September 15, 2012

Landmines in the fine print: interest rate swaps in Italy

Interest rate swap derivatives have not only turned sour for local governments and agencies across the United States. London-based banks are accused of massive mis-selling to dozens of Italian cities and regions. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 8:32 PM PST - 60 comments

Talking Heads: Live in Rome 1980 full concert

Talking Heads, Live in Rome, 1980 The Talking Heads concert film you haven't seen: the show that would eventually be recorded in the (awesome) concert film Stop Making Sense 3 years later, recorded while it was still a bit weird and uncertain. And therefore, wonderful. [more inside]
posted by BoringPostcards at 6:57 PM PST - 67 comments

the ants go marching one by one

A frog catching bugs on a touchscreen. I won't spoil the ending for you.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:53 PM PST - 49 comments

Mid-Nineteenth Century Hotel & Restaurant Menus

Hotel and restaurant menus of the 1850s and 1860s. Via.
posted by Rykey at 5:52 PM PST - 60 comments

Overcoming student debt by working in war zone

"If I had felt any unease that I was potentially exploiting a horrible situation for personal gain, it was short-lived. The next four months were the most stressful, difficult, and dangerous of my life until that point, and probably—hopefully—ever. ... On December 31, 2004, I achieved a couple of significant milestones: I made my final student loan payment, and I had a positive net worth for the first time in my adult life. Mortars, rockets, and car bombs aside, that was pretty satisfying."
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:10 PM PST - 34 comments

KING OF ALL THE BOXES

Rufus the Cat had to get some painful ear drops and was feeling pretty stroppy about it so his owner decided to build him a magnificent cardboard box tower to lift his spirits.
posted by The Whelk at 3:56 PM PST - 77 comments

Pet Shop Boys B-Sides

In 1984, British synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys released the first version of West End Girls (which after being rerecorded would arguably become one of the first #1 rap records). As a b-side, they included Pet Shop Boys, an eponymous track largely created by their (then) producer Bobby Orlando. This was only the first in a career-long focus on b-side tracks that continues to this day... [more inside]
posted by hippybear at 1:52 PM PST - 60 comments

The PirateBay is 9 today

Amid all the problems, the PirateBay celebrated its 9th birthday today with an ode to yaargh!
posted by ding-dong at 10:55 AM PST - 28 comments

The Spirit Catches Lia Lee, RIP

First published in 1997, Anne Fadiman's book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, a chronicle of a Hmong refugee family's interactions with the American medical system in the face of a child's devastating illness, has become highly recommended, if not required, reading for many medical students and health care professionals, over the past 15 years quietly changing how young doctors approach patients from different cultures. On August 31, with little publicity, Lia Lee, the young girl who inspired the book, after living most of her life in a persistent vegetative state, quietly died [NYT obit].
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 8:52 AM PST - 79 comments

"!@#$% Happens"

Children's author Judy Blume writes about her struggle with breast cancer: "As I've told my friends who've also been treated for breast cancer, I've joined The Club - not one I wanted to join or even thought I would ever be joining - but here I am."
posted by Fizz at 8:37 AM PST - 16 comments

Uncle Sam's shopping cart rolls into India

After years of severe setbacks, plans gone awry, limited backdoor entry, millions of dollars spent lobbying and a truculent audience, Wal-Mart finally gets a green signal for the Indian market. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced lifting of restrictions on foreign investment in India's retail and aviation sectors as an economic boost. Many are sceptical. The truculence remains. What happens next?
posted by infini at 8:07 AM PST - 25 comments

"Criminal issues from herbal incense? We can help."

The Fake-Pot Industry Is Coming Down From a Three-Year High - a fascinating read on the multibillion-dollar "herbal incense" business and its latest legal woes after the introduction of more severe legislation on synthetic cannabinoids. Featuring the rise and downfall of Mr. Nice Guy, rogue chemists, warehouses exploding, DEA undercover operations and "the Saul Goodmans of synthetic cannabinoids" - two attorneys specialized in providing "Cutting Edge In Incense Testing and Compliance" services to manufacturers to help them "stay one step ahead of the law". (via longform) [more inside]
posted by bitteschoen at 7:27 AM PST - 37 comments

"If you’re not getting it wrong really a lot when you’re creating imaginary futures, then you’re just not doing it enough."

Wired talks to William Gibson: on Why Sci-Fi Writers Are (Thankfully) Almost Always Wrong, on Twitter, Antique Watches and Internet Obsessions, and and on Punk Rock, Internet Memes, and ‘Gangnam Style’.
posted by Artw at 7:02 AM PST - 55 comments

'Certain places, for unknowable reasons, become socio-cultural petri dishes'

Suddenly That Summer: It was billed as “the Summer of Love,” a blast of glamour, ecstasy, and Utopianism that drew some 75,000 young people to the San Francisco streets in 1967. Who were the true movers behind the Haight-Ashbury happening that turned America on to a whole new age? [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 3:30 AM PST - 48 comments

Oh what fun we had, but at the time if seemed so bad

Quiet at the back: classrooms around the world – in pictures From the Russian pupils in Prada to the Nigerian children who sit four to a desk, photographer Julian Germain takes us on a journey around the world's classrooms
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:53 AM PST - 47 comments

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