« April 2003 | Main | June 2003 » May 28, 2003

Does Jesus walk on water at the Boat Show?

Every industry needs an upgrade now and then, including the Christian Church. Who knew that when the vicar decides that his crosses are looking shabby he could pop down to the CRE, the Christian Resources Exhibition, a sort of trade fair for the god business, and pick up the newest, hottest liturgical technology toys?

My favorite CRE item? An inflatable church.

Christian trade fair
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20030515/od_nm/religion_exhibition_dc

Inflatable church
http://www.inflatablechurch.com/

CRE
http://www.creonline.co.uk/

Posted by Kadrey at 02:40 AM | Comments (0) May 21, 2003

RoboSharecropper

Back in 1729 Jonathan Swift understood that the best political satire is delivered with a straight face. In 2003, Alex Rivera grasps the same principle with his robot grunt-labor company, Remote Labor Systems (RLS). RLS poses the question, "If America succeeds in sealing its borders, who will do the work millions of illegal immigrants do today?" Rivera's answer is telepresent robots, and he delivered his proposition well enough to have his imaginary company featured in the business section of La Opinión, the largest Spanish language paper in the US.

http://www.cybracero.com/

Posted by Kadrey at 07:16 PM | Comments (0) May 14, 2003

Death and The Maiden

I couldn't be more off from the Buffy, The Vampire Slayer core demographic, yet I dearly love the show. Now that Buffy is closing in on its finale, other grown-up Buffy fans are coming out of the closet, including some who take the show very, very seriously. You can find their thoughts on the site "Slayage, The Online Journal of Buffy Studies."

Warning: This is not a fan site. It’s a genuine international academic publication run by people who use words like "Bakhtinian" and "liminal" a lot, and not ironically.

http://slayage.tv/

Posted by Kadrey at 08:03 PM | Comments (0) May 07, 2003

Letters at 3AM

I started reading Michael Ventura's essays and musing on music, politics and culture back when I was a lost wannabe punk living in LA in the early 80s. Back then, his writing wasn't just smart and insightful, but it was able to speak to the warring voices in my head--the speed freak punk, the over-analytical geek, the earnest writer, etc.

These days Ventura writes for the Austin Chronicle. I've grown up a bit and so has he. His writing and concerns are complex as ever and continue to expand with time. Ventura's voice is unique and intelligent, without showing off. In an age when Geraldos pass for journalists and Will Bennett's are our moral spokesmen, it's good to have someone like Ventura scribbling away for the rest of us.

http://www.auschron.com/issues/dispatch/deep_focus/cols_ventura.html

Posted by Kadrey at 02:19 AM | Comments (0)