British ‘addicted to curry’. “…sitting

down to eat a chicken

korma increases our heart beat by an extra

three beats a minute, a tikka masala increases

it by four and a half, and a rogan josh by

seven.” They didn’t rate the vindaloo?? BBC

Best wishes restoring, Ftrain.com.

Jungle Fever – Did two U.S. scientists start a genocidal epidemic in the Amazon? UC Santa Barbara anthropologist John Tooby (arguably the founder of evolutionary psychology) has a go at the controversy over journalist Patrick Tierney’s forthcoming book Darkness in El Dorado: How Scientists and Journalists Devastated the Amazon, to which I’ve devoted space in “Follow Me Here…” before. Tooby’s take on it, after being involved in the academic ethics investigation of Napoleon Chagnon, one of the supposed villains of the scandal: the book should have been published in the fiction category. Tooby wonders if Tierney was knowlingly perpetrating a hoax on the publishing world. Phrases like “pattern of falsification” and “comically self-aggrandizing” pepper this essay. The scandal, the raciest issue to rock the usually sober field of anthropology (which was my undergraduate concentration in college), seems to be getting dangerously close to the slippery slope of libel and litigation. The best may be yet to come…Slate

What Global Language? Contradiction: as English is supposedly consolidating its position as the world’s lingua franca, the U.S. is becoming more polyglot. The English language is becoming more complex while at the same time most speakers’ experience of the language is being dumbed-down. Despite the self-involved certainty of those who think web-centrically, “…the globalization of English does not mean that if we who speak only English just sit

back and wait, we’ll soon be able to exchange ideas with anyone who has anything to say.

We can’t count on having much more around the world than a very basic ability to

communicate. Outside certain professional fields, if English-speaking Americans hope to

exchange ideas with people in a nuanced way, we may be well advised to do as people

elsewhere are doing: become bilingual.” A fascinating thoughtful article exploring the futures market for the English language from a variety of vantage points.

Eventualities such as “political alliances that have yet to

be formed; the probable rise of regional trading

blocs, in such places as Asia; the Arab world, and

Latin America, in which the United States and other

primarily English-speaking countries will be little

involved; the possibility that world-changing

technological innovations will arise out of nations

where English is little spoken; a backlash against

American values and culture in the Middle East or

Asia” could transform the language picture. Demographically, English will probably lose its second-place standing (after Chinese) to the South Asian linguistic group (Hindi, Urdu, etc.), and will possibly fall behind Arabic and Spanish as well. China could in one fell swoop alter the English dominance pattern by withdrawing state support for efforts to teach English to its populace, for instance if political relations between China and the US deteriorate further.

And even with its spread would come an accentuation of communication difficulties among disparate English-speakers. Witness the need for subtitles for Americans to understand the recent Scottish films My Name is Joe and Trainspotting [both highly recommended, IMHO]. The Atlantic

San Francisco anti-SUV activist Robert Lind stalks “these gas-guzzling SUVs being used by people who don’t really need them” and slaps bumper stickers on them pointing their owners to his website, where they hear about the harm Lind claims their vehicles are doing to the environment and receive helpful hints aboout how to remove the bumper stickers. “If you ‘tag’ ANY of the three trucks I own, you will wake up in the hospital” is one response he receives on the site’s bulletin board. [via Spike Report]

Desert of Memory. “Paul Bowles, the American writer, composer, and expatriate, died eleven months ago in

Tangier, the northern Moroccan city where he had lived for more than half a century.

Bowles was controversial in Morocco, and his death was a major news event there; yet the

Moroccan response to Bowles has not made it into American accounts. Next to nothing has

been written here about the last decades of Bowles’s life, nor about his often tense

residence in Morocco, where he had as many enemies as friends. Even with various articles

and memorials planned to commemorate the first anniversary of Bowles’s death — a two-day

tribute is planned at New York City’s 92nd Street Y on October 29 and 30 — it’s safe to wager

that his fans will be fed the tired and typical version of Bowles’s life abroad.” This essay by a professor of literature at Northwestern looks at the complicated legacy both in Morocco and the West of the “expatriate’s expatriate.” Bowles’ own Moroccan stories and the Arabic tales he brought to Western readers were a predilection of mine long before the film of The Sheltering Sky revived interest in him in the last decade of his life. Feed

