January 28, 2014
Qualities that might make a machine feel human
The Boston Globe profiles Darius Kazemi, author of Twitter bots such as Metaphor-a-Minute, Last Words and Two Headlines, as well as the creator of Random Shopper (Previously) [more inside]
Atlanta Snow Jam 2014
Thousands of commuters are still stuck out in the nightmare of Atlanta Snow Jam 2014. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency has some suggestions as to what to do if you're trapped in your car overnight. Since most of the 65 mile circumference of the Perimeter is still jammed solid — not to mention the other Interstates, arterial roads, and surface streets — many of them struggle on towards their destinations in vain. [more inside]
Ten years later and we're still talking about the nipple
It's been a decade since the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake wardrobe malfunction. What happened is still somewhat a mystery, writes Marin Cogan in ESPN Magazine. [more inside]
We Have a Complement of 38 Photon Torpedoes at Our Disposal, Captain
Sappho's sixth and seventh poems
Although she is a literary legend, only one complete poem of Sappho's survives, along with substantial fragments of four others (the last discovered in 2004). Now two new fragments have been discovered. [more inside]
I waited for the gush of joy, and I felt blank.
Just for a day?
After two decades of absence, Slowdive have reunited, and announced that they will play the Primavera festival in Barcelona. In an interview with The Quietus, Neil Halstead hinted that there might also be new material forthcoming. [more inside]
The Era of Big Metafilter is Over
Tonight, President Barack Obama will deliver his 2014 State of the Union address. A stream will be available via the White House and from many other outlets. [more inside]
Re-examinining club culture's queer roots
Luis-Manuel Garcia has written a detailed article for Resident Advisor reviewing the role of homosexuality and the evolution of club culture: An alternate history of sexuality in club culture. There are links (largely Wikipedia, some French) to collate references to particular clubs, individuals, articles, books, and songs inside. [more inside]
A History of Horror, a personal journey of horror films with Mark Gatiss
"The cinema was made for horror movies. No other kind of film offers that same mysterious anticipation as you head into a dark auditorium. No other makes such powerful use of sound and image. The cinema is where we come to share a collective dream and horror films are the most dreamlike of all, perhaps because they engage with our nightmares." And so Mark Gatiss opens his three-part series, A History of Horror. "One of the great virtues of this series is that it is thoroughly subjective. Gatiss does not feel any particular obligation to give us an A to Z of horror, but instead lingers lovingly over his own favourites," taking the viewer with him from the Golden Age of Hollywood horror through the American horror movies of the 1960s and 1970s. [more inside]
Exploring the Architecture of Doom and Urban Failure
Architecture of Doom is a Tumblr that collects images of "bleak/ gloomy/ forbidding/ desolate/ unfortunate and totalitarian architecture" from sources like Fuck Yeah Brutalism and Failed Architecture. The latter bills itself as a "research platform that aims to open up new perspectives on urban failure – from what it’s perceived to be, what’s actually happening and how it’s represented to the public" and offers some interesting essays and case studies – for example: Hotel Jugoslavija: Spacio-temporal Mosaics of Memorabilia, Function Follows Form: How Berlin Turns Horror Into Beauty, and The Poetry of Decay.
*Gestures towards packed NFL stadium* "HE HAS FOUR OF THESE"
Jack Conte at XOXO 2013. Conte, of Pomplamoose (previously), (previously) giving a VERY sharp talk on realistic financing models for artists and creators. Nataly Dawn's successful kickstarter, the creation (and madness) of Jack's 'Pedals' video, why Youtube doesn't work as a funding platform for him anymore and the creation of Patreon are all touched upon. [more inside]
Eerily Indiana
What happened next would rattle the witnesses, and to some it would offer not only evidence but proof of paranormal activity. According to Washington's original DCS report — an account corroborated by Walker, the nurse — the 9-year-old had a "weird grin" and walked backward up a wall to the ceiling. He then flipped over Campbell, landing on his feet. He never let go of his grandmother's hand. Grantland demands a movie be made of the IndyStar's 6000 word The Exorcisms of Latoya Ammons.
