jess3 blogs,
|
|---|
about
Breathewords presents The Twisted Show - a portfolio site of Adriana de Barros
http://www.breathewords.com
Breathewords presents The Twisted Show - a portfolio site of Adriana de Barros
Breathewords presents The Twisted Show - a portfolio site of Adriana de Barros
about
++-- RES --++
Res
How I Do
THE ROLLING STONE REVIEW
Res is a soul-power chick from Philly whose debut album, How I Do, sounds more like peak Seventies Pretenders than anyone in black music history. Like Chrissie Hynde, Res' voice is more unique and emotionally direct than big and operatic, a perfect fit for the rock-soul sounds behind her. The lyrics, written largely by singer-songwriter Santi White, are diarylike poetry about being yourself, being strong and being in love - "What's your soul taste like, baby?" she coos on the dreamy, reggae-ish "700 Mile Situation."
There's not a single ballad on How I Do - Res is simply too strong for that; she prefers grooving to fawning. On the plaintive but upbeat "If There Ain't Nothing," she knows her guy has lost interest and says, "If there ain't nothin' that we can do, it's cool/I'd rather be alone and onto something new." On the smooth "Golden Boys" she sees through the famous guys she's dated: "Would they love you if they knew all the things that we know?/Golden Boy, life ain't a video." How I Do does that rare thing: It provides an original direction. It's an album born from multicultural influences for those who don't let the trends dictate what they wear and don't let MTV decide what they listen to.
about
--+ Movable Type +--
Movable Type is a customizable publishing system which installs on web servers to enable individuals or organizations to manage and update weblogs, journals, and frequently-updated website content.
about
--- FLINK ---
http://www.flink.be/
flink is a online magazine.. that you read like a magazine..
yea i know it sounds weird.. but check it out.. its purty cool
flink is a online magazine.. that you read like a magazine..
yea i know it sounds weird.. but check it out.. its purty cool
about
---++--- P-Money video ---++---
http://www.kog.co.nz/video/quick/dmc.mov
this is the dude whos music video i was in in New Zealand..
the link is to p money's dmc routine. where he scratches dr dre - next episode
this is the dude whos music video i was in in New Zealand..
the link is to p money's dmc routine. where he scratches dr dre - next episode
about
+- pics from the scribe/Pmoney music video -+
these are pics my boy Toby sent me from the music video i was in..
thats him on the left..
about
:: FITC 2003 ::
http://www.flashinthecan.com/pc/
FITC 2003 :: People's Choice Awards Voting
nominees for the canadian flash user groups awards..
FITC 2003 :: People's Choice Awards Voting
nominees for the canadian flash user groups awards..
about
:::: AMFA: Open-Source Flash Magazine ::::
http://www.amedicineforapathy.com
AMFA: Open-Source Flash Magazine
i heart this site.
10+++++++/10
mandatory viewing !
this site gets the JESS3 gold star
AMFA: Open-Source Flash Magazine
i heart this site.
10+++++++/10
mandatory viewing !
this site gets the JESS3 gold star
about
+ holllla +
http://macromedia.com/software/mx2004/
Macromedia Studio MX 2004 with new versions of Dreamweaver and Flash
about
::: 570bars :::
this shit gives me lots of ideas....
http://570bars.com
Within these pages you will find the chronicles of two average guys who live in Seattle and plan to drink in every Spirits Serving Establishment within the city. This website is filled with the stories of each of those nights, reviews of the bars, comments from other people
pretty funny/sad/alcoholicy
The Quest
To drink in every bar in Seattle.
The Rules
1). Only Spirits Serving Establishments must be visited
2). If the establishment is only a restaurant, it may be skipped
3). At least one of us (Jason or Brandon) must drink spirits in a place, but the other is free to drink beer or wine if they choose
4). If a restaurant’s bar has its own name (like the Mandarin Room) then it must be visited
5). Only one drink must be consumed by each person for the place to be considered “done.”
6). If you can "belly up to the bar" then we must drink
Within these pages you will find the chronicles of two average guys who live in Seattle and plan to drink in every Spirits Serving Establishment within the city. This website is filled with the stories of each of those nights, reviews of the bars, comments from other people
pretty funny/sad/alcoholicy
The Quest
To drink in every bar in Seattle.
The Rules
1). Only Spirits Serving Establishments must be visited
2). If the establishment is only a restaurant, it may be skipped
3). At least one of us (Jason or Brandon) must drink spirits in a place, but the other is free to drink beer or wine if they choose
4). If a restaurant’s bar has its own name (like the Mandarin Room) then it must be visited
5). Only one drink must be consumed by each person for the place to be considered “done.”
6). If you can "belly up to the bar" then we must drink
about
:: How RIAA tracks downloaders ::
Revealed: How RIAA tracks downloaders
Music industry discloses some methods used
WASHINGTON (AP) --The recording industry is providing its most detailed glimpse into some of the detective-style techniques it has employed as part of its secretive campaign against online music swappers.
The disclosures were included in court papers filed against a Brooklyn woman fighting efforts to identify her for allegedly sharing nearly 1,000 songs over the Internet. The recording industry disputed her defense that songs on her family's computer were from compact discs she had legally purchased.
According to the documents, the Recording Industry Association of America examined song files on the woman's computer and traced their digital fingerprints back to the former Napster file-sharing service, which shut down in 2001 after a court ruled it violated copyright laws.
Compared to shoplifting
The RIAA, the trade group for the largest record labels, said it also found other evidence inside the woman's music files suggesting the songs were recorded by other people and distributed across the Internet.
Comparing the Brooklyn woman to a shoplifter, the RIAA told U.S. Magistrate John M. Facciola that she was "not an innocent or accidental infringer" and described her lawyer's claims otherwise as "shockingly misleading."
The RIAA papers were filed Tuesday night in Washington and made available by the court Wednesday.
The woman's lawyer, Daniel N. Ballard, of Sacramento, California, said the music industry's latest argument was "merely a smokescreen to divert attention" from the related issue of whether her Internet provider, Verizon Internet Services Inc., must turn over her identity under a copyright subpoena.
"You cannot bypass people's constitutional rights to privacy, due process and anonymous association to identify an alleged infringer," Ballard said.
Using forensics
Ballard has asked the court to delay any ruling for two weeks while he prepares his arguments, and he noted that his client identified only as "nycfashiongirl" -- has already removed the file-sharing software from her family's computer.
