November 18, 2016

"To be in Unicode. That is my main goal.”"

The Alphabet That Will Save a People From Disappearing - "“Why do Fulani people not have their own writing system?” Abdoulaye Barry remembers asking his father one day in elementary school. The variety of writing styles made it difficult for families and friends who lived in different countries to communicate easily. Abdoulaye’s father, who learned Arabic in Koranic schools, often helped friends and family in Nzérékoré—Guinea’s second-largest city—decipher letters they received, reading aloud the idiosyncratically modified Arabic scripts. As they grew older, Abdoulaye and his brother Ibrahima began to translate letters, too. “Those letters were very difficult to read even if you were educated in Arabic,” Abdoulaye said. “You could hardly make out what was written.” So, in 1990, the brothers started coming up with an alternative. Abdoulaye was 10 years old; Ibrahima was 14." [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:10 PM PST - 10 comments

Dissolving the Frame

Baldwin is trying to convey in one image both his sense of space and height and his view of the ground. The execution is not entirely successful. Nevertheless, the attempt is significant. In combining phenomenological and visual sensations, Baldwin is responding to the extraordinary new conditions of flight.
Lily Ford on how balloon flight transformed out idea of landscape. Part 2.
posted by Rumple at 9:05 PM PST - 1 comments

What else are you going to do with all that cat hair?

Cats. In hats. Made from their own hair.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:53 PM PST - 26 comments

Sun sets in Barrow AK for the last time Friday

At 1:31 p.m. Friday the sun set in Barrow, Alaska for the last time. Ever. Or at least, it set for the last time while the city is named Barrow. [more inside]
posted by leahwrenn at 8:08 PM PST - 24 comments

The arctic air temperature is 36 degrees F warmer than normal

As the Arctic settles into polar night, scientists are noticing that something has gone horribly wrong. Sea ice levels in at the North Pole are at a record low—but even more startlingly, air temperatures are 36° F (20° C) higher than normal across the region. At the same time, north-central Asia is experiencing equally abnormal temperatures, but in the opposite direction. There’s a cold spell looming over Siberia.
posted by Ostara at 6:48 PM PST - 64 comments

Nihilistic Teddy Bear: Message for Dark Days

Nihilistic Teddy Bear: Message for Dark Days Nihilistic Teddy Bear wants off this damn planet.
posted by GospelofWesleyWillis at 6:34 PM PST - 2 comments

"ssssssssss"

Giant Roaches Can Grow Big Testicles When They Need Them. Regrettably, yet fascinatingly, true.
posted by duffell at 6:08 PM PST - 24 comments

As long as there's sex and drugs, I could do without the rock & roll

The year is 1992, and They have returned. (Trailer). There were interviews: David Letterman, Arsenio Hall, Charles Gibson. There were appearances: Headbangers Ball, Rockline with Martha Quinn (Part 2 only. Part 1 was DMCAd. Quite exciting, this computer magic!) But then there was the concert: The Return of Spinal Tap at The Royal Albert Hall, with special guests The Folksmen, Bob Geldof, Kenny Rogers, and many other surprises. If you're Australian, don't forget your Rock 'n Rolls.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 5:02 PM PST - 6 comments

“Cheers, love! The cavalry’s here!”

Overwatch and Dark Souls 3 win big at this year's Golden Joystick Awards. As does The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine. [PC Gamer] “The winners of the 2016 Golden Joystick Awards [YouTube] have been revealed, with the coveted Ultimate Game of the Year title going to the grossly incandescent Dark Souls 3. Elsewhere, Overwatch took home the most awards of the evening, including Best Original Game, Best Multiplayer Game, Competitive Game of the Year, Best Gaming Moment, and PC Game of the Year.” [more inside]
posted by Fizz at 4:39 PM PST - 59 comments

Police have not yet shot the white foam

Mysterious white foam floods Santa Clara. A torrent of whiteness flooded Martin Ave in Santa Clara this afternoon. Authorities maintain "the foam is not dangerous." (It's AFFF and not really mysterious)
posted by GuyZero at 1:31 PM PST - 71 comments

A little relaxation couldn't hurt right now

Neuroscience Says Listening to This Song Reduces Anxiety by Up to 65 Percent [more inside]
posted by brainmouse at 12:44 PM PST - 67 comments

A sentry watching for hundreds of miles, alone on the plain

The pyramid at the end of the world: In rural North Dakota, a small county and [a group of Hutterites] are caught in a stand-off over a decaying piece of America’s atomic history.
posted by frimble at 12:38 PM PST - 16 comments

