Apparently David Carradine was found dead today in Bangkok in his hotel room.

Not much of a filmography, to be honest, and I wasn't a big fan of the Kung-fu series (or the sequel).

But ever single minute he appears in Kill Bill is absolutely memorable.

I figured I’d download Windows 7 RC for no reason other than the fact that I like new, shiny things. There we go.

And feel free to leave a comment telling me I’m stupid for switching from XP. Truth is my Y chromosome compels me to upgrade whatever plugs into the electric outlet every other year or so. Like shoes.

Plus, it’s free for the time being and XP will stop getting support in not very long. Might as well get used to this new thing.

Disclaimer: I never used Vista extensively, so if I mention something that was already featured in Vista, I apologize.

Notable features:

- Nowhere as many notifications asking whether to let a program run or not. And they’re easily customizable, so you can just turn them off.

- Explorer 8 is much faster on this than Vista or XP. In fact, it’s a travesty to run it on XP comparatively. I haven’t reinstalled Firefox, and I’m actually not missing it. Fine, flame me for speaking heresy.

- Can customize which icons appear on the taskbar. So yeah, no more busy taskbars if you have programs running in the background.

- In an attempt to emulate/compete/copy Google, a number of programs are integrated into Windows Live from the start. They got rid of Outlook Express, for instance, and replaced it with Windows Live Mail. Similar matter for blogging with Windows Live Writer, which I’m using to write this up at the moment (and works like a charm so far).

- Not as much memory hogging as Vista. My PC couldn’t run some features such as AeroDesk on Vista, but it has no trouble with Win7.

- Taskbar previews work like a charm. Takes a bit to get used to it, especially from XP. Again, these are also customizable.

- “Invisible windows”: can scroll over a minimized window in the taskbar and it’ll show up on the desktop without minimizing the current top window. Lovely little feature, mostly aesthetic but also quite handy and avoid having to minimize/maximize constantly.

Features I haven’t fully tested:

- USB device integration: I haven’t manually installed the drivers for my printer, so it just downloaded them automatically. Told me a couple of times that there were “problems with the printer”. I turned off the notification, but haven’t had a problem with printing.

- Media library sharing: apparently it’s possible to share one’s media library, or parts of it with other people through one’s Live ID. I have to say I love this idea. Problem I see is that there are way more people using a Google ID nowadays than a Hotmail, Live, or compatible which will just result in more of the usual “which login do I use for this again?”.

Feature that has impressed me the most:

INDEXING IS LIGHTNING FAST!!! Add new files into the deepest subfolder, and they’ll be ready for instant search within seconds. So if you’re like me and often wonder where you put that one file, you’ll be in heaven.

Johannes Gutenberg Twitter says

@everyone: OMG totally did not invent movable print 4 ppl 2 b retarded n use 140 char or less!

BRING IT BACK, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!!

EDIT: sorry about the foul language, but these stupid antics hit a particular switch in my brain.

By Globe Staff

A bronze duckling was stolen from the storied Make Way for Ducklings sculpture in the Public Garden, the beloved bird snapped off at its webbed feet, police said today.

The sculptor, Nancy Schon, posed with the ducklings in 2007, 20 years after her work was installed in the Public Garden. (Globe file photo)

Park Rangers on routine patrol noticed this morning that Pack, the seventh of eight ducklings, had been stolen from their brick path near the corner of Beacon and Charles streets. The young fowl have stood in a curving line behind their mother, Mrs. Mallard, since Nancy Schon created and installed the sculpture in 1987. The work celebrates Robert McCloskey’s timeless children's book, "Make Way for Ducklings."

“Not only are the Make Way for Ducklings loved by everyone, but they are public art,” Mayor Thomas M. Menino said in a statement. “This act is not a prank, it is a crime. We would strongly encourage anyone with information to please come forward to assist with Pack’s safe return.”

It's not the first time the sculpture has been hit.

In 1987, when the ducks were first placed in the garden, Quack was taken before the cement even dried. In 1988, Mack was stolen, and in 1992 Quack was taken again. That time, his theft caused such an outcry that buttons reading "Bring Quack Back" were sold to raise money for his replacement.

