I loved watching this in our libraries. I'm so glad you found it!
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 3:10 PM on July 25, 2008

Yeah, from reading this, his steam boiler on the moped doesn't actually do anything aside from steam.

Also, in the first picture, he appears to be entering the World's Largest Douchebag Exposition and Faire.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 12:38 PM on July 23, 2008

"original future-wank that was the now totally uncool design aesthetic my parents grew up with (Danish Modern and Birmingham Library, anyone?)."

Uh… Danish Modern is cool as shit, man.

"When not actively defending it, most steampunk advocates probably just thing it's a fun and cool thing."

Well, yeah, but part of my take-away from "punk" is not to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 9:34 AM on July 24, 2008

"In non-cosplay design circles mid century modern seems to be very big right now."

Yeah, and has been for some time. Try looking at these and not thinking of Bo Concept, or similar hip design houses. The biggest threat to Danish Modern (or mid-century modernism or Scandinavian modernism) as "cool" is probably Ikea making sure that every dorm has some.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 4:32 PM on July 24, 2008

No, I was thinking of Deadlands and Space: 1889, now that I've looked back on 'em. I think we also set a Turtles in Time campaign in a steam-powered alternate past.

(NERDS!)
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 11:53 AM on July 25, 2008

Heh. I looked at my old sourcebooks when I moved and I was amazed at how crude the TMNT stuff was—I mean, it looked like it had been all typed on a failing Selectric and xeroxed sloppily. But it did have plenty of great art, and the Palladium/Rifts gameplay was pretty solid. Too bad every time I've mentioned getting a game together, people have reacted like I was selling copied of the Watchtower.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 1:47 PM on July 25, 2008

(copies, obvs.)
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 1:47 PM on July 25, 2008

"Here's a better description of Gerianne Alexander's "Male monkeys prefer toy cars, females like dolls" study, plus a pointer to independent reproduction of her results (by a guy named "Kim"). It includes a cute picture of vervet monkeys."

God, if that's the better description, I pity those who suffer with worse.

Unnoted regarding vervet monkeys: They're social animals too. That they have gendered... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 11:08 AM on July 25, 2008

This is the kind of music that I don't love listening to, but really enjoy whistling whilst I stroll.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 4:47 PM on July 24, 2008

I'm going to ignore the ZOMG illegal and the fact that the interface sucks and concentrate on how this will affect content (because Plutor's right that it can be done legally, and someone will eventually come up with a good-enough interface, though I don't feel like this is it).

In having magazines shown like this, it's incredibly simple to move past the ads. Which is fine—I'll cop to totally skipping past them in print. But when it's easy to skip past ads, then (in... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 11:57 AM on July 22, 2008

Yes, yes, yes, they're all running dogs for capitalism. Congrats on your Adbusters subscription.

But assuming that the system isn't smashed any time soon, this is taking corporate influence and making it more prominent and further eroding even the "notion" of independence that differentiates advertisement from editorial content, and it's happening in a way that minimizes transparency.

So "Things are already bad" is not a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 1:11 PM on July 22, 2008

The first part of your sentence (until "...to deal with") is not related to the second part. How "free information" on the Web goes against "freedom of information"? You are projecting that the way of producing and monetizing information has to be the same on the Web. Obviously it isn't the same. As far as I know, most traditional mass media still make millions for their owners. It's only when they try to transfer their business model on the Web that they... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 8:28 PM on July 22, 2008

"I am not announcing a rosy future, I am just saying that the doom you are predicting has no factual basis."

And this is why I asked if you were retarded. No factual basis? You haven't noticed the marked increase of product placement, even to news shows? Or seen the myriad of news stories tying this to Tivo and other DVRs?

For those of us who work within journalism, the trend toward product placement and advertorial... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 3:53 PM on July 24, 2008

Poor England. I can only hope the few that I haven't heard are really good, as the ones that I have are boring crit-rock (or, in Burial's case, boring crit-IDM).
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 1:37 PM on July 22, 2008

I've tried Elbow again and again—they feel like Seal for Radiohead fans, and I mean that in a bad way.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 3:16 PM on July 22, 2008

I got Madagascar, no problem. But for some reason nothing could broach Argentina.

If only there was a way to make the tango infectious.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 1:42 PM on July 21, 2008

Hip hop also has the uncomfortable tension with its origins in rapping over extended but generally otherwise unaltered breaks. Sugarhill Gang would be wicked dull if they were just chanting "Good Times" over Chic.

But I will say that the "ironic" cover of a rap tune is the fastest way to get me to never listen to your mix cd again, especially if it's some female singer-songwriter doing "Gin and Juice."
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 10:35 AM on July 21, 2008

Hey, didja hear that some of the folks who backed Clinton and bashed Obama are now realizing that they'd have a better shot at agenda-setting if they recanted? It's totally true!

