Capricious Daydream

Photo taken on my iPhone and then edited with Adobe Photoshop.

Mega-Colony of Ants are Conquering the Known World

A recent BBC article reports that a species of Argentine ants are slowly but surely taking over the world, quite literally.

Apparently a mega-colony of these ants have colonized every Continent except Antarctica and are expanding their colonies at a rapid pace. It was reported:

The colony may be the largest of its type ever known for any insect species, and could rival humans in the scale of its world domination.

Check out the article here.

As it is unacceptable for ANY species to rival humans in terms of world domination, if this ant colony continues its imperialistic expansion it could trigger an intergalactic battle between humans and ants, Starship Troopers style. So... "If you see a bug hole, NUKE IT"!

The Surely Stupid Sports Media

I have a real bone to pick.

It seems to me like the New York Football Giants are getting zero respect from the American sports media. This is the same team who commandeered a perfect season away from the New England Patriots with their 2007 Superbowl victory, a heartbreaking loss for New England sports fans. This is the same team who dominated the regular season in 2008 and probably would have gone on to another Superbowl had star receiver Plaxico Burress not shot himself in the leg. Indeed the Giants did beat both 2008 Superbowl contenders, the Pittsburgh Steelers AND the Arizona Cardinals, during last years regular season.

Even after two great seasons, this off-season the sports media has refused to acknowledge the power of the Giants . A recent CBS Sportsline article summed up the top 50 players in the NFL right now. Eli Manning, the Giants quarterback who won the 2007 Superbowl MVP and went to the Pro Bowl last year did not even make the list, yet Tom Brady, the Patriots quarterback who did not play last season made the number two spot! There's something about Tom Brady that the sports media just salivates over. FoxSports released a list of the top ten clutch players in the NFL, guess who number one was? Yes, FoxSports ranked Tom Brady as the most clutch player in the NFL.

Do you see what I'm getting at? Wasn't it Manning, not Brady, who orchestrated a last minute drive on the biggest stage in America during the 2007 season bringing the Giants the title? One could even go as far as to say that Brady choked during that Superbowl. After not losing a game the whole season he ended up losing the one game that really mattered. For some reason that doesn't seem to me like a sign of a "clutch" quarterback.

Manning won the Superbowl MVP in 2007 and played in the 2008 Pro Bowl and he gets no recognition from the media for those accomplishments. He helped win a Superbowl ring for his team in 2007 and was likely to repeat until the Plax drama, and he doesn't even make the 50 top players! In fact 7 of the top 10 players have not yet won a Superbowl, one of the top two players didn't even play football last year, and still they're ranked over Manning. I don't know how these sports reporters make these lists but it really seems to be a bunch of bologna.

It's okay though... the media can continue to lambaste Manning and under-rate the Giants, they thrive when being doubted. Now they have one of the strongest defenses in the NFL and a beastly offense that no longer has to put up with the drama of Plaxico Burress. You heard it here first, the New York Football Giants are the team to beat in 2009. Watch out for BIG BLUE!

Restaurant Conjuring - The Magic of Jared Molten

Magician, Jared Molten, performs his unique brand of intimate close-up magic at high-end restaurant and supperclub, Richie Cecere's, during New Years Eve in Montclair, New Jersey. Jared Molten's magic is charming, sophisticated, highly entertaining and PERFECT for your next special event.

For more information on Jared's awe inspiring magic visit his website!

www.magicofmolten.com

Fire Truck Smashes into Mission Park!

This afternoon a Boston fire truck rolled through the stoplight at Parker Hill Ave. and Huntington Ave., in the Mission Hill neighborhood, and smashed through the front gate and then the lobby of the Mission Park apartments.

One firefighter was killed while another fireman and two children were hospitalized as reported by the Boston Globe. A Globe source reports that the the truck might have lost control of its breaks as it descended down the steep hill before its eventual collision.

The scene was swamped by dozens of firefighters, policemen, and reporters following the accident. Currently that section of Huntington Avenue has been closed to both pedestrians and reporters.

Check out this Flickr set for more photos taken after the accident.

The Internet's Magician Playground

The one thing that we have learned over the course of the past semester is that in this day and age it is vital for any publication to maintain a Web presence.

Genii Magazine, the oldest magician magazine in the United States, has done just that by using a combination of both older Web tools (i.e, Bulletin Board System) and Web 2.0 tools (user-edited encyclopedias) to create a unique Web experience that will only continue to improve as the Internet gets more advanced.

One of the newer additions to the Genii site, and very Web 2.0 savvy, I must add, is the Magicpedia, "a version of Wikipedia for magicians...that has about 2000 pages of information on it," said Richard Kaufman, 50, the owner and editor of Genii which is based out of Washington D.C.

The Magicpedia allows any Web user to look up different magicians, tricks, and even magic history. Like Wikipedia, Magicpedia also gives users the privilege and ability to edit or create articles, so long as the user has a (free) Magicpedia account.

Genii's Web site also offers a massive magazine database called the Genii Archives. The archives are literally a PDF catalog of "every issue of Genii Magazine from 1936-1998," said Kaufman. "You do have to pay to get this," Kaufman added, and a six month subscription to the archives starts at $45.

