January 30, 2009
It's Just a Ride!
On October 1, 1993, Bill Hicks was scheduled to appear on The Late Show with David Letterman for the twelfth time, but his entire performance was removed from the broadcast -- the only occasion, up to that point, in which a comedian's entire routine had been cut after taping.
It will be shown for the very first time on David Letterman tonight and Bill Hicks' mother will be the guest.
Derbs. Your question has an answer.
superwoobinda
Lost Generation?
I am part of a Lost Generation, and I refuse to believe I can change the world. Very clever AARP-sponsored positive propaganda piece for the Millenial Generation. (SLYT, 1min44sec).
Damn you Cromwell!
For all which Treasons and Crimes, this Court doth adjudge that the said Charles Stuart, as a Tyrant, Traitor, Murtherer, and a public enemy, shall be put to death by the severing of his Head from his Body.
On January 30, 1649, King Charles I was beheaded on a scaffold at Whitehall. [more inside]
Lego Turing machine
Trompe l'mold
Now a Major Motion Picture, Starring Ernie Hudson
The "I Can Read Movies" Series is a set of fake film novelizations, done in 1950's and 1960's illustration style. [via]
"Don't have a thetan, dude."
The Spherical Wave Structure of Matter in Space
On Truth and Reality. Despite several thousand years of failure to correctly understand physical reality (hence the current postmodern view that this is impossible) it is actually very simple to work out how matter exists and moves about in Space. The rules of Science (Occam's Razor / Simplicity) and Metaphysics (Dynamic Unity of Reality) require that reality be described from only one single source existing, as Leibniz wrote: "because of the interconnection of all things with one another." [more inside]
à la rue..
Roads? Where we're going we won't need roads…
Bringing the end of the world to your iPod
CERN Podcast - Lighthearted chats at the CERN laboratory with "a bit of particle physics thrown in". Featuring visits from British satirists and comedians, including Chris Morris and Kevin Eldon.
Jewish Jokers.
Chia pet Obama? A little offensive? Maybe just a little?
Will it last six more months?
It's been 50 years (on Tuesday) since Buddy Holly died. He still has some rabid fans who will be celebrating his life and work, but should the rest of us still care? [more inside]
Riding the Roomba
Borderline Personality Disorder
"Borderline individuals are the psychological equivalent of third-degree burn patients." They have no emotional skin. Even the slightest touch can create immense suffering.
The extreme oversensitivity and tendency to demonize/deify others may be due to faulty neural circuits or even genetic predisposition (but some debate this). Pharmacotherapy remains challenging. And those afflicted continue to fight stigma. "We have largely ignored this problem."
Steele becomes RNC Chair
Michael Steele, former Lt. Governor of Maryland and one of only a handful of semi-prominent African-American leaders in the Republican Party, has just been elected RNC Chair. He beat out Katon Dawson, Chair of the South Carolina GOP, who had recently resigned his membership from an all-white country club, by a vote of 91-77. Some argue that the RNC Chair race was all about race. [more inside]
Your Favorite X Sucks. Or Not.
Fahrenheit Far Away
One half of Telefon Tel Aviv has died. Charlie Cooper was part of the well respected electronic/IDM group that has been releasing music and remixing since 2001.
The Follies of TARP
A Story in Pictures
Blueful
Blueful. Web-dispersed storytelling reminiscent of the some of the stuff in We Tell Stories to promote the free interactive fiction game Blue Lacuna from Aaron A. Reed, the creator of the excellent interactive fiction title Whom the Telling Changed. Caveat: the ending is only available (afaik) on a (free) postcard so if you don't feel comfortable giving up a mailing address, you won't see the ending.
Geolocated
[more inside]
"I don't think it's our job to tell them how many babies they're allowed to have."
The woman who recently gave birth to octuplets already has six children. Multiple births increased 29% from 1995 to 2005. Why? What are the risks of multiple births? Despite the risks, some people WANT a multiple birth. If you are pregnant with more than one child, how should you prepare? How do you care for all those kids? What if you decide you don't want to have them all? A personal story of selective reduction. A personal story of having triplets.
