general.

Someone much smarter than me (sorry, don’t recall who exactly who) noted in a business column that the future of certain retail stores may be small kiosks.  You go into them, look at the latest models of, say, computers/tablets, then go to the counter and pay for your order.  Your purchased order is sent to your home by the same or next day (package delivery becoming more and more important).

If this is true, the U.S. Post Office -and indeed all package delivery specializing companies- should focus on improving their package delivery.  Regardless of whether the kiosk idea comes true, it seems logical that the business of package delivery will continue to be lucrative in this day and age.

 

General

The World’s Smallest Car…

…From Slate.com, a very amusing video of Jeremy Clarkson’s P45, the world’s smallest car:

The full article can be read here:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/02/04/jeremy_clarkson_s_p45_terrifying_ride_in_world_s_tiniest_car_video.html

But the video is the thing.  Loved how well the “car” manages bumpy roads.

General

Football’s Death Spiral

Fascinating article by the always readable Andrew O’Hehir for Salon.com regarding the possibility that Football, the King of Sports in the U.S.A. today, may be in trouble:

http://www.salon.com/2013/02/03/footballs_death_spiral/

I’m a big fan of the sport of Football but I totally agree with Mr. O’Hehir’s article.  In fact, I’ve even written about this before (you can read about it here).

The fact is that as the sport of Football has became more “professional” over time and athletes had the time and means to build their bodies to their absolute best, the subsequent hits between players became harder and harder.  And while their bodies may be at their peaks, there is simply no way to build one’s head and brain so that it too can take all those jarring hits.

The other scandals Mr. O’Hehir notes are worth mentioning as well, but I think Football’s eventual downfall will come because of the continuing revelations of just how much brain damage the players who participate in the game receive.

As I said before, I happen to love the sport.  But one has to be truly blind and uncaring about others to defend a sport which slowly kills a person’s mental -and physical- abilities.