Stealing the Show

The Adventures of Prince Achmed, 1926. Source: Wikipedia

With tools such as DRM and copy protection, the movie industry is waging an apparently losing battle against film pirates. How long has this fight been going on?

At least since the 1890s:

Film tinting: "The process [of tinting film] began in the 1890s, originally as a copy-guard against film pirates. The film was tinted amber, the color of the safelight on film printers. The discovery of bleaching methods by pirates soon put an end to this."

True Indie Cinema

Preview of "The Family in Which I Live"

The film is based on a true story about the family of Hero Kim Kwang Chol, which works hard to repay the profound loving care and trust shown by General Secretary Kim Jong Il, always enshrining them.

Sun Hui, lead part of the film, becomes a daughter-in-law of the family of Hero Kim Kwang Chol as befitting the heroine who performed feats in the socialist construction site during her maidenhood. She displays sincerity as the wife of an officer and a mother for service persons on the frontline.

During these days she learns from the noble spirit of the Hero's parents and his brothers and the genuine family tradition. She creditably performs her duty like a cooker for the supreme command without expecting any honor.

-- Korea News Service

Photo-thing by Riffle. Explanation here.

Sarcastic Actions

David Letterman interviewed Julianna Margulies, who talked about her early years as a waitress. During the discussion, he said [in paraphrase]:

My friend George Miller would always leave a huge tip even when the service was terrible. I'd say: "The service was awful, why such a large tip?" George said: "I'm being sarcastic."

Made me laugh.

Also reminds me of the prefatory lines of the Rickie Lee Jones song Juke Box Fury:

Polly and I went to the circus
Polly got hit with a rolling pin.
We got even with the circus
We bought tickets but we didn't go in.

Non-verbal sarcasm is even harder to pull off than the usual kind, I suppose.

Confirmatory Graph

What if Canadians synchronized their flushing -- say, by peeing en masse during play breaks in the most watched hockey game in Canadian history?

Edmonton water consumption would look something like the dark line in this graph:
The universe is in order, as Nick Park would acknowledge.

Via Matt Yglesias.

'Pinocchio syndrome': a peculiar form of reflex epilepsy?

Reflex epilepsies can be defined as epilepsies in which all or a significant part of seizures can be regularly provoked by a given triggering factor, most often a sensory stimulus. Sometimes it may be unexpected, such as, reading or decision-making. We report an unusual epilepsy in which seizures occurred when the patient lied.

[....]

As in Collodi's tale, in which lies made Pinocchio's nose grow, our patient's lies became so obvious for his interlocutors. As he was a "eurocrat", using lies to evoke the truth in adversarial EEC negoations, it is thanks to carbamazepine [an anticonvulsant and mood-stabilizer] that he has been able to work again.

--Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry: 1993

As unpleasant as it is for the real subject, this sounds like a comedic premise.

[The linked article is a fairly brief letter to the Journal, and it's not such a tough read.]

Feel-Good Story

AP News: No harm in naked woman tied to tree in Tacoma park

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) -- Several police officers responded to a 911 report of a naked woman tied to a tree in Point Defiance Park in Tacoma.

Spokesman Mark Fulghum (FUL'-jum) told The News Tribune officers talked with the woman and a man Tuesday in the Owen Beach area and determined it was a "consensual rendezvous."

No one was arrested.

That's the full AP story, but I'm sure that's not the full story.

Political Notes

• Mickey Kaus is possibly going to run for Senate against Barbara Boxer. This engenders hilarity. It also gives me the chance to resuscitate the above graphic of Kaus compared to the Secretary of Education character in the movie Idiocracy. Kaus should put this on his campaign literature.
  

• I'm surprised by the recent softening of Tory support in the UK. Electoral Calculus is currently predicting slightly less that a 50% likelihood of a Tory victory. [Electoral Calculus reminds me a bit of Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight.com here in the US--a site that statistically predicts election outcomes. Nate at FiveThirtyEight.com did statistics for baseball before starting his political site -- did Electoral Calculus start with cricket stats?]. I'm pulling for the Tories to lose, unlike some Obama hands (though I don't trust the Wall Street Journal, it is plausible some signed on with Cameron).

