January 11, 2010
All we hear is radio ga ga.
Audiophoolery: Pseudoscience in Consumer Audio. You might think that a science-based field like audio engineering would be immune to the kind of magical thinking we see in other fields. Unfortunately, you would be wrong [...] As a consumerist, it galls me to see people pay thousands of dollars for fancy-looking wire that’s no better than the heavy lamp cord they can buy at any hardware store. Or magic isolation pads and little discs made from exotic hardwood that purport to “improve clarity and reduce listening fatigue,” among other surprising claims. The number of scams based on ignorance of basic audio science grows every day. Via.
Steroidera
Retired MLB star Mark McGwire admits taking steroids. In an interview with ESPN, McGwire admits he used injectable steroids*, but for injuries. He claimed he could hit home runs without them. [more inside]
Joe Rollino, last of the Strongmen
At 104, fit & spry Joe Rollino was the last classic strongman -- the sport of strength athletics, which evolved into modern bodybuilding. Standing 5'10" and weighing a mere 145 pounds, he was a fixture on Coney Island, known for feats of strength like 450 pound teeth lifts, or bending quarters with his fingers. Rollino also boxed in the 1920's as "Kid Dundee", and returned from World War II decorated with the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts. Joe Rollino never drank, never smoked, was a lifetime vegetarian and a confirmed bachelor. He died today after being struck by a minivan.
Magazines on Google
The full text of several years of various magazines are available on google for your browsing pleasure. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (1940-1998) Popular Mechanics (1900-2005), Weekly World News (1984-2007, Hitler's Secret UFO Plans), Life (1936-1972), Ebony (1960-2008) and many more. [more inside]
A font of self-knowledge awaits.
What type are you? (password: character) Step into Pentagram's psychoanalyst's office, and let him diagnose your type. 'Researched over seven years with a team of 23 academics across Eastern Europe, ‘What Type Are You’ asks the four key character questions of our day, analyses your responses in exceptional detail and recommends one of 16 typefaces as a result. The recommendation is sometimes controversial but always unerringly true. Said one respondent, “At first I felt angry when I was told my type is Pistilli Roman but two weeks later, I was completely reconciled to it. Now I wonder why I ever thought I was a Gill Sans.”'
Eric Rohmer, French filmmaker, dies at 89
"In many films, people never discuss ideas, whether moral ideas or political ideas. And if those kinds of discussions are in fact introduced, they always ring false. But I think I've managed -- and this is what I'm happiest about with my films as a whole -- I've managed to show people discussing morality, whatever that morality might be, in a completely natural way." Eric Rohmer, French filmmaker and editor of Cahiers du Cinema, has died at 89. [more inside]
Guardian of the Secret Annex passes away
“I am not a hero...I stand at the end of the long, long line of good Dutch people who did what I did and more — much more — during those dark and terrible times years ago, but always like yesterday in the heart of those of us who bear witness.”
Miep Gies, protector of Anne Frank and her family, passes away at age 100.
Miep Gies, protector of Anne Frank and her family, passes away at age 100.
The Unauthorized Biographies
Rapper Shaun Boothe is now midway through his 12 part series of "unauthorized biographies", which showcase short history lessons about some of the major black figures of our time. Thus far, he's covered James Brown, Bob Marley (my favorite), Muhammed Ali, Martin Luther King (and briefly, Barack Obama), Jimi Hendrix, and Sean "Puffy" Combs. He's gotten some play and good press from major underground hip-hop media, due next in the series is a biography of Oprah Winfrey.
Moomin Valley
I want to read "Curious George and the Ebola Virus"
Curious Pages bills itself as "recommended inappropriate books for kids." Perhaps you want to know what to do with a Dead Bird. Or find A Head for Happy. And did you know that Andy Warhol wrote a children's book? via
Light Writing Proposal
I knew I wanted to find a very special way to propose to a very special woman. This long exposure, and the making of footage, were shot over three nights in Raleigh, North Carolina as a marriage proposal to Emily. [more about light writing]
Visions of Space
In Visions of Space, Robert Hughes tackles the work and lives of three remarkable 20th-century architects: Antonio Gaudi, Albert Speer and Mies van der Rohe - whose work did so much to shape the modern world. Hughes looks at how each one used space in different ways to express our response, respectively, to the power of religion (Gaudi), the power of the State (Speer), and the power of the corporation (Mies van der Rohe). Antoni Gaudi: God's Architect 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mies van der Rohe: Less is More 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Albert Speer: Size Matters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Craigslist Sexual Assault
James Stipe, a Marine, allegedly posed as his ex-girlfriend to post an ad on Craigslist seeking an “aggressive man with no concern for women.” The woman was later raped in her home. [more inside]
This Lousy World
"'I am going to get rid of everything, including mosquitoes, that bothers me, anywhere in the world, and then I will be a very happy, content person.' We're laughing, but it's what we all do." SLYT: A wry two-minute teaching about avoiding pain by Buddhist nun Pema Chodron, based on these writings of the 8th century scholar Shantideva. For those who don't like video, here's a transcript (scroll down.) For those who really like video, here's 55 minutes of Chodron with Bill Moyers. (This too has a partial transcript.)
He's also a Manowar fan, apparently.
Christopher Lee has recorded a symphonic metal album telling the story of his own ancestor, the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. Samples here (and also on Myspace). Lee's video message to his fans announcing the project here.
Your pal, John K.
