tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178752712024-03-07T07:58:46.824-06:00Enter the DevosphereWelcome to what I call the Devosphere. A web log dedicated to my musings. Expect to see politics, technology, reviews and everything in-between on this site. I am not a newspaper; however I will never post something as fact unless I am assured it is true. If something I say is incorrect mention it to me. I am tolerant of everyone’s opinions, so voice them in your comments. If you want me to get back to you about your comment then please include your email address and I will try to reply.Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-26547044915834573622007-08-13T17:30:00.000-06:002007-08-13T17:37:14.780-06:00David versus Goliath<span style="font-size:78%;">I wrote this paper (originally called “<i style="">David versus Goliath: Logical approach to analyzing religious conflict of the 90s</i>”) in 2005 (finishing August 12<sup>th</sup>), it is presented below largely unmodified.<span style=""> </span>The only changes are a new formatting (no double spacing) and a break down into sections. The rest of the text and citation is still the original.</span><br /> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It seems that conflict is rooted in human nature. No matter how close the world gets, conflict still emerges. No matter how hard leaders try to promote peace, at times those conflicts still escalate to violence. During the Cold War people had a relatively easy time defining themselves, they were either part of the Soviet bloc, the West, or non-aligned. This made a stage for ideological conflicts between capitalism and communism. However, the days of the Cold War are behind us and this stage of ideological conflict is well dismantled. The conflicts that plagued the world from the fall of <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Rome</st1:City></st1:place> until the Enlightenment are re-emerging to the spotlight. Religious conflict has taken over as the dominating source of violence in the post-Cold War world. The words of Josef Kuschel (Kuschel in Robinson 2), from the Bosnian conflict, sum up the current state of events: “there can be no peace among nations without peace among the religions!” With the <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Berlin</st1:State></st1:place> wall having fallen only sixteen years ago, that post-Cold War era is indeed short, but important in the study of modern religious conflict. The 90s present us with a clear pattern to observe in the rise of religious violence. Communal religious violence in the 90s follows a clear four step pattern.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Looking at the religious conflicts of the 90s, a four-step recipe for religious violence can be derived. First, an organized religion surfaces to fill in the power vacuum left by a collapsed or weakened government. In religiously heterogeneous states the emerging religious powers start to clash. A spark pushes the conflict to minor violence. The violence, unchecked by outside forces, quickly escalates to communal religious violence. The procedure used focuses on the political science aspect of religious violence.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Political Science scholarship offers insightful theories to explain the complex interrelationships between religious violence and politics. For instance, during the Cold War period geo-political relations were often defined as <i>bipolar</i>, meaning there were two dominant superpowers in the world, and some neutral states in between <span style="">(Huntington, 1999 35)</span>. After the fall of the U.S.S.R in 1991 experts expected the world to become <i>unipolar<b> </b></i>led by the <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">United States</st1:country-region></st1:place>, but it became what <span style="">Samuel Huntington dubs</span> a <i><span style="">uni-multipolar</span></i> world <span style="">(36)</span>. Basically it is a world where there is one super power, several major powers, several regional powers, and the other nations <span style="">(37)</span>. The <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">United States</st1:country-region></st1:place> is the only superpower and can enter a conflict against any other power as long as it has the backing of at least <span style="">some<b> </b></span>major powers <span style="">(37)</span>. This is well displayed by the <st1:country-region st="on">United States</st1:country-region>' recent action in <st1:country-region st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region> where it went it with the backing of only some major powers, namely <st1:country-region st="on">United Kingdom</st1:country-region> and regional powers like <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region></st1:place>. In "The Clash of Civilizations" and later in the book <i>The Clash of Civilizations and Remaking of the World Order</i> Professor Huntington establishes that modern conflicts appear at fault lines between different cultures <span style="">(<st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Huntington</st1:City></st1:place>, 1996)</span>. <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Huntington</st1:City></st1:place> (1996), <span style="">and experts such as<b> </b></span>Jonathan Fox (Fox, 2003) agree that religion is one of the main, if not <i>the </i>main difference between cultures, and therefore is one of the major causes of conflict in the world. Thus religious violence can occur in regions split between different major religions, such as the Balkans <span style="">and <st1:place st="on">South East Asia</st1:place></span>, without major intervention from the hegemonic actors of the world. Communal violence can emerge at the boarders or religiously different regions and have time to escalate while the major powers try to organize themselves into coalitions. Such violence is seen through out the world and can be shown with examples from the 90s.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To get the full scope of large-scale religious violence in the 90s, several examples have to be looked at. Conflicts that make good case studies are ones where different religious bodies succumb to violence and some sort of ‘religious cleansing’ policy is followed. In South Asia the Indian provinces of Kashmir and Punjab and the southern country of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region></st1:place> make good examples. In <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Southeast Asia</st1:City>, <st1:country-region st="on">Indonesia</st1:country-region></st1:place> is the most religiously troubled state (Searle 1), and can serve as case study from that region. <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region></st1:place> will serve as an example of an African conflict. Lastly, the former <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place> makes <span style="">a good European example</span>. The six major conflicts mentioned cover all major religions. Christianity is seen in <st1:country-region st="on">Indonesia</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region> and its cousin Orthodox Christianity present it <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place>. The Islamic faith is present in all the listed conflicts but Punjab and <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Hinduism displays itself in Punjab, Kashmir and <st1:country-region st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region>, and its descendant Sikhism in <st1:place st="on">Punjab</st1:place>. Even Buddhism finds a place in those six examples, showing itself during the violence in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region></st1:place>. These case studies not only encompass the world’s hotspots and major religions, but also cover the major religious violence of the 90s.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="">Individuals might notice that some conflicts of the 90s that are publicly known and attributed to religious violence are not listed as good case studies, and that is because they are not true religious conflicts. In the Israel-Palestine conflict the cause is territorial, not cultural or religious (Haught 137). From when the conflict started, until the emergence of Hamas in 1993 there were no religiously fanatical groups playing large parts in the conflict (137). This was because <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> was not fanatical and neither was the Palestine Liberalization Organization (137). Although the two parties in the Israel-Palestine conflict are of different religions, the conflict itself is not religious in its nature. The same can be said for the violence in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Ireland</st1:country-region></st1:place>, if looked into historically. The dispute between <st1:country-region st="on">England</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region st="on">Ireland</st1:country-region> started in the 1100s, while the Catholic and <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Anglican</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">Churches</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> split in the 1500s (63). Today, even though the participant’s religion does often decide what side they are on, the conflict is still a liberation conflicts and neither side pursues a 'religious cleansing' agenda (63). Of course, not all conflicts can boast a record of no ‘religious cleansing’.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region st="on"><b style="">India</b></st1:country-region><b style="">: <st1:place st="on">Kashmir</st1:place><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Plagued by conflict before and through the 90s the Kashmir <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">province</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:placename st="on">India</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> has been a good example of communal religious violence.<b style=""> </b>Even while most of <st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region> was under British rule, the <st1:place st="on">Kashmir</st1:place> province was having problems. The province was relatively autonomous due to the British practice of ‘indirect rule’, but the Hindu monarchy was incompetent, self absorbed and did not have good relationship with the poor Muslim majority of the province (Bose 16).<span style=""> </span>The only reason the province did not succumb to chaos was the strong British influence in the area. When the British pulled out of Indian peninsula, and two independent states of Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan were created on 14-15 August 1947, Kashmir was given a choice of which of the new dominions to join (36). The Hindu monarchy forced the mostly Muslim province to join Hindu India, ever since then the Muslim people of <st1:place st="on">Kashmir</st1:place> pushed for separation (36). Before the 90s, three wars were fought over the Kashmir province between <st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region> and <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region></st1:place> (Haught 55). In 1989 Muslim militants pushed for separation of the province, with up to 800,000 Muslims marching at one time with cries of “God is great” (pg. 56). Indian troops were unable to quell the rebellion and the bloody ‘religious cleansing’ and separation movements of <st1:place st="on">Kashmir</st1:place> began (56). </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">‘Religious cleansing’ and violence stormed throughout 90s <st1:place st="on">Kashmir</st1:place>. By 1994 9,000 people were recorded dead in the conflict by Indian authorities and 20,000 by <st1:place st="on">Kashmir</st1:place> reporters (58). During 1996 to 1998, the rebellion calmed with all but one guerrilla group disbanded and the remaining one under heavy government scrutiny (Bose 107-136). In 1998, the year known as “South Asia’s nuclear summer”, <st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region> tested a total of 11 nuclear devices, hoping to bring deterrence and peace to the <st1:place st="on">Kashmir</st1:place> region (140). However, violence escalated (140). Pakistani religious fundamentalists from the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba raided non-Muslims in the <st1:place st="on">Kashmir</st1:place> region (140-141). The violence was not brought under control until Bill Clinton actively intervened in the affairs on 4 July 1999 (142). Sadly, in the 90s religious conflict is not confined to only one part of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region st="on"><b style="">India</b></st1:country-region><b style="">: <st1:place st="on">Punjab</st1:place><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Punjab <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">province</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:placename st="on">India</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> has been overcome by religious violence between the Hindus and Sikhs. Although the conflict reached its peak right after the assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, it caused major bloodshed in the 1990s (Axel 5). Around 8,000 people were killed for religious reasons in 1991 and 1992 alone (Haught 53).<span style=""> </span>The Sikh’s quest for Khalistan, or ‘land of the pure’, might have received little media coverage in the 90s, but it did not subside (52). With over ¾ of India’s Sikhs living in the province of Punjab, the province bore the brunt of the religious hatred against Sikhs and Sikh militant groups throughout the 90s (Purewal 2). As random as they seem, the events of Kashmir and <st1:place st="on">Punjab</st1:place> in the 90s follow a clear pattern of religious-based violence.<b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Kashmir and <st1:place st="on">Punjab</st1:place> regions display the four criterions clearly. In 1998 the Indian government was lulled into a false sense of security by its nuclear weapons, and started to lose power in <st1:place st="on">Kashmir</st1:place>, only to have a religious body spring up. In 1984, the government lost power due to the assassination of the prime minister only to have the Hindu and Sikh communities take matters into their own hands. The rise of tension was caused by Muslims and Sikhs rising to clash with the dominant Hindu community. The spark in <st1:place st="on">Kashmir</st1:place> was a dormant one; the disregard of Muslim people by the pre-1947 monarchy. In <st1:place st="on">Punjab</st1:place> the spark was the disregard for cultural differences. <st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region> attempted to control the violence, but was not powerful enough until the intervention of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">United States</st1:country-region></st1:place> in 1999. Today violence continues in Punjab, although the Indian government is doing a better job of containing it than the <st1:place st="on">Kashmir</st1:place> conflict. The religious violence of <st1:place st="on">South Asia</st1:place> is not only confined to the northern borders but is also present in its southern heart.<b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><b style="">Sri Lanka</b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The teardrop nation below <st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region>, <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region></st1:place>, had a 30 year build up to the break out of religious violence. The Buddhist majority of the country believes that Buddha gave the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Island</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:placename st="on">Lanka</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> to create a “citadel of pure Buddhism” (Fox, 2002 449). The Hindu Tamils resented the religious discrimination against them (<st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Austin</st1:City></st1:place> 68). In 1948 the British left <st1:country-region st="on">Ceylon</st1:country-region> after leaving <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> and a Buddhist-dominated government was established (Haught 108). In the late 1950s a Buddhist prime minister declared Sinhalese to be the only official language (108).<span style=""> </span>Finally in the 1980s <st1:country-region st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region> was declared a ‘<st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Buddhist</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">Republic</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>’ to avoid conflict with a Buddhist terrorist group (Austin 75).