Tuesday, August 22, 2006 :::
Grigory Perelman seems to have declined the Fields Medal. The International Congress of Mathematicians has more info on who he is and why he was awarded it. (link pdf)
Some friends and I sort of almost but didn't see Snakes on a Plane this past weekend, but this guy did (link has some profanity).
Snakes On A Plane tries to do nothing other than to mine every possible nugget of fun from that old, old story - what happens when a crime lord tries to kill a key witness by putting a load of (***SPOILER***) snakes on a plane. There is no social realism. There is no analysis of political agency or the innate prejudice that lurks beneath the facade of civilisation. The snakes are not symbols for anything, except for how awesome snakes are.
It's a clever idea, bringing snakes on a plane; seeing as how they lack feet, and therefore don't wear shoes, airport security is likely not to recognize them as a threat.
::: posted by dWj at 9:32 PM