Saturday, September 17, 2011
If you read 'Archie Comics' as a kid...
... and have a slightly warped sense of humor, you're probably going to find many things that will make you laugh at Archie Out of Context. God knows I did!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
What rap through yonder speaker breaks?
Epic Rap Battles of History returns with Dr. Seuss vs. William Shakespeare!
It's not as good as "Albert Einstein vs. Stephen Hawking" but can that one ever be topped?
It's not as good as "Albert Einstein vs. Stephen Hawking" but can that one ever be topped?
By order of Our Dear Leader....
(I'll give give the Obamatons and their Dear Leader this much: At least they're finally being up front with their desire for a totalitarian state, right down to the stark black-and-white design of their Informer Website. I hope minions of The One have the decency to Friend Me on Facebook or become a Follower of this blog should they decide I am an Enemy worthy of monitoring. Once they discover that all the NUELOW Games releases contain secret Anti-Obama Double-Coded Dog Whistle Messages, I've no doubt they'll be checking up on me every day.)
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Michael Stern Hart dead at 64
ANNOUNCEMENT: In honor of Michael S. Hart's memory, I am donating my earnings on "From Dark Corners: Thirteen Unusual Tales from Famous Authors" to Project Gutenberg. Please get a copy, and please spread the word.
Michael Stern Hart is the inventor of the e-book and founder of the Gutenberg Project. Without him, I probably never would have discovered the obscure side of authors like R.E. Howard and E.R. Burroughs, or even known about forgotten authors that have become personal favorites like John Kendrick Bangs, Anna Katherine Green, and C.J. Cutliffed-Hyne. I also never would have realized that Edgar Wallace's and Sax Rohmer's stories are far more entertaining than the movies based on them.
Without Hart, there would not be a Kindle, there would not be the current incarnation of NUELOW Games, and I certainly never would have thought about publishing fiction in the format I currently am.
Michael Stern Hart is the inventor of the e-book and founder of the Gutenberg Project. Without him, I probably never would have discovered the obscure side of authors like R.E. Howard and E.R. Burroughs, or even known about forgotten authors that have become personal favorites like John Kendrick Bangs, Anna Katherine Green, and C.J. Cutliffed-Hyne. I also never would have realized that Edgar Wallace's and Sax Rohmer's stories are far more entertaining than the movies based on them.
Without Hart, there would not be a Kindle, there would not be the current incarnation of NUELOW Games, and I certainly never would have thought about publishing fiction in the format I currently am.
Obituary for Michael Stern Hart
Michael Stern Hart was born in Tacoma, Washington on March 8, 1947. He died on September 6, 2011 in his home in Urbana, Illinois, at the age of 64. His is survived by his mother, Alice, and brother, Bennett. Michael was an Eagle Scout (Urbana Troop 6 and Explorer Post 12), and served in the Army in Korea during the Vietnam era.
Hart was best known for his 1971 invention of electronic books, or eBooks. He founded Project Gutenberg, which is recognized as one of the earliest and longest-lasting online literary projects. He often told this story of how he had the idea for eBooks. He had been granted access to significant computing power at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. On July 4 1971, after being inspired by a free printed copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, he decided to type the text into a computer, and to transmit it to other users on the computer network. From this beginning, the digitization and distribution of literature was to be Hart's life's work, spanning over 40 years.
Hart was an ardent technologist and futurist. A lifetime tinkerer, he acquired hands-on expertise with the technologies of the day: radio, hi-fi stereo, video equipment, and of course computers. He constantly looked into the future, to anticipate technological advances. One of his favorite speculations was that someday, everyone would be able to have their own copy of the Project Gutenberg collection or whatever subset desired. This vision came true, thanks to the advent of large inexpensive computer disk drives, and to the ubiquity of portable mobile devices, such as cell phones.
Hart also predicted the enhancement of automatic translation, which would provide all of the world's literature in over a hundred languages. While this goal has not yet been reached, by the time of his death Project Gutenberg hosted eBooks in 60 different languages, and was frequently highlighted as one of the best Internet-based resources.
A lifetime intellectual, Hart was inspired by his parents, both professors at the University of Illinois, to seek truth and to question authority. One of his favorite recent quotes, credited to George Bernard Shaw, is characteristic of his approach to life:
"Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable
people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress,
therefore, depends on unreasonable people."
Michael prided himself on being unreasonable, and only in the later years of life did he mellow sufficiently to occasionally refrain from debate. Yet, his passion for life, and all the things in it, never abated.
Frugal to a fault, Michael glided through life with many possessions and friends, but very few expenses. He used home remedies rather than seeing doctors. He fixed his own house and car. He built many computers, stereos, and other gear, often from discarded components.
Michael S. Hart left a major mark on the world. The invention of eBooks was not simply a technological innovation or precursor to the modern information environment. A more correct understanding is that eBooks are an efficient and effective way of unlimited free distribution of literature. Access to eBooks can thus provide opportunity for increased literacy. Literacy, and the ideas contained in literature, creates opportunity.
In July 2011, Michael wrote these words, which summarize his goals and his lasting legacy: “One thing about eBooks that most people haven't thought much is that eBooks are the very first thing that we're all able to have as much as we want other than air. Think about that for a moment and you realize we are in the right job." He had this advice for those seeking to make literature available to all people, especially children:
"Learning is its own reward. Nothing I can say is better than that."
