SPORTSHYPE: Kirkpinar

This is not a "gay" thing. Not that there would be anything wrong with that, just... this is not gay. It's just "the mother of all sports." From the dawn of civilization to a grassy field in Turkey some day soon, I give you Kirkpinar:

During the 636th annual Kırkpınar of Edirne, Agha (mc) Hüseyin Sahin agreed with Veyis Güngör (chairman of Türkevi Amsterdam) and Mohamed el-Fers (MokumTV Amsterdam) that they would unite their forces to promote historical oilwrestling in Europe and the world. Three days El-Fers filmed almost every match. On the September 4th 1996 MokumTV started a weekly program on the A1 Amsterdam channel. It proved to be the start of fast growing respect in Europe for this unique and highly esthetic ´mother of all sports´.









Hmmm... OK, maybe it's kinda gay, but y'know, that's not really the point -- I mean the ancient Greeks were kinda gay, let's face it, and they invented a bunch of crap, like, y'know, uhh... democracy, and geometry, and plays, and stuff... so there's nothing wrong with "gay", it's just -- that's not what this is. This is one of the great sporting spectacles in the world. Fit for days of sitting around drinking raki and smoking from a nargile while you root on your favorite (probably that cute boy, with the pecs). Like they say (with near-perfect coherence), at Kirkpinar.com:

"Kirkpinar Oil Wresting", which has been bounded with a tradition of almost 650 years, hosts persevering contests for a week, with the active participation of media, folk-dance groups, millions of spectators, artists and statesmen both from Turkey and all over the world, and with a varying array of activities every year. The enthusiasm, which is brought to life by headwrestling [Headwrestling?!? Ed.] and other forms of wrestling contests, as well as the performances of the "Janissary Band" and local and foreign folk-dance groups throughout the contests, turns "Kirkpinar Oil Wresting" into a traditional festival.

If you think this is "gay", you get out there with these maniacs. You'll get your ass waxed! Uhh... and not in a "gay" way, either!



Er Meydanı Serik Pehlivanlar diyarı II.serik Güreşleri 2


Kirkpinar.com
Wikipedia and the history of Oil-Wrestling

SPORTSHYPE: The Old Ba' Game

If you're a man living in Kirkwall, in the Orkney Islands (in the far north of Scotland, surrounded by ocean, where anything less than a 100-mph wind is considered a light breeze), what do you do on Christmas Day?

You play Ba'. You don't whine about how you might get hurt. You don't worry about the highly likely result of twisted fingers, black eyes, broken noses, and torn clothes - you MAN UP and join your side in the game that's been going on every year for hundreds of years. Either Uppie or Doonie, you'll participate... oh yes, you will.

The Washington Post has a fantastically well-written article on this sporting tradition, along with a whole lot of pictures to go with it. A montage is presented below (click the image to see a bigger version).

Here's a short excerpt from the article:

William Thomson's family had played this sport for centuries, so he understood that he needed to choose between two strategies for the annual Christmas day ba' game.

The scrawny 17-year-old could fight for the ball in the center of the riotous scrum, where more than 300 men would function as a human juicer, turning his face red, then purple. He would be scratched, punched, kneed and bitten. His ribs might break. He could pass out unconscious.

Or, Thomson could follow convention for players his size and stay near the edge of the scrum, pushing the pile. This would work well unless the ball popped out and the mob changed direction. Cars, gravestones, houses, strollers, hotel lobbies -- all had been kicked, shoved or trampled in pursuit of the ball during previous games. Anticipating such a stampede, business and homeowners in town had nailed wooden planks across their doors and windows. "If you're on the edge of the scrum and it turns on you," one veteran player said, "then you might as well be dead."

This, Thomson decided, was his safest option.

...

"You know, da'," [Sean Smith] said, "still not quite sure I'm playing this year."

"Hell you're not!" Kevin said, punching his brother in the shoulder. "What, you scared? Come on!"

"Naw, I'm too small," Sean said. "I could get killed in there."

"Ahh, it's not about size, never has been," [Ian] Smith said. "If I taught you boys one thing about the ba', it's that nothing matters but heart and effort. Don't make a damn difference if you're seven foot tall or four foot. You're a Smith, so you'll play. And you'll play Doonie."

Link to the article: Tradition | Why We Compete | The Old Ba' Game

And here's the complete photo gallery by the Post.

For more on this sporting tradition, check out bagame.com.


2008 Ba', Orkney

SCIENCEHYPE: Spiders on Drugs

You may have heard of these experiments, performed in the 60s, which involved dosing spiders with various drugs and observing the effects on web-building. The results are truly surprising:



Spiders on Drugs

LUXURYHYPE: Blancpain CGI Action Video

If you've ever wondered what makes a real watch tick, then this article is for you. Watches labeled "automatic" are not powered by batteries, but rather by the traditional method of springs, gears, jewels, ratchets, and the like. The easy way to tell if a watch is an automatic model is to look at the second hand - if it ticks from one second to the next, it's a battery-powered quartz model. If it sweeps, it's an automatic. However, beware of the many knock-off and outright counterfeit products out there, which may exhibit different behaviors than expected.

