If you are an Inquisitor or NewsFire user then you will be pleased to know that the man behind the software, Dave Watanabe, has released updated versions of both applications which fixes some “problems” while running them under Apple OS 10.5 “Leopard.” Do not expect any revolutionary new features in these updated releases, they are mere compatibility fixes.
Dave explained the issues surrounding both applications in two separate blog entries. In the first of the two blog posts Watanabe spoke about Inquisitor and the potential problems that might have been caused by a Leopard install:
The short story is this… Inquisitor works. The shipping Leopard did not completely remove extensions, it simply has imposed stronger security conditions on them. Because of the new conditions, Inquisitor installations carried over from Mac OS X Tiger will not work.
In his second post, Dave talks about a text shadow issue in NewsFire which may be due to some oddities in the architecture of Leopard, as well as a couple other problems. Although the issues are not major, nor will they be overly difficult to fix, Watanabe admits that these problems need reconciliation and will thus continue to be worked:
Another problem is that the new “set access for specific services and applications” firewall settings is creating issues by unexpectedly modifying the binary code of apps (by forcing a code signature on the unsuspecting binary). This has created issues for NewsFire as well as other third-party apps. Thus, during these early days I would advise using this setting with caution.
Much of the same bugs that plague NewsFire are also evident in other Watanabe projects, such as Xtorrent and Acquisition. Both applications will require upgrade treatment once Watanabe releases fixes for the irregularities.
It is worth noting that although there are acknowledged problems with Dave’s applications, these issues will probably not be noticed by the average, every day user. Most people will probably continue to use the software as if nothing is wrong, which I consider a very good thing.
I installed the update for Inquisitor and it appears to be running like a charm. I have yet to reinstall NewsFire after I performed a “clean install” of Leopard so I can not offer any reports on the feed aggregation software, though I expect it to work without issue just as Watanabe claims.
Has anyone noticed any other irregularities with Watanabe’s software under Leopard? Any other software for that matter?
Sloggi, a leading underwear brand that is marketed towards young Japanese twenty-somethings, held a contest appropriately titled, “Show Me Your Sloggi” in which nubile females pranced around stage in Sloggi gear. The contest might as well have been called “Japan’s Best Ass” because some of the rumps on display would have made even Sir-Mix-A-Lot proud.
At the end of the day a fine little 18-year-old girl was surprisingly crowned “Japan’s best bottom” babe even though her ass was scorched in a freak accident days before the contest commenced. I say that she surprisingly won not only because of her burnt ass, but also because her rump, in the grand scheme of rumposity, is not really all that special. There is not much “junk in her trunk” as they say. Maybe just a single pair of underwear!
Nonetheless, she apparently won the hearts, and possibly even some other body parts, of those who voted.
“I always take care of my bottom, but I’m embarrassed to show it today because I burned it by sitting on a hair iron the other day,” Kaho Watanabe, clad in pink baby doll lingerie, said in her short self-promotion spiel.
“I can’t believe I was named ‘Japan’s best bottom’ with my burned bum. I promise I will recover before going to Germany,” Watanabe said as she expressed her hopes for the world Sloggi competition scheduled on Oct. 31 in Munich.
It would have been really nice to know beforehand that this event was taking place because, assuming that time permitted, I would have attended. Why pass up an opportunity to watch chicks parading around stage in underwear? There is always next year methinks!
Enjoy all the pictures from what, on the outside looking in, appears to have been a highly engaging event.
Earlier this evening, after a healthy plate of sushi, I found a Leopard sitting on my Mac. I plan to take the next couple of hours getting ready to install the newly released OS by backing up my existing setup and ensuring that if something is to go wrong then I will have a restore handy. Upon completion of the backup then I am going to dive in head-first and see exactly what the hoopla surrounding Leopard is really, truly about.
Although there really are no truly killer features that I have been awaiting, the mere upgrade itself has intrigued me and piqued my curiosity. If I were to be excited about any of the features then I guess the one that seems the most interesting would be Time Machine. Other than that, although I do not use iChat some of the new features sound like a lot of fun. Oh, and tabs in Terminal will be nifty even though I use iTerm.
So without further ado I bid ye’ farewell until I ride the cat. Here goes nothing!
Even though this video is a parody from the Onion News Network, it is probably NOT safe for viewing at work. While it is NOT pornographic, it is probably not what you would expect to be viewed in most office environments. You have been warned!
