monkey mind control!!

First things first. Cheers to Andrew Schwartz at the University of Pittsburgh. You engineered mind control in monkeys. New York Times article here, actual Nature paper (which if you can successfully read, you're pretty awesome) here. I agree with those who showed me this article (thanks Annie) that the possibilities for prosthetics now explode and amplify by infinity, give or take.

I'll give credit where credit is due, this makes Hilary seem awfully badass. Maker's Mark, impressive.

David Patterson, you also rock. I think my med school classmates should be pretty amped that he gave the commencement speech.

A recent Radio Lab made me think about Schrodinger's Cat, quantum mechanics, Heisenberg, and the Copenhagen interpretation. (Not think deeply, just think). You guys may have heard of the "wiggle experiment" that tells us that there is no free will (if not, here.) To me, this is kind of a dumb experiment because its asking you to be reactive to an unconscious cue. Better to measure some sort of response that is truly self-generated (so, not really a 'response' at all). But doesn't the setup itself (aka, an experiment, unless the subjects don't know they are the subjects) create responsiveness? I mean, you can't just put people in a room and watch them until they do something. I think they'd notice. Plus, sadly (actually not sadly) they wouldn't all do the same thing, which would make this data kind of difficult to plot. So to do this experiment on free will, we need to be able to monitor subjects (oh, and their brains activity with PET scans!) without soliciting any behavior from them. And the measured behavior needs to be consistent across all of the subjects. So, Jeff Morrow, figure this out.

Slate really killed it this week. Here are some of their awesome links.
1. Is the Wii Fit any good? (Rich, this one is for you). The verdict? Good for the morbidly obese, but not good if you have a resting heart rate under 100.
2. The normalization of oral sex. People preparing to have kids, have your panic attacks in advance.
3. Why Ken Griffey, Jr.'s rookie baseball card is so popular. Just an interesting read.

Finally, an awesome article from the Freakonomics blog on why fears about globalization are vastly overstated from a perspective of language homogeneity. Pretty cool huh? Franklin Foer would agree, though I guess he would be more pessimistic.

Oops, almost forgot about quick music reviews!!

Okkervil River - I think I'm following in my former roommate Joe Shin's footsteps and getting more into bands that aren't all 3-piece stomp. I enjoy Okkervil River's instrumental diversity. Download "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe"

Raconteurs - Ironically, this is currently my favorite album of the bunch, and it is basically 4-piece stomp, except that its got a more bluesy rock feel mostly because of Jack White's personal style. I think if I could play guitar like anyone (alive) it would be him. Check out "Consolers of the Lonely"

Silversun Pickups - a little late on this one. For some reason I didn't listen to them even though I heard "Well Thought Out Twinkles" on KEXP's podcast. Well, this album is great and diverse, and full of urgency. They're a little into that fuzzy guitar sound, but it makes things sound full, so what the heck. Check out "Future Foe Scenarios"

Tokyo Police Club - Well, this album basically sounds like their last album. But that's not so bad. They're good musicians and their stuff is pretty engaging. Kind of a half-hearted review I know, but there's not really that much to say. The album is good. Listen to "Sixties Remake"

kobe

This is a PHE-nomenal article on Kobe and really touches on the killer instinct thing I blogged about before. That quote, "There's only two real killers in this league" is awesome. Hate him or love him, you kind of finish this article respecting him and people like him who have that sort of borderline-unhealthy fixation on their craft. Hooray for one-dimensional obsessiveness!

grab bag

so much to talk about!!!

1. Liz Trotta. and Fox News. First, kudos on consciously calling Barack Obama a terrorist and calling for him to be killed in the same sentence. Impressive. Second, her fake apology is dripping with contempt. More evidence that Fox News isn't driven by simple misguided patriotism (kind of how I see the president). No, tacit acceptance of behavior such as this shows the absolutely directed racism, xenophobia, and misogyny of this reprehensible network. Too bad that shit isn't working because new polls show Obama ahead of McCain in almost every significant swing state.