<span style=""> </span>The drastic move enraged the Hindu Tamils, who formed the Liberation Tigers and rebelled (75). </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Violence between the Liberation Tigers and Buddhists raged throughout the late 80s and 90s (Haught 108-110). In 1983, the Tigers ambushed an army patrol, Buddhist retaliated with the massacre of hundreds of Hindus; in response Hindus attacked Buddhist holy spots; a full civil war erupted (109). At first the largely Hindu <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> supported the Tigers and sent supplies until Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi switched to a state of neutrality (109). In 1987, <st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region> decided to send peacekeepers to separate the Hindus and Buddhists in <st1:country-region st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region> (<st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Austin</st1:City></st1:place> 69). However, <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s peacekeepers did little and the 70,000 man taskforce was withdrawn in 1990 after taking 2,000 casualties (Haught 109). After <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> withdrew its forces, religious murder, violence and cleansing snowballed (110). By 2001 a total of about 62,000 people were killed for religious reasons (<st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Austin</st1:City></st1:place> 75). The loss in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region></st1:place> is devastating, but still predictable.<b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s religious violence follows a clear pattern. When the governing body lost power in 1948, from the loss of British rule, Hindu and Buddhist religions filled the vacuum. The Buddhist and Hindu religions started to clash from the beginning. In 1983 a fundamentalist spark from the Liberation Tigers sprung and started the fire of religious violence in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region></st1:place>. After India’s failed peacekeeping in the 1987 to 1990 period the violence continued to escalate, leaving thousands dead in its wake. Through out the 90s the religious violence of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region></st1:place> went unnoticed and unchecked by the rest of the world and only worsened.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region st="on"><b style="">Indonesia</b></st1:country-region><b style="">: <st1:place st="on">East Timor</st1:place><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Another unpublicized religious conflict of the 90s is the situation in South-East Asia, mainly <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Indonesia</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Religious conflict in South-East Asia largely depends on the violence in the world’s largest Muslim state; <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Indonesia</st1:country-region></st1:place> (Searle, 1). The <st1:place st="on">Island</st1:place> country boasts a population of 238 million people, the majority of whom are Muslim (CIA). The presence of religious conflict in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Indonesia</st1:country-region></st1:place> is caused by the weakening of the state (Searle 1). Violence in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Indonesia</st1:country-region></st1:place> today is mostly between Christians and the Muslim majority (Haught 169). In 1974 the United Nations granted independence to the former Portuguese colony of East Timor, only to have it invaded and annexed by <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Indonesia</st1:country-region></st1:place> a year later (169). In 2000, a Muslim terrorist group, partially supported by the government moved into the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">province</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:placename st="on">Maluku</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> (Searle 5). Christians in the area formed a counter-organization called Laskar Kristus: ‘Army of Christ’ (5). In 2 years the religious violence and cleansing between Christians and Muslims in the Indonesian <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">province</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:placename st="on">Maluku</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> and Kulimantan has left 5,000 dead and 500,000 displaced (4).<span style=""> </span>Like the previous examples, <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Indonesia</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s conflict was devastating, but predictable.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Like the previous conflicts a pattern is present in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Indonesia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Religious powers emerged to fill the hole the lack of state power left. With <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Indonesia</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s loss of power and control of its people, the Islamic and Christian communities took over. Fundamentalists then attacked, as seen by a terrorist group’s invasion of Maluku. Without the intervention of the Indonesian, or any other, government, religious violence escalated. The logical pattern leading to violence is not only present in <st1:place st="on">Asia</st1:place>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><b style="">Sudan</b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The African country of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region></st1:place> was the site of another deadly Muslim and Christian conflict of the 90s. The first rebellions started in 1955 a year before the pre-scheduled leave of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Britain</st1:country-region></st1:place> (Haught 77). The Christians were afraid of Muslim oppression (77). However, the British still pulled out and a civil war erupted between the Muslims and Christians that lasted until 1972 and claimed 500,000 casualties (77). In 1983, a new Muslim president decreed Sharia for all of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region></st1:place> (78). Sharia is the Muslim law which justifies such things as amputation of limbs for theft (Allie). Christian’s were outraged by the government’s neglect of their rights and rebelled (78). In 1989, the government promised to stop the application of Muslim law in the south, but the government was not stable enough to do so and was overthrown by Muslim fundamentalists who established an Islamic theocracy (78). The fundamentalist government established close ties with the theocracy of <st1:country-region st="on">Iran</st1:country-region> and imposed Islam on all the citizens of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region></st1:place> (78). In 1992 the <st1:country-region st="on">United States</st1:country-region> finally recognized <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region></st1:place> as a religiously extremist terrorist state (79). By 1994, around 1.5 million lives were lost in the 2<sup>nd</sup> <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region></st1:place> war and around 6 million were refugees in neighboring states (79). The turmoil in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region></st1:place> has been described as the deadliest religious conflict of the 90s (77).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Even the deadliest conflict of the 90s, however, followed a pattern. The government lost power in 1955 and 1989, the first due to British readiness to pull out and the second due to the loss of Muslim support and in both cases religions emerged to fill the power vacuum. The second case even formed a government. The Christian and Muslim communities began to clash. Without any intervention the tension quickly escalated leaving millions without their lives or lively-hood.<span style=""> </span>However, this was a conflict between only two religious groups and was largely overlooked by the West because a three way conflict was already occurring in their own backyard.<b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><b style="">Yugoslavia</b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Another deadly conflict in recent history is the collapse of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place> and the wars of its former provinces. <st1:country-region st="on">Croatia</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region st="on">Slovenia</st1:country-region> were the first states to break free in 1991, triggering a war with <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place> (Haught 28). The Catholic Church of Croatia displays the power compensation of religion and state very well. When the former <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place> was in the Soviet Bloc, and state power high, the church was suppressed (Ramet 146). When Tito took <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place> out of the Soviet Bloc in 1953, state power decreased and the Church was able to take more liberties (146). The Church gained more power as Tito began negotiations with the <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Vatican</st1:country-region></st1:place> in 1965-1971 (146). In the 1970s however, Tito’s government saw stability and an increase in power, and the Church saw a loss of its liberties (147-148). When Tito’s government collapsed and another regime took its place, a power vacuum emerged and the Catholic Church as well as the Orthodox and Muslim communities rose up (Haught 29). <span style="">Tension quickly built between the three sides and led to violence (29).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The bloody conflict of the 90s that is always associated with the former <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:place></st1:country-region> was in a state of religious hatred and violence. As Haught wrote, “the only actual difference between Croats, Serbs and Bosnians is their religion” (Haught 26). The communists of former <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place> managed to suppress religious violence for decades but with the communist collapse it reemerged (29). In 1991 <st1:country-region st="on">Slovenia</st1:country-region> and <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Croatia</st1:country-region></st1:place> declared their independence based on religious reasons (Robinson 2), but started a non-religious conflict that took the lives of 10,000 people (Haught 29). In 1992 Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina voted for independence (Robinson 2), and instantly faced armed resistance from the Orthodox Christians who were, “still fighting to keep Islam from spreading”, as Dusan Simic voiced (Simic in Haught 30). <st1:country-region st="on">Serbia</st1:country-region> came to aid the Orthodox Christians of Bosnia, and under president Slobodan Milosevic called for the “ethnic cleansing” of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Bosnia</st1:country-region></st1:place> (31). The Serbians wanted to eradicate Muslim and Catholics in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Bosnia</st1:country-region></st1:place> (31). <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Croatia</st1:country-region></st1:place> came to help their fellow Catholics and after a while turned on the Muslims, causing a three way conflict (31-33). The same “religious cleansing” was seen in 1998 against the Muslims and Catholics of Kosovo (Robinson 3). The conflicts of former <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place> were very much caused by the clash of religious groups (Tovy 41). Although the devastation of former <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place> is often attributed to the Serbs, it could be argued that the major world powers are also culpable for not acknowledging the logical and sequential line of events that lead to religious violence.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Yugoslavian conflict displays all four hypotheses clearly. The loss of state power and rise of religious power is displayed well in the Croatian example. It is also seen when <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place> falls apart and the state loses all power in 1992, and has to resort to religious power. The rising religious bodies in the Yugoslavian conflict were the Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim communities (Robinson 3). The catalyst was a dormant one, carrying over from before communist times (Haught 25). The violence went unchecked while the major powers disputed between themselves and death overtook <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place>. <span style="">Sadly, something as unexpected as <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place> followed a precise pattern.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="">Conclusion<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">All the major conflicts of the 90s supported the four hypotheses set out earlier. The rise of religious bodies to fill the power vacuum left by governments that have lost power or collapsed is well shown. The best examples are when the British left <st1:country-region st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region> and the Christians united, and when the communist regime of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place> collapsed and the country split in three. The clash of different churches is best seen in Kashmir, Punjab and <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region></st1:place>. The three South Asian territories clearly display the clash between the Hindu, Sikh, Muslim and Buddhist communities. The sparks that pushed normal tension to violence are varied in the 90s. In <st1:place st="on">Punjab</st1:place> the spark is displayed as cultural disregard. In <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region></st1:place> the same spark goes as far as a fundamentalist coup and imposition of Islamic law. Unchecked religious violence and its drastic escalation is seen throughout <st1:city st="on">Kashmir</st1:City>, <st1:country-region st="on">Indonesia</st1:country-region> and <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place>. In <st1:place st="on">Kashmir</st1:place> the violence raged for a while without being contained. In <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Indonesia</st1:country-region></st1:place> that same violence still rages. In the former <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place> the violence was contained in pathetic ways and countless people died. Religious violence developed a strong noticeable pattern.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Throughout the 90s communal religious violence appears to have followed a distinguishable pattern.<span style=""> </span>This pattern is evident in the examples illustrated above, but what world leaders will do with it is not. As humans settle into the second millennium the application of this pattern still remains unanswered; as does the haunting proverb: “those who do not know the past are doomed to repeat it”.<span style=""> </span>The world remains in the hands of its people and leaders. It is humanity’s choice what to do with the world and the planet can only hope that the new generation will find the right decisions.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style=""><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="">Reference<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA">Allie, Shouket. “Muslim Personal Law In <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">South Africa</st1:country-region></st1:place>”, <i style="">Law and Sharia Consultants</i>.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><span style=""> </span>2005. Law and Sharia Consultants. 12 April, 2005<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><span style=""> </span><http://www.muslim.co.za/mplsa/mpl/><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Austin, Dennis. “Terrorism, <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region></st1:place> and a Letter From President Kumaratunga”, <i style="">The </i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="">Round Table</i>, pg. 67-75, 2002.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Axel, Brian K. <i style="">The Nation’s Tortured Body: Violence, Representation, and the </i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="">Formation of a Sikh “Diaspora”. </i><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Durham</st1:City></st1:place>: Duke University Press, 2001.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Bose, Sumantra. <st1:place st="on"><i style="">Kashmir</i></st1:place><i style="">: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace</i>. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><st1:city st="on">Cambridge</st1:City>, <st1:state st="on">Massachusetts</st1:State>: <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Harvard</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> Press, 2003.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">CIA. “<st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Indonesia</st1:country-region></st1:place>”, <i style="">The World Factbook</i>. 10 February, 2005. Central Intelligence Agency.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""> </span>12 April, 2005 <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/id.html></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Fox, Jonathan. “In the Name of God and Nation : The Overlapping Influence of </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;">Separatism and Religion on Ethnic Conflict”, <i style="">Social Identities</i>, pg. 434-455, 2002.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">---------- . “Ethno-religious Conflict in the <st1:place st="on">Third World</st1:place>: The Role of Religion as a Cause </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">of Conflict”, <i style="">Nationalism and Ethnic Politics</i>, pg 101-125, Spring 2003.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Haught, James A. <i style="">Holy Hatred: Religious Conflict of the 90’s</i>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""> </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Anherst</st1:City>, <st1:state st="on">New York</st1:State></st1:place>: Prometheus Books, 1995.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Huntington, Samuel. “The Clash of Civilizations”, <i style="">Foreign Affairs</i>, pg 22-49</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""> </span>Summer 1993.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">---------- . <i style="">The Clash of Civilization and the Remaking of World Order</i>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""> </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">New York</st1:City>, <st1:state st="on">NY</st1:State></st1:place>: Touchstone, 1996.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">---------- . “The Lone Superpower”, <i style="">Foreign Affairs</i>, pg 35-49, March/April 1999.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Purewal, Shinder. <i style="">Sikh Ethnonationalism and the Political Economy of <st1:place st="on">Punjab</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style=""><span style=""> </span></i><st1:state st="on">New York</st1:State>: <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Oxford</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> Press, 2000.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ramet, Sabrina P. <i>Balkan <st1:city st="on">Babel</st1:City>: The Disintegration of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Yugoslavia</st1:country-region></st1:place> from the Death of Tito<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style=""> </span>To Ethnic War</i>. <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Colorado</st1:State></st1:place>: Westview Press, Inc., 1996.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Robinson, B. “Religious aspects of the Yugoslavia-Kosovo conflict”, <i style="">Religious <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style=""><span style=""> </span>Tolerance.org</i>. 26 June, 2002. <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Ontario</st1:State></st1:place> Consultants on Religious Tolerance. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""> </span>12 April 2005 <www.religioustolerance.org/war_koso.htm></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Searle, Peter. “Ethno-Religious Conflict: Rise or Decline? Recent Developments in </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><st1:place st="on">Southeast Asia</st1:place>”, <i style="">Contemporary Southeast Asia</i>, pg 1-11, April 2002.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Tovy, Tal. “The Muslim-Croat Civil War in <st1:place st="on">Central Bosnia</st1:place> – A Military History, 1992-</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">1994. Reviewed by Tal Tovy”, <i>Religion in Eastern Europe</i>, pg 40-42, Dec. 2004.</p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-92129803979719692002007-06-13T07:27:00.001-06:002008-12-09T04:39:31.259-06:00Book Review: Programming the Universe<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_84PeqZYbIKg/Rm_yaKAaf5I/AAAAAAAAAE4/tI4FI8TbKks/s1600-h/12284010.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_84PeqZYbIKg/Rm_yaKAaf5I/AAAAAAAAAE4/tI4FI8TbKks/s400/12284010.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5075541836246450066" border="0" /></a>It is often hard to enjoy a science text, even if it is one of those pop-science books. However, when I was looking around the McGill bookstore this book just jumped out at me. Some might say it is because I am a comp sci and physics major looking to go into quantum computing, but I think it was divine intervention: the sort of divine intervention that is only possible from the power of a computing universe. <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Seth Lloyd makes the obscurity of quantum computing very accessible in ‘Programming the Universe’.<span style=""> </span>In its pure form the book will not teach you much about anything, but if you have some basic knowledge in computer science and physics and realize some of the implications of the computational paradigm then the book is really stunning. It kept me captivated as I read almost all of it (except for a little of the start that I read in the bookstore) on the eight hour bus ride to <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_84PeqZYbIKg/Rm_ykqAaf6I/AAAAAAAAAFA/40-AZvoJ9bs/s1600-h/lloyd.02.200.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_84PeqZYbIKg/Rm_ykqAaf6I/AAAAAAAAAFA/40-AZvoJ9bs/s400/lloyd.02.200.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5075542016635076514" border="0" /></a>Seth Lloyd is a professor of mechanics at MIT and likes to be known as a quantum masseur. He finds ways to convince atoms to compute for him and is credited with making the first plausible quantum computer model in 1993. In the book he presents his new way to look at the physical world; in terms of information and computation. He rewrites the second law of thermodynamics to deal with information as opposed to energy, and with that law in hand, delves into the basics of quantum computing and qubits. <span style=""> </span>He does not go too deeply into the inner-workings of quantum computing but instead expands it to the universal stage. He discusses the Universe as one huge quantum computer computing itself. To finish off, he discusses the informational revolutions that have happened since the Big Bang and talks about the place of humans in the picture. Through out the book, Lloyd keeps a good sense of humor to avoid making the material dry. My only issue with ‘Programming the Universe’ was that at times it was far too dumbed-down and spent too much time talking about the obvious or simple. In general, it is a very good read and I recommend it.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_84PeqZYbIKg/Rm_zBqAaf8I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/FfAI8qCx7jg/s1600-h/stars_4.PNG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_84PeqZYbIKg/Rm_zBqAaf8I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/FfAI8qCx7jg/s400/stars_4.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5075542514851282882" border="0" /></a></p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-72622235030836746632007-04-14T03:20:00.000-06:002008-12-09T04:39:31.915-06:00Screenshot Contests<div style="text-align: justify;">Today I came across an <a href="http://phillryu.com/2006/07/26/fake-leopard-screenshot-contest-winners-better-than-the-real-thing/">article</a> on Phil Ryu’s blog announcing the winners of the fake Leopard screenshot competition. The contest is just an interest builder for the hype-loving Mac community, but I think it has a great underlying idea. Using design contests can do a lot of good for big software developers like Microsoft, Apple, Google et al. Through a community effort like this a large company can accomplish several things at once: </div><ul style="margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal">Build hype</li><li class="MsoNormal">Find out what features users want</li><li class="MsoNormal">Find new talent</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">To make such a contest a true success, the “judging panel” has to be removed, or at least loose so of its power. For true involvement it is best to get not only images from the public, but also the decision on what is best. A panel could exist to monitor the process, and maybe select qualifiers (check for ideas that are infeasible or could never be implemented or are inconsistent with company themes). Of course, the software developer can not take all of their visual ideas from contests, some mystique is essential, but I think such competitions could serve a lot of good for big name companies.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Oh, and if you were curious about the winner of the Leopard challenge It is <a href="http://phillryu.com/leopard.php?person=eric">Eric Patterson’s submission</a>:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWUbHUi77GFBkeVd766GDwxNaUe9z6rYURzXaibT5fXy5KzDm0YiTMqXruv1UeeRamQKi6hNJfrzp2gvthsYB3hu5IuvCjs_AN8xyZmDxEx4adDEnuIGDfW2NJdJSSiATVZOo/s1600-h/01+Finder.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWUbHUi77GFBkeVd766GDwxNaUe9z6rYURzXaibT5fXy5KzDm0YiTMqXruv1UeeRamQKi6hNJfrzp2gvthsYB3hu5IuvCjs_AN8xyZmDxEx4adDEnuIGDfW2NJdJSSiATVZOo/s400/01+Finder.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053211304715478914" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSrxfMwneWvefWN3EWiYs7K2MQ2mivcQxaoQsvbWBuL4R5MlMsNM12Or02J6n3ipNA2kwYXYGzumINIxi7uKnlq-bu15AiRRKx4GErxmuR5jEz-ld5VwktXnu5KDJf8MvkDwP/s1600-h/02+Peek.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSrxfMwneWvefWN3EWiYs7K2MQ2mivcQxaoQsvbWBuL4R5MlMsNM12Or02J6n3ipNA2kwYXYGzumINIxi7uKnlq-bu15AiRRKx4GErxmuR5jEz-ld5VwktXnu5KDJf8MvkDwP/s400/02+Peek.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053211424974563218" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJQ4FikR-kqhhsS6zw2C2n_oJfwlcBPqHTHT3s5IYmwLKxYMBZUsCPtSu-BUq8jHuwwB_fN8YVbFlqjZ55uMjqy69Q4g11TGTc045i1xGsy5IYW4r92FecHdvgkm40dIm-DsK/s1600-h/03+Mail.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJQ4FikR-kqhhsS6zw2C2n_oJfwlcBPqHTHT3s5IYmwLKxYMBZUsCPtSu-BUq8jHuwwB_fN8YVbFlqjZ55uMjqy69Q4g11TGTc045i1xGsy5IYW4r92FecHdvgkm40dIm-DsK/s400/03+Mail.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053211553823582114" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiucAWyzKEFFCNNc_dS0YQOa4H0Nb_6MDW2ftu8bmSfXyciDRr14F8tzsIdqZSekq0hyq2SSLSnuS5YfI7wROYt2jHbZe9c8Vtx4AUottLzGz5BL8p0hZ_nv0PsmLKqYR4uD2j1/s1600-h/04+Safari.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiucAWyzKEFFCNNc_dS0YQOa4H0Nb_6MDW2ftu8bmSfXyciDRr14F8tzsIdqZSekq0hyq2SSLSnuS5YfI7wROYt2jHbZe9c8Vtx4AUottLzGz5BL8p0hZ_nv0PsmLKqYR4uD2j1/s400/04+Safari.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053211665492731826" border="0" /></a></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">I don’t know enough about daily Mac use to make real comments on the image, but to mirror the words of Wil Shipley: I think this guy has a thing for Asian girls.</p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-85855964015376421772007-04-14T02:33:00.000-06:002007-04-14T02:35:31.695-06:00Men Look at Faces<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">A little while ago I made a post about what all guys knew deep down: <a href="http://devilfromrussia.blogspot.com/2007/03/men-look-at-crotches.html">men look at crotches</a>.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><blockquote>“Women look almost exclusively at the targets face, while trying to gather information about the subject. Men, however, spend about half their time inspecting the face, and the other half inspecting the genitals.”</blockquote><o:p></o:p></i></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">That study of course, was done with clothed subjects, but what happens when we are viewing pornography? According to a <a href="http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/070412_sex_pics.html">recent study</a> when viewing pornography, men pay more attention to the face than women do. Surprisingly women concentrate more on the genitalia. The lead author states:</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><blockquote>"Men looked at the female face much more than women, and both looked at the genitals comparably,"</blockquote><o:p></o:p></i></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Strange? I think so. I definitely want to see a follow up study.</p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-85610772122983244572007-04-12T11:03:00.000-06:002008-12-09T04:39:32.165-06:00Movie Review: AFTF<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbc23Y34AMjotbDWW-K0M07nAcvXFM9MJKilu0boD83zC35NzC_OYt_edT-GcWufNpH9lF4Z5pdlcMfCVopBwyOOTp3eG3qWlV2Cc0D-XnIPdXdtnUl4tmzNsoWmvKeiJWU8Zo/s1600-h/AFTF-wrists.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbc23Y34AMjotbDWW-K0M07nAcvXFM9MJKilu0boD83zC35NzC_OYt_edT-GcWufNpH9lF4Z5pdlcMfCVopBwyOOTp3eG3qWlV2Cc0D-XnIPdXdtnUl4tmzNsoWmvKeiJWU8Zo/s320/AFTF-wrists.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052588551637428050" border="0" /></a>A couple of days ago I watched the authorized director’s cut of <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4312730277175242198">America: Freedom to Fascism</a> (available on Google video). The Aaron Russo documentary looked like promising at first, but in the end was very dissatisfying. The documentary deals with how ever since 1913 <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> has been slowly turning fascist. Specifically the film talks about the illegality of income tax, the evil IRS and how bankers rule the world. The movie seems to be tailored to delusional capitalists that want to see someone more capitalist than themselves in hopes of feeling better.<div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The whole film is badly edited and badly composed. Random black screens with quotes and text are inserted through out. They interrupt the flow at illogical places and are never consistent as to the narrator reading them or not reading them. Aaron tries to narrate the movie himself, much like <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Moore</st1:place></st1:city> does in his documentaries, except Aaron comes of as unintelligent, highly biased and flippant. The only good part of the film was not having to listen to the standard narrator voice at first. However, you soon realize that Aaron has no voice acting skill and his constant nagging becomes annoying. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">As an interviewer and debater Russo lacks even the most basic competence. He forms arguments like “American has a central bank like the commi bastards in <st1:country-region st="on">USSR</st1:country-region>” and then goes on about how it is bad to have a private bank running the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. I don’t think he understands a basic principle of the communist central banks: it is controlled by the state and thus the people. When interviewing public figures he does not listen to them and gives himself more speaking time than the people he is interviewing. The point of interviewing a public figure and then showing more footage of yourself talking than the public figure escapes me.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">To make matters worse, Russo constantly boasts about being a famous, award winning director. I think the random woman in the <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">first street</st1:address></st1:street> interview says it best:</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style="">“Russo: My name is Aaron Russo I produced the mo…</i> </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Woman: is this a joke; am I on a gag show?”<o:p></o:p></i></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">I do not recommend this video at all, and the only reason it has gotten any stars is because it is available for free on Google. Aaron Russo does not belong directing “documentaries” he is better as a random person on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE">American are NOT stupid</a>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-fDESU1x58dQ70gH4YsfmHayICx0E7MP2HUWB51AQGZF11H0Aki-k9WMYuqGxG3mcohkk1NMboBQMVEbM3dEex6-qF9vA9N-lqY9XYgYY2_kGEvp6B2B-jMFT0fsc5E_608Q/s1600-h/stars_2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-fDESU1x58dQ70gH4YsfmHayICx0E7MP2HUWB51AQGZF11H0Aki-k9WMYuqGxG3mcohkk1NMboBQMVEbM3dEex6-qF9vA9N-lqY9XYgYY2_kGEvp6B2B-jMFT0fsc5E_608Q/s400/stars_2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052588714846185314" border="0" /></a></p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-79873799332251550402007-04-11T22:34:00.000-06:002007-04-11T22:37:11.050-06:00Steorn Orbo<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">An Irish company <a href="http://www.steorn.com/">Steorn</a> has claimed creating a machine that produces clean, free energy:</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><blockquote>"What we have developed is a way to construct magnetic fields so that when you travel round the magnetic fields, starting and stopping at the same position, you have gained energy... The energy isn't being converted from any other source such as the energy within the magnet. It's literally created. Once the technology operates it provides a constant stream of clean energy."