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July 5
Merge Records,
the independent record label founded by Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance of
Superchunk, turns 20 this year. All Things Considered focuses on how they stand out from other labels by turning profits in these trying economic times. They are throwing a four-day festival this month,
XX Merge, in North Carolina where it all began. Stand-out acts for the festival include
M. Ward,
The Magnetic Fields,
The Clientele, Superchunk, and the biggest act promoted by the label,
Spoon. -
29 comments
Prattville, Alabama, is home to the
Cross Garden of W. C. Rice. Pour yourself a cold drink and take a tour through
this Flickr gallery. Make that drink ice water, as YOU WILL DIE, YOU DO NOTHING TO GO TO HELL, and TO LATE IN HELL FIRE WATER. -
47 comments
1/3 of open ocean shark species faces extinction, according to the IUCN.
A recent report by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Shark Specialist group shows that nearly 1/3 of open ocean shark species face extinction. These sharks are essential to keeping ocean ecosystems in balance, and we've already seen some of the devastating effects of catastrophically decreased shark populations. Shark advocate Wolfgang Leander offers his thoughts on this crisis, and also provides the full text of an article about this IUCN report. -
31 comments
A well-designed flag
The US flag is made up of two distinct elements: Stars and Stripes. On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed its Flag Resolution which described the flag only in general terms. "Resolved that the flag of the United States be 13 stripes alternate red and white, that the union be 13 stars white in a blue field representing a new constellation." Nothing in the resolution dictated how the stars and stripes were to be arranged, resulting in some interesting designs. -
39 comments
Early this morning,
Two monorail trains collided at Walt Disney World, causing the death of one of the drivers.
The Walt Disney World Monorail System first opened in 1971 with two routes servicing The Magic Kingdom, and then expanded to a third line servicing Epcot in 1982. This is the first incident resulting in a fatality in 38 years of operation. The most serious incident previously was a fire in 1985 caused by tire failure in which two cars were burned badly, but there were no injuries. The monorail trains have
numerous safety features, including a
"Moving-blocklight anti-collision system", referred to as MAPO (the term was coined by Walt Disney himself, who formed a new company to deal with Disneyland's transportation system directly from the profits made by Mary Poppins). As of this morning, the monorail system at Walt Disney World is out of service pending investigation. -
59 comments
July 4
last updated at 10:40:30 PM PST