August 25, 2011

Echoes Reality

Max Cooper makes beautiful and twitchy minimal techno with mathematical videos. [more inside]
posted by empath at 11:43 PM PST - 19 comments

More Talking About Buildings And Music

David Byrne: How architecture helped music evolve. A TED talk.
posted by Joey Michaels at 9:37 PM PST - 25 comments

All those empty buildings in Detroit

Is this the answer? We've had our share of photo montages of Detroit... What to do with those empty houses? Mitch might have a viable idea here.
posted by tomswift at 8:01 PM PST - 51 comments

Blues classic from a living classic

John Hammond Jr. has been keeping classic blues alive through nearly 5 decades of expressive performing and recording. He was named to the Blues Hall of Fame this year - here's a sampling why: Walking Blues performed in Paris, 2004; Come Into My Kitchen performed at at Fur Peace Ranch, 2009. [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive at 7:29 PM PST - 11 comments

"The Civil War isn't tragic"

The Atlantic's Ta-nehisi Coates sparks months of debate with his contention that The Civil War Isn't Tragic. "The Civil War is our revolution. It ended slavery, and birthed both modern America, and modern black America. That can never be tragic to me." [more inside]
posted by Danila at 4:07 PM PST - 116 comments

No more "Shikata ga nai."

Nearly seventy years ago, 10,000 Japanse Americans were forcibly relocated to Heart Mountain, just outside Cody, Wyoming; they were part of a larger group of more than 120,000 men, women, and children incarcerated in War Relocation Authority (WRA) camps due solely to their ancestry. This past weekend, about 100 survivors of the camp -- led by the delightfully named Bacon Sakatini -- returned to this remote corner of Wyoming to celebrate the grand opening of the Heart Mountain Interpretive Learning Center. Of the ten WRA camps, Heart Mountain had the only organized resisters movement, which was started in 1944 by seven men who formed the Fair Play Committee to protest the drafting of Japanse American men while their families remained imprisoned -- leading to the largest draft resistance trial in U.S. history.
posted by scody at 3:53 PM PST - 43 comments

Take my password, please!

Nerds Triumphant? The one-liner judged as the Funniest Joke of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is about computer passwords (also SPOILER a classic Disney cartoon). Runners-up and the joke judged WORST also listed. Warning: jokes contain drugs, sex, food (including broccoli and McDonald's), voicemail, crime, time, The Cure and a British chain store you Americans may never have heard of. [more inside]
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:19 PM PST - 146 comments

What is up with Noises? (SLYT)

What is up with Noises? A fascinating explanation of why we hear sounds and music the way we do. It's a long video, but it's worth it!
posted by fzx101 at 2:51 PM PST - 37 comments

Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters

From the days of Thor Aackerlund and his historic victory at the 1990 Nintendo World Championships, right up to the present and Harry Hong's perfect "Max-Out" score this documentary expertly chronicles over two decades of Tetris Mastery. The film is Ecstasy of Order by director, and holder of 18th highest score on the game, Adam Cornelius. Folks in Texas can see its World Premiere screening at the Austin Film Festival in October.
posted by klausman at 1:25 PM PST - 16 comments

Problem, Customer?

The Better Business Bureau (and some familiar faces) present the Top Online Scams of 2010.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:25 PM PST - 38 comments

On The Path: Ipad Music Lessons

Jeff Bridges digs this app, ..man. What might be a whole new way of studying music in general. “What I like about the app,” says Jackson Browne, “is that it is very much like a book in that you can open it whenever you want, it will keep your place, and you can come back to it whenever you want. It kind of defeats the constraints of time and space, all the barriers of getting together with a teacher at a particular time.” Reviews are varied, and the lessons aren't cheap.
posted by thisisdrew at 1:20 PM PST - 29 comments

Thanks, Mom.

Birthweight link to lifespan and lifelong health. 'Why does one person die younger and another survive to old age? Lifestyle and genetic factors play a role, but' 'a better predictor of future health is our birthweight and what it tells us about our development in the womb.' 'The birthweight of a baby reflects how well it was nourished in the womb and the risk of chronic disease in later life. It is better to be 7lb (3.2kg) at birth than 6lb - better to be 8lb than 7lb. This implies that variations in the supply of food from normal healthy mothers to normal healthy babies have huge implications for the long-term health of the baby.' [more inside]
posted by VikingSword at 1:05 PM PST - 55 comments

"There's an uprising starting - we should get out of here real fast!"

Escape from City 17, Part 2 is a live action fan film set in the Half-Life universe (previously, related?).
posted by OverlappingElvis at 12:35 PM PST - 20 comments

Island Paradise

"My dear guests, I am Mr. Thiel, your host. Welcome to Libertarian Island."
posted by griphus at 12:08 PM PST - 246 comments

Pomobama

Categories as fundamental as fact and fiction, news and entertainment, gender and sexuality, have eroded away. In literature and architecture, in cuisine, in music, in fashion and furnishings, everywhere, everything—it’s fusion and mix. Barack Obama emerged as a literal embodiment of this age. To educated people, especially younger people with generally progressive views, other candidates suddenly looked parochial by comparison—or simply outdated. In his ethnicity and biography and in his personality and politics, Obama, the conciliator, was above all a combiner. Because he was from virtually everywhere—Kenya, Indonesia, Honolulu, Harvard, Chicago’s South Side—he was also from nowhere. The pastiche of his persona made him “his own man” in a new sense of the term.
On the Politics of Pastiche and Depthless Intensities: The Case of Barack Obama
posted by Rumple at 11:52 AM PST - 22 comments

"If it hadn't been for you guys, I might not be here..."