2. Hilary. Come on dude. Everyone is super amped up about the Robert Kennedy thing. I'm even more amped up about comparisons to elections in Zimbabwe and women's suffrage. Note to HRC: neither of those 2 groups violated the rules. Stop trivializing real problems.

3. RadioLab's Podcast on Sleep. Did you know that freakin dolphins rest half of their brain at a time so that they don't drown? That is INCREDIBLE.

4. Awesome Article on Obama's top aide, Reggie Love (which by the way, is an awesome name). We learn that Obama loves basketball and SportsCenter and hates mayonnaise and salt and vinegar potato chips. In other words, we are made to be best friends and in a posse together.

5. Apparently, accurate prediction of the national election exists! Sadly, it reveals that currently, things are really close.

6. This is a really interesting question about the Prisoner's Dilemma from the freakonomics blog. The dilemma itself is really cool with regards to honesty and deception, and this question is sort of integral to my love of economics. What would you ask to tip the scales most in your favor?

7. Great wine for under 15 dollars? Hell Yes!

8. An interesting article on lunch being mandated for high schoolers. I find this particularly interesting because as a high schooler I never took lunch. You don't want to stop kids from being ambitious but if you don't set some sort of boundary, 8th graders are going to start worrying about their GPA.

I've got a lot of new music on my palette: Raconteurs, The Roots, maybe even the new Tokyo Police Club. Stay tuned!

its true.

http://xkcd.com/242/

this is pretty random.

random thoughts and a rant!

basketball: if the spurs can't win when they hold kobe to less than 10 points in the first half, then its not going to happen. kobe is so weird, man. i heard his post-game interview and he sounds like he has aspergers. like he's given up the pretense. they asked him about his first half and he was like "whatever, it was more important for my teammates. i can basically score whenever i want." kudos.

democratic primaries: im ignoring hilary at this point. how about some vice presidential candidate talk? obviously there's she-who-will-not-currently-be-named, and joe biden. but how about Jim Webb? he seems like a popular choice that would make sense, unify the party, etc etc. im sold, but it doesn't take much with me.

now for something random.

I first saw Underworld when I was 16, at the Electric Factory. They had just come out with Beaucoup Fish (which is why its my sentimental favorite, even though objectively Second Toughest... is probably their best work). I think the reason I love them so much was because theirs was a first in a series of artists I started getting into whose construction was pretty simple. Aka, I felt I could write stuff like this if I wanted. Yet, that simple construction had within it something kind of primal and cathartic (I think this is why people like house in general). So on a day when I dont have much else to add, here are my 4 favorite songs by underworld.

Cups: because the first 9 minutes sounds like music that comes on in a fusion jazz-trance lounge (if those ever existed) after like 2 am. i like the muffled vocals, and the beat just seems to slink along, rather then being abrasive.

Born Slippy: you dont really like underworld if you dont love born slippy. i can still recite all the nonsensical lyrics by heart. nothing like hearing everyone at an underworld concert yell "she said comeover comeover she smiled at you, boy". i also like all the stupid remixes of this song. i should note that this probably one of like 10 songs i like whose tone is predominantly happy.

Push Upstairs: basically the flipside of Cups (kind of cool that they follow each other on beaucoup fish). insistent piano line over a driving, thumping beat. the kind of music you want to play when you're getting ready to be in a race, or a fight, or something. kind of a theme song for obsessive compulsives.

Rez-Cowgirl: mostly because its the best live song they do, with like 5 separate climaxes in the 12 minute song. Rez is mostly upbeat with a really awesome synth line that any true fan knows by heart. cowgirl has a fairly repetitive synth drone and melody that are weirdly addictive despite being kind of robotic until the (i dont think any terms that refer to song structure work with underworld but whatever) "bridge" where you get another awesome stream of consciousness rant. karl hyde, apparently, wants to give you everything, everything, everything.

uh oh.

playoff basketball!!!

have i not talked about RadioLab yet? Yeah, its awesome. It's sort of a mix of sociology and quantitative science. They take subjects like zoos, leadership, laughter, catchiness of pop songs, and then assemble both anecdotal and research-based observations to help deconvolve these macro phenomena. It's totally fascinating. More factually based than malcolm gladwell, yet pursuing more rewarding topics than steven levitt.

