September 28, 2013
The epic journey....
As part of this weekend's Guardian series: 50 years of Doctor Who, six of the actors who have played The Doctor's companions - Louise Jameson, Freema Agyeman, Katy Manning, Carole Ann Ford, Billie Piper and Karen Gillan discuss their experiences on the show in video interviews. (Links to print interviews within.) [more inside]
On Set with Kenny Powers for the final season of 'Eastbound & Down'
Grantland visits the set of Eastbound & Down on the eve of its fourth (and final) season. "The canon of post–Tony Soprano TV antiheroes is well established with your Walter Whites and your Don Drapers. Now, with Eastbound & Down sailing into the sunset, there is Kenny Powers. He was a crass, craven, and mean-spirited buffoon — and he was our buffoon. As he fumbled, fought, and fucked — his flabby arms protruding out of cutoffs, jorts hanging just so — he carried the mantle of the Ugly American. But this was neither a tribute nor a judgment. It was a love letter to this particular American way."
Kanye Versus Kimmel
Last week, Kanye West sat down with BBC Radio's Zane Lowe for an hour-long interview, which Jimmy Kimmel promptly spoofed. Kanye has responded angrily via Twitter, writing "JIMMY KIMMEL IS OUT OF LINE TO TRY AND SPOOF IN ANY WAY THE FIRST PIECE OF HONEST MEDIA IN YEARS", among other things. Kimmel responds on his show.
More on Kanye, previously.
When To Start Caring About the Powerball Jackpot
Walter Hickey at Business Insider looks at when you should buy a Powerball ticket and whether to take the lump sum or annuity if you win.
Writing in Blackboard
Rise Above the LMS: " ... I no longer think of standard, traditional LMS platforms like Blackboard as software. Instead, I think of them as 'institutionware.' For as much as Blackboard may be about preserving itself as the top LMS option, it is also about preserving the traditional aspects of higher education. Even more recent social media ‘features’ are about containment; blogs and wikis are stuck in the Blackboard box and mark the introduction of new environments and tools for learning but only serve lectures and exams." James Schirmer talks about how the structure and design of learning management systems (Wikipedia article) in higher education often runs counter to good classroom instruction.
1985-86: The Genesis Of Truculence
This is one example of a phenomenon I noticed throughout this chart: natural rival franchises tend to have similar numbers of goon seasons. This would suggest that goon employment may be (in some instances) localized arms races between rivals, whose cyclical number of goons tends to reflect the other’s in some perverted game of Mutually Assured Terrible Hockey (MATH)... We also have a team like Detroit near the bottom of the list, with only 8.5 goon seasons in their history. Since 1985-86, the Wings have only had 4.5 goon seasons. They’ve only had 2 goon seasons since 1988-89. Coincidentally, they’ve been pretty damned swell at winning hockey games since that time. The Evolution of Goon Culture in the NHL
The Rent Is Too Damn High
"Individually, the were impressive; collectively, they were formidable"
Paris Fashion: Rick Owens’s Powerful Rejection of Conventional Beauty Big, athletic African-American dancers storm the runaway [more inside]
Bound so tightly with tension and anger...
On Sieges
The history and technique of the siege, by fantasy author K.J. Parker.
The Most Insane Amusement Park Ever
The story of New Jersey's infamous Action Park is retold by visitors and those who worked there and Part 2
A more detailed look at the history of the park (previously)
"It’s a massive display of powerful corporation dick-shaking."
In the 2012 superbowl half-time show, rapper M.I.A. flipped off the camera while performing with Madonna. On September 19, the Hollywood Reporter revealed that the NFL has been waging a "secret legal war" over the incident, demanding $1.5 million and an apology from M.I.A. This week M.I.A. responded with a video statement (transcript at Pitchfork):
So, now, they’re scapegoating me into figuring out the goalposts on what is offensive in America. Like, is my finger offensive, or is the underage black girl with her legs wide open more offensive to the family audience? That’s basically what it comes down to. It's a massive waste of time, a massive waste of money, it’s a massive display of powerful corporation dick-shaking. They want me on my knees and say sorry so they can slap me on my wrist. Basically, so they can say it’s OK for me to promote being sexually exploited as a female than to display female empowerment through being punk rock. That is what it boils down to, and I’m being sued for it.[more inside]
Did you zing about it?
The New York Times magazine has published an excerpt from Dave Eggers' new book The Circle. It features a protagonist who has just begun work at one of the world's foremost tech companies, and things quickly turn slightly sinister. [more inside]
Same-sex couples must be allowed to marry
Yesterday, Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson of the Mercer County Superior Court ruled in Garden State Equality et al. v. Dow that New Jersey's civil unions are inherently unequal in light of the SCOTUS Windsor ruling, and that plaintiff couples and those similarly situated should be allowed to marry beginning October 21st. [more inside]
But what I really want to do is "Vint"
Looking for a unique wine? There are a few celebrities out there trying their hand out at being vintners. Sam Neill in New Zealand, "Brangelina" in France, Drew Barrymore in Italy, and Dan Aykroyd in Canada (just to name a few). There are plenty here in the states, too. Sonoma County certainly has its share with everyone from John Lasseter to the Smothers Brothers. And then there is the Hollywood wine granddaddy of them all.
Breakthrough: The World’s First Carbon Nanotube Computer
"It’s only got 178 transistors, but it’s an important proof-of-concept that’s poised to keep Moore’s Law right on track. The breakthrough, in which a basic computer was powered by microscopic chains of carbon atoms, means we may have finally found a viable alternative to silicon chips."
Golden Dawn declared a criminal organisation
Earlier today, the leader of Golden Dawn and three deputies were arrested (BBC, Guardian, NYT) after the neonazi party was declared a criminal organisation. Two more deputies are wanted. The criminal investigation started after the murder of a 34-year-old rapper Pavlos Fyssas that sparked waves of protests and a police shakeup as the ties between Golden Dawn and the police are under investigation. Supporters of the neonazi party knifed a woman (video interview) the day after the murder of Fyssas and have caused violence against immigrants to skyrocket. The police connects Golden Dawn to 30 such attacks. This map of attacks on migrants provides more details about separate incidents. Previously: 1 2 3.
What *do* you call a drive through liquor store?
In 2003 there was the 2003 Harvard dialect survey. (Previous) which was taken up by Joshua Katz for a PhD project looking at regional dialect variation in the continental US (previous). Now he has created a quiz that takes this data and tells you where in the continental US they speak like you. For the ambitious, there's also the full 140 question version.
Philosophy, Babies and Ukuleles.
D.E. Wittkower is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Old Dominion University. He's contributed to a number of interesting tangents from more traditional philosophical subjects including author of Philosopher's Book of Questions and Answers , editor of Ender's Game and Philosophy, Facebook and Philosophy, Philip K. Dick and Philosophy, Mr. Monk and Philosophy, and iPod and Philosophy.
All well and good, but I sincerely support his Philosophy of Lullaby.
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