September 15, 2011

I Wanna Be Your Doguu

Dogu are stylized clay figures from the prehistoric period of Japanese history. After Erich von Däniken popularized his 'ancient astronauts' ideas, Dogu became associated with alien visitors and appeared in many videogames.
More information from The Met and Wiki.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 10:30 PM PST - 23 comments

Dr. Conan T. Barbarian, Ph.D

A new lecturer has joined the faculty of Trinity College: Dr. Conan T. Barbarian. Among the courses he will teach are "Vengeance for Beginners" and "Deciphering the Riddle of Steel."
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:51 PM PST - 46 comments

Florence Nightingale's Statistical Diagrams.

Florence Nightingale's Statistical Diagrams. Famous as the mother of modern nursing, she was also an immensely talented applied statistician and visual information artist. These skills were instrumental in persuading 19th century British health authorities to improve hospital hygiene. She originated a graph type now known as “Nightingale's Coxcomb” and used it to dramatic effect. Examples of these graphs were presented in her monograph, “Notes on matters affecting the health, efficiency and hospital administration of the British army” published in 1858. That same year she became the first female fellow of the Statistical Society of London (now Royal Statistical Society). An animation of the coxcombs here. The Nightingale Crimean War coxcombs are considered by some to be one of the three best graphics in history. [more inside]
posted by storybored at 9:46 PM PST - 30 comments

This is why America can't not have a postal system.

Floating Worlds is a new book detailing the never-before-seen correspondence between illustrator Edward Gorey and author Peter F. Neumeyer, who collaborated on three children’s books between September 1968 and October 1969. During that period, they regularly sent each other letters and postcards, many of which Gorey embellished with illustrations. [more inside]
posted by flyingsquirrel at 8:47 PM PST - 8 comments

La parenthèse urbaine

La parenthèse urbaine. A stop-motion journey around an abandoned Paris railway line (SLV)
posted by The Discredited Ape at 7:52 PM PST - 10 comments

You weren't going to eat that butter, were you?

Got a bit of free time this weekend? Have a hankering to make some art? Here's just what the doctor ordered - a (wordless) YouTube video on how to make a real lithograph on your kitchen table, using aluminum foil, butter, and Coke. French artist Émilion has also prepared a short manual on the process in English (pdf).
posted by woodblock100 at 7:35 PM PST - 29 comments

Safe, legal...but impossible to get?

The number of restrictions on abortion enacted on state-level has increased dramatically since the 2010 midterm elections. Remapping Debate presents an interactive graph visualizing the various states' restrictions. [via Feministing]
posted by Bukvoed at 7:22 PM PST - 26 comments

Tom Scholz

Donald Thomas "Tom" Scholz (born 10 March 1947) is an American rock musician, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, inventor, and mechanical engineer, best known as the founder of the hard rock band Boston. He is also the inventor of the Rockman guitar amplifier. [more inside]
posted by Trurl at 7:18 PM PST - 60 comments

The most lifelike dead animals anywhere.

You probably thought this dear was alive. And this coyote was alive. And this pheasant was alive. NOPE. They're dead. They've been taxidermized by Chuck Testa. Ojai valley taxidermy. [more inside]
posted by Ahab at 7:18 PM PST - 44 comments

Butch Sightings

Butch Sightings is a social interaction art project that was inspired by my interest and appreciation for butches & studs (females and/or women who appear masculine, queer, old school, dyke, bulldagger, aggressive [AG] and other terms to be added as I come across them). [more inside]
posted by serazin at 7:00 PM PST - 55 comments

Gone in a Flash

Microsoft announced today that Internet Explorer 10, part of Windows 8 and a massive UI and structural redesign, will come in two flavors: a desktop app that will continue "to fully support all plug-ins and extensions, " and the flagship version intended for touchscreen devices called Metro, which will be as "HTML5-only as possible, and plug-in free". Specifically, Metro won't support Adobe Flash. [more inside]
posted by 2bucksplus at 5:17 PM PST - 157 comments

Dinosaur Feathers in Amber

'Dinofuzz' Found in Canadian Amber. Dinosaur Feathers Found in Amber Reinforce Evolution Theories.
posted by homunculus at 5:15 PM PST - 28 comments

Yet Another Parody Trailer From A Beloved Source

The Pig With The Froggy Tattoo [more inside]
posted by hippybear at 4:37 PM PST - 29 comments

Corn, Lightning, Aurora, Ice and Stars

The ever-lower cost of motion control technology is allowing amateurs to create increasingly spectacular films of timelapse astrophotography: the latest work from Randy Halverson, Eric Hines and Ágúst Ingvarsson. (Full-screen viewing is highly recommended). [more inside]
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 3:52 PM PST - 24 comments

Do I stay or do I go now?

This week Pat Robertson (controversial as always) addressed an uncomfortable question. What are we obligated to do when our spouse becomes completely incapacitated? This is a relatively common situation for the elderly, one person declining faster than the other, but the same questions remain as with a couple in their thirties. Do you live with celibacy, divorce or commit infidelity? Dan Savage’s rules on cheating include a pass for caregiver/spouses in this situation to preserve the marriage. Things can become more difficult when the sexual relationship does not end after a partner becomes infirm.
posted by Blisterlips at 3:05 PM PST - 101 comments

Plus ca change

Drew Gardner is an English photographer with a wide range of interests (Eccentrics, Guinness records) though perhaps his most beguiling collection is of Descendants, portraits of, well, descendents of the rich and powerful in some of their most iconic poses. Bonus video of Helen Pankhurst being set up as her great grandmother Emmeline, with audio of the great suffragette herself
posted by IndigoJones at 2:57 PM PST - 13 comments

Michel Houellebecq is missing.

