September 18, 2002

New Copy of Homesite

As a Win32 based web author, I use Homesite. Well, today, my copy of Homesite popped up a reminder that a new version was available. And sure enough it is! The Homesite 5.0 upgrade is available for $29.99 from Macromedia's website. I've been very happy with my old copy of 4.0. I may have to put down three Alexander Hamiltons and get myself caught up with the latest.

Blond Mistress of the Links

Xeni Jardin has been guest blogging on BoingBoing and providing some excellent links. For you connoisseurs of kitsch, she posted the following -

Big in Japan

Japander.com has an archive of TV ads done by Western celebrities in Japan. Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Lopez and many others have shilled over in the Land of the Rising Sun. To fully enjoy the site, you will need a broadband connection to download the movies – the modem bound will enjoy some of the pictures however. The biggest offender? Bruce Willis has a slew of adds – some of them are downright bizarre. And what's with the Fuzz Action Figure goatee?

How to Demo a Coffin

CISA in Italy has an interesting way of marketing some of their main product – coffins. They have scantily clad female models pose next to them. Most of the product pictures are reserved, but several of their products feature As a conversation starter at the office, you can even print off this month's page of the sexy calendario. Actually, on second thought, they may not be such a good idea.

September 17, 2002

Catching up with the War on Terrorism

An ex-marine on war with Iraq

I found this on MetaFilter a while back, but have finally gotten around to posting it here. The Seattle Weekly has a good editorial with a different angle on a potential war with Iraq. Phillip Gold has some interesting insights; the introduction to his new book (PDF) makes some good reading as well.

Looking for a few good spies.

There is a somewhat dated, but interesting article on the CIA's efforts to develop agents.

September 15, 2002

Responding to the World Church of the Creator in Chesterfield

There has been plenty of press coverage about the World Church of the Creator's visit to Chester next week. The Times Dispatch has written a couple of articles. Both the Richmond and DC Indymedia sites have covered it. In case you haven't heard of them, the WCOTC is a small but infamous hate group, most well known for a cross state shooting spree in the Midwest by one of its members. Now, a couple of Richmond groups are calling for a counter protest. However, Chesterfield residents are also working on a counter gathering, away from the racists from Illinois.

The residents of Chester, while they may be a little square, don't deserve to have their community turned into other peoples' battlegrounds. Food Not Bombs and the Better Days Collective could strengthen their credibility by working in concert with the Chester community rather than parallel to it. The WCOTC isn't from Chesterfield or even the Richmond area. In fact, the WCOTC member who applied to reserve the library is from Newport News. Like many hate groups, WCOTC uses their protection under the First Amendment to instigate legal action against localities that bar them and to provoke violence from individuals who oppose them. The strongest counter demonstration would be for people from Chesterfield, Richmond and the rest of Central Virginia - young and old, black and white, liberal and conservative - to gather together peacefully, and unanimously show their rejection of the WCOTC's message of hatred.