The Art Neuro Weblog

Key Psycho Update
So wouldn't you know, it's 7/10ths of the way through June and I'm just about broken the back of the dialogue mix. There're still a few days of working through splitting off the atmospheres and effects, but I've managed to crawl my way through the tedious process. It's my own damn film, I ought to be willing to be make these kinds of sacrifices, but Heaven's-to-Betsy, how many times can you watch the same film? - Turns out, quite a bit when you have to. The conclusion? Yeah, this is one warped film.

I'll hopefully wrap up the rest of the dialogue mix this week and move onto more pleasant pursuits like gathering and editing effects.

Mailbag Interest Of The Week
Pleiades has sent in a swag of interesting things to check out so I'm posting them up here.

The first on the list is Margo Kingston's web diary from the SMH. It covers an entry by one David Roffey regarding Global Warming. I found this amusing bit in it:

There have been some interesting interventions since then from all quarters of
the debate, including some from completely opposite sides to what might have
been expected. I noted in a comment last time that greenie George Monbiot had
come in with a flick at wind and wave energy hopes, 'An ugly face of ecology', arguing that: "...there is no sustainable way of meeting current projections for energy demand. The only strategy in any way compatible with environmentalism is one led by a vast reduction in total use."

Since then, another fascinating Guardian article - 'And what if the skeptics are wrong?' - from the outgoing leader of the Conservative Party in the UK, Michael Howard, coming in hard for the Precautionary Principle: "There are those who say the risks have been exaggerated. To such people I say this: if we go your way and you are wrong we will save money in the short term but incur an immense penalty in the long term; if we go my way and I am wrong we will incur costs in the short term but with the reward of greener, cleaner technologies for saving and generating energy. Such technologies would improve air quality, avoid acid rain and reduce our dependency on imported gas and oil."

So, the Tories attacking the Labour Government in the UK for not doing enough on climate change! How unlike the home life of our own dear Mr Howard.

Had to laugh at that one. It's taken a long time, but the effects of Global Warming are going to bite industry a lot harder than the energy industry thought. In other words, the colective denial by industry isn't going to hold because too many people's livelihoods are at stake. So of the notion that economics would do something was correct, then you can take this here as another sign 'economics' is working.

Runaway Robot
There used to be a runaway robot by the name of Dionysius who ran amok in our imagination many many years ago. Pleiades sent in this article which reminded me of that runaway bastard of a robot; I'll quote it whole because it's short:

Staff and patients at San Francisco’s UCSF Medical Center were left fearful and shaken last week, when a robotic nurse threw off its shackles and went on the rampage.

“Waldo”, a robot used to dispense pills and potions to medical stations at the top notch medical facility, refused to return to the pharmacy to pick up a fresh stash at the end of his rounds, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Instead, the crazed automaton – reportedly the size of a good-sized TV, which in California means it must be at least the size of the average British garden shed - careened past the drug depository before barging into a room in the hospital’s radiation oncology department where an examination was in progress.

The psychotic pill pusher reportedly refused to leave, sending both doctor and patient fleeing for their lives.

"This is the first time anything like this has happened," a hospital spokesman told the paper. "Our technology folks are going to have to take a look."

Yeah, if they can find him. The ‘bot’s clearly gone bad, and is probably even as we speak cruising the city’s Tenderloin district pushing purloined prescription pain killers, paying off dirty cops and menacing lost tourists.

Even more worryingly, the spokesman said nothing about shutting down Waldo’s two colleagues, dubbed Elvis and Lisa Marie. A terrible accident waiting to happen? We think so.

Sounds familiar? The secret Robot Rebellion is nigh!

Hollywood Targets Kids
Well, they always do, but this one is under the guise of 'education'.

Even some members of the film industry are sceptical about the latest publicity methods. Julian Fellowes, the writer of the film Gosford Park, said: "I think this is part and parcel of the policies that have betrayed a generation. The best way to learn literacy is to read a book."

The packs are produced by a charity, Film Education, which is funded by cinema distributors and exhibitors. The film directors Lord Attenborough, Terry Gilliam and Danny Boyle are among its patrons.

Christina Luby, an education officer with the charity, last night confirmed that some teachers were sceptical of the merits of the packs, but said that they were popular with most teachers and pupils.

"Children are gripped by the materials which are both entertaining and educational," she said. "Our materials are designed by teachers with teachers in mind."

Aah, the dilemma. At a certain point the kids have got to stop wanting to be amused and entertained and do the hard work of learning. If film producers were really interested in educational merits of their work, they really should release the rights to schools to pull their texts apart, play with them; well you don't see Lord Attenborough and Terry Gilliam jumping to let teachers do that so they may as well not even try to look like they care.
Pretty crappy really.

Livan Hernandez, Conqueror!
Last year I chronicled the amazing little run of heroic pitching provided by Orlando 'El Duque' Hernandez as the Yankees struggled to the finish line of the regular season (and copped some flack from the spacefreak regulars who want more space, less 'ball). Well, this year his half-brother Livan is having an amazing season.

