Notes from the dead

Left-liberal newspaper de Volkskrant reports:

"Two weeks before he died, movie director Theo van Gogh had agreed to produce a twelve part television drama series for the Dutch Muslim Channel (Nederlandse Moslim Omroep or NMO). In order to convince the audience of the NMO of his sincerity, Van Gogh had intended to write a letter in which he would have explained how he opposed fundamentalism, but respected 'Muslims as fellow human beings'."

So of course, he had to die.

12:07

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Autumn

Living near Schiphol Airport, you can tell when summer is leaving. It departs with some measure of style, as the normally small vapor trails of jet engines widen considerably, then vanish.

I love autumn. Nature disappears, but slowly, like the sounds in a composition of Toru Takemitsu. The essence of music, as John Williams once said, is in its dying away. In finality there is beauty.

I told my cat about this, and he purred.

9:38

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Free porn for war pics (2)

Sherrie Gossett has an update on this earlier post regarding a Dutch porn website which grants GI's access in exchange for war pics. Sherrie also writes:

'I'm reminded of a Wired article on the Abu Ghraib photos that quotes a soldier saying: "I cannot help but wonder upon reflection of the circumstances, how much longer we will be able to carry with us our digital cameras, or take photographs and document the experiences we have had."'

This in turn reminded me of this interesting article in the Guardian (no, that is not an oxymoron), which makes the case that Big Brother has arrived, but in a truly unexpected form:

'Thus it is interesting to note the police appeal for photos, video and cameraphone media in the wake of the terrorist outrage. It could be these, rather than CCTV, that contain the key clue to the identity of the bombers: confirmation that Big Brother is "us", not "them".'

Granted, the article is very negative, as seems to be obligatory with any article on privacy issues, but the point is valid. Oakley already produces sunglasses which contain a Bluetooth headset for a cellphone. Pretty soon the phone itself will be integrated, and shortly after that, a camera. This genie isn't just out of the bottle, the little guy is growing very quickly.

9:09

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