July 13, 2011
Two turntables and a microphone (microphone sold separately)
The Wheels Of Steel: Turntables in your browser (a web-based DJ prototype) Scott Schiller has created turntables in your browser, and has written an extensive blog post about how it works. [more inside]
The blurfl and its ilk
If you like woodworking and/or learning about vintage tools and their history you will, no doubt, enjoy The blurfl FAQ. There IS NO "previous" discussion of the blurfl on MeFi.
Manning Chat Logs
Manning-Lamo Chat Logs Revealed. "A little more than a year ago, Wired.com published excerpts from instant messenger chats between accused WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning and Adrian Lamo, the ex-hacker in whom he confided and who reported him to the authorities. It’s now time to reveal the previously unpublished portions of these conversations." [more inside]
Sometimes state flags are just so Vermont.
Short and Sweet
It seems that there is increasing frustration with the current state of email leading some to look for more technical solutions, such as Shortmail - an email client/social networking tool which attempts to redefine what its creators see as a broken relationship with email described on their blog as a "river of trash." , while others to turn to less technological solutions to lessen their email burden. [more inside]
Prince Paul’s 10 Favorite Sample Flips
EXTRA! EXTRA! TODD SMELLS!
Villainous, a tower conquest flash game
Tired of tower defense games? Tired of always playing the good guy? Try playing Villainous, a tower conquest flash game.
Minnesota to stop selling MillerCoors beer
Because of a regulatory beer labeling registration snafu, Minnesota beer supplies will soon be down 38%. Another stunning example of inefficient state bureaucracy getting in the way of one's alcohol consumption.
Multi-Trick-Pony
Apocalypse Now ... and Then - the timeline of Weird Al Yankovic
Why Come To Shanghai? For the cheap music, obviously.
I Come To Shanghai is an indie psych-pop outfit helmed by Sam Frigard and Robert Ashley. Robert best is known for hosting, producing, and editing the podcast A Life Well Wasted, often cited as "This American Life for videogames." (previously) Their new mini-LP, Eternal Life Vol. 1, brings the band in a darker, more serious direction. It's steaming on SoundCloud and available for pay what you want download from their website. Their debut self-titled album is poppier and more song-oriented. It's also up for pay what you want download. Watch the video for first-album cut Pass The Time here (warning: video is almost distractingly crazy).
I'd like to table this post on Americanisms.
"I accept that sometimes American phrases have a vigour and vivacity. A relative of mine told me recently he went to a business meeting chaired by a Californian woman who wanted everyone to speak frankly. It was 'open kimono'. How's that for a vivid expression?" The BBC explores Americanisms, but they're not the first: The Telegraph, Daily Mail, and the Economist have also weighed in on the debate. (Somewhat previously.)
Three blasts in Mumbai
This is a Time Waster
Got some free time? Looking for something mildly amusing? Predator and Prey Arrows. Click and move the mouse. Enjoy!
"Warren G, what are you doing here?!"
"Warren G, what are you doing here?!"... "What does it look like I'm doing?!" ... Legendary recording artist, Warren G, offers a little help to a man struggling to satisfy his woman. "Are you my waiter?" ... "Nah, I'm the Regulator." (MLYT) (via)
The Boys are Back in Heaven
The Boys Are Back in Heaven. SLVimeo. An excellent mashup depicting Phil Lynnot of Thin Lizzy fronting the Pixies.
Go Outside by Cults, a music video
This year's hot summer jam, Go Outside by Cults, finally has a video. It shows members of the band digitally inserted into footage of Jim Jones' famous religious cult, People's Temple. [more inside]
Lolita Storm: bubblegum and hardcore hybrid
They came on strong, "sounding like The Shangri-Las flying through an electrical storm while having a riot in a speed garage club," but only survived for an album, an EP, and a hand full of singles. They were Lolita Storm, a trio of female singers (Romy Medina, Nhung Napalm, and Spex), backed by a guy on the noise-makers (Mr Jimmy Too-Bad), recording and touring from 1998 to 2003. Their brief life totaled around an hour of recorded music, available from YouTube user Darkcore2008 (lyrics often NSFW). [more inside]
Evil Dead 1 part 3
"Not enough people to devour and sate their endless, all-consuming hunger for death?"
RADDEST!
Rain Delays not depicted
Breaking Bad returns
Here's why Breaking Bad beats Mad Men, The Sopranos, and The Wire (Grantland). Here's an interview with Bryan Cranston on The AV Club. Here's Bryan Cranston singing about Rolling Stone.
Central Park, adventure playgrounds and Katamari Damacy
"Better a broken bone than a broken spirit". So said the appropriately-named Lady Allen of Hurtwood, pioneer of adventure playgrounds - play spaces which sacrificed a little security in the interests of imagination and creativity. Her work on adventure playgrounds - along with the sight of young Londoners playing in the bombed-out sites of post-Blitz London - inspired a young Richard Dattner, a New York architect now probably best-known for the Bronx Public Library Center. [more inside]
Like a person with dignity and respect
School of French Kissing for Dogs {Warning: Lots and Lots of Humans Making out with Dogs} [more inside]
Croquet
He has won more Wimbledon singles titles than Martina Navratilova, Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe combined, and yet you have probably never heard of him. Because you don't care about croquet. [more inside]
The pivot from the quantitative finding to the speculative explanation
Everyone knows that correlation doesn't imply causation, but researchers invariably need to come up with plausible explanations (i.e., models) for the patterns found in their data. However, very different models can "explain" the same pattern. The books The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It and Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places by Oxford economist Paul Collier try to explain why some countries have remained poor using data from econometric studies. In his very interesting review (PDF), Mike McGovern, a political anthropologist at Yale, critiques the types of explanations found in popular economics books. Statistician Andrew Gelman has further thoughts on descriptive statistics, causal inference, and story time.
Wood Tape
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