tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64767049462995431132024-03-07T14:39:18.908-05:00The Junkdrawer of ThoughtHello, I'm Daniel Thompson. Perhaps, you recognise me from such blogs as the riveting <a title="http:lutesandviols.blogspot.com" href="http://lutesandviols.blogspot.com">Lutes, Viols and Other Ancient Instruments</a> and the ever popular <a title="http://microtonalresources.blogspot.com" href="http://microtonalresources.blogspot.com">Resources
for the Microtonal Composer</a>. Well, this is where I put thoughts that have no where else to go. Welcome to The Junkdrawer of Thought!Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-55350964645989343482015-06-17T13:31:00.000-04:002015-06-17T13:31:00.210-04:00The Great Apocalypse TeaserI finished producing the book trailer for <i>The Great Apocalypse</i>, the first book of the <i>Sparlock of the Multiverse Trilogy</i>. I hope you enjoy it.
<P>
<b>The Great Apocalypse</b>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ouVWF1mncog" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<P>
Visit <a href="http://blog.sparlockofthemultiverse.com/">Sparlock's Blog</a> for more information about this project.Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-68143644891536883792015-05-29T17:36:00.003-04:002015-05-29T17:37:57.361-04:00Prologue to The Great ApocalypseI have finished writing <i>The Great Apocalypse</i>, the first book in the <i>Sparlock of the Multiverse Trilogy</i>. It should be released in July of 2015. Here is a video with professional narration of the Prologue. I hope you enjoy it. If you would rather read the Prologue, go <a href="http://blog.sparlockofthemultiverse.com/prologue-to-the-great-apocalypse">here</a>.
<P>
<b>Prologue - In the Halls of Madness</b>
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L_HT16LXJrY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<P>
See also: This is <a href="http://junkdrawerofthought.blogspot.com/2012/06/this-is-sparlock.html">This... Is... Sparlock!!!!!</a>.Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-1454179703693439792012-06-04T20:59:00.001-04:002015-05-29T17:46:07.554-04:00This... Is... Sparlock!!!!!<a href="http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/Leolaia/sparlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/Leolaia/sparlock.jpg" height="240" width="400" /></a>
<P>
Sparlock The Warrior Wizard is an unlikely hero. He was invented by a religion who thinks plastic "magical" toys are evil and should be thrown away. To reinforce this view, they produced a video where a young boy is guilted into throwing away a Sparlock action figure. This video went viral on the Internet before it was taken down due to a copyright complaint by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. This just caused new videos to spring up that included commentary and are at least theoretically protected under fair use. Here is one such video that tells the story of Sparlock and includes scenes from the original video.
<P>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="236" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wxfuPD89Wxs" width="420"></iframe>
<P>
There has already been a lot of commentary about this video <a href="http://www.atheistgeeknews.com/what-is-sparlock-the-new-ex-witness-meme-2567.htm">here</a>, <a href="http://jwsurvey.org/cedars-blog/the-watchtowers-new-toy-story-what-parents-need-to-know">here</a> and elsewhere, so I will confine my comments to just a few points.
<P>
I think the fact that Caleb threw the toy away outside is important. It may seem that they were just setting up the prospect of riding bikes, but I was raised in that religion and have a different perspective. The problem with Sparlock doesn't seem to be that he represented magic. There may have been a real fear that he actually was magical. This seems strange, but there is a profound fear of spiritism among many Jehovah's Witnesses. I wasn't allowed ghost stories as a kid. We didn't believe that ghosts were real (this is due to the Jehovah's Witness belief that the soul dies when the body dies, but might be resurrected in the future), but we did believe that demons sometimes pretended to be ghosts. Demons are very scary and real to a lot of Jehovah's Witness kids and adults.
<P>
We sometimes told demon stories around the campfire and late at night. They were extra scary because we thought they might actually be true. Many of these stories focused on bringing items into the house from nonbelievers or former believers that were infested with demons. The demons would cause a variety of problems (nightmares and strange sounds were common symptom of demon infestation) and the situation would usually resolve itself when the item was removed from the house and thrown away.
<P>
An interesting feature of these stories was that it was sometimes difficult to determine which object was causing the problem. The person would often have to think about recent purchases and gifts and try to determine if one of them may have come from someone who was demonized.
<P>
Some of these stories were from people I knew who had nightmares and then started to purge their home of questionable items until their nightmares went away. (The placebo effect can be pretty powerful.)
