August 27, 2011
Hurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene is the worst hurricane to hit the northeastern US in 50 years. President Obama has signed Emergency Declarations for North Carolina, New York, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Maryland. At least 8 people are known dead, and 2 million are without power. [more inside]
The plane the plane
This month Penguin launches a redesigned series of six classic titles, called Penguin Ink. But the ‘ink’ is not printers ink, but that of a more visceral kind.
You are now safe, citizen, the Ninja is on the job.
A self-styled "ninja" is patrolling the streets of Yeovil in a bid to make the town a safer place. 'Martial arts expert and father-of-two Ken Andre, 33, also known as Shadow, has been monitoring the streets of the Somerset town for the past six years.'
I have a burning question, man.
Before it was a website, Ask A Mathematician / Ask A Physicist was two guys sitting in the desert at Burning Man, presuming to answer (almost) any question that happened to occur to whomever happened to appear at our stand. [more inside]
Kerr's cur
"But there is a broader disquiet in the community which is surely correlated with the current impasse in our politics and media. It is, I believe, a real sense of a loss of legitimacy, a loss of belief in the validity of the institutions that control our nation and over which ordinary citizens have little influence and zero control."A naughty boy's weakening grip on power could spark a constitutional crisis in Australian federal politics. Here's a good time line. There are many Australian's who can remember the scandalous constitutional crisis of 1975 when Queen Elizabeth's representative sacked the Prime Minister – which unbelievably included a comedian interviewing all the major players on the steps of Parliament House as the drama unfolded. It later turned out that the CIA masterminded the whole thing.
Doraemon with English subtitles
Doraemon - the Hurricane Child (Japanese with English subtitles) Perhaps Japan's greatest pop icon, Doraemon is an earless robotic cat who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a schoolboy, Nobita. Originally a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio (a nom de plume of a manga writing duo formed by two Japanese manga artists) Doraemon would become probably the most popular anime series in Japanese history. A Daily Motion user has uploaded dozens of older Doraemon episodes, many with English subtitles).
Stop motion inside stop motion
500 people holding more than 1,500 (!!!) developed pictures all around Israel, creating a smooth music video within their hands. (Best viewed not on full screen). Stop motion inside stop motion.
The perils of common Twitter usernames
When @Irene Met Hurricane Irene A mild mannered 28 year old social media strategist in New York has a Twitter handle that's being mistaken for Hurricane Irene's.
Inside Iranian Cinema
I want to make my dad proud and not feel like he gave his life away for no reason
In 2005, Manuel Bravo, 35, walked to a stairwell of the Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Center carrying a bedsheet. He hung himself. The note he left indicated that he had done it so that his son, Antonio Bravo, 13, could remain in the United Kingdom to be educated. The pair were to be deported back to war-torn Angola the next day, where they alleged that they had been victims of abuse by the ruling party. Now, Antonio is 19, training to be an electrician, speaking in Yorkshire dialect, no longer speaks his native Porteguese, and will be deported back to Angola if his humanitarian visa is not extended. "My family, they're English," he said, referring to the Beaumonts (his adoptive family). "Britain, that's my culture." [more inside]
Baby swimming
Sure a baby has a swimming reflex but that doesn't mean watching them swim isn't absolutely terrifying.
Full screen weather map
Want to view weather fullscreen? Check out Weather Underground's Full Screen Weather Map.
found via /r/boston [more inside]
[The opening page] took the most time of all, I think about seventy or eighty hours.
TolkienLibrary.com interviews Benjamin Harff about his hand-illuminated edition of The Silmarillion. Complete with click-to-see-larger pictures of his work.
Old S.F.
Just an Ordinary Day of Death
About one person is murdered every 35 minutes in Mexico. Statistics are bland, so the WSJ decided to track down the 25 murders on July 29th, an ordinary day of death.
Cats and Ladders!
Metafilter has previously seen Cat Ladders, a picture gallery and tribute to cat ladders around the world - approximately 967 of them, in 22 countries including Turkey, the Netherlands, Brazil, and various United States.
But have we watched them?
(via.) [more inside]
Wonderputt
For those kept off the links -- particularly those with windmills -- by Irene, a flash alternative (via Kottke). Needs ice cream, but otherwise oojah-cum-spiff (via Wodehouse).
DAMN THAT DOT
name that game!
How many video games can you identify by their sound effects? How many can you guess from their music? (part 2, part 3) Can you name video game consoles by their start-up sounds?
"I find it quite inspiring to be made to dance"
Need something to distract you from the howling winds outside? Here's two hours of gorgeous house, techno, disco and garage from Mercury-winner Jamie XX from the XX. (The actual mix starts at around 3:30)
Download link here.
Orange safety vests may be worn by men and young girls, they bring too much attention to ladies.
Orthodox Jewish newssite Voz Iz Neias provides some Rulings Regarding Shabbos Observance And The Impending Hurricane. FrumSatire provides a counterpoint.
Tell my wife I love her very much
Illustrator Andrew Kolb asks Have you ever listened to a song and your mind's eye is immediately filled with visuals?
David Bowie's Space oddity as a childrens book. [more inside]
"Researchers strongly advise that they shouldn't be eaten."
Bioluminescent Mushrooms. Glow-in-the-dark mushroom [Neonothopanus gardneri.] rediscovered after 170 years: Spotted once in 1840 and then never seen again, one of the world's most bioluminescent mushrooms has been rediscovered deep in the Brazilian wilderness.
Cosmopolitan Corner
A look inside HMV's flagship store on London's Oxford Street. 1960s. 1970s. After a troubled year for the record chain, here's how the same building looks today.
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