October 31, 2013
The Girl in the Closet
From the Dallas Morning News, an 8-part profile of Lauren Kavanaugh, who was kept in a closet for six years before being rescued at age 8 weighing 26 lbs, and of the remarkable people and recovery that has followed. [Warning: this story and the accompanying photos and videos are immensely hard to read, watch and listen to, and this piece is a trigger for every possible kind of abuse.]
"Here's Johnny!" vs. "Boo!"
In celebration of Halloween, The Dissolve has devoted three long posts to The Shining: a keynote examining the film and King's relationship to it, a staff discussion, and a critical comparison of the film with the 1997 TV miniseries written by King. (Scrubbed the show from your brain? Let this episode of Nostalgia Critic refresh your memory.)
The Scoop on Poop
Animated GIFs and other art from Matthew DiVito
Matthew DiVito is a motion graphics designer and an aspiring game developer, whose current specialty is animated GIFs that are hypnotic and beautiful. You can see a series of his animations on his Tumblr and a few individual works on Cargo Collective, which has a few of his short videos from Vimeo
Creating the Innocent Killer
Hell Houses
Evangelical churches across the country run "hell houses" on Halloween. These attractions show how "sinful" activities can ruin young lives. Some churches are trying to be more positive in their messaging. For those who are interested, you can now buy your own "hell house" outreach kit. [more inside]
Yanks Go Home!
Select Magazine, 1990-2000. "This is a website dedicated to my favourite 90s music magazine Select. I'll slowly be scanning in features, to give random flashbacks to the 90s music scene."
professional rock climber Joe Kinder cuts down juniper trees for sport
Professional sport climber Joe Kinder recently admitted to cutting down two Juniper trees at the base of a climbing cliff in the Tahoe, California region in order to make a climb safer. Kinder at first did not admit to the action, which may be illegal (with fines up to $500 and up to six months in jail if the tree was in the Tahoe National Forest) but has since posted an apology (My Actions, My Responsibility, And My Mistake) to his blog.
Your Halloween Soundtrack
2012 sees slowdown in the increase in global CO2 emissions
From the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency... (Interactive Presentation)(Actual Report PDF)
Actual global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) reached a new record of 34.5 billion tonnes in 2012. Yet, the increase in global CO2 emissions in that year slowed down to 1.1% , which was less than half the average annual increase of 2.9% over the last decade. This is remarkable, as the global economy grew by 3.5%. This development signals a shift towards less fossil-fuel-intensive activities, more use of renewable energy and increased energy saving. Increases in fossil-fuel consumption in 2012 were 2.2% for natural gas, 0.9% for oil products, and 0.6% for coal.
United States Devil Map
Can't decide where to go trick or treating? Jonathan Hull has created an interactive map of all the places in the U.S. with words like Devil, Hell, or Satan in the name. [more inside]
Sad Chili Cheese Nachos
"my friend told me to watch this cooking video while listening to sad music. so i mixed a little something for you all" Hello Wildcats. Chef Steven Reed shows us how to cook chili cheese nachos in the microwave. Additionally, spaghetti, creamed corn and potatoes, and Rice-a-Roni.
The USS You
ShapeWright Ship will take your name (or really any string of text) and generate a 3D model of a spaceship based on it.
The Appointment
The Appointment is a horror film from 1981, starring Edward Woodward as the father of a family possessed by some sort of malevolent entity. Although it has (probably quite rightly) been largely forgotten, it does have a really fantastic opening scene. [more inside]
Canopy Cats
We are closed. Thanks for 46 years.
The end of the Waffle House: Regulars say goodbye to Bloomington, Indiana's second oldest restaurant. Bud Powell and his wife Myra opened the restaurant, one of the first Waffle House franchises in the country, on Oct. 10, 1967.... The legends showed up from time to time — Bobby Knight, Woody Hayes — but it was the regulars who received special treatment. Everybody knew everybody. Senior night was Tuesday. You could bring your girlfriend, your kids, your mother-in-law — everyone was family.
"What ironical tricks are played on the poor unsuspecting Nordics!"