<P>
The Smurfs caused a bit of mass hysteria for a while with a large number of crazy stories spreading which indicated that they were demonized. Part of the criticism of the Sparlock video comes from the way it reinforces these types of phobias.
<P>
I'm not saying that the makers of the video necessarily believed this would happen if a wizard toy wasn't thrown away outside, but they would have certainly been aware of this superstition among their intended audience.
<P>
On a lighter note, here is a great parody of the infamous Sparlock video. (Warning: The music gets pretty loud part way through.)
<P>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="236" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/diDZhw6bRqc" width="420"></iframe>
<P>
Sparlock The Warrior Wizard is unstoppable. I'm sure that the Watchtower Society will never be allowed to forget the little toy wizard they created.
<P>
<a href="http://t.qkme.me/3pil8j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t.qkme.me/3pil8j.jpg" height="309" width="310" /></a>
<P>
See also the <a href="http://sparlockthewarriorwizard.wordpress.com/">Unofficial Home of Sparlock</a>.
<P>
Update 6/5/12: I ended up revisiting memories in this blog post that I hadn't thought about much in recent years. I spent some time thinking about whether I had portrayed the situation fairly. If anything, I think I made the mistake of viewing my childhood with rose colored glasses.
<P>
I should point out that there were regional differences with these demon stories. Witnesses in my area were generally content to just throw away questionable items (outside of course), but some Jehovah's Witnesses considered it important to burn the items. However, I heard a lot of stories where the items wouldn't burn or released the demons to cause more mayhem. There didn't seem to be general agreement on the best way to dispose of these items.
<P>
Another important factor that I omitted from this post is that the worst stories of demon activity came from the Watchtower magazine and other Watchtower publications. I just came across a <a href="http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/226684/1/Demons-and-the-Witnesses">well researched article</a> with a lot of quotes on this subject, so I will just link to that. (Warning: some of the descriptions are quite graphic.)
<P>
As I grew older, I began to view these stories as more and more implausible. There was a fear and fascination with garage sales. Many of the Witnesses I knew loved to get good deals, but had a fear of bringing home something that would contain demons. I had bought a lot of items from garage sales and never had any problem. My mom, however, would often just leave a garage sale if she saw something that made her feel uneasy like a toy wizard or movies or books with magical or spiritistic themes. Sometimes, she just reported getting a strange feeling without seeing any questionable items. So when she would get this feeling she would just turn around and go back to the car without telling me or others where she was going (we often went to garage sales for a break while we were knocking on doors distributing Watchtower and Awake magazines). If she disappeared, it was usually because she got scared of demons.
<P>
This is one of the reasons I'm so critical of that DVD with Sparlock. It is aimed at children, but reinforces superstitions and uses fear as a way to try to control young minds.<br />
<P>
Update 5/29/15: I have written a novel that mentions the infamous "Summer of Sparlock." It should be released in July of 2015. You can visit this <a href="http://sparlockofthemultiverse.com/">website</a> for more information.
Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-72179533112408715502012-04-26T22:13:00.000-04:002012-05-01T11:18:39.317-04:00Moebius Transformations<P><br />This is a pleasant video. It has a nice classical music soundtrack and some eye catching graphics of mathematical transformations. <br /><P> <br /><strong>Moebius Transformations</strong><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JX3VmDgiFnY&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JX3VmDgiFnY&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-72301579479967271422012-02-20T15:33:00.002-05:002012-02-20T15:36:54.999-05:00A David and Goliath Story in Australia<p>What do you do when laws that are designed to protect children aren't enforced? This situation came up in Victoria, Australia when the Watchtower Society (also known as Jehovah's Witnesses) became the only major religious group to refuse to comply with the Working With Children Act. This act required that ministers have a background check before they work with children. This seems a reasonable precaution, especially for a group that has faced many scandals about alleged coverups of child abuse within their religion. <br />
<br />
For whatever reason, they refused to comply with this law for years. Strangely, the police also refused to do anything about enforcing this law. <br />
<br />
Fortunately, Australia has legal provisions that allow citizens to act as private prosecutors in cases like this. (I don't understand how exactly this works.) This is what a Mr. Steven Unthank did when he took on the Watchtower Society and related corporations. <br />
<br />