Jonathan Yardley used to be a bibliophile, he says. But it seems that, with the thrill of progress he finds inevitable, he won’t bemoan the passing of the bookstore. Publishing on demand will get stories and information to readers so much “easier, faster and cheaper” that the death knell tolls. Me, I think the reports of the death of conventional books and bookselling are greatly exaggerated (to coin a phrase). Washington Post

Stone Age ‘Atlantis’ Found in North Sea. More evidence of catastrophic primeval sea level changes. I previously blogged the work of the National Geographic expedition claiming to have found archaeological validation of the Great Deluge in the Mideast. National Geographic

Being there. Tele-immersion could profoundly alter long-distance communication, allowing a new kind of intermingled presence of people geographically separated. Despite Jaron Lanier’s current skepticism about cybertechnological advances, a recent experiment was the culmination of a three-year National Tele-Immersion Initiative project he directed. It seems a natural next extension of his pioneering work in VR. Plans include building in haptics — touch simulation — to allow a fuller simulation of tele-presence at a distance. Consider, first, the demand for bandwidth expansion this would stimulate if realized. And some of the novel uses to which it might be put.

The fast-food

chain McDonalds showed interest at one early workshop… McDonalds envisioned fitting tele-immersion booths in

its restaurants so people away from home could have dinner

with their family. “The technology for that is not that far off”… The gaming industry is another potential user.

Players could tele-immerse themselves in a virtual reality

environment, chasing monsters or firing phasers at each other.

[And then there’s another, even more obvious, use about which many will likely soon be, if not already, salivating…] New Scientist

US concern over new Palestinian ‘alliance’. Seeming new coordination of plans between Yasser Arafat loyalists and more radical Palestinian groups to direct the uprising in the West Bank and Gaza has reportedly involved the release by Palestinian civil authorities of dozens of jailed Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants. BBC [Change of heart, failure of will, or loss of control by Arafat vis a vis his peacemaking role?]

Court orders Texas death-row inmate resentenced. Til now, I hadn’t heard of much, if any, effective judicial review of the seemingly rampant abuses associated with Texas capital sentencing. Nando Times

Now Jupiter’s got a great white spot Three giant storms on Jupiter have merged to form a massive

storm half the size of the planet’s famous Great Red Spot.

Observations of the new “great white spot” could reveal if this

was how the Red Spot formed… New Scientist

Fast-Forward Election: the way the debates were meant to be watched.

That

little FF button liberated me. No longer am I

enslaved by the spin doctors and news

analysts. No longer do I have to listen to the

what Bush and Gore actually say. In

fast-forward, it’s the more basic stuff of life.

You know, the nervous twitches, subliminal

thoughts and repetitious grimaces.

Sped up, Gore, with his quick and jutting

movements, is a cross between Max

Headroom and the Tin Man. He’s a twitchy

Vulcan struggling with “technical difficulties.”

Bush’s perpetually droopy grin shows a

conniving boy caught with his hand in the

cookie jar. He’s a used car salesman, asking

us: “Hey folks, what do I have to do to get

you to vote for me today?”

In double time, their running mates are also

transparently clear. Joseph Lieberman,

whose mouth moves but little else, is a

sappy ventriloquist’s dummy. Dick Cheney,

folded hands and sideways glances, is a

plotting old woman. Getting It

U.S. learns of terrorist plans; analyst quits over Cole warning. “During a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, senators said that a Pentagon intelligence expert on terrorism in the Persian Gulf warned of

possible terrorist attacks on U.S. forces there before the bombing of the USS Cole, but that higher-ups failed to pass the information to military

commanders.

The intelligence official, whose name was not disclosed, resigned in protest the day after the Cole attack.” Nando Times

Poor sportsmanship via viral transmission?

Ford shows off newest bells, whistles for safety, “(including) a tiny video camera in the rearview mirror linked to a cell phone and a crash sensor. If the car is in a wreck, its computer

sends out an alert routed to the nearest emergency dispatcher.

That dispatcher would get data from the car regarding the position the vehicle came to rest in, the severity of the crash, the number of people in

the car, the number wearing seat belts and even a rough estimate of injuries. The camera would transmit two photos of the interior – one taken

just before the crash and one taken just after – so doctors would know what kind of injuries were suffered.” Some privacy advocates have expressed concerns about a camera taking pictures of you every few minutes… AP

Protesters storm Justice Department entrance:

“More than 100

protesters stormed the entrance of the U.S.

