Cyrus Farivar

Ok, I know that the fad with Richard Clarke came and went a few weeks ago, but I’m reading his book now. This part (pg. 83-84) is genius. Clarke is writing about the retaliation against Saddam Hussein for the 1993 foiled assassination attempt on former President Bush in Kuwait. Clinton ordered retaliatory missile strikes on Baghdad. Gore urged the President [Clinton] to tell us something that the two highest leaders in the land clearly found funny. “Okay, okay,” Clinton agreed.…

Thank goodness! OAKLAND, Calif., May 6 — Faced with a public outcry, angry threats from Congress and even criticism from some of its owners, Major League Baseball announced late Thursday that it was retreating from plans to place logos for the new movie “Spider-Man 2” on the bases during games next month. The announcement, made jointly with Columbia Pictures, the movie’s distributor, came after a second day of criticism over what many perceived as the sport’s crass commercialization of the…

Jeez. Integrity, schmintegrity, it seems. Moore admits Disney ‘ban’ was a stunt Less than 24 hours after accusing the Walt Disney Company of pulling the plug on his latest documentary in a blatant attempt at political censorship, the rabble-rousing film-maker Michael Moore has admitted he knew a year ago that Disney had no intention of distributing it. The admission, during an interview with CNN, undermined Moore’s claim that Disney was trying to sabotage the US release of Fahrenheit 911 just…

So not only does my phone do Bluetooth, and sync with iCal and my Address Book on my Mac, (not to mention act as a remote for my iTunes and DVD Player), but for an additional $5/month, I can get WAP Internet access on the phone, and send/receive unlimited POP3 emails (and they support SSL!). One problem though is that it doesn’t actually download the messages off the server, it merely forwards them to the phone, so if I’m out…

Who’s on First? Spider-Man. No shit. Ads on bases. What a massively stupid idea. Speaking of bad ideas, what is this Post on WiFi all about? Is this their response to the NYT’s WiFi special issue from yesterday? Even my grandparents know about WiFi. C’mon guys. Get a clue.

Courtesy Engadget, comes this story: The text message came from Christopher’s girlfriend, a college student, and was sent while she was driving in her car to pick up Christopher after school let out. It read: ”I need a tampon!” School officials say it is common knowledge that tampon is slang for a large marijuana cigarette. But Toby and Leigh Klump say that even if Grube and Kocher had the right to search their son’s cell phone, and they don’t believe…

New York Times, May 3 2004: Genetically, humans and bonobos, a species of chimpanzee, are more than 98 percent similar. Socially, it is another matter. Matriarchal as a rule, bonobos eschew conflict. They do not fight over territory. They do not kill. Any small friction they resolve through sexual contact: a playful rub, oral sex, full intercourse. . . . On a Sunday afternoon not long ago, the park’s 31 young charges did what young bonobos do: chewed on blades…

I wouldn’t have bought my new slick phone without the great help of Rachel. Really though, she was instrumental in my getting that phone and price matching and all that stuff. And she says: “When all the ladies see that you have Bluetooth, they’ll be chomping at the bit.” (Rachel: “Cause Bluetooth — it can go farther than the pheromones, honey.”) Honestly though, it really is cool. It has Bluetooth, and integrates with iCal, and my Address Book, and I…

Here’s yet another reason why America shouldn’t be running the world. (Note to Aaron: yes [insert your mass-murdering fuckhead dictator here] was bad, and we’re not as bad by comparison, but something tells me that if this occupation were truly international that the chances of something like this happening would be significantly reduced. When you are running the show, the responsibility and the spotlight are on you tenfold.) Kofi, can you take away the keys now? Score one for The…

Guess who has a new gmail account? (And no, they’re not available to the public yet.)