Documentaries Galore
Over 150 documentaries available free online on science, consciousness, and several other topics. Occasional link is broken.
DBA Reactions
"You can't bring food from home into Epcot Centre. Don't even try it."
"Q. What makes Epcot such a special place for young & old alike? - Rajeesh (Bethesda, MD) --- A. Rajeesh, I honestly have no idea."
"Q. Do you offer discounts to senior citizens? - Arnie (Gothenburg, NE) --- A. Not really. Thanks for writing, Arnie!"
"Q. Are the rumors about Epcot being haunted true? - Lou (Central Falls, RI) --- A. Don't even joke about stuff like that, Lou."
"Epcot is 100% wheelchair accessible, basically."
"Many visitors ask us about our Jumping Water Fountains. We don't know how they work, but the man who invented them was definitely foreign."
Fun Facts, Informative Q&As, and Friendly Advice courtesy of @EpcotCentre.
"Q. Do you offer discounts to senior citizens? - Arnie (Gothenburg, NE) --- A. Not really. Thanks for writing, Arnie!"
"Q. Are the rumors about Epcot being haunted true? - Lou (Central Falls, RI) --- A. Don't even joke about stuff like that, Lou."
"Epcot is 100% wheelchair accessible, basically."
"Many visitors ask us about our Jumping Water Fountains. We don't know how they work, but the man who invented them was definitely foreign."
Fun Facts, Informative Q&As, and Friendly Advice courtesy of @EpcotCentre.
Baseball has been very very good to me
Curious about which sport has the best odds of a male or female High School or College player going pro? OSMguy has a data visualization for that. [Via Tableau's Viz of the Day]
"This is about finally giving college athletes a seat at the table."
Northwestern Football Players Are Trying To Unionize. More coverage from Deadspin, ThinkProgress, and Bleacher Report. The NCAA's predictable response.
Oh something good tonight will make me forget about you for now.
Writer Teju Cole, perhaps inspired by Agha Shahid Ali, has continued his Twitter experimentation by using out of context retweets to create Ghazals. [more inside]
And remember, they might be behind you.
Now drop and give me 12 Wolverines
And one man in his time plays many parts
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare (SLVimeo) a one-man show of Shakespearean monologues from 1982
In Velox Libertas!
In May 2008, while excavating around the castle, the archaeologists of Bristol University made a surprising discovery. They have unearthed two graves side by side. In both of them they have found the rests of the body of an armored knight, and above it in one grave the well preserved skeleton of a horse, while in the other the fragments of iron objects which, seen from above, resembled… a bicycle.[more inside]
Just for a second, honestly
Japanese folklore and horror stories are known for their psychologically terrifying ghosts and monsters that prey on the minds and bodies of humans. But there’s also a lighter side to Japanese folklore, where bumbling spirits cause only mild annoyance, actually enhance your daily life, and otherwise generally botch the whole job of haunting mankind and teaching vague moral lessons about treating your parents with respect and such. 8 Hilariously Nonthreatening Monsters from Japanese Folklore
Magnus Bill.
Slice of Life
What's the last photo on your phone - and would you share it with a stranger? San Francisco-based interactive artist Ivan Cash asks a number of people in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco to share their last photo and the story behind it. (via feature shoot)
You don’t understand fun. Not really.
You don’t sit down to write a game and “add fun” or “make fun.” You make things. You design encounters. You plan plot points. You build NPCs. And you also put together and run campaigns. You hope that somehow, out of the campaigns and the decisions and encounters and plot points and NPCs, fun is a thing that will happen. But you don’t actually try to quantify fun. You don’t think about why fun things are fun. Until today.In The Eight Kinds of Fun The Angry DM explores the nature of fun in tabletop roleplaying games, guided by scholarly research on the subject.
'To Europe—Yes, but Together With Our Dead'
Man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills...
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