The RIAA accused "nycfashiongirl" of offering more than 900 songs by the Rolling Stones, U2, Michael Jackson and others for illegal download, along with 200 other computer files that included at least one full-length movie, "Pretty Woman."
The RIAA's latest court papers describe in unprecedented detail some sophisticated forensic techniques used by its investigators.
For example, the industry disclosed its use of a library of digital fingerprints, called "hashes," that it said can uniquely identify MP3 music files that had been traded on the Napster service as far back as May 2000. Examining hashes is commonly used by the FBI and other computer investigators in hacker cases.
By comparing the fingerprints of music files on a person's computer against its library, the RIAA believes it can determine in some cases whether someone recorded a song from a legally purchased CD or downloaded it from someone else over the Internet.
Copyright lawyers said it remains unresolved whether consumers can legally download copies of songs on a CD they purchased rather than making digital copies themselves. But finding MP3 music files that precisely match copies that have been traded online could be evidence a person participated in file-sharing services.
"The source for nycfashiongirl's sound recordings was not her own personal CDs," the RIAA's lawyers wrote.
The recording industry also disclosed that it is examining so-called "metadata" tags, hidden snippets of information embedded within many MP3 music files. In this case, lawyers wrote, they found evidence that others had recorded the music files and that some songs had been downloaded from known pirate Web sites.
Congressional hearings promised
The industry has won approval for more than 1,300 subpoenas compelling Internet providers to identify computer users suspected of illegally sharing music files on the Internet.
Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minnesota, chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs' Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has promised hearings on the industry's use of copyright subpoenas to track downloaders.
The RIAA has said it expects to file at least several hundred lawsuits seeking financial damages as early as next month. U.S. copyright laws allow for damages of $750 to $150,000 for each song offered illegally on a person's computer, but the RIAA has said it would be open to settlement proposals from defendants.
The campaign comes just weeks after U.S. appeals court rulings requiring Internet providers to readily identify subscribers suspected of illegally sharing music and movie files.
about
+- nice pic -+
Reflection : A pedestrian walks past a reflection in a puddle of the golden-domed Alexander Nevski cathedral after a rainstorm in central Sofia.
about
::: Tomatina :::
Thousands Take Part in Spain Tomato Fight
MADRID, Spain - Tens of thousands of people got pasted in eastern Spain on Wednesday in one of the country's most popular summer traditions — the annual tomato-throwing festival.
Participants pelted each other with overripe tomatoes, turning the streets of the eastern Spanish town of Bunol into red, juicy pools in an annual festival known as "La Tomatina."
It is said to be the world's largest tomato battle. Last year, the crowd numbered around 38,000 — more than four times the population of the Bunol.
Within minutes, the streets, the revelers and nearby buildings were splashed with red.
National radio reported that nearby residents protected their facades with plastic sheets. Others from balconies overlooking the fight dumped buckets of water onto the participants, RNE said.
The tomato fight often draws people from as far away as Japan and Australia.
The festival, held on the last Wednesday of every August, started in the 1940s when children began throwing their lunch at each other one day in a downtown square at a time when the region's tomato exports were starting to pick up.
They met again the following year, this time pelting passers-by as well and giving birth to the food fight.
about
+- flash user group presentation cdroms -+
http://www.flashinthecan.com/cds.html
some of the presentations from the 2003 FlashintheCan Festival are now available for purchase
about
+---- McFaddens ----+
Your Friends & Family at McFadden's Restaurant & Saloon
Cordially Invite You to Set Sail Aboard The
1st Annual Potomac River Booze Cruise Aboard The Spirit of Washington II
Two Hour Top Shelf Premium Open Bar
Unlimited Passed Hors d' voueres
Roundtrip Door to Dock Shuttle Service
McFadden's Fore and Aft Parties
Two Levels Two Dance Floors Two DJs
All Inclusive Boarding Pass $50.00 Per Person
Includes Cruising T-Shirt
Thursday, October 9th 8pm-10pm Rain or Shine
McFadden's Before Party Begins at 6pm
Shuttles Depart at 7pm-Boarding at 7:30pm Sharp
Tickets Are Limited!
For More Information and Group Reservations Contact Tamson Sloan at 202.223.2338
Fall Back From The Dunes to McFadden's Saloon
An Evening You Will Never Remember & Never Forget!
See You There
about
:: big mike mixtape ::
http://mixtapesusa.com/muchisbabigm.html
Sheek Louch (D-Block) - Turn It Up
50 Cent - Don't Go To Sleep (Dissin' Smurf)
Bang 'Em Smurf, Domination - What's Beef? (Dissin' 50 Cent)
50 Cent - I Know What You Like
50 Cent - We Got Gunz For Sale
Cam'ron - He's A Homo (Phone Interlude)
Nas - Takes More Than What You Got To Kill Me
Eminem - Shit's About To Change
Mobb Deep feat. Littles - Toss The Pound
Raekwon - Icewater Incorporated
J-Millz feat. Juelz Santana - Doin' My Thang
CNN. - Stand The Fuck Up
Foxy Brown - I Don't Need Nobody
Busta Rhymes feat. Lloyd Banks & Fabolous - Fall Back
Lil' Jon feat. Busta Rhymes & Elephant Man - Get Low (Remix)
Full Blass feat. J-Hood - The Getaway
Alicia Keys feat. Nas & Rakim - N.Y. State Of Mind
Mary J. Blige feat. Jay-Z & P. Diddy - Love & Life
50 Cent feat. Lloyd Banks & Young Buck - Get Outta Line
Juelz Santana feat. Gravy & J.R. Writer - Niggaz Get Clapped Quick
J-Millz feat. Gravy - New York City
Drag-On - Ok Ok
Analyst - Get Up
Buck 50 - Gangsta Music
about
:: God Only Knows ::
the show reel is so fuckin tight, i watch this thing daily...
God Only Knows
Beach Boys / Brian Wilson
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I may not always love you
But long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
I'll make you so sure about it
God only knows what I'd be without you
If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on, believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would livin' do me
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows what I'd be without you
If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on, believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would livin' do me
God only knows what I'd be without you
about
Microsoft's Big Role on Campus (TechNews.com)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40000-2003Aug24.html
Microsoft's Big Role on Campus
Donations Fund Research, Build Long-Term Connections
By Ariana Eunjung Cha
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 25, 2003; Page A01
REDMOND, Wash. -- Bearing gifts of cash, software and computers worth $25 million, Microsoft Corp. came to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999, saying it wanted to jointly develop educational technologies. Some scholars expressed more suspicion than gratitude.