• Evan Bayh was interviewed on Charlie Rose's show tonight. I watched for 10 seconds and thought: this is how the world will end, with one oleaginous tautology trying to out-vapid another; then the singularity.

Refreshing Olympic Spirit

John Shuster:

U.S. curling captain John Shuster stuck out his tongue in the middle of a match and uttered for all to hear on television at home, "I hate this stupid game."

That's the Washington Post. The NY Post quotes him differently:

"I'm sick of this stupid game" Shuster said after the eighth end and stuck his tongue out.

I'm pretty sure the Washington Post is wrong on this. Figures.

DrawMyTweets is drawing Tweets, such as this one: "My friend Dave the Moose was just named North American Moose Lawyer of the Year! He's a sweet guy and a terrific moose lawyer."

Innocent Shams

I'm generally not a huge fan of the Pakistani army, but this (retired) Colonel Innocent Shams seems like a worthy person.

Abseiling down a church tower.

Finding a rare and precious artifact.

If the Pakistani Army keeps arresting Taliban leaders in Pakistan, with or without outside help, I'll be even more well disposed to them. Even if they are not living in the UK and (presumably) Anglican.

It's Very Good

Grampian Horn: Master 5 on Asphalt Flat Roof from Alex Morris on Vimeo.

Lovely. Through and through.

Winter Sports

For someone who doesn't appreciate sports, I've been enjoying my share of the Winter Olympics on US television via NBC. Some tangential thoughts.

1) Identify the following flags (note: some may be flipped, rotated, fabricated, or unkempt):


[* See KEY to flags* below.]

2) Speaking of flags, a high proportion of flags at the Winter games bear crosses (Georgia's has five). Very few winter medal-winners' flags feature other designs such as the crescent, Star of David, or Wheel of Dharma. Deduction: Torture devices of the ancient Romans are important to nations interested in winter sports.

3) Figure skaters (or perhaps judges) seem to think that the music best suited to skating was composed in late 19th Century Russia. (It's not the only era represented, but it's the most likely one.) I'd like to see skating to something by Steve Reich--honestly. Clapping or Drumming or Piano Phase or, if worse comes to worse, Music for 18 Musicians:



4) I enjoy curling, but today I heard a commentator talk about the tremendous conditioning of the curling competitors. Don't bullshit a bullshitter, NBC.

5) In the USA, the tension between physical exuberance versus marketing, cheap myth-making, branding, jingoism, and mush is painful. Someday maybe we'll be able to watch the events we want to watch and not have them packaged by bloodless cynics.

[* KEY to flags: the point of this exercise is that a lot of flags are similar. That's the key.]

Habitina -- For Breakfast!

Habitina was the catchy name for a proprietary concoction, available in USA in the early 1900s, meant to cure opium and morphine addicts. Here's the formula:



With this stuff around, who would need to buy opiates ?

A testimonial (from a trial, not an advertisement):

Mr. W. J. H., Missouri, testified that he purchased Habitina to cure himself of the morphln habit. He Increased from a bottle a week to a bottle a day, and at last ordered six bottles at a time, which the company always sent without question.

Source: Nostrums and quackery , Ed. 2, 1912, by the American Medical Association. Their fuller story about Habitina and its purveyors is most interesting, as are many other parts of this book -- and often entertaining, too. I suppose if I knew more about the history of the AMA fighting other types of medical practitioners, it would be even more illuminating.

Hypnotic -- or worse

Advertisement found in the Eclectic medical gleaner, Vol 2. 1906.

Let's see. Chloral Hydrate and Cannabis and hyoscyamine in one easy-to-abuse elixir. Wonder how many turn-of-the-century Michael Jacksons died from that?

Or Mickey Finns?

Bromidia was still for sale in 1922, when the Journal of the American Medical Association published the case report ACUTE DELIRIUM APPARENTLY DUE TO BROMIDIA POISONING. It begins:

Mrs. R. B., aged 32, white, actress, admitted to the service of Dr. M. H. Bochroch in the psychopathic wards of the Philadelphia General Hospital, June 5, 1922, was unconscious, May 30, when her husband arrived home in the evening. In about ten minutes she revived, and talked rationally. That night she became delirious and talked at random, but had no fever. The next day she imagined that she was receiving electric shocks; she heard voices saying bad things about her, and thought that people were persecuting her father, and also trying to kill her with radio. No visual hallucinations were present. The history was unimportant until December, 1920, when the patient developed a pelvic inflammatory condition. At this time a physician prescribed Bromidia for insomnia. The patient took from one-half to 1 ounce daily of her own accord for nervousness, sleeplessness and pain for eighteen months.

