NBC is airing an American version of the British comedy The Office, a faux documentary about a seriously dysfunctional workplace. So far, TV critics are saying the NBC version is actually good! But this sentence from a BBC article really grabbed my attention: In the 1970s, US remakes of well-loved British series Till Death Do …
Author Archives: Jimmy Lin
Theme park based on TV series
Lately my family has been watching a South Korean TV drama series called Dae Jang Geum, aka Jewel of the Palace. The main character is based on a real person, Seo Jang-Geum, who is the only female doctor for the king in Korea’s history. But so little is known about her real life that the …
Campaigns taste better with Fuji-Cola
This is one of the more creative, if not bizarre, political financing schemes I’ve seen. Alberto Fujimori, the disgraced former president of Peru, says that Fuji-Cola will “quench the thirst of popular discontent.”
More about Microsoft’s ClearType Font Collection
Apparently I misunderstood Microsoft’s intent over its new ClearType Font Collection. John Hudson, the designer of one of the typefaces in the collection, says that these new fonts are supposed to be a bonus specifically for Longhorn users.
New fonts, and new controversy, from Microsoft
This won’t be news to font fanatics, but anyway… Microsoft will be distributing six new fonts, called the ClearType Font Collection, that are optimized for on-screen reading. They will start shipping with various Microsoft products next year. But these fonts won’t be freely downloadable (unlike Microsoft’s Core Fonts for the Web, for a while). This …
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KCBS is now webcast
This is more substantive than my previous KCBS posts (about the new jingle, etc.). KCBS started simultaneously streaming audio over the web today, along with 10 other Infinity radio stations. WCBS 880 started in December. I was pleasantly surprised, since Infinity (which is part of Viacom, the owner of CBS) has banned webcasts since late …
Bluegrass songs in Chinese
My previous post on an African-American boy who sings Chinese opera reminded Rich of a former Chinese scholar named Abigail Washburn who sings bluegrass songs in Chinese. She is currently touring China and getting a good reception.
Chinese Restaurants of the South
Ever since I read a New York Times article on Chinese-Americans in the Mississippi Delta, I’ve been fascinated by the idea of the Chinese-American experience away from the urban coasts. Looks like I’m not the only one: Berkeley artist Indigo Som has an ongoing project called the Chinese Restaurant Project. The latest exhibition is called …
More research papers should be like this
Incidence of and risk factors for nodding off at scientific sessions by Kenneth Rockwood, David B. Hogan and Christopher J. Patterson Abstract: We conducted a surreptitious, prospective, cohort study to explore how often physicians nod off during scientific meetings and to examine risk factors for nodding off. After counting the number of heads falling forward …
Frederick Law Olmsted
The latest issue of National Geographic has a great article on Frederick Law Olmsted, an amazingly prolific landscape architect best known for designing Central Park with his partner, Calbert Vaux. Not mentioned in the article is his Bay Area work. For example, he drew up the first campus plan for UC Berkeley in 1866, which …