January 21, 2010
It took the day 'n night to believe
"It's funny, 'cause its a joke...right?"
legal neepery of interest only to copyright holders and their publishers
The Amended Settlement filed in Authors Guild v. Google creates a non-profit Book Rights Registry governed by authors and publishers to oversee the settlement on their behalf. A Fairness Hearing has been scheduled for February 18, 2010; authors have until January 28, 2010 to opt out of the agreement. The SFWA is objecting to (among other things) Google's potential monopoly, to the opt-out clause, and to leaving the fair use dispute (pdf) unresolved. The ALA, ARL and ACRL have some similar concerns (pdf) and have released a Guide for the Perplexed (pdf). The NWU opposes it; so does the ASJA. (previously, previously).
Matt Cheddar
I just can't stop thinking about ninjas. Urban Ninjas and last but not least Ninjas on roller skates
Salmon at the Food Bank
Salmon, Trout Populations Surge in Oregon Rivers
Steelhead, along with Coho and Chinook salmon, have made a spectacular return to local streams in the past year, leaving sportsmen exultant and putting food on the tables of struggling Oregonians.
Steelhead, along with Coho and Chinook salmon, have made a spectacular return to local streams in the past year, leaving sportsmen exultant and putting food on the tables of struggling Oregonians.
Cafeteria Foodies with Flair
Twins Annie and Connie Wu wanted to liven up their meals at Brown University's cafeteria, affectionately known as the Ratty. So the two foodies made their own blog, Ratty Gourmet, about how to do cafeteria dining in style, including recipes for Nutella S'mores or Pasta and Spinach Salad Medley with Egg.
Patches?!? Did you need some steenking patches?!?
Still clocking the old Boy Scout-style uniform? Perhaps you, like many others feel you could be more rewarded than you are today? Never fear, the "Boy Scout Store" has got your back! Develop your own program for: aging, blogging, bungee jumping, cat herding, coffeecraft, sexual revolution, Facebooking, Global Warming. smoking cessation, alcoholism and recovery, pranksterism, neighbor relations, robot building, incendiary devices, antisocial activities, street hooking, and, of course underwater basketweaving. Display your training in instigation and agitation. Maybe you feel you speak the language. Remember -- Scouting is for all.
"I am interested in the moments where things don’t quite line up."
A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter is a sculpture that, in creator Caleb Larsen's own words, "perpetually attempts to sell itself on eBay." [more inside]
"Ahhh!" "No, not 'Ahhh!'"
Stewart Lee's Special Parable, The Story of The Prodigal Son, and more irreligious fun from the Sunday Heroes: Woman of sinful life, Ian, The Last Supper, Judas, Thomas.
RIP Air America
Air America files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
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The Secret History of Typography in the Oxford English Dictionary. Although sadly not about font design or kerning, Nick Martens' exploration in the OED is still pretty interesting. [more inside]
Should Obese, Smoking and Alcohol Consuming Women Receive Assisted Reproduction Treatment?
The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) has published a position statement on the impact of the life style factors obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption on natural and medically assisted reproduction. Rationing health care is a complicated subject easily politicized. ESHRE has published five recommendations. While smoking and alcohol consumption can have a clearly negative impact on the fetus, so can apparently obesity. Is this part of a slippery slope or needed restraints on medical services? [more inside]
Fifty things
Fifty matchbooks, from when smoking was cool. Fifty Halloween masks. Fifty birds. Fifty personals. Fifty other things.
I bet you look good on the dancefloor
Peter Lovatt is a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire (UK) and a former professional dancer. No wonder, he knows the secrets of looking good on the dance floor.
Flying R2-D2, you are doing it wrong
"Using these values, the mass of R2 is 0.1 kg. Yes, 100 grams. How do I know I am correct? I know because Wookieepedia doesn't list R2's mass or weight. They know it is silly, so they left it off." A physicist explains why R2D2 must weigh less than styrofoam. [more inside]
Cats for missiles.
Titus Awakes, a fourth Gormenghast novel written by Maeve Gilmore from notes and fragments left by her husband Mervyn Peake, has been discovered hidden in an attic. [more inside]
Enjoy A Dr. Nut and a Hot Dog From Paradise
Let's discover New Orleans of fictional favorite son Ignatius J. Reilly through the kind help of the blog "Ignatius' Ghost". [more inside]
Raw vs. the Law
Michael Schmidt has been found not guilty of selling raw milk in the province of Ontario. Schmidt owns a dairy co-op where consumers can purchase shares in a dairy herd and receive a portion of the raw milk those cows produce in return. His farm was raided and his equipment seized at gun point back in 2006. Experts are predicting this decision could have wide ranging effects on the rights of consumers to choose what they purchase and eat.
