In His First Televised Interview in Quite Some Time, President Bush Explains Himself

Today, President Bush met with Elizabeth Vargas for an interview that aired on World News Tonight on ABC. In his first television interview in quite a long time, President Bush explains his position on the controversial DP World ports deal, reiterates his anti-oil sentiment, “…including changing how we drive cars, getting unhooked from oil,” and even explains his exact stance on abortion with his three exceptions: “rape, incest, and the life of the mother.” The President states that unemployment rates are at 4.7%, which is one of the lowest rates in history and that the economy is at a healthy level. With the nation’s polls leaving the President at a low 37% approval rate, what are some ways he, and his cabinet, can bring that rating up?

Is It Too Soon?

Oliver Stone is currently in the process of shooting a feature-length motion picture, “World Trade Center”, inspired by the events of September 11, 2001. The movie will tell the gripping story of the last two survivors pulled from the wreckage of the former World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan. Nicholas Cage will play Sergeant John McLoughlin and Michael Pena will be playing the role of William J. Jimeno. These real-life Port Authority officers are working very close with the production crew, directors and actors, making sure every detail is exact to that day, as they are the best witnesses to their story. Universal Pictures has already filmed “Flight 93“, a movie (directed by Paul Greengas, director of “Bloody Sunday” and “The Bourne Supremacy”) about the events on the ill-fated flight 93 that departed from Newark International Airport on September 11th and crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. “Flight 93″ will be released in April 2006. Adam Sandler is set to play a grieving man who lost his family on 9/11 in “Reign O’er Me.” Another film, “102 Minutes” will be released in 2007 as an adaptation of the book by New York Times reporter Jim Dwyer, that “recreates the moments between the first plane’s crash into the World Trade Center and the second tower’s collapse.” Since Hollywood is coming out in full force on the topic, the question on everyone’s mind is: Is it too soon for a major motion picture depicting the disaster that is still painfully fresh in our minds? We all remember the exact emotion we felt when we first realized the magnitude of the tragedy on that day. We can all remember where we were when we saw it on the news, heard it on the radio, or heard the announcement over a public address system. Can we possibly stand reliving that day, with every detail, a mere five years later?

Toshiba and Sony to Fuel Legal (and Illegal) Online Movie Downloads

As the technology and film industry gear up for the next-gen optical format war, it is important to step back and ask the question: Who will ultimately benifit from this?

Next month, Toshiba will be releasing its first HD-DVD player. Sony has also announced their first Blu-Ray player and expects to go to market before the end of the year. Initially, excitement from early adopters may drive sales. But in the long run, with the uncertainty of what movies will be available on which format, consumers will turn to an alternate source for their hollywood fix: the internet.

Within the next year a number of companies are poised to begin offering legal downloads of movies online. Starz has already opened an online movie store called Vongo, which offers unlimited movies for $9.99 a month. And with the expected release of a true video iPod, Apple might just have a thing or two up their sleeve. Although the quality of online video will initialy be nowhere near High Definition, as bandwidth increases over the next few years we will see legal and illegal downloads approaching and even surpassing that of the next-gen optical discs.

Unless Toshiba and Sony can agree to play nice, this next battle will prove a loss for both companies and mark the demise of a physical video format.

image courtesy of www.hometheaterfocus.com

Is Bush Going Green?

Extreme Liberals will argue “NO!” and Green Conservatives are putting all their hopes behind the question: “Is President Bush going green?” There is a trend developing in the right wing; more and more self-proclaimed Conservatives are personally experimenting with the ideas of sustainability and “green” infrastructure. Arnold Schwartznegger and George Pataki, governors of California and New York (both Republicans), are putting tax dollars where their mouth is; they are dedicating more and more of their budgets to renewable energy initiatives and development. California is planning the United States’ first Hydrogen Highway and New York is pushing to become the center for Hydrogen Fuel research at its multiple General Motors research facilities.