</blockquote> </i></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The company has tried to sound official by publishing a full page challenge to the scientific community in <i style="">the Economist</i>. I have not seen the ad myself, but I am really disappointed with the editors of <i style="">the Economist </i>if they actually published that ad… I mean, how fake can you get? No much faker than this. For any readers that are not familiar with Physics, this statement is in direct contradiction to the first law of thermodynamics. The first law reads:</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><blockquote>“The increase in the internal energy of a thermodynamic system is equal to the amount of heat energy added to the system minus the work done by the system on the surroundings.”</blockquote></i></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Looked from another perspective, this means that a system can not gain energy without taking it from somewhere. Steorn claims that they have somehow found a way to do this, in other words, they claim to have created a perpetual motion machine. No patent office recognizes perpetual motion machines or anything else that violates the fundamental and well established laws of physics, and hence there is no patent for the full technology, although the company has claimed to have patented parts that make up the system. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The biggest reason this seems like a fake (other than the fact that they are claiming to have violated one of the fundamental laws of physics) is their <a href="http://www.steorn.com/about/investor/">finances</a>: </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">In the period between 2002 and 2006 (dates for which they have all major expenses reported) they spent a total of 2,749,645 euro on research and development. Over the same time period, they spent 1,531,520 euro on management and marketing and 2,114,744 euro on administrative costs (total of 3,646,263 euro). In other words, they spent more money managing their pathetic little company than researching; a whopping 63.3% of their money was spent on managerial issues. Also, the 3 million euro budget is far too low to develop such a breathtaking technology so quickly. The company states that they are about 20 people, and if we do a quick calculation (assuming these guys don’t work for free, which is a safe assumption based on their capitalist intentions) taking that the average engineer of the caliber need to develop such an innovative idea is paid around 100k euro per year.<span style=""> </span>We do a simple multiplication 100k * 20 people * 5 years = 10 million euro spent of just staff, while their total expenses are a mere 6,395,909 euro. To meet their spending, if they only paid their workers and did not pay for building rent or buying hardware or anything else to actual develop their technology, the average salary of the employees comes out to 63,959 euro a year. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">To make matters worse, their team does not even look like scientists and has no credible people in it. The whole thing seems like a bad hoax and an embarrassment to anyone this company associates itself with. My first guess (from reading their “jury” deal) is that this company just wants to make some easy cash ripping off legitimate research facilities and stuff it up their capitalists asses, or pass it on to the IRA or some other crap like that. This is pathetic.</p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-13625179765970832007-04-01T22:24:00.000-06:002008-12-09T04:39:32.606-06:00Movie Review: Bon Cop Bad Cop<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoESu4xNjWEiI_p0-5Hg1mMMvU-EhGZ6Qonf1LkEslUHXz5IDgtgqA1Zinff9R2Um0mEWKdJoWh0Tbk0P_zBpNIJZQgbuE6M4AT7RZM2J1qi73GvD_liDeddFBHA094RrqpQMb/s1600-h/101512.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 202px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoESu4xNjWEiI_p0-5Hg1mMMvU-EhGZ6Qonf1LkEslUHXz5IDgtgqA1Zinff9R2Um0mEWKdJoWh0Tbk0P_zBpNIJZQgbuE6M4AT7RZM2J1qi73GvD_liDeddFBHA094RrqpQMb/s320/101512.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5048683439282625250" border="0" /></a>I saw Bon Cop Bad Cop for the first time a while ago (first semester) but I did not have a review section back then (except for books, of course). I watched it again a couple of days ago, and decided to do a proper review this time. I don’t think most people have heard of this movie outside of <st1:state st="on">Quebec</st1:state>, and I doubt anyone has heard of it outside of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>. However, in <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Quebec</st1:place></st1:state> it is a huge hit and for good reason. The film manages to dig to the core of being Canadian (including the French-English tension) in a great bilingual style. <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The story is uniquely Canadian, centered on hockey and Quebec-Ontario relations. The villain of the movie is disappointed by the export of the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Montreal</st1:place></st1:city> “Patriots” (Canadians) to the states and is willing to go to any length to stop it. The plot combines comedy, drama and action into a well balanced and well paced package. You never feel like the movie is slow or rushed. Every scene is properly selected and directed.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The only scene that could have been taken out of the movie was the random sex scene in the middle. It did not really move the movie forward (except for reinforcing the French character’s separatist views, but you could figure it out as is). However, you can’t have a popular movie now-a-day without at least some sex. All in all, the movie is near perfect, and as much as I hate to admit it to the Frenchies, the movie deserves a full five starts.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmu6SiZn9SQq0W6wsios2e-YnwUOZOdt70Sq7ZZVAZ9kOV1aWh_vxDsg8E6OB3jb96iAPLMAKALDqn33FcIascN-dXIBNB0U_VDvz-0TBzPXYJG2q52Ghg57hLB4pfazmW1QTq/s1600-h/stars_5.PNG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmu6SiZn9SQq0W6wsios2e-YnwUOZOdt70Sq7ZZVAZ9kOV1aWh_vxDsg8E6OB3jb96iAPLMAKALDqn33FcIascN-dXIBNB0U_VDvz-0TBzPXYJG2q52Ghg57hLB4pfazmW1QTq/s400/stars_5.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5048682837987203794" border="0" /></a></p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-45572235420722352372007-03-26T22:45:00.000-06:002007-03-26T22:46:16.203-06:00Quebec Election<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The <a href="http://www.nodice.ca/elections/quebec/">Quebec election</a> has come to a close. I have no clue what that means for me, since I have not been following politics and especially <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Quebec</st1:place></st1:State> politics recently. However, looking at the numbers there are some surprising things. The seats were split up by:</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Liberal Party – 48</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Action Democratique – 41</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Parti Quebecois – 36</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">That is a very drastic change from the <a href="http://www.nodice.ca/elections/quebec/results.php">last election</a> (2003):</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Liberal Party – 76</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Parti Quebecois – 45</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Action Democratique – 4</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">But in general, <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Quebec</st1:State></st1:place> politics seems to be very swingy, if we look at the one more election back (1998):</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Parti Quebecois – 76</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Liberal Party – 48</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Action Democratique – 1</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">It is good to see <st1:state st="on">Quebec</st1:State> voting on the left and for me it surprising to see <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Quebec</st1:place></st1:State> caring so little about PQ, especially with the recent Liberal scandals and such. The ADQ leader is definitely happy today. Good for him.</p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-70669993238294215832007-03-26T21:52:00.000-06:002007-03-26T21:54:00.755-06:00Blogs for You<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">As some of you might have noticed, I updated the look of my blog yesterday. I still need to fix all the crappy JavaScript and such, but I think I like this new look more. I am still not switching to blogger’s new widget system, but I will hopefully improve some features of my blog. Things to look forward to:</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><ul style="margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal">Fixed JavaScript</li><li class="MsoNormal">Collapsing Navigation and DevoLinks</li><li class="MsoNormal">Updates to Links section</li><li class="MsoNormal">Updates DevoPlace</li><li class="MsoNormal">More and Better Random DevoPics (they don’t work at all right now)</li><li class="MsoNormal">And of course, more posts.</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The thing that inspired me to change around my layout (color scheme more than layout to be perfectly honest) was working on <a href="http://onhech.blogspot.com/">Lynden’s blog</a>. Notice the similarity between his visual theme and my new look (also notice the powered by DFR bit in the top right; I have no shame). </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The inspiration behind this post, however, is to point out some blogs I like and follow that I have not added to my DevoLinks yet (although expect them there in the next few moments).</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><a href="http://triketank.blogspot.com/">Random Musings</a><o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">This is a well written little blog by Oliver. Like me, he has a tendency to abandon things after a little while, but hopefully he will stick with blogging. So far the blog is only three posts long, but they are all interesting and will written (although I guess the <a href="http://triketank.blogspot.com/2007/03/to-fulfill-these-rights.html">latest post</a> is just one big quote).</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><a href="http://ridado.blogspot.com/">Jesse</a><o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">I’ve been following Jesse’s blog for a while now. It is a sizable 40 post blog (same size as this blog) and a lot of it seems to deal with Jesse’s personal experiences, but that is a lot of fun to read. I recommend this, but if you don’t know Jesse and read his blog, that might be a little bit creepy.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><a href="http://onhech.blogspot.com/">Know♣Justice</a><o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">This is Lynden’s brand new blog. His old MSN Live blog was interesting and this one promises to be even better (since it doesn’t involve Microsoft).</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><a href="http://www.kottke.org/">kottke.org</a><o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">This blog is huge and updates extensively. It keeps me up to date on the blogosphere. You can read a lot of funny stuff here, but mostly it is just a link blog. So it usually links to various outside sources for your enjoyment.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><a href="http://kf.happyspork.com/index.php">Kraezymann Forums</a><o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Not a blog, but a forum. It has moved to be hosted by Ben at happyspork. Go there and make an account and join in on the discussions.</p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-15423670455762797542007-03-14T23:17:00.000-06:002008-12-09T04:39:32.739-06:00Men Look at Crotches<div style="text-align: justify;">A <a href="http://www.kottke.org/07/03/men-look-at-crotches">kottke.org article</a> led me to an interesting <a href="http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/070312ruel/">study</a> done by Jakob Nielsen. The study delves into how to better present articles to an audience. It concludes many useful things for written articles such as including subheadings, bullets and good white space. More interesting however, was their findings in where different genders focus their attention when viewing images. </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfD2ZlwWAAgP6pkWU5HLX8pLlYZcsZgrprMKx_n9vBU1vDnyd7IMxP4w1EnkyRzlPJPBvBtCjsvqaDpLW-BNa2Q5ExSVHUTW2WMzsri9vucu22XNI-ApQomDHYZ3FWgxxV7sNp/s1600-h/image7.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfD2ZlwWAAgP6pkWU5HLX8pLlYZcsZgrprMKx_n9vBU1vDnyd7IMxP4w1EnkyRzlPJPBvBtCjsvqaDpLW-BNa2Q5ExSVHUTW2WMzsri9vucu22XNI-ApQomDHYZ3FWgxxV7sNp/s400/image7.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5042016303353800914" border="0" /></a></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Women look almost exclusively at the targets face, while trying to gather information about the subject. Men, however, spend about half their time inspecting the face, and the other half inspecting the genitals. I find this amusing more than anything else.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The research into better formatting of content was interesting, but the section on men’s fixation on genitalia definitely held the most of my attention. I guess that tells us something about formatting data: include more interesting content.</p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-76355914693799132482007-03-14T21:53:00.000-06:002008-12-09T04:39:33.034-06:00Movie Review: 300<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Q4KI2XJm7FULBaly0o0Ndqkr9PN2AQmnfa4AxJNMwHpBc5RZacZBVsL2e0SMxDvghvxXmXVBLPo1TeKswcxTE7517xQk2tud629EZ1oyUK_-uO2sPo6vth6QPWMq4HMEx6zE/s1600-h/300_movie_poster.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Q4KI2XJm7FULBaly0o0Ndqkr9PN2AQmnfa4AxJNMwHpBc5RZacZBVsL2e0SMxDvghvxXmXVBLPo1TeKswcxTE7517xQk2tud629EZ1oyUK_-uO2sPo6vth6QPWMq4HMEx6zE/s320/300_movie_poster.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041995030380783794" border="0" /></a>There must be an internal competition in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Hollywood</st1:city></st1:place> for the most dead bodies and/or soldiers in one shot, and 300 is defiantly leading. The movie, with its blood splatter title promises action, blood and… more action. It delivers stunningly. Arthur Millar’s graphic novel sheds the confines of pages and comes to life with a distinct comic book flavour in this action flick.<div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The movie as not nearly as stylized as predecessors like Sin City, but still makes you feel like you are taking part in a good graphic novel. Each shot is well planned and well staged, like a picture. With the constant slow motion you have plenty of time to appreciate the frame and small details of the shot, as well as marvel at the amount of buffing up the actors had to do for this movie. The action sequences are cleanly shot, full of body and, of course, blood. The filmmakers don’t follow the cheap strategy of shaky camerawork and constant angle changes to represent action, but instead depend on the physical power of their actors, extras and stuntmen. This approach to filming makes for beautiful and rewarding action sequences. The movie’s stylization also makes it more accessible to the viewer who might have found the style of <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Sin</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place> or Sky Captain too heavy. By weaving between the harsh and noble sides of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Sparta</st1:place></st1:city>, the movie establishes a very dark theme. The opening shot of baby skulls, already sets you on the track for a dark and gloomy story. The storytelling itself captures comic book elements through a overlooking narrator and short, to the point, dialogue.