a luddites journal

Christopher Hitchens 1949-2011.

RIP Hitch.

RIP Mr. Jobs

I landed in LA to the news of Tim Hetherington’s death in Libya.

A sad day for the photography world.

Fellow photographer Chris Hondros was also killed.

RIP Tim and Chris.

• I know what you were thinking: What a silly way to die. What a silly, selfish, ridiculous mistake to have made. Don’t think that, brother. You had a very specific vision for your work and for your life, and that vision included your death. It didn’t have to, but that’s how it turned out. I’m so sorry, Tim.

  Maybe Misrata wasn’t worth dying for—surely that thought must have crossed your mind in those last moments—but what about all the Misratas of the world? What about Liberia and Darfur and Sri Lanka and all those terrible, ugly stories that you brought such humanity to? That you helped bring the world’s attention to?

  via Sebastian Junger Remembers Tim Hetherington – Vanity Fair.

Well, throw another year in the trash can of time. Hope your 2011 is better than your 2010.

A bad day on the Gold Gate Bridge. So long GTM, hello scrapyard. The driver is expected to make a full recovery despite the fact the airbag did not deploy.

Someone is always watching.

Just when I thought killing my virtual self was made easy (http://suicidemachine.org/), facebook takes the easy way out.

I’ve got some important news for fans of Roland Emmerich and the Mayans. 2012 is not going to be the end of the world! Thanks to Harold Camping for pointing out that the Mayans got the math wrong.

According to a recent article in The San Francisco Chronicle (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/01/BA8V1AV589.DTL) the world ends on May 21, 2011. Thank you for the good news.

I always get stressed out in May because my wife’s birthday is the 22nd and I never know what to get her.

Well I guess I can stop worrying next year!

If you don’t have time to read the article I’ll paraphrase and lay out the math:

The number 5 equals “atonement.”

Ten is “completeness.”

Seventeen means “heaven.”

Christ hung on the cross April 1, 33 A.D.

Now go to April 1 of 2011 A.D., and that’s 1,978 years.

multiply 1,978 by 365.2422 days – the number of days in each solar year, not to be confused with a calendar year.

April 1 to May 21 encompasses 51 days.

Add 51 to the sum of previous multiplication total, and it equals 722,500.

Camping realized that (5 x 10 x 17) x (5 x 10 x 17) = 722,500.

Or put into words: (Atonement x Completeness x Heaven), squared.

Who doesn’t like math now!

Thanks again for the great news.

Best wishes for a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year!