The Onion hits the satire pretty hardcore in Use Of ‘N-Word’ May End Porn Star’s Career. The news clip is a fairly convincing parody of many situations that we have seen in the media recently, such as the Don “nappy head” Imus slip of the tongue, Michael Richards’ incredibly self-destructive rant on stage during a comedy routine and countless other incidents involving similar racial slurs.
The manner in which The Onion has chosen to attack this issue is simply hilarious. The true hypocrisy and idiocy of the media making such a huge deal out of these events is depicted perfectly. The Onion is usually known for written satires, but this video shows that their creative staff is on top of their game and more than capable of producing excellent, high quality satirical videos as well.
While I do not condone people speaking racial slurs or anti-semetic rhetoric, I do honestly believe that the way the media chooses to destroy people over such comments is completely uncalled for. There is no reason for the media to play the comments on a repeat-continuous loop for days on end. Doing so does nothing to help reconcile the situation and just pisses people off more than necessary. In the end the media ends up increasing tension and making matters worse.
Anyhow, I thought this video was both well done and damn funny. Hopefully someone other than myself will derive satisfaction out of this comedic parody of similar situations.
I remember when the original “Mad World” by Tears for Fears was released back with their most famous track “Shout.” While I enjoyed the latter, I did not care for “Mad World” because I thought the lyrics did not match the pop-synth, happy-go-lucky sound that Tears for Fears gave the song.
It was not until the movie Donnie Darko was released that I fell in love with “Mad World.” The realization of “Mad World” by Gary Jules, reinventing the sound in to a slower, darker, more depressing version of the tune was perfect. The lyrics and sound were finally married in to a beautiful composition that not only was pleasant on the ears, but portrayed the emotion of the final sequence in the movie. This particular scene was far more powerful than any other in the movie, assisted by Jules’ “Mad World” sound.
Director Richard Kelly made an excellent, everlasting choice when he opted for the re-imagining of “Mad Word” over other tunes. That, in and of itself, is testament to Kelly’s talent, because he has stated that the music played a vitally important role in the movie. Each tedious music selection Kelly made had a number of interpretations, and far more meaning than anyone other than Kelly could truly comprehend.
It seems that this reinterpretation of the original Tears for Fears song had spawned a plethora of remakes. Each and every time I find a new version of “Mad World” I immediately snatch it up and add it to a playlist, no matter how good or bad it may sound. It would seem that I am stalking remakes of this tune.
It is my pleasure to introduce the essential “Mad World” playlist. I compiled this list from music found in the iTunes Music Store. All of the songs I have purchased and downloaded, and listen to on a fairly regular basis, depending on my mood. Hopefully someone other than me can derive some satisfaction from this playlist.
I would imagine that there some some remakes missing from this list. If anyone happens to run across any versions of the song that are not listed above then please let me know. My compilation needs to be as complete as possible, just for the sake of posterity.
As an aside, I have been meaning to write this post for months, and finally took the time to do so. What would you call such a monumental postponement of a simple entry?
Does anyone else find any particular interest in the re-imagined version of song, or even any of the other versions for that matter? Probably not on the level that I enjoy the various “Mad World” interpretations, but anywhere within the vicinity?
Anthony’s first Undokai, aka Sports Day, while attending Junior High School took place on October 3, 2007. Sports Day is a staple of Japanese schools, with the all day event taking place in either May or September for the majority of the schools. In fact, much of Sports Day consists of preparation work throughout the week prior to the actual event.
This year Anthony was involved in every track event that Sports Day offered, which is a departure from the years past. Anthony performing in the track events is probably mostly attributed to his participation on the track and field team. Although he did not run as well as he would have liked to in the 100 meter dash, he did exceptionally well in the relays that he ran.
Sports Day was originally scheduled for September 29 but was postponed due to rain. The make-up day turned out to be Wednesday October 3, which meant that I was unable to attend; that totally sucked. What school makes such a huge deal out of Sports Day, calling it a huge family event, only to turn around and reschedule it during the work week when almost nobody can attend?
Due to the stupid scheduling, Junko had to attend alone. I had the pleasure of working all day and was unable to head to school to watch Anthony race. Since Junko was alone that meant that she became the camera-man, something that I traditionally do at events of this nature. Once Junko was done with the video footage and came home, I grabbed the camera and proceeded to import the clips in to the new iMovie packaged in iLife ‘08. It was quite simple to put this little compilation movie of Anthony’s track events together, and was really a lot of fun!
Hopefully we will get more chances to put video like this together in the future. iMovie makes for a lot of fun and a very easy way of slapping home movies together so they can be shared online at places like YouTube.