Or: "Sorry, not news."
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 10:17 AM on July 21, 2008

Aww, I thought it was cute. It erred on the side of precious frippery, but if I'm going to forgive the outsized inanity of the superhero comics that I love, I can forgive this.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 3:54 PM on July 18, 2008

"11097 CRENSHAW & VERNON 4371 CRENSHAW BLVD LOS ANGELES CA
11321 VERMONT & MLK 1005 W MARTIN LUTHER KING BLVD LOS ANGELES CA"

I thought it was interesting that these two were closing, because they're kinda on the outskirts of rougher areas that have been gentrifying (if I recall my geography correctly). I know that a friend who lives in Boyle Heights was talking about how they'd just overcome what he called the "Starbucks redline"... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 3:27 PM on July 18, 2008

"Steve: Hi, my name is Steve. I come from a rough area. I used to be addicted to crack but now I am off it and trying to stay clean. That is why I am selling magazine subscriptions."
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 9:57 AM on July 18, 2008

Yeah, I've gotten several of these since I moved to my new place, since the gate at the old one kept folks from coming to the door. And because I have had a couple of terrible door-to-door jobs (handing out coupons, sticking menus to doorknobs, canvassing for the Dems), and because I'm usually high when they show up, I get stuck talking to them. My girlfriend's much better about giving the unequivocal "No." But I'm always there suckered in by the "I want to go to college,"... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 10:01 AM on July 18, 2008

Is it wrong that I immediately assumed viral advertising?
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 9:28 AM on July 17, 2008

On the one hand, I wanna make some sort of snark about how this will be blamed on gay marriage somehow; on the other hand, I kind of feel like this is one of those stories that actually does have a happy ending, where two adults realize that they're not meant to be married and so separate without acrimony or recriminations.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 5:27 PM on July 15, 2008

Yes, it's entirely possible for a marriage to fail in America with neither Bush nor the gays having anything to do with it.

(In this case, Bush is at best, like, tenth level responsible at most. "If not for capitalism, I'd have no papercuts," sort of thinking.)
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 9:34 PM on July 15, 2008

"The most tolerant, non-homophobic, has-gay-friends guys, despite perhaps intellectually believing the "everyone's a bit bi" idea and being comfortable with nonsexual affection with their male friends, gay and straight, would still rather stick a poker in their eye than consider french-kissing a man."

I kissed a guy during a game of spin the bottle a couple years ago. It was awful, like this thick, retarded giraffe tongue... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 10:38 AM on July 14, 2008

No BeeGees?

(And I'm coming to the realization that most of the bands I thought of as Australian are actually New Zealanders… Split Enz, for example.)
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 10:06 AM on July 14, 2008

Er… Little HTML error there, though I do appreciate you taking the time to wade through that for those of us who hate the fucking multi-page bullshit (IT IS THE WEB IT IS INFINITE!).

I'm glad they rated Constantine so high, I'm kind of sad they over-rated Wolverine, and I'm curious as to why The Thing is so far up there.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 3:05 PM on July 11, 2008

And since the goddamned regular page is taking so long to load now, I suppose I'll never know if there actually is a character named The Jocker (I really, really hope there is).
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 3:06 PM on July 11, 2008

OK, seriously, we're putting together a much better list here.

Ones that I'd axe (because you have to make room): Deadpool, Venom, Emma Frost, Deena Pilgrim, Spawn, Death, Apollo and Midnight, Obelix, Marv, Hal Jordan and Astro Boy. [Deadpool always seemed too '90s Bloodwulf, Venom too, Frost is pretty flat aside from sexy sexy bad girl/arch headmistress, I thought Powers was lame, Spawn was played out after issue four, Death was trite Cure pantheon, A&M were only... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 9:32 PM on July 11, 2008

For lots of folks here, y'all seem to have forgotten that comic strips are not comic books—The Spirit's always gonna be best for the strip, just like Krazy Kat or Calvin.

(Oh, and I definitely miss Lone Wolf. I think I cried at the end of that book.)
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 9:34 PM on July 11, 2008

"Note how often, for example, brainwashing is a central element for stories involving female characters and how relatively seldom male characters are brainwashed. Off the top of my head I can name six or seven Marvel women who have been brainwashed (and usually afterwards wear less clothing than they did prior) and I honestly can't think of a single Marvel man who has been brainwashed [2]. I think you could make a good case for brainwashing as a rape substitute in comics.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 1:11 PM on July 12, 2008

And the answer there is mostly, I think, inertia, as even new top tier male characters since the '60s are relatively rare.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 8:15 PM on July 12, 2008

Of course American lives are worth less now than they were in 2004—we've been getting Iraqi lives wholesale.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 2:27 PM on July 11, 2008

The Bible's also pretty hard on witches, widows and shellfish.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 11:55 AM on July 10, 2008

"You know, the wedding industry is a big one, and destination weddings are some of the most expensive. Maybe someone can claim that not recognizing marriages performed out of state is tantamount to a state regulating interstate commerce or otherwise discriminating against wedding services performed out of state. (Okay, that arguments a bit of a stretch, to say the least)."

