January 29, 2013
Like pornography, you know it when you see it ...
Bob and Weave.
LOC amassing tweets at breakneck pace, needs help to make it accessible
The Library of Congress posted a Jan 2013 update on its mission to archive public tweets, announced back in April 2010 (previously). 170 billion tweets so far, adding more than .5 billion per day. Search for a term? Prepare to wait ~24 hours. [more inside]
“I think I like Prince so much I would actually “buy” my tickets.”
The Book of Coach
"For those who coached under Walsh, Finding the Winning Edge was a study of the genius beyond his playbook. For those who coached against him, it was a window into the mind of their nemesis." -- The Coaching Philosophy of Bill Walsh. The book is now out of print and even a used copy will cost you $1,249.99 on Amazon.
The Core of FATE
The Fantastic Adventures in Tabletop Entertainment (FATE) system has produced notable games ranging from the pulp themed Spirit of the Century, to the hard science fiction Diaspora, to the adaptation of the urban fantasy series Dresdin Files, and the high fantasy Legends of Anglierre. However, there's never been a basic, official version of the 3rd. edition core system. Until now. [more inside]
Farewell to a visionary musician and musical thinker
Sadly, it's time to say farewell to a unique and visionary musician and musical thinker who developed and articulated an extraordinary method of directing large-ensemble improvisation with a method that he dubbed "conduction". Mr. Butch Morris has left us, but his ideas will surely reverberate in the hearts and minds of creative musicians and lovers of creative music everywhere.
Old Dog, New Bits
SLYT: an octogenarian plays Black Ops and Halo: 4 with his grandson. And really, really gets into it.
Alternate pressing L and R as fast as you can to fluff these pillows.
Funeral Procession Includes Stop at Burger King Drive-Thru
Diamond and Samberg on Risk Assessment
Jared Diamond argues that we should be more concerned about low risk events that we encounter with greater frequency. Meanwhile, Lonely Island argues that we should be more concerned about low risk events that we encounter with greater frequency.
Alien vs Predator vs Brown vs The Board of Education
"Hi. My name is Eric. I come up with band names constantly. If you're starting a band, might I suggest using one of these names..."
August Sings The Habanera from Carmen
For those who like a little WTF? with their opera. [NSFW]. Of course, there's a Making Of video. Also NSFW, and in German.
Workers of the world... Relax!
"Because work is unnecessary except to those whose power it secures, workers are shifted from relatively useful to relatively useless occupations as a measure to assure public order." -- The Abolition Of Work by Bob Black [more inside]
Son is clearly going to grow up to be a Bucky the Beaver furry
like, it's FROM a bird, but then there's a bird IN it, i don't even--
Cut feather shadowboxes: feather art by Chris Maynard.
METAFILTRVM: NOLI ILLEGITIMI CARBORVNDVM
We've all been there: you need a portentous motto for your new liberal arts college, crack military unit, or world-encompassing secret society, but you just don't speak Latin. No problēma! If the grand list of Latin phrases doesn't have what you're looking for, there's always the Latin Motto Generator. [more inside]
Announcement of the government of Canada
To deter abuse, Canada’s refugee system has changed.
People who have arrived with groundless claims for asylum are removed faster (then before).
The Government of Canada has started a billboard campaign in Miskolc, Hungary's third biggest city, to inform people about the changes of its immigration law. (Many who previously immigrated to Canada used to live in this city and its surrounding area.)
Also, two Global News reports from Canada:
The Outsiders. The harsh realities of being a Hungarian Roma refugee in Canada.
(Previously)
People who have arrived with groundless claims for asylum are removed faster (then before).
The Government of Canada has started a billboard campaign in Miskolc, Hungary's third biggest city, to inform people about the changes of its immigration law. (Many who previously immigrated to Canada used to live in this city and its surrounding area.)
Also, two Global News reports from Canada:
The Outsiders. The harsh realities of being a Hungarian Roma refugee in Canada.