At a celebration to kick off the collaboration, students and faculty members heckled the speakers, insisting the computer company's software wasn't worthy of use or study at MIT. Some took boxes of Microsoft's Office 2000 software and stomped on them. An editorial in the school newspaper wondered: Had the school sold itself out to become the "Microsoft Institute of Technology?"
Today, four years into the five-year partnership, the protests are over and Microsoft technology is firmly entrenched at MIT.
Aeronautical design classes now use Microsoft's Flight Simulator computer program. Electrical engineering and computer science professors are putting their courses online using Microsoft's PowerPoint presentation software. The university's educational computer network is being overhauled to use Microsoft's .Net architecture. Video games, hardly an MIT priority but a strong commercial interest of Microsoft's, have suddenly become a subject of scholarly inquiry.
Similar transformations are taking place at university campuses across the nation, escalating the debate over corporate influence on academia. Such concerns about donations have been raised in fields of study as diverse as auto engineering and medicine, but Microsoft's donations are a special case. Because students are likely to keep using the technology after graduation, they help to maintain Microsoft's software industry dominance.
"Universities have become much more open to corporate donations even when they have strings attached, and they are less likely today to assess the long-term impact of these donations on academic freedom," said Lawrence C. Soley, a professor at Marquette University and author of "Leasing the Ivory Tower: The Corporate Takeover of Academia."
Donations to 1,000 Schools
Microsoft has lavished $500 million over the past five years on research and teaching projects at 1,000 schools, funding efforts by 6,000 academics in computer science, electrical engineering, linguistics, biology, mathematics, graphic arts, music and other fields. Microsoft partners are among computer science's biggest luminaries: A. Richard Newton, dean of the engineering school at the University of California at Berkeley; Eugene H. Spafford, who runs Purdue University's influential cybersecurity institute; and Gail E. Kaiser, a Columbia University researcher who is one of the nation's most prominent software engineering experts and one of the few tenured female professors in the field.
The software giant's donations have allowed universities to follow through on projects they could not have otherwise dreamed of, given their limited research budgets. The collaborations have not only led to new products on store shelves but work dominating academic journals focused on high-tech innovation.
The corporation, however, has also directly or indirectly influenced curriculums and research priorities, drawing an outcry from critics who say the donations are turning computer science departments into vocational schools where mastery of proprietary computer programs are valued over the study of theory.
Hal Abelson, a computer science professor who co-directs the MIT-Microsoft partnership, said the donations have allowed MIT to make class readings and other material freely available on the Web, benefiting not only the school community but the world at large.
"That is not distorting the research agenda, but doing things we otherwise might not have," he said.
Microsoft, for its part, acknowledges that its donations are about business development as well as philanthropy, but that it is a win-win situation for everyone.
"The success of the field comes from innovations through university environment," said Rick Rashid, Microsoft's senior vice president for research. "Microsoft prospers when universities prosper."
Still, others lament that even if everyone has the best of intentions, the end result portends a future when innovation in the field of computers will be greatly influenced, if not controlled, by a single company.
"[I worry] that in the face of budget shortfalls, universities will sacrifice their research autonomy, offering up curriculum and academic integrity to the highest bidder," said Mark Schaan, a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University who was part of a group of students at the University of Waterloo, the Canadian equivalent of MIT, who last year urged administrators to turn down Microsoft's donations.
Project 42 Sets the Tone
Microsoft first began to reach out to universities in a serious way in the mid-1990s with Project 42.
At the time, Microsoft software was dismissed as too clunky, too slow, too unreliable and too uncool among many researchers on the cutting edge of technology. Microsoft was seen as an imitator and not an innovator -- it created the Windows operating system based on Apple Computer Inc.'s graphical interface, the Internet Explorer browser for the Web based on Netscape Communications Corp.'s Navigator. The dot-com upstarts fueling the boom, more than a few predicted, would soon be in a position to out-innovate the aging software maker.
Microsoft's salvation: Project 42, named after the mysterious response the supercomputer in Douglas Adams's "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" gives when asked for the meaning of life. Later unveiled as .Net, Project 42 was a set of software tools that would allow disparate systems to communicate more effectively across the Internet -- and to keep Microsoft relevant in a world where PCs were no longer the center of the computing universe.
The company concluded that to make .Net a success, it had to get academics involved. Not only would their imprimatur lend credibility to the technology, Microsoft would benefit from their technical expertise. In 1998, the company began to quietly fly academics to its headquarters for previews of the technology. Damien Watkins, then a lecturer at Monash University in Australia, recalled that some of his peers wore Linux T-shirts to show their skepticism. In the end, though, they were won over in part by the promise of the technology -- and by a $150,000 donation the company made to the university, he said.
"I think Microsoft has changed a lot over the last five to 10 years. Setting up Microsoft Research and working with university faculty is a sign that they are looking a lot further into the future than they had done previously," said Watkins, who was so impressed with .Net technology that he began teaching it to his students, then founded a private firm that uses .Net technologies. He is now applying for a job at Microsoft.
Today, more than 2,000 professors from top-tier schools are considered close collaborators with Microsoft, accepting cash, software, hardware or other in-kind donations from the company for specific research projects or classes. An additional 4,000 have less formal relationships with the company but still receive free equipment and support.
Microsoft's total research and development budget -- $4.7 billion in 2003, $4.3 billion in 2002 and $4.4 billion in 2001 -- is estimated to be more than all the rest of the software industry spends together. Each year, Microsoft gives away about $100 million of that to universities.
In comparison, according to the National Science Foundation, computer science department expenditures at all universities and colleges from all sources for 2001 was less than $1 billion.
The collaborations have resulted in refinements in handwriting recognition, better ways to compress music and video files for electronic transmission, and new theories about how to better search the Web. Microsoft researchers and their partners now produce about 120 papers in 20 journals per year, a relatively large number. In 2001, for instance, 30 percent of the papers presented at the influential Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation meeting were by Microsoft researchers. At this year's SIGGRAPH computer graphics conference, some 14 percent were Microsoft works.
Among those who say they have benefited from Microsoft's donations is Howard University associate professor Todd E. Shurn. Two years ago, he was struggling with how to best teach a multimedia class that would combine computer science, art and communications skills.