The Art of Mending

Imagine trying to solve three puzzles at once. Now, imagine all the pieces mixed together in one big pile.
posted by bq at 12:37 PM PST - 13 comments

20 Years of The Rock

Twenty years ago this week, the Rock burst forth onto the nation's television screens in his first wrestling match, and nothing would ever be the same. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan at 10:24 AM PST - 70 comments

I still wake up and remember who is the President-elect

A week since the post-truth 2016 US elections and Donald is attempting team selection with Reince Priebus becoming the Chief of Staff (Onion), while Steve Bannon is the Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor and Jeff Sessions could be the Attorney General. Election result analysis continues, including Barack's reaction, rural voters and insiders, as does consideration of the approaching 2018 mid-terms. Post-election, hate crimes have increased and a tally is being kept, while Black Lives Matter issues a statement. There are issues with fake news, and with vote counting in Arizona and Supreme Court control in North Carolina. Meanwhile, down ballot election results bring good news for liberals, Twitter does something, and voters swap media bubbles. Relevant events in the near future include the minority House elections, the Trump University litigation trial (maybe), the Louisiana Senate race runoff, the Electoral College vote and probable climate collapse. [more inside]
posted by Wordshore at 10:00 AM PST - 2822 comments

Behind You

A single serve Tumblr of small self-contained horror stories in cartoon form. Some are animated, but all are wonderfully unnerving.
posted by Kitteh at 9:35 AM PST - 22 comments

"There's no real way around EVE's brutality"

There's a fairly well-established pattern of events that surround MMOs transitioning to a free-to-play model. First, the existing players freak out and try desperately to convince the game studio not to do it. Then the articles about the death of that MMO begin appearing in the gaming press. Then the studio insists that "no, no, everything's fine." Then the layoffs and server shutdowns begin. So why is it that when EVE Online developer CCP announced that they were going F2P, it was met by near-universal enthusiasm from the player base? Well, EVE has always been a little different. [more inside]
posted by 256 at 9:20 AM PST - 22 comments

Cooking/Maryland/History

A Maryland Food History Blog: 300 Years of Black Cooking in St. Mary’s County---Free State Oyster Omelet ---Interview with a Maryland Waterman---Mrs. Kitching’s Clam Chowder
posted by josher71 at 9:16 AM PST - 16 comments

Tim, we're not calling her 'Luke'.

An Oral History of Spaced: "Spaced came from our own flat-share experiences, but also in the wake of Friends in the mid-90s there had been a few copycat shows in Britain that were supposedly about young lives, and we just didn't feel represented in those shows at all – they were all fairly attractive people hanging around in brightly-lit wine bars, talking about shagging. We felt a bit affronted by that..." " I remember filming the scene when I shot the zombie's head off with a shotgun and thinking, 'This is going to be on after Friends.' " [more inside]
posted by nubs at 9:00 AM PST - 36 comments

Hieronymus Bosch, reimagined.

A three minute video of a different kind of place. (Single link - vimeo. Possibly NSFW). Hieronymus Bosch created some of the weirdest art. This is a tribute video of sorts. There is some sound with the video. Very trippy and mesmerizing.
posted by Vatnesine at 8:40 AM PST - 6 comments

Give Sarcasm a Chance

Wasted Rita is a Portuguese artist, based in Lisbon, born with a natural tendency to provoke, using sarcasm as a weapon and the power of full-time thinking to write about the most common things of all possible things: life and human beings, the inbetweeners, and the all arounders. . [more inside]
posted by chavenet at 8:35 AM PST - 4 comments

Templar, Illuminati or Dragon?

Sean Charmatz is an animator, writer and actor best known for his work on Spongebob Squarepants. He left the show in 2013, and amongst his current projects is The Secret World Of Stuff. [more inside]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:36 AM PST - 4 comments

Dey make take oooooor lifes, bud they woll nefer tayk ur freeedum!

Accent Analysis. A well executed accent can be the sharpest tool in an actor’s toolbox. But when an accent is off, everyone notices. An analysis of movie accents.
posted by blue_beetle at 6:30 AM PST - 92 comments

Turned upfield, made a football move

The collected works of Phil Simms, pro football’s poet laureate
posted by Frobenius Twist at 6:11 AM PST - 7 comments

Subject has posted on the blue.

New subject has entered. Welcome! (please turn on your sound)
posted by weewooweewoo at 4:51 AM PST - 23 comments

Guess What?

Apple Brings Back the Peach Butt Emoji Finally, a change we can believe in.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:28 AM PST - 29 comments

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