October 3, 2013
Come at me, bro.
Phonte has thought a lot about which rappers correspond to which classic television shows.
Gunta Stölzl: Artist, Weaver, Bauhaus Master
Gunta Stölzl was an extraordinary textile designer. She led the Weaving Workshop at the Bauhaus from 1926-1931, transforming it into an innovative and successful workshop that elevated the department they pushed women into (weaving being considered a woman's craft) into a innovative, successful department that treated weaving as art. She then moved to Switzerland where she continued her career as a designer and innovator. This website has a fantastic array of images of her work and life.
Some of my favorites: 1922 design as a student | pictures of the Bauhaus - Weimar | Working out fabric patterns | an honorary diploma | Bauhaus Masters, 1926 | rug design | Closeup of a 1960s Fabric [more inside]
Leave No Man Behind
Twenty years ago today the Battle of Mogadishu raged in the streets of the Somali capital as members of Task Force Ranger attempted to arrest two lieutenants of the warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. When one of the helicopters crashed, what was planned as a short mission became a street-by-street fight to reach the pilot and crew, and then evacuate them from the city. The battle – which some estimates place at 160 American, Malaysian, and Pakistani troops against 6000 Somali militiamen and civilians – became known to the public as Black Hawk Down thanks to the work of Mark Bowden, a staff writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer who wrote a 29-part series on the battle in November and December 1997, leading to the critically acclaimed 1999 book Black Hawk Down, and the 2001 movie of the same name. [more inside]
Digital disciplines
All work and no play... it says on Bart's blackboard
TREEHOUSE OF HORROR XXIV "The Simpsons" announced that the 'couch gag' for this year's Halloween (three weeks early) episode would be 'created by Guillermo Del Toro'. What has been pre-released to YouTube is a three minute deconstruction of all the elements of a usual Simpsons opening sequence AND MORE, with almost uncountable references to horror movies (and Guillermo Del Toro movies - and Futurama).
Vivaldi's Four Seasons - as you have never heard them before
Nigel Kennedy, best known for this performance of the Four Seasons by Vivaldi at the Proms in 1989, decided to give the popular classical piece a make over. He invited the Palestine Youth Orchestra to ". . . bring(s) fresh insights to these visionary concertos, including the addition of his own improvised links between them." Youtube Link [more inside]
Opplopolis
An esoteric ensemble of characters scour the city of Opplopolis for clues to the mysterious Marvedyne. (by Kit Roebuck, formerly of Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life [previously])
Tough enough to be a Sissy in Wyoming
'Longtime cross-dresser Sissy Goodwin of Douglas, Wyo., has been anything but weak as he stands up to bigotry in the Cowboy State.' 'A stranger once drove up to his house and kicked out his front teeth. People called him a queer and a pervert. He's also been booted from countless stores, hotels and restaurants, all because of the way he dresses.' 'While Wyoming is the self-proclaimed Equality State, Goodwin has another name for the place: the Mississippi of the West, where equality comes only to the majority. He says his greatest insults have come not from any homophobic cowboys, but from people he'd known since childhood who snubbed him in public. He was once asked to avoid a local Democratic Party peace rally because organizers were embarrassed by his cross-dressing.'[LAT link, use privacy settings in browser, if needed]. [more inside]
Everywhere you look, something tells a story.
Gizmodo's look at the "Wildly Functional Studio of Video Wizard Casey Neistat." (SLYT) [more inside]
There's danger in everything
Music video for 'Wor' by Django Django filmed at the Indian Well Of Death in Allahabad (SLYT)
The One and Only Damita Jo Freeman
Damita Jo Freeman is awesome. In more ways than one. Her appearance with Joe Tex would have gotten her fired had it not boosted Soul Train's ratings. As one of the more successful of many Soul Train Dancers, Damita Jo was instrumental in standing up for better working conditions for the dancers. Also, she is is partially responsible for teaching Michael Jackson how to moonwalk. Read all about this amazing woman here.
Journal of Irreproducible Results
No, no, no---the other custom of the sea
You know what they say… When in Africa, create a mimed rendition music video of the 1983 smash hit “Africa” by Toto and post it on Youtube? I actually don’t know anyone who says that, but that’s just what the crew of a Subsea 7 contracted OSV did and their video is making the rounds this week on the internets. (slytp via gCaptain) [more inside]
Does it turn into energy? Does it go into the toilet?
In a TEDx talk from Queensland University of Technology, Ruben Meerman asks and answers a question many everyday people seem not to know the answer to: When you lose fat, where does it go? [more inside]
Whose's afraid of the NSA?
