in light of the fact that I’m trying to get less serious in these posts, I thought I would write about a graphic novel that I’ve been reading on the net called NYC2123.

It is a post cyberpunk novel with a very dystopian view of the world, a little Gibsonesque, and full of really cool ideas around technology and the web.

Now if you are rolling your eyes at this point, saying Nathan you are such a geek, you are totally right.  This book is for geeks and sci-fi/ fantasy people.  So if you are an eye roller, see you in the next post.

Set in the year 2123, NYC is partially underwater from the polar ice caps melting, and the city has fallen into a sorry state of repair.  Drug addicts and criminals run the streets.

There is an interesting little skirmish happening in Kingston between a tenant and land hold company in the area.  Sarah Dawe has been blogging about her negative experiences with Homestead Holdings and is now facing eviction hearings.

The woman has been getting a fair amount of press both in the Whig Standard, national media and the blogosphere. 

The latest article in the Whig explains that she was before the housing tribunal to defend the eviction notice.  Now to me, Homestead is completely out of line bringing a libel case to the housing tribunal.  If it is libel, then serve her with criminal charges, don’t cloak it in an eviction notice.  (Evicting her totally doesn’t deal with the problem, it’s just a big stick.)

 They have already managed to take down a blog that was hosted in Canada.  (It must have been libelous if they managed this.)  Dawe then moved to a blogspot blog, and thus the company really couldn’t do much take it down.

From a PR perspective, I think Homestead have done a truely miserable job. 

I’ve been readi about second life for a few months now and am constantly amazed about what this new digital world is offering.  It is science fiction come true and an incredibly interesting experiment in economics, social interactions, as well as computer aided design.

So what is Second Life?  It could be described as a game, but that would minimize the importance.  It could be described as a new place on the internet, but that would be overly simplistic.  It could be described as a means of communication, but that would miss so much of whathappens in SL.

SL is a digital world, created by a company called linden labs.  this world is a place where people go to interact with others, build their dream house, or start a business.

The first description of a digital world with the richness and complexity of SL I found in the writing of Neal Stephenson’s novel Snow Crash.  THe Metaverse as he described it, was a second world, where people could design everything around them from people to buildings.  REsidents ofStephenson’s metaverse could “jack in” to this space and become a part of a completely virtual society.

SL does exactly that.  Creates a world where you can go and hangout with friends, work or go to an event.  Residents of SL are able to go to lectures, join groups of like minded individuals or hangout in the house that they have built by the ocean.

I have a pile of stuff that would probobly be useful (or fun) in someone elses hands rather than mine.  I'll be adding a bunch of stuff that I am trying to get rid of.  I'll post what I think it's worth, but make me an offer and it might work out for you.

Lowe Alpine Messenger Bag

This is a great bag.  Perfect for trips to the market or grocery store.  I just ordered a new bag, so I won't be needing this one.  $30 OBO.

Robosapien v1

This is one of those things that looked like a really good idea at the time, but no resides in the closet.  If you have a kid who has been bugging you for one, this is a great opportuinty.  $60 OBO

Sony MDR-XXX Headphones

These are a great set of mid-range headphones, they simply don't fit my treo so I don't need them any more.  They retail for $30-40, I'll let them go for $20. (No noticeable wear and tear.)

Over the past few days we've seen a bunch of people expressing interest in the Federal Liberal Leadership.   Some of the candidates are truely surprising both from a personal perspective as well as their position on the political spectrum.

Bob Rae was the first really big surprise.  I have a soft spot for Bob Rae as he's a friend of my step father's and one of the first really prolific left politicians.  Many blame him for deficits that the conservatives inherited, but his social policy was solid.  I think with a strong cabinet, Rae would be a great choice for a leader.  (Although he might be a hard sell to Liberals in general, as he is a little too far to the left for people to be comfortable.)

Gerrard Kennedy is another unlikely candidate.  Education has been a priority for the McGuinty government, so Kennedy has been in the news a fair amount in the past year.  From a policy perspective he would be another liberal favorite.  He has a great track record working with disparate groups and building consensus in difficult places.  But from a political point of view, he is kind of awkward.  He's not great while in the hot seat, and it might take a few years to get him up to the standard of public speaking that is required of a leader. 

Stephane Dion has more federal experience than the others, but is a little awkward as well.  I caught a bit of his press conference this morning, and while the speech was good, he totally read it.  Again, media training might fix this but I think that a leader of the Liberal Party should already be a little more cultivated. 

There are others of course that have expressed interest in the parties leadersip, but they are city councillors and such.  Without a huge political network to get financing, making those bids come to anything will be a monumental task.

So to conclude, the contenders so far seem to be a little further left than in the past, they seem to be a little less polished, and they seem to lack the federal political network that is needed to make it happen.

The next few months will be interesting for sure. 

At the risk of pissing off a lot of readers, I just have to make a comment on the recent protests surrounding the movie release of the Da Vinci Code.  

BBC is reporting loud protests in India, South Korea, and of course, the Vatican.  They claim that people who see the film are twice as likely to believe the fictional premise that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had a child.

Isn't any kind of engagement with religious doctrine good for discussion?  Even if Hollywood completely distorts factual events (like this is the first time), isn't it a good thing that people are exposed to the subject matter and hopefully come to their own conclusions?  Any publicity is good publicity, so the saying goes.

What makes me really angry is the censorship that the Christian right would like to impose on people.  Banning art and/ or a different perspective of events cannot simply be banned because it is blasphemous.  This is 2006, blaspehmy is totally not a valid reason today.  Open discourse is a tool to find the truth.  Who doesn't want to hear the truth?

Even if Jesus did marry and had a child, would that make a big difference?  Would it really change the structure of the Christian belief system that much?  I always thought that there was a huge disconnect between the teachings of Jesus, the man, and the churches doctrine.  This just proves me right.

So let's say the South Koreans manage to ban the movie.  What's next, a good old fashion book burning?  If the Christian right manage to snuff out an artistic work because if posed a threat to their religious construct, what will be next?  I can think of a dozen books that fall into this category. 

We must have faith.  Faith that people will look into things for themselves.  We must have faith that our religions will not topple when someone expresses a contrary view.  We must have faith that people will allow others to speak their minds, because it could be your speech that snuffed out next.