Is it safe?
Is it safe? While it looks that the banking system is in better shape than before, some companies still seem to want to hedge their bet. A German insurance company is suing the German central bank to force them open a checking account for them.
"As an insurer, it’s our very own task to manage risks and regulators demand that from us,” Mallinckrodt said. “The Bundesbank is the only lender in Germany with no risk to become insolvent, so only an account there is risk free." [more inside]
"Commercial art is forced homework for painting."
In 1994, artist/cartoonist/art director Gary Panter designed a cartoon for MTV's Liquid Television. Step By Step Graphics visited him in his studio. [more inside]
Stately plump Buck Mulligan
Ulysses "Seen" is an ambitious, ongoing project to create a webcomic adaptation of James Joyce's Ulysses. Each page of the comic offers an accompanying reader's guide, and there's a blog about the progress of the project.
REQUEST FOR URGENT BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP FROM DR CLEMENT OKON
Arms dealers affiliated with 22 companies, including one with a former Joint Chief of Staff on its board of directors, have been indicted for soliciting kickbacks on multimillion dollar deals to supply munitions to representatives of a fictitious African government. [more inside]
Place Hacking
Virtual hacking is cool but place hacking makes it core again, brachiating across scaffolding to get the shot on your Digital SLR that maximizes your flickr stats, raking in the google adsense cash and conforming to a zerowork ethos if we get pro at it. Sleep in ruins, sell your photos of disgusting shit to tourists. Rinse off in a petrol station sink and repeat. We are the nerds that finally walked away from their computers and we are behind that scaffolding covering the building you ignore everyday when you walk by it going to work, we just loved on that place like no one has in 20 years. We are psychotopological terrorists and we will shove that masterlock up your ass.A "reformed archaeologist" talks about exploration of urban ruins. Modern urban ruins.
RIP Paul Quarrington 1953-2010
Canadian author Paul Quarrington - best known for his 1989 novel Whale Music, about a reclusive Brian Wilson figure holed up in a beach house writing songs to play for cetaceans - has died of lung cancer this morning at the age of 56. [more inside]
Obzoks are what computers are for.
Every year, Golan Levin creates an animated, interactive greeting card. The most recent features a family of his old obzok creations, and is easily among the most nuanced computer programs I've ever seen. [more inside]
"A giraffe, refusing to condescend to all the fuss, stood calmly in the rising water and later died of pneumonia."
Around the time of the flooding in Troyes a plant in the south-east of Paris which supplied compressed air to the owners of ‘pneumatique’ equipment – lifts, ventilation, industrial machinery – was submerged. Parisians were fond of compressed-air technology. It was how the postal service delivered mail from one office to another in small brass shuttles propelled along a network of tubes. It was also used to keep the clocks ticking on the streets of the city and, by subscription, in private apartments. When the plant went underwater during the night, pneumatic time stopped dead.Pavements Like Jelly is an article by Jeremy Harding describing the 1910 Great Flood of Paris which started 100 years ago today. Photo exhibition with 1300 photographs focusing on Paris. Even more photos, taking in the entire Seine. Both sites are Flash heavy, for a smaller selection of non-Flash pictures go here and here. [1910 Paris Flood previously on MetaFilter]
Ten years of wonderful things
Eye of Providence
The Business Plot of 1933 has reached a logical conclusion: the Supreme Court has ruled that corporations may spend freely (pdf) to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress.
Devil's Swimming Pool
Atlas Obscura was previously mentioned here, but at that time had only been up and running for a week or so. It has since filled out a lot. Start your tour (if you dare) by taking a plunge into the Devil's Swimming Pool - a natural pool on the lip of Victoria Falls, inches from the 100-meter precipice. [more inside]
Do you kind of wish Pokemon cards had REAL creatures not FAKE creatures?
it was then when the hurdy gurdy man came playing songs of влюбленность
Andrey Vinogradov has got the Russian hurdy gurdy you want. . 4,091 views. 2,635 views. 853 views. 5 views.
Does Fairey have a posse?
Shepard Fairey's Fight for Appropriation, Fair Use and Free Culture Evelyn McDonnell ponders his career and quotes Fairey's reasoning about the Obama "Hope" poster that got AP angry.
New Species Photos: Slug-Sucking Snake, Mini-Gecko, More
A see-through frog and a gecko the size of a pencil eraser are among rare and new species spotted in Ecuador.
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