August 3, 2013
...the firm resolve of a determined soul.
Deijī, deijī wa, okonau, watashi ni anata no kotae o ataeru
World's first talking robot sent into space Japan has launched the world's first talking robot into space to serve as companion to astronaut Kochi Wakata who will begin his mission in November. [more inside]
A Blanket Policy on Open Access
A new open-access policy adopted by the University of California, effective November 1, provides a license to the university system which allows it to publish articles in eScholarship, the system's free online paper repository. Criticism hinges on the policy's seemingly flexible opt-out provision. Ars Technica. Chronicle of Higher Education.
Songs For A Friend
Around 1970, in the back of Nielsen's Music Store, 17-year-old Linda Bruner recorded one original and five cover songs to a portable half-track borrowed from ALS Studios while accompanied by Jim Krein: Song Linda Wrote Herself, Wichita Lineman, Thorn Tree In The Garden, Georgia On My Mind, Don't Let Me Down, and Rainy Night in Georgia. [more inside]
No, what does exacerbate mean?
Interactive Shaun of the Dead screenplay. Shaun of the Dead is the first in the Edgar Wright, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg trilogy Three Flavours: Cornetto. The final instalment, The World's End was released in the UK on 19 July 2013 and comes out in the US on 23 August.
It's Behind You
Pantomime (or panto) is a British theater tradition usually performed at Christmas which dates from the eighteenth century. Along with new stories, there are several traditional ones. Whatever the story, there are several stock characters: a principal boy (usually a girl), a principal girl (actually a girl), and an older woman, usually a widow (played by a man). The character of the pantomime dame is one of the best-beloved traditions of British pantomime. All of that is introduction to this fascinating documentary - The History of the Pantomime Dame. [more inside]
Female Experience Simulator
Your resistance is most entertaining, meatbag.
Carpentry for Boys
CARPENTRY FOR BOYS WITH 250 ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS
By J. S. ZERBE, M.E.
Copyright, 1914.
Trying to understand Glenn Gould
Of the many available documentaries about the pianist Glenn Gould, "Genius within - The inner life of Glenn Gould" is one of the more thoughtful ones. [more inside]
Rapper delight
The 2013 Dancing England Rapper Tournament was held last March in Burton upon Trent, but rather than featuring quick flows and clever rhymes, were all about five people keeping hold of flexible swords while doing intricate dance figures, often in a pub. [more inside]
Aki Inomata's 3D printed tiny cities on shells for hermit crabs
"I overheard that the land of the former French Embassy in Japan had been French until October 2009; that it was to become Japanese for the following fifty years, and then be returned to France. This concept made me think of hermit crabs, which change their shells.... The hermit crabs wearing the shelters I built for them, which imitate the architecture of various countries, appeared to be crossing various national borders. Though the body of the hermit crab is the same, according to the shell it is wearing, its appearance changes completely. It’s as if they were asking, “Who are you?” " More about Aki Inomata's 3D printed shells on The Guardian's Architecture and Design Blog
Sweden is running out of garbage
Sweden is putting only four percent of its household waste in landfills (the US puts about half of its garbage in landfills) and much of the remainder is used for heating through an innovative waste-to-energy program.
The problem? They are now running out of garbage, and have to import from neighbouring countries.
Are mermaids the new vampires?
Articles at ABC, Huffpost, Vulture, The Atlantic Wire, The New Inquiry all claim that mermaids are the next big thing in popular culture. Among other signs, some authors point to the fact that Netflix's has acquired first-run rights to show the Australian show Mako Mermaids in several markets. At Slate, however, Forrest Wickman disagrees stating, "I can give you one simple reason that mermaids aren’t the new vampires, and never will be: genitals. If you want people to fantasize about you, or about being you, genitals are pretty much a requirement."
Funny, he doesn't look like a Cardinal.
A famously chatty parakeet named Disco recently added another human trick to his repertoire: Quoting Monty Python. [more inside]
Flash Bang Wallop
Pictures from the past - From definitive moments in history to milestones in photography: outstanding images selected by the picture editors of the Guardian and Observer (some nsfw) [more inside]
"What we’re doing is preventing them from being able to get signatures"
Payday lenders target the working poor with quick loans at exorbitant interest rates. When a ballot initiative drive in Missouri threatened this lucrative business, the payday lenders fought back with everything they had--their money. A ProPublica report, published yesterday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch documents the web of secret donations and intimidation that smothered the reform movement.
AAAH-HAHAHA HEYYY-AAAYY-OH GOOBA GOOBA GOOBA GOOOBA AAAH-HAHAHA
Let's just kick back and have a hella lotta fun with some good old fashioned New Orleans R&B and proto-rock from Huey 'Piano' Smith, what'cha say? His Don't You Just Know It can't help but put a smile on your face, and he'll give you that Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu so strong you'll hardly notice your High Blood Pressure, or that your baby is Psycho!
"He has also forced our second coming out, this time as gay parents."
Yotam Ottolenghi, chef, author, and food columnist for The Guardian, talks about coming out as a gay father.
Everquest Next
At several moments during the presentation, I wrote in block capitals, circling and underlining. This is the headline feature. This is something nobody has tried or managed to do before. Then, toward the mid-point, while I was still processing what had already come, lead designer Dave Georgeson demonstrated a feature that changed everything.
Everquest Next’s world is made of voxels and everything in it is destructible.
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