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The overall dialogue in the move is very weak. The constant mismatch between the characters’ personas and words beg for a better writer. Every word uttered is needlessly dramatic, and quickly looses its effect; much like people that overuse powerful quotes, the writers have squandered all the drama inherent in their words. Thankfully, the story is not word driven, but action driven.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The story itself is well known and predictable. You never face surprises, and everything is clear cut and expected. The only thing that can surprise you is how many kick ass moves the choreographers can imagine. It feels like the writers tried to incorporate surprise and shock into the story, but they failed at it. The story is interesting, and hints at history, but in general is lacking.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">In the end, you don’t watch this movie for dialogue or story. This movie was created for watching muscular men and women in kick-ass action scenes. The movie achieves everything it promises, but does not excel past this. This is perhaps the only reason it can not rate about a four on my scale. However, all in all this is a wonderful movie, and I recommend it to all action fans.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEeLBFtevdrxZSDiEFK71vL1N_EkUy9QQXLYiiKBl2FkuImqhmqF7sS8odc5jPjR9_uZxRP2BexzPtf5yQ1Ke1aPCGunB06lBF1vmUP23GFkMx-0zHWzRHMX2MD0i3wgXadXz/s1600-h/stars_4.PNG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEeLBFtevdrxZSDiEFK71vL1N_EkUy9QQXLYiiKBl2FkuImqhmqF7sS8odc5jPjR9_uZxRP2BexzPtf5yQ1Ke1aPCGunB06lBF1vmUP23GFkMx-0zHWzRHMX2MD0i3wgXadXz/s320/stars_4.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041995300963723458" border="0" /></a></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">For a more positive analysis, read <a href="http://triketank.blogspot.com/2007/03/300.html">Oliver’s review</a>.</p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-64296325300695833382007-03-13T19:54:00.000-06:002008-12-09T04:39:33.327-06:00DRM on Independent Content<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">About a week ago, I read a post by <a href="http://higaara.blogspot.com/">Kumaran</a> on the reasons for <a href="http://higaara.blogspot.com/2007/03/reasons-for-drm-on-independent-content.html">DRM on independent content</a>. He goes into some detail of the debate and outlines his stance as that independent music that could be non-DRM should be kept DRM’ed to avoid confusion with the Apple users. His opinion is largely based on small labels and if a major label does switch over to non-DRM music he believes that apple should go ahead and draw the distinction between DRM and non-DRM music to pressure other labels:</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><blockquote>“An entire <b>major</b> <b>music label's</b> catalog of music on iTunes in a non-DRM'ed format is a significant enough of chunk of music that I think would cover enough people's music purchases to make it worth it. Of course, people will still probably get frustrated, but such a move would be made moreso to pressure the other labels into following suit.”<br /><br /></blockquote><o:p></o:p></i></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Digital Rights Management<o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i><i style=""><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3s58-0dTdS5lsw6T5rmNmmx-DKmlk8Kkyj9Y_hdEI2i_5sLOCoLFTSfLKMG70N41V927kRqMvdKwqwU_GYIeCa79S_B-MNXnNBFSKgefao7EkLAZpCwLW5qes2JBnppVRIHGG/s1600-h/drmiskillingmusic.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 147px; height: 147px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3s58-0dTdS5lsw6T5rmNmmx-DKmlk8Kkyj9Y_hdEI2i_5sLOCoLFTSfLKMG70N41V927kRqMvdKwqwU_GYIeCa79S_B-MNXnNBFSKgefao7EkLAZpCwLW5qes2JBnppVRIHGG/s320/drmiskillingmusic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041595740156176546" border="0" /></a></i></i>In the context of the iTunes Store, DRM means that there are some restrictions on the way music can be used. Basically, the music can be copied to an unlimited number of CDs or iPods, but the digital version must always stay in a proprietary format compatible with iPods. Also, the digital version has some other restrictions on it (like only being playable on 5 computers, etc.). In the end, DRM in general give minor problems to the users, and do nothing against pirates. Pirates are still able to copy music to a CD (thus stripping DRM) and then from a CD to mp3 and distribute. However, DRM can not simply be exterminated, because Big Music backs DRM.</p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i><i style=""><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9NQFBN1v2RGIuftTsUmDqhr251ss0WwfxTIiq0GFBimF6gEosfM9YTdUrvv3HSEaXL2Ll2apTGQ11g0LYxp563O3mzCgRfzRzBJHbJlFg5D6GdAw7hNqZFEMOItKmf5tQDn7/s1600-h/phair-promo-view.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9NQFBN1v2RGIuftTsUmDqhr251ss0WwfxTIiq0GFBimF6gEosfM9YTdUrvv3HSEaXL2Ll2apTGQ11g0LYxp563O3mzCgRfzRzBJHbJlFg5D6GdAw7hNqZFEMOItKmf5tQDn7/s320/phair-promo-view.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041595336429250706" border="0" /></a></i></i><b style=""><a href="http://daringfireball.net/2007/02/drm_and_non_drm_music">Gruber’s Solution</a></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">In a blog post, John Gruber proposes that iTunes could label DRM and non-DRM music much like it does with explicit and non-explicit music. By introducing a simple tag to the left of a song title, the confusion between the two rights could easily be avoided.<span style=""> </span>Kumaran counters with:</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><o:p> </o:p><i style="">“Yes, such a point is valid, however, the difference between DRM'ed and non-DRM'ed content is far more significant than the difference between Explicit and Clean content. Explicit and Clean content can pretty much be used in much the same way. That situation just isn't possible with DRM'ed and non-DRM'ed content being sold at the same location.”</i></blockquote><i style=""><o:p></o:p></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">DRM’ed and non-DRM’ed music can also be used in the same way… listened to. DRM or non-DRM does not change how a normal user (non-pirate) uses music. Either way, they get their song, put it on their iPod and enjoy listening to it. The only thing that is affected is the subtleties of sharing. Most users already deal with these differences due to the fact that they don’t buy all their music from iTunes but download some from limewire or indie sites like <a href="http://www.3hive.com/">www.3hive.com</a> . From Steve Jobs’ <a href="http://www.apple.com/ca/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic/">thoughts on Music</a>:</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><blockquote>“under 3% of the music on the average iPod, is purchased from the iTunes store and protected with a DRM.”</blockquote><o:p></o:p></i></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">This slight sharing difference is much simpler than some more significant music differences users’ deal with. Some of their music is in mp3, some in wav, some in Apple’s aac, some in other formats (ogg anyone?). Some music is 8bit, some 16bit, and myriad other differences. I think it is naïve to think that iPod users will be confused or frustrated by the presence of non-DRM music in the iTunes Store.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">To add extra motivation for supporting the difference between DRM and non-DRM music one has to consider the pressure of DRM labeling and artists opinions. Some artists pride themselves on the fact that their music is not part of the corporate system of mainstream music. Some bands enjoy their music being non-DRM and would like to see it that way on iTunes, so their fans can get their songs and share them any way they like. Also, by introducing a distinction between DRM and non-DRM music Apple can collect data and what music users prefer. Then they can turn to the big companies and start talking in their language of money but simply bringing up stats and saying: “look small label X made twice the money as equivalent small label Y by selling non-DRM music”. Maybe then Big Music would listen.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">I think the reason Apple is really continuing to sell all their music as DRM is to hold on to their proprietary rights. Regardless of what Steve Jobs publishes as “his opinions” on DRM music, Apple is still a heartless capitalist corporation. By sticking to DRM, they make sure people can only easily listen to the music on their iPods and not competitors. This way iTunes Store and iPod become a bundle and exclusive “cool” society that other more open MP3 users can’t join. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Other Solution<o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The easiest way for users to easily see the difference between DRM music and non-DRM music is to just offer them in two different, popular formats. Continue to offer DRM’ed music in aac and offer non-DRM in the more common mp3 format. However, Apple would never do that… how would that continue their obscene profit margins? This might actually be civil.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Summary<o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">DRM is independent content is wrong. If the independent content wants to be DRM free, then let them be. For the end user everything is the same, but the provider of content can sleep a little better at night, knowing they are not part of Big Music’s capitalist machine.</p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-35039330224719401592007-03-12T16:30:00.000-06:002007-03-12T16:33:02.461-06:00The Short Human History<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Today, at <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/">Daily KOS</a> I came across a very thought provoking article on how to think about the scale of human history. The <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/3/9/141115/0563">article</a> discusses human history in increments of a single human lifespan. It illustrates just how short human history is:</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><i style="">“Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., one the United States' great historians, is less than two lifetimes removed from a world where the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> did not exist. Through Mr. Schlesinger, you're no more than three away yourself. That's how short the history of our nation really is. <o:p></o:p></i></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><i style="">Not impressed? It's only two more life spans to William Shakespeare. Two more beyond that, and the only Europeans to see <st1:country-region st="on">America</st1:country-region> are those who sailed from <st1:place st="on">Greenland</st1:place>. You're ten lifetimes from the occupation of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Damietta</st1:place></st1:City> during the fifth crusade. Twenty from the founding of Great <st1:country-region st="on">Zimbabwe</st1:country-region> and the Visigoth sack of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:City>. Make it forty, and Theseus, king of <st1:city st="on">Athens</st1:City>, is held captive on Crete by King Minos, the Olmecs are building the first cities in <st1:country-region st="on">Mexico</st1:country-region>, and the New Kingdom collapses in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></i></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><i style="">Sixty life times ago, a man named Abram left <st1:city st="on">Ur</st1:City> of the Chaldees and took his family into <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place>. Abram is claimed as the founder of three great religions. A few lifetimes before that, and you've come out the bottom of that dime. You're that close to it.”<o:p></o:p></i></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">In your lifetime alone you will add one more percent to the length of the human experience, a whole 25% to American history and more than double the length of the computer age. This really makes one lifetime seem a lot more important on the face of human history (as long as you don’t consider the vast number of people in one age category).</p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-18018572524419567982007-03-06T03:16:00.000-06:002008-12-09T04:39:33.480-06:00Application of BECs<div style="text-align: justify;">In my <a href="http://devilfromrussia.blogspot.com/2007/03/bose-einstein-condensate.html">previous post</a>, I discussed what Bose-Einstein condensates are and how they are created. It is great to have a new state of matter, but it is not that breathtaking if there is no application. This post is going to deal with the application of Bose-Einstein condensates and is mostly based on Wolfgang Ketterle’s second McGill lecture, given on March 2<sup>nd</sup>. I incorporated some of my own understand and research into this, especially to simplify concepts. The two main benefits of BECs I will deal with is the creation of an atomic toolbox and increased headway into room temperature superconductors.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Atomic Physics Toolbox</b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">There have always been differences between theoretical and applied physicists. Theorists love using perfect models to make prediction and calculations. Applied physicists have to use real materials with imperfections and need constant estimates. The imprecision of applied physics has slowed the field down a little, staying several steps behind theoretical physics. MIT hopes their BECs and cooling technology can serve as an atomic toolbox for many-body scientists to develop new materials.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The nanokelvin toolbox makes new physics possible. With the temperature approaching 0.5 nanokelvins and less, several rare physical phenomena can be observed. As explained in the previous post, the BEC phase transitions can be studied at this temperature. Also the atoms start to display quantum reflection and coherent chemistry. More importantly, at such low temperatures, the intermolecular forces overshadow kinetic energy and strong molecular interactions can be observed. These phenomena enhance knowledge of quantum mechanics and in many cases many-body physics as well.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">MIT’s cold samples also simplify manipulation. When particles in a sample have lower kinetic energies they become easier to trap and move around. The magnetic field needed to confine the sample is significantly lower than its microkelvin equivalent. Individual atoms can be easily trapped via lasers. A laser as weak as a standard pointer starts to have enough power to trap and transport atoms. The ease of manipulation makes making optical traps, lattices and atom chips simpler. Less energy can be invested after cooling to achieve better results. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Many-body physicists can use the nanokelvin samples to solve systems with strong interactions and correlations. Normally, a gas has very weak interaction due to individual particles’ high kinetic energies. When super cooled the gas starts to display solid-like interaction and cohesion, but on a much easier to study scale. The ultra low density and ultra low pressure (reviling mediocre vacuum chambers in pressure) make the sample constituents far apart and organized in perfect structures. The dominant intermolecular forces make the system a good modeling tool for more complex many-body systems. The toolbox serves as a long awaited balance between theoretical and real systems.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfmu8GCHurMRCw20wIE9MeSmDu-MGzXKVYm3NeQXqBITFRCch4Fw6PpvbE90RB1yaiGEdupy3vXTTokTAG0FqlI0VZ-P6syyktXBgkTabtkDCn3_r3GDm5rA0Fcu93kkcZeeR/s1600-h/Meissner_effect.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 254px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfmu8GCHurMRCw20wIE9MeSmDu-MGzXKVYm3NeQXqBITFRCch4Fw6PpvbE90RB1yaiGEdupy3vXTTokTAG0FqlI0VZ-P6syyktXBgkTabtkDCn3_r3GDm5rA0Fcu93kkcZeeR/s320/Meissner_effect.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038738220968147970" border="0" /></a><b style="">Superconductors<o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">First, it is vital to understand what makes superconductors important. Currently, semiconductors waste energy during transmission due to internal resistance to electron flow. To avoid this, the resistance on individual electrons inside a conductor has to be eliminated, so that the electrons can travel freely. The creation of effective superconductors has applications ranging from fusion, to medicine, to computer science.