April 29, 2015

Atari Retrospectives: myths and legends from first-hand participants

Why read lengthy articles on the history of Atari when you can hear stories first-hand? Hear Nolan Bushnell (and a few others) tell all about how a little company named Syzygy became Atari, in clips both new(ish) and old; tune in for four episodes of Once Upon Atari, featuring Atari staff reminiscing about the good times and bad; and visit Alamogordo, New Mexico, home of rocket sled land-speed records and the grave of Ham, the first chimp in space, with Zak Penn as he digs for the truth behind the legend of the buried E.T. cartridges in Atari: Game Over with fans and Howard Scott Warshaw, the man who made the Atari E.T. game in five weeks. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 10:50 PM PST - 11 comments

Secret shuts down

Secret shuts down San Francisco, NYC, and other cities lose weird, raunchy, anonymous zeitgeist
posted by specialk420 at 10:21 PM PST - 64 comments

"Seventy-three, two-fifty-five, eighty, Sioux City In The Sky..."

The Hilltop Steakhouse (1961-2013), which once served as many as three million customers per year, was demolished on Monday, as documented by photographer Brian Cummings. Brian also took photos of the interior a few days before the demoliton. While the 68-foot-tall iconic cactus sign is expected to remain, the steer have migrated to greener pastures. (And not to the top of the Dome of Building 10 at MIT, as one was once relocated in 1979.)
Don't forget to moo at the cows as you drive by, It's part of the fun! :oP
posted by not_on_display at 9:09 PM PST - 28 comments

Why have ISIS refused to behead animals?

Comment Is Weird [more inside]
posted by NoraReed at 7:47 PM PST - 23 comments

Strange Wing

While scientists have long known that modern day birds are dinosaurs (a fact that is self-evident if you ever look at a cassowary), it now appears that birds were not the dinosaurs' only attempt at flight. It may have had feathers, but the recently discovered Yi qi ("Strange Wing") had wings like a bat.
posted by brundlefly at 5:40 PM PST - 22 comments

Godspeed, Little Partridge

Suzanne Crough who played Tracy, the youngest of the Partridge Family has passed on.
posted by jonmc at 4:39 PM PST - 17 comments

On unlearning

The backwards Brain Bicycle "I almost broke my brain with a backwards bicycle for the sake of Science."
posted by dhruva at 2:32 PM PST - 95 comments

The abuser's side of the story

Down the Rabbit Hole is a repository of observations about estranged parent support forums (previously). It contains comparisons of forum culture between discussion sites for estranged parents and those for children, themes of discussion found on estranged parent sites, and possible reasons estranged parent forums develop toxic dynamics.
posted by sciatrix at 1:51 PM PST - 83 comments

Crowdsourced micro-etched emoji of the far lunar future

"Welcome to Moon Drawings. We invite you to contribute a drawing—which will be etched on a sapphire disc, sent to the Moon, and potentially traced by a robot rover into the Moon's soil." [more inside]
posted by oulipian at 1:49 PM PST - 31 comments

Smoke and wires

Why those 'amazing' macro photographs of frogs aren't what they seem (Previously)
posted by mippy at 1:22 PM PST - 12 comments

Myth 8: 2015 is the first Internet election

"Almost all media coverage depends on a rehash of several myths about this election. Let’s look at them – in no particular order – one by one. -- Eight media myths about the 2015 election and why they're wrong by Alex Grant.
posted by MartinWisse at 1:05 PM PST - 23 comments

The Boxer and the Batterer

Floyd Mayweather is the best boxer of his generation, and a serial batterer. In the lead-up to the biggest fight of Mayweather's career, Louisa Thomas lays out the evidence for both claims, across multiple fights and multiple beatings, and grapples with the question: "What do you do with this?" [more inside]
posted by clawsoon at 12:54 PM PST - 74 comments

Gum is the impossible meal.

An Oral History of Radiohead's OK Computer.
posted by kenko at 12:45 PM PST - 29 comments

It tastes a little herbedcidey...

