February 24, 2014

She's got it.

"Venus" by the Shocking Blue [more inside]
posted by vapidave at 10:12 PM PST - 27 comments

Your Ability to Can Even

A Defense of Internet Linguistics --because "sometimes “AODEHwhddhwdwebw” is far more eloquent than saying “I’m so overtaken with emotion, I can barely type so I smashed the keyboard with my forehead.” [more inside]
posted by warm_planet at 9:48 PM PST - 35 comments

Fawlty Towers without the Fawltys

John Cleese: "I remember at a party I met these chaps from Viacom, who said they were working on a new Fawlty Towers. My ears pricked up at the sound of cash registers and said, 'That's wonderful, are you going to change anything?'. They said, 'Well we have changed one thing, we've written Basil out'. And that's absolutely true, they took Basil and Sybil's lines and gave them all to Bea Arthur." The resulting effort was a 1983 ABC series called Amanda’s By the Sea which could charitably be described as a fiasco. [more inside]
posted by zarq at 9:32 PM PST - 68 comments

Expand your mind

Hallucinogenic Plants: A Golden Guide [PDF]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:33 PM PST - 26 comments

Not like those grumpy drummers

I want to be like that: Tambourine Guy is living his best life. [more inside]
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:02 PM PST - 17 comments

Quincy Jones And Bill Cosby: The Original Jam Sessions, and remixes

Later this year will mark the 45th anniversary of Bill Cosby's first self-titled sitcom, The Bill Cosby Show. Ten years ago, the original jam sessions were released, which are notable for the "various collection of notables who steal the show with contributions at various points." Pianist Les McCann, sax man Ernie Watts, and guitarist Arthur Adams get things going on "Groovy Gravy," Tom Scott shows some legit chops on "Toe Jam," while Jimmy Smith offers sampling of his Hammond B3 on the interlude "Jimmy Cookin' On Top." If seeing Quincy Jones and Bill Cosby get top billing confused you, the album credits reference their roles, which are not front-and-center, except for some vocal improv by Cosby on "Hikky-Burr." You can hear more tracks on Grooveshark, and if you're into more of that modern dance remixery, you might (also) enjoy The New Mixes, Vol. 1, which can also be sampled on Grooveshark.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:50 PM PST - 13 comments

Welcome to Bell Labs

The legendary Bell Labs Complex in Holmdel, New Jersey was designed by Eero Saarinen and is a gargantuan example of modernist architecture. Though it was shuttered in 2007, there are plans to revitalize it into a mixed use commercial area. However those plans eventually play out, it's fun to have a look at the place both then and now. As a bonus, feast your eyes on a pair of back-to-back videos that first show the construction and opening of the facility in 1962 and then (starting at the 2:35 mark in the second video link) a commemoration of the facility's 20th anniversary in 1982 (Part one, Part two, Part three).
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 7:41 PM PST - 28 comments

John Chen's Plan to Save Blackberry

John Chen's Plan to Save Blackberry Over all, Chen wants BlackBerry to transform itself from being a “mobile technology company” that pushes handset sales to “a mobile solution company” that takes a broader approach to serving the mobile computing needs of its customers. Remaining in the handset business is important—for now, at least. “I think devices are still one component of the solution,” Chen says. “The question is, Do we need to be in the device business? That remains to be seen.”
posted by modernnomad at 6:57 PM PST - 55 comments

The Nimitz Graybook: The WWII Operational Diary of Chester W. Nimitz

December 7--The war opened with the attack of Japanese aircraft on Oahu. So begins the Command Summary of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN, now available online as part of the U.S. Naval War College's Naval Historical Collection, in eight pdf volumes. Downloading is currently a little slow, as demand for site access has been high.
posted by MoonOrb at 6:48 PM PST - 7 comments

Bespectacled ballplayer trolls baseball

Major league baseball is doing something dumb. They asked fans to nominate a player from their team to be THE FACE OF MLB, whatever that means. Yankees fans picked Derek Jeter. Angels fans picked Mike Trout. Oakland A's fans picked a 4-eyed utility infielder named Eric Sogard. And he's winning.
posted by gilgamix at 4:26 PM PST - 73 comments

This guy

On Tim Wagner's instagram account, everything, from everyday items to persons of interest, comes with an elaborate backstory.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:57 PM PST - 5 comments

