Links, links, and more links


EFF has a new blog.



And here's an unofficial Google weblog.



And here's a site where robots tell jokes. None of the ones I listened to were very funny (and some weren't funny AT ALL), but hey, at least they're trying.



Here is a Japanese game thing. Drag the stuff around the outside onto the sphere. The order you choose affects how well it grows. I got obsessed with this one night, and it sucked away a bunch of my time, so be warned!

The Majority Report
Tonight I listened to Janeane Garofalo's new radio show. It's on every weeknight from 8-11, and you can listen online here. I suppose I could listen to it on a real radio since I'm in NYC, but my only radio is in the other room. So web it is.



I think the little robot on the right kind of looks like a boombox from the '80s. If she were real, I bet she'd like Janeane Garofalo, too.

If I win the lottery...

I just read on BoingBoing about this underwater motorcycle. I don't think I really understand how it works yet, but I like the Flash animation on this page, where you can kind of watch the lady zoom in on one. Doesn't that look futuristic and fun?

USB toys

CNN has a story about wacky things that run on USB power. That little fan is cute. But since I've already got more USB stuff than I have ports, with no hub in sight, I guess I shouldn't buy it just yet. (or the USB duck.)



Monsters of Privacy

Monsters of Privacy only sounds like a hipster band name. The cutesy illustrations on that page show you how the government, and others, are trying to keep an eye on what you're doing. Even though they're not a band, the monsters do have a Flash music video with a catchy pop soundtrack.

Oops

So when I said my least favorite part of Robot Stories was the one with a human playing a robot, I didn't realize the human in question was Greg Pak, the writer and director. I hope he wouldn't consider my earlier comments insulting, because in fact I think it rocks that he not only writes and directs films about robots, but cast himself as one. That's pretty freaking cool.



Here is a story about a robot who builds houses.



And here is something I bookmarked a while ago (I can't remember where I found it) that lets you make a snowflake cut-out online. It's fun because you get to see your snowflake without making a giant paper mess all over. I can't remember where I found this link originally, but I think it's fun to play with. Lots of clicking and dragging. Maybe it's a nice way to say goodbye to winter. Or maybe I'm just getting dramatic because this will probably be my last snowy winter for a long time, since I'm finally moving someplace warmer.

Robot Stories

So last week I went to see this movie Robot Stories. It's a collection of four short movies, written and directed by Greg Pak, that explore the emotional relationships between humans and technology. In the first one, a woman and her husband are waiting to adopt a baby, and they are given a sort of test-run with a robot child. The babybot was cute on the surface, but also strangely creepy, and I think this one was my favorite. If I forced myself to pick a least favorite, it would be the one about a robot office worker, but only because I don't find it believable when human actors play robots. If this had been some big-budget movie with a CG robot in the same role, I might have liked it better.



Three of the four stories made me cry, but I'm still very happy I went. (And for anyone who thinks this movie might make them sad, I should include the disclaimer that I cry at everything from Everwood to The Simpsons.) Greg Pak proves that movies about robots don't have to be about scary futuristic battles. So if Robot Stories comes to your town, I think you should put on a shiny silver outfit and buy your robot-loving self a ticket.

Update-crazy

From time to time, my pop culture interests combine with my futuristic interests. I just wrote a little thing about the TV show Century City over on Popcrazy.



And btw, I just paid for my stupid comments to come back. I swear when I signed up, I was lead to believe that they were totally free, and then all of a sudden my nonexistant "subscription" expired. REAL NICE, huh? But nevertheless, the comments should be back within 24 to 48 hours.



I know I've been bad about updating the site lately. I'm frustrated that I haven't had the time to get my act together and make my robot website, which is where I'd like to be writing this stuff eventually. Every time I write here, it renews that frustration.