Two of Shurn's former students, who had gone on to work at Microsoft and had come back to Washington on a recruiting visit, had an idea: Why not build the class around Windows Media Player? The class could create a new interface, or "skin," for the program. The professor was intrigued. He fiddled around with the technology for a few days and concluded it was worth testing. Microsoft provided $5,000, software and books and sent one of its technicians to help set up the computers the students would be using. The experiment was a success, Shurn said, so much so that he expanded the project the next year to include a contest open to the entire school. Microsoft, of course, provided the money for the awards.
Shurn estimates that when he first started at Howard a decade ago, nearly all computer-oriented projects involved machines running Unix-based operating systems. Now, he said, about 80 percent of assignments rely on Microsoft Windows.
"Our migration toward Microsoft began because of pricing and then, as a result of Microsoft becoming very active on campus, it accelerated," Shurn said.
Thanks, But No Thanks
Microsoft's efforts to reach out to some other universities, however, have not gone as smoothly.
California State University students and faculty urged administrators in 1997 to turn down a $300 million gift from Microsoft and three other companies because it required an exclusive contract for upgrading the computer and phone system at the 22 campuses. At the University of Michigan in 1999, after administrators signed a deal with Microsoft, a major donor, to sell technology at the Michigan Student Union, students protested by handing out diskettes with the free Windows alternative Linux.
And at the University of Waterloo last year, administrators announced a $1.6 million donation from Microsoft. At the same time they announced they would change the curriculum to introduce Microsoft's C# programming language into the first-year programming course instead of the more popular and long-established C++ they were currently using. Students and faculty rebelled.
The university ultimately backed down this spring, saying for now the classes will be "multilingual." A faculty senate is evaluating the proposed curriculum changes.
Doug Leland, head of university relations for Microsoft, said there is often some hostility when company representatives first step on college campuses. There is "a deep level of the unknown," he said. But, he said, the "attitude of campuses towards Microsoft has changed dramatically in the past few years."
"We've really broken through a lot of those trust and credibility issues," he said.
One way Microsoft has done that is by offering some gifts with no strings attached or by allowing academics to have a great deal of freedom with the money they are given.
The MIT partnership, which runs from 1999 to 2004 and is designed to develop educational technologies in an initiative called "iCampus," is the company's showcase example. Even though the projects must be approved by a six-member committee, half of whom are MIT employees and half of whom are Microsoft employees, the academics own the intellectual property developed and have the freedom to publish what they wish without a review from Microsoft. Professors also have the option not to participate in the Microsoft collaboration.
An MIT contingent of professors, led by Abelson, were among 350 faculty members who attended a recent gathering of Microsoft academic partners at the company's headquarters here in Washington. At the three-day, expenses-paid event, the professors stayed at the Hyatt Regency, dined with Microsoft chairman Bill Gates on tables decorated with fresh peach lilies, and took boat cruise on Lake Washington.
It was part academic conference, part networking event. It was also a unique promotional opportunity for Microsoft.
At a question-and-answer session between the academics and Gates, one professor asked the Microsoft founder about his views about the study of information technology, a part of computer science that emphasizes on how documents, spreadsheets and other data should be handled. What kinds of technologies should students majoring in this subject be taught?
Gates replied quickly and with a smile: "Microsoft Office."
Researcher Richard S. Drezen contributed to this report.
Microsoft's Big Role on Campus
Donations Fund Research, Build Long-Term Connections
By Ariana Eunjung Cha
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 25, 2003; Page A01
REDMOND, Wash. -- Bearing gifts of cash, software and computers worth $25 million, Microsoft Corp. came to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999, saying it wanted to jointly develop educational technologies. Some scholars expressed more suspicion than gratitude.
At a celebration to kick off the collaboration, students and faculty members heckled the speakers, insisting the computer company's software wasn't worthy of use or study at MIT. Some took boxes of Microsoft's Office 2000 software and stomped on them. An editorial in the school newspaper wondered: Had the school sold itself out to become the "Microsoft Institute of Technology?"
Today, four years into the five-year partnership, the protests are over and Microsoft technology is firmly entrenched at MIT.
Aeronautical design classes now use Microsoft's Flight Simulator computer program. Electrical engineering and computer science professors are putting their courses online using Microsoft's PowerPoint presentation software. The university's educational computer network is being overhauled to use Microsoft's .Net architecture. Video games, hardly an MIT priority but a strong commercial interest of Microsoft's, have suddenly become a subject of scholarly inquiry.
Similar transformations are taking place at university campuses across the nation, escalating the debate over corporate influence on academia. Such concerns about donations have been raised in fields of study as diverse as auto engineering and medicine, but Microsoft's donations are a special case. Because students are likely to keep using the technology after graduation, they help to maintain Microsoft's software industry dominance.
"Universities have become much more open to corporate donations even when they have strings attached, and they are less likely today to assess the long-term impact of these donations on academic freedom," said Lawrence C. Soley, a professor at Marquette University and author of "Leasing the Ivory Tower: The Corporate Takeover of Academia."
Donations to 1,000 Schools
Microsoft has lavished $500 million over the past five years on research and teaching projects at 1,000 schools, funding efforts by 6,000 academics in computer science, electrical engineering, linguistics, biology, mathematics, graphic arts, music and other fields. Microsoft partners are among computer science's biggest luminaries: A. Richard Newton, dean of the engineering school at the University of California at Berkeley; Eugene H. Spafford, who runs Purdue University's influential cybersecurity institute; and Gail E. Kaiser, a Columbia University researcher who is one of the nation's most prominent software engineering experts and one of the few tenured female professors in the field.
The software giant's donations have allowed universities to follow through on projects they could not have otherwise dreamed of, given their limited research budgets. The collaborations have not only led to new products on store shelves but work dominating academic journals focused on high-tech innovation.
The corporation, however, has also directly or indirectly influenced curriculums and research priorities, drawing an outcry from critics who say the donations are turning computer science departments into vocational schools where mastery of proprietary computer programs are valued over the study of theory.
Hal Abelson, a computer science professor who co-directs the MIT-Microsoft partnership, said the donations have allowed MIT to make class readings and other material freely available on the Web, benefiting not only the school community but the world at large.
"That is not distorting the research agenda, but doing things we otherwise might not have," he said.
Microsoft, for its part, acknowledges that its donations are about business development as well as philanthropy, but that it is a win-win situation for everyone.
