According to Wikipedia, a hologram is "a technique that allows the light scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that it appears as if the object is in the same position relative to the recording medium as it was when recorded".

What CNN did on election night was take an all around picture of someone and put it on a TV screen. There was no 3D image in the room with Wolf Blitzer. There was no flickering Princess Leia you could stick your hand through. This is not a hologram. This has no relationship to a hologram.

I don't know why anyone thought that it was a big deal to put a picture of someone on a screen. We've been doing that for a very long time now.

This is how I feel right now:

I don't care what Ed says. A vote for Obama is a vote for all that's good and decent in this world.

Sometimes the decision is just that obvious.

This is brilliant.

An unexpectedly fascinating interview with John Hodgman by Wired magazine, in which he talks about how he went from being a literary agent to a television personality (and also how he convinced Bruce Campbell to write a book, and then sold that book).

Hodgman was nice enough to send me a reviewer's copy of his first book, The Areas of My Expertise, which I then reviewed. I wonder if he'll send me a copy of his new one. (Hint hint Mr. Hodgman.)

Speaking of Bruce Campbell, yesterday for Halloween I saw My Name is Bruce and was surprised when Campbell himself showed up to introduce the movie and do a Q & A and make fun of my Groucho Marx costume (the face paint was wearing off). The movie was hilarious, as was Campbell (and his enormous chin). (That'll teach him to make fun of me. HA!)

And back to Hodgman, here's him on This American Life doing a piece on super powers. (Yes, I know this is from 2006. Sue me.)

Ed Champion interviews Charlie Kaufman. And Neil Stephenson!

Ed gave me a "via" link for this post about Keith Knight's controversy with the "N" word, which might have confused some people who came here looking for the link. I originally emailed it to him. But now it's on the site right here, so all's well.

Who knew? It's ridiculously hard to become a prostitute in Second Life.

And that's all you get today.

This pretty much sums up everything I've been saying about the last eight years...

Via.

I've recently become addicted to the Elric novels of Michael Moorcock. For the uninitiated, Elric was created as a reaction against the kind of Conan-the-Barbarian/Lord-of-the-Rings style fantasy that still dominates sword-and-sorcery novels today. He is the anti-Conan; a frail, albino sorcerer from the decadent kingdom of Melneboné, addicted to drugs to stay alive and to the demon black sword Stormbringer, which both fills him with strength and compels him to kill so that it might eat the souls of his victims. Adjectives frequently used to describe him include "cursed," "tortured" and most of all "doomed." He is totally emo. Elric was most popular in the 1970's, when Blue Oyster Cult wrote a song about him ("Black Blade") and Dave Sim parodied him in the comic book Cerebus as "Elrod of Melvinbone." Yet, with new additions of the books coming out, the prospect of a movie and Moorcock now writing new Elric adventures, the albino seems to be having a resurgence of attention.

This one's for you, Tim, and all you other misguided Libertarians out there.

One of the funniest things I've seen in a while, author Lisa Gabriele takes the piss out of a reality television show.

My favorite part is the panelist who says "You know, I own books." Via.