March 3, 2011
The mighty force of metal
Invisible Oranges is a blog devoted to heavy metal. The term “invisible oranges” describes the clutching gesture you make when the mighty force of metal flows through you. [more inside]
Always be stay in Japanese heart
"Formed by Rocket Matsu in 1995, Pascals is a fourteen piece acoustic orchestra that makes very unique and original tunes with the pianica, many kinds of toy instruments, violin, cello, banjo, guitar, winds, accordion, and more. The sounds is always seasoned with spirit, wit and humor. And it gives people a feeling of freedom." [more inside]
These are all Industrial Age economic models, and we are no longer in an Industrial Age.
"New Economy, New Wealth - We are entering a post-industrial age with a very different economy and needs for a different view of wealth. What does this mean for us?"
A presentation by Arthur Brock, using Prezi (previously). I recommend viewing it full-screen.
The Economic Super-Cycle
We've had 2 economic super-cycles before. One from 1870 to 1913. Another from the end of World War II until 1973. Now we may be in the midst of another, this time the cycle is all about the emerging consumer class in Asia. [more inside]
Orange Party racists/tea party members protest and hurl epithets at a local muslim organization's relief dinner to raise money for women's shelters and raise aid for homelessness and hunger in the US
Orange County tea party members protest and hurl epithets at a local muslim organization's relief dinner to raise money for women's shelters and raise aid for homelessness and hunger in the US
Here is the video. Watch as members of congress show their support for this extreme show of xenophobia and racism.
Pagan Atheists?
What you gonna do with atheists, all those pagan atheists? I'm gonna set set set them free, make them Christian just like me. With my faith, my faith my faith my faith. See also Don't Cha Wish Your Savior Was Right Like Mine. [more inside]
The Price of the Paperless Revolution
Essays on mining and its environmental and human health costs in the Fall 2010 Virginia Quarterly Review: Digging Out; Tin Fever; The Pit; Here Everything is Poison, The Solution: Bolivia's Lithium Dream; The Underground Giant: Life in the Hard Rock Mines of Quebec and Ontario; Jharia Burning; Mother of God, Child of Zeus. Editorial: The Price of the Paperless Revolution.
Smarter, Happier, More Productive
Previously we worried Is Google Making Us Stupid?. Author Nicholas Carr has expanded that concern into a book, The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains. An interesting review, more of a discussion piece, from the London Review Of Books. (via)
Dude, where's my planet?
Where's Tyche, the 10th 9th planet? Getting the full story. John Matese and Daniel Whitmire of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette recently made the news when they announced the possible discovery of a gas giant planet they named Tyche in the Oort Cloud, at the extreme edge of the Solar System (previously). Now ars electronica breaks down the evidence behind the announcement, what can be done to confirm or disprove its existence & how long it could take.
‘The Last Photograph of Cat’
The Last Photograph of Cat. MeFi’s own RJ Reynolds proves that, in hands like his, it is indeed possible to memorialize one’s beloved pet with restraint and humour yet no loss of feeling. [more inside]
Opera and Ballet, Explained
Satiric Art by Polish artist Pawła Kuczyńskiego (Paul Kuczynski).
FULL NAME: your african-american friends | LOCATION: probably can't stand you
A new nightclub is opening in Park Slope, Brooklyn. It's call Prime 6 and despite opposition from local Community Board 6 it had already acquired a 3 story space not far from the Atlantic Yard projects as well as the requisite liquor licenses from the State Liquor Authority. The nightclub's owner promises that the club will cater to a Park Slope clientele but locals aren't convinced. Prime 6's Myspace and Facebook pages (now both deleted) featured "suggestively posed women" and a link to the “Prime 6 mixed CD,” created by hip hop artist DJ Big Jeff, with songs titles including “Motha F–ka, I’m Ill” and “New Money.” CB6 has officially stated that it will reconsider its next move, however local CB6 member Jennifer McMillen has distributed a virtual petition seeking to persuade the nightclub to "Embrace Indie Music" instead of hip-hop. [more inside]
The Bio-Physics of Limbaugh
"I was intrigued by your recent expression of the interest in the 'actual weight' of the outlandish pumpkin head of the total A-hole, R. Limbaugh. By grand good chance, a friend of mine is a professor in bio-physics here at the university, and, with some sophisticated instruments, and his professorial savvy, he was able to take the measurements necessary for the calculations directly off the video screen."