I have been watching this case with interest as it seems like a true David verses Goliath type showdown. The Watchtower Society has a vast army of lawyers who work for free and have ample experience defending the actions of their client. Steven Unthank, on the other hand, is just a private citizen without legal experience. Remember that this is not a lawsuit, but an actual prosecution for violations of the law, something that would normally be handled by the government.<br />
<br />
Things seemed to be going pretty well with several hearings where the charges remained on the books. It looked like the government might take the case and relieve Mr. Unthank of his burden. <br />
<br />
Today I learned that that Mr. Unthank received an email from the Director of Public Prosecutions where he indicated he was interested in taking over the cases "for the purpose of discontinuing them.” He even made the shocking suggestion that these prosecution were "not in the public interest." <br />
<br />
Well, there a lot of people who feel that protecting children is in the public interest. I don't know how anyone can suggest otherwise. I realize it can be difficult to prosecute the leaders of a religious organisation, but it is cases like this that must be prosecuted to prevent a powerful organization from trampling on the rights of helpless children in order to seve their own interests.<br />
<br />
I have emailed the Director of Public Prosecutions to express my disappointment and will be watching this case closely. If you would like more information, you can visit this <a href="http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/scandals/222044/1/Governing-Body-of-Jehovahe28099s-Witnesses-to-Escape-Judgment-for-Crimes-Against-the-Children">discussion</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/%23protectingchildrenisinthepublicinterest">#protectingchildrenisinthepublicinterest</a> on Twitter.Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-76367554690544172682010-02-06T15:56:00.002-05:002010-02-06T15:59:54.679-05:00Four Dimensional Animation<P><br />It looks like portions of the object are passing through itself, but that is just because we are limited to three dimensions. <br /><P><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/s27n3QzuE4E&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/s27n3QzuE4E&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-89841959834542626242009-04-07T21:41:00.002-04:002009-04-07T21:41:00.753-04:00206<P><br />Two hundred and Six is the smallest number that contains all five vowels exactly once when written.Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-35441349572643902162009-03-28T22:46:00.004-04:002009-03-29T14:15:48.065-04:00Another Possible Use for a Junkdrawer<P><br />I think junkdrawers are great. I prefer to use them to keep <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy">entropy</a> at bay, to isolate the inevitable clutter that accumulates in my life, to avoid the awkward mental challenges that come from sorting items that resist any obvious kinship with the more mundane objects that I tend to keep neatly organised, by type and proximity to their probable area of use.<br /><P><br />Junkdrawers conceal our embarrassing inability to bring the kind of order to our lives that we may sometimes desire.<br /><P><br />You can also build stuff with them.<br /><P><br />Here's a video of a guy who built a very functional <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oud">oud</a> from a drawer. Of course, the question arises as to whether or not this was truly a junkdrawer. He portrays it as a normal clothing drawer. However, it seems improbable to me that he would actually requisition a clothing drawer that was already in use for it's intended purpose. I prefer to think it was merely a left over drawer from a discarded dresser. I bet it began to accumulate various items before he found a use for it. Such is the nature of junkdrawers. <br /><P><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UhN1vI0eZxQ&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UhN1vI0eZxQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><P><br />If you build an oud from a drawer, where are you going to store it?Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-49110573880094720812008-02-26T21:46:00.000-05:002008-02-25T11:33:49.385-05:0040<P><br />Forty is the only number whose letters in its name are in alphabetical order.Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-87673666968662715292008-02-20T21:20:00.002-05:002008-02-20T21:29:19.496-05:00Fractal Animation<P><br />A video full of fascinating and beautiful <a href="http://infinitezoom.com/gallery1.htm">fractal images</a>.<br /><P><br /><strong>Fractal Flight</strong><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/34zPvmNXTYQ&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/34zPvmNXTYQ&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-66850247303735743752008-02-09T17:31:00.000-05:002008-02-20T21:29:46.551-05:00Pencil Art<P><br />Some people draw with pencils. Others have different artistic ideas.