"The success of the field comes from innovations through university environment," said Rick Rashid, Microsoft's senior vice president for research. "Microsoft prospers when universities prosper."
Still, others lament that even if everyone has the best of intentions, the end result portends a future when innovation in the field of computers will be greatly influenced, if not controlled, by a single company.
"[I worry] that in the face of budget shortfalls, universities will sacrifice their research autonomy, offering up curriculum and academic integrity to the highest bidder," said Mark Schaan, a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University who was part of a group of students at the University of Waterloo, the Canadian equivalent of MIT, who last year urged administrators to turn down Microsoft's donations.
Project 42 Sets the Tone
Microsoft first began to reach out to universities in a serious way in the mid-1990s with Project 42.
At the time, Microsoft software was dismissed as too clunky, too slow, too unreliable and too uncool among many researchers on the cutting edge of technology. Microsoft was seen as an imitator and not an innovator -- it created the Windows operating system based on Apple Computer Inc.'s graphical interface, the Internet Explorer browser for the Web based on Netscape Communications Corp.'s Navigator. The dot-com upstarts fueling the boom, more than a few predicted, would soon be in a position to out-innovate the aging software maker.
Microsoft's salvation: Project 42, named after the mysterious response the supercomputer in Douglas Adams's "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" gives when asked for the meaning of life. Later unveiled as .Net, Project 42 was a set of software tools that would allow disparate systems to communicate more effectively across the Internet -- and to keep Microsoft relevant in a world where PCs were no longer the center of the computing universe.
The company concluded that to make .Net a success, it had to get academics involved. Not only would their imprimatur lend credibility to the technology, Microsoft would benefit from their technical expertise. In 1998, the company began to quietly fly academics to its headquarters for previews of the technology. Damien Watkins, then a lecturer at Monash University in Australia, recalled that some of his peers wore Linux T-shirts to show their skepticism. In the end, though, they were won over in part by the promise of the technology -- and by a $150,000 donation the company made to the university, he said.
"I think Microsoft has changed a lot over the last five to 10 years. Setting up Microsoft Research and working with university faculty is a sign that they are looking a lot further into the future than they had done previously," said Watkins, who was so impressed with .Net technology that he began teaching it to his students, then founded a private firm that uses .Net technologies. He is now applying for a job at Microsoft.
Today, more than 2,000 professors from top-tier schools are considered close collaborators with Microsoft, accepting cash, software, hardware or other in-kind donations from the company for specific research projects or classes. An additional 4,000 have less formal relationships with the company but still receive free equipment and support.
Microsoft's total research and development budget -- $4.7 billion in 2003, $4.3 billion in 2002 and $4.4 billion in 2001 -- is estimated to be more than all the rest of the software industry spends together. Each year, Microsoft gives away about $100 million of that to universities.
In comparison, according to the National Science Foundation, computer science department expenditures at all universities and colleges from all sources for 2001 was less than $1 billion.
The collaborations have resulted in refinements in handwriting recognition, better ways to compress music and video files for electronic transmission, and new theories about how to better search the Web. Microsoft researchers and their partners now produce about 120 papers in 20 journals per year, a relatively large number. In 2001, for instance, 30 percent of the papers presented at the influential Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation meeting were by Microsoft researchers. At this year's SIGGRAPH computer graphics conference, some 14 percent were Microsoft works.
Among those who say they have benefited from Microsoft's donations is Howard University associate professor Todd E. Shurn. Two years ago, he was struggling with how to best teach a multimedia class that would combine computer science, art and communications skills.
Two of Shurn's former students, who had gone on to work at Microsoft and had come back to Washington on a recruiting visit, had an idea: Why not build the class around Windows Media Player? The class could create a new interface, or "skin," for the program. The professor was intrigued. He fiddled around with the technology for a few days and concluded it was worth testing. Microsoft provided $5,000, software and books and sent one of its technicians to help set up the computers the students would be using. The experiment was a success, Shurn said, so much so that he expanded the project the next year to include a contest open to the entire school. Microsoft, of course, provided the money for the awards.
Shurn estimates that when he first started at Howard a decade ago, nearly all computer-oriented projects involved machines running Unix-based operating systems. Now, he said, about 80 percent of assignments rely on Microsoft Windows.
"Our migration toward Microsoft began because of pricing and then, as a result of Microsoft becoming very active on campus, it accelerated," Shurn said.
Thanks, But No Thanks
Microsoft's efforts to reach out to some other universities, however, have not gone as smoothly.
California State University students and faculty urged administrators in 1997 to turn down a $300 million gift from Microsoft and three other companies because it required an exclusive contract for upgrading the computer and phone system at the 22 campuses. At the University of Michigan in 1999, after administrators signed a deal with Microsoft, a major donor, to sell technology at the Michigan Student Union, students protested by handing out diskettes with the free Windows alternative Linux.
And at the University of Waterloo last year, administrators announced a $1.6 million donation from Microsoft. At the same time they announced they would change the curriculum to introduce Microsoft's C# programming language into the first-year programming course instead of the more popular and long-established C++ they were currently using. Students and faculty rebelled.
The university ultimately backed down this spring, saying for now the classes will be "multilingual." A faculty senate is evaluating the proposed curriculum changes.
Doug Leland, head of university relations for Microsoft, said there is often some hostility when company representatives first step on college campuses. There is "a deep level of the unknown," he said. But, he said, the "attitude of campuses towards Microsoft has changed dramatically in the past few years."
"We've really broken through a lot of those trust and credibility issues," he said.
One way Microsoft has done that is by offering some gifts with no strings attached or by allowing academics to have a great deal of freedom with the money they are given.
The MIT partnership, which runs from 1999 to 2004 and is designed to develop educational technologies in an initiative called "iCampus," is the company's showcase example. Even though the projects must be approved by a six-member committee, half of whom are MIT employees and half of whom are Microsoft employees, the academics own the intellectual property developed and have the freedom to publish what they wish without a review from Microsoft. Professors also have the option not to participate in the Microsoft collaboration.
An MIT contingent of professors, led by Abelson, were among 350 faculty members who attended a recent gathering of Microsoft academic partners at the company's headquarters here in Washington. At the three-day, expenses-paid event, the professors stayed at the Hyatt Regency, dined with Microsoft chairman Bill Gates on tables decorated with fresh peach lilies, and took boat cruise on Lake Washington.
