July 27, 2012
an elegant loop within a loop of springy steel wire.
The Perfection of the Paper Clip - It was invented in 1899. It hasn’t been improved upon since. [more inside]
A Most Tubular Guy
You might have heard Mike Oldfield playing during the Olympic opening and wondered, "What! Why the heck would Danny Boyle want the Exorcist theme playing at the start of such a grand event!" Oldfield's kept a low profile for years, so you may not remember him as the man who literally launched Virgin Records, one of only three artists to ever knock his #1 record off the charts with another #1 record (the other two being Bob Dylan and the Beatles). But those teenage successes were merely the start of an astonishing career, one full of pop music and prog rock, sci-fi and New Age, film scores and classical orchestrations — not to mention a spot at the start of Kanye West's recent album. His magnum opus, Amarok, is an hour of astonishing sounds and shifting genres which must be heard to be believed. Too overwhelming? Well, there're [more inside]
You must unfold what you have folded.
Text Editors
TextEditors.org: "the largest collection of text editor information on the web" (Because word processors are stupid and inefficient.) [more inside]
The Cretaceous and the Black Belt
Vertical Diamond in the Rough
Abstract artist Ilya Bolotowsky is represented in quite a few museums. But a painting of his, Vertical Diamond, appeared in a more unusual location,, was snapped up for bargain price of $9.99 and was nearly recycled into pet paintings. A label on the back of the painting from the Weatherspoon Art Museum led the museum's registrars to dig into archived files and track some of the painting's history before it found itself in the bargain bin.
Caipirinha Appreciation Society
The Caipirinha Appreciation Society podcast features underexposed Brazilian music of all styles, regions and time periods — from vintage sambas to modern blends. [more inside]
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Get More Out Of Google — in a recent study on student research skills, 3 out of 4 students couldn't perform a "well executed search" on Google. When the success of your term paper hangs in the balance, using Google effectively is crucial, but most students surprisingly just don't know how. Get that and more at Hack College, where you'll get 10 Tips from a Senior to an Incoming Freshman.
..And I Am the arrow,The dew that flies, Suicidal, at one with the drive Into the red Eye, the cauldron of morning.
The Internet Galaxy
Wonders Of The World (Wide Web)
The Google Cultural Institute is the portal for an effort to digitally preserve and present vital historical information using the latest web technologies. Highlights include the World Wonders Project, a geographical tour of UNESCO Heritage sites; Google Art Project (previously), curating 50,000 years of human cultural expression; the Palace of Versailles in 3D and a digital archive of the Dead Sea Scrolls (previously)
Baroque, Meet Folk.
Exploring the intersection of baroque, renaissance, and folk music, the international ensemble L'Arpeggiata's unique repertoire ranges from tarantellas to sophisticated baroque pieces. Led by the Austrian lutenist and harpist Christina Pluhar, l'Arpeggiata focuses on 17th century Italian, French, and Neapolitan repertoire. Here is L'Arpeggiata setting fire to a chiacona with famed Baroque violinist, Veronika Skuplik.
L'Arpeggiata improvising on a tarantella theme in a Versailles courtyard.. If you like a more Baroque flavor, here is the first part of a concert with the incomparable countertenor Philippe Jaroussky in Metz. An impassioned blend of 17th century Italian lyricism with traditional Italian/Corsican music, with the group Barbara Furtuna et l'ensemble. Philippe Jaroussky performs an 17th century Italian song with l'Arpeggiata.
Frank Ocean was not the first
“I am gay, and I’m proud to be called a gay rapper, but it’s not gay rap. That’s not a genre. My goal is always to make songs that a gay dude or a straight dude can listen to and just think, This dude has swag.... The best thing a song can be called is good.” Rapper/producer Le1f, in a short bio article on Fader, which mentions Le1f being swept up with the "more outlandish" (as Fader writer Alex Frank puts it) House of LaDosha and Mykki Blanco. The Guardian has another piece on the rise of gay rappers, but the Amoeba blog was there first in 2008, covering a bit of the New Orleans sissies. More videos and music directly linked inside (and you can assume the music and videos are NSFW). [more inside]
Go Team USA!
urban skiing
Urban skiing, courtesy of Finnish crew Nipwitz. Like skate videos with snow, ambient soundtrack, and a pinch of travelogue. Here is Murmanst Oblast and Sarajevo.
the hard part is performing the dance moves this slowly
Now That's What I Call Drone: Vol. 1 - Drone ambient versions of top 40 pop songs. [via mefi projects] [more inside]
A Letter To The North
"From the beginning of this present phase of the race problem in the South, I have been on record as opposing the forces in my native country which would keep the condition out of which this present evil and trouble has grown. Now I must go on record as opposing the forces outside the South which would use legal or police compulsion to eradicate that evil overnight. I was against compulsory segregation. I am just as strongly against compulsory integration."