<br /><P><br /><strong>Pencil Art</strong><br /><div style="width:425px;text-align:left" id="__ss_202539"><object style="margin:0px" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=lpis-1064"/><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed src="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=lpis-1064" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div style="font-size:11px;font-family:tahoma,arial;height:26px;padding-top:2px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/?src=embed"><img src="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/logo_embd.png" style="border:0px none;margin-bottom:-5px" alt="SlideShare"/></a> | <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/ncosta24/lpis?src=embed" title="View 'Lápis' on SlideShare">View</a> | <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/upload?src=embed">Upload your own</a></div></div><br /><P><br />If you enjoyed that slideshow, you may enjoy this <a href="http://photoandslideshow.blogspot.com/">slideshow blog</a>.Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-32507199320548168352008-02-08T17:25:00.000-05:002008-02-08T17:37:51.648-05:00I'm Back<P><br />Well, I took some time off from this blog and got some things done. I was surprised that some people kept visiting in my absence. Thank you. I thought I would come back and do a little more posting. I'll have to see how it goes.Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-64604969664050197212007-06-25T15:02:00.000-04:002008-01-29T10:27:08.823-05:00Last Post<P><br />Well, I've officially abandoned this blog. I am still actively posting at my <a href="http://danielthompson.blogspot.com/">main blog </a>and I hope you will visit me there (or at this <a href="http://videoarchivebydanielthompson.blogspot.com/">blog</a> or this <a href="http://profiledirectory.blogspot.com/">one</a>). This blog has been a lot of fun and I want to thank everyone who has visited and commented. I plan on moving many of the posts to my other blogs.<br /><P><br /><strong>Update 1/29/07:</strong> I'm thinking I might revive this blog soon. Please check back in a few months.Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-40801915926150220862007-05-11T10:19:00.000-04:002007-05-10T11:58:45.185-04:00An Unusual Search Term<P><br />I spend way too much time analyzing my visitor stats. I especially enjoy seeing what search terms people use to find my blogs. Since bigger sites have already monopolised the more popular search terms, I tend to do better with bizarre word combinations. One surprise has been the term "viol videos". I made a post with that name several months ago at a different blog and have received hundreds of hits from that search term and similar phrases. Apparently, there is a high demand and poor supply of <a href="http://videoarchivebydanielthompson.blogspot.com/2006/11/viol-videos.html">viol videos</a>.<br /><P><br />I recently received a hit based on this search term: 1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3. Here is someone who knew exactly what he was looking for. I'm glad that he was able to find it! Can you figure out what he wanted? If you're having trouble, you can just click <a href="http://junkdrawerofthought.blogspot.com/2006/12/first-thousand-digits-of-pi.html">here</a>.Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-81153417522847645152007-03-30T15:46:00.000-04:002007-03-30T15:50:09.778-04:00Check Out The Carnival of Craziness!<P><br />A <a href="http://infinitelycrazy.blogspot.com/2007/03/aaaaaaaaaand.html">Crazy Carnival </a>is in town. Have fun!Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-44748350081576245452007-03-24T17:04:00.000-04:002008-02-20T21:32:35.358-05:00Numbers on a Date<P><br /><strong>Warning!</strong> The following video contains mathematical humor.<br /><P><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nKq6_vjrxMo"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nKq6_vjrxMo" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><P><P><br /><strong>Cast of Characters</strong><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi">pi</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_(mathematical_constant)">e</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_unit">i</a><br /><P><br />See also <a href="http://junkdrawerofthought.blogspot.com/2006/12/first-thousand-digits-of-pi.html">The First Thousand Digits of Pi</a><br /><P><br /><strong>Other Mathematical Vdeos</strong><br /><a href="http://videoarchivebydanielthompson.blogspot.com/2007/03/fermats-last-theorem.html">Fermat's last Theorem</a><br /><a href="http://videoarchivebydanielthompson.blogspot.com/2006/12/story-of-one.html">The Story of One</a><br /><a href="http://videoarchivebydanielthompson.blogspot.com/2006/12/mandelbrot-set.html">The Mendelbrot Set</a>Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-84255226487966748982007-03-13T11:43:00.000-04:002007-03-13T16:37:08.660-04:00Blog Review-Of Sound Mind<P><br />What is music? One definition is that it is the organisation of sound. This hardly seems adequate. Not all organised sound seems musical and some noise may seem musical without being very organised. This confusion is aggravated by the fact that many experimental musical forms purposely blur the distinction between music and noise.<br /><P><br />I don't mind not having complete answers to these kinds of questions. As an experimental composer, I find it to be far more enjoyable to challenge definitions and categories than to settle on traditional views.