Holy Crap
An anonymous writer is sticking his or her novel, titled Holy Crap, to a series of street lamps in New York City's East Village, one page at a time.
New York Post report.
Village Voice report.
Yahoo report.
Picture of Page 7.
Picture of Page 8.
More recent events in solar power
Around one year ago we saw some of the recent events in solar power. At that time solar panels topped out at a peak efficiency of around 290W for a 1.99 x 0.99 meter 72-cell module, with a lone rare and expensive 315W module that was used to build team Germany's solar decathlon winning house. Since then prices have dropped a lot, and China is advancing in commodity tech. [more inside]
The Easy-Bake Oven
The Easy-Bake Oven has inspired some children and mutilated others en route to being immortalized in The National Toy Hall of Fame. But with 100-watt incandescent light bulbs effectively prohibited from manufacture starting in 2012, the suprisingly versatile cooking instrument is being retired in favor of an "Ultimate" model powered by a non-bulb heating element.
A rare look at Ansel Adam's darkroom
This is the extended version of Marc Silber's visit to Ansel Adams' home and darkroom. You'll hear his son Michael talk about some of Ansel's most iconic images, including the breakthrough he had when he first visualized the image of Half Dome. This led to the development of his unique and masterful style. You'll also see much more of his darkroom and hear about how Ansel worked and see the darkroom he custom built, like none on earth. Join us now for this rare, behind the scenes look. (SLYT 17:04)
Slow Sculpture
Black Cat Detective
Have you ever wished Tom (of Tom and Jerry) was more like Dirty Harry? Maybe just shoot Jerry once in a while? Then you're in luck! 黑猫警长 (Hei Mao Jing Zhang, literally Black Cat Police Chief, more commonly translated as Black Cat Detective) was a hugely popular children's cartoon that ran from 1984 to 1987 in mainland China. Episodes featured the eponymous police chief taking down criminals any way he could, whether it's shooting fleeing mice in the back, burning locusts with exploding arrows, or administering beatdowns with shock batons. Beyond the police brutality, children also got to see baby animals eaten by giant eagles and learn about sexual cannibalism in praying mantises. And it's on Youtube! [more inside]
Delicious Doomsday
Romantically Apocalyptic is a morbidly funny webcomic from Russo-Canadian digital artist Vitaly Alexius (interview, gallery). Set in the starkly diaphanous wreckage of post-nuclear Manhattan, it follows an eccentric contingent of Soviet soldiers as they poke through the detritus of the past and contend with the mutants, cultists, aliens, and other horrors that inhabit the ruins. The comic's striking art style is the result of an arduous process, using "Photoshop, live actors, dead actors, sexy assistants, greenscreen, a camera, and a Wacom tablet" to composite "6 years worth of textures: 1 terabyte of stock footage, shot in real abandoned, forgotten places of our world." This multimedia ambition has burgeoned into plans for a community-powered animated/live-action web series (teaser video, animatic, fanart). While waiting for that to come together, be sure to spend some time on Kimmo Lemetti's excellent Gone With the Blastwave (previously), a very similar webcomic project with a more subdued palette that turned out nearly fifty pages of richly-illustrated post-apocalyptic humor before going on indefinite hiatus.
Feline Imagine Circa 1999
Buzzfeed.com is one of the strangest sites I've seen in some time. I have no idea how these people got their cats wedged into their scanners, or why.
Hate Man
Hate Man. "How a New York Times reporter dropped out and became a hate evangelist in Berkeley." [more inside]
Clear your dance card
A Dance With Dragons, the fifth book in George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, will arrive on July 12. [more inside]
Saying a lot with a little
Dan Tague is an artist who takes pictures of dollar bills after folding them to spell out political messages and social commentary. Additional galleries linked on the left of his page. Some of his work is in NYC this week as part of the VOLTA Art Fair.
George Lucas Wants To Cash In (in 3D!)
Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace to be released in 3D. The movie will hit theaters on February 10, 2012.
Faux Queerness
Things were wonderful once
1. Tin Huey T-Shirt.
2. A silk-screened poster from the Sept. 22, 2000, Mary Timony (of Helium) concert in Oberlin, Ohio.
3. "Crazy Rhythms" by the Feelies (on white vinyl).
4. A big-ass dining room table.
5. The Futon.
6. One audio MiniDisc of the Black Keys' first live performance, July 2002.
7. 7. One black-and-white photo of Patrick and me, taken in 2003, at Apple Studios.
A marriage, and divorce, in seven mementos.
Siege mentality
Sarajevo Survival Tools is a virtual exhibition of the objects created and used by the citizens of Sarajevo during the three and half years the city was under siege. Highlights include a home-made gun, watering can and water cart. Intro in the Guardian - Welcome to Sarajevo's designs for survival
Lack a soul? There's still a team for you!
What Baseball Team Should I Root For? (image) Now you can establish a lasting emotional bond through the magic of pure logic.
BYU’s honor code requires students to live a chaste and virtuous life
Third ranked NCAA basketball team Brigham Young University dismissed starting center Brandon Davies for violating the school's honor code by having premarital sex with his girlfriend. [more inside]
What Enemy?
The U.S. Army has brought 22 new charges against Pfc. Bradley Manning under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Among the new charges is an Article 104 offence of 'aiding the enemy' that carries a potential death sentence. Yet neither the original charges nor the new charges identify the enemy to which the US military is referring. (previously) [more inside]
Don't say I didn't warn you.
This is a single-link YouTube post involving a small child singing a grown-up song. But she's absolutely fierce, so it's quite a lot less annoying than that sounds. [more inside]
Following the Early Modern Engraver
The Brilliant Line explores the techniques of Renaissance and Baroque engravers. This interactive exhibit shows how layers of lines become art. (Flash.) [more inside]
Romeo and Juliet, or Sex Offender Registry?
An Illinois 'Romeo and Juliet' law would take young sex offenders off of the registry. [more inside]
space, from the ground
Passage of the International Space Station and Discovery, taken on February 28th 2011 at 17:58UT from the area of Weimar, Germany. The shooting equipment is described in detail in this page. (Flash 10 required)
The battle for control of the internet
"We may argue again and again whether the Internet is changing our brains, elevating us, lowering us, making us smarter, or making us stupid. But at the end of the day, it seems the real argument is about control — who has it, who shares it, and who wants it." What people who worry about the internet are really worried about. Via naked capitalism.
"Yarr! Go To Sleep, You Scurvy Dog!"
A turning point in economic development?
"Towards a Sustainable Global Golden Age" (four youtube links) is a talk by Carlota Perez comparing the current revolution in information and communications technologies (ICT) to four prior technological revolutions. She argues that each revolution has started with a long phase of experimentation driven by finance, which leads to a financial bubble and subsequent crash. The short phase of recovery from the crash is followed by a long phase of consolidation driven by concrete productivity gains and government policy. She believes that NASDAQ was the crash in the ICT revolution, and that we are still in the recovery phase, partly because cheap oil and manufacturing labor facilitated a reemphasis on unskilled-labor- and energy-intensive means of production. She speculates on what may come out of the consolidation phase she hopes we're now entering. [more inside]
Puppy Love
Pitbull vs Horse SFW SLYT
"For those of us who dreamed of trips to Mars, the trouble with our times, as Paul Valery once said, is that the future is not what it used to be."
Direct, simple, brief, vigorous, and lucid.
The "King of English", H.W. Fowler wrote A Dictionary of Modern English Usage. Although "modern linguists are almost by definition incapable of understanding the function of a book like Fowler’s Dictionary", the "half-educated Englishman of literary proclivities" who just wants to know: "Can I say so-&-so?’" may now buy the classic first edition of the Dictionary again. An earlier book, The King's English, is free for anyone seeking advice on Americanisms, Saxon words, the spot plague, archaism or split infinitives.
Offshore Banking Business
"People have always thought of tax havens as sideshows to the main event, whereas in fact they are central to the global economy". . . Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men who Stole the World [more inside]
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