New topic. I love playoff basketball. I love playoff football and baseball too, which I'll talk about when the time comes, but basketball is the first sport I loved. I don't think I'll ever get over the athleticism. The pace is just so much faster than other sports, and the individual athleticism amplified in a cooperative team structure...no other sport gives you more "holy crap did you just see that" moments. And now, a few thoughts on the best player on each team remaining in the playoffs, with nickname in parentheses.

Chauncey Billups, Pistons (Mr. Big Shot): I'm sorry but what exactly is the obsession with this guy? Shoots a terrible percentage, and this whole "mr. big shot"...who has earned their nickname less? He killed them the last 2 years in the playoffs and is basically a corpse now. Forget you.

Lebron James, Cavaliers (King James): Obviously the most overall physically talented, and probably does the most plays that truly stun me. Maybe because he's built like a freaking linebacker. I know its tough for him because he's on a crappy team, but I don't see the playoff assassin in him that I want to. Here's hoping that in game 7 in the first minute he takes it to the hole, eviscerates Rajon Rondo and puts the world on notice.

Kevin Garnett, Celtics (KG/The Big Ticket): I like KG. He's a team player who truly seems to care about winning. I dont think you have to be that guy who takes the big shot (he's clearly tentative) if you do all the little things that help your team win. I think that can still make you great. If he had a true alpha dog on his team, they'd win like 40 championships in a row. Just a fearless guy at the end of the game (like Manu Ginobili).

Kobe Bryant, Lakers (Black Mamba): First of all, GREATEST NICKNAME OF ALL TIME. Who doesn't want to be freakin Black Mamba? And it fits him perfectly. Kobe is one of those weird dudes who grew up in Italy, probably had no peers, came to high school where he was too good for everyone, and went straight to the emerging Laker Dynasty. No wonder he's a recluse. I used to hate him, now I love him. I would love to see a standoff either between him and Lebron (where despite inferior skills at this point he would win just by force of will) or Chris Paul (a guy cut out of his mold at a different position).

Tim Duncan, Spurs (The Big Fundamental): Worst nickname of all time. Almost every basketball fan I'm friends with hates this guy. And now I'm going to sacrifice all of my friends by saying how much I disagree. Yeah, he might be a little boring, but this guy competes. He's not as fast as he used to be, but he still wins by being smarter than everyone else and picking his spots. Anyone notice him dismantling the Suns at the end of every game? I don't care that he doesn't throw down thunderous dunks. Right on with your 8 foot bank shots, big fundamental. Anyone who doesn't think he's the greatest power forward of all time is an idiot and not a real sports fan, and has to be stopped.

Chris Paul, Hornets (CP3, pictured): I'm sorry but that's it???? CP3? for the transcendent player of this year's playoffs? I LOVE this guy. Insanely competitive, but doesn't need to score a million points to do it. The guy took Psych classes in college to try and understand his teammates better. Check out this story if you don't think he's awesome. Plus, in the playoffs, he's taken it to a new, even more insane level. This guy is going to leave Isiah, Stockton, and other awesome point guards in the dust. And with the exception of Deron Williams, there's nobody who can do anything close to guarding him. So he just wreaks havoc on every defense. It's crazy, like watching Barry Sanders on the basketball court. Awesome.

I'd be happy with almost any of these guys matching up in the finals. Maybe not Spurs-Pistons or Spurs-Cavs, but Spurs-Celtics, Cavs-Lakers, Cavs-Hornets, Cavs-Spurs, Celtics-Lakers, Celtics-Hornets....it's all gravy. Playoffs.