July 26, 2015
Jessamyn West's Mossarium Emporium
"Mossariums are simple, low maintenance and fun. They're durable and will last a long time. You can get moss from your backyard, from your favorite trips, or delivered in the mail. Here's all you need..." From Mefi's own jessamyn. [via mefi projects]
The Eternal Champion
“I was very much into Freud and Jung when I was writing those books,” he says. “The whole point of Elric’s soul-eating sword, Stormbringer, was addiction: to sex, to violence, to big, black, phallic swords, to drugs, to escape. That’s why it went down so well in the rock’n’roll world.” - Michael Moorcock at 75 on his work, autobiographical fantasy, and why he thinks Tolkien was a crypto-fascist.
“We’re going to break stuff that can’t get fixed"
46 women now
‘I’m No Longer Afraid’: 35 Women Tell Their Stories About Being Assaulted by Bill Cosby, and the Culture That Wouldn’t Listen (trigger warning: sexual assault) SL longform New York Magazine. [archive.org saved version here]
I Am Here, Here I Am Not
Seminal post-modern choreographer Sally Gross has died at 81: "Because that's what we exist on, is the breath. It's the inhale and the exhale that guarantees us that we're living. And it's only because we're alive that we can even take on the idea of performing." [more inside]
The Americans with Disabilities Act became law 25 years ago today
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990. [more inside]
Hashtag Wubba Lubba Dub Dub
In conjunction with tonight's season 2 premier, the creators of Rick and Morty have launched what's being called the world's first Instagram game, the Rickstaverse. The game is a click-through Easter Egg hunt through dozens of Instagram accounts full of comic strips, videos, and jokes. [more inside]
from the cheap seats see us wave to the camera
Sometimes I wanna take you down, sometimes I wanna get you low. 'Cause you're a human supernova. I'm looking for answers from the great beyond. You're older than you've ever been, and now you're even older. Oh, get off the air! I'm on the stereo, stereo. Now check-ch-check-check-check-ch-check it out: It's 90s Bands on TV. [more inside]
Loop - Pool on an elliptical table
Loop - Pool on an elliptical table. The ellipse has two significant points, called focuses, which have a remarkable geometrical property that is almost always explained using the example of an imaginary pool table.
"If a pool table is the shape of an ellipse, then a ball shot from one focus will always rebound to the other focus no matter in which direction the ball is shot."
That sounded interesting! Wouldn’t it be fun, I thought, if I could build one of these imaginary tables?
So I did.
Former Chilean military charged in 1973 murder of singer Víctor Jara
Jara – who was also a folk singer, theatre director and communist party member - was taken prisoner during the coup by General Augusto Pinochet in September 1973. Military officers tortured him, broke his wrists and hands, played Russian roulette with him and then on 16 September executed him with 44 bullets. [more inside]
Behind-the-scenes On 'Big Adventure'
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, he's just posted some never-before-seen photos from the set of that classic comedy. Time to hit play on the movie, or perhaps enjoy a very rare promotional song by Pee-Wee and his friend Allee Willis! Of course, for the more literary inclined, you could always pick up an interesting book on the subject. Viva Pee-Wee!
You are the Cogmind
On the death of Sandra Bland
As she's laid to rest, questions remain about whether her arrest was good policing, a bail system that is especially harsh on the poor, the stigma of marijuana use, treatment of depression and, of course, the long history of American racism, as seen in Waller County, Texas, were the initial incident occurred. [more inside]
Getting to the next meetup
Sometimes successful (historically) mailing one's self is not a good plan: Whether to escape slavery or merely the cost of a plane ticket, people have been trying for over a century and a half to package themselves like so many rolls of toilet paper from Amazon.
Ba.
‘Key & Peele’ to End After This Season
“This is our final season – and it’s not because of Comedy Central, it’s us,” said Key. “It was just time for us to explore other things, together and apart. I compare it to Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. We might make a movie and then do our own thing for three years and then come back and do another movie. [more inside]
Chill out!
How to build an air conditioner in under 15 minutes. How to build a slightly fancier portable version.
*Okay, technically they're air coolers, but still.
*Okay, technically they're air coolers, but still.
Surely it can't happen here.....can it?
This is what finally kills my dual shock
If you're a long time user of Steam, you might assume that the current top selling game would be a AAA blockbuster, or maybe a half-finished multiplayer survival game. But for the past few weeks, the gaming world has been completely gripped by a game about cars playing soccer. [more inside]
How 'The New York Times' Bungled the Hillary Clinton Emails Story
Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.
Jamaal Charles, star running back for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, offers an inspiring speech at the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics. He discusses the influence competing in the Special Olympics had on his own life as he struggled with a learning disability as a boy.
Store Tip!
Jeff Wysaski, the comedian behind Obvious Plant, recently pranked a grocery store by leaving a series of funny tips for shoppers in order to make their grocery experience more memorable.
Poor Anne.
If this is a real picture of the Brontës, then I'm Heathcliff! [The Guardian] A collector is convinced that the £15 photograph he snapped up on eBay is of the Brontë sisters. It’s highly unlikely, but the story is a mark of our enduring fascination with the literary family. Plus, a Brontë Society expert gives her verdict. Could this be the only photograph of the three Brontë sisters? asked Seamus Molloy [Daily Mail], who picked the photograph up for 15 quid on eBay.
A legendary rock and roll club named after a hamster
An Oral History of TT The Bear's The legendary Cambridge, MA rock club has closed after a months long blowout\wake. Opened in 1981 as a restaurant, when Central Square was still a no-man's land between Harvard and MIT, blighted by urban decay and suburban flight, the venue was soon rebooted as a rock club and soon joined the Rathskellar, the Channel and The Middle East as one of a small group of independent venues that functioned as an incubator for 90s icons such as The Magnetic Fields, Tanya Donnelly, Galaxie 500, Letters to Cleo and, of course, the Pixies. [more inside]
This train is coming like a ghost train
Near empty trains rattle around the countryside at odd hours of the day and night... Why Britain has secret ghost trains [more inside]
. for Woodhouse
Veteran actor George Coe has died at the age of 86. His final role of note was as the voice of Woodhouse on "Archer" so the producers made a little tribute. Still, he did a lot before that. [more inside]
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