This caught my eye because I may be one of those filmmakers they are addressing this to. If Janet drags me on another Zapatour.
Indymedia - SubDelegado Zero regarding altmedia and coverage
A presentation by Nicholas Negroponte on the $100 laptop.
MIT World » : The Hundred Dollar Laptop-Computing for Developing Nations
The Zapatistas have drifted off the world stage since their 2001 march from the jungles of Chiapas to Mexico City to present the case for an indigenous bill of rights. This year's tour will seek to regain some of the spirit of that previous tour and grab some of the spotlight of the Mexican presidential campaign.
MEXICO: Zapatista Guerrillas Set for Nationwide Tour
This plugin provides an OPML-based sidebar (reading list, blogroll, directory) for a Wordpress weblog. It's the best tool so far for integrating OPML into a more common format.
Back online after 4 days gone. I read 4 books instead. Sweet. Here's the first geeky thing I ran across when I got back.
Maclive.net: Setup Mac OS X VPN Server for Mac & XP Clients
Yucatecan archaeologists are rejecting the groundbreaking claims regarding the San Bartolo murals.
Rechazan arqueólogos yucatecos novedad de murales mayas en Guatemala
The writer of this editorial (from Dec. 16) apparently did not believe the statements regarding no Usu plans, and cautioned against anything that would result in an Usumacinta hydroelectric plant.
PrensaLibre.com - EDITORIAL Al respecto de las consultoras
Estas obras son una refinería, enorme para los estándares del Istmo, una planta eléctrica de 350 megavatios a base de carbón coque, la integración eléctrica mexicano-ístmica, un gasoducto en la región valuados en US$2 mil millones, eficiencia energética, energías renovables y una serie de gasolineras de Petróleos Mexicanos.
Para Guatemala, el único renglón que debe analizarse con todo cuidado es lo que se refiere a las energías renovables, porque podría implicar la construcción de la hidroeléctrica del Usumacinta, lo que es imposible hacerlo sin causar daños muy serios al país y a la cultura universal a causa de la inundación de importantes áreas mayas y de un vasto espacio del territorio petenero.
At the close of a report (from Dec. 12) on plans for a Central American oil refinery and a gas pipeline from Mexico to Panama, the Guatemalan minister of Foreign Relations, Jorge Briz, is quoted as saying there are no plans for a dam on the Usumacinta.
PrensaLibre.com - Instalación de refinería se decidirá hasta 2006
Aseguró que ni México ni Guatemala consideran construir la megahidroeléctrica en el río Usumacinta.
Starting as an essay on anti-Spanish sentiment in the Philippines, this moves to ways that same prejudice was used to justify non-Hispanic settlement of the New World. Spanish burning of all the Maya books would justify it for me.
'La Leyenda Negra' revisited - INQ7.net
The Spaniards, by the way, were their own worst enemies. The Black Legend started in 1552, when Bartolome de las Casas, formerly bishop of Chiapas, published "Brevissima Relacion de la Destruycion de las Yndias," which has been described as "a powerful and lasting indictment of Spanish behavior toward Indian populations in the New World." (How the good friar could have described it as brief is weird; the work is 4,000 pages long.) Naturally, the Protestants picked up Las Casas' condemnation with alacrity and used it to argue for a greater non-Spanish European presence in the New World and, of course, for their own imperialistic designs.
Public Domain Movie Torrents with PDA versions
At least, the future of theater projection. Digital and 3D?
Daily Wireless - Theaters Jammed, Go 3-D
The new technology at the root of the NSA wiretap scandal
Got a new season of tech workshops with the Girls Club coming up. This has some good circuits, including iPod chargers, something we started this fall.
DIY Live » DIY Archive » Ten most needed circuits for the DIYer
Via EchoDitto
U.S. SENATOR BARBARA BOXER | Newsroom
Boxer Asks Presidential Scholars About Former White House Counsel's Statement that Bush Admitted to an 'Impeachable Offense'
December 19, 2005
Washington, D.C.– U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today asked four presidential scholars for their opinion on former White House Counsel John Dean’s statement that President Bush admitted to an “impeachable offense” when he said he authorized the National Security Agency to spy on Americans without getting a warrant from a judge.
Boxer said, “I take very seriously Mr. Dean’s comments, as I view him to be an expert on Presidential abuse of power. I am expecting a full airing of this matter by the Senate in the very near future.”
A small muni wireless project in the Scottish town of Troon, using Locustworld meshboxes. Thanks to Sam Churchill at Daily Wireless.
Daily Wireless - Scottish Mesh
For the Girls Club tech program or PS188. Or both.
