November 2, 2010
Andy Irons RIP
Three time world surfing champion Andy Irons has died at age 32, apparently from dengue fever. [more inside]
The cure for FHS (Floating Head Syndrome)
The End of a Smartly Turned Out Era
The border crossing at Wagah between India and Pakistan has long been host to one of the most bizarre rituals in diplomacy, one which draws massive crowds to witness its daily spectacle. Sadly, all good things come to an end.
A Little Boost
"I don't know what I was thinking. I guess Liz's tenacity [at attempting to climb the tree] bought enough time to chase the thought 'what can this metal thing do if it's pointed up instead of down?' to its logical conclusion." At the end of election season, sanity and compassion are restored as an amputee uses his prosthetic to give a tree-climbing kid a little boost.
Newspapers and paywalls, some data from The Times
Some data on newspapers and paywalls, as The Times reveals some of their numbers and chooses to look on the bright side of the data, while others are more skeptical. [more inside]
Disunion @ the NYTimes
Disunion One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, Americans went to war with themselves. Disunion revisits and reconsiders America's most perilous period -- using contemporary accounts, diaries, images and historical assessments to follow the Civil War as it unfolded. Updated every Monday.
Luke Perry + DragonCon = Portraits
The 21 Best Portraits of Luke Perry at DragonCon. Also, The 21 Best Portraits of Luke Perry With Luke Perry.
Real people experiencing the Real God in the real world.
Bishop Jim Swilley of Conyers, Georgia's megachurch Church In The Now has announced to his congregation that he is gay. He was moved to make the announcement after the recent national coverage of gay suicides