In an attempt to understand the northern European children’s icon “Pippi Longstocking” (Pippi Långstrump), I recently watched the 1969 film: Pippi Longstocking.

And also because I had suspected her of being the Wendy’s hamburger girl.

Aside from her disturbing habit of flashing her underpants at everyone in a manner akin to Sharon Stone, I was struck by the notion that she could be clinically defined as a “Feral Child,” or minimally a worst-case-scenario “Latchkey Kid.”
Below is the comparative study:

• Latchkey Kid: Left at home, unsupervised, for 3 or more hours a week.
• Feral Child: Has lived apart from human contact from a very young age.
• Pippi Longstocking: Her mother is “with the angels” and her absentee father is preoccupied with a career in open ocean piracy.

• Latchkey Kid: Nearly twice as likely to initiate high-risk behaviors and to develop substance abuse problems.
• Feral Child: Often unable to ever completely adapt to the normal social environment.
• Pippi Longstocking: Takes multiple (unprescribed) medications simultaneously, participates in high-risk behaviors such as lifting a horse over her head.

(more…)

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1982.
Steve Jobs at home.
“This was a very typical time. I was single. All you needed was a cup of tea, a light, and your stereo, you know, and that’s what I had.”
- Steve Jobs

Diana Walker: The Bigger Picture (comes in handy book form)

(via Digital Journalist, via SachsReport)

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“Kick ass! If somebody tries to stop the march to democracy we will seek them out and kill them! We must be tougher than hell! This Vietnam stuff…it’s not even close! It is a mindset! We can’t send that message! It’s an excuse to prepare us for the withdrawal! This is a series of moments and this is one of them! Our will is being tested but we are resolute! We have a better way! Stay strong! Stay the course! Kill them! Be confident! Prevail! We are going to wipe them out! We are not blinking! ”

- George W. Bush’s pre-Iraq war pep-talk to U.S. Generals
as recounted in General Ricardo S. Sanchez’s book, Wiser in Battle, seen on Countdown with Keith Olbermann

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World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

[I just finished reading it (and yes, I know this book has been out a while)]:

By title alone, you are probably thinking one of two things:
a). “Cool! Zombie fiction!“
b). “Dear God . . . Zombie fiction?!?“

Here’s the catch: it’s not so much about zombies, it’s about how different societies would react to a global pandemic. However, the pandemic in this story happens to be the reanimated dead. And author Max Brooks didn’t get lazy about it either – he did his homework, he left no technical detail to chance. The only real fiction is the zombie part: no Deus ex machina, no laser guns invented to save humanity.

Topically, Brooks found a fascinating subject, flush with interesting questions:
“How would China or Canada react to a pandemic?”
“What is the best way to stop a pandemic from spreading across the globe?”
“What would happen to the average person when their town/city is overrun?”
“What would our government do?”
“How would we rebuild?”

Brooks also chose the perfect format for this type of story – the story is told through interviews (dozens and dozens of interviews) with different people around the world who were at significant events/moments during the spread of the disease and/or the subsequent war.

Bonus Round: It’s already on its way to being a feature film in 2010.

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The two coolest new travel spots for the traveler-in-the-know:

Visit the jewel of Eastern Europe – Molvanîa (“A land untouched by modern dentistry”).

. . . or head to the glamorous beaches of Phaic Tãn in exotic Southeast Asia.

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FirstShowing.net has a flash video of the alternate (and original) ending to “I Am Legend” (2007) (can also been seen on some versions of the DVD).

(via Garry)

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“[It] is chemistry – or biology – it has nothing to do with hearts and flowers and the like. We are all, in our own way, completely and totally alone. If love is real, it is a complete and total failing of the intellect. It is utter self-destruction. It is pandemonium.”

– Joe Meno in “The Boy Detective Fails“

Happy F%#ing Valentine’s Day

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