"A Letter to the North," William Faulkner, LIFE Magazine, March 5th, 1956.
"A Letter to the North," William Faulkner, LIFE Magazine, March 5th, 1956.
Treasure in the Trash by Nelson Molina
One man's trash is another man's treasure — we've all heard the old adage, but Nelson Molina, a longtime sanitation worker in Manhattan, takes the saying to an entirely new level: a self-curated, full-fledged art gallery — from other people's trash.
The New York Times toured Mr. Molina's gallery recently, getting a rare peek into the collection that contains everything from a Masters of Business Administration diploma (from Harvard!) to a portrait of Winston Churchill. Via
To lump together all individual, original quirky women under that rubric is to erase all difference
The new film Ruby Sparks, written by actress Zoe Kazan, both deals with and argues against the concept of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. [more inside]
The History of Byzantium podcast
The History of Byzantium is a podcast that picks up where The History of Rome left off, detailing happened to the eastern half of the Roman Empire after the last Western Emperor was dethroned. The podcaster, Robin Pierson, does a good job explaining the often, ahem, byzantine politics and thorny theology of Byzantium. So far there are five episodes, taking us from the chaotic years following the decline and fall of the West into the reign of Anastasius (491-518). [iTunes link]
District of Wonders
In need of a regular dose of audio short fiction, whether it's horror, crime, or pulp fantasy? Welcome to the District of Wonders, a collection of podcasts spun off from the award winning StarShipSofa (previously, previosly).
I'm lonely. Is that so odd?
I'm lonely. Is that so odd? "All these methods of communication and yet nobody's communicating with me."
Hubig's Pies of New Orleans
Hubig's Pies, a New Orleans institution for almost 100 years burned down last night in a five-alarm fire. For a city that's already lost so much, this is an especially devastating blow. Hubig's Pies are vital to the spirit of the city. But they've rebuilt before, and hopefully they will again.
Trying to drink wine while Hula-Hooping
Hula-Hoop comedy show Annabel Carberry performs "A Glass of Red". This is a hilarious hula-hoop/dance routine about frustration, hula-hoop talent, keping your skirt down and control of a roudy audience.
Baby Bears Trashed, Film at 11
Couple rescue trapped baby bears with a truck and a ladder. That's all.
The Good Artist
"Among all who read Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories during the ‘40s and ‘50s, there was one common term for the unknown artist who drew the Donald Duck stories. Comics readers and comics fans all over the U.S. independently applied the same term to him. To fans in Ohio, California, Arkansas and Pennsylvania, he was 'The Good Artist.' His name was never signed to his work, and his publishers—until the early ‘60s—never revealed his name to his public, though many of us wrote (unforwarded) fan letters. His name, as we finally learned, is Carl Barks." How two determined fans found out who the Good Duck Artist was.
Dun dah dun daaa dun dah daa....
Vocal artist Nick McKaig provides his own accompaniment in this amazing a capella cover of the Indiana Jones theme. [more inside]
Tales of the city
'The life of the city is infinite and unknowable; all we can do is look and report on what we find.' The London Column presents images of the city over the last sixty years, from the Festival of Britain to the present, a highly eclectic mix but with an emphasis on the everyday, the down-at-heel, the neglected and the unexpected. The compiler, David Secombe (formerly of Esoteric London), admits to 'a certain creeping cynicism towards the looming Olympic bunfight'. Like London itself, the site isn't easy to navigate, but the best way to browse is to go to the gallery page and follow the images that take your fancy.
They all have the same beat, and you can do the same dance to them!
"It is a familiar complaint from those of a certain age: today’s pop music is louder and all the songs sound the same. It turns out they are right. Research shows that modern recordings are louder than those of those of the 1950s and 60s. They are also blander, with less variety in terms of chords and melodies." [more inside]
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