It was part academic conference, part networking event. It was also a unique promotional opportunity for Microsoft.
At a question-and-answer session between the academics and Gates, one professor asked the Microsoft founder about his views about the study of information technology, a part of computer science that emphasizes on how documents, spreadsheets and other data should be handled. What kinds of technologies should students majoring in this subject be taught?
Gates replied quickly and with a smile: "Microsoft Office."
Researcher Richard S. Drezen contributed to this report.
about
+-- macromedia user group info --+
Join WAMMO & Macromedia for the first public demonstrations of
Dreamweaver MX 2004, Fireworks MX 2004, Flash MX 2004, Flash
Professional MX 2004 and Studio MX 2004. Over 130 User Groups are
participating in our first ever worldwide User Group event, broadcast
around the world using Breeze Live.
http://www.macromedia.com/special/usergroups/
Wednesday, September 3, 2003
RFF Conference Center
1400 16th Street, NW
7th FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM
Washington, DC 20036
6:00 PM - 9:30 PM
------------------
Directions at http://www.wammo.org
RSVP via email to wammo@figleaf.com (please put RSVP 9/3 in subject line)
================
Dreamweaver MX 2004, Fireworks MX 2004, Flash MX 2004, Flash
Professional MX 2004 and Studio MX 2004. Over 130 User Groups are
participating in our first ever worldwide User Group event, broadcast
around the world using Breeze Live.
http://www.macromedia.com/special/usergroups/
Wednesday, September 3, 2003
RFF Conference Center
1400 16th Street, NW
7th FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM
Washington, DC 20036
6:00 PM - 9:30 PM
------------------
Directions at http://www.wammo.org
RSVP via email to wammo@figleaf.com (please put RSVP 9/3 in subject line)
================
about
Dreamweaver MX 2004 Features Overview
http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/productinfo/features/brz_tour
Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 Features Overview
whoa
Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 Features Overview
whoa
about
+-- hfstival 02 --+ ol school
on saturday mornin jamie and i got tix to the fall edtion hfstival .., that should be fun..
This years 2003 Fall HFStival Line Up:
Staind
Rancid
O.A.R.
Deftones
Black Eyed Peas
these pics are from the hfstival 02.. the day EMINEM played... ohmigod his performance was so fuckin amazing... i have some cool vids of it.. that came out suprisingly well...
http://www.6forty.com/jesse/hfss
This years 2003 Fall HFStival Line Up:
Staind
Rancid
O.A.R.
Deftones
Black Eyed Peas
these pics are from the hfstival 02.. the day EMINEM played... ohmigod his performance was so fuckin amazing... i have some cool vids of it.. that came out suprisingly well...
about
+-- redskins game on saturday --+
alexis hooked it up with the tix..gracias mu chacho.
it was fuckin awesome !
http://www.6forty.com/jesse/skins/
my fav shot..
it was fuckin awesome !
my fav shot..
about
+---- HowBlue.com ----+
Howblue Cabana, the Broen Westberg Portfolio
awesome portfolio..
cool water effect
8/10
i emailed dude about how much i liked his water effect..
how nice. i got a reply..
Hey Jesse,
Thanks for your compliments! Your email made my day :).
Broen
awwwwww
awesome portfolio..
cool water effect
8/10
i emailed dude about how much i liked his water effect..
how nice. i got a reply..
Thanks for your compliments! Your email made my day :).
Broen
awwwwww
about
Washington Redskins
http://redskins.com/
goin to the redskins vs ravens game tonight with alexis..
then to nicks AU party at his new house.. holla hovito
goin to the redskins vs ravens game tonight with alexis..
then to nicks AU party at his new house.. holla hovito
about
Flash In Toronto User Group
http://www.flashinto.com
this is what the washington user group need to do. !
grr
damn canadians out doin us americans. !
about
Yahoo! News - Eminem's 'Girls Gone Wild' Video Shelved
Yahoo! News - Eminem's 'Girls Gone Wild' Video Shelved
Eminem's 'Girls Gone Wild' Video Shelved
Fans may not get to see women go wild for Eminem. According to MTV.com, the rapper's Girls Gone Wild Shadystyle video, which was shot last year during his Anger Management tour, may never be released. The video's production company released a statement saying that it "wasn't happy with Eminem's participation and is not happy with the finished product." Eminem's reps confirmed that the video, which documents Eminem's female fans taking their tops off backstage, will not be released.
Snoop Dogg's Girls Gone Wild Doggystyle was one of the best-selling videos in the series. However, two women recently filed a lawsuit against Snoop Dogg and Girls Gone Wild founder Joseph Francis for improperly using their images on the cover of the DVD and VHS, as well as in advertisements.
i want a copy.
Eminem's 'Girls Gone Wild' Video Shelved
Fans may not get to see women go wild for Eminem. According to MTV.com, the rapper's Girls Gone Wild Shadystyle video, which was shot last year during his Anger Management tour, may never be released. The video's production company released a statement saying that it "wasn't happy with Eminem's participation and is not happy with the finished product." Eminem's reps confirmed that the video, which documents Eminem's female fans taking their tops off backstage, will not be released.
Snoop Dogg's Girls Gone Wild Doggystyle was one of the best-selling videos in the series. However, two women recently filed a lawsuit against Snoop Dogg and Girls Gone Wild founder Joseph Francis for improperly using their images on the cover of the DVD and VHS, as well as in advertisements.
i want a copy.
about
+-- the future arrives.. --+
Robot Shows Prime Minister How to Loosen Up
A robot with impeccable manners charmed guests at a state dinner with his wisecracks and dancing, outshining Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla and showing up his often-mocked social stiffness
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (L) applauds while his Czech counterpart Vladimir Spidla (R) shakes hands with the robot Asimo Honda, before a dinner at the Hrzan's Palace in Prague, August 21, 2003. Photo by Petr Josek/Reuters
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi unveiled an improved version of the 4-foot-tall Asimo humanoid on an official visit to the Czech Republic, where the word robot first appeared in author Karel Capek's 1920 play "R.U.R." (Rossum's Universal Robots).
Asimo began working the crowd as soon as he arrived at the dinner late on Thursday, telling jokes, greeting Spidla warmly, and even making a champagne toast before wisecracking that he couldn't drink himself because he is underage.
"Let's drink to Japan and the Czech Republic, and to the friendly relationship between humans and robots," Asimo, made by Honda, said in perfect Czech.
"If Capek could see me, he would definitely be surprised."