"If it hadn't been for you guys, I might not be here..." On November 14, 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges walked by a mob surrounding William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, becoming the first African-American child to integrate a white elementary school in the South. [more inside]
posted by longdaysjourney at 11:46 AM PST - 16 comments

Ultimately, there is no separating Vick from his circumstances: his race, parents, economics and opportunities.

What if Michael Vick were white? The cover of the September issue of ESPN The Magazine features an image of the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, but another picture might end up getting more attention. [more inside]
posted by furiousxgeorge at 11:32 AM PST - 172 comments

Happy Birthday Linux!

"What would you like to see most in minix?" 20 years ago today, Linus Torvalds told the world about a small pet project he was working on. (Full thread.) An unnamed OS based in part on Minix, it would later become Linux, the operating system behind a huge swath of modern computing. Interestingly, the creator of Minix, Andrew Tanenbaum, was not very impressed by Linux, and publicly debated Linus and others in a very long Usenet argument. (Google Groups version.)
posted by kmz at 11:09 AM PST - 60 comments

CLOUDed Judgment Revisited

The experiment behind a previous post has been written up in Scientific American. The authors conclusion "At the moment, it actually says nothing about a possible cosmic-ray effect on clouds and climate, but it's a very important first step..." [more inside]
posted by TheProudAardvark at 10:34 AM PST - 1 comments

You are not so smart...

The Misconception: You celebrate diversity and respect others’ points of view. The Truth: You are driven to create and form groups and then believe others are wrong just because they are others. Related. Previously.
posted by dave78981 at 10:17 AM PST - 52 comments

Legend of the Golden Tweezers

Their universe-wide reboot only weeks away, DC Comics has released 52 new logos for their books; they've been met with some praise and much griping. But what makes a good superhero logo? Maybe the design history of Daredevil (parts 2, 3, 4), The Hulk (parts 2, 3, 4), The Atom, (parts 2, 3), World's Finest (parts 2, 3, 4, 5, ), The Legion of Superheroes (parts 2, 3, 4, 5, Batman (previously) or Superman can shed a clue. [more inside]
posted by Toby Dammit X at 9:58 AM PST - 30 comments

Kaljakellunta

Hundreds of people in the Vantaa river drinking beer on cheap rubber boats. It's kaljakellunta (youtube), 'the beer floating'
posted by Anything at 9:37 AM PST - 26 comments

The TV episodes are OK, but they really shine in Lazer City 3144

The Tiny Fuppets in: Internet Follies, A Bad Cough, Party Pals,and A Modest Wish. Meet the Tiny Fuppets! [more inside]
posted by codacorolla at 9:16 AM PST - 8 comments

Weird things happening at Weird Tales.

The influential American fiction magazine, Weird Tales has a new editor, and a new direction. It's hard to overstate the importance the magazine has played as a platform for genre fiction. Founded in 1923, it has featured authors such as H. P. Lovecraft, C. M. Eddy, Jr., Clark Ashton Smith, and Seabury Quinn. [more inside]
posted by Stagger Lee at 8:08 AM PST - 40 comments

The New Gypsies

Modern-day, horse-drawn travellers. And Kate Moss (both links to photo sets that get sort of NSFW). By some fellow whose resume kind of makes it sound like I ought to have heard of him. [more inside]
posted by willpie at 7:21 AM PST - 66 comments

No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.

After 14 years, Rob Malda is walking away from Slashdot.
posted by schmod at 6:38 AM PST - 141 comments

A place apart, in peril

Tangier Island, Virginia, is mere inches above the Bay around it. There isn't much dry land. Kids play on the airstrip. The people have a unique accent (which is becoming hard to find). With the land mostly marsh, folks bury their dead in their yards. It's a watery place, but charming. If Irene delivers even a glancing backhand blow, the entire island will be underwater. [more inside]
posted by kinnakeet at 5:49 AM PST - 51 comments

Someone Thinks of the Children

"There's just so much science, nature, music, arts, technology, storytelling and assorted good stuff out there that my kids (and maybe your kids) haven't seen. It's most likely not stuff that was made for them... But we don't underestimate kids around here." [Via.]
posted by chavenet at 4:43 AM PST - 10 comments

Dengue Control

Australian scientists have successfully trialled a method for controlling Dengue fever that involves infecting populations of mosquitoes with an endosymbiotic bacteria. The bacteria kills non-infected mosquitoes that mate with an infected individual, is passed to offspring of an infected individual, and confers resistance to Dengue upon infected individuals. [more inside]
posted by Ahab at 4:15 AM PST - 56 comments

Fur Will Fly

Buried in the last paragraph of an article about the new .xxx porn domain is PETA's intention to "launch peta.xxx as a pornography site that draws attention to the plight of animals". Reactions have not been positive.
posted by vidur at 12:19 AM PST - 110 comments

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