September 20, 2012
" the difficulty of disentangling culture and biology."
Elektrobiblioteka / Electric Book
Elektrobiblioteka / Electric Book (video). Inspired by El Lissitzky's manifesto published in 1923. Background. Full-text (Polish).
It is impossible to imagine a finer association...
Lord Byron's copy of Frankenstein, inscribed by author Mary Shelley, is being offered for sale at Peter Harrington Books in London, where it will be on display from 26 Sept to 3 Oct. If you are interested in buying they are accepting offers in excess of 350,000. GBP ( about $568,000). [more inside]
Ioctl
The TTY Demystified. History of the TTY and interrelationships of modern TTYs,Jobs and SIGs.
That'll do pig. That'll do.
The Cabbage that is King
Brassica oleracae longata - the curious case of the seven-foot tall cabbage.
Medicine Wheel / Wagon Wheel
In 2005, Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks produced a 6 episode miniseries that spanned the period of expansion of the United States into the American West, from 1825 to 1890. Through fictional and historical characters, the series used two primary symbols--the wagon wheel and the Lakota medicine wheel -- to join the story of two families: one Native American, one White settlers, as they witnessed many of the 19th century's pivotal historical milestones. The award-winning Into The West can now be seen in its entirety on YouTube. [more inside]
Is the juice worth the squeeze?
It seems as if stealing bikes shouldn’t be a lucrative form of criminal activity. Used bikes aren’t particularly liquid or in demand compared to other things one could steal (phones, electronics, drugs). And yet, bikes continue to get stolen. What happens to these stolen bikes and how do they get turned into criminal income?
"Beyond the Brain"
"Beyond the Brain" In the 1990s, scientists declared that schizophrenia and other psychiatric illnesses were pure brain disorders that would eventually yield to drugs. Now they are recognizing that social factors are among the causes, and must be part of the cure.
We've Got Movie Sign!
The Random-MST3K-O-Matic mst3k.me shows you random Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes on YouTube. /random gets you a random episode, /joel gets you a random Joel episode, and /mike gets you a random Mike episode. [via mefi projects]
South American Recipes
Peru aside, South American cuisine does not get a lot of attention in the English-speaking world, but there are plenty of recipes out there which allow you to try the specialities from Colombia, Argentina & Chile in the comfort of your own home. Starting with the staple of Colombia and Venezuela and made from cornmeal / hominy, the arepa forms the basis of breakfast, lunch, dinner and anything in between.
Basic arepa recipe. [more inside]
Will his masculine light remain shining?
After a very successful Kickstarter campaign Dave Sim had started work on republishing the entire Cerebus series, starting with High Society as high quality digital comics, including all the ephemeral content left out of earlier reprints. And then a fire happened which destroyed a lot of the Cerebus negatives, which, combined with the end through low sales of his latest project left Dave Sim pondering the end of his cartoonist career. But there's hope, as Fantagraphics bigwig Kim Thompson offered to help. [more inside]
The "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" game
Articulate Silences
"Articulate Silences is a blog which focuses on the introduction of 20th and 21st century classical music to listeners wanting to investigate beyond popular music. Through a series of posts focussing on major pieces, as well as the occasional more obscure work, this blog attempts to act as a gentle entry point for further exploration and discovery of similar sounds."
See, they return
Poetry Reincarnations. "I hope you may enjoy these glimpses at some of the long-gone poets and literary figures, etc., in the form of scratchy old movies, as if they had been filmed by candle light."
Million Short: A different way to search the web
"Million Short is an experimental web search engine (really, more of a discovery engine) that allows you to REMOVE the top million (or top 100k, 10k, 1k, 100) sites from the results set. We thought it might be somewhat interesting to see what we'd find if we just removed an entire slice of the web." Developer Sanjay Arora, founder of Exponential Labs, explains the thinking behind his development of Million Short and its inverse, Million Tall, "which ONLY indexes the top million (or top 100k, etc.) sites." [more inside]
Capturing photons
Every culture is passionate about food; some are just passionate about food and the food is shitty.
Believer Magazine interviews Los Angeles Times food critic Jonathan Gold as he waxes poetic on Marcela Hazan, the peculiar aspects of Korean food, Pago Pago's love of Spam, and douche food.
Do You Believe in Magic...The Gathering?
For three days, the world's best 'Magic' players battle it out in Seattle
Three weeks ago, Seattle hosted the Magic: The Gathering Players Championship. Noah Davis writes about one of the most prestigious M:TG tournaments from an outsider's perspective. It turns out, Magic is still around, and it's a big deal.
"...an Alaskan man now named Hostgator Dotcom."
