January 16, 2008
Trilobite Creationism
The Fallout 2 Restoration Project
"The purpose of this mod is to add back into the game all the content that was originally planned by the Fallout 2 devs." Over the last 2 years an industrious chap has "gone through almost all the text files and scripts and compiled a list of what appears to have been pulled from the game," in order to restore it to it's originally intended glory and now his work is complete. Enjoy. [more inside]
"The road to hell is paved with happy plans."
In Praise Of Melancholy. We are eradicating a major cultural force, the muse behind much art and poetry and music. We are annihilating melancholia. Does an overemphasis on the pursuit of happiness cause us to miss an essential part of a full life? Via.
Reach For the Lasers
The bastard offspring of New Age, Techno, Industrial and Acid House, trance is one of the most
popular and most maligned musical genres of the 21st century.
Trance can be bombastic or delicate, psychedelic or rock and roll, spacey or deep, euphoric or dark, commercial or underground, lush or funky, melodic or monotone, hard or laid back.
You can try making some yourself with this toy, or go in depth with this tutorial. You can find it online, but if you want to really experience it, you need to hear it at a club.
When child workers grow up
In the early twentieth century, photographer Lewis Hine took now-famous photographs of American child laborers. In the nearly hundred years since Hine took those photos, surely many viewers have wondered what became of the children he documented. Freelance historian Joe Manning has taken it upon himself to find out. [more inside]
No Day But June 1st
Nearly 12 Years Old, ‘Rent’ Is to Close. The 1996 Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning musical will close its doors at New York's Nederlander Theatre on June 1st.
The 7th longest-running musical in Broadway history, it is based on Puccini's La Boheme and is credited with bringing young people to musical theatre and the invention of Broadway Rush ticketing - it sold its first two rows for $20: first in , first served on the day of the performance. [more inside]
Dream of Samarra
Transmissions from a vanished world. There is more that you can learn about Usama Alshaibi and the spiral minaret of Samarra, but it is best if you watch the video and live with the mystery for a while first.
LOLCLOWNSNOT
Don't send in the clowns. Why are they considered scary by kids of all ages? Maybe it just makes sense. [more inside]
The Year of Net Neutrality
We're only two weeks into the year, but net neutrality issues hit the ground running. The FCC already has three different inquiries open. (also) (previously) The 700 Mhz auction threatens to disrupt an already converging telecom industry. AT&T's post-merger commitment to net neutrality ends this year, and they plan to test the filtering waters, despite recently opposing the practice. And today, a leaked memo revealed that Time Warner will test tiered internet services soon. The Internet as we know it, and communications in general, might be headed for some major changes in 2008.
Guess the five-letter word. GUESS IT
Word Sandwich: The mystery five-letter word is somewhere between your "highest" guess alphabetically and your "lowest." It's essentially a lexical Guess the Number.
Lots and lots of balls!
None More Black
"It's so black, it's like, how much more black can it be?(youtube link) The Answer is none.
None more black."
And I have just found out there is a band called None More Black.
Ballpits as office furniture
Made of 100% Depleted Uranium!
Patriots, countrymen, help out the American economy with Operation: Change For The Better.
Going Over Niagara Falls
Vinyl Cafe: The Story of Roger Woodward. Stuart McLean tells the story of the last person to go over Niagara Falls - with only a lifejacket - and live to tell the story. (go to the 28:00 mark in the audio to get the story) [more inside]
Brains in Space!
Are We All Really Just Disembodied Brains Floating in Empty Space? Recent mathematical results in the field of cosmology related to the Boltzmann's Brain Problem may point toward a peculiarly arbitrary universe in which, as improbable as it sounds, it's more likely than not. [more inside]
Motorized cordless twin rubber band minigun, capable of firing 40 bands per second.
Rubber band warfare just got deadlier. (Single YouTube link to rubber band gun AWESOMENESS.)
Risky Business
There’s a new Corey
in town and he’s getting rich
because of a party
he threw in which 500 kids, the police dog squad and helicopters
showed up. The “journalist's” voice, intonation and overall attitude is more grating than Corey. His parents are pleading for him to come home, fans have started sites dedicated to him, and DJ Loc-a-Doc? has already remixed the interviews. Show your support or have him add you so you can get his next invite.
Real Giant Squids
Beautiful Squid. How I am obsessed with thee!! A legend, different than an octopus, rarely seen, oddly loved, making its home in the Mediterranean, and the far sea, the giant squid is one of the most elusive creatures of the deep. Even in death it produces treasure.
50 fun facts about banks.