Not sure it's worth paying for the rest of that article, but -- wow.

UPDATE: Another Google Book from the era [Nostrums and quackery from the AMA] lists the ingredients as

Chloral hydrate 15 grains
Potassium bromid 15 grains
Ext. cannabis indica 1/8 grain
hyoscyamus 1/8grain

I'd say Mrs. R. B. wasn't the only delirium sufferer due to this concoction. Libertarians take note: you are denied the opportunity to indulge yourself with Bromidia. Revolt!

Note to Self

Senator Evan Bayh may try to run for something else in the future. The manner in which he announced his retirement yesterday -- making it maximally likely a Republican will replace him -- should be recalled if he ever does so.

The guy is a policy lightweight, none-too-bright, unprincipled, cowardly and generally worthless. The only thing I recall that he's fought for is making it easier for Paris Hilton to inherit more money. Despite this, he bizarrely considers himself a deficit hawk.

If he cashes in and then tries to return to public life, I'll have these notes to refer to.

Oh -- and he's an asshole.

The Early Woody Allen 1952-1971

Photo: Life Magazine

Early Woody Allen: At WFMU's Beware of the Blog, Kliph Nesteroff writes another wonderful post, this time about Woody Allen's early years of writing and performing. It's redolent of the era and full of fascinating tidbits.

For instance, it's common knowledge that Woody wrote for Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows. But he didn't; Allen only wrote for a Caesar one-off special called The Chevy Show with Sid Caesar, and didn't like working with Sid.

As they say: read the whole thing.

Candide 250

Voltaire's Candide was published 250 years ago. There's a lot of genuinely funny stuff today that isn't as funny as that book.

“Well, my dear Pangloss,” said Candide to him, “when you were hanged, dissected, whipped, and tugging at the oar, did you continue to think that everything in this world happens for the best?” “I have always abided by my first opinion,” answered Pangloss; “for, after all, I am a philosopher, and it would not become me to retract my sentiments; especially as Leibnitz could not be in the wrong: and that pre-established harmony is the finest thing in the world, as well as a plenum and the materia subtilis.”

New York Public Library has exhibits on line (including the 2 minute Candide) and in the Library. [I'd love to see that Fame and Fancy: or Voltaire Improved pseudonymously published in Boston, 1826.]

French-language etexts are available, as are multiple English ones, too. And Kindle. And paper books.

And don't forget Bernstein's charming operetta (with lyrics by a pretty imposing crowd: James Agee, Dorothy Parker, John Latouche, Richard Wilbur, and Lillian Hellman).

Of course, that Lisbon earthquake happened just so Voltaire could get a book out of it. All for the best.

Hey, it's That Guy!

A fine compendium of many well known (make what well seen) character actors. Not sure why Harry Dean Stanton isn't there -- but it's still a stellar list.

Via Roger Ebert.

Meaningless Juxtaposition

Kim statue image from The Telegraph.

Morecambe statue image from Panoramio.

Saw a photo of the Kim Jong-Il statue and it reminded me of the statue of Eric Morecambe.

If only our world had more despots and fewer beloved comedians. Or perhaps a combo.

Kim Jong-Morecambe in bronze by Riffle.

Too Many Elections

Scott Cohen won the Democratic Party slot for Illinois Lieutenant Governor thanks to spending $2 million and to a large field that split the vote in that primary. There was little coverage of his background before the primary.

As it turns out he has what is politely referred to as a checkered past. He apparently raped his ex-wife. Earlier he lived with a prostitute and slashed her with a knife: the charges were dropped because she didn't show up in court. He claims he didn't know she was a prostitute but thought she was a "massage therapist," which is pretty funny because massage therapists require licensure in Illinois and I have a feeling his paramour didn't hold one.

He faces questions about an incredible array of sleazy dealings in this video, and is not only a moral leper but is also very stupid.

The video is stunning.