Michael is remembered as a dear friend, who sacrificed personal luxury to fight for literacy, and for preservation of public domain rights and resources, towards the greater good.
This obituary is granted to the public domain by its author, Dr. Gregory B. Newby.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Never forget
I've used the phrase in the headline several times when referencing 9/11/2001, the day a gang of psychopathic Muslims killed thousands of hapless Americans and destroyed the World Trade Center in NYC with hijacked airliners. All while praising their god and professing their idolatry for the Prophet Mohammad.
Unfortunately, as Lawrence Myers points out in this column, America as a nation has forgotten. As Myers says, "We have forgotten that this was a terrorist attack on America. We have forgotten that we are at war. We have forgotten that a cancer exists whose sole and only stated goal is our destruction. That cancer has a name. It is Radical Islam."
I'm not saying that all Muslims are at war with the United States or want to see Americans slaughtered or enslaved to the whims of a death cult centered on the idol worship of the Prophet Mohammad. There are, obviously, uncounted numbers of American Muslims who love this country and who want to see it and their friends and neighbors survive and prosper. There are also, obviously, Muslims around the world who just want to live in peace and who would never murder anyone. I am saying that we need to remember who the real enemies are. And what they did.
Just like all Germans weren't Nazis, all Muslims aren't members of the idol-worshiping Mohammedan Death Cult of Radical Islam. However, just like all Nazis were evil, so are all the bloodthirsty, murderous adherents of Radical Islam. Those who would appease them or make excuses for them range from stupid to evil themselves, just like those who espoused appeasement against the Nazis.
September 11, 2001 should have been the alarm that spurred this entire nation to action in an effort to crush an enemy that's been growing in strength since the 1980s. But this does not appear to have happened. At best, we've taken half-measures, because our leaders are weak. Generally, we've done nothing, because our leaders our cowards. At worst, we've forgotten what happened, because we've allowed those who sympathize with the Radical Islamic death cultists obscure what happened that day and who conducted the attacks and committed the mass murders.
Read Lawrence Meyer's column: Reminder: We Are at War.
Unfortunately, as Lawrence Myers points out in this column, America as a nation has forgotten. As Myers says, "We have forgotten that this was a terrorist attack on America. We have forgotten that we are at war. We have forgotten that a cancer exists whose sole and only stated goal is our destruction. That cancer has a name. It is Radical Islam."
I'm not saying that all Muslims are at war with the United States or want to see Americans slaughtered or enslaved to the whims of a death cult centered on the idol worship of the Prophet Mohammad. There are, obviously, uncounted numbers of American Muslims who love this country and who want to see it and their friends and neighbors survive and prosper. There are also, obviously, Muslims around the world who just want to live in peace and who would never murder anyone. I am saying that we need to remember who the real enemies are. And what they did.
Just like all Germans weren't Nazis, all Muslims aren't members of the idol-worshiping Mohammedan Death Cult of Radical Islam. However, just like all Nazis were evil, so are all the bloodthirsty, murderous adherents of Radical Islam. Those who would appease them or make excuses for them range from stupid to evil themselves, just like those who espoused appeasement against the Nazis.
September 11, 2001 should have been the alarm that spurred this entire nation to action in an effort to crush an enemy that's been growing in strength since the 1980s. But this does not appear to have happened. At best, we've taken half-measures, because our leaders are weak. Generally, we've done nothing, because our leaders our cowards. At worst, we've forgotten what happened, because we've allowed those who sympathize with the Radical Islamic death cultists obscure what happened that day and who conducted the attacks and committed the mass murders.
Read Lawrence Meyer's column: Reminder: We Are at War.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Mohammedan Idol Worshipers: Not All Bad
This is the week and weekend for blog posts and other events memorializing the mass-murder of Americans on 9/11/2001. I'll be posting a little something myself in a couple of days.
Today, though, I want to remind everyone that not all Muslims are murderous death-cultists who practice Mohammedan idolatry. Most Muslims are just like you and me, people who want to mind their own business and live their lives in peace. Likewise, most Muslims don't support the Mohammedan idol-worshipers, even if it's sometimes hard to tell with so-called Muslim advocacy groups like CAIR doing all they can to run interference for Hamas, al-Qaeda, and other fringe Islamic idol-worshiping death cults.
And I also want to point out that even the Islamic idol-worshipers have their good sides. Take Al-Qeada in London as an example:
These fellows have put on a production of "Oklahoma" that ranks among the best the world has ever seen. Their love of musicals and show-tunes is second only to their love of little boys. Or maybe the Prophet Mohammad (may peace be upon him). It's a toss-up.
Today, though, I want to remind everyone that not all Muslims are murderous death-cultists who practice Mohammedan idolatry. Most Muslims are just like you and me, people who want to mind their own business and live their lives in peace. Likewise, most Muslims don't support the Mohammedan idol-worshipers, even if it's sometimes hard to tell with so-called Muslim advocacy groups like CAIR doing all they can to run interference for Hamas, al-Qaeda, and other fringe Islamic idol-worshiping death cults.
And I also want to point out that even the Islamic idol-worshipers have their good sides. Take Al-Qeada in London as an example:
These fellows have put on a production of "Oklahoma" that ranks among the best the world has ever seen. Their love of musicals and show-tunes is second only to their love of little boys. Or maybe the Prophet Mohammad (may peace be upon him). It's a toss-up.
