Monthly Archives: April 2009

heeding the Marian Call

So yeah. You like good music, right? And you likes you some sci-fi*, right? If so, I need you to do three things:

  1. Watch this. Mostly listen, really, because you’ve seen the visuals before**:
  2. Listen to lots more Marian Call music, and contemplate picking some up on iTunes or your favorite music-purchasing outlet.
  3. Wonder where Marian Call has been all your life, and realize she’ll be at Lestat’s next Wednesday night. If that’s too far away for you, there’s always following her on Twitter and asking her to tour a bit closer. (Not the same, I know.)

So there you go. I don’t ask much, do I?

* but not SyFy, because WTF, right?
** and if you haven’t, we need to talk.

Why is this site naked?

UPDATE: CSS Naked Day is over, so the site is back to its stylish self. If you missed it, the home page looked something like this:

Global Spin naked

Are things lookin’ a little 1994 in here? That’s because it’s CSS Naked Day 2009, a day when people around the world strip their sites bare so you can see what’s underneath.

The idea behind this event is to promote Web Standards. Plain and simple. This includes proper use of (x)html, semantic markup, a good hierarchy structure, and of course, a good ‘ol play on words. It’s time to show off your <body>.

Since Global Spin looks pretty good even without CSS makeup, I decided to join in the fun. Enjoy the nostaligia; tomorrow we go back to the 21st century.

on PUMA and other silly endeavors

GM-Segway PUMAUpon seeing Project PUMA, the new joint venture from unlikely partners GM and Segway, you might have thought of me. Specifically, you might have wondered, “What would Chris think of this?” And so I’m going to tell you a little story…

[strums guitar]

What? Okay, maybe not.

I thought, “What the hell are they thinking? Is there really a problem this solves, a problem so compelling it required someone to figure out how to balance a two-person vehicle on two wheels in city driving conditions?”

Seriously. Who is their target market? Prospective Smart car buyers who would jump for something that popped more wheelies? All those Segway owners longing for a dorkmobile built for two?

No, I think this is something much simpler: another publicity stunt by GM to try to associate themselves with progressive “green” thinking without the risk of producing a product that might displace the automobile. Can’t you just hear them talking about it in the boardroom? “I mean really, this one practically kills itself!”

gettin’ hitched, Iowa style

Whoa. I hadn’t heard anything about it until this morning, but apparently Iowa has just legalized gay marriage. The way it was put is particularly rational and unexpectedly full of common sense:

“We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective,” the Supreme Court wrote in its decision. “The Legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification.”

…and there you go. Well done, Iowa! The future welcomes you.