Jack, the eldest of Mrs. Mallard's eight children, has been stolen twice: He was cut from his family in 1995 and in 1999, thought in the second case he was later found under a desk at a Boston College library.

If caught, the perpetrator could face larceny charges for the theft of public art. Officer Michael, from the children's book, and the entire Boston Police Department are encouraging anyone with information about Pack to call the District A-1 detectives at 617-343-4248. People can also leave anonymous information by calling CrimeStoppers at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463).

Very random and sudden.

I'll probably go watch "Gomorrah" at Coolidge Corner tonight at 9:30.

If anyone cares to tag along, you're more than welcome!

I have to say I do like it. I'd downloaded the last beta, but it kept crashing whenever I tried to install an add on, so I abandoned it. In short..

Improvements:

- MUCH faster loading times for both the browser itself and websites. I don't know how it compares to Firefox, Chrome, or Opera, but it's a massive improvement from IE7.

New stuff:

-Web slices. I haven't used these yet. Apparently it's a sort of special bookmark that alerts you when a website has changed. I'm guessing it might be good to keep track of blogs and news.

-Accelerators. These are similar to some Firefox plugins. Utter awesomeness. Excellent for the lazy bum in all of us who can't be arsed to copy/paste an address onto another window of Google Maps. Just highlight the address, and click, a tiny window shows up showing the map. Very neat. Works also with dictionaries, blogs, search engines, etc.

And the greatest single improvement: "InPrivate Browsing"

aka "Porn Mode".

Yeah, all cache, temp files, and history of sites opened while in Porn Mode gets deleted when you close the window.

So far it seems like a very good backup browser. I'll stick to Firefox until reading a few reviews, but certainly worth downloading the update when prompted.

At least according to IGN.com

http://music.ign.com/articles/956/956392p1.html

Freddie Mercury was the the greatest rock tenor of all time.

And if you disagree with me, you are wrong and I will do nasty, unpleasant things to you.

Chavez wins referendum for a constitutional amendment that will allow all publicly-elected officials to run indefinitely. 54% of the vote.

More and more I find myself liking the idea that only those with a high school diploma, or equivalent, should be able to vote.

When you have your phone on your desk, are you also convinced you see the LED blinking red when it really isn't?

*sanity check*

..... I'm going to need a new video card.

Obama mentioning that the US is also a nation of nonbelievers (theologically) made me drool.

EDIT: "For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth."

TUESDAY, JAN. 20 (INAUGURATION DAY)

The inaugural festivities are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. They will include:

--Musical selections of The United States Marine Band, followed by the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus.

--Sen. Dianne Feinstein provides call to order and welcoming remarks.

--Invocation by the Rev. Rick Warren.

--Musical selection of Aretha Franklin.

--Biden will be sworn into office by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

--Musical selection of John Williams, composer/arranger with Itzhak Perlman, (violin), Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Gabriela Montero (piano) and Anthony McGill (clarinet).

--12 pm ET: Obama will take the Oath of Office, using President Lincoln's Inaugural Bible, administered by Chief Justice John Roberts.

--Obama gives the inaugural address.

_____________________________________________________________

Musical selection of.... John Williams!?

...... (throw more dots... more dots.... more dots)

Scene I:

Presidential motorcade drives down Pennsylvania Ave (Parade of the Slave Children from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)

Scene II:

Bush appears (Imperial March from SW: The Empire Strikes Back)

Scene III:

Bush slips on a banana peel, falls down stairs (Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)

Scene IV:

Touching speech on struggle of minorities in the US (Schindler's List theme. Why else would Perlman be there, anyway?)

Scene V:

*In slow motion* Hand goes on Bible for oath (Jaws theme)

Scene VI:

Entering the White House (Jurassic Park theme)

Epilogue:

Bush puts lid on box, hammers it shut. It reads "bin Laden's location". Carts it off in mysterious warehouse full of identical boxes. (March of the Raiders)

From Imdb.com

Cleese's New Lover Tells Naked Truth

19 January 2009 4:00 AM, PST

John Cleese's younger lover was initially reluctant to sleep with the elderly comic - because she wasn't sure what his naked body would look like.

