April 22, 2010
I Feel Safe With Skeleton Harvester
Möchten Sie ein Bier?
True Swamp Comes Roaring Back
One of the best indie comics of the 1990s is back - as a webcomic True Swamp, the mad and beloved comic created by Xeric-Award winner Jon Lewis, is back in circulation after a years-long hiatus. Indie comics fans rejoice
color-changing card trick
I am the son and the heir of nothing in particular.
"What are you f**king playing at?” Mr Murdoch asked Mr Kelner in a loud voice and in front of dozens of bemused journalists."This week, 300,000 copies of the UK's Independent newspaper were distributed for free advertising the paper's claim to editorial independence stating, "Rupert Murdoch won’t decide this election – you will".
According to the Financial Times, Murdoch's son James subsequently stormed into the Independent's newsroom brandishing a copy of the edition, protesting it besmirched his father’s reputation. "Lively times," the Guardian observes.
Caught in a landslide, No escape from reality
The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody: Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. (From BBC Three.) Oh, and... [more inside]
Where does your milk come from?
Yeah, yeah, it starts with a cow. But really, where did your milk come from? Decode the product info on your milk or other dairy product, then pinpoint its origin at Where is My Milk From?
Never Mind the StatBlocks,
Some joke about stalling or crashing
Last season, attendance fell some 10%, and empty seats have pockmarked this year's races... average viewership of Sprint Cup races on network television has fallen a remarkable 25%... this year's broadcast of the Daytona 500 was the lowest-rated Great American Race since 1991. NASCAR: A Once Hot Sport Tries to Restart Its Engine.
The Waves of Sand Roll On
In 1957, Frank Herbert was a journalist and writer of short stories, on his way to Florence, Oregon to do an article about the U. S. Department of Agriculture's attempts to control sand dunes that were shifting. The USDA was searching for something to stabilize the dunes, and they came upon European beach grass. Herbert's research was for an article tentatively titled "They Stopped The Moving Sands." The article was never completed, but his research of dune stabilization lead to larger ecological matters, and eventually the novel Dune. This year marks the 45th anniversary that novel. The world of dunes, both fictional and real, has changed quite a bit in the years. [more inside]
Inside the world of the Bacha Bazi
In Afghanistan, the bacha bereesh -- "boy without a beard" -- is dressed in women's clothes and taught to dance like a woman at weddings or parties. After the dancing is over, the boy is often shared as sexual chattel among his male audience (the bacha bazi) which is often composed of powerful warloads. The underground practice, though illegal, is widespread despite Taliban homophobia. The PBS series Frontline went inside the world of the bacha bazi, who seemed willing enough to talk about the forbidden practice. [54-minute flash video, well worth watching.] [more inside]
Urbanism in the Metroplex
A Better Block. For a weekend, local urbanism advocates in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas transformed a block into a complete street. Reactions from city officials have been positive. Also: photos from the event and associated Art Crawl, and a deeper look at the event and what it means.
The Restoration of Stephen Baldwin
I've always had an appreciation for good cinematography... now, doubly so
Movies in Frames: Reducing motion pictures to just pictures - 4 pictures, to be precise
Dinosaurs are Sexy
Filmmaker Donald Glut loves dinosaurs. He loves his collection of dinosaur memorabilia, so he finds an online community to share it with. Donald Glut, happily, also likes to share his dinosaur collection with scantily-clad babes (somewhat NSFW)
The Tube
Is "Too Big To Fail" Too Big To Exist?
When we write this up, I'll guarantee you, before the ink is dry, some 22-year-old is going to come out and figure six different ways to get around what I've just written. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd on the proposed Restoring American Financial Stability Act [.pdf] [more inside]
Genetic material and informed consent
The Havasupai Tribe of Grand Canyon won a $700,000 settlement from Arizona State University, plus the return of remaining blood samples, regarding the use of members' blood and DNA for research. The Havasupai had originally contacted researchers at ASU concerning the Type II diabetes that has ravaged that tribe and others, particularly in the Southwest. [more inside]
Racial discrimination is A-OK with Alaska's finest
"All Islanders looked the same to her, she explained. She couldn't tell them apart. So none would be allowed in." In Anchorage, police uphold the right of businesses to deny service based on race. [more inside]
The artist is present.
As part of the current retrospective of her work at MoMA, Marina Abramović is performing "The Artist is Present," in which she sits in a chair at a table for the duration of the museum's opening hours and invites visitors to sit across from her for as long as they wish. Watch the performance live. Photographer Marco Anelli has been taking photos of the participants for the museum, noting the duration of their participation: 5 min., 10 min., 391 min. [via kottke] [more inside]
Sproing sproing runrunrun sproing!
It's lambing season. Did you know that lambs can jump really high? Ever seen a lambpede? [more inside]
We can all excuse Robin
This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them.
The creators of South Park were threatened (or "warned") by Muslim extremists (cached, scroll down for article including photo of dead Theo VanGogh) not to depict the Prophet Mohammad. Parker and Stone thought they'd be able to air the episode by putting Mohammad in a bear suit, but Comedy Central censored the episode due to the threats. The clip in question is not hosted at South Park's website, but exists elsewhere online. This is not the first time South Park has dealt with censorship of Mohammad's image. (previously)
an utterly mundane little moment, captured and looped, to oddly satisfying effect
This charming little video might just put a smile on your face.
Early links in the chain of being
First there was Ida, the first molecule to self-replicate. (that's one hypothesis, anyway.) From Ida, eventually, came the Last Universal Common Ancestor, or Luca. The first substance to store information about itself in the form of a genetic code. Luca may be the form of Life from which all Life has evolved.
Freed by the Civil War
In 1865, after the end of the Civil War, Col. P. H. Anderson of Big Spring, Tennessee, wrote to his former slave, Jourdon Anderson, asking him to return to work for him. In reply, Jourdon Anderson told Colonel Anderson exactly where he could stick his offer. This letter was part of The Freedmen's Book (full download in many different formats) which was distributed to those freed after and during the Civil War, so that they would know stories of other freedmen who had done well, including Touissant L'Ouverture, Phillis Wheatley and Frederick Douglass. The book was put together and published by Lydia Maria Child, abolitionist, women's rights activist, Indian rights campaigner and all around awesome person. She became famous in her own time for her cookbook The Frugal Housewife, but today her best known work is Over the River and Through the Woods. The Freedmen's Book was part of an effort by abolitionists after the war to educate freed slaves. The American Antiquarian Society has a great website about that movement, Northern Visions of Race, Region and Reform, which has plenty of primary sources and images galore.
They’ll bury me before they hear the whole story.
After a seven-year hiatus full of rumor and speculation, Christian singer-songwriter Jennifer Knapp has returned to touring and recording. Apparently, some rumors were true. [more inside]
Bangers and Beans and Toast, Oh My!
The Full English: "[...]a mad, bad, salt-soaked road trip from culinary heaven to hell and back"
All hawks, all the time.
The Franklin Institute Hawk Cam is giving viewers a close up look into the lives of a family of red tailed hawks who built a nest on an Institute window sill. Even better, there are babies! [more inside]
'cause bobody knows fascism like a fascist.
The downfall of "Downfall"?! (SLYT) More info on this from the LA Times. This is why we can't have nice things.
How to Count.
A generating function is a way to keep track of a lot of related numbers all at once... The study of generating functions is an art and a science known as 'generatingfunctionology,' and its bible is free for all to download. [more inside]
Washable walls
"A quality dungeon adds more value to a home than a stainless steel kitchen" (SLYT) very slightly NSFW
John Baez's Favorite Numbers
My Favorite Numbers by John Baez
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