<br /><P><br /><a href="http://ofsoundmind.wordpress.com/">Of Sound Mind </a>is a great blog for learning about sound and the ill defined border between music and noise. This blog chronicles the adventures of an imaginative sonic explorer. He shares his thoughts and audio clips. These audio clips are unique. They are generally not finished compositions. Sometimes, they explore isolated elements of music or unusual recording techniques. Listening to them provides a rare glimpse into a musical mind at work.<br /><P><br />This approach may seem somewhat strange in our modern world of readily available, polished, professionally produced music. It is easy to forget about the ingredients of music. It is even easier to forget about the fascination of sounds that may not be musical in any traditional sense.<br /><P><br />There was a time when things were different. Attentive listening to sounds was often a matter of life and death. You may not see the approach of an enemy or predator, but if you were alert, you might hear it. When darkness fell, hearing became even more important for evaluating your surroundings. I am sure that there was much greater respect and admiration for the power and mystery of sound.<br /><P><br />Today, sound is frequently a nuisance, something to be blocked out. When we use it for entertainment, it is often trivial and played in the background. I can only speculate on the consequences of this sensory imbalance, on the peculiar shift of attention from the auditory to the visual world that has taken place in modern times. <br /><P><br />If you want to learn more about sound, if you want to experience a broader range of sonic possibilities, I recommend that you pay a visit to <a href="http://ofsoundmind.wordpress.com/">Of Sound Mind</a>.Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-14468834760311460332007-02-25T12:43:00.000-05:002008-02-20T21:27:01.810-05:00A Leaky Bucket<P><br />Suppose you have a water filled bucket with three holes. The first hole can empty the bucket in five minutes. The other hole can empty it in ten minutes. The last hole can empty it in 15 minutes. How long will it take for all three holes to empty the bucket? Please leave a comment if you have an answer or a guess.Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-80146265329639506252007-02-11T15:12:00.000-05:002008-02-20T21:32:35.360-05:00Can You Read This?<P><br />The following was obtained from the excellent blog, <a href="http://amazinglybizarre.blogspot.com/">Amazingly Bizarre</a>. It is used here by permission.<br /><P><br />Lets see how smart u are :) <br />Olny srmat poelpe can raed tihs.<br /><P><br />cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.<br /><P><br />Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?<br /><P><br />yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!<br /><P><br />if you can raed tihs psas it on !!Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-70977488376785251152007-01-22T18:17:00.000-05:002008-02-20T21:27:01.811-05:00A Tough Brainteaser and a Tougher One<P><br />Suppose you have ten trees. How can you plant these trees so that they form five rows of four trees each. Leave a comment if you figure out the answer.<br /><P><br />If the first problem is tough, the second one is much tougher. How can you you do the same task (plant five rows of four trees) with only eight trees. It sounds impossible, and it is unless you use an imaginative approach. (Hints: Don't bother planting more than four trees in a row. The second problem is possible, but may not be practical.)Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-73706395724280596252007-01-17T21:46:00.000-05:002007-01-17T21:58:32.638-05:001/649,740<P><br />The probability of being dealt a royal flush.Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-20956162414166936092007-01-11T10:36:00.000-05:002008-02-20T21:32:35.361-05:00Herbal Cigarettes<P><br />I could tell you what little I know about this sketch and the show it came from, but that would spoil the fun. (See the comments on a <a href="http://junkdrawerofthought.blogspot.com/2007/01/language-sketch.html">Language Sketch</a> for a lively discussion.)<br /><P><P><br /><strong>Herbal Cigarettes</strong><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XV4yK-26smM"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XV4yK-26smM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><P><P><br />Aside from being a funny sketch. it contains some delicious ironies that will only be apparent if you are up to date on American television. I welcome your comments.Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-7909390264759567262007-01-08T11:30:00.000-05:002008-02-20T21:32:35.361-05:00Language Sketch<P><br />This may not be a tough question for some of you, but can you identitify the actors? If so leave a comment.<br /><P><P><br /><strong>Language Sketch</strong><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PlqlBawergg"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PlqlBawergg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-2530645554034558292007-01-04T10:25:00.000-05:002007-01-04T10:54:27.797-05:00Wrong Blog<P><br />I hate to tell you this, but you came to the wrong blog. It's not your fault. You didn't know. If you must, you can stay and look around a bit, but I feel compelled to advise you on the error of your ways.