vu bui dot net

danwmartin: Maybe the best photo ever...

Wed, 02 May 2012 06:49:34 -0700

danwmartin:

Maybe the best photo ever taken…

via:fencehopping:

So much science in one photo!

Barrett Garese: 6 Filmmaking Tips from David Fincher

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:58:25 -0700

Barrett Garese: 6 Filmmaking Tips from David Fincher:

tyrannosaurpaddock:

1) “What you learn from that first [film] - and I don’t call it ‘trial by fire’; I call it ‘baptism by fire’ - is that you are going to have to take all of the responsibility, because basically when it gets right down to it, you are going to get all of the blame, so…

Ridiculous scenery on the road to Vegas.

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 18:16:28 -0700

Ridiculous scenery on the road to Vegas.

Harms of Post-9/11 Airline Security | Bruce Schneier

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:11:49 -0700

Harms of Post-9/11 Airline Security | Bruce Schneier:

redteams:

A fantastic summary of what’s wrong with the current state of the airport security, mainly lead by TSA. Go read the entire article. I am quoting here some of the highlights (bold text by me).

Like I said several times, good intelligence gathering, proactive security and perimeter security Israeli style on airports is the way to make air travel safer.

Bruce wrote:

In my previous two statements, I made two basic arguments about post-9/11 airport security. One, we are not doing the right things: the focus on airports at the expense of the broader threat is not making us safer. And two, the things we are doing are wrong: the specific security measures put in place since 9/11 do not work. Kip Hawley doesn’t argue with the specifics of my criticisms, but instead provides anecdotes and asks us to trust that airport security—and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in particular—knows what it’s doing.

He wants us to trust that a 400-ml bottle of liquid is dangerous, but transferring it to four 100-ml bottles magically makes it safe. He wants us to trust that the butter knives given to first-class passengers are nevertheless too dangerous to be taken through a security checkpoint. He wants us to trust the no-fly list: 21,000 people so dangerous they’re not allowed to fly, yet so innocent they can’t be arrested. He wants us to trust that the deployment of expensive full-body scanners has nothing to do with the fact that the former secretary of homeland security, Michael Chertoff, lobbies for one of the companies that makes them. He wants us to trust that there’s a reason to confiscate a cupcake (Las Vegas), a 3-inch plastic toy gun (London Gatwick), a purse with an embroidered gun on it (Norfolk, VA), a T-shirt with a picture of a gun on it (London Heathrow) and a plastic lightsaber that’s really a flashlight with a long cone on top (Dallas/Fort Worth).

The humiliation, the dehumanisation and the privacy violations are also harms. That Mr Hawley dismisses these as mere “costs in convenience” demonstrates how out-of-touch the TSA is from the people it claims to be protecting. Additionally, there’s actual physical harm: the radiation from full-body scanners still not publicly tested for safety; and the mental harm suffered by both abuse survivors and children: the things screeners tell them as they touch their bodies are uncomfortably similar to what child molesters say.

In 2004, the average extra waiting time due to TSA procedures was 19.5 minutes per person. That’s a total economic loss—in –America—of $10 billion per year, more than the TSA’s entire budget. The increased automobile deaths due to people deciding to drive instead of fly is 500 per year. Both of these numbers are for America only, and by themselves demonstrate that post-9/11 airport security has done more harm than good.

In his first statement, Mr Hawley related a quote predicting “blood running in the aisles” if small scissors and tools were allowed on planes. That was said by Corey Caldwell, an Association of Flight Attendants spokesman, in 2005. It was not the statement of someone who is thinking rationally about airport security; it was the voice of irrational fear.

Increased fear is the final harm, and its effects are both emotional and physical. By sowing mistrust, by stripping us of our privacy—and in many cases our dignity—by taking away our rights, by subjecting us to arbitrary and irrational rules, and by constantly reminding us that this is the only thing between us and death by the hands of terrorists, the TSA and its ilk are sowing fear. And by doing so, they are playing directly into the terrorists’ hands.

The goal of terrorism is not to crash planes, or even to kill people; the goal of terrorism is to cause terror. Liquid bombs, PETN, planes as missiles: these are all tactics designed to cause terror by killing innocents. But terrorists can only do so much. They cannot take away our freedoms. They cannot reduce our liberties. They cannot, by themselves, cause that much terror. It’s our reaction to terrorism that determines whether or not their actions are ultimately successful. That we allow governments to do these things to us—to effectively do the terrorists’ job for them—is the greatest harm of all. Return airport security checkpoints to pre-9/11 levels. Get rid of everything that isn’t needed to protect against random amateur terrorists and won’t work against professional al-Qaeda plots.

Take the savings thus earned and invest them in investigation, intelligence, and emergency response: security outside the airport, security that does not require us to play guessing games about plots. Recognise that 100% safety is impossible, and also that terrorism is not an “existential threat” to our way of life. Respond to terrorism not with fear but with indomitability. Refuse to be terrorized.

Elizabeth Banks: I Thank Birth Control Pills for My Son Just...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:17:26 -0700

Elizabeth Banks: I Thank Birth Control Pills for My Son

Just over a year ago, my son Felix was born via gestational surrogacy. He came out of me nine months early and because of my broken belly, his babycake was baked in a wonderful angel’s oven and now — I can’t believe it — he’s a year old and walking. He has expanded my capacity for joy a thousand-fold.