(Previously)
Everything is Dinner
Micro-Macro, an animated short film that visualizes the nested scales of the physical universe (a la the Powers of Ten) using stop-motion-animated food. [more inside]
Detailed design notes on Zelda, Castlevania and Mega Man
The blog of video game journalist Jeremy Parish, ToastyFrog GameSpite TeleBunny.net, has four in-depth, stage-by-stage, exhaustive examinations of classic 8-bit game design: Castlevania, Castlevania II, The Legend of Zelda, and Castlevania III. They are required reading for prospective game designers. (Complete links inside. Mega Man fans, look here.) [more inside]
Murmuration
Murmuration (slvim)
Yearning to Breathe Free
President Obama called on Congress, in a speech today in Las Vegas, to advance an immigration overhaul that includes a plan “that finally deals with the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are in this country right now.” [more inside]
Jessica Fletcher, history's greatest monster
Murder happens a lot less in real life than on television, that's a given, but how much less? [more inside]
If this post gets 1 million favourites, I'm getting a puppy.
Ryan Cordell told his kids they could have the puppy they were asking for...if their Facebook puppy request page got one million likes. You can probably guess the result (cute children + plea for cute puppy = viral gold). Cordell says that although he did expect the page would get several thousand visits over a couple of weeks, "I just thought it would kind of peter out at that point," and in a month or two, he and his wife would congratulate the kids on their project and get them a puppy anyway. He didn't anticipate that it would take only seven hours to reach one million likes. Perhaps he should have seen it coming: Cordell is an English professor at Northeastern University whose research in digital humanities includes the study of "viral media" from the 19th century. [Audio interview with Cordell on CBC Radio--starts at 1:01:00 into the episode.] Most importantly, though: photos of Millie, the shelter puppy they adopted! [more inside]
A Million First Dates: How online romance is threatening monogamy
A recent Atlantic article magazine raises the question of whether online dating discourages long term commitment. This is not the first time Atlantic has raised concerns about online dating sites. In 2006, the tone of an article on the topic was neutral. Not so much in 2010, 2011, and more recently. But perhaps we just all need more data.
The Factory Floor
Andrew "bunnie" Huang (previously) offered MIT students insight on how to bring electronic designs from paper to manufactured product. He summarized the process in a four part series:
The Quotation,
On Design for Manufacturing,
Industrial Design for Startups, and
Picking (and Maintaining) a Partner. [more inside]
The flicker of the campfire, the wind in the pines...
Madam Would-Be Mayor
iDon't Believe It
Mark Zuckerberg's Hoodie
It is June 2, 2010 and Mark Zuckerberg is sweating. He’s wearing his hoodie—he’s always wearing his hoodie—and he’s on stage and either the lights or the questions are too hot. … “Do you want to take off the hoodie?” asks Kara Swisher.The varied cultural resonances of an unassuming garment.
“I never take off the hoodie.”
No TP needed
The Baltimore Ravens may be Super Bowl underdogs, but they can probably beat you at cornhole.
Why should women accept this picture of a half-life, instead of a share?
Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, which turns 50 next month, transformed the lives of women across America. ... Gail Collins, author and columnist for the New York Times, wrote the introduction to the 50th anniversary edition of The Feminine Mystique. Collins may be best known for her sharp and witty voice on the Times's Op-Ed page. In 2001, she became the first woman to serve as Editorial Page Editor for the New York Times, a post she held until 2007. Collins grew up in the kind of "typical" suburban household Friedan described. But The Feminine Mystique, released when Collins was in college, sparked the second wave of feminism and shaped the landscape Collins would enter into.
An Interview with Collins about her own experiences, childcare, the rise of female breadwinners, and what she sees for women in the future.
The sorry state of Boston sports writers
From the most recent Boston Magazine. "The Boston sports media, once considered one of the country’s best and most influential press corps, is stumbling toward irrelevance. The national media not only seems to break more big Boston sports stories than the local press, but also often features more sophisticated analysis, especially when it comes to using advanced statistics. To put it bluntly, “The Lodge”—as Fred Toucher, cohost of the 98.5 The Sports Hub morning radio show, mockingly refers to the city’s clubby, self-important media establishment—is clogged with stale reporters, crotchety columnists, and shameless blowhards. "
There's even a whole blog dedicated to hating Dan Shaughnessy, Dan Shaughnessy Watch, aka the CHB.
