February 15, 2011
The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger
"This is the Honey Badger. Watch it run in slow motion. It's pretty badass--look! It runs all over the place. 'Whoa, watch out,' says that bird. Eeew, it's got a snake?! ... Oh, the Honey Badgers are just crayzee." (SLYT - 3:21 - via jessamyn)
MDMA vs. PTSD
Can a Single Pill Change Your Life? Oprah Magazine examines recent studies on the use of MDMA (the main ingredient in Ecstasy) to combat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Billy Ray speaks.
Race ya?
Cheatsheet of Freedom
Scene-by-scene summaries of Red Dawn (1, 2, 3), The Fountainhead (1, 2, 3), Left Behind (1, 2, 3), Battle In Seattle (1, 2, 3),
Rambo III (1, 2, 3, 4) and This Revolution (1, 2, 3). [more inside]
Exquisite Corpse 2.0
Neovella lets you write collaborative stories with friends (or strangers) online. Via the Something Awful Forums
"If the bus can't get through, call me, spend a night at our place."
The Projections of Mr. Beam
Living Room is the latest 3D projection mapping project by Dutch group Mr. Beam, achieved with only two projectors. Many of their other projects have been on a larger scale. [previously]
Is this post too old for Valentines?
People who have been married more than fifty years kissing.
Behind Every Great Man
1920s German encryption/decryption in a modern toy body
Arduino plus programming plus children's electronic toy equals adorable Enigma machine! You can even make your own Enigma machine in an electronic toy body. Bonus Arduino Enigma fun: midi "enigma" machine hack, but no instructions. [more inside]
The Last Ringbearer
... history is written by the winners. That's the philosophy behind "The Last Ringbearer," a novel set during and after the end of the War of the Ring... and told from the point of view of the losers. ... In Yeskov's retelling, the wizard Gandalf is a war-monger intent on crushing the scientific and technological initiative of Mordor and its southern allies because science "destroys the harmony of the world and dries up the souls of men!"
Christopher Alexander would have a fit
DIY Video Tutorials
Vimeo pros and seasoned amateurs are developing the ongoing and rapidly growing project Quick Tüts, short video tutorials that usually focus on one specific skill or technique and last no more than a minute. Oftentimes Quick Tüts show you how to use readily available items in lieu of more expensive equipment, so for video creators operating on a low budget, they are especially useful. A good way to think of them is as little tricks of the trade.
Jake the Snake
You have to wonder why a red-blooded American male in his prime would walk away from fame and fortune as an NFL quarterback to play handball and hang with his family and his dogs. Don't you? A profile of Jake "The Snake" Plummer.
I have permission from my boyfriend and he'd like to help you out
Curveball
One Day in the life of Ivan Denisovich - Full Movie
One Day in the life of Ivan Denisovich Part 1 of 10 (youtube full movie), Ivan Denisovich is one of my favourite books and the 1970 movie is very faithful to the source. [more inside]
Is it the real thing?
TAL says it's got Coca Cola's top-secret recipe. The radio show This American Life found a 1979 newspaper photo of a hand-written copy of John Pemberton's top-secret original Coke recipe. Presto: the secret ingredients of 7X. Coke says no way. [more inside]
The Exact Opposite of Countercultural
The Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Celexa, Effexor, Valium, Klonopin, Ativan, Restoril, Xanax, Adderall, Ritalin, Haldol, Risperdal, Seroquel, Ambien, Lunesta, Elavil, Trazodone War New York Magazine's Jennifer Senior writes on prescription drug (ab)use among soldiers and veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. [more inside]
The Most Human Human
"During the competition, each of four judges will type a conversation with one of us for five minutes, then the other, and then will have 10 minutes to reflect and decide which one is the human. Judges will also rank all the contestants—this is used in part as a tiebreaking measure. The computer program receiving the most votes and highest ranking from the judges (regardless of whether it passes the Turing Test by fooling 30 percent of them) is awarded the title of the Most Human Computer. It is this title that the research teams are all gunning for, the one with the cash prize (usually $3,000), the one with which most everyone involved in the contest is principally concerned. But there is also, intriguingly, another title, one given to the confederate who is most convincing: the Most Human Human award." [more inside]
Wallace Stevens Audio
Large audio archive of Wallace Stevens reading from his poems. Other Stevens links: several poem texts with annotation; many more of the poems; his letters on Google Books (full view).