Gentlemen Who Lunch
It's one of the best-known photographs in US history, but the fearless steelworkers dining al fresco in "Lunch Atop a Skyscraper" have remained anonymous in the 80 years since it was taken. A new documentary. Men At Lunch, tells the story of the photo and identifies two of its subjects for the first time.
like the most beautiful slum ever
This NYT slideshow of Cuba photographs does an excellent job of portraying Cuba's mood: "like the most beautiful slum ever." [more inside]
Are you ready for some football? 'Cause the refs aren't.
Since June, the NFL has locked out its referees as their union and league management have failed to come to an agreement over a range of issues, most notably the future of the referees' pensions. In their absence, the league has resorted to using replacement refs to officiate games. The results have not been pretty. [more inside]
George...Please no. Please.
If you're an old school Star Wars fan, and your relationship status with its chief architect could best be described as "it's complicated," Andrew Bridgeman provides levity with his Facebook mockups. Embrace some catharsis, and feel the lighter side flowing through you.
The Deadliest Catch
The WMD was discovered, quite by chance, lying by the side of a Bridgeville road in late July by a Delaware state trooper on an unrelated callout. Jutting out of the ground, the 75mm shell was encrusted in barnacles and pitted with rust; barely recognisable as a munition at all. The trooper called in his find and a military team took the bomb to Dover Air Force Base for disposal. As with most conventional rounds, a small charge was placed on the side of the shell and detonated to trigger the vintage munition’s own explosive. But something went wrong, and the bomb failed to explode. When the two staff sergeants and technician walked over to inspect the failed detonation, they found a strange black liquid seeping out of the cracked mortar. Given that the shell had been under the sea for the better part of fifty years, the men thought little of the foul-smelling substance until hours later, when their skin began to erupt in agonising blisters. All three were rushed to Kent General hospital, where two were released later after minor treatment. A third, more seriously injured serviceman was transported to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, where he remained in serious but stable condition with what were only described as “burns or blisters” in a statement issued by the Army later that week. A scientific team were sent to Dover to collect soil samples from the area. The results were clear: the shell had been filled with mustard gas.
Walk and Talk the Vote
What happens when a former star of the West Wing's sister decides to run for the Supreme Court of the State of Michigan? This.
The mural in Oregon the Chinese government wants destroyed
A colorful mural adorns Chao Tsung-song / Tibet House in Corvallis, Oregon. Commissioned by Corvallis businessman, David Lin, the 100 foot long mural depicts at one end, a cheerful Taiwanese countryside scene, and at the other, police beating Tibetan protesters and a Tibetan monk in the process of self-immolation. The Chinese government has requested that the mural be destroyed. Mr. Lin and Corvallis city mayor, Julie Manning, say, "no."
An American woman no longer has a private image to tell her who she is, or can be, or wants to be."
In 2008, Nebraska decriminalized child abandonment. Within just weeks of the law passing, parents started dropping off their kids. But here's the rub: None of them were infants. Twenty-two of the children were over 13 years old. The Atlantic explores why not wanting kids is totally normal.
Furby Got Back
What's he been doing since his release in 1998? Find out on this helpful website, The Adventures of Pink Furby
American Airlines Pilots Stage Alleged "Sickout"
American Airlines has been forced to cancel 300 flights this week as pilots, upset over a discouraging deal with their union (including pay and benefits cuts), have begun calling in sick in high numbers.
Talk bubbles and picture boxes
Life on Pluto - Details on Page 97.
What lives where in the Solar System. Fantastic Adventure covers from 1939/40 depicting the kind of lifeforms they think each planet can support. [more inside]
Italian Parochialism, for a change
Franco Fiorito, also known as Batman, is the (ex) leader and treasurer of Berlusconi's party - Il Popolo della Libertà(PdL) in the Lazio regional council. He is being accused of channeling 800k of the party's funds into 12 of his bank accounts and making extravagant expenditures for his own benefit. Reports say that in court he is more annoyed than afraid: "Yes, I went to two beautiful resorts of the Costa Smeralda with PdL money. The regional election campaign left me exhausted and depressed. I needed a big vacation". Fiorito is now lashing out at other PdL councillors: "There are eight thieves. I didn't steal, I distributed the money." [more inside]
No more Windex
The Sponsor Effect: Breaking through the Last Glass Ceiling (pdf)
Women aren't making it to the top. Despite gains in middle and senior management, they hold just 3 percent of Fortune 500 CEO positions. In the C-suite, they're outnumbered four to one. What's keeping women under the glass ceiling? High-performing women simply don't have the sponsorship they need to reach the top.
The study found that women underestimate the role sponsorship plays in their advancement. And those who do grasp its importance fail to cultivate it. It's also a classic catch-22: a woman's personal choices, whatever they may be, brand her as not quite leadership material. What will it take to promote sponsorship?
Can I Drink This? (Nuclear Apocalypse Edition)
Having dealt with the pressing problem of what to do with all the bodies following a nuclear attack and looked into whether the bureaucracy would survive, Restricted Data moves on to the big question: Can Beer Survive A Nuclear Apocalypse?.
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