July 27, 2010
The Eight Finest Seconds in Europop History
Fire The Bastards
Fire the Bastards... examined the initial 55 reviews that appeared in response to the publication of William Gaddis's masterpiece The Recognitions. [more inside]
VOTE FOR ME AND IF I WIN I WILL IMMUNE YOU FROM ALL STATE CRIMES FOR THE REST OF YOU LIFE!
I'm Basil Marceaux dot com, the Republican candidate for Governor. I like to recall all permit, and registration, for guns. Everyone carry guns. If you kill someone though, you get murdered, you go to jail, and uh, I'd like to put... plant grass or vegetation across in the state on any vacant lot, and sell it for gas, so we can use it for our expenses. Also, I'm gonna remove all gold fringe flags from the state and fly the real flag with three stripes. I also wanna stop traffic stops; set it up like the Supreme Court ruled in Knowles v Iowa: you can't find innocent car, you can't look. I want you all to vote for Basil Marceaux. I want to say the Pledge of Allegiance to a Republic in the morning when you come out... and we all pray to God and say Amen and everyone... have a nice day. And I'll see you all at the polls. Thank you... have a nice day. [more inside]
An affordable cool.
Keeping Cool at Lower Cost. A fine summary of the latest innovations in the technology of air conditioning. e.g. "If [fan] blades were designed for better aerodynamic efficiency, instead of being stamped from sheet metal as cheaply as possible, the electricity consumption of many cooling systems could be cut by a third.". Includes a look at how to cool a building using hot water in a device called a thermal cooler.
Captured: America in Color from 1939-1943
These images, by photographers of the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information, are some of the only color photographs taken of the effects of the Depression on America’s rural and small town populations.
Picture Perfect Purchase
A collection of glass-plate negatives purchased for $45 at a garage sale a decade ago has been authenticated as lost early work of Ansel Adams, potentially worth $200 million.
Mediaeval Arabic Manuscripts in Private Libraries in Mauritania
Ancient books inherited in private family libraries could change our knowledge of late mediaeval arab culture, but most are hidden in private libraries. Gripping article about the unknown treasures that may be lurking in Mauritanian family libraries, considering the little that has already been found, resistance to cataloguing and problematic future if the region continues to be destabilised. How the manuscripts are famous in the muslim world.More on the open libraries and archive efforts. Some years back on bbc i saw an explorer track down some ancient ethiopian christian manuscripts to an ethiopian monastery, only to be shown some burnt remains from a fire a few months back. What treasures must lurk in this continent, and with digital cameras, how easy to document them without damage or intruding on their owners! Being christians, there are pictures and some history.
Little Drifters
Lenny makes tiny boats from natural flotsam and jetsam. His creations inspired a community art project called Little Drifters. Participants in Vancouver set their boats adrift on Trout Lake this past Saturday. (via) [more inside]
“All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.”
Math Is No Match for Locust Swarms. "Mathematicians have now figured out the dynamics that drive locusts across the landscape, devastating everything underfoot — and the math says people will never be able to predict where the little buggers will go.
The new analysis, reported in an upcoming issue of Physical Review E, suggests that random factors accumulate and influence how swarming locusts collectively decide to change course.
“These swarms are driven by intrinsic dynamics,” says team member Iain Couzin, a biologist at Princeton University. “In all practical terms, predicting when a swarm is going to change direction is going to be impossible." More information here.
Ok, you are. But not you.
You think people know what you are thinking. You think that you are rational. You even think that life is fair. Actually, you are not that smart.
Former Polygamist Leader Gets New Trial
Warren Jeffs, former President and Prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, will get a new trial, after the Utah Supreme Court overturned today his conviction on two counts of rape as an accomplice. [more inside]
I am the king of the divan!
Belgian proto-punk Plastic Bertrand fires back over allegations that he did not actually sing on his 1977 hit single Ça plane pour moi.
Oil Spill in Celery City
Sometime Sunday evening, an oil pipeline burst over Talmadge Creek near Marshall, Michigan, spilling an estimated 840,000 gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River. [more inside]
There's always a worse ant story.
