May 7, 2011
The Miscreants of Taliwood
The Miscreants of Taliwood is probably one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. And it defies all types of film making (in a good way). The subject? The Talibanization of a certain part of Pakistan and the assault on art, entertainment, and humanity. But it’s not quite a documentary. It is a surreal trip through the fiction and the nonfiction of Peshawar, NWFP and FATA. It is fake, it is real, it is unbelievable. Basically, it is Pakistan. [more inside]
A typical cafe; gems were everywhere.
L'Brondelle's Universe—I'd describe it as Tim and Eric with the Dada-meter cranked way up. SLYT
I see only the overwhelming indifference of nature.
EXT. STREET -- TWILIGHT. A dreary day in 1971. Wearing a trilby hat and a hideous overcoat, a LONE CROCODILE stands on the rain-slicked sidewalk. Singing in tune with the plangent sounds of the concertina he clutches in his claws, he tells the viewers that today, of all days, is his birthday. This scene presages the appearance of one of the most emblematic characters in Soviet animation. [more inside]
MATER SUSPIRA VISION
Filter Bubbles
Filter Bubbles: As web companies strive to tailor their services (including news and search results) to our personal tastes, there's a dangerous unintended consequence: We get trapped in a "filter bubble" and don't get exposed to information that could challenge or broaden our worldview. Eli Pariser argues powerfully that this will ultimately prove to be bad for us and bad for democracy
Git!
Git is the version control system that inspired social coding, music videos, and now a party
game (pdf).
Caturday Kitten Crash
Kitten crash test, in slow motion, with a suitable soundtrack. Don't worry, no kittens were actually harmed.
Spiritual Atheists, Humanist Chaplains, and FFRF Weddings
Currently making the rounds. A qualitative study in Sociology of Religion looks at "spiritual atheists" in science. A call for Humanist Chaplains in the U.S. armed forces. And The Freedom From Religion Foundation becomes certified to perform weddings in Tulsa.
The runners’ bibs say something different each year: SUFFERING WITHOUT A POINT; NOT ALL PAIN IS GAIN
The Immortal Horizon: Thirty-Five Runners Face Hollers and Hells, a Flooded Prison, Rats the Size of Possums, and Flesh-Flaying Briars to Test the Limits of Self-Sufficiency in a race only eight men have ever finished.
It's just a word, right?
Dishtip: aggregating restaurant reviews down to the entree level
Dishtip is a service that combs through restaurant reviews on other sites and attempts to figure out the best dishes of a particular type in a city of your choice (e.g. waffles in New York or tacos in San Francisco) or a particular restaurant's best dishes (say at Alinea).
Loving Free Comics Can Never Be Wrong
Free Comic Book Day is a single day - the first Saturday in May each year - when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their stores. Here's the store locator.
notorious sites of anti-intellectualism, alcohol abuse, and sexual assault
Should Colleges Ban Fraternities? A New York Times roundtable that takes the Yale Title IX complaint and related cases as its starting point. Via Historiann, whose anti-frat attitudes are much more pointed than any of the New York Times commenters.
Girls! Girls! Girls!
Vintage Sleaze: Exploitation and enticement in the form of drawings, comics, and pinups.
I miss, I miss, I miss, I make
Severiano Ballesteros, golf legend, has passed away at 54. If you could say anything about his game, was that he could win a British Open from the car park.
I Scheme with Genie
Ahmadinejad allies charged with sorcery. Several people said to be close to the president and his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, have been arrested in recent days and charged with being "magicians" and invoking djinns (spirits). Increasingly, there is a rift between the President and his Supreme Leader.
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