12Aug 2011 by R&O No Comments

Björk from Ork

Entertainment, Internet, Music, Technology
She's a bit wacky, a bit odd, and can sound like a scalded cat but Björk is anything but dull. I find her public persona a bit annoying and far too artsy-fartsy for my tastes but appreciate her talent and eclectic music sense. She's innovative and usually comes up with something that sounds little or nothing like anything else available. And that's a good thing in the midst of the bland, boring and predictable (yes, even YOU Gaga!) crap being spoon-fed to our young. A case in point is her newest music online offering which combines a cool iPad/iPhone app with her latest CD (does anyone even buy CDs anymore?). She's rolled the two into something called Biophilia which is available free from the App Store. Here's how Apple describes…
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31Jul 2011 by R&O 4 Comments
A Very Sad Life

A Very Sad Life

Observations, Of Interest, People, The Law
Kelly Thomas was a 37 year-old homeless man suffering from schizophrenia and roaming the streets of Fullerton, California. According to locals he wasn't aggressive, belligerent or a ongoing nuisance other than he was homeless and committed a variety of petty crimes to survive. Kelly Thomas was also the son of a former Orange County Sheriff's deputy. On July 5, 2011 Fullerton, California police responded to a call regarding an individual spotted breaking into cars. They attempted to arrest Kelly Thomas but discovered the 135 pound homeless man wasn't going without a fight. Six Fullerton police officers joined the pile-on, pummeling the living shit out of Mr. Thomas in plain view of spectators. Kelly's injuries were substantial and he died in hospital five days later. Fullerton police have been silent about…
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25Jun 2011 by R&O No Comments
360 degrees of rioting

360 degrees of rioting

Of Interest, Technology
The recent riot spectacle in downtown Vancouver was the most watched event in our city's history. Well, other than the Olympics of course. More people were snapping photographs and video on smartphones and digital video recorders than I can remember at any public event and it's served us well by identifying the goons responsible. A number of websites sprung up the very next day to out some of the idiots and douchebags responsible using the images submitted by outraged citizens. Well played Vancouver. But one of the most amazing and fascinating use of video technology employed during the riot was by northstudio360.com which presented a birds-eye view of the proceedings in all its 360 degrees of glorious anarchy using something called Pixelcase 3Motion Platform. This video is a small sample…
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21Jun 2011 by R&O No Comments
The sound of hollow ringing

The sound of hollow ringing

Assholes, Observations, People, Rants
I'm sick to death of the hand-wringing, whinging, whining, hollow apologies from some of the douchebags who tore our city apart during the recent post-game riot. I could give a shit about their apologies and don't care if their lives have been turned upside down after being outed on the Internet. Too damn bad. You deserve it. The best thing I've read on the subject is by a St. Paul's Hospital emergency room nurse who was on duty the night of the riot and saw the results of the carnage firsthand. The following is a recent apology by Tim Kwong who, it's been reported, was one of the first to put match to car during the event. Tim's life has been a bit bumpy since he was identified and he's…
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