When Dr. Patrick Moore appeared on cable channel Canal+ to argue for the safety of the widely used herbicide glyphosate he asserted that it would be completely safe to drink right from a glass. When the interviewer challenged him to follow through on the act, he backed down. Recently, Stu Burguiere of The Blaze decided to accept the challenge and drank a glass of the herbicide along with fracking fluid and artificial sweeteners. The cocktail also included a salt rimmed glass and a lemon garnish. It had the neon green appearance of a Vodka and Diet Dew. Don't try this at home. Or anywhere.
posted by Drinky Die at 12:34 PM PST - 47 comments

And my imagination will feed my hungry heart

You Must Remember This (previously) is a weekly podcast by Karina Longworth, documenting the secrets and forgotten histories of 20th century Hollywood. The podcast recently wrapped up "Star Wars," its first themed arc on the subject of movie stars and their lives and careers during times of war... [more inside]
posted by griphus at 10:34 AM PST - 38 comments

scouts say hot dog opinions could be an issue

The NFL Draft is here and once again you are not in it. Rude! You like football, too. You at least deserve a scouting report just like the soon-to-be pros. Enter the SB Nation Bullshit Draft Scouting Report Generator.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 10:27 AM PST - 23 comments

So far I’ve met zero people from Tinder.

“an atlas of a specific luxury” (regarding five white male humans i witnessed swiping right repeatedly on the app “tinder” in californian-american public throughout the year 2014) by tim rogers
posted by daisyk at 10:24 AM PST - 77 comments

Please Enjoy

Marble Soda (live mashup), a song by Shawn Wasabi with samples from 153 sources. [more inside]
posted by vibratory manner of working at 10:00 AM PST - 10 comments

Today's Orioles and White Sox Game Will Be Played in an Empty Stadium

Today's Orioles and White Sox game at Camden Yards in Baltimore will be the first game in MLB history played in an empty stadium. However, the phenomenon is more common in football (soccer) because of reasons ranging from punishment for racist fans to fears of contagious diseases. The crew at 538.com suggest that the Orioles might lose the home-field advantage from umpiring calls that teams playing in front of a friendly crowd typically enjoy. If you want to view the surreal scene yourself, the game is MLB.com's free game of the day.
posted by Fister Roboto at 9:36 AM PST - 187 comments

to our love, send a coffin of wood

From eagles and robots to wrenches and cruise ships, the artisans of Ghana's Kane Kwei Carpentry Workshop ensure decedents will be ushered to the afterlife in meticulously detailed coffins designed to fit the dearly departed's lifestyle, in accordance with Ga-Adangme traditions. [more inside]
posted by divined by radio at 8:31 AM PST - 14 comments

What do people in China buy online?

BBC: "Huang's new project is based on a similar idea - this time, he asked people to display everything they've ever bought online. The results are a testament to the overwhelming popularity of online shopping, particularly China's most popular internet shopping platform, Taobao." [more inside]
posted by Wordshore at 6:48 AM PST - 8 comments

Anashonde?

Nicki Minaj caused a bit of a stir with a recent performance at a taxi-tycoon's son's bar mitzvah (no one seemed to care that Hank Aaron and Andrew Cuomo were also there). But Grantland reporter Rembert Browne uncovers the real story - the complicated, intertwined relationships revealed in his in-depth sociological analysis of the after-party group photo.
posted by ericbop at 6:47 AM PST - 105 comments

Begun, the syrup wars have

“I asked, ‘Why are you here?’ He said ‘pot.’ Later I saw him and asked, ‘What did you get?’ He said he got a $150 fine. And for selling maple syrup, I have a $424,000 fine. There is something wrong with this picture.”
posted by Chrysostom at 6:44 AM PST - 43 comments

“Stop laughing at old movies, you $@%&ing hipsters”

"I've heard horror stories of audiences guffawing through The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist, The Shining, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Thing, Lawrence of Arabia and The Godfather—c'mon, The Godfather!? And perversely, the same crowds stay quiet during actual classic comedies. It's like modern audiences must one-up the past. But that's a contest where everyone loses: the filmmakers whose efforts go ignored, the hipsters who wasted their money, and the rest of us who wanted to enjoy a good movie without getting distracted wondering how to murder a yukster with a bucket of popcorn and a straw.” (Amy Nicholson writing for LA Weekly)
posted by valkane at 5:44 AM PST - 257 comments

Someone needs a hug... and some cash... and maybe a doctor...

William H. Macy Is Cinema's Number One Loser (SLYT)
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 5:10 AM PST - 23 comments

Have We Seen the End of the 8-Hour Day?

Unpredictable days, part-time work, and digital scheduling—welcome to the new battle over the clock.

Previously on mefi: Working anything but 9 to 5
posted by ellieBOA at 3:34 AM PST - 45 comments

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