76 Years Later, Maryland Tries To Right A College Football Wrong (SLDeadspin) In October 1937, Maryland administrators threatened to cancel a game with Syracuse unless the then-Orangemen benched their offensive star, Wilmeth Sidat-Singh. The problem, as Maryland saw it, was that he wasn't the right type of colored boy.
What could improve a Thomas Kincade painting?
Artist Jeff Bennett has found the best way to make Thomas Kincade artworks palatable. You add some Star Wars!
Words are weapons
"Unspeak is language that deliberately loads the dice. War on Terror. Weapons of mass destruction. Climate change. Failed asylum seekers. File sharing. Austerity measures. Oil spill. Erectile dysfunction. Once we tune in to unspeak we start seeing and hearing it everywhere" -- UK journalist Steve Poole's book Unspeak has been turned into a six part interactive documentary series by Dutch new media group Submarine Channel, narrated by Poole himself. [more inside]
Creepy things in a museum? Never!
Including the wind-up friar automaton repeatedly claiming his faults and not one but two creeping baby dolls, the Smithsonian lists the 11 collection objects giving them the creeps this Halloween.
"Miss Kate helps me."
A Month of Witches Tennessee author Betsy Phillips (previously) (previously) is back again with a month's worth of spooky stories.
Its eyes are bigger than its.. everything
"Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your font..."
The story behind the Cheers logo and opening titles.
"A clever Halloween costume triggers nostalgic memories of classic TV typography."
"A clever Halloween costume triggers nostalgic memories of classic TV typography."
Legato Gelato = Smooth and Cool
Have some slang you want to insert into the popular consciousness? Rappedian (Comapper?) Zach Sherwin shows you how to do it in his pukka new music video, Legato Gelato.
A Freeform Chicken-Flavor Explosion
Real Kitchen as Alinea -- This Halloween, Chicago take-out cafe Real Kitchen is dressing up as modernist Michelin-starred restaurant Alinea.
Meet badBIOS, the multi-platform malware that jumps airgaps.
oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh
For sale: baby shoes. Baby doesn't have feet
New Kindle feature: doesn't cause the plane's wings to fall off anymore!
Just in time for holiday travel, the FAA now approves use of portable electronic devices for the entire duration of your flight.
Why I quit major league baseball
Surely THIS ... Rob Ford documents released, video described by police
A Rob Ford video has been found by Toronto cops. Toronto police chief Bill Blair says the video cannot be released or described, and will be placed before the courts because some unnamed person will be charged with extortion. While he never mentions the word "crack", he does say that the video is congruent with what has been described in the media and does not appear to have been doctored. [more inside]
Grand Illusions
"Everybody's doing a brand new dance now."
"The Lurch", performed by Ted Cassidy, on Shindig, 1965. You might remember him from a television show.
'You need to say, 'I'm Devin Wang and I'm the person in that picture."
OK Win!
Question: How good would you have to be to win an OK GO video contest? Answer: Very good indeed. See the winning video for OK Go's "I'm Not Through' here
The History Of Baseball, In One Weird, Beautiful Drawing
Craig Robinson of Flip Flop Fly Ball (previously: 1, 2, 3) takes to Deadspin to show off his latest creation, an Árbol de la Vida (Tree of Life) capturing many of baseball's important historical figures, places, and events.
Prison Architect flash mob
Are you a dark dreamer?
Dark Dreamers was a series of interviews with horror writers and directors and other icons. Several of them are on youtube: Clive Barker; Wes Craven
Harlan Ellison (1, 2, 3); Richard Laymon; Richard Matheson; Julie Strain (MLYT)
Love Is Lost
Just in time for Halloween, David Bowie releases the kind of creepy video for Love Is Lost (Hello Steve Reich Mix by James Murphy for the DFA). The original track comes from his most recent album, The Next Day. [more inside]
WWI in Color
World War I in Color is a documentary designed to make the Great War come alive for a 21st-century audience. The events of 1914-18 are authoritatively narrated by Kenneth Branagh, who presents the military and political overview, while interviews with historians add different perspectives in six 48 minute installments annotated within. [more inside]
they were everywhere
Halloween Google Doodle
Google's Doodle is a fun Halloween themed game. Add different combinations of ingredients into the witch's cauldron for some spooky surprises. [more inside]
Somehow not sponsored by Red Bull
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