K12Linux in Schools Project - Home Page
(Above, the MV Jupiter before and after renovation, from what I can gather. It was built in 1974)
If this is true it will make a lot of gringos happy. My original post about the old Tampa-Merida ferry (I took it in 2003) attracted more comments and questions than anything else I've posted. Go figure.
More information. Here's the ship that will be used for the run (photo above):
More rumors from the Merida Insider below.
FERRY contact info
Posted by fishfrier58 on Saturday, November 26 @ 22:19:44 CST (111 reads)
ivon writes "Here is the contact info for the ferry leaving Florida December 30th
Rafael Martinez
Office Ph #(941) 722-3500
e-mail: rafael@radianceshippingline.com
We´ll keep you posted "
Information and NewsCAR FERRY Good News
Posted bymexicobob on Saturday, November 26 @ 09:24:01 CST
Contributed by ivon
The car ferry is a certain thing????
YES!!!!!!
Many of us got the news of a passenger ferry coming to Progreso in December, there have been many stories floating about since then. It turns out here are 2 ships on the works.
The one everyone heard about (MV Jupiter) is NOT written in stone yet. They are still working on finishing the paper work.
NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The MARITIME center in Tampa will have a cargo ship leaving Port Manatee, Fl on December 30th arriving to Progreso on January the 5th. They will be making the trip on a weekly basis
This ship is mostly cargo however, they have 6 cabins for a total capacity of 12 passengers.
This is GREAT!!! news for all of us.
For up to date info contact Hotel Embajadores in Progreso at (969) 935-5673 or at hotelembajadores@yahoo.com
(From casaisadora.com)
The Emerald Coast RV Park
Several Progreso residents are putting together a group of investors to finance a RV park near Progreso.
The MV Jupiter car ferry which will arrive in April 2006 has the capacity to carry over 360 vehicles of ALL sizes up to large tractor trailers and buses.
There is presently NO RV park in Progreso or along the coast. The closest RV park is on teh north side of Merida , some 40 kilometers south.
This RV park is closing this year.
We are looking for up to 10 investors in order to raise $50,000.US to buy the land and set up the park. Local, experienced management is available year round.
RV park owners and operators are invited to participate.
Contact Peter 1-866-677-7822.
Tamp Bay to Progreso Passenger and Car Ferry will start service in April 2006
It was recently announced by the mayor of Progreso Enrique Magadan that a new passenger and car service will start in April 2006.
The company , The Marine Centre, of Miami will be operating the MV Jupiter luxury cruise ship twice a week year round from the port of Tampa, Florida to Progreso, Yucatan.
The ship is presently being outfitted with 3 restaurants, a casino, swimming pool and theaters.
Fares are not yet available nor is the schedule.
The company is setting up a web site at www.theshuttle.com It should be available with details in January.
Looking forward to a real Mac version of Google Earth (mine is flakey) so I can check this out.
Google Earth Community: ***** World Wide: Famous Trees*****
Open source biomedical research. Mick, do you know about this?
WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: The Synaptic Leap
Rudy Rucker's "Ware" series (Software, Wetware, Freeware, Realware) was a formative influence on my imagination and that of my microbiologist son. Excuse me, I have some listening to do.
Rudy Rucker on GigaDial Public - powered by FeedBurner
Via Digital Poetics, a roundtable discussion of the video iPod.
Roundtables - "The Video iPod"
In 2004, I spent five weeks with the archaeological team in San Bartolo, Guatemala, documenting on video every step of the discovery of today's announcement. Now that National Geographic has released the information, I'll be putting my photos and video on the web. Stay tuned, and come back to this post for updates.
Earliest Known Maya Painting Found - New York Times
UPDATE: Here's the video.
An opening shot, a standup, a tunnel walk, and you're into the San Bartolo experience. 5 weeks condensed into 4 minutes, my tribute to everyone on the team, a glimpse of the discovery and the astonishment of three visiting archaeologists and epigraphers, stars in their own right: David Stuart, Karl Taube, and Ian Graham.
Temporada - Digging San Bartolo - iPod Video 20mb
And yes, that is a figure of HunahPu (a king in costume?) performing a bloody penis perforation with a six-foot spear. Did they mention that in the Times? I don't think so. Did Bill mention it on the Today show? I don't know, didn't see it.
UPDATE 2: Here's more on San Bartolo from this site: Search Results
UPDATE 3: Contact me - dave dot pentecost at gmail dot com - for Maya travel and tour info for this spring. We're planning another Usumacinta study trip (Maya cities of Palenque, Yaxchilan, Piedras Negras) and are raising funds now.
UPDATE 4: For Maya related podcasts, check out the Junglecasts that Nicco Mele and I did last spring. Enjoy!
UPDATE 5: For a Google Earth preview of the Usumacinta River trip, see this.