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Although, seemingly impossible, superconductivity has already been achieved. The current superconductors are hard to construct and operate at temperatures of 20 Kelvin or less. In 1986, “high temperature” superconductors were found, that operated at around 90 Kelvin. Most semiconductors’ resistance decreases with temperature, but even at 0 Kelvin, standard conductive matters like silver and copper still display a nonzero resistance. Superconductors work because some materials’ resistance abruptly drops to zero at a certain “critical temperature”. The reason that superconductors behave the way they do is explained by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginzburg-Landau_theory">Ginzburg-Landau theory</a> and BCS theory. The first examines the macroscopic properties by mathematics and the second explains the quantum mechanics.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Under the BCS theory electrons pair up in Cooper pairs to facilitate resistance free travel. Normally electrons repel each other due to Coulomb’s law (opposites attract, alike repel). However, under low enough temperatures and proper magnetic conditions a positive charge develops between a pair of electrons, letting them overcome their natural repulsion and pair up. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Before pairing up a single electron is made up of one constituent and thus is a fermion. Fermions differ from Bosons (the ones that make BEC) in the number of constituents, or more fundamentally in their spin. Fermions have half-integer spin and Bosons have integer spin. Due to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauli_exclusion_principle">Pauli Exclusion Principle</a> (which explains why matter occupies space) the fermions are unable to gather at the low state like bosons. This exclusion leads to fermions having high kinetic energy even at 0 Kelvin and not being able to form Bose-Einstein Condensates. However, when two half-integers are added, an integer value is achieved and the possibilities expand.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">A Cooper pair is considered a boson. The whole pair when created has an integer spin, allowing several pairs to accumulate on the lowest energy level. By accumulating several pairs at low energy state, a Bose-Einstein condensate can be formed. The only big difference between a standard boson and a Cooper pair remains in the spacing of the constituents. In a normal boson they are close together, but in a Cooper-pair they are farther apart and the orbit might even cross over other Cooper pairs. This “far apart” state of Cooper pairs as bosons is known as the BCS state.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Sadly, BCS’s unlike BECs do not display superfluid properties. Superfluids differ from normal liquids in that they experience no friction. Since a superfluid is a matter-wave (much like a BEC) it also displays various other strange properties. When rotated, a superfluid can only take on integer values for speed. This leads to a mosaic pattern of rotating mini-tornados created in the rotating sample (as opposed to the single tornado effect of a normal liquid). More importantly if superfluidity could be achieved for electrons then new superconductors will be possible.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Achieving superfluidity for electrons is precisely what Ketterle’s team at MIT is doing. Currently they can not work with electron samples, so they pair up Lithium ions (which are fermions) into boson pairs. Then, through various manipulations and cooling they achieve a transition, or hybrid state between a BEC and a BCS. In this state the sample displays superfluidity. The temperatures are still in the nanokelvin range, but temperatures can not be compared directly between different materials. Values have to be scaled by density to get the proper results. When the Lithium sample is scaled for density it turns out that it is actually 200 times warmer than a helium superfluid and 20 times warmer than the hottest superconductor. That means once such a technology can be applied to electrons and scaled for density, superconductors will be possible significantly above room temperature.</p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Conclusion</b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Should we expect Cooper pair super conductors to be part of our gadgets in ten years? I doubt it. However, the field is moving quickly and in the coming years’ electron BEC/BCS hybrid forms should appear and physics should begin with them. Also, the atomic physics toolbox should help physicists and engineers develop better materials for everything from clothes to space shuttles. There should defiantly be a lot of cool (and maybe even room-temperature) science over the coming decade.</p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-25499699162870718682007-03-04T01:40:00.000-06:002008-12-09T04:39:34.124-06:00Bose-Einstein Condensate<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0mL_QKKvW0_SISaeHGC3fB4LgzM_lniwz1JgEpF05gA0qSZJRo8EOVf9QhGHrKXZaoR_1KZezwo0Yze_JQ8xovQ6w-PuYJ6owMXf5s9SxjiNniEolmhgDZkBmNFuRHNsdCqF/s1600-h/ketterle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0mL_QKKvW0_SISaeHGC3fB4LgzM_lniwz1JgEpF05gA0qSZJRo8EOVf9QhGHrKXZaoR_1KZezwo0Yze_JQ8xovQ6w-PuYJ6owMXf5s9SxjiNniEolmhgDZkBmNFuRHNsdCqF/s200/ketterle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037971278383884818" border="0" /></a>On March 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> I attended two lectures by the physics Nobel laurite (2001) Wolfgang Ketterle on Bose-Einstein condensates and his current research. Most of this post comes from the notes I took at his lectures, textbooks, common sense and various online articles.<div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Most people know at least three states of matter: solids, liquids and gasses. From popular science and TV some even know a state of matter like plasma. To make plasma, normally a gas is superheated (among other things). Now, if instead we cooled the gas to extremely cold temperatures, we would get something else. That something else (for bosonic atoms) is known as a Bose-Einstein condensate. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Bose-Einstein Condensates<o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Before the quantum revolution in physics, atoms were thought of as particles and nothing more. Atoms were thought to follow the rules of classical mechanics and the field of physics was regarded as dead. However, scientists like Bohr, Einstein, Heisenberg and Schrödinger brought life back to physics by seeing the holes that classical mechanics left on the atomic level, and proposing the theory of quantum mechanics. Among the countless new principles that came from quantum mechanics, came the realization that atoms (and all other matter, for that matter) display wave like properties. Normally wave like properties are not observed in atoms, unless they are standing still, or close to it. To achieve that, the free energy of atoms has to be eliminated by cooling.</p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh07v1_BLT5B5ax8mEeI9v7CWblm8qDGnlq0iUbyVbiux4BgaJ05OFnTC7fFEAH2pwITQqdNPfWvd8ymi_tb4UDrxMNDWt2RPpHGHQfVbPakGMMLjXPol3gfFuhteM_3fydGLWo/s1600-h/BECdiag.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 580px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh07v1_BLT5B5ax8mEeI9v7CWblm8qDGnlq0iUbyVbiux4BgaJ05OFnTC7fFEAH2pwITQqdNPfWvd8ymi_tb4UDrxMNDWt2RPpHGHQfVbPakGMMLjXPol3gfFuhteM_3fydGLWo/s400/BECdiag.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037972030003161666" border="0" /></a></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Cooling is precisely what Wolfgang Ketterle at MIT and his colleagues from other universities accomplished in 1995 when they formed the first BEC. Sodium gas was cooled until it reached the nanokelvin range and at that temperature the waves of individual sodium atoms overlapped so much that they formed one large matter-wave known as a Bose-Einstein Condensate. The men responsible for displaying the condensate Einstein and Bose predicted in 1924/25 received their Nobel Prizes in 2001 and currently continue their work on BECs, superfluids and fermonic condensates.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">To easily picture a BEC it is best to think about lasers and light bulbs. A light bulb emits various wavelengths in various directions. A laser does its best to emit one continuous wave. Standard gasses are like a light bulb, they are randomly bouncing around in random directions. A BEC is like a laser, it is one continuous matter wave.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Temperature, Cooling and Measurement<o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">We all have a basic understand of temperature from experiencing it first hand. Winter is cold, summer is hot. But what does temperature really mean? Under physical rules temperature is just another measure of energy; a measure of free energy in a system to be more precise. In a gaseous system, almost all of the free energy is expressed as kinetic energy, so when a gas is cooled it looses kinetic energy. At room temperature air molecules move at around 300m/s. At the temperatures achieved in the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">MIT-Harvard</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Center</st1:placetype></st1:place> for Ultracold Atoms these same molecules would move at around 0.001m/s. In other words: it is so cold you might not even make it to the mall.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The record temperature achieved by MIT is 450 picokelvin (4.5*10^-10 Kelvin). Comparatively the temperature of outer space is around 3 Kelvin and room temperature is around 300 Kelvin (273.15 Kelvin = 0 Celsius).<span style=""> </span>Basically, the temperature inside the experimental chamber is about a trillion times colder than your room.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Cooling atoms to such a low temperature poses many technical challenges. Ketterle’s team overcomes these challenges by laser and evaporative cooling the system. The sample is held inside an evacuated vacuum chamber by a magnetic field while lasers, microwaves and other magnetic fields are used to cool the system.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnuaInoiibZ7fjTK38I78jy5HYm9Is4aDUHqtHO8zbnvU5L_TZogLtjZYMCsf3qVemcoEt7GqL6lemoAD9WXRkildrIG0B7_iGaWa6MsE8Gs-N3PqGJAfkoLqMJibMypjpMiO/s1600-h/er_atom_beam.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnuaInoiibZ7fjTK38I78jy5HYm9Is4aDUHqtHO8zbnvU5L_TZogLtjZYMCsf3qVemcoEt7GqL6lemoAD9WXRkildrIG0B7_iGaWa6MsE8Gs-N3PqGJAfkoLqMJibMypjpMiO/s320/er_atom_beam.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037973292723546738" border="0" /></a>Laser cooling is the first step. Intuitively we perceive that shinning a light on something makes it hotter. That phenomenon is based on absorption of light. In laser cooling the light is bounced off the atoms in such a way that it has more energy leaving than it did entering. That seems impossible at first, but due to the Doppler Effect (also known as blue-shift) it is possible. The light is tuned to a frequency slightly below one that the atoms can absorb, and thus atoms can only absorb light when they are flying towards the light (when the light is blue-shifted to the right frequency by their movement). The atoms release the photon right after at the proper frequency, and thus energy is lost. The process looks very exciting. Sadly laser cooling can not take the atoms to the nanokelvin temperatures, so evaporative cooling has to be used.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">For evaporative cooling, Ketterle states a very good metaphor: a coffee cup. Everyone knows what happens to a cup of coffee if it is left out on the table for a long time: it cools down. One of the reasons the coffee cools down, is because all the atoms are bouncing around inside of it, and atoms with high-kinetic energy are more likely to get enough energy to fly out of the cup. Thus, over time more and more atoms with higher than average kinetic energy are lost and the system cools.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">If you are in a hurry, and you need to cool the coffee, then you blow on it. Blowing agitates the system more and helps speed the process of high-energy particles escaping. Evaporative cooling at MIT follows a similar principle. The sample is put in a “cup” and then the machine “blows” on it.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The atoms are suspended in a bowl shaped magnetic trap. The particles of various energies bounce around, and higher energy particles are more likely to reach the corners of the trap. At the corners, other magnetic fields or microwaves move the escaping particles away from the main system and thus the sample is quickly cooled to nanokelvin temperatures.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Once everything is cooled down, the scientists need to actually have a way to measure the temperature. Since it is impossible to just stick a thermometer into the system, another way needs to be used. Ketterle’s team simply uses gases’ property of expansion to measure an exact kinetic energy of the particles and thus the exact temperature. The magnetic field is turned off, and the sample starts to drop towards the ground and expand in all directions. The team takes a shadow picture of the sample as it drops and then records the temperature based on expansion of the system. This method is extremely precise and accurate, but sadly the sample is destroyed,</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNp3GbE3Wz2GbKnVZlv16A_Urj4-N2HvcWb_60LAa_CVe7adMPWqLqxoRUd6yCnoxGcTQVyF4DP1sOQlTr7Lz_pu4Bk8_NPekJLmMFps4_vp_wYojG3AT8sSqS2D5kp16U-5V/s1600-h/fig2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNp3GbE3Wz2GbKnVZlv16A_Urj4-N2HvcWb_60LAa_CVe7adMPWqLqxoRUd6yCnoxGcTQVyF4DP1sOQlTr7Lz_pu4Bk8_NPekJLmMFps4_vp_wYojG3AT8sSqS2D5kp16U-5V/s320/fig2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037972979190934114" border="0" /></a><b style="">How to Know a BEC When You See On</b><b style="">e<o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The way a BEC is detected by the researchers is based on the density of the sample when it is dropped, and how it disassociates. When a standard gas sample is dropped it expands more or less evenly and has a density distribution that looks like a three dimensional bell curve. When the gas has transformed into a BEC it assumes the shape of the container (even though it does not expand to fill the whole container) and it is much denser. The whole process is recorded and analyzed with black and white shadow photography. If a BEC is present, then a sharp peek in density is observed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzbOtusS3hbF-Sy2owPTXhZNqlt1ViM26aJ2Wum_vaTixkL8MvN7Au1m2WNpnOT2OwvQdfggGuPw7s3C6gAYg9Gu7ph6JmkOTCYZlKRb803m6iGRJATf3zSzpk0J76KEmu6J_/s1600-h/BECCCD.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 630px; height: 121px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzbOtusS3hbF-Sy2owPTXhZNqlt1ViM26aJ2Wum_vaTixkL8MvN7Au1m2WNpnOT2OwvQdfggGuPw7s3C6gAYg9Gu7ph6JmkOTCYZlKRb803m6iGRJATf3zSzpk0J76KEmu6J_/s400/BECCCD.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037972523924400722" border="0" /></a></p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-7707547801448280552007-03-03T00:49:00.000-06:002008-12-09T04:39:34.538-06:00Snow Kiting Greenland<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="">What is snow kiting?<o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">For any dedicated blog followers, you might have seen the pictures of a really big kite strapped to me in the right hang sidebar. Well, add skis or a snowboard to the equation and you get snow kiting. The sport involves taking a very large kite (mine was 17m^2) and then using it to propel you, or send you flying. Some of the jumps possible are very extreme.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><embed style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-1186767344808143585&hl=en" flashvars=""></embed> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7xmlGnASLpXT5P1ISR3mD__PUoGSSy5OSNxilEUVGIZhIdN1muX5kNojx9LihONOwb_uhIaUUVpejtvI7GrY2mrL5UwGErHZetA3e0l_jGdrRZ4rt-LiWJVyK9sI8pbNjt2a/s1600-h/gronlandskart_stor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7xmlGnASLpXT5P1ISR3mD__PUoGSSy5OSNxilEUVGIZhIdN1muX5kNojx9LihONOwb_uhIaUUVpejtvI7GrY2mrL5UwGErHZetA3e0l_jGdrRZ4rt-LiWJVyK9sI8pbNjt2a/s320/gronlandskart_stor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037589692014471666" border="0" /></a><st1:place st="on"><b style="">Greenland</b></st1:place><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Strapping yourself to an airborne sail can be used as a very effective mode of transportation. With no gas and no motor, you can move at speeds of around 60km per hour on flat land if the wind is right. All you really need is flat land, snow and wind. Where can you find all this? In <st1:place st="on">Greenland</st1:place>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">That is what one team of adventurers did. They strapped themselves to kites and set out to cross <st1:place st="on">Greenland</st1:place> from the North to the South in less than 40 days. They ended up setting the speed record for crossing snow… twice (once early in the expedition and then a huge record in the end). The whole trip took an astonishing 21 days for 2300km. The new 24hour record the team set was 442.7km in one day, demolishing the old record of 271.