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Just asking
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May. 15th, 2008 @ 08:19 pm
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Could a muskellunge take a cod? I mean, I know one is a freshwater fish and the other isn't, but still. |
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This is why they hate us
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Mar. 10th, 2008 @ 04:31 pm
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Today I needed a copy of a paper by Joyal and Wraith on Eilenberg-Mac Lane topoi originally published in Mathematical Applications of Category Theory (Contemporary Math 30). The volume has a delightful introduction by John Gray—here is a link to Google Books. Let me quote:
The role of category theory in furthering the set-theoretical advance in mathematics is to describe this structure [i.e. "the rest of mathematics"] precisely, independent of how the internal nature of individual sets is described. Thus category theory can be regarded as the mathematical manifestation of the general cultural movement of the mid 20th century called structuralism.
It's intriguing; I'm not sure I agree. Gray goes on to quote Dictionary of the History of Ideas, asserting that "structure, in the structuralist sense, is precisely the significative (as opposed to the material) content of the system." Let's put aside questions about what signification means in a formal language. By Gray's analogy, is the significative content of the statement "A complete lattice is a Heyting algebra if and only if satisfies the infinite distributive law" Freyd's adjoint functor theorem? In that case, is there something special about category theory as opposed to other forms of abstraction in mathematics—besides the zealousness of some of its adherents? (I'm a big fan myself.) |
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24 hours of funk
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Jan. 16th, 2008 @ 10:54 pm
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On New Year's Eve, an acquaintance asked me if Jamiroquai was the "epitome of funk." I don't think he is—what would that make Stevie Wonder?—but I could be wrong. It's a big genre.
I finally picked up the 2005 reissue of Eugene McDaniels' Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse this week. Musically, it's pretty tense and, from the second track to the last few minutes, surprisingly restrained. The drumming is hyperactive and TIGHT. They couldn't afford horns, but the album has two bass players. Almost every review of the album mentions the perhaps-apocryphal story that Spiro Agnew asked Atlantic to pull the album because of the political lyrics. A sample: the title track opens with the words
"Jews and the Arabs
Semitic pawns in the master game
The player who controls the board sees them all as the same:
Basically cannon fodder."
What's the first "the" doing there? Now that that's out of the way, Headless Heroes sounds a lot like Roy Ayers Ubiquity—apparently Harry Whitaker arranged McDaniels' album while working on He's Coming. On McDaniels' album there's some crazy-complicated changes on the title track and a lot of half-spoken, half-theatrical vocals. Both records even open with songs about Jesus returning! There's nothing as sinister as "We Live in Brooklyn Baby" on Headless Heroes, though. There is a curious acoustic-guitar paean to a hippie that rhymes the words "Jane," "rain," "cane," "pain," "Jane" again, and "insane." Get a copy.
I've also been checking out some stuff on Daptone Records. Sharon Jones' 100 Days, 100 Nights made it onto a lot of best-of 2007 lists (and it's real cheap at Newbury Comics, so buy it or "borrow" mine). I think it's a great album, especially the first half. Most of what I've heard on the label—the Mighty Imperials, Sugarman 3 and Co., Sharon Jones—are slick retro productions with heavily panned stereo, classic-looking typography on the sleeves, and songs prominently featuring the words "popcorn" and "chicken." It's almost as if the last three decades never happened, but not quite: hip-hop happened. The records that they're ripping off, or paying a homage to, or whatever, are available again (even on vinyl!) because they're fun and crate-digging producers and DJs sampled them. Headless Heroes is one example (it's sampled all over Mecca and the Soul Brother, and it appears in People's Instinctive Travels ...). I'm not sure if that's why this super-conservative shit is hip, but it is. I'm too tired to write any more, so I'll just say I am eagerly awaiting obscure disco reissues and neo-disco hipster labels. |
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Watch my feet
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Sep. 8th, 2007 @ 01:29 pm
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Futuristic like fiber optics
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Jul. 30th, 2007 @ 09:04 pm
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| » Not kosher |
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Another day, another fish.
Jul. 9th, 2007 @ 11:41 am
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| » Don't drink too much, kids |
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Is it just a coincidence that one of the characters in The Day of the Locust is named Homer Simpson?
Jul. 8th, 2007 @ 09:40 pm
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| » This article on a U.S. drummer is a stub |
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Greg Errico is fucking amazing.
Jul. 4th, 2007 @ 11:21 am
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| » What am I supposed to do with this? |
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I'm not sure. In the meantime, enjoy this article.
Jul. 3rd, 2007 @ 02:32 pm
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