Aside

Wow, the world has just lost one of its premiere filmmakers, Senegal’s Ousmane Sembène. (Previously: here, and here) I had the pleasure of meeting him once in New York a couple of years ago, and am proud to say that I shook his hand, but the world has been diminished by the loss of this great man. Various obits: BBC, AP, Walf Fadjri (French), Le Soleil (French)

Until Tuesday. I’m holding court for drinks on Friday night, which is the best time to see me. Email me if you want to join us.

Wired News: by Cyrus Farivar 05.29.07 | 2:00 AM Researchers claim to have developed the first mathematical model for creating invisibility simulations on a computer, but possible real-world applications — say, a gadget that works like Harry Potter’s cloak — so far seem far-fetched. In the May 1 issue of Optics Letters, a team of scientists published a paper outlining a “numeric simulation” for cloaking. The software program recreates a breakthrough 2006 experiment, run by David Smith and David Shurig…

Wired News: by Cyrus Farivar June 01, 2007 | 6:36:35 PM Apple has declined to explain why its new DRM-free music files are watermarked with users’ names and e-mail addresses. Earlier this week, Apple iTunes 7.2 brought the new ability to download tracks from EMI Records without copy protection. But the unprotected files are labeled with the buyer’s details, leading some to wonder if Apple is appending the information as an anti-piracy measure. But Apple is remaining mum about its…

Reuters: BERLIN (Reuters) – Knut, Berlin Zoo’s celebrity polar bear cub, is growing from a cuddly ball of fur into a shaggy, powerful predator who could soon pose a serious threat to his devoted human keeper who has nursed him from birth. The cub, which still draws some 5,000 fans every day, turns six months on Tuesday and his 28 kg (62 pounds) are starting to show. His snout is longer, his torso chunkier and teeth sharper. Here’s a video…

My favorite hip-hop duo from Seattle will be rockin’ the mic this Thursday at Pier 23 in a FREE show that starts at 9 pm! I will *so* be there. Come meet me! (Did I mention that it’s free?)

Earlier today I wrote about how Google had added Street View, a really awesome new feature that allows for street-level photos in major metro areas, including the Bay Area. I was able to check out my own house here in Oakland, and saw my Toyota Corolla parked smartly in front. Man, this is so freakin’ sweet.

Man, these stories just keep getting better: The Stanford Daily: Kim — the 18-year-old from Fullerton, Calif. who was revealed by The Daily last Thursday to have been squatting in Stanford dorms since September despite not being affiliated with the University — duped ROTC officials into thinking she was an honor-roll Stanford student for eight months. She took classes on Army tactics and history, received military equipment worth more than $1,000 and even earned official military awards for her top…

I just found out that MC Solaar’s seventh album will be coming out next month. Appropriately, as has been the case for the last few albums with their numerological titles, it’ll be called “Chapitre 7.” It’s been four years since the last one — I can’t wait. Pretty much all that’s known about the first single is that it’s called: “Da Vinci Claude,” after the “Da Vinci Code” and Solaar’s real name, Claude M’Barali.