Things that have interested me lately

• Body Ritual among the Nacirema -- famous and influential anthropological article by Horace Miner. A bit dated now (hog hairs?) but it still works pretty well as satire, both of the society and of anthropogical perceptions.
• Are you being ripped of by motor insurers? -- specifically, have they tried to write off your car for a nugatory value when you could get it repaired and roadworthy? THis article shows how to get your own way.
• Natural Science Museum of Barcelona visual database -- clever and fun piece of Flash to explore the animal kingdom. Includes links to Flickr images! This could eat a lot of your time.
• Wikileaks needs money -- a very worthwhile cause, I think.
• The Four Big Myths of Profile Pictures -- not a very serious subject, but neatly and entertainingly explored by the OkCupid people.
• Dewey Organizes Internet Archive Music -- there is loads of great (legal) free music at the Internet Archive, but it's hell browsing it. This new interface seems to do a good and useful job.
• Spotiseek -- uses Last.fm technology to generate Spotify playlists according to your requested likes. This seems to really work well. You can just drag the playlist into your Spotify window.
• My Consulate in Samoa, by William B Churchwood -- a fascinating historical document, very readable and entertaining. Includes an account of the strange Samoan version of cricket.

That'll do for now! So a quick poll, if you'll indulge me:
[Poll #1527090]

Fishy business

We went to see Ponyo the other day, the new (to the UK) Miyazaki film. Headline summary: if you like Miyazaki, you will probably like this one too. It doesn't break new ground -- if anything, it's more similar in tone to oldies like Totoro and Kiki than his other recent films. On the other hand, if the whole Studio Ghibli thing is new to you, then this is not a bad place to start.

He has said that the film was inspired by The Little Mermaid (the Disney version rather than Andersen's not-so-fluffy story). There is also a neat reference to the Volsung Saga, as Ponyo's father calls her "Brunnhilde" -- the name of the valkyrie who disobeyed her father Wotan by falling in love with a human.

The sotry doesn't make much sense, but it has some lovely characters (Ponyo's father, the wizard Fujimoto, especially), and some beautiful animation -- the pre-credit sequence is terrific.