<br /><P><br />You see, this blog is just a junkdrawer of thoughts. You can come back any time. It will still be here. The real excitement is taking place at one of my other <a href="http://profiledirectory.blogspot.com/">blogs</a>. It is only one week old today, yet it has already won a <a href="http://profiledirectory.blogspot.com/2007/01/surprising-email.html">prestigious award </a>and has been recognised by other bloggers. Yesterday, it received over a thousand unique visitors. It has also brought much deserved <a href="http://profiledirectory.blogspot.com/2007/01/random-recognitions.html">recognition</a> to others.<br /><P><br />If you enjoy reading blogs, it provides an unique way to browse the bloggosphere. If you write a blog, you will discover a stunningly simple (and completely free) way to <a href="http://profiledirectory.blogspot.com/2006/12/why-profile-pages-are-important.html">promote</a> your online presence.<br /><P><br />I'm not bragging. I cannot, in good conscience, brag about this. The success, so far, has simply been the result of the positive response of the blogging community to a simple idea.<br /><P><br />I hope you will visit today and see what the <a href="http://profiledirectory.blogspot.com/">excitement</a> is all about.<br /><P><P><br /><em>The preceding was a pseudo-advertisement. Had I been two people, instead of one. It would have been a paid advertisement with an appropriate disclaimer. </em>Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476704946299543113.post-25029430517958332902007-01-02T09:04:00.000-05:002007-01-02T10:44:36.702-05:00Blog Review-Startling Moniker<P><br />What kind of music do you like? This is a common enough question, and usually pretty easy to answer. Most people have pretty definite opinions about what they like and don't like. Now, I would like you to consider a different question. Why do you like the music that you do? <br /><P><br />It may not be hard to answer this in a very general way. Perhaps, you will respond by saying that it has a good beat or a nice melody. The funny thing is that if you ask your parents or grandparents these same questions they may come up with very different kinds of music, but claim similar reasons for enjoying it. <br /><P><br />Music is kind of like food. We often avoid foods that we haven't acquired a taste for, while other foods become comfort foods that we turn to during times of stress or when we want to feel a certain way.<br /><P><br />I see nothing wrong with enjoying foods or music that make us feel comfortable, but it can be very limiting and dull if we don't also challenge ourselves from time to time.<br /><P><br />One of my favorite places for challenging my musical taste buds is the blog <a href="http://startlingmoniker.wordpress.com/">Startling Moniker</a>. Here you will find intelligent reviews about strange, exotic and very experimental musical recordings. You can usually follow the links if you want to hear some samples of what is being discussed.<br /><P><br />The author of this blog is the host of a radio show devoted to experimental music. He really knows his field and provides insightful commentary. <br /><P><br />If you already have an interest in experimental music, I probably don't need to say anything else. You may want to head over there now and ignore the rest of this review. If, however, you are a little scared or suspicious of experimental music, you may need some gentle coaxing.<br /><P><br />I won't pretend that I enjoy all experimental music. There's a lot that I don't like, but I'm highly in favor of the concept of experimenting with music. Much of the popular music that we hear today is pretty formulaic. It plays upon cultural expectations and is designed to produce a generally pleasant sensation in a large audience. <br /><P><br />Experimental music, however, asks questions. What if we alter or eliminate certain commonly accepted elements of music? The results can be sublime, interesting, or unspeakably dreadful. Either way, the process is informative. You learn about music, but more importantly, you learn about yourself. It can be liberating to brake free from the cultural conditioning that surrounds us. It can be enlightening to discover music that is compatible with your own unique personality, rather than the lowest common denominator of your peer group.<br /><P><br />Since I fancy myself a composer of experimental music, I place great value on my continuing musical education. I have music that makes me comfortable, but I intentionally spend time listening to music that I am unfamiliar with or even dislike. Sometimes my opinions change. Sometimes they are reinforced. Music is, for me, an amazing journey of self discovery. <br /><P><br />I hope you will consider a similar journey through the realm of musical possibilities. I can recommend <a href="http://startlingmoniker.wordpress.com/">Startling Moniker </a>as a good place to start.<br /><P><br /><strong>Some of my favorite posts from Startling Moniker</strong><br /><a href="http://startlingmoniker.wordpress.com/2006/11/17/voice-is-the-original-instrument-early-works/">Voice is the Original Instrument: Early Works</a><br /><a href="http://startlingmoniker.wordpress.com/2006/11/20/the-billion-dollar-synthesizer/">The Billion Dollar Synthesizer</a><br /><a href="http://startlingmoniker.wordpress.com/2006/12/12/seconds-anyone/">Seconds Anyone</a><br /><a href="http://startlingmoniker.wordpress.com/2006/11/29/unit-23/">Unit 23</a>Daniel Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16678739642833104564noreply@blogger.com3