Justice Department building Wednesday

afternoon to demand the prosecution of a

police officer who killed a college student.” CNN

“All of these people are here for poetry? If you locked me in a room full of poets, I’d be looking for any way to get out.” CSM

Silly New-Age Pseudo Science Gets a Sound Thrashing. A review of “veteran

science writer and playful gadfly” Martin Gardner’s Did Adam and Eve Have Navels? ‘Most of the essays…are “attacks on far-out cases of

pseudoscience.” Gardner’s targets are generally not the religious notions or

superstitions of people swept along by their ancient cultures but phony science

promulgated by, and believed in, by people who should know better. Thus he does

not attack the pious millions who, in Brazil, are devoted to the cult of the Virgin

Mary that they celebrate in Belen on the Amazon every October. Rather, he

skewers such “preposterous” claims that “positions of stars correlate with character

and future events.” ‘ LA Times

Prostitution and the sex discrepancy in reported number of sexual partners: “One of the most reliable and perplexing findings from surveys of sexual behavior is that men report substantially more sexual partners

than women do….We find that prostitute women are underrepresented in the national surveys. Once their

undersampling and very high numbers of sexual partners are factored in, the discrepancy disappears. Prostitution’s role in the discrepancy

is not readily apparent because men are reluctant to acknowledge that their reported partners include prostitutes.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Is this restating the obvious?]

Children With Mental Problems Not Getting the Care They Need. Federal health officials, mental health experts and mental health advocacy groups agree. The problem is multifactorial, involving families’ lack of resources or adequate insurance, shortages of qualified professionals, and the complexities and fragmentation of the care delivery system. Last month’s conference on the issue convened by US Surgeon General David Satcher is expected to result in a national action plan by the end of this year. Journal of the American Medical Association

My infatuation with Phil Agre‘s work only begins with the Red Rock Eaters’ mailing list, to items from which I often link. If you read my blog, you may find something of use or of interest on this list of his recent or forthcoming work (the annotations are his, not mine):

Life after cyberspace, EASST Review 18(2),

1999, pages 3-5.

Yesterday’s tomorrow, Times Literary Supplement,

3 July 1998, pages 3-4.

The Internet and

public discourse, First Monday 3(3), 1998.

Advice for undergraduates considering graduate

school A brief how-to, perhaps ten pages, for undergraduates who

think they might want to go to graduate school. I originally wrote it for

students in my own department, but over time I have extended it in response

to comments from people in other fields. It emphasizes the value of getting

involved in research and is especially intended for sophomores and juniors.

Designing effective action alerts for the

Internet This is a guide to designing political action alerts. It

also suggests what kinds of badly designed action alerts you should refrain

from forwarding to others.

Find your voice Writing for a webzine: how to

build a public voice on the Internet that communicates your values in a way

that people can understand.

Hosting a speaker A guide for graduate

students concerning the practicalities of playing host to a visiting

speaker, for example in a weekly seminar series.

How to help someone use a computer

A short set of practical guidelines on helping people use computers without

oppressing them. I learned most of these ideas from teachers of young

children, but they apply equally well to anyone.

Information and institutional change

This is an annotated syllabus for an upper-division undergraduate class

that I taught at UCLA in the spring of 2000 on the role of information

and information technology in the process of institutional change.

The literature on institutions My

research takes an institutional perspective on the place of information

technology in people’s lives, and this article summarizes the literature

in sociology and and political science about the concept of an institution.

Networking on the network A detailed

guide to professional networking both on and off the Internet. Although

written principally for advanced graduate students and others in academia,

the underlying principles apply widely.

Cyberspace as American culture, to appear in Science

as Culture.

Designing a wired life, paper prepared for the WebNet

2000 Conference.

Growing a democratic culture: John Commons on the

wiring of civil society, to appear in David Thorburn and Henry Jenkins,

eds, Democracy and New Media, Cambridge: MIT Press, 2000.

Hazards of design: Ethnomethodology and the ritual

order of computing, submitted to Mind, Culture, and Activity.

Imagining the wired university, paper presented

at the Symposium on the Future of the University, University of Newcastle,

September 2000.

Portents of planning: A critical reading of the first

paragraph of Miller, Galanter, and Pribram’s Plans and the Structure of

Behavior, paper presented at the Conference on Narrative in the Human

Sciences University of Iowa, July 1990.

Writing and representation, to appear in Michael Mateas

and Phoebe Sengers, eds, Narrative Intelligence, Amsterdam: John

Benjamins, 2001.

I guess I expected that a number of you would react with surprise (or alarm??) to my Ira Glass blink below. To each her own, of course…