His life would have been much harder to come by if not for the birth control pill. How’s that, you ask? Well, it’s a simple fact: The pill is used for many situations that have nothing to do with the prevention of pregnancy. The pill was prescribed to me when hormonally induced migraines kept me locked up in dark rooms for days at a time. It was prescribed to me to regulate insanely painful cramps every month — cramps so painful that I often vomited.

And here’s a little secret I am happy to blow the lid off of: The pill is often prescribed during the IVF (in vitro fertilization) process to help MAKE BABIES! That’s right, women dealing with infertility are often put on the pill to help regulate a cycle so that they might have a more successful IVF. The pill is used to manage ovarian cysts, endometriosis and other conditions too. Not to mention, it helps couples plan for wanted children.

Obviously, I’m not a doctor. I’m just a woman grateful for my necessary and very helpful medication. And I’m sure glad I don’t have to discuss any of these conditions, including infertility, with my employer.

A girlfriend and I recently wondered what would be more mortifying: having to tell her male employer she needed birth control to mitigate a heavy flow or just bleeding all over herself in the office?

So with that image in mind, I encourage all women — and the men in their lives — to protect access to birth control, and encourage our politicians to take women’s health issues out of the political process.

For more information, please visit the most comprehensive and willing advocates for women’s health in America: www.plannedparenthood.org.

artpixie: (via Design Don’t Panic: Birdsnest Bed) I want this...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:09:53 -0700

artpixie:

(via Design Don’t Panic: Birdsnest Bed)

I want this bed!

schlomo: architizer: Glamorous Cubicles: reclaimed Airstream...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:05:10 -0700

schlomo:

architizer:

Glamorous Cubicles: reclaimed Airstream trailers converted into workspaces, recording studios, staff lounges, and executive offices.

We built a commercial kitchen an turn my Airstream into a food truck!

tedr: A picture in 365 slices. Each slice is one day of the...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 23:57:19 -0700

tedr:

A picture in 365 slices. Each slice is one day of the year.

brilliant and lovely.

missbhavens: “The good news? The Hunger Games made $155 million...

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:53:26 -0700

missbhavens:

“The good news? The Hunger Games made $155 million at the box office its opening weekend, making it the third-best debut in North American box office history. The bad news, however, reflects a level of idiocy that we weren’t really expecting.”

-Racist Hunger Games Fans are Very Disappointed.

And this is why I continue to just be disappointed in humans in general.

mikeambs: Filed under: this time last year. Last year Erica...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:03:16 -0700

mikeambs:

Filed under: this time last year.

Last year Erica and I road-tripped it from Los Angeles to SXSW. I had decided - last year, when going through all the footage at home - that I would split the trip into 3 parts: the drive out, SXSW itself, and the drive home. For whatever reason, I just found the leftover footage from our long drive back home sitting on my drive - having never been edited or shared. So, to right that wrong, and finish what I started, here’s the last part of SXSW 2011… late, but still.

Vu joined us for the drive home - and we spent most of our time listening to podcast and taking photos on the side of the road.

pt 1 of 3, pt 2 of 3, photos + post about south-by @ tagged/sxsw

This was a good trip.

Lydia Winters on a Stockholm street in the snow.

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:25:38 -0700

Lydia Winters on a Stockholm street in the snow.

TOI on sunset pano. w/ @lydiawinters

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:34:41 -0700

TOI on sunset pano. w/ @lydiawinters

kenyatta: Rob Reid: The $8 Billion iPod Clever....

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 10:14:39 -0700

kenyatta:

Rob Reid: The $8 Billion iPod

Clever. Chuckleworthy.

paranolives:

youranonnews:

Copyright Math: the best TED Talk you’ll watch all year

Yes.

The best pie.

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 10:35:07 -0700

The best pie.

@lydiawinters reads, Maeby protects. (Taken with Instagram at...

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:19:29 -0700

@lydiawinters reads, Maeby protects. (Taken with Instagram at Galactic Initiative)

It’s almost time. #SXSW (Taken with Instagram at SXSW Film...

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 12:38:39 -0800

It’s almost time. #SXSW (Taken with Instagram at SXSW Film Festival 2012)

Somewhere there’s probably a real version of these tats.

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:00:35 -0800

Somewhere there’s probably a real version of these tats.

barackobama: If Mitt Romney and a few Republican senators get...

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:35:47 -0800

barackobama:

If Mitt Romney and a few Republican senators get their way, employers could be making women’s health care decisions for them.

laughingsquid: The Lively Morgue, The New York Times Photo...

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:39:05 -0800

laughingsquid:

The Lively Morgue, The New York Times Photo Archive Tumblr

untitledfilmblog: Modern Life (Dir. Wes Anderson) Wes Anderson...

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 19:38:51 -0800

untitledfilmblog:

Modern Life (Dir. Wes Anderson)

Wes Anderson for Hyundai (Part I).

Ah Wes Anderson. Camera moves that no one else even thinks of.