Actress Barbie Orr, 27, met Cleese, 69, at an audition in October while he was in the midst of divorcing his third wife Alyce Faye Eichelberger.

Orr worried she wouldn't be attracted to the Fawlty Towers star in the bedroom - but she was won over because he was a "great kisser".

She says, "I kept picturing him naked. I wondered what someone that old looks like and would I actually sleep with them? For his birthday I was thinking about buying him a Zimmer frame (walking aid)."

And Orr admits that she was surprised Cleese was in such good shape - "for an old guy".

She adds: "You know, they're normally saggy down there, but he has a really nice package. He takes a lot of vitamin supplements and eats really well and he works out. His arms are really muscular and he still has amazing legs.

"He's had his teeth redone and he recently got hair plugs to cover the bald patches at the front."

Hell yeah, rangers!

Jericho To Be Made Into Movie

16 January 2009 11:03 AM, PST

U.S. TV drama Jericho is set for a comeback - a big screen version of the short lived series is under development.

The show, a portrayal of America post-nuclear attacks, was scrapped by network CBS after its first full season due to poor ratings.

But a campaign by a devoted group of fans convinced network executives to bring the show back for a seven-episode second season, before flagging ratings once more resulted in the series being cancelled in 2008.

But now the programme's stars, including Skeet Ulrich and Ashley Scott, are set to reprise their roles on the big screen, according to executive producer Jon Turteltaub.

He tells Moviehole.net, "We're developing a feature for Jericho. It would not require you to have seen the TV show, but it get into life after an event like this on a national scale. It would be the bigger, full on American version of what.s going on beyond the town in Jericho."

I showed him Monty Python and the Holy Grail several years ago, touting it as the funniest thing I'd seen on the planet.

He laughed, as he's prone to, considering his sense of humour. And at the end he said to me: "I still think L'Armata Brancaleone and Brancaleone alle crociate are funnier"

I'd never seen them, until two days ago.

Dad was very much right. The Pythons have been demoted in favor of Gassman & Co.

Dal Corriere della Sera

Permessi di soggiorno a 50 €
Fini: «No a discriminazioni»

21:10  POLITICA L'emendamento della Lega nel dl anti-crisi.
Alt del presidente della Camera: «Pdl rifletta, è norma discriminatoria». Governo smentisce parere favorevole. Veltroni: «Misura razzista». Il ministro Ronchi (An): folle e inaccettabile. Maroni: «Stop sbarchi nel 2009»

Allora, paliamoci chiaro. A me la Lega non piace. Se mi dovesse piacere, sarebbe senza Bossi, punto e basta.

Alcune perle

«Mi auguro che la maggioranza rifletta prima di varare norme che nulla hanno a che vedere con la doverosa lotta all'immigrazione clandestina, e che sono oggettivamente discriminatorie nei confronti dei lavoratori stranieri regolarmente presenti sul territorio nazionale» ha detto Fini, bocciando così l'emendamento del Carroccio al decreto anti-crisi (a firma Claudio D'Amico)

e, ancora meglio,

«Si tratta evidentemente di una misura ampiamente discriminatoria con una certa venatura di razzismo». Attacca Walter Veltroni

In prospettiva:

Equivalenze al "permesso di soggiorno" negli USA sarebbero Green Card (permesso di residenza) e visto H1-B (permesso di lavoro). Green Card e' da rinnovare ogni 10 anni, se non sbaglio. H1-B ogni 3. Aparte la montagna di documenti da presentare per ogn'una, bisogna pure presentare un'assegno. Per la prima, l'assegno e' di $1000 (mille. Dollari, non lire). Per il secondo sono $200 ogni tre anni.

E questi s'incazzano per 50euro!?

E caro Veltroni, di razzista non c'e' assolutamente niente. Da qualche parte dice per caso che saranno 50 euro dipendendo da etnia, paese di provenienza, o cittadinanza? No. Appunto. I rest my case.

But there's no sense crying
over every mistake.
You just keep on trying
till you run out of cake.
And the science gets done
and you make a neat gun
for the people who are
still alive.

Jonathan Coulton - Still Alive