October 26, 2013
Ransomware & Rogues Galore
Youtube user rogueamp dedicates his channel to discussing fraudulent antivirus software, AKA "rogues" and "ransomware". (MLYT)
"It's easier to change a body than to change a mind."
Cowell had been a racing driver, a Spitfire pilot and a prisoner of war – but her biggest challenge was to become the first person in Britain to undergo gender-reassignment surgery. Two years after Roberta Cowell's death, an obituary in the Independent. [more inside]
Cat Power: Super Mario 3D World preview
"Meow." He forms his hands into claws and performs a slow cat-scraping motion. To his left and to his right sit the esteemed producer and the director of Super Mario 3D World. "Meow," they both say, before also demonstrating the clawing feline action. Shigeru Miyamoto on Super Mario 3D World, arriving next month on Wii U.
Copies are beginning to show up in reviewer's hands: Super Mario 3D World is shaping up beautifully. It's a visual stunner, with gorgeous effects and lighting that take Mario graphics to an entirely new level, certainly showing greater flair than the 2D New Super Mario Bros. U. There are some attractive textures at work, with the art style flourishing with powerful hardware, alongside a rock steady and terrifically fluid frame rate.
Eurogamer offers a look at 5 levels [part one | two | three] • Previews from Nintendo:
E3 2013 Developer Direct | October trailer | Gameplay trailer • Nintendo Minute: Multiplayer | New Power-Ups
The men from Shangri-La
On November 9th, 2013, the four remaining Doolittle Raiders will perform their final Toast Ceremony.
A Lackadaisy Air
From the New-York Mirror of February 24, 1883:
“. . . a new and valuable addition has been made to the slang vocabulary. … We refer to the term “Dood.” For a correct definition of the expression the anxious inquirer has only to turn to the tight-trousered, brief-coated, eye-glassed, fancy-vested, sharp-toes shod, vapid youth who abounds in the Metropolis at present. … The Dood is oftenest seen in the lobbies of our theatres on first-nights. He puffs cigarettes or sucks his hammered-silver tipped cane in the entr actes, and passes remarks of a not particularly intellectual character on the appearance and dresses of the actresses. His greatest pleasure lies in taking a favorite actress or singer to supper at Delmonico’s or the Hotel Brunswick—places he briefly calls ‘Dels’ and the ‘Bruns’—where he will spend his papa’s pelf with a lavish hand. … ”[more inside]
How to Speak Singlish
Merdre!
Alfred Jarry, 19th century playwright and writer, is often credited with the start of the Theater of the Absurd with his infamous play, Ubu Roi. In 1965, Jean-Christopher Averty produced a French made-for-TV movie based on the play, which is an odd mix of the cartoonish and the Bayeux Tapestry, with live actors - Ubu Roi (SLYT, 95 min, NSFW language, French, press CC button for English subtitles).
The Map Is Not The Territory
But down in the underground, you'll find a series of tubes...
Deep below the streets of New York City lie its vital organs—a water system, subways, railroads, tunnels, sewers, drains, and power and cable lines—in a vast, three-dimensional tangle. Penetrating this centuries-old underworld of caverns, squatters, and unmarked doors, William Langewiesche follows three men who constantly navigate its dangers: the subway-operations chief who dealt with the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, the engineer in charge of three underground mega-projects, and the guy who, well, just loves exploring the dark, jerry-rigged heart of a great metropolis. What Lies Beneath.
Terror from the Deep
CreatureCast - Rhizocephala - a charmingly animated look at the lifecycle of rhizocephalan barnacles, one of the more horrifying (non-charming) parasitic crustaceans (likewise). NOT a practitioner of parasitic castration but still disturbing: The bobbit worm. Happy swimming!
Maid training camp
"One of the most important aspects of the interview is to check the tidiness of the future help. Lam Ling checks the hands of a student." In a beautifully shot series, French photographer Gratiane de Moustier depicts the Indonesian women and Hong Kong employers who are linked together in global care chain, beginning at their training camp in Java to their final place of employment in the homes of Hong Kong families.
Breaking Bad ... on Ice!
Anaesthetic optional
Have a nagging cavity but don't have the time or money to see a dentist? Luckily for you, there's DentiDrill. See the promotional video. [more inside]
UK: there's a big storm, a 'hurricane', coming (possibly)
The 'worst storm since 1987' is due to hit the UK over the next few days. It may also hit 'northern France and the Low Countries'. It may be 'overwhelming' and 'there is a risk of some parts getting two inches of rain in a six hour period'. The Met Office has warned that 'England and Wales will be hit by a significant storm on Sunday night with winds of up to 80mph in some areas'. They also said the predicted storm was 'not one you would see every year' and that 'exceptional winds will batter Surrey'. Drivers are advised to 'at a minimum, take a fully-charged mobile phone and warm, weatherproof clothing.' Some media outlets claim, however, the storm will only be the worst of the last five year, though in Bristol it'll be the worst in 'two decades'. Never the less, 'stay well away from trees'. [more inside]
Programming Language or Pokemon?
NSA eavesdropped upon...
Former NSA director Michael Hayden overheard on train doing a phone interview... Tom Mattzie, previous MoveOn director DC, overhears Michael Hayden doing a phone interview on a train and retweets it.
Television Trauma
If It Were (R.L.) Stine (SLTumblr)
Catatumbo, an everlasting lightning storm and symphony of light
Catatumbo lightning (action at 5:17) is a mysterious and amazing celestial light show that happens from 160 to 300 nights a year, up to 280 times an hour and up to 10 hours per night. It is a powerful and nearly continuous thunderstorm with up to 40,000 bolts of lightning per night that flash mostly from cloud to cloud. The indigenous people call it the River of Fire in the Sky. It takes place in a remote, poor [in Spanish], politically troubled and dangerous corner of the planet, in Catatumbo, Venezuela on Lake Maracaibo, where the houses are all on stilts. [more inside]
"Full speed ahead, Mr. Cohen!"
Terry Gilliam fans are patiently waiting for the release of "The Zero Theorem", his first film in four years. In the meantime, let's go back thirty years ago to the moment that Gilliam really found his footing as a director in between the filming of "Time Bandits" and "Brazil". It all concerns a bunch of elderly accountants... [more inside]
No, THATS the sun
In celebration of the end of the latest season of Children's Hospital, South African producers Your Girlfriend made a tribute video: It's Children's Hospital Africa.
SHUB SHUB SHUB
'Colonic' by Emily Haworth-Booth the winner of the Observer/Cape/Comica graphic short story prize 2013. Interview
"I used to live there"
Astronaut Chris Hadfield (previously) reflects on his career, life on the International Space Station, and the challenges of returning home (as well as commercial spaceflight and the film Gravity) in an interview with the Guardian.
The most famous book from each state in the US
A map of the most famous books set in each U.S. state. Which of these books have you read? Is there a book you think should be on the list that isn't? (the full list) It reminds me of a recent post on the Blue featuring a writer who spent a year reading one novel from every country in the world. Metafilter users, of course, have been there done that. [more inside]
The industry term is "ritual".
A Ghost Story is a web comic that follows two unlicensed and semi-illegal "paranormal exterminators" who work as ghost busters for hire in a world where ghosts are so common they are widely regarded as household pests. Using unconventional methods and their connections to various shady dealers of occult items, the duo meet new "friends", ruin everything for everyone and are usually the driving force behind city wide panic.
Driving While Female: Saudi women risk imprisonment to protest the ban
Women in Saudi Arabia may not drive. Today, many take to the road in protest, despite grave risks. Even cyber support may be grounds for arrest and the movement's primary website has been blocked. It's been an issue for decades; here's a writer remembering women donning disguises to drive and the sad case of a mother unable to take her injured child to the hospital. Driving may be the point of a sword aimed at securing other freedoms and attaining more autonomy.
The Great British Row Off
"The criticism ranged from the gently cynical to the downright obnoxious, but as the series went on I noticed an increasing degree of personal vitriol and misogyny. We (female) finalists are supposedly too meek, too confident, too thin, too domestic, too smiley, too taciturn … If I see one more person used the hackneyed "dough-eyed" pun I will personally go to their house and force-feed them an entire Charlotte Royale." -- Great British Bake Off runner up Ruby Tandoh speaks out against the sexist criticism aimed at the show's female contestants by people like tv chef Raymond Blanc. [more inside]
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