Invasion: You think it'd be impossible to share your house with your wife, your daughter, and fifty million or so Argentine ants (previously on MetaFilter). And you would be correct [Via].
Your receipt and (sex) change.
Paper receipts - including receipts from McDonald’s, CVS, Whole Foods, Wal-Mart, and the U.S. Postal Service - are a major source of endocrine-disrupting bisphenol-A. The total amount of BPA on tested receipts was 250 to 1,000 times greater than other, more widely discussed sources of BPA exposure, including canned foods, baby bottles and infant formula. BPA transfers readily from receipts to skin and can penetrate the skin to such a depth that it cannot be washed off.
Daily Paper for Children Defies the Craze for Digital
Kids in Paris are reading Mon Quotidien, with a devotion that surprises people in this age of everything digital. [more inside]
For Whom the Bell Tolls...
With a population of 36,664 and 2.5 square miles in size Bell, California is number thirteen in the twenty-five smallest cities in the United States. Median annual household income is about $36,000; per capita income for the city is $9,905 with 24.1% of the population below the poverty line. Residents of this tiny city "have a higher property tax rate than homeowners in Beverly Hills." A recent L.A. Times investigative report has revealed that exorbitant salaries are being paid to city officials. Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo collects an annual salary of $787,637 with 12% increases scheduled every July. Assistant City Manager, Angela Spaccia collects $376,288 with a similar 12% annual pay increase. Police Chief Randy Adams who runs a 46-person department earns $457,000, which is 33% higher than that of his Los Angeles counterpart. And ... part-time city council members collect almost $100,000 a year each.* The District Attorney is investigating why the part-time council members take-home $8,083 per month while a $400 monthly stipend was expected. [more inside]
Reporting the Internet: American Blogs 1999-2010
Reader's Almanac is a new blog devoted to the authors published in the Library of America. Posts so far have featured film shot by Zora Neale Hurston, audio recordings of William Faulkner, and Walt Whitman's astronomical inspiration.
ROCK LOBSTER
Life in a dying village.
Kich-Gorodok. Olya Ivanova went to a locality in the Vologda Region of Russia in order to "photograph the inhabitants of dying Russian villages." The results are striking and occasionally reminiscent of Depression-era photographs of America. [more inside]
Parental Craparoo
Cops get privacy on a public street?
The ACLU of Maryland is defending Anthony Graber for violating Maryland wiretap laws because he recorded a video of a plain clothes officer drawing a gun during a traffic stop without first identifying himself as a police officer. The Maryland State Police raided Graber's parents' after learning of the video on YouTube. Another person has since been similarly charged under the same statute. [more inside]
Karakuri ningyō
Karakuri ningyō (からくり人形?) are mechanized puppets or automata from Japan from the 17th century to 19th century. There are many beautiful examples: Arrow shooting, serving tea, the geisha, acrobatics, making magic. [more inside]
Probe Into Shock Tabloid Rumpus
Tabloid Watch and Daily Mail Watch (previously) keep a beady eye on what Nick Davies' Flat Earth News calls "churnalism" in British media. So, you can find out if PC Officials Tone Down Punch and Judy, if Councils Install Muslim-only Toilets or if Muslim Bus Drivers Turf Guide Dogs off the Bus.
Internet Forever OMG
Spin Magazine 25th anniversary shows
Spin's 25th Annivesary: 5 nights of live music. I am a day late with this as the Smashing Pumpkins played last night, but you can see the rest of the free live streaming concerts this week, in order, one per night, The Flaming Lips, The Black Keys, The National, and Spiritualized. [more inside]
The War In Mexico
No one asks or answers this question: How does such an escalation benefit the drug smuggling business which has not been diminished at all during the past three years of hyper-violence in Mexico? Each year, the death toll rises, each year there is no evidence of any disruption in the delivery of drugs to American consumers, each year the United States asserts its renewed support for this war. And each year, the basic claims about the war go unquestioned. Who Is Behind the 25,000 Deaths In Mexico?
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