"I use the Genii Archives all the time," said David Oliver, 42, a Boston based full-time magician and product reviewer for Genii Magazine. "As a reviewer I need to know what the history of various magic effects are, and I need to be able to go back and find out where things came from, where they're going, who did it first, who did it second, who stole what from whom, and I need to be able to put that in writing with the knowledge that I get from the Genii Archives," he said.

Unlike Magicpedia which allows access and even editing power to anyone, the archives are primarily for professional use. "The people who have subscriptions to the archives are fairly serious magicians," said Michael Patrick, 22, demonstrator at the world renowned Tannen's Magic Shop in New York City.

Both Magicpedia and the Genii Archives are progressive measures that Genii has taken to ensure a dominating Web presence. Magicpedia in particular embodies Web 2.0, as it is a site made up of user-submitted content and is totally user-driven. In contrast, Genii's main competitor, Magic Magazine, offers no interactive content on their site. Instead it provides links for purchasing subscriptions of the magazine and gives viewers a condensed version of the cover story.

Most magicians agree that although Magicpedia and the Genii Archives offer a good source of information, the majority of people visiting the Genii site are there to surf the Genii forum. The forum is an online magic community where magicians can go to discuss either the current issue of Genii or any magical topic with other professionals. The forum is so useful because anyone can start a discussion on what they're interested in and then get feedback from the entire Genii forum community, including the editor of Genii. "I post [on the forum] every day," said Kaufman.

"I think the forum is useful for both professionals and amateurs," said Oliver. "Professionals have a safe place to congregate where they know their ideas are looked at in a serious matter... the Genii forum has an attraction for people who know what they're talking about."

Although popular among many, not all in the magic community would agree that the Internet is the right place for the discussion of a trade and profession based on secrets.

"I'm not involved in main-stream conventional magic," said mentalist Jon Stetson, 49. "My bend is a little bit different, but I feel the Internet is the worst thing that ever happened to the art of magic."

Stetson said that having magic on the Internet offers novices and those with a passive magic interest an easy platform to make videos and deliver lectures as if they were seasoned professionals, something he staunchly disagrees with.

"I've only done a couple of lectures for the magic people of the world," Stetson said. "Basically, because I don't feel I'm qualified to teach, I've only been doing this for 45 years."

Whether one agrees with magic discussion being on the Web or not, there is no debate that having an open market of ideas on the forum can offer guidance and help.

"I've gotten a lot out of reading the posts on the forums," said Rob Balchunas, 21, a senior at Emerson College and part-time balloon-sculptor. "I've read a lot of posts on things to wear, the psychology on creating a show, and things related to constructing a show in general."

With Web sites constantly changing and updating, it is interesting to ponder what the future of the Genii Web site will look like.

"I personally don't think there should be instructional videos on the Web, perhaps a performance-only piece that goes with the tricks or routines that are taught in the magazine each month," said Oliver, "so you could click on a link and see a video presentation of what tricks are supposed to look like."

Balchunas agreed. "I definitely feel that video would enhance the Genii site," he said. "Maybe video interviews of some of the featured magicians from the magazine. I think the way the Net is going and the way digital video is going it would make a good addition to the Web site."

It seems that magicians and magic enthusiasts will be getting the video that they desire on the Genii Web site soon.

"It will have video on it," said Kaufman, "but the video will be generated by us."

THIS IS WHAT PROFESSIONAL MAGICIANS HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE GENII FORUMS!

Universal Hub

Local blog enthusiasts prepare yourselves. There has been a revolution in ways of finding local Boston blogs and it definitely does not include a Google search. Adam Gaffin, co-founder of Boston blog database, Universal Hub, tells us how it all started.

Gaffin has a full-time day job, but at night he becomes the legendary blogger of Universal Hub, who soars through Internet domains until he finds local boston blogs to add to the Hub's collections. He links those local blogs to his site as a way to bring those blog readers to his site, and also a way for him to direct traffic to the blogs he posts.

Universal Hub does something that not many others have tried by congregating thousands of local blogs and putting them all in one place. Although I would imagine the task to be somewhat tedious for Gaffin, he is quite the blogging hobbyist and has made his blog a business.

Universal Hub does not link to just any Boston blog, but to ones that are relevant and news-worthy. Gaffin emphasized his desire to make the Hub a news gathering portal, where local news that would never have made the Boston Globe would make a popular post on his site. He especially likes stories about the "T" because it is one of the mosst common tools that Bostonians use day-in and day-out, which is why one should expect to see a "T" blog when browsing the Hub. To illustrate my example, the newest blog link on the Hub at this second is called "Sure, it's no T Radio - it's worse," and discusses a new PA system that the MBTA brought forth in North Station. It's stories like this that hold relevance in a Bostonian's mind and stories like this that one would never encounter in the Globe.

I think the Universal Hub is an extraordinary tool to finding local blogs, it offers a unique Web service that I have not seen in any other cities, and for that alone I think it's a tremendous and creative effort. I think it's inevitable for this platform to spread to other cities across the United States taking the example that Gaffin offers with the one and only Universal Hub.