That's on the wrong side of 5-4.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 3:17 PM on July 10, 2008

I remember reading about how schools were finding that fines for parents who were late to pick up their kids ended up backfiring, as once the courtesy was monetized, people felt entitled to it. I wonder if a better approach might be to make the therapy inexpensive but unable to be rescheduled for any reason. I realize that some might abandon it anyway, but it might be a bulwark against the assessment mindset.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 1:20 PM on July 9, 2008

"But it seems here you are diagnosing the layabout heir's wealth as the problem.

Which is why you are suggesting a way of first reducing the effect of their wealth. (By "earning" the right to therapy through therapist-appointed humble volunteer work).

I'd say he or she has "earned" the appointment, surely, by asking for it?

I thought that was a cornerstone of all therapy - the therapist... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 3:09 PM on July 10, 2008

Killings for money, I can understand. Furies which leave people dead, I get that too.

I don't get this. It's weak to have to resort to "evil," but when no one knows a man except as a liar and a killer, there's not a lot else you can do.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 11:00 AM on July 9, 2008

Gurple—I think it depends on what kind of woods you're expecting. My uncle definitely carried a .22 rifle with him when he went to the boundary waters, but he also didn't pack in more than emergency rations, and fed himself by hunting and fishing. And I will also note that park rangers are the law enforcement agents most likely to be killed in the line of duty, so there is some risk there. But for a weekend stroll in the woods with maybe some tenting? I'm much more likely to want that splint or... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 3:53 PM on July 9, 2008

I DON'T PREVIEW
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 5:18 PM on July 7, 2008

I'm with valkyryn and The Straightener -- Section 8 was well-intended, but seems to have been put through with very little thought about how these families would obtain social services. It's hard enough to move to a totally new place when you've got money to spare; without it, failure and hardship seem likely, especially if all the assistance offices are still in the old neighborhood! If only we could do it over again, knowing what we do now...

This is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 5:23 PM on July 7, 2008

"You know, I have wondered for some time why people who are poor, able to hold down a job but not high-paying enough to afford rent in the bigger cities, stay in the bigger cities."

It also costs a lot to move, both fiscally and socially.

"Well of course, stupid. It's called incentive, and it's what you're going to need if you want someone to foot the bill for gutting an old rusty hulking factory and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 7:14 AM on July 8, 2008

"This is not a would-have-happened-anyway scenario; it is in fact (even in your examples) apparently catalyzed by the presence of the newcomer."

Don't be fooled by post hoc ergo propter hoc. That the crackhouse formed around the woman who relapsed does not prove that there would not have otherwise been an all-locals crackhouse.

Further, stop attempting to demonize section 8. The damage has not been done by section... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 1:34 PM on July 8, 2008

"Klangklangston, that the crackhouse COULD have formed if the woman was not there says nothing about why it _did_ form. And moreover, the topic article strongly implies that in fact the section 8 policies _have_ in fact spread and catalyzed crime, whatever the reason."

Of course it doesn't say anything about why it did form—it formed because the woman was in a vulnerable position and there was ample interest in the neighborhood. Likewise,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 1:57 PM on July 8, 2008

I'm arguing that it's an ad hominem fallacy and that you didn't read the article very well (and also don't know very much about low-income housing or section 8 or even poor people).
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 2:22 PM on July 8, 2008

So, is it a confusion of terms that you're having trouble with? Because section 8 refers to the housing code under which subsidized housing is offered. It was offered prior to the elimination of housing projects (indeed, it was started around the end of the 1930s), and is offered to more than just those who moved from the projects. A fair amount of my housing co-op was subsidized by section 8, and that had little or no predictive value regarding the likelihood of criminal activity in a given... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 3:35 PM on July 8, 2008

"I know MeFi is a nerd's cliche paradise, but correlation, while not causation, is certainly worth a damn when it's strong enough and sharply defined. So any alternate explanation should probably not be built on isolated anecdote."

What I read his comment to be indicative of was not arguing against the correlation, but of noting that the correlation has confounding factors which were not explored.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 4:03 PM on July 8, 2008

Yeah. You read that, rr?
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 9:49 AM on July 9, 2008

"Oddman, in the nations where conservative Christians with a very narrow understanding of the Bible don't make up the largest part of the religious population and where riches and stability have allowed science to gain a real foothold, religion is dying out. People who have liberalized their religion are in the first steps of realizing that their religion is superstitious twaddle, and are therefore in the first steps of leaving the religious mindset. You can't use a recovering... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 5:33 PM on July 8, 2008