Are You Hungry?
Doing research for a BBQ restaurant website, I ran across these. The names alone kinda' make me salivate... There's Famous Dave's (my vote for best website), Bubba Lou's, Bodean's (BBQ in London?), Armadillo Willy's, BJ's, Big Joe's, Dallas BBQ (in NYC, go figure), Dickey's, McClard's (going with the pig theme...), Stubb's, Texas Pride... it's pretty much a never-ending, mouth-watering list. And it turns out to be torturous, because I'm in the Yucatan and there's no real BBQ for thousands of miles around.
Molecular Movies
Molecular Movies features cell and molecular animations, along with animation tutorials. [more inside]
If you're going to panic, panic constructively.
Bruce Sterling, fresh from his online State of the World 2008 discussion (previously), delivers his succinct prognosis for the new year: 2009 Will Be a Year of Panic. At least it's an opportunity to say good-bye to the 20th century at last. (via)
So Wrongsmith, It's Rightsmith
Songsmith has never made a lot of sense. How did this make it to retail? Why does it sound like bad MIDI?
But shortly after it came out, it began to regurgitate our music.
Now, Microsoft's master plan is clear: Wrongsmith explains all.
Hooooray for YOOOOOU!
I asked myself: If you purchased this cheering CD for yourself or for someone else, what would I want you or your friend to feel? The answer was easy. I'd want you to feel that you were known and that you were recognized. I'd want you to feel that you were valuable and deserving and that you are worthy. Worthy! Yes, you! You are unique, an original, one-of-a-kind! And you are not overlooked, you are not ignored,and you're not forgotten! "Don't stop now! You're almost there! We believe in you!"
Another seemingly meant-to-be-taken-seriously gift from the makers of the Because of You CD, and "Piece of The Puzzle Affirmative Jewelry"
Aino Kannisto Photography
Aino Kannisto 's beautifully composed photographs of intimate moments feel more like film stills than portraits. [via] [more inside]
The power of virginity
Virginity at age 22. Two approaches:
1. Sell it. "It became apparent to me that idealized virginity is just a tool to keep women in their place. But then I realized something else: if virginity is considered that valuable, what’s to stop me from benefiting from that?"
2. Keep it. "It is puzzling and disturbing to me that regnant feminism has never acknowledged the empowering value of virginity."
Q. Would you like tea OR coffee? A: Yes.
What real-life bad habits has programming given you? "This has actually really happened to me. I was trying to hang a glass picture frame on the wall and accidentally dropped it. And in the shock of the moment, I loudly yelled 'Control Z!' Then the glass hit the floor and smashed."
Roadside Ass-istance
Don't Blame Canada! America, Fuck Yeah!
Maybe outsourcing is the answer. Canadian importers detected the salmonella tainted peanut products, and, prior to eight Americans dying from it, informed the US FDA. "The FDA failing to follow up after this incident, does that mean that products that are not good enough for a foreign country are still good enough for the USA? That's a double standard that has deadly consequences for our citizens." [more inside]
Playing him out.
Testilying
Cops regularly perjure themselves - Blue Lies. Though few officers will confess to lying -- after all, it's a crime -- work by researchers and a 1990s commission appointed to examine police corruption shows there's a tacit agreement among many officers that lying about how evidence is seized keeps criminals off the street....
Criminal-justice researchers say it's difficult to quantify how often perjury is being committed. According to a 1992 survey, prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges in Chicago said they thought that, on average, perjury by police occurs 20% of the time in which defendants claim evidence was illegally seized.
"It is an open secret long shared by prosecutors, defense lawyers and judges that perjury is widespread among law enforcement officers," though it's difficult to detect in specific cases, said Alex Kozinski, a federal appeals-court judge, in the 1990s. [more inside]
Play-Doh!!!
Old Play-doh ads! Chop that mop. Excellent! What has been done cannot be undone. Arbeit Macht Frei! Oooooh...pretty sparkles.... Tasty! Bart Smit? Basa?
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