What you can't see are the stories.

Passover in Baghdad

To what extent are we the authors, the creators, of our own experiences?

Wu Zi Mu is real. His name is Zoltan Torey.

But there is much more to this article than a blind man repairing the roof of his home at nighttime, all by himself.

The Mind's Eye, by Oliver Sacks

In this review, NYT's Janet Maslin makes a few snap judgments about Malcolm Gladwell's new book, "Blink", which she says is "undercut by naggingly bad grammar."

Comparing it to "The Tipping Point", she calls it "a similarly anecdotal account of how split-second decisions are made."

In this context, the news that "snap judgments are, first of all, enormously quick" passes for a bright idea.

Gladwell delivers what is essentially a hybrid of marketing wisdom and self-help -- stronger on broad, catchy constructs than on innovative thinking.

'Blink': Haste Isn't All Waste

Sometimes an idea comes along that is so stupid, all you can do is stand back, give it some room, and stare.

Los Angeles

Mr. Klein said last night, "I agree wholeheartedly with Jon Stewart's overall premise."

CNN Is All Tuckered Out

A few weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, an FBI agent called the Whitney Museum of American Art and asked to see a drawing on exhibit there. The piece was by Mark Lombardi, an artist who had committed suicide the year before. Using just a pencil and a huge sheet of paper, Lombardi had created an intricate pattern of curves and arcs to illustrate the links between global finance and international terrorism.

Something to listen to while you look through the year in graphs.

NPR : The 'Conspiracy' Art of Mark Lombardi

A sampling of noteworthy memes in the year 2004, loosely ordered for effect. Enjoy.

The most important -- and interesting -- questions are structural.

"Fuck yourself," said the man who is a heartbeat from the presidency. "We don't play games at The Washington Post and use dashes." "I felt better after I had done it."

Teenagers nowadays are both more connected to the world at large than ever, and more cut off.

cellphone-based alibi clubs

More research anywhere creates more possibilities for innovation everywhere.

Do you understand the difference between "Is it worth buying?" and "Can it be sold?"

The era of cheap oil is over.

The Internet peering model is fundamentally broken.

"The thing is, this is a lousy business."

Let's talk about the consequences of the aging baby boomers.

Relationships can be hard work, but they are worth it.

When was the last time a talk show changed a mind?

Intelligence is moving to the edges and the edges are found on the Asian mainland.

In China, Bill Gates is Britney Spears. In America, Britney Spears is Britney Spears.

All entertainment concepts must be run through the Vulgarizer.

"I need to be managing a sexier project."

Values Voters Are Prone To Sinful Behavior.

Its sole function is to sell the naughty lifestyle.

Why the granny panties?

The Middle East must be Born Again!

War may be hell, but infowar is making a bid for heaven.

Personality is destiny.

"There's a certain tone in politics that I aspire to, that allows me to disagree with people without being disagreeable."

"chicken hawks"

Saudi Arabia is the golden egg.

Powell: "Very embarrassing. I am not a happy camper over this. We were wrong." Bush: "I wasn't happy when we found out there wasn't weapons, and we've got an intelligence group together to figure out why."

"It takes half a second for a baby to throw up all over your sweater. It takes hours to get it clean."

typical postwar "untidiness"

Bush: "I've made some mistakes in appointing people, but I'm not going to name them. I don't want to hurt their feelings on national TV."

"No. No. I'm not going to be your monkey."

America, partnering with the best-armed insurgents, allying with the weaker against the stronger.

"You can't talk sense to them," Bush said, referring to terrorists. "Nooooo!" the audience roared.

Moore unfurled what is perhaps the central insight of his oeuvre, that Americans are kind of crappy.

"Bush might be unpopular in Italy, the Iraqi war is not popular in Italy, but Italians know damn well that in 1944, they were liberated by America from the Nazis."

Fight the cult of process.

"You can't fight here! This is the war room!"

It is definitely interesting getting shot at for the first time.

"If you go ahead, we will do everything possible to discredit you... [ Read More (0.2k in body) ]

The new year is often time for reflection on where we have been and where we are going. Sometimes that reflection happens over a beer. Sometimes that reflection happens with a gun to your head. In fact, both occurred here at Industrial Memetics when Decius and Rattle forced us, their loyal employees, to look back on 2004 and consider the events that have shaped our lives.

MemeStreams - Year in Graphs 2004

This page explains how to set up TiVoToGo. Unfortunately it is not yet available on all TiVo units.

You can request to be placed on a priority list to have the new software sent to your TiVo. Your TiVo service number must begin with 110, 130, 140, 230, 240, 264, 540, or 590 in order to be eligible (at this time).

TiVo.com | How to get TiVoToGo

TiVoToGo will be an automatic, free service upgrade for subscribers who own standalone Series2 TiVo DVRs.

TiVo Unveils Portable Transfer Service