UPDATE 6: If you don't have a video iPod, don't worry (I don't either, but it's a compact file). Download the latest free Quicktime player, for OS X, or Windows.
UPDATE 7: For folks coming by way of Doc Searls' weblog, here's a photo of the stunned satellite dish installers who arrived at night from Guatemala City. This is the moment the team went online. (click for a larger photo)
Once before, I was part of a satellite uplink from the top of a pyramid, but this was the most remote network I've seen.
From CasdraBlog by Mike Houser, links to Applescripts to make iPod video (and other iTunes items) bookmarkable, so you can come back to where you left off.
Doug's AppleScripts for iTunes « Miscellaneous
Duh!
Discovery Channel :: News :: Stone Age Humans Often Squatted
The Google Earth application for Mac OS X has just been leaked in a beta version, and of course I had to play with it. I've done a first stab at a tour of the Usumacinta River, starting and ending in New York City. I've also done an overlay of Ron Canter's hand drawn maps, based on his study and travel on the river. Ron has a wealth of information on Maya sites and trails that adds a lot to the already spectacular 3D display that Google has provided.
The file below is large (8.4mb) but it can be opened in the Google Earth application. Depending on your choices for other overlays, it runs pretty smoothly.
New York to the Usumacinta and Back (updated and improved 2:45am)
This tutorial, and the comments to it, have good information about the EQ capabilities of Garageband, which I discovered I needed last night at the PodLab (grand opening at the Girls Club on Monday).
MacJams.com - GarageBand Tutorial: Built-in Audio Unit Effects
Worth1000.com | Photoshop Contests | Archaeological Anomalies
Webpage that will add a "bug" to your movie that is a link to your website. Good idea if you are letting your videos out into the wild. Via the weblog of Lucas Gonze
Linkubator
Another screen movie capture program, for OS X, but it records flash movies instead of Quicktime. Better for the web in some ways.
Polarian Technology - Home of Screen Mimic - Macromedia Flash (SWF) Descktop recorder for Mac OS X
Dr. Kathryn Reese-Taylor has announced the discovery of a stela carved with a portrait of a Maya noblewoman or goddess, at the site of Naachtun in Guatemala.
Jungle discovery opens new chapter in Maya history
How-to videos are going to be a big area for iPod video downloads. Here's one service now that's offering DVD rentals. The downloads will come in time.
Technical Video Rental - New Videos
Okay, this is cool. Thanks Jon, and Lucas for the pointer
Jon Udell: Greasemonkeying Google Video
In Borneo, it looks to be a member of the family that includes mongoose and civets.
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | 'New mammal' seen in Borneo woods
Odd campaign and funding alliances in Mexico
Some candidates, like PRD nominee Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, have devised mass telemarketing finance schemes that some people suspect are being used to funnel in untraceable contributions from Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Other financing strategies have been contrived by using government officials as intermediaries for laundering campaign contributions, perhaps the most notorious cases being video-scandals in which the PRD leader of the Mexico City Assembly, Rene Bejarano, was taped receiving cash from a city contractor allegedly for party campaigns. Or the Tijuana case, where municipal employee salaries were docked a five percent “PRI contribution” for aid packages donated to victims of Hurricane Wilma, but the money was diverted to the PRI campaign headquarters in Chiapas.
Threats and bribes make no difference to the leader of one community that is affected by the dam construction in Nayarit.
La lucha contra la presa El Cajón, aun "a costa de mi vida", advierte ejidatario
Found at The Online Books Page, a collection of 25,000 public domain books on the web.
This "meta-book" of Twain essays includes "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences".
How to Tell a Story, and Other Essays, by Twain
New version of their in-the-browser podcasting tool. Easy but your podcast lives on their site.
The Odeo Blog: Podcast Amongst Yourselves
Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences faces financial troubles and understaffing.
Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/04/2005 | Dinosaur museum is itself threatened
The academy raised money to establish the DNA lab and equip it with an automated sequencer that reads DNA extracted from tissue samples. It has raised $1.3 million of $5 million needed to fund staff and other equipment and endow it.
The academy used the DNA lab to help determine that a catfish found in a river in Chiapas, Mexico, was a previously undocumented species.
Here are my previous posts on that catfish, Lacantunia Enigmatica.
Opponents of the La Parota dam project in Mexico are blocking roads into town to prevent the negotiations that will begin dam construction, eventually flooding 17,000 hectares.
Se atrincheran vecinos de Los Guajes, opositores a La Parota
AP Spanish | 11/29/2005 | Guatemala: narcos protegen a saqueadores de sitios arqueológicos
Via Boing Boing. Realtime conversion. iPod compatible. A lot faster than doing it on your Mac. Great gadget.