Spidla smiled at the robot but seemed at a loss for witty conversation.
He turned down Asimo's request for a dance saying only:
"I like science and various technically advanced things."
about
..:: mm hmmmm ::..
Mars, bottom left, is seen with the Moon from Haebaru in Okinawa prefecture, southern Japan, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2003. Mars is closer to Earth this month than at any time in many years; it won't be as close again until Aug. 28, 2287.
about
+- lol -+
Caprice the Greyhound is seen in a convertible car wearing sunglasses as her owner Oliver Luik drives in Munich August 22, 2003. The special sunglasses which protect dog's eyes from the wind and the sun and are available in three different sizes
about
MTV.com - News -Kelly Osbourne Eats Fish With Elton John, Vomits
MTV.com - News -Kelly Osbourne Eats Fish With Elton John, Vomits: "Eating in France with Elton John made Kelly Osbourne violently sick to her stomach — but it wasn't Elton's fault.
Kelly suffered food poisoning from a dinner she had with the pop legend on August 11 and was forced to cancel a handful of scheduled concerts in England and return home, she wrote in her column for England's Heat magazine. She is still recovering from the illness.
Sharon, Kelly and Jack Osbourne had been invited by Elton to stay at his place in the South of France.
'We had dinner and we had shellfish,' Kelly wrote. 'I spent the next two days with the sh--s and throwing up everywhere. I'm never eating another piece of f---ing fish again.'
In the column, Kelly added that she has recorded a duet with her dad, Ozzy, and she will not give up singing even though she was dropped by her label. "
Kelly suffered food poisoning from a dinner she had with the pop legend on August 11 and was forced to cancel a handful of scheduled concerts in England and return home, she wrote in her column for England's Heat magazine. She is still recovering from the illness.
Sharon, Kelly and Jack Osbourne had been invited by Elton to stay at his place in the South of France.
'We had dinner and we had shellfish,' Kelly wrote. 'I spent the next two days with the sh--s and throwing up everywhere. I'm never eating another piece of f---ing fish again.'
In the column, Kelly added that she has recorded a duet with her dad, Ozzy, and she will not give up singing even though she was dropped by her label. "
about
+--- A i R ---+
Air :washingtonpost.com: "On Friday and Saturday nights, the staid, spacious courtyard at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center is transformed into Air, an outdoor dance club and lounge that jumps until almost 3 a.m.
Many bars and clubs have patios or decks to let patrons enjoy the summer weather. But at Air, everything -- including a large dance floor, multiple bars and lounge furniture -- is exposed to the elements. Colored lights swirl across the building's marble facade. Breezes blow through the trees. Clouds sail overhead. It's strangely calming.
Inspired by open-air parties at Miami's Nikki Beach, hundreds of young people dressed in white linen suits, sparkly party frocks or jeans come out to mingle and enjoy the atmosphere. DJs fill the dance floor with hip-hop, funky soul and R&B on Fridays, while the grooves on Saturday are a mixture of house, hip-hop, disco and retro classics. Both nights feature an open bar from 9 to 10 and chefs grilling delicious fish tacos on soft tortillas, Cuban sandwiches and kebabs.
There are a few concessions to the conditions -- Air's stylish lounge furniture is made of an all-weather plastic, although it's far more comfortable than the chairs on your back porch. There are plenty of metal tables and chairs under the trees scattered around the rear of the courtyard, but the couches near the dance floor are prized seating. The softest seating option is a bed in one of the colorful VIP tents. (For a minimum of $500, up to 15 guests get admission and priority seating.) 'Every week it's something different,' says Howard Kitrosser, who's serving as an adviser to Trade Center Management Associates, the group responsible for Air. 'We'll have dancers, fire-eaters, stilt-walkers, street performers. It's eye candy for the people who come often."
Admission to Air is $10 for patrons who sign up on a guest list through www.flowinsider.com, www.monthlybuzz.comor www.airclubdc.com. On Saturday nights, reduced admission is offered to anyone with a Live on Penn stamp or wristband.
As with most outdoor venues, Air is subject to the weather. If there's rain in the forecast, call 202-312-1215 to make sure the party's going ahead.
Many bars and clubs have patios or decks to let patrons enjoy the summer weather. But at Air, everything -- including a large dance floor, multiple bars and lounge furniture -- is exposed to the elements. Colored lights swirl across the building's marble facade. Breezes blow through the trees. Clouds sail overhead. It's strangely calming.
Inspired by open-air parties at Miami's Nikki Beach, hundreds of young people dressed in white linen suits, sparkly party frocks or jeans come out to mingle and enjoy the atmosphere. DJs fill the dance floor with hip-hop, funky soul and R&B on Fridays, while the grooves on Saturday are a mixture of house, hip-hop, disco and retro classics. Both nights feature an open bar from 9 to 10 and chefs grilling delicious fish tacos on soft tortillas, Cuban sandwiches and kebabs.
There are a few concessions to the conditions -- Air's stylish lounge furniture is made of an all-weather plastic, although it's far more comfortable than the chairs on your back porch. There are plenty of metal tables and chairs under the trees scattered around the rear of the courtyard, but the couches near the dance floor are prized seating. The softest seating option is a bed in one of the colorful VIP tents. (For a minimum of $500, up to 15 guests get admission and priority seating.) 'Every week it's something different,' says Howard Kitrosser, who's serving as an adviser to Trade Center Management Associates, the group responsible for Air. 'We'll have dancers, fire-eaters, stilt-walkers, street performers. It's eye candy for the people who come often."
Admission to Air is $10 for patrons who sign up on a guest list through www.flowinsider.com, www.monthlybuzz.comor www.airclubdc.com. On Saturday nights, reduced admission is offered to anyone with a Live on Penn stamp or wristband.
As with most outdoor venues, Air is subject to the weather. If there's rain in the forecast, call 202-312-1215 to make sure the party's going ahead.
about
'American Splendor' Is True Splendor Indeed (washingtonpost.com)
'American Splendor' Is True Splendor Indeed (washingtonpost.com)
American Splendor Review..
By Desson Howe
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 22, 2003; Page WE33
IN "AMERICAN SPLENDOR," the first date between Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner has all the romantic glow and sizzle of cold scrapple.