X-Mensch
The Cyber-Ombudsman
TruthTeller is an ambitious new automated application built by the Washington Post, which fact checks political speeches, ads and interviews "in as close to real time as possible." The prototype is intended to be a complement to the paper's Fact Checker Blog. More on the project from TechCrunch and Poynter.
Gnome place like home
Tiny paintings of gnomes have been turning up in the Oakland neighborhoods surrounding Lake Merritt. Some were attached to Pacific Gas & Electric power poles and were in danger of being removed, but the utility has responded to public outcry by granting the gnomes a reprieve. Neighbors and the popular Children's Fairyland are supporting keeping the gnomes around.
Cell Phone Propaganda Posters
Ted Slampyak has created some helpful etiquette posters for cell phone users. [via buzzfeed] [more inside]
gifs that keep on giving
Illustrator Rebecca Mock has created animated gifs for NYTimes articles ranging from quiet cars on Amtrak trains to observations about Main Street storefronts. She has been interviewed about her process. Don't miss the party.
... But you wouldn’t want your mom to see it!
"When you were up there in a plane, you’d get shot at, and you couldn’t call field artillery to support you. You had no ambulance, no medic. There was no tank to come in and run over the enemy. All it took was one accurate aircraft shot, and a plane full of 10 guys was gone. The commanders, for the most part, understood this,” Conway continues, “So there was a little bit more leniency in that regard than there would have been with ground guys. The officers figured, ‘Well, if this guy wants to paint a naked lady on the back of the jacket, what good is it to try to stop him? He could be dead tomorrow morning.’ The main objective was winning the war, not enforcing minor regulations and rules.”
Tag, you're it. For a year.
Cash is (still) King
This week, retailers in 40 states will be allowed to charge fees for the use of Visa or Mastercard credit cards. Know Your Card. While large chains may avoid the new surcharge, it could be up to 4%. This is part of a settlement reached last summer in an anti-trust lawsuit against Visa, Mastercard, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America, among others. There are 10 states where surcharging is illegal, but in many of them merchants may offer a discount for using cash.
Common Jean Sizes: 34, 32, 36, 30, 38
We don't need no shovel let the muthaf**ka melt! Melt muthaf**ka, melt!!
Sometimes, there's nothing better to do after a snowstorm than to watch the snow slowly slide off the roof. Do you get a thrill at that moment when gravity trumps friction, and a large slab frees itself, landing on the ground below in a big WHUMPF? Then please enjoy this curation of YouTubery documenting the anticipation and beauty that is the Roof Avalanche! [more inside]
A world accidentally full of triggers
Rhiannon Lucy Coslett, one of the women behind The Vagenda, writes on the phenomenon of the trigger warning.
The Real George Orwell
The Radio 4 on the BBC is presenting a month of readings from George Orwell's books. Some of them will only be available for one week from the date of broadcast, so be quick. [more inside]
Videopunk
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind: E. Coli & Cloud Formation
Scientists Find Bacteria Survive at High Altitudes
Study finds significant microorganism populations in middle and upper troposphere
Microbiome of the upper troposphere: Species composition and prevalence, effects of tropical storms, and atmospheric implications
See also Properties of biological aerosols and their impact on atmospheric processes
Study finds significant microorganism populations in middle and upper troposphere
Microbiome of the upper troposphere: Species composition and prevalence, effects of tropical storms, and atmospheric implications
See also Properties of biological aerosols and their impact on atmospheric processes
For the study of nature and the search for truth
Even though you've heard of Darwin, it's quite possible that you're not familiar with Alfred Russel Wallace (previously), co-discoverer of the theory of evolution (a shame; in many respects he's the more interesting of the two!). Fortunately you can now learn more about the man through transcripts and scans of his letters with family and colleagues, which the UK Natural History Museum have just published online. [more inside]
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