"In 1998, aged just 14, aspiring young cartoonist Amir Avni decided to get in touch with the creator of Ren & Stimpy, John Kricfalusi ...To call Kricfalusi's response 'generous' would be an understatement."
A Communist Space Shooter
Kosmosis is based on the idea that the modern shooter is rooted in the capitalist military-industrial complex. Created by Molleindustria (behind Oligarchy and much more) it reinvents the idea of the shooter along Communist lines. The game play is based on three principles: Thesis I: The task of the vanguard is to instill revolutionary class consciousness in the intergalatic proletariat. Thesis II: The people united will never be defeated. Thesis III: The role of the vanguard will diminish as the educated masses gain autonomy. All with little glowing dots. [more inside]
The hell with your unbreakable phone.
The hell with your unbreakable phone. BBC Reporter Dan Simmons destroys "the world's most rugged phone" in about three seconds.
a real reality show
The Web Is Not A TV Channel
is the latest in a series of admonitions for musical and marketing industry types from music blogger, record company founder and bass player Dave Allen. [more inside]
Chicago House Music: History in Interviews and Recordings
Gridface has an on-going series of interviews as part of its Chicago House music history section. The first interview was with Stacey Collins, aka VERB, who started working security at The Music Box in 1983. Others interviewed include producers Merwin Sanders (discog) and Jamal Moss (aka Hieroglyphic Being, IAMTHATIAM, The Sun God) and Frank Youngwerth (discog), and DJ Leonard "Remix" Rroy. [via mefi projects] [more inside]
The problem is Big Brother Inc
"2044 starts where George Orwell’s 1984 left off. The problem isn’t Big Brother and the leviathan government. The problem is Big Brother, Inc., and the all-powerful marketplace." [more inside]
Bioprospecting or biopiracy?
Although banned in 1997, the last several years, Bioprospecting at Yellowstone National Park has become more and more privatized. Research at nearby Montana State University has been underway, using virus cages for next generation flash drives, using fungus to turn straw into olive oil, and algae to turn garbage into hydrogen.
Manslaughter does not mean what he thinks it does.
The man on trial for the murder of Dr. George Tiller can be convicted of manslaughter. A judge in Wichita, Kansas ruled on January 8, 2010, that the jury in the trial of Scott Roeder can choose to convict him on the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, rather than first-degree murder. [more inside]
Finding Dolly Freed
Finding Dolly Freed by Paige Williams. "In 1978, at age eighteen, she wrote Possum Living, a frugal-living book that made her briefly famous amid an infamous economy. Then she went off the grid in the most unexpected of ways—she went mainstream. Now Dolly—and her book—are back." [more inside]
Top 5 Reasons Porn-for-Profit Is Dying
Stones, loans, and groans
Zahi Hawass, bombastic if nothing else, is proving successful in his ongoing push to repatriate Egyptian artifacts that may or may not have been illegally removed from the country. The Tetiky friezes were returned from France; next on the agenda are the iconic Nefertiti bust [MP3 audio], which is currently housed in Berlin’s Neues Museum, and the Rosetta Stone, which has lived at the British Museum for over two centuries.
"They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago."
Beyond Little House A blog dedicated to information about the life and work of Laura Ingalls Wilder. It includes information about the newly formed Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association and the first LauraPalooza conference coming up in July 2010.
"Anyone who has been to one will remember it for the rest of their lives.
to be held for the first time in 30 years, the 'Grand Match' has been canceled due to safety fears. [more inside]
10 years later: the AOL-Time Warner merger
How the AOL-Time Warner Merger Went So Wrong Interviews with the key players involved with the AOL-Time Warner merger about its euphoric rise and pitiful fall. [more inside]
Grapes of Wrath, Fruit of Philanthropy
My grandparents, who lived through the Great Depression, hung an image of Millet's "The Gleaners" on their living room wall. I never made the connection between those two things until I started reading about the modern gleaning movement. [more inside]
What Do They Keep?
"I found him, this little dog in a dumpster down in the projects in the South Side while I was pickin’ up cans. The reason I picked it up is because whenever I see a little child I give it to him." [more inside]
Vintage CG.
So, it's 1987 and you want to make some rad CG? If only you could travel 23 years into the future and watch Vintage CG's You Tube Channel for some inspiration. [more inside]
Audio Darwinism
Logged off!
And how he has a patrol car...
VVVVVV
Terry Cavanagh's (Don't Look Back, Judith, Pathways) much-awaited gravity-flipping platformer VVVVVV is out for Windows and Mac, with a Linux version forthcoming! The full game costs $15, but you can try the demo on Kongregate. Here's a gameplay video. [more inside]
You Can't Beat The Inexperience
The exotic blend of international travel, the authority of commanding the ever larger and faster airliners, and those dashing uniforms turned heads, drew autograph hunters and attracted groupies. Pilots also made a lot of money. Today it is different. Captain Dave Ryter earned so little when he was a co-pilot for a major airline that he lived in a gang area of Los Angeles, commuted for hours to work and made less money than a bus driver. A pilot's life: exhausting hours for meagre wages
A break with tradition: trial without jury in England
The first criminal trial without a jury to take place in England and Wales in more than 400 years begins tomorrow. [more inside]
Even better without special effects?
In a very unusual move, 20th Century Fox has decided to release James Cameron’s entire screenplay for AVATAR online. Read the script as a PDF.
« Previous day | Next day »