Amtrak choo-choo-chooses writers for residencies

One writer's Tweet wishing Amtrak had residencies for writers results in just that.
posted by wintrymix at 11:36 AM PST - 95 comments

Satisfaction knows no species

A raccoon popping bubble wrap. (SLYT)
posted by overeducated_alligator at 11:30 AM PST - 20 comments

Basketball Diplomacy

Dennis Rodman, the Harlem Globetrotters, and a crew from Vice visit the DPRK.
posted by holmesian at 10:49 AM PST - 32 comments

Borders

In the beginning, all saris were created equal, then they weren’t. enter the border: functional accoutrement, artisanal medium, class distinction.
posted by infini at 10:40 AM PST - 36 comments

Please lick responsibly

I realize that it is only Monday. I also realize that it is still very much Winter in much of the Northern Hemisphere. But I also realized today that the word "Poptails" has never before been mentioned on the Blue. Time to change that: Booze + Popsicle Recipe = POPTAILS ! What's your poison? Dirty Pirate Popsicles, Corona Beer Popsicles, Three Musketeers Poptail, Bourbon Butterscotch Latte Popsicles & more, much more. Or just invent your own. (Keep in mind that if you use too much alcohol it won't freeze. (Worst case scenario: SLUSHIE!) Just how much alcohol to use for a poptail.
posted by spock at 10:28 AM PST - 25 comments

You, and me, and parent number three

FDA weighs risks of 3-person embryo fertilization, making "designer babies". This is explored with the goal of preventing mothers from passing on debilitating genetic diseases to their children. Daily Mail says 30 GM human babies have already been born in the United states. Half of them developed defects so the FDA stepped in.
posted by dabitch at 10:23 AM PST - 61 comments

I thought I’d moved beyond my days of Panicking in Northeast Iowan Malls

"Girls who wanted to be my friend wanted to help me get better at being a girl. Like a Bridget Jones-esque makeover montage, I let them burn my forehead with curling irons, poke me in the eyes with eyeliner pencils, and look me up and down in dressing rooms. I was so thrilled for the friendships I was convinced I enjoyed the forehead burning (my same friend, always burning me in the same place, before every quarterly Junior High dance, as reliable as the changing of the seasons). What began in early adolescence– genuine friendships forged through drag-like gender performance– continued well into adulthood." -- Molly Knefel writes about growing up gender nonconforming.
posted by MartinWisse at 10:00 AM PST - 27 comments

Teach your audiences to want surprises - not pacifiers.

"Every play in your season should be a premiere—a world premiere, an American premiere, or at least a regional premiere. Everybody has to help. Directors: Find a new play to help develop in the next 12 months. Actors: Ditto. Playwrights: Quit developing your plays into the ground with workshop after workshop after workshop—get them out there. Critics: Reward theaters that risk new work by making a special effort to review them." -Ten Things Theaters Need to Do Right Now to Save Themselves
posted by Navelgazer at 9:37 AM PST - 89 comments

Scouting Long Island’s Decommissioned Nuclear Power Plant

"A month ago, I heard that the now vacant Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant was available as a filming location..." Scouting New York's Nick Carr photographed the inside of the first nuclear power plant in the US to be dismantled.
posted by merelyglib at 9:28 AM PST - 23 comments

Hopefully he didn't cross the streams

Harold Ramis, SCTV alumni, Ghostbuster, and director of films such as Caddyshack and Groundhog Day (previously discussed on the blue here and here, among other moments), passed away this morning at 69.
posted by mightygodking at 9:23 AM PST - 351 comments

Fail Better

Fail Better "The goal of FAIL BETTER is to open up a public conversation about failure, particularly the instructive role of failure, as it relates to very different areas of human endeavour. Rather than simply celebrating failure, which can come at great human, environmental and economic cost, we want to open up a debate on the role of failure in stimulating creativity: in learning, in science, engineering and design."
posted by dhruva at 9:07 AM PST - 13 comments

The Lion of the Union is No More

One hundred years ago today, General Joshua L. Chamberlain - the "lion of the union" - linguist, professor, mason, soldier, Medal of Honor winner, public servant, and author -- died at the age of 85, from the lingering wounds he had suffered at the Siege of Petersburg, fifty years earlier.
posted by anastasiav at 8:56 AM PST - 12 comments

"the tide-turner, the shiny hinge"