First, check out a video of the movement (interior, or guts, if you will) of one of Blancpain's models. It's very well done, and the music is surprisingly un-annoying.



Blancpain also has a model with the Equation Marchante complication that's worth reading about if you have any kind of appreciation for astronomy. If that doesn't amaze you, have a look at the article on Europastar called "The Frenzy of the Third Dimension".

This is just the tip of the iceberg, and be forewarned: many people have taken a look at this world and fallen completely into it.

FOODHYPE: One Espresso, Please

I don't consume a large amount of coffee, but occasionally I enjoy an espresso after a meal or on its own. For those of you stuck in an office, popping out for a quick one can be a good way to avoid the daily 1430 (2:30pm to those of you still using 12-hour time) food coma.

The "green" movement has led to a lot of good things, but in my opinion one thing that shouldn't be messed with is the proper presentation of food or drink. In most of Europe (and in the olden days here, I assume), the only place one will get served coffee in a recycled paper cup is Starbucks. In San Francisco, which admittedly is one of the epicenters of the green movement, there are coffee shops all over the place. In some cases - like the financial district - one can find 3 or even 4 within a single block. As you can imagine, they're all using paper cups.

Walking into a Tully's the other day, I was struck by how I had to ask specifically for my espresso to be served in a real cup... otherwise, I always got what you see in the following picture:

This is the result of walking up to the register and saying these exact words: "one espresso, please" - one shot of espresso dumped into a paper cup (hey, it's recycled) and slapped on the counter. Sugar, milk, and the obligatory-in-San-Francisco vegan organic rice/soy/almond/whatever milk are to be found on a messy common area, along with some wood sticks for stirring the coffee. Total cost: USD 1.65 (a tip of 0.35 would be customary for a total of $2.00).

The other day I had the opportunity to stop by the Café Gourmet at the Hotel Schweizerhof in Zürich, Switzerland. Now, I realize that the dime-a-dozen coffee shops in San Francisco's financial district shouldn't be held to the same standard as the café of one of the best hotels on the Zürich Bahnhofstrasse in Switzerland, but we are discussing the difference in experience. And, fundamentally, these two places are in the same line of business and provide at least one exactly similar product (espresso).

Here is the result of the exact same request (delivered in German it's "ein espresso, bitte", but the English translation would have the same effect), when put to the staff at the Schweizerhof:

These two experiences are so different it's difficult to write about them in the same paragraph. For CHF 5.20 (no tip is necessary or expected), or about USD 5.00, I get a sterling silver tray with paper doilies, the cup, saucer and cream pitcher in china, a real spoon (also sterling silver), a sweet (coconut macaroons were on offer this day), and a small glass of water. Each table in the café is already set with its own tray containing milk and sugar.

Is it just me, or is it worth trying to do more than the minimum? I don't know, but I'll not be ordering any more espresso at Tully's.

Coming soon, or more realistically, whenever I get around to it: the results of the above test applied to one of the 4-star hotels in San Francisco. In the meantime, check out Coffee Ratings (San Francisco Espresso: A Pocket Guide), a great website containing a database of quantitative evaluations of San Francisco espresso.

TECHHYPE: Rise Robots Rise

They're coming, folks, ready or not. In all shapes and sizes, including ours, the robots are rising to inevitably take over the world. No doubt they will enslave us all. Thanks a lot, Honda, Toyota, Sanrio and the rest of you maniacs.











From Kokoro Company Ltd, a division of Sanrio Group, comes "Actroid":

This robot has developed to recreate the human-like natural yet charming expressions with high functionalities retained. Emphasizes on its own realistic presence with smooth gestures. It has news hooks and high eye-catching effects. It can be utilized to play active part for many occasions as a chairperson with fluent narrations and booth bunny.

Actroid DER page at Kokoro (includes movies)
Available for rent!









Humanoid Robot HRP2 "Promet" at Kawada Industries (with videos)

The external appearance of HRP-2 was designed by Mr. Yutaka Izubuchi, a mechanical animation designer famous for his robots that appear in Japanese anime, including the well-known "PATLABOR." Mr. Izubuchi also named HRP-2 "Promet."

HRP-2 will be used for experiments to further develop robotic technologies in the areas of "walking on uneven surfaces," "tipping-over control," "getting up from a fallen position," and "human-interactive operations in open spaces."

HRP-2's height is 154 cm and mass is 58 kg including batteries. It has 30 degrees of freedom (DOF) including two DOF for its hip. The cantilevered crotch joint allows for walking in a confined area. Its highly compact electrical system packaging allows it to forgo the commonly used "backpack" used on other humanoid robots.

















Toyota Partner Robot

Toyota Mobiro and new Robots
by AkihabaraNews

Honda Asimo running at 6km/hr

CB2 the creepy "child-bot"


Dancing RoboCats



















Aaaahhh!!! They're attacking!