Calatrava: New York’s New Leading Architect

Santiago Calatrava is bursting onto the New York architecture scene, even outdoing Gehry. Calatrava, widely known for his “Sundial Bridge” in California and “Turning Torso” in Malmo, Sweden, is in the midst of planning numerous projects in Manhattan. His residential tower, 80 South Street, is poised for construction. Calatrava has been chosen to build the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub. Recently, in a proposal to the city for redevelopment of Governor’s Island, Calatrava introduced the new idea for a suspended aerial tram out over the Harbor and to the island. Calatrava’s sleek and minimal designs are sure to change New York’s image from dank and boxy to organic and soaring. Santiago Calatrava’s biomorphic designs are now on display at the MET in New York in the exhibit, “Santiago Calatrava: Sculpture Into Architecture.” www.metmuseum.org

Museum Wing Location:
The Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman Gallery, Lila Acheson Wallace Wing, Modern Art, 1st floor, from October 18, 2005–March 5, 2006

Let’s Talk about Sex(nology)

Technology has been transforming the way we have sex for ages.  In fact, quite a few proponents of new “advacements” promise their ideas will revolutionize the way we have sex.  Sex-related video games, databases of sex offenders, and advancements in fertility have all already impacted sex in the twenty-first century.  Has our advancement from primative contraception to online dating services come at a price?

The Death of Privacy in America…

Everybody’s talking about privacy: the U.S. Government, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and even a handful of nanotechnology firms. And, while privacy advocates would have us believe that it’s already too late to stop our government, some of us are scratching our heads and wondering what to think. Could current trends end privacy as we know it? What does nanotechnology mean for the future of privacy?

Dubai: Tourism Capital…Of the World? برج دبي

Burj Dubai is now about 30 stories in height and is “laying the foundation” for an international chain of Armani Hotels. The tower, an art deco spire that will climb to a height of 800 meters, or 2,625 feet, will become the largest structure in the world. The tower and surrounding complex is becoming the new center of the City of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, a country whose economy is based entirely on oil production. The country is looking to diversify its economy by introducing tourism, mainly from western nations. Emaar Properties, the principle developer, is spending upwards of $9 Billion on the complex and is in no way spending conservatively: the Burj Dubai’s interior will be decorated by Georgio Armani and its facade will be clad in a chrome-glass composite. The city is becoming home to a few “world’s firsts.” The downtown marina, Dubai Marina, is set to be the largest man-made marina in the world. The Palm Islands, a residential retreat, is in the process of becoming the largest artificial island on the face of the earth. The city is already home to the world’s tallest hotel, the Burj al-Arab. Many Westerners have misconceptions of the Middle East and what it has to offer as a tourist destination. Europeans are beginning to become acquainted with Dubai, as it is a midway point between Europe and the capitals of Asia.  Most Americans won’t step foot in the Middle East. Cities like Dubai are proving the opposite of popular belief, that Arabia is much more than terrorists and a sandy desert.

A Plethora of Cell Phone Security Threats…

Warnings about the potential threats of cell phones to security have been mounting lately.  Engadget’s recent discussion about the vulnerability of RFID tags to cell phone attacks, much older (though increasingly valid) complaints about Java vulnerabilities in cell phone software, and SMSAnalysis.org’s lengthy discussion of SMS weaknesses are all cause for concern. Enter a cell phone service, TextPayMe, which offers the ability for users to transfer money via cell phone.  Is anyone else envisioning large sums of money being “transfered” right out of an unsuspecting user’s bank account?

Efficiency of Solar Cell Soon to Rise

The idea of creating a “photon antenna” (a previously discovered technology that is being studied with renewed vigor) through nano technology that works somewhat like a coaxial cable, but for the attraction of light photons is currently being studied at both Penn State University and Boston College. The technology is gaining ground, and is being studied by numerous research organizations. Instead of a panel absorbing light passively (absorbing only the light that hits it directly), these photon antennas will attract light and absorb them quickly, much faster than current solar panels. This idea, when commercially viable, will increase the efficiency of solar cells by 300-400%, an amazing advance in this technology. One of the main barriers of solar energy is its somewhat low efficiency. If solar energy can become competative to other types of energy, efficiency-wise, then it will gain a much larger stake in world energy production. Penn State is also creating a solar cell that can turn water into hydrogen and oxygen directly from sunlight. This is another breakthrough in solar energy and may help fuel the future hydrogen economy. Pictured above, these so called carbon “nanotubes” absorb light at a much higher efficiency than current photovoltaic technologies.