He's a despondent, pudgy file clerk from Cleveland who creates comic books about his sad-sack existence. She's a neurotic oddball from Wilmington, Del., with self-diagnosed clinical depression. Upon first meeting at a depressing bus station, Harvey (Paul Giamatti) says he might as well inform her upfront he's had a vasectomy. Joyce (Hope Davis) counters that she comes from a family that suffers from one kind of regenerative disease or another.
Turns out they're perfect for each other. After a gastronomically disagreeable dinner that sends her scrambling into Harvey's bathroom, Joyce emerges to suggest they skip this dating preamble and just get married.
This isn't exactly glamorous sparring à la Rick and Ilsa in "Casablanca," but that's the salient point in this superbly conceived anti-biopic about the real-life Pekar, whose autobiographical comic books "American Splendor" and "Our Cancer Year" became underground classics. Harvey and Joyce -- in this movie and reality -- are two fussy, tormented and yet hopelessly normal souls in love.
Filmmaking partners Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (they made the cultish documentary "Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's") have assembled a marvelous, intelligent hybrid of documentary, comic book graphics and straight-ahead drama to evoke the unique texture of this relationship. Giamatti's Harvey is frequently seen as an animated figure, walking from one comic book strip panel to another. Occasionally his thoughts are represented by cartoon balloons. And while Giamatti and Davis play fictional versions of the couple in the main story, the real Pekar, Brabner and other associates make regular appearances throughout the movie, either to talk about themselves or cheekily undercut the movie.
Giamatti "doesn't look like me," scoffs Pekar at one point.
The filmmakers also use excerpts from then-NBC talk show host David Letterman's contentious television interviews with Pekar, in which the comic book author took umbrage at Letterman's lightly derisive tone.
This cocktail of fact and fiction is a sort of tribute to the real Pekar's often dyspeptic view of mass media as an industry of phoniness and hyperbole, and it's a nod to the kind of no-nonsense comic book fans who share this outlook. It's also about two documentarians' respect for the truth -- or as close as they can get in a Hollywood movie.
Last but not least, the movie, winner of the 2003 Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, is highly entertaining. This is Giamatti's breakout role. As Pekar, he is a mixture of charm and gritty realism with his pale, slouching, hairy body, eye-rolling expressions and amusing rejoinders. Davis makes Brabner into an unforgettable being, a quiet but powerful force under that Elvira-style mane of black hair. James Urbaniak is a donkey-braying giggle as Robert Crumb, the famed comic book author who helps Harvey become successful by illustrating his Dostoevski-style narratives. And as Toby Radloff, Harvey's very strange friend who's obsessed with the movie "Revenge of the Nerds," Judah Friedlander steals every scene he's in. (The real Radloff also appears in cameo, showing us that, if anything, Friedlander is underplaying his over-the-top goofiness.) The great thing about "American Splendor" is how it never lets you lose sight of reality, which is precisely what Pekar's comic books set out to do. In the words of Giamatti's -- and the real -- Pekar, "Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff."
AMERICAN SPLENDOR (R, 101 minutes) -- Contains intense thematic material, obscenity, sexual situations and language. At Landmark's Bethesda Row, Loews Georgetown and Cineplex Odeon Outer Circle.
American Splendor Review..
By Desson Howe
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 22, 2003; Page WE33
IN "AMERICAN SPLENDOR," the first date between Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner has all the romantic glow and sizzle of cold scrapple.
He's a despondent, pudgy file clerk from Cleveland who creates comic books about his sad-sack existence. She's a neurotic oddball from Wilmington, Del., with self-diagnosed clinical depression. Upon first meeting at a depressing bus station, Harvey (Paul Giamatti) says he might as well inform her upfront he's had a vasectomy. Joyce (Hope Davis) counters that she comes from a family that suffers from one kind of regenerative disease or another.
Turns out they're perfect for each other. After a gastronomically disagreeable dinner that sends her scrambling into Harvey's bathroom, Joyce emerges to suggest they skip this dating preamble and just get married.
This isn't exactly glamorous sparring à la Rick and Ilsa in "Casablanca," but that's the salient point in this superbly conceived anti-biopic about the real-life Pekar, whose autobiographical comic books "American Splendor" and "Our Cancer Year" became underground classics. Harvey and Joyce -- in this movie and reality -- are two fussy, tormented and yet hopelessly normal souls in love.
Filmmaking partners Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (they made the cultish documentary "Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's") have assembled a marvelous, intelligent hybrid of documentary, comic book graphics and straight-ahead drama to evoke the unique texture of this relationship. Giamatti's Harvey is frequently seen as an animated figure, walking from one comic book strip panel to another. Occasionally his thoughts are represented by cartoon balloons. And while Giamatti and Davis play fictional versions of the couple in the main story, the real Pekar, Brabner and other associates make regular appearances throughout the movie, either to talk about themselves or cheekily undercut the movie.
Giamatti "doesn't look like me," scoffs Pekar at one point.
The filmmakers also use excerpts from then-NBC talk show host David Letterman's contentious television interviews with Pekar, in which the comic book author took umbrage at Letterman's lightly derisive tone.
This cocktail of fact and fiction is a sort of tribute to the real Pekar's often dyspeptic view of mass media as an industry of phoniness and hyperbole, and it's a nod to the kind of no-nonsense comic book fans who share this outlook. It's also about two documentarians' respect for the truth -- or as close as they can get in a Hollywood movie.
Last but not least, the movie, winner of the 2003 Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, is highly entertaining. This is Giamatti's breakout role. As Pekar, he is a mixture of charm and gritty realism with his pale, slouching, hairy body, eye-rolling expressions and amusing rejoinders. Davis makes Brabner into an unforgettable being, a quiet but powerful force under that Elvira-style mane of black hair. James Urbaniak is a donkey-braying giggle as Robert Crumb, the famed comic book author who helps Harvey become successful by illustrating his Dostoevski-style narratives. And as Toby Radloff, Harvey's very strange friend who's obsessed with the movie "Revenge of the Nerds," Judah Friedlander steals every scene he's in. (The real Radloff also appears in cameo, showing us that, if anything, Friedlander is underplaying his over-the-top goofiness.) The great thing about "American Splendor" is how it never lets you lose sight of reality, which is precisely what Pekar's comic books set out to do. In the words of Giamatti's -- and the real -- Pekar, "Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff."
AMERICAN SPLENDOR (R, 101 minutes) -- Contains intense thematic material, obscenity, sexual situations and language. At Landmark's Bethesda Row, Loews Georgetown and Cineplex Odeon Outer Circle.