This robot, thankfully, is still in development.

WEBHYPE: Beyond Wikipedia

Information you may need to find:

Bartleby -- Famous quotes and full poetry texts

Citizendium -- More “professional” Wikipedia, although usually not as detailed

Answers.com -- Makes use of the information on Wikipedia and many other reference sites to become a one stop shop

ePodunk -- Information about cities and places

Encyclopedia Britannica -- An excellent source of information, and much more authoritative than Wikipedia.

Scholarpedia -- A step up from both Wikipedia and Citizendium in terms of scholarly respectability; the articles are all written by experts with peer review

JSTOR (limited access; talk to your school or library) -- All those stuffy journals around your professor’s office, and articles in your course packets

Oxford English Dictionary (limited access; talk to your school or library) -- The definitive resource when it comes to the English language

Wikiseek -- Wikipedia with a better search engine

Online Education Database -- Over 100 specific search and research tools, often relevant to specific subjects

MathWorld -- Everything mathematics from Geometry to Calculus is covered in great detail

GeoHive and Fedstats -- Public access to public agency statistics

Theoi and Encyclopedia of Mythology -- Excellent resources on the subject of mythology and ancient religions

Glossary of Poetic Forms -- You too can know the difference between a Canto and a Cento

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and Foldop -- Excellent sources on just about anything philosophy related

Religion Online -- An excellent, excellent resource filled with many primary texts

I got it at Mercola.com

TRAVELHYPE: Inside The A380 Cockpit

If you want to know what it's like to fly the largest jet airliner in the world, but you really don't wanna get off the couch right now, and besides, that microwave popcorn is almost ready -- check out this Quicktime VR 360 degree view from inside the cockpit of the Airbus A380.

Quick! Where's the DVD player?

A380 Cockpit Panorama

POLITICSHYPE: Obama Messiah

Fascinating blog examining the "almost-religious" fervor of the Obama campaign --

I gotta say, I haven't even been paying much attention, having long since given up hope on American politics. The voters are just too willfully damn stupid to ever make a reasonable decision about anything, and are thus easy prey for scumbags with Freudian mind-control schemes who push them left and right and wherever the f*ck they want 'em to go. But in the words of Crosby, Stills, Nash, or Young: "There's something happening here..."

And it is the hype.

Is Barack Obama The Messiah blog
"Delusional Hope: The Obama Rapture" thread at Rigorous Intuition

MOVIEHYPE: Speed Racer

"Adventure's waiting just ahead..."

On May 9, to be precise. That's when Speed Racer hits theaters. The Wachowski Brothers' first film since the Matrix movies looks like it will be as amazing as those were. Perfect casting and eye-popping image-making will make for an over-the-top cinematic experience. I love the original anime, and this is the way to bring it into the 21st Century. Check out the trailer below and prepare to have your synapses blown wide open.

From writer/directors Larry and Andy Wachowski, the creators of the groundbreaking “The Matrix” trilogy, and producer Joel Silver comes the live-action, high-octane family adventure “Speed Racer.”

Hurtling down the track, careening around, over and through the competition, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a natural behind the wheel. Born to race cars, Speed is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized—the legendary Rex Racer—whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill.

Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer (John Goodman), the designer of Speed’s thundering Mach 5. When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company’s maniacal owner (Roger Allam) but uncovers a terrible secret—some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. If Speed won’t drive for Royalton, Royalton will see to it that the Mach 5 never crosses another finish line.

The only way for Speed to save his family’s business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game. With the support of his family and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed teams with his one-time rival—the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox)—to win the race that had taken his brother’s life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible.

Slated for release on May 9, 2008, “Speed Racer” marks the Wachowski brothers’ first writing/directing collaboration since “The Matrix” movies. Joel Silver, who previously worked with the Wachowskis on “The Matrix” movies and “V For Vendetta,” is producing the film under his Silver Pictures banner.

The film stars Emile Hirsch (“Alpha Dog”) as Speed, Christina Ricci (“Black Snake Moan”) as Trixie, Matthew Fox (TV’s “Lost”) as Racer X, and Oscar winner Susan Sarandon (“Dead Man Walking”) and John Goodman (“Evan Almighty”) as Mom and Pops Racer. Rounding out the main cast are Australian actor Kick Gurry (“Spartan”) as Sparky; Paulie Litt (TV’s “Hope & Faith”) as Spritle; Roger Allam (“The Queen,” “V For Vendetta”) as Royalton; and Asian music star Ji Hoon Jung (popularly known as Rain), making his major feature film debut as a rival driver.

Based on the classic series created by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida, the live-action “Speed Racer” will showcase the kind of revolutionary visual effects and cutting-edge storytelling that have become the benchmarks of the Wachowski brothers’ films.

“Speed Racer” is a Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, of a Silver Pictures Production.

Speed Racer Trailer page at Movie-List
Speed Racer Official Site