The Null Device

2002/5/16

An interesting article by an American Jew in Germany, about cultural identity, history, bootywhang and wacky Germans in films (including The Big Lebowski, Graham). (via Reenhead)

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Canada's legislators debate decriminalising or legalising marijuana; in response, U.S. Government threatens to impose trade sanctions, which would devastate the export-oriented Canadian economy, unless Canada toes the line.

"To antagonize government leaders and grass roots leader because you insist on having a radical drug policy that we will not ignore in the long term, then its going to have adverse consequences and I hope we would be able to rectify it before it comes to blows," explains Maginnis.

(via Plastic)

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Love in the Time of Marketing: The inimitable Polly Esther (who, it appears, has a blog of sorts) sets her sights on the phenomenon of online dating, and the streamlining of the sexual marketplace into the age of brands. And then there are gems of cynical insight such as:

Strange how easy and familiar this process is to us; but then, most relationships are at least 30 percent imagination. Without a fantasy-driven notion of themselves as a pair, most couples' relationships would collapse under the weight of years of compromise and self-sacrifice.

(via Plastic)

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Clearing things up: George Lucas has stated that Jedi knights are not celibate, and may have active sex lives. Note that this only applies to the Jedi knights in the films, and not the self-styled variety you see on the net.

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Factoid of the day: Japanese has a word for the concept of slack. The word is "yutori" - to take it easy. It means having room or a surplus of something, be it time or money. (ta, Toby)

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Americans Cannot By Definition Be War Criminals: Recently several nations (with the exception of the US and lackey states like Australia) voted to establish a permanent International Criminal Court to try war crimes. In response, a US congressional committee has voted to authorise the use of force to rescue US servicemen held on war crimes charges in that new Baghdad, The Hague. (And while the US troops are there they can put those recalcitrant Dutch into line with the War On Drugs too.) (via Reenhead)

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