<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/vhyr4Io16Hc" height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vhyr4Io16Hc"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnXF3pwUKAzoEjFB1EUCH6REyRwnjN2qTw1PVzOS_JZY7AKUFvL11Vt378GLMas3o7kcUWsnEOnexbNrol4IuSIdxSK1ap-Nw-xl-hzkvL7nrTw7rqwRZxN8oXzONaITQ6Mk4/s1600-h/buggy_action1_cb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnXF3pwUKAzoEjFB1EUCH6REyRwnjN2qTw1PVzOS_JZY7AKUFvL11Vt378GLMas3o7kcUWsnEOnexbNrol4IuSIdxSK1ap-Nw-xl-hzkvL7nrTw7rqwRZxN8oXzONaITQ6Mk4/s200/buggy_action1_cb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037590057086691842" border="0" /></a>I would love to do something like this myself, with a team of friends. To one up this first team of course, I propose using sleds instead of skis. The team reported large strains on their knees and had to drag their supplies behind them in winter sleds anyways. I propose crossing the kite buggy with a sled to make the kite sled and using that to beat their time. With bigger kites, it would also be possible to drag two people per sled at considerable speed and have them alternate sleeping and driving, thus minimizing stop time.<span style=""> </span>I doubt I will ever be able to do such a trip myself, but I will defiantly take the opportunity if it is presented.</p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-81899496242028862462007-02-28T23:58:00.000-06:002008-12-09T04:39:34.763-06:00Beauty Function<div style="text-align: justify;">Three computer scientists from <a href="http://www.tau.ac.il/">Tel Aviv University</a> have developed a new tool for retouching images. If red-eye reduction was impressive, then this is stunning. The software, appropriately dubbed “Beauty Function”, takes an image of your face, calculates your current facial proportions and proposes a more optimal configuration, displaying the associated image. In effect, it makes you look more beautiful (about 79% of the time, according to the developers’ data). The developers provide some <a href="http://www.cs.tau.ac.il/%7Etommer/beautification/">sample pictures</a> that have been transformed. The pictures are probably the best results of the program, and some are not overly impressive, however it is a very good work for an automatic algorithm.</div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkh-389H2dl5ADL81VjvbpkkIop70C_BrRJUX9KxHjSfvQrpYtelPBnzttZtbB3u9mdgighEX3LAD76PQNoyvjPmPzvPIy0BX0SWPf2Zoa-PTdSmppCygJ2J7qNF8oqgVoY5yf/s1600-h/096%5B047%5D02-o.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkh-389H2dl5ADL81VjvbpkkIop70C_BrRJUX9KxHjSfvQrpYtelPBnzttZtbB3u9mdgighEX3LAD76PQNoyvjPmPzvPIy0BX0SWPf2Zoa-PTdSmppCygJ2J7qNF8oqgVoY5yf/s200/096%5B047%5D02-o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5036845437393371954" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOFOpnjQQ0gjiJMBDk_AbC46-uTV6GpZr8gwILF3ddq6EfCJmUj6LJexd2LdaK_PCb-BO4jwjjEyw2gcuWRe2lEJowZYOyqF1WCHn7-iHy7v6RaxFHMXFRvCp_AczCZxFTaCgT/s1600-h/096%5B047%5D02-i.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOFOpnjQQ0gjiJMBDk_AbC46-uTV6GpZr8gwILF3ddq6EfCJmUj6LJexd2LdaK_PCb-BO4jwjjEyw2gcuWRe2lEJowZYOyqF1WCHn7-iHy7v6RaxFHMXFRvCp_AczCZxFTaCgT/s200/096%5B047%5D02-i.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5036844496795534114" border="0" /></a>The definition of beauty and ratios associated with it were experimentally derived. The scientists surveyed 300 men and women, asking them to rank pictures’ on an attractiveness scale of 1-7. The scores were tabulated and linked to the ratios of various facial features (such as eye size, facial shape, etc). Around 250 measurement points were considered when developing the algorithm. In the end the scientists came up with a mathematical function to transform an input ratio measurement into a more optimal configuration. The result is an image with a more beautiful face than the original that carries the specific features of, and can be identified as, the original person.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The developers see the biggest application in commercial products such as Photoshop and digital camera software. They hope that this facial modification catches on like red-eye reduction and becomes a common function used by both amateur and professional photographers.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Is digital face modification justified?<o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The developers try to justify the use of facial modification by saying “if magazines do it, why can’t we?” On the one hand, that is an acceptable argument. On the other hand, we are taking a bad principal and expanding it to everyone. Its nice to see a slightly prettier Jennifer Lopez or Christina Aguilera on a magazine cover, but how far will it go? At first we modify images, then learn how to alter video, soon we will be demanding virtual reality goggles that make everyone look prettier. A grand concept, but I think we should leave that to bear.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="">More useful applications<o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">In my opinion a more useful application for this sort of technology is facial recognition and indexing for image search. This technology <a href="http://www.face-rec.org/">already exists</a> in some forms. I also think using the technology in plastic surgeons offices (as the designers’ suggest) is appropriate too. I doubt the tech (in this form) will catch on widely in mainstream digital camera. It will most likely end up as one of the countless features in Photoshop and hopefully <a href="http://www.gimp.org/">GIMP</a> will quickly follow with an open-source version.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="">The eye of the beholder<o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">One of the developers, Cohen-Or, states: “Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is merely a function of mathematical distances and ratios”. Is this really true? I agree until a certain point. Just like the preferred 7:10 ratio that men seek in women, I believe there are certain ratios and lengths in the face that a human looks for. These ratios are present to reflect a healthy individual and for a person to better pick an optimal mate. In the optimal selection though, I think a lot depends on the beholder. I don’t mean in the cheese classical sense. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">I believe there is a more scientific reason behind “they eye of the beholder.” For the sense of smell, some experiments have shown that humans have a preference for certain pheromone that best match an optimal genetic match. For kissing, some studies have show similar results, implying that a kiss “tastes” better from a more compatible genetic match. I think the same applies to faces. Your phenotype is defiantly expressed in your face (that’s why you look like your parents), so why wouldn’t you subconsciously evaluate a person phenotype or genotype when looking at them? This means there are formulas, but the formulas vary between different genotypes. Thus a perfect “Beauty Function” can not be created.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The overlap that many people share when searching for a healthy and compatible face can be modeled. This model can take us closer to beauty but such a process can never hope to reach true beauty. Once you get beyond a certain basic template the individual compatibility factors take over and the highest end of beauty is in the eye of the beholder.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Conclusion</b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">In the end I think this technology will mostly end up being used by dating and porn sites. Both need to quickly and cheaply modify mediocre picture. Hopefully the system will expand to more useful applications, such as good search.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Currently, the developers have not offered a version to play around. They promised a web-app version of the program since August 16<sup>th</sup>, but as off yet it has not been delivered. The only things we have access to is the <a href="http://www.cs.tau.ac.il/%7Etommer/beautification/">sample pictures</a> and <a href="http://www.cs.tau.ac.il/%7Etommer/extra/beautification/dfb-demo-divx.avi">demo video</a>. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">On a personal note: Wow, I was interrupted by two fire alarms while typing this post. As far as I understand the cause was a fault in the system. Usually my residence gets hit by a block of 2 or 3 fire alarms in a night. There was a real (minor) fire earlier today on the 4<sup>th</sup> floor (when I was in class), so hopefully this past fire alarm was the last of the night.</span></p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-81696071311878554542007-02-28T18:26:00.000-06:002007-03-03T22:00:48.514-06:00Yale<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Four days ago, I visited a friend of mine at Yale and got a chance to look around <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">New Haven</st1:place></st1:city> and campus. The University has a campus bigger than <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">McGill</span>’s; filled with beautiful, clean buildings and a rich history. At first it seems like an older, slightly cleaner version of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">McGill</span>; then you learn that the University has an average class size that can be counted on one hand. If you look at the numbers, they are truly shocking.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGill_University"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">McGill</span>:</a><o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Faculty: <span style=""> </span>1,485</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Students: <span style=""> </span>30,934</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Campus: <span style=""> </span>80 acres (downtown)</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Endowment:<span style=""> </span>$760,000,000</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale">Yale:</a><o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Faculty: <span style=""> </span>2,300</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Students: <span style=""> </span>11,390</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Campus: <span style=""> </span>260 acres (downtown)</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Endowment:<span style=""> </span>$20,000,000,000</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">In other words, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">McGill</span> has 4 times more students per faculty member (21 compared to 5), ~31% of Yale’s land, and 3.8% of Yale’s endowment. <span style=""> </span>I knew there was a big difference between public and private school, but I did not know it was so drastic. <span style=""> </span>One of the best public universities receives 26 times less money than one of the best private universities. The only thing <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">McGill</span> can boast is beating out Yale this year for <a href="http://www.sloan.org/programs/fellowshiplist.shtml">Sloan Fellowships</a> by 4 to 3.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">I enjoyed my trip to Yale. I came on a Saturday, so I did not socialize with many Yale students, but it was still nice to see my friend and find out how Yale was treating her. I don’t think I could ever fit in at a place like Yale. The vast amount of extra curricular activities the students are involved in overshadows their school work. I don’t think I would ever find activities other than attending school that I would be willing to dedicate so much time to. (I am also too lazy to be that dedicated and motivated). </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Next on my list of school to visit is Harvard and MIT. I don’t have any friends attending those schools, but I think I still want to check them out (especially MIT).</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:78%;">In other news: I plan to finally update the structure of my blog a little, to reflect changing times.</span></div>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-1168473974410686022007-01-10T18:03:00.000-06:002008-12-09T04:39:34.953-06:00iPhoneA couple of years ago I was talking to Kumaran about what I thought the ultimate portable media player would be. I described an iPod with a full body touch screen that could be used to play music and watch videos. Apple has finally realized that vision (which I think many shared with me). <p class="MsoNormal">A little while ago Apple announced its iPhone. Not only does the gadget boast a full media player but also incorporates the function of a cell phone and PDA. The phone is expected to see US markets in June under Cingular and will be unveiled in <st1:place st="on">Europe</st1:place> by the end of the year.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilspduqRz0FOCABXmoOyd8eutbX4fpVoXuj73DHHYAwYMHflyXoDxNrGmB2CoF3TFCVa_WY4vYoc7JCwhbTFRnUYKoFKhXgCc9uIPOR9G8GmE28uDGZi9EOPOis59VTJdwfMHd/s1600-h/iPhone.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilspduqRz0FOCABXmoOyd8eutbX4fpVoXuj73DHHYAwYMHflyXoDxNrGmB2CoF3TFCVa_WY4vYoc7JCwhbTFRnUYKoFKhXgCc9uIPOR9G8GmE28uDGZi9EOPOis59VTJdwfMHd/s400/iPhone.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053119869156714354" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I am expecting the first model to have plenty of bugs. I suspect scratching and dirt to accumulate on the touch screen. Also, I bet the web/email features to be worse than PDAs. It will also fail as a cell phone, because I doubt the battery life will be any descent.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">However, the important thing is Apple is getting into the cell phone market under its own name now, This means two things for us consumers. First we might see competitors try to bring more useful user-friendly handsets in hopes of beating Apple at their game. Second (after they realize option A is futile) I expect more and more companies to start creating lots of feature-free ultra-low-costs handsets (which means an expanded market as more and more 3<sup>rd</sup> world countries become able to afford cell phones). </p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-1158003381584674422006-09-11T13:35:00.000-06:002007-02-28T19:58:58.933-06:00Components of University<p class="MsoNormal">I have now settled down in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Montreal</st1:place></st1:city>, four Metro stops from downtown campus, in a place called Solin hall. Classes have started, and everything is going relatively smoothly so far. Attending McGill and talking to my various contacts in other Universities, as well as my new friends, has raised many questions as to the purpose of University and what makes University good or bad. After thinking for at least four minutes I have concluded that I have a basic answer to the components of University and their impact on the individual, also, I concluded in my usual “someone actually reads this blog” fashion to write it down.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Education</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Education is the most obvious part of University, and probably the most important. Education is partially what you are taught, but more importantly; what you learn. In University, you learn everything from higher math, to philosophy, to how to cook and how to accept people radically different from you. The education does not differ between Universities of similar caliber. You can learn the same thing at UofS as you can at McMaster, McGill or something as impressive as Harvard or Stanford. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">In my opinion, it is very important to move out during University to teach yourself life: it is hard to learn life skills living with your parents as an adult. It is important to get a job and start making money for yourself, as long as it does not hurt your dedication to school work. Last, it is very important to take as many courses as you can comfortably manage, to make the most out of your time at University.