CSS/HTML5 Star Wars Intro Crawl Text →
Be sure to read about the Webkit CSS used in the Ajaxian link and view it in Safari.
Joint Unconventional Warfare Task Force Execute Order →
The secret directive, signed in September by Gen. David H. Petraeus, authorizes the sending of American Special Operations troops to both friendly and hostile nations in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa to gather intelligence and build ties with local forces.I'm not sure why this is news, other than the military's increasing independence from other intelligence agencies.
No Longer 'Lost,' But Fans Are Still Searching →
But when the entire island story line we had been following for six seasons turned out not to matter very much within the internal organization of the show's narrative — to be largely disconnected from that final quasi-religious resolution of the plot — it was deflating, despite the warm feelings the finale otherwise inspired.
Rendered insignificant, in this scenario, were the particulars of what they had done on the island. Pushing buttons, building rafts, blowing up hatches, living, dying — all the churning action and melodrama that made "Lost" so addictive in its early seasons — none of it was directly connected to this final outcome, beyond the fact that it constituted "the most important part" of all their lives.
Android: Fragmentation or Innovation? →
Google won't control what partners do with Android, but by constantly raising the bar it controls the platform's pace as well as the vision. As with most things, in the end it will be Google's partners and their customers that will determine whether that pace is acceptable, and that will either become a competitive advantage or provide an opportunity for other platforms to succeed.
For just a few minutes last week, this was the only Google Search Result for "malamanteau". There are now 80,300. Not googlewhacked according to the official rules, but satisfying nonetheless.
Final Thoughts on LOST
While the emphasis in this series finale was on the heart of the island, the show lost its own heart. What was supposed to be a revealing, emotional, climactic episode endangered the whole series with an cop-out ending that clarified nothing, was neither epic nor mysterious nor surprising, and most of all, inspired no emotion for any of the characters. It basically pulled a Battlestar.
Uncivil for church leader to remove name from civility statement? →
A leader of one of America's largest Christian denominations wants his name removed from a statement calling for a more civil national discourse. Why? Too many of the wrong sort of Christians have signed the statement.Source: David Waters, The Washington Post
"The problem is the tent that has grown so large on the signatures of this that are including people who are supportive of gay marriage and abortion rights," explained a spokesman for George O. Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, the nation's second largest Pentecostal groups.
Is it an act of incivility to have your name removed from a "Covenant for Civility"?
Rand Paul and the Perils of Textbook Libertarianism →
Mr. Paul's quandary reflects the position of the Tea Partiers, whose antipathy to government, rooted in populist impatience with the major parties, implies a repudiation of politics and its capacity to effect meaningful change.
Change can't be made outside of the channels of political power in any movement.
A look at the battle fronts between Microsoft, Google, and Apple. From Gizmodo.
John Gruber has some notes on this war after Google I/O.
Saving Star Wars: The Special Edition Restoration Process and its Changing Physicality →
On the 30th anniversary of "The Empire Strikes Back", a great chapter from the book The Secret History of Star Wars on the history of the two special editions and the process of film modification in the digital era.