Novelist and H.P. Lovecraft biographer Michel Houellebecq is missing. Houellebecq was due to give a reading from his new work Le Carte et le Territoire, in the Netherlands on September 12th. [more inside]
posted by Kitty Stardust at 2:23 PM PST - 49 comments

I can't file that, Dave.

An office space right out of sci fi by Kubrick. Apparently, the employees at SuperGroup are all science fiction fans. So they hired a design firm to turn their office into something out of 2001 A Space Odyssey and Star Trek.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 2:21 PM PST - 46 comments

Red: A Simple Flash Game

Red is a simple Flash game. Shoot the descending circles. Some are big and slow, some are small and quick. Shoot the power-ups to collect them. Soon you'll have a shield and some auto-turrets to help you clear the screen. But beware: it gets harder and more frantic as the wind increases. How long can you survive? A fun Missile Command/Asteroids hybrid. (Via reddit)
posted by BitterOldPunk at 11:45 AM PST - 28 comments

George Lucas was ahead of his time after all!

A team of astronomers monitoring data from the Kepler, a craft designed to identify potenially habitable stars, have just announced today that they have located one orbiting a double star system (NYT Link). Early data suggests it's a gaseous planet, but it is also within the range considered "sustainable for life". Still, if there's no life there, Kepler's got over a thousand other exoplanets to check out. Officially, the newly-discovered planet is named "Kepler 16b," but astronomers have already nicknamed it "Tatooine".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:34 AM PST - 59 comments

Creating the Future of Education and Work

In February 2011, every teacher in Providence, Rhode Island was pink slipped. Not all 1,926 of them got fired, of course, but with the district facing a $40 million deficit, anything is possible. The district says it needs flexibility, just in case. Every school district in the United States faces its own version of what’s happening in Providence. However, “IMAGINATION: Creating the Future of Education and Work” is focused not on how we got here but rather how we can move forward from here immediately even as the education system continues to struggle. [more inside]
posted by netbros at 11:03 AM PST - 49 comments

The Atlantic Cities

The Atlantic Cities is a new site launched today by the Atlantic. It's about cities.
posted by parudox at 10:31 AM PST - 23 comments

Hello Cockie! Whose a pretty bird?

The cockatoos are talking, and they're borrowing our words. Wild cockatoos, native to Australia, have been heard to utter English phrases. Escaped or freed pet birds pass phrases to others as they move up the hierarchy of their flock, as explained in an 8 minute news clip (MP3 linked in the page) featuring an interview with Martyn Robinson at the Australian Museum. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 10:21 AM PST - 83 comments

a shitstorm of unicorns, babies, puppy dogs, and couples ice skating

Chat History: a story of love, loss, and IM.
posted by gwint at 10:19 AM PST - 30 comments

The 30 Harshest Musician-on-Musician Insults in History

"..what musicians might lack in verbosity, they more than make up for with vitriol. And UK musicians are far bitchier than US ones (or, perhaps, the UK music press just delights in reporting on insults)." [more inside]
posted by foxhat10 at 10:13 AM PST - 85 comments

We Have Graphs

The FBI is teaching its counterterrorism agents that “main stream” [sic] American Muslims are likely to be terrorist sympathizers; that the Prophet Mohammed was a “cult leader”; and that the Islamic practice of giving charity is no more than a “funding mechanism for combat.”
While the FBI's monitoring of Muslims and infiltration of mosques in the United States is nothing new, this is the first time I've seen any of documents they use to train some of their agents. [more inside]
posted by gman at 9:11 AM PST - 81 comments

The fantasy of being the Roger Ailes of veracity is not collective — it's his and his alone.

Jon Stewart and the Burden of History.
posted by valkyryn at 8:27 AM PST - 126 comments

TP FPP

Public Service Announcement: Over is Right. Under is Wrong.
posted by schmod at 7:35 AM PST - 99 comments

"I didn't call you for a month because [big shrug] ... New York."

Hot on the heels of Amusingly Horrible Things Moms Have Said: The Bracket , it's Amusingly Horrible Things Significant Others Have Said: The Bracket
posted by griphus at 7:00 AM PST - 81 comments

Neuroscience: removing free will since 6th century BC

Does the fact that our brain knows our intentions before we do negate free will? [SLNature]
posted by FrereKhan at 6:53 AM PST - 173 comments

Grauniad USA

A new US-oriented front page for the Guardian online, reflecting a 'new digital operation based in New York'. US visitors to the .co.uk front page will be redirected to .com, but you can choose which version to see at top left. [more inside]
posted by Segundus at 5:58 AM PST - 36 comments

Alligator Boots

Alligator Boots Behind the scenes of the never-aired 'hip-hop puppet show.' From Kanye West and the producers of Crank Yankers. (Via the AV Club.)
posted by box at 4:34 AM PST - 14 comments

We are the Code's Lunch

Marc Andreessen thinks Software is Eating the World
posted by vanar sena at 4:32 AM PST - 86 comments

He admitted family and friends had been fooled along with a nation of television watchers

Norwegian 'wild man' faked famed blog while living in a Swedish hotel. Kristoffer Clausen is trying to survive for one year in the Norwegian wilderness. His only food will be what he can hunt, fish or collect from the nature. This is a video from his first sucesful hunt. (warning: successful hunt.) Here is his blog. [more inside]
posted by three blind mice at 3:51 AM PST - 33 comments

Thinking Machine

Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, Ph.D., LL.D., F.R.S., M.D., M.D.S.* is a fictional character in a series of detective short stories and two novels by Jacques Futrelle. Van Dusen was also known as "The Thinking Machine" for his application of logic to any and all situations. Most of Futrelle's stories are online. Futrelle himself went down with the Titanic.
posted by twoleftfeet at 2:50 AM PST - 20 comments

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