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Socialization<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The people you know in university are your future trade contacts, business partners, husbands/wives and life long friends. Many of the most secure bonds of friendship are formed during your university career. This is when various schools start to distinguish themselves. The more famous, more expensive and harder to get into universities, attract a better connected, more determined, and usually more successful caliber of people. Being connected, determined and successful does not make them better friends or lovers, but it sure does make them better contacts and partners.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Of course, it is not all dependants on the university. Factors like city, your own choice of friends, previous contacts and social behavior affect who you meet at your school.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Reputation<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This is the only factor that almost completely depends on the University you attend. Reputation is the ring that your University makes in potential employers or coworker’s ears. I have no clue how to evaluate a Universities reputation other than my own biased opinion or the generalized opinion of Macleans:</p> <p class="MsoNormal">1<sup>st</sup> – <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Waterloo</st1:place></st1:city></p> <p class="MsoNormal">2<sup>nd</sup> – <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Toronto</st1:place></st1:city></p> <p class="MsoNormal">3<sup>rd</sup> – McGill</p> <p class="MsoNormal">4<sup>th</sup> – UBC</p> <p class="MsoNormal">6<sup>th</sup> – McMaster</p> <p class="MsoNormal">7<sup>th</sup> – <st1:place st="on">Queens</st1:place></p> <p class="MsoNormal">13<sup>th</sup> – <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Saskatchewan</st1:place></st1:state></p> <p class="MsoNormal">19<sup>th</sup> – Ryerson</p> <p class="MsoNormal">23<sup>rd</sup> – <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Mount</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Allison</st1:placename></st1:place></p> <p class="MsoNormal">47<sup>th</sup> – Nipissing</p> <p class="MsoNormal">(<a href="http://www.macleans.ca/universities/tool.jsp?pageID=rankings&type=reputation&listType=reputation&year=2005&sortBy=RepSurvey&sortOrder=&page=1&resultsToPage=&customView=&customCols=&print=">source</a>)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the end, I think it is most important to go to a University where you can be in a constructive and productive atmosphere with lots of great people. If you want to learn life skills then move away from home and if you want to nurture your relationships with high school friends then stay in your hometown. If you want to learn how to work get a job and if you want to dedicate everything you have to school, then do so.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I decided to move away, and take as many courses as I can at McGill. I hope to move once more after I get my undergrad degree, just because I am used to moving. As for jobs, I have not decided yet, I am going to drop off a resume (when I get around to making it) with my landlord because it is very convenient to work for him on that boring stretch on Saturday and Sunday from noon to three instead of wasting my time with rants, expositions, MSN and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">facebook</a>.<br /></p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-1151292956987123522006-06-25T21:35:00.000-06:002007-02-28T19:59:53.903-06:00Goodbye High School<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Today I finished dismantling my life, and fitting it into little packages, ready to be shipped away. One bolt, one board, one relationship at a time I have turned everything I know into something that could be taken with me. Everyone I know has found a place in my heart (surprising, yes) and memories of them will live on inside of me for as long as I have the ability to reminisce. Some have taken a bigger spot, some have taken a smaller one, but there is room for everyone.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">I still remember my first day of high school: grade 9, semester 2. Question: “Artem Kaznatcheev?” answer: “Here” followed by a wave of heads turning to see me. Yes, I was really a person, not just a cleric error that put a random name on five attendance sheets in semester one. I was a real person, and I was back from <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Back then I still had short hair and the naïve optimism of a self-centered Russian. After: I grew my hair, met some friends, fell in love, broke my heart and was at the end of my wits by grade eleven. The band I tried to form never got anywhere, since Lynden left <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Saskatoon</st1:place></st1:city>, which is okay, since that leaves one less person I have to say goodbye to right now. </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Sadly, I must say goodbye, as much as I hate to do it. There is no avoiding it; there is no procrastinating until it seizes to exist. I am an adult now, and I have to say goodbye. Some people will be closer than others in University (I’m looking at you Yunjun), some will be farther away. Still, I will remember everybody.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">I have traveled all my life, leaving many behind, I have grown accustomed to inconsistence… change. Today is the first time that saying goodbye actually hurt. However, I am all packed and ready to go. I guess I will include two poems, because I feel like it, and I once thought they were good. (Posted in order of being written)</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">- - - - -</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span lang="EN-CA">Grade 12</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><b style=""><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">No matter how agog you objurgate</span></p><div> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">You’ll not silence the cheerful knell of times</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">But with mal spirit you can desecrate</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">The youth within as your adulthood chimes</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Yet, you can’t abscond your obligation</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">To go from child to man and back again</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">For you’ll always need shards of your creation</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">As the effulgence of life begins to drain</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">And no matter how stoic your aberration</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">You will not find true meaning in your age</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">As your mind fumbles graduation</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">You’ll see both pain and joy in every page</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">The years engraved like marble silhouette</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">The question lingers: “Am I grown up, yet?”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span lang="EN-CA">Re-Thought</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><b style=""><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">My thoughts are wandering. Like beggar’s feet</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">they take me to the slums. Like beggar’s hands,</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">past memories reproach until they meet,</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">rub close for warmth and reprimands.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Repent, regret, rebuff. My retrospect,</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">like beggar’s mind, it elevates me past</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">my proper place. But I cannot reject,</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">upon review, the thoughts my mind amassed.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">My wits still follow me. Like beggar’s eye</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">they judge and plea. With time, like beggar’s word</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">they beckon me, to listen to them cry</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">about how past events will be recurred.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">But just like beggars on the edge of light</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">my thoughts can be hidden out of sight</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span lang="EN-CA">Congratulations, it’s a beautiful tomorrow</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><b style=""><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">When I set foot inside these halls, gained entry</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">with my books, my hopes; protruding from in-</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">side the bag I bore since Elementary;</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Back then I did not think that deep within</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">I brought my fears and not just all my grins.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">A fear of life, a fear of death, some fears</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">of fear itself and of the deadly sins</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">that could devour me throughout four years</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Now that I graduate, I know more ways</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">with which to paint the things I feared at dawn.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">And still I bear that same old sack. A daze,</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">it’s empty: the books are gone, hopes moved on.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">But all my fears were purged as well and in-</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">stead of them I’ll birth tomorrow without sin.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">- - - - -</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA">Goodbye to anyone I did not have a chance to say goodbye in person. Have a great summer everybody!</span></div><p class="MsoNormal"> </p>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-1138165491190759142006-01-24T23:04:00.000-06:002007-02-28T20:00:59.360-06:00Conservative Canada<div style="text-align: justify;">Since the start of the Canadian election I have tried to avoid talking about politics. I wanted to sit back and watch the can of worms from a distance. Now the lid is gone and the little worms are crawling out and voicing the ideas of a conservative minority government. That is right, if you have lived in a cave for a while, Canada is now lead by the Conservative party. For those not familiar with Canadian politics, the Conservatives are Canada’s least left wing party. That, of course, is not saying much. If you want a comparison, the Canadian Conservatives are well left of the American Democrats.<br />I do not mind the Conservatives, but their leader, Steven Harper, is a pain. I am also disappointed in Paul Martin’s resignation from leadership of the Liberal party. I will comment more on all my views at a later time.</div>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-1137462158537017332006-01-16T19:42:00.000-06:002007-02-28T20:01:20.036-06:00Book Review: Memoirs of a Geisha<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.blackfilm.com/i3/movies/m/memoirsofageisha/poster2_l.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.blackfilm.com/i3/movies/m/memoirsofageisha/poster2_l.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>For those of you who know me well, know that I am not nearly as big on compliments as I am on insults. However, Arthur Golden’s book deserves to be presented with its praise first. “Memoirs of a Geisha” was a wonderful story of the life of a Japanese Geisha from the depression until post-World War Two. The book went into a lot of detail of a Geisha’s day to day life and the emotions the narrator, Sayuri, felt. I enjoyed her character development and the ways everything could twist around in the book but she still kept her eyes on the one thing that gave her hope. The crippled patron, Nobu, was another well depicted multi-dimensional character. Sayuri and Nobu seemed to me to be well planned and organized characters that touched on most aspects of human emotion. I was disappointed by three things in the book.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">My first disappointed was that the book was nothing more than a love story. My second disappointment was how badly written some of the other characters where in comparison to Sayuri and Nobu. Mr. Golden did not seem to spend any time at all on Pumpkin or the Chairman, even though they were very import aspects of the story. My last problem with the novel is the happy ending. In the end everything turned out happy with no proper explanation at all. I was very disappointed by the ending of the book.<br />In the end, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden is worth reading. I wish the ending was better, but the imagery and language in the book makes it worth reading. I do not expect much from the movie based on this book and will not go out of my way to see it.</div>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-1136619127982568812006-01-07T01:32:00.000-06:002007-02-28T20:02:01.545-06:00Google Video Store<div style="text-align: justify;">Yesterday, Larry Page announced that a Google Video Store will be available soon. The announcement came at his key note speech in Las Vegas. The store will provide users with the option to by various shows permanently or rent them for a period of time for prices ranging from $0.99 to $3.95. Google continues its trend of angering all other technology companies by taking a step above Apple’s Video Store and offering REAL shows and more variety. The shows you purchase will be linked to your account and you will be able to watch them from any computer. The store is no big news to most Google Video users; it is just the completion of the “put a price on your video” option.<br />The immobility of the videos prompts me to speculate of a possible wireless device to be manufactured by Google or its partners to move the media to your television. The <a href="http://devilfromrussia.blogspot.com/2006/01/google-pc.html">Google PC</a> announcement never came at Mr. Page’s speech. In question time Larry Page denied that Google is working on a PC and saying they have partners for that. Instead of a Google PC, the Google Video Store and the Google Pack were announced to the public.<br />I am looking forward to the official unveiling of the Google Video Store. I will be sure to buy myself some old “I Love Lucy” episodes for 99 cents each.</div>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17875271.post-1136524270256296212006-01-05T23:11:00.000-06:002007-08-13T18:07:44.751-06:00Canada vs. Russia<div style="text-align: justify;">Today Russia lost 5 – 0 to Canada in the gold medal match at Junior Hockey World Cup. It is time like these that make me struggle with my identity. On the one hand I am a Russian patriot; on the other hand I enjoy Canada. I decided that I would be sad at the Russian defeat for two key reasons. The main reason is that I am Russian and I need to hold onto my Russian pride. The second reason is that most people will be happy that Canada won, and I want to be a thorn in their side.<br />Picking between Russia and Canada is one of the hardest choices for me when it comes to allegiance. I mean picking between something like Russia and Ukraine, or Canada and U.S.A is a no brainer. In the resent Gasprom affair between Russia, Ukraine and Europe, I was quick to side with my motherland. I found myself ridiculing a Ukrainian on the radio who spoke for the Ukrainian side of the issue, because his points were absurd. I was also deeply disappointed when the EU did not give Russia or Gasprom any support against the thieving Ukrainian government. Ukraine spoke like we were raising prices unjustly, while we were just trying to bring them to the market standard instead of selling gas for ¼ of its price to those orange revolutionaries.<br />In the end, hockey is not a big part of my life. From a purely sport view, I have no allegiance to either team. The only thing binding me to the Russian team is national pride. What really matters is that the Finns beat the Americans and kicked them off the podium.</div>Artem Kaznatcheevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862186635014217785noreply@blogger.com4