May 6, 2014
A maze of twisty little borders, all alike
The world's most complex borders. Bonus: a closer look at Baarle, the Belgian Dutch Belgian enclave in the south of the Netherlands.
"There's no reason to complain about anything. Ever again."
There's never been a major character like her on the small-screen.
Why Tina of Bob's Burgers Can't Be Ignored
"The eldest Belcher child is a unique character in the world of modern television. And this is a very good thing."
"The eldest Belcher child is a unique character in the world of modern television. And this is a very good thing."
Cancer Doctor Peter Bach on Losing His Wife to Cancer
The Day I Started Lying to Ruth - "I realized that I now had a secret we couldn’t discuss. I could see her future. Where she would end up. What she might look like. How she might suffer with me standing helplessly by her side. She couldn’t."
Christian Zander's abstract generative art
Christian Zander may have a commercial design background, he has a significant amount of work in a more abstract, generative style, as seen in his House and Bike blog posts, and strewn among his work portfolio. He has also worked with animations, both live (Kiss Kiss Kiss - "Ponte 25") and recorded (Kenton Slash Demon - "Ore" / I Got You On Tape - "Run From The Rain").
Probably useful for a Zombie Apocalypse, too.
Creating a portable survival kit is a popular project for which you can find many examples online. There have been a great many different items in military survival kits over the years. The Paratroopers on D-Day were apparently well equipped, and pilots in the Pacific Theater had their own special manual. Many soldiers in WWII famously received chocolate bars for their kits, though they were apparently not all that welcome. Finally, if you really want an authoritative source for what to pack, ask Major Kong.
KMFDM, Ministry, Thrill Kill Cult, Underworld, Front 242, Frontline A...
Not only is Wax Trax! Records being reborn as a label, but the famed Chicago record store will return next month, too — for one day only.
The Earth, Live.
After being delivered to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX resupply mission, the High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) platform was activated on April 30th, providing a live HD stream of Earth for anyone to view. [more inside]
National Climate Assessment
This morning the U.S. government released the newest National Climate Assessment, which "concludes that the evidence of human-induced climate change continues to strengthen and that impacts are increasing across the country." You can explore the assessment here. Previously.
i didn't feel bad.
(picnic, lightning)
"..impale the arms of his husband with his own.."
Cast your vote
Not sure who to vote for in this month's European Parliament elections? Find the party that best represents you at MyVote2014.eu. While you're there, play the game and find out how much you really know about EU politics.
40 Maps of the Middle East
Forty maps that explain the Middle East. Includes sections on Middle East history, the region today, Israel-Palestine, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and oil, Iraq and Libya, and "points of light." [more inside]
The Kids Are Alright
Kids Interview Bands is a video interview series hosted by 7th graders Olivia and Connie. [more inside]
"I didn’t want my shop burned down."
A Maryland gun store owner recently spent the night in his store to guard against retribution for his store's (now-reversed) decision to sell the Armatix iP1 Smart Pistol, the first smart gun to be marketed in the United States. Andy Raymond, co-owner of Engage Armament in Rockville, Maryland, initially supported the iP1 as a way to reach "fence-sitters", but backed down after receiving death threats. [more inside]
Got...got...need
The World Cup is on the way, and for many kids (and nostalgic adults) that means only one thing: stickers. [more inside]
Shades of Smallville, but this time with Batman! (Sort of.)
Bo Knows Why People Don't Like Him.
Michael Tesler is a political scientist who studies the "Spillover of Racialization" during the Obama presidency into other areas, both political and non-political. He argues that racial attitudes drive public opinion of miderm vote preference, healthcare, and the Obama's Portuguese Water Dog, Bo. [more inside]
May the road rise up to meet you.
The Roader’s Digest is ‘the most complete archive of information on the British and Irish road networks on the web.’ from the A1 to the R999; from the B3306 to the B855, they probably have a description of it. [more inside]
Jaiyah Saelua & American Samoa FC
"Look at this beautiful woman that's athletically very strong beside me, I knew there were some intangibles that I could work with to turn this team around in a short space of time." The woman Rongen refers to is Jaiyah Saelua, born Johnny, but one of the island's Fa'afafine - an integral part of traditional Samoan culture, born biologically male but embodying both masculine and feminine gender traits. It makes her the world's first transgender national football player. While, through the force of her own personality, Jaiyah becomes an integral part of the documentary - there is no explicit battle for acceptance from her teammates, the issue of sexual identity is just not an issue for the islanders. "Its natural in American Samoa because its part of the culture. Fa'afafine's have been around since before the missionaries came. It's so deeply embedded in the foundations of our culture to show respect and that includes respect for transgender people," says Jaiyah.
Down she, from the fort, came bravely like a lion
The Story of Gordafarid (dir. Hadi Afarideh, 2008, 34 mins.) is a brief, poignant documentary about Fatemeh Habibizad, a.k.a. Gordafarid, a woman in Iran performing as a solo narrator of Persian classics. Gordafarid is also an inspirational character from Ferdowsi's 10th Century epic, the Shahnameh. [more inside]
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