Tired of having all your posts and emails read by people you don't know? Aware that Congress will do nothing to change domestic spying; your president will not to stop it. And technology seemingly unable to restore privacy? Well here is your chance to Occupy NSA
Feral cat wranglers vs. Trapper John
On the mean streets of Chicago, it's feral cat colonists versus Trapper John, the rogue former Animal Control worker.
Three strikes
Lakisha Briggs was a victim of domestic abuse, having been beaten unconscious by her boyfriend. When a neighbour called the cops, the boyfriend went to prison for assault. And then the police served notic to her landlord to evict her and her 3-year old son or lose his rental licence. The reason? She'd made three 911 calls in four months and a local Norristown, Pa. police ordinance calls for tenants who do this to be evicted. [more inside]
"Making a The Field song is a bit like making a risotto."
Kompakt records is streaming The Field's fourth album, Cupid's Head, on Soundcloud. As that stream will eventually expire, some more information is below the fold. [more inside]
10 Things You Need to Know About Asgardians
MediAvengers: Earth's Mightiest Gossip is a blog of media parodies set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Why Are There Still So Few Women in Science?
Last summer, researchers at Yale published a study proving that physicists, chemists and biologists are likely to view a young male scientist more favorably than a woman with the same qualifications. Presented with identical summaries of the accomplishments of two imaginary applicants, professors at six major research institutions were significantly more willing to offer the man a job. If they did hire the woman, they set her salary, on average, nearly $4,000 lower than the man’s. Surprisingly, female scientists were as biased as their male counterparts.
A wonderful long article by Eileen Pollack where she talks to her former mentors, the study authors, and the other female science professors at her alma mater. NYTMagazine, worth reading especially for the absence of glib simple answers.
(Previously, of course.)
you are watching us fight
When Turntable.fm launched in 2011 it served as a unique way to listen to music virtually with friends on the web. It works on the basis of groups that let users play music on virtual decks with a queue system, chat room, and the ability to search and upload music. Two years after its introduction, its creators are fighting to keep it alive.
There will always be scammers
Forbes provides a list of 5 major scams that have popped out of the woodwork with the beginning of deployment of the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare). Be on the lookout! [more inside]
"Enclosed is a rough draft of a F.F. page..."
Sean Howe digs up "a February 1966 letter from then-Staff Writer Denny O’Neil to Marvel fan Jay DeNatale, [which] includes what’s possibly the earliest insider account of Marvel from someone other than Stan Lee." (via)
Fact Man Says: Learn an Instrument, Because It's Fun.
More wreck than Wrecking Ball?
Sinead O’Connor’s Remarkable Open Letter To Miley Cyrus "Nothing but harm will come in the long run, from allowing yourself to be exploited, and it is absolutely NOT in ANY way an empowerment of yourself or any other young women, for you to send across the message that you are to be valued (even by you) more for your sexual appeal than your obvious talent."
"...somewhere where no one was asking me for anything.”
This does not stink.
Ultra-prolonged activation of CO2-sensing neurons disorients mosquitoes. It’s hard to hide from a hungry mosquito: the insects home in on their human targets by detecting body heat, carbon dioxide, and odors. Repellents containing DEET ward off mosquitoes and other bugs, but until recently (pdf) no one knew why. Some research indicated that mosquitoes smell and avoid the insect repellent DEET. (pdf) Armed with the knowledge that carbon dioxide (CO2) present in exhaled air is the most important sensory cue for female blood-feeding mosquitoes.... [more inside]
i want my mommy
Deadly Asian giant hornets - aka Vespa mandarinia - kill at least 41 people in China. Hundreds more have been hospitalized by these 2+ inch beasts with a sting that packs a human-tissue dissolving neurotoxin. Survivor stories are terrifying. Think you are safe in the U.S. or Britain? Nope and nope. (via @BitterOldPunk)
Dead drop "peer-to-peer" file sharing
Aram Bartholl created the first file-sharing dead drops as an art project in 2010, but since then the more than 1200 USB dead drops have been installed around the world (28c3 talk, blog). Also, WiFi based dead drops called WiDrops offer better security than USB dead drops, especially for Windows machines, but require power. [more inside]
Nope Nope Nope
Map animations of history
Youtube user EmperorTigerstar draws animated maps. Like this one, plotting the Franco-Prussian War, this one, depicting World War I, or this one, showing every day of World War 2 in Europe.
Previously, previously.
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