Gleeful Gecko

Cyclorama Touchup Nearly Done

Brett — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:54:01 +0000

Interesting story in the New York Times about the restoration work being done at Gettysburg on the Cyclorama. They are trying to fully restore it as it was originally shown, complete with props and three-d effects. This is great news really if you are a history buff. The Cyclorama was meant to be like a battle reenactment before there were battle reenactments, it was shipped around the country and drew visitors in with its spectacle, you were inside the painting and felt like you were a part of it. I am really pleased they are taking this seriously, for a long time it felt like a white elephant at the park, they had to keep it around, but it was unloved and uncared for. With the move of the Visitor’s Center and the new Cyclorama building they are doing some nice work at Gettysburg, I will have to get out there and walk around some soon.

WTF?!

Brett — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:50:09 +0000

Another one I found while cleaning up my bookmarks. I know many of my readers have played World of Warcraft, but how many of you have played WTF?! ? It is a wicked little parody of the king of the Massive Multiplayer Games hill that has a sharp sense of humor and is a fun way to kill fifteen minutes. No I can delete my bookmark as I continue to clean them up. I may find more of interest as I go.

Advertising, Ack!

Brett — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:06:38 +0000

I don’t like to post up ads for people who make more in a day than I make in a lifetime but this advertising clip of Hellboy on The Actor’s Studio that they released as a mini ad made me laugh. The new movie may well be terrible, I liked the last one a ton but that isn’t a predictor, but Comic Book Movies has a great page with all these mini ads and most are pretty funny.

Best Game Ever

Brett — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:45:01 +0000

I meant to post this back in April and just stumbled across this link. A group called Improv Anywhere decided to turn a little league game into a major league game. Brilliance results. They even got the Goodyear Blimp to turn up. Fantastic. They have done a number of interesting ‘missions’ so poke around their site a bit.

Sad and Happy News

Brett — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:41:46 +0000

Sad news from Pompeii where things are falling apart pretty fast. Once you dig it out you have to take care of it if you want to keep it.

Happier news from Berlin where someone has torn Hitler’s head off. Sure, it is a little late now, but I admire the sentiment.

Make Up Post: SoS, Vikings and the Bayeux Tapestry

Brett — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:53:38 +0000

Ok, no posts for awhile so here is a quick make up post.

The SoS signal just turned 100. Will it be around another hundred years, seems unlikely. The times have just moved on.

Nice story in the Irish Independent about the Sea Stallion, a viking ship, which is returning to Denmark following a remarkably peaceful visit to Ireland. I know, I know they were just peaceful traders back then too, they got a bad reputation purely because people tended to have a lot of ‘accidents’ when they vikings were visiting. Yeah, that’s the ticket…

An amusing story in the Scotsman about some English claiming the Bayeux Tapestry should be given to England. The comments are amusing as the Scots aren’t very sympathetic really. The claim is pretty tenuous but even if it was ironclad I am getting sick of the whole repatriations of historic objects craze, it is simply stupid on so many levels. It is an attempt by nations to claim they have sole ownership of their culture, which is nonsense, cultures are and always will be fluid. It smells of Nationalism disguised as culture, pride in your nation is fine, nationalism is dangerous stuff that leads to flaming cities. Anyhow, the claims of some of the English quoted are pretty weak, the French are right to ignore them on this one.

Parenting In Hell

Brett — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:51:47 +0000

I bookmarked this one to post up last week and never got to it. Court Overturns Fathers Grounding of 12 Year Old. More coverage here. As a parent all I can say is the end is nigh.

Today Is Maybe Not Day

Brett — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:33:58 +0000

So Walter Scott’s flags are probably fakes. And that Lost Amazon Tribe they photographed the other day was fake to. Sigh. Grey and raining and all the cool stories are fakes. I am going to put on some emo music think glum thoughts.

Lost Tribe via Dvorak, Scott’s Tourist Tat via Cronaca

The Longship Company In the Washington Post

Brett — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:18:36 +0000

Todd pointed out a very nice article on the Longship Company in today’s Washington Post. I was never a member of the Company but I was a member of the Markland group founded by Bruce Blackistone in the 70s while I was in college and had a very good time with it. The Longship Company has been around for a long time and they really are very good sailors, well worth a look if you have a desire to go a vikining.

Walter Scott’s Waterloo Flags Found

Brett — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:51:05 +0000

Interesting find at Walter Scott’s home, some flags from the battle of Waterloo that he put in a drawer and forgot. Napoleonic flags are pretty rare and these are of course very delicate, but it is great news they have been found.

Explaining Fair Use

Brett — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:59:47 +0000

I am not opposed to creators making money with copyright by any means, but I am very much in favor of creators respecting fair use as part of the trade off. What is fair use you ask? This video explains it nicely.

Associated Press Unites The Right And Left By Being Arrogant

Brett — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:53:13 +0000

The Associated Press has managed the difficult feat of uniting the left and right activists on the issue of fair use quotes from their articles. The AP thinks it should be paid $12.50 if you quote five words from one of their articles. The AP does have a case in places where people post their articles as content without paying the AP, but short illustrative quotes have always been fair use when discussing copyrighted material, the AP is trying to derail this in a particularly bull headed fashion. I think the Making Light Article on the topic covers my view well, the AP is trying to create privilege where none exists in the law, we are fools if we let them succeed.

Bears React To Losing This Year’s Summer of Fear Badly

Brett — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 13:30:06 +0000

Bears reacted badly to losing this year’s Summer of Fear contest to Sharks by trying to attack an Alaskan town and being driven off by a puppy.

What Would You Do?

Brett — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:04:19 +0000

Marginal Revolution has an interesting post and comments on what to do if you suddenly find yourself in the year 1000. Interesting points include how we would stand out for our height, how soft our hands are (the old Khmer Rouge standby) and how vulnerable we would be to the diseases of the era. On the plus sides are our modern learning on great numbers of issues. As a one time reenactor I am sure everyone is underestimating the difficulties they would be facing, I am not sure where I would head or what I would try. Lost foreign nobleman would only get you a day or so even if you can communicate with the locals. I suspect the need for IT management would be low. What would you all do? Many of my readers have some history background, what do you think would help you get by?

Summer of Fear 2008 Winner: The Shark

Brett — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:09:38 +0000

It has been a lean year for the Summer of Fear, but I want to congratulate the 2008 and winner, return champion, the Shark. It has been close up the wire but the Shark pulled a win out with this brilliant story in the ever reliable Sun. Well done Sharks everywhere.