Neville Longbottom is the Most Important Person in Harry Potter—And Here’s Why
See, Rowling largely operates Harry’s generation in a clear system of parallels to the previous generation, Marauders and all. Harry is his father—Quidditch star, a little pig-headed sometimes, an excellent leader. Ron is Sirius Black—snarky and fun, loyal to a fault, mired in self-doubts. Hermione is Remus Lupin—book smart and meticulous, always level-headed, unfailingly perceptive. Ginny is Lily Evans—a firecracker, clever and kind, unwilling to take excuses. Draco Malfoy is Severus Snape—a natural foil to Harry, pretentious, possessed of the frailest ego and also deeper sense of right and wrong when it counts. And guess what? Neville Longbottom is Peter Pettigrew.
[more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:52 AM PST - 114 comments

It's smaller on the outside - The mechanical furniture of the Roentgens

The mechanical furniture of the Roentgens [more inside]
posted by zamboni at 7:54 AM PST - 25 comments

But who is the Best Boy?

Assembling a Film's Billing Block. The blurb at the bottom of a movie poster is called the "billing block." And while it might look like a bar code of haphazardly packed type, it is in fact the product of detailed legal agreements and intense contract negotiation. Below is the the billing block for a fictional film and an explanation of how it was constructed. (via kottke.org.)
posted by xingcat at 7:31 AM PST - 29 comments

Jason Collins signs a 10 day contract with Brooklyn Nets

He played last night in a 108-102 win against the LA Lakers. After a 10 month hiatus from playing in the NBA, Collins became the first openly gay athlete to compete in any of the US's 4 major team sports. [more inside]
posted by Groundhog Week at 7:22 AM PST - 37 comments

Extraordinary scenery shots

Some extraordinary scenery shots. [more inside]
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:26 AM PST - 22 comments

A simple poster

For every episode of Breaking Bad, We've seen something similar to this previously.
posted by HuronBob at 6:19 AM PST - 5 comments

I Give Up

Alec Baldwin explains why he's done with public life
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:55 AM PST - 270 comments

Mind, blown

Experience just how big the Universe is, using this interactive graphic made by 14-year-old Cary Huang. Click on individual objects for factoids.
posted by pjern at 4:13 AM PST - 23 comments

Insider/outsider in South Africa

The women of Gugulethu and Khayelitsha township. The third installment of photographer Julia Gunther’s ongoing project ‘Proud Women of Africa,’ which is in many ways is an outsider's continuation of visual activist Zanele Muholi's 'Faces and Phases' series, “marking, mapping, and preserving an often invisible community for posterity.” In an interview with the New Statesman, Muholi grappled with the ethical implications of documentary photography: “It’s been done for many years. Africa has mostly been projected and documented by the outside world.” (previously)
posted by spamandkimchi at 3:17 AM PST - 2 comments

The Lost Art of Funerary Violin

The book An Incomplete History of the Art of Funerary Violin, published in 2006, tells, for the first time, the story of a lost art and one that was eventually supressed by the Church.
"During the Protestant revolution in Europe, a new kind of music emerged, one that ultimately sought to recognize the deceased and to individuate the sense of loss and grief. But the tradition was virtually wiped out by the Great Funerary Purges of the 1830s and 40s. Kriwaczek tells the fascinating story of this beautiful music, condemned by the Catholic Church for political as much as theological reasons, and of the mysterious Guild of Funerary Violinists that, yes, defends its secrets in our time."
The 220-page book is written in an academic tone and outlines the entire history of the Society along with biographies of some of its key figures - George Babcotte and Herr Hieronymous Gratchenfleiss and even Paganini. [more inside]
posted by vacapinta at 2:57 AM PST - 8 comments

Much sledding. So university. Wow.

The University of Tromsø, Norway, is the world's northernmost university. Finnmarksløpet is the world's northernmost sled dog race. Starting winter 2015, "dog sledding and the Finnmarksløpet sled dog race are now being offered as a part of their own university course for the first time ever in Norway and Europe." [more inside]
posted by iviken at 2:33 AM PST - 7 comments

Give me compliments. Bitte schnell.

According to their YouTube profile, "Kollektivet is a comedy-show aired on Norwegian TV2." Here they are with a teutonic-dry take on underappreciation: Give Me Compliments [2:15].
posted by paleyellowwithorange at 12:18 AM PST - 12 comments

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