February 24, 2016
Meet the Coaster Geeks
"It's not just about knowing the rides; it's about knowing manufacturers, plans, build spends. Everything. There are geeks who know how many bolts are in any Disneyland ride. Others have spreadsheets charting their top ten rides and what dates that order changed. It's very, very serious." [more inside]
The Unknown 17
Jesse Owens usually gets all the attention when people talk about the 1936 Summer Olympic Games, but the documentary Olympic Pride, American Prejudice looks at the other black athletes who traveled with Owens to Hitler’s Berlin 80 years ago, including Jackie Robinson’s big brother Mack, and Tidye Ann Pickett-Phillips, first black American woman to compete in the Olympics.
Miss Hobbs and the Gunslingers
A photograph of the petite secretary was sent to every Oregon newspaper - Her image appeared to be that of a teenage schoolgirl. Could she confront a ruthless and lawless town and shut it down? - A tale of the Old West and the New America.
The return of Lush
Anyone's better than that awful Mr. Brooke.
"Jo, having devotedly fulfilled her readers’ expectations for years, confounds our hopes by ending up not with the dashing, boyish Laurie but with Professor Bhaer, a somewhat older, less glamorous, rather didactic German tutor. To anyone steeped in the conventions of romance—not to mention conventional plotting—the gesture has for generations felt almost vindictive on Alcott’s part." Who is Professor Bhaer? Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.
"Nope, he's Laotian, aint ya Mr. Kahn?"
"Liberals generally love quirky comedies like Community, Parks and Recreation, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and The Mindy Project; conservatives tend to prefer reality shows and crime dramas including NCIS, Duck Dynasty, The Bachelor, and Top Gear. But for 13 years there was a show that drew laughs from viewers of all political persuasions." King of the Hill: The Last Bipartisan TV Comedy (SLAtlantic)
And the best part is, he works for kibble!
A steaming bowl of life
Ramen, despite its reputation as a cheap fast food, is a complex pillar of modern Japanese society, one loaded with political, cultural and culinary importance that stretches far beyond the circumference of the bowl.Dive in with one of Japan's top ramen bloggers.
Now this first SLIIIDE... shows a very, very interesting thing ...
RIP character actor George Gaynes, known as Police's Academy's Cmndt. Eric Lassard in the Police Academy series, the father in Punky Brewster, and also General Hospital's original mob boss, Frank Smith who tortured Luke and Laura. He was 98. Variety obit
Eye Candide
Dr. Carla Hayden could be the #nextLOC
President Obama announces his intent to nominate Dr. Carla Hayden as the next Librarian of Congress. Dr. Hayden would be the first-ever professional librarian in the position. She is currently CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, served as President of the American Library Association from 2003-2004, and she was the first African-American to receive the Library Journal's Librarian of the Year Award. She began her career with the Chicago Public Library in 1973. [more inside]
What audiences are saying is, "that wasn't funny."
Is heavy metal the new form of world music?
Metal's appeal has gone global, and is deepening. Leading nations emitting potent metal sounds now include some in southeast Asia, South America, and the Middle East.
(SLWSJ)
"Be prepared to burn."
What Comes After Neo-Tokyo?
Whatever happened to the animators who worked on Akira? (NSFW) Find out with over 30 minutes of clips that start with a scene from 1988's masterpiece of Japanese animation, Akira, and follow each animator's career across the decades. [more inside]
What It’s Really Like to Work in Hollywood*
What It’s Really Like to Work in Hollywood* (*If you’re not a straight white man.) (SLNYTimes, Interactive)
Zap! Pow! Movies grow up!
So, over the next few months, if you pay attention to the trades, you'll see Hollywood misunderstanding the lesson they should be learning with Deadpool. They'll be green lighting films "like Deadpool" - but, by that, they won't mean "good and original" but "a raunchy superhero film" or "it breaks the fourth wall." They'll treat you like you're stupid, which is the one thing Deadpool didn't do. - Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn on the success of Deadpool. And indeed the film prompted much speculation as to what R-Rated superhero movies could be made. Warner Bros, about fifteen minutes later: "Here's an R-rated superman movie!"
Shrewsbury clock: A portmanteau
A mental coffee break, so to speak. I quite like Rimbshot and Dogs and Cats, among others. Oh, and Reasons, because he is describing our cat.
The Unbearable Lightness of Web Pages
Web pages are ghosts: they’re like images projected onto a wall. They aren’t durable. Contrast this with hard-copies—things written on paper or printed in books. We can still read books and pamphlets printed five hundred years ago, even though the presses that made them have long since been destroyed. How can we give the average independent web writer that kind of permanence? Joel Dueck on building a website with Matthew Butterick's Pollen, allowing it to also be published as a printed book.
The Truth About the MiG-29
Let’s face it: Soviet jets are ugly, and MiGs are some of the worst offenders. The Vietnam-era MiG-17 and MiG-19 represented a utilitarian tube-with-wings-on-it trend; they were followed by the deadly MiG‑21, a rational sculpture of angles and cone. This one is different. The fluidly beautiful MiG-29 looks like its larger twin-tail contemporary, the slab-sided F-15 Eagle, to the degree that a Bolshoi ballerina resembles a roller derby star. [more inside]
Witness the Firepower of This Fully Armed and Operational Battle Station
Helicopter drops might not be far away - "Central banks could be given the power to send money, ideally in electronic form, to every adult citizen. Would this add to demand? Absolutely."
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