The Library of Congress, on Flickr.
Vertebrae not required
Massive, sprawling, jarring, yet soothing, intimate, and inescapable. Listening to Giant Squid is like waking up to find yourself trying to escape from underneath a mile-wide sheet of lake ice. Featuring stark contrasts between soothing instrumentals and oceanic heavy riffs, intertwined with male/female vocal harmonies that are alternately calm and frantic, Giant Squid creates a dynamic that is haunting and irresistible. [more inside]
Driving, How To
It's the Web 2.0 eightball.
Having trouble making your decision? Just let the magic power of the internet tell you what to do. You can let someone else do the work, but you're probably better off doing it yourself.
Classic British Children's TV
"Well you know my name is Simon/ And the things I draw come true/ Oh, pictures take me over, over / Across the ladder with you." Little Gems is an extensive collection of information (including downloadable theme songs) about (mostly) British children's TV from the 1960s to 1980s. Simon In The Land of Chalk Drawings, The Moomins [previously on MeFi], Cockleshell Bay, Belle and Sebastian, The Herbs, and Hattytown Tales are just a few.
Take a flyer
Letman : Job Wouters is a Dutch designer known for his two-color flyers, which emphasize manic color and hand-lettering.
His sketchbooks (White, Gray, and Black) are full of fun letter design.
Yeah...but where are all the chicks?
These webcams were found automatically through a variety of clever search techniques and update several times a day. Their owners may or may not have intended for them to be public, but they obviously are. Via Opentopia. [more inside]
Not your father's paper airplane
Mach 7 Origami Plane - Designs for origami planes abound. How many of them reach Mach? How many get launched from the International Space Station? A team from the University of Tokyo is planning just such a launch.
How tired are you?
This 2-minute test tells you how tired you are. It accompanies the Wellcome Institute's Sleeping & Dreaming exhibition.
2007 the year against the plastic bag
Each year the world makes about 5 trillion plastic bags(art exhibit) using about 20 billion barrels of oil, each bag able to last thousands of years. In 2007 cities began legislating against plastic bags from outright bans to mandatory surcharges, starting in San Francisco, then Hong Kong, Melbourne and now some countries in Africa, Israel and even the entire country of China are taking similar strides to cut down on the worlds bag obsession. Who's next in 2008?
Lew Rockwell Dunnit
Lew Rockwell Dunnit - in interviews with Reason, a half-dozen longtime libertarian activists—including some still close to Paul—all named the same man as responsible for writing Ron Paul's newsletters containing inflammatory rhetoric under his name: Llewellyn Rockwell, Jr. [more inside]
"Many-Rule" is kind of vague.
Comes With Orange Slice
Brave New Words
Matrioshka Brain? Quine? Whuffie? - 75 Words every sci-fi fan should know, Science fiction citations at the OED, Swear words from science fiction, Neologisms in science fiction, Brave new words.
Stan The Man
In search of Aids
Manipur, which has a population of 2,388,634, has the highest rate of HIV in the country, which is also the reason why it has the most number of NGOs working in the area. However, what is disturbing is that a day or two ago, one of these NGOs bribed a group of children into getting their blood tested, so that they could increase their chances of garnering more funds.
Good Design is as little design as possible.
Huh. Not the only time it's been noted, but still,Dieter Rams did make it look good first.
An interesting guy who's basic design precepts Jonathan Ive has been very successful at emulating. For which I am only happy.
[more inside]
Better World Books
Better World Books - Recently recognized by Fast Company as one of the best for-profit social enterprises of 2008, they offer a wide selection of new and used books with free shipping in the US and less than $3 shipping elsewhere. A portion of the profits go to fund literacy organizations such as Room to Read and WorldFund, and their shipping is carbon-neutral. The only thing missing is the ability to import Amazon wishlists.
Japanese Whaling Crisis Escalates
A complex situation has arisen in the Southern Ocean where the Japanese Whaling fleet run by The Institute of Cetacean Research is attempting to slaughter nearly a thousand whales for the much scoffed at purpose of scientific research. Greenpeace located the fleet and claims to have chased the whalers out of hunting grounds. An Australian Federal Court judgement meanwhile has ruled the expedition illegal and imposed an injunction against the illegal whaling in Australian waters. The Japanese do not recognise Australia's claim. The Japanese responded by ignoring the judgement. Now Sea Shephard an activist group have put two of their members aboard a Japanese Ship and claims they were tied to the mast. Despite the Japanese Government saying the activists would be released the ships captain refuses to do so. Recent related post.
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