I'm walkin' here
Scientists confirm what many New Yorkers already know. Sidewalk rage is real.
Diamonds > 3-in-a-row
Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles is a charming puzzle game developed in Costa Rica that pays homage to games like Puzzle Fighters, Super Mario World and Bejeweled. Available for free on PC (Windows & Linux). (via DIYGamer)
Ken Robinson: Changing Education Paradigms
Ken Robinson: Changing Education Paradigms "In this talk from RSA Animate, Sir Ken Robinson lays out the link between 3 troubling trends: rising drop-out rates, schools' dwindling stake in the arts, and ADHD."
Open as in Apple
Apple has launched App Store subscriptions for digital content, something that should please magazine publishers looking for a non-print business model. However there is a sting in the tail - publishers must go through Apple, paying the 30% "Apple tax".
Can you make it through the month?
SPENT is a flash game (or an immersive online experience depending on who you ask) that challenges players to survive poverty and see first-hand that homelessness is just a shortfall away. Created in partnership with Urban Ministries of Durham and containing scenarios commonly faced (pdf) by the working poor, it may not tell people anything they don't already know, but is a creative use of gaming and social media to raise awareness and bring in donors.
Will it ever die?
The Patriot Act lives! The US House of Representatives has agreed to extend some of surveillance powers granted by the 2001 Patriot Act after the 9/11 attacks.
In a 275-144 vote, the chamber voted to extend until December provisions on wiretaps, access to business records and surveillance of terror suspects.
Through My Eye, Not Hipstamatic's.
I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords
After the first night, IBM's Watson has only played a single round of Jeopardy, and could be doing better. Stephen Baker (who wrote the book on this) and David Ferrucci (the project's chief scientist) analyze some of his mistakes. After his career as a game show contestant is over, will Watson be up for a role on House?
Poe through the Glass Prism
In 1969, a psychedelic rock group from around Scranton, PA released an album featuring lyrics by Edgar Allan Poe. [more inside]
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Photographer Irna Werning's project, 'Back to the Future' recreates classic childhood snapshots 20-40 years later, using the same settings, subjects, and clothing. Zefrank's Young Me Now Me (previously) is a much more extensive crowdsourced version of the same concept. (via BB. One photo very slightly NSFW)
Berlusconi Indicted: Italian Prime Minister To Stand Trial On Teen Prostitution Charges
"Sitting down and playing a board game with friends at a party is a way more social game."
PC Gamer: Do you still think social games are “evil” then?
Jonathan Blow: Yes. Absolutely. [T]he general definition of evil in the real world, where there isn’t like the villain in the mountain fortress, is selfishness to the detriment of others or to the detriment of the world. And that’s exactly what [most of these games are].
Jonathan Blow: Yes. Absolutely. [T]he general definition of evil in the real world, where there isn’t like the villain in the mountain fortress, is selfishness to the detriment of others or to the detriment of the world. And that’s exactly what [most of these games are].
Bahrain explodes
"She tightens her calves against the railing and squeezes with her thighs, and he groans..."
And the winner of the Good Sex Award is... "...recognizing the best sex writing in fiction from the past year. We've [salon.com] convened a panel of literary star judges -- Walter Kirn, Maud Newton, Louis Bayard and Salon's own Laura Miller -- to reward the best-written, most interesting and most convincing piece of sex writing published in a novel in 2010." No 2., No. 3, No. 4, No.5, No. 6, No. 7, No. 8. The 2010 Bad Sex Award Winner.
Estranged Sex
Estranged Sex, by photographer Sandra Torralba (extremely NSFW). "With a broad and holistic understanding of sexuality and sex and after years of honest and stark introspection and reflection upon existence and society begins “Estranged Sex”: a work about a sexuality that is both strange and estranged, natural and alienated." [more inside]
Anu-Anulan & Yir's Daughter
Emily Carroll (previously and previouslier) has released a sweet new comic for Valentine's Day: Anu-Anulan & Yir's Daughter.
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