Despite the bad inning, Hernandez (10-2) outpitched Redman in a matchup of two of the NL’s top starters this season, coaxing the Pirates into four double-play grounders in the first six innings to win in Pittsburgh for the first time in his career. He had been 0-2 in Pittsburgh and was 2-3 with a 5.49 ERA against the Pirates.

Hernandez was lifted after throwing 107 pitches in seven innings, giving up four runs — two earned — and eight hits, including Jack Wilson’s two-run single in the seventh. Gary Majewski pitched the eighth and Chad Cordero finished up in the ninth for his 19th consecutive save and 22nd of the season.

Washington is 13-3 when Hernandez starts and he hasn’t lost in 12 starts since April 19.

Which is amazing as this is his first 5-win month of his career.
How do I know this? Oh yeah, I've got him on my fantasy team - AND I almost traded him away, LOL. Anyway, 9 wins on the trot is just lovely. Thank you Mr. Hernandez senior for issuing not only 1 but 2 great pitching scions. It doth profit me well. :)

Whaling, Oh Whaling
I get flack for this too, because well, whaling is unconscienable to a lot of people. But I do find a lot of amusement in the so-called debate; it's certainly more amusing than Monkey-trial debates about Evolution. Here's today's update on the fiasco that is the IWC.

Senator Campbell is in Ulsan, South Korea for a meeting of the IWC where Japan is leading a push to have a ban on commercial whaling lifted after 20 years.

The tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru, a major recipient of Australian aid, has joined the IWC at the eleventh hour and is rumoured to be putting its support behind Japan.

But the federal government, which opposes a resumption of commercial whaling, says the IWC may not be the right forum to decide these issues.

"If we have a majority vote for this, it will ultimately lead to any nation in the world wanting to get back into commercial whaling," Senator Campbell told ABC radio.

"I think the real question that's on the ballot today is, is the International Whaling Commission really the body that's capable of being the international forum that regulates this incredibly important conservation of a very important species?"

"That's the real ballot," he said. "The longer I've spent on the ground here in Ulsan ... the more I wonder whether the IWC is a body that's suitable for this task."Senator Campbell said at the very least, it needs fundamental reform.

He said the Japanese were out of step with world opinion and scientific opinion in their push to have whaling resumed. The vote could swing either way and rests with a handful of small nations, including Nauru. Senator Campbell said Foreign Minister Alexander Downer had made a formal representation to the Pacific nation requesting its support, while Senator Campbell was waiting for its delegates to arrive in Ulsan to speak with them personally.

"The reality is that we have on the horizon ... three or four nations ... (who) are very likely to vote with Japan," he said. "I think very sadly for Australia, Nauru is potentially one of those nations."

Yay Nauru. So potentially, Nauru becomes the first nation to become the world's first nation to volunteer being a detention centre for another nation AND vote 'yes' to commercial whaling. Seems like Nauruans are emotionally tough people willing to do the dirty work for other people; or they're scoundrels; but they can't be both depending one whether they're doing the dirty work for you or against you.

See what I mean about how the IWC meets bringing out the animosity in ordinarily 'friendly nations'? Sort of the total opposite of the Olympic Games where normally hostile nations line up together to leap into the limelight together with smiles.
Whaling is a fellowship-breaker - It's the One Ring of conservationism.
"They're animals, they're not that precious, boys & girls! "

This bit will make Con-Weasel very happy giving him another punching bag; so much so he might wet his pants:

Australia has done too little, too late in its attempts to win more support at the IWC, Labor says.

Pro-whaling nations including Japan, Norway and Iceland will be seeking an end to the ban on commercial whaling at the current IWC meeting in Ulsan, South Korea.
Japan also wants to double the number of whales it is permitted to kill for research.

Labor said pro-whaling nations have been busy doing the same thing since 2002.
"The government's been asleep at the wheel, it's done too little, too late," Opposition environment spokesman Anthony Albanese told reporters.

"Japan stacked the branch at a time when Australia was doing nothing."

Well, the Australian Labor Party would know about such practices. :)
Or the entire Australian Government within and without, is not conceiving of International Whaling Commission as a 'whaling commission', but as the International 'Whaling Ban' Commission. My precious whales.
This is how excatly it hurts when you don't sign for Kyoto:

"The truth is that a last-minute scramble for votes to play catch-up is not good enough when Japan, Norway and Iceland have been very determined over a number of years."

He said Australia should take action in the International Court of Justice to show it was serious about stopping whaling.

Mr Albanese said other nations are also telling Australia not to lecture them about whaling when the Government refuses to sign on to the Kyoto protocol on greenhouse emissions. "Australia has an isolationist position on that, alone with the United States of the entire industrialised world, says we don't care that 141 countries have said that the Kyoto Protocol is the way to go, we're going to go it on our own," he said.

"And on that basis, it is not surprising that other countries are using that to say, well, Australia's going on its own there, don't take them seriously when it comes to international environment issues."

Right.

- Art Neuro