February 24, 2013
You should read this review. It's good for you.
Justifying Coercive Paternalism - autonomy is "not valuable enough to offset what we lose by leaving people to their own autonomous choices"
Going against the flow of history
As you know Bob, the Dutch have long known how to deal with the threat of flooding, living in a country that was largely conquered from the sea. Over the centuries the Netherlands has learned to put its trust in bigger and higher dykes, dams and various increasingly clever solutions to keep the sea where it's wanted and away from where it would be a nuisance. There's a new threat however, that can't be solved with higher dykes, a threat that needs to accomodated by doing something very un-Dutch: reflood parts of the Netherlands. [more inside]
It’s adorably charming, but only because you’re British actor Hugh Grant
Focus on one person in the middle of the crowd throughout your speech. Afterward, trail him home. Knock on his door. Offer an introduction like, "Hi. I’m from the speech. Earlier." He’ll reply with something along the lines of, "I know. Um…what are you doing here?" "I thought"—you’ll stammer, searching for the right words—"I just thought we could hang out, maybe, and be friends." "I have friends," he’ll probably say. "And I’m with my family now." Blurt out, too quickly, "I’m not trying to replace your family!" He’ll close the door in your face, gently, more out of pity than fear. Don’t use him as a crowd-focusing person for the next speech, because it would be weird.Tips for Public Speaking, from Teddy Wayne in the New York Times.
Where no bird can fly no fish can swim til The King is born in Tupelo!
Rock’n'roll as spontaneous Paganism: Mick Farren on Nick Cave, Elvis and the Devil is an essay by the author of Gathering Of The Tribe: A look at the role of the occult in music through key albums. Another excerpt is Punk-Esotericism: The Occult Roots of the Wu-Tang Clan
Pangur Bán
I and Pangur Bán, my cat,
'Tis a like task we are at;
Hunting mice is his delight,
Hunting words I sit all night.
[...] (spoken version, set to music) [more inside]
'Tis a like task we are at;
Hunting mice is his delight,
Hunting words I sit all night.
[...] (spoken version, set to music) [more inside]
One of the most astonishing photographic documentations ever undertaken.
More than a century before a Californian search engine sent cars to record houses for Google Street View, a German-born prospector entrepreneur employed photographers to rove Australia's boom gold towns with large format cameras, capturing every aspect of the rapidly developing colony of New South Wales to attract early migrants. The collection has now been digitised by the NSW State Library. Samples. Then and now comparison.
Switzerland, You Had ONE BEAR...
There was one wild bear left in Switzerland. Last year, M13 (Mike to his friends) was displaying troubling behavior, but a bear expert with the World Wildlife Foundation was optimistic about the possibility of retraining him (via rubber bullets and firecrackers) to be more wary of humans and less likely to forage near houses for food. [more inside]
Is this a new law?
New anti-piracy system will hit U.S. Internet users next week. And here's a primer on the Copyright Alerts System (CAS) or six strikes system, also from the Daily Dot.
Windows of New York
The Windows of New York project is a weekly illustrated fix for an obsession that has increasingly grown in me since chance put me in this town. A product of countless steps of journey through the city streets, this is a collection of windows that somehow have caught my restless eye out from the never-ending buzz of the city. This project is part an ode to architecture and part a self-challenge to never stop looking up. By Jose Guizar. [Via].
It Wasn't Just Spielberg
"The members of TVTV (Top Value Television), the 1970s guerrilla video group I cofounded, were among the first to exploit the then brand-new portable video camera. We took them to big events and turned the cameras away from the spectacle and on to the people; almost no one had seen one before, and there were no rules about how to use them, or act in front of them..."
Behind the Scenes With Jack Nicholson, Lily Tomlin and Michael Douglas at the 1976 Academy Awards.
Red Carpet, Green Screen
Without visual effects the average blockbuster movie would look like this. However as Hollywood comes under financial pressure they are putting the squeeze on the VFX industry that they rely on, who are in turn passing the pressure onto workers. Now VFX workers are organizing a protest in time for the Oscars, which will be celebrating visual effects as the companies responsible for them close down. [more inside]
Side A Side B
Out of the ashes of 1970's Detroit rock came Sonic's Rendezvous Band. One part Iggy and the Stooges and one part MC5, they only released one single, same song on both sides of the record.City Slang [more inside]
Kavinsky: French electro-house zombie since 1986
Vincent Belorgey, known as Kavinsky (or KΔVINϟKY) is a producer who is fixated with a stylized version of 1986, from his first single and video, Testarossa Autodrive, to his new (and first) album, Outrun (Grooveshark stream). If that's not enough of retro neon French electro-house, you can stream his other four singles/EPs on Bandcamp, and see the videos for Dead Cruiser (animated sequel to Testarossa Autodrive), ProtoVision (live-action sequel to Dead Cruiser), Nightcall (as heard on the Drive soundtrack, and seen in the international version of the trailer).
How cooking saved Curtis Duffy
Kevin Pang's profile of Chicago chef Curtis Duffy recounts how Duffy emerged from a turbulent family life to become a Michelin-starred chef. [more inside]
The Channing Tatum America Didn't Know It Needed
Performers who project relatability but have nothing elusive about them do better as network-television stars, or maybe morning-show anchormen. (Exception: Hanks.) On the other hand, if all you're capable of projecting is mystery and you're a quart low on relatability, you are probably a douchebag. (Exception: Fassbender.)Just in time for the Oscars, GQ ruminates on what makes a leading man today.
Two Body Interactions: A Longitudinal Study
Don't Forget Your Past
Photos of 30 Beautiful Abandoned Places and Modern Ruins. Each place identified below. [more inside]
"I have now attained the true art of letter-writing..."
Post & Prejudice: [guardian.co.uk] "The Royal Mail is joining in the celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice with the release of a series of stamps featuring all six of Jane Austen's novels. Royal Mail commissioned the artwork by Angela Barrett." [Slideshow]
Dad! Dad! My little sister's been kidnapped! What shall I do! Dad! Dad!
Melton Barker and the Kidnappers Foil. From the late 1930s into the early 1970s, Dallas native, Melton Barker and his company, Melton Barker Juvenile Productions, traveled all over the country – from Texas and New Mexico to North Carolina and Indiana – filming local children acting, singing, and dancing in two-reel films that Barker titled The Kidnappers Foil. (NY Times story) [more inside]
Digital Life a Buggles Parody
Amy Burvall made a video updating the original MTV classic by the Buggles for her final project in "E-Learning and Digital Cultures" #edcmooc a free open course offered this spring on Coursera. [warning earwormy]
Slip Sliding Away
The Englishman and the eel is a photo essay of 93 images (thumbnails here; 2 pages) and article by London photographer Stuart Freedman that "attempts to look at (amongst other things) the significance and the decline of the eel and its fading from the changing London consciousness" with snapshots of "those palaces of Cockney culture, the Pie and Mash shops." [more inside]
Yang Yongliang
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