October 29, 2011
Blood Bros, for all your training needs
Sonic Screwdriver
6 ounces hidden inside more than 22 metric tons
On July 13, 2010, a cargo container arrived in Genoa, Italy from Saudi Arabia. It was emitting torrents of radiation. No one knew what was inside. And no one knew what to do next.... [more inside]
Stop hypnotizing me sheep dancers and sheep dancer song
This is a 2 minute single link youtube video entitled Thanks, Smokey! . It has dancing, hoodies, surprises and I don't know why it is called 'Thanks, Smokey!'. God bless. (NSFW)
Tales From The Far Side
in 1994, Gary Larson's Far Side came to life on television in the form of an animated Halloween special like no other. Tales From The Far Side only aired once, and the television version differs from the not-easily-located DVD version. You can read more about this dark and hilarious animated classic courtesy of Vinnie Rattolle's, and find a copy of the television version for your very own holiday viewing.
Avería
If 'male' and 'female' were no longer true, then what was?
Thinking critically about transgender issues, a podcast by Juliet Jacques, author of the Guardian's Transgender Journey series. [more inside]
In this white darkness, we will take the place of everything
Just wait till we're alone together. Then I will tell you something new, something cold, something sleepy, something of cease and peace and the long bright curve of space. Go upstairs to your room. I will be waiting for you... As a rare October blizzard drifts a blanket of white across the Northeast just before Halloween, what better time to settle in and read (or watch) Conrad Aiken's most famous short story, "Silent Snow, Secret Snow." About a small boy who increasingly slips into an ominous fantasy of isolation and endless snow, it could be viewed as a metaphor about autism, Asperger's syndrome, and even schizophrenia before such conditions even had names. In addition to the 1934 short story, the tale has also been adapted as a creepy 1966 black-and-white short film (also at the Internet Archive) and as a Night Gallery episode (1, 2) narrated by Orson Welles. Or for a more academic take, see the essay "The Delicious Progress" examining Aiken's use of white as a symbol of psychological regression.
GOOGLIZE
Magic cards with googly eyes. Also, Pokemon cards with googly eyes. Other things with googly eyes. More other things with googly eyes. (Via Ask Surprise [warning: PONY].)
Sick
Sick. Parts 11, 12, 13, and 14. [NSFW] An incredibly dark, raw, self-aware, and often insightful look into the depressed mind of a cartoonist evaluating his life.
The Last Act of the Notorious Howie Spira
The Last Act of the Notorious Howie Spira. The conventional shorthand for what George Steinbrenner did wrong, in press accounts of the mudslinging-and-extortion scandal, is this: The Yankees owner had an "association with Howard Spira." It made Spira sound menacing—this known gambler, this criminal element. He was the embodiment of the Yankees owner's dark side: Steinbrenner the Nixon bagman, the convicted-and-pardoned felon. Under questioning in court, Steinbrenner described their relationship in ominous terms. Did Spira "destroy" him? "As far as baseball is concerned, yes," Steinbrenner said. "He did a very good job."
Breaks and Beats from Tino Corp CEO, Tino, and just in time for the holidays!
"Hello friends, my name is Tino. Do you like the drums? Great man! I love them!" As CEO and principal artist, Tino launched [Tino Corp] the label with a series of instructional albums called Tino's Breaks, which teach a new style of drumming with each installment. Straight from their factory to you, six volumes of breaks, from mambo (YT) and dub (YT), to hallowe'en music (YT) and Christmas dubs (Grooveshark). [more inside]
Ads in digital magazines: double dipping or lifeblood of the industry?
Marco Arment, creator of successful link-saving, ad-stripping service Instapaper, takes aim at web and iPad magazines for "double dipping": charging customers and still displaying ads. Magazine industry insiders and supporters respond that ads are vital to keeping magazines affordable and are easy to skip in digital form anyway. With Apple's recent launch of Newsstand already looking like it could revolutionise the magazine industry, should ad-allergic users accept them in digital magazines as a necessary evil? Or could publishers feasibly figure out a new business model that doesn't require ads?
Sixth annual BCLA Halloween Costume Surf Contest
"Just to see all the creatures on a wave is wild." Local coverage of the sixth annual BCLA Annual Halloween Costume Surf Contest in Newport Beach, CA. [more inside]
Just what it says on the tin.
Shostakovich: the string quartets
“Today we have a new group of satirists who, at the same time that they bite the bourgeoisie, use only their lips, but not their teeth”
While he was contributing to the New Yorker as Syd Hoff, he was also contributing to the Daily Worker and New Masses as A. Redfield — the pseudonym he adopted for his radical work, The Ruling Clawss (Daily Worker, 1935) a collection of surprisingly relevant cartoons.
Internet killed the television star
YouTube (Google) is spending $100 million dollars to create 25hrs a day of new original content. Intending to compete with cable TV, they'll have 100 "channels" with regular series and well-known talent. The channels are being developed "specifically for the digital age," which sounds like they're trying to create a new type of media, they compare it to the advent of cable television. There's a graveyard of ideas like this that failed, but maybe YouTube is different this time. First channels show up in a few weeks, most appear in 2012.
Overwatch
Disappointed by the new, real time FPS direction of X-COM? Tired of waiting for Xenonauts? If you want your Laser Squad style squad based tactical action right now why not try Xenosquad?
What makes for a good UI font?
Ian Hex writes about the features that make for a good UI typeface by comparing and contrasting five different fonts (Segoe UI, Lucida Grande, Ubuntu, Helvetica Neue, and Droid Sans) . He also links to a great post on the making of Azuro. Left out of the race was Nokia Pure.
Google, Wyden, Kirk, and Chaffetz
American law enforcement demands for Google users’ personal information surged by 29 percent during the past six months according to Google's transparency report. [more inside]
Grabbing A
The California—based Oakland Institute released a report earlier this year that documents some of the problems caused by the acquisition of land by foreign firms, including Indian ones, in Ethiopia and other African countries. Putting this global trend of ‘land grab’ under the spotlight, the report highlights the social and environmental costs of this phenomenon that have been largely overlooked by the media. Outlook interviewed Anuradha Mittal, the India—born—and—educated founder and executive president of Oakland Institute, to find out why she thinks India ought to share part of the blame of causing “depravation and destitution” in Ethiopia. text via Outlook [more inside]
How's about that, then? Now then, now then. Goodness gracious. As it appen's. Guys and gals. Jewelry jewelry... etc
RIP Sir Jimmy Savile, English disc jockey, television presenter and media personality. Quite a personality. [more inside]
"The people I know who used to sit in the bathroom with pornography, now they sit in the bathroom with their IKEA furniture catalogue." ~Chuck Palahniuk
Is reading on the loo bad for you? [Guardian] Filthy habit or blameless bliss? A public health study by Ron Shaoul lifts the lid on toilet reading once and for all.
Sticky thing
Self-control
Behind these castle walls is an incredible amount of self-control.
Qantas locks out workers
In response to industrial action over wage disputes with 3 unions - aircraft engineers, baggage handlers, and other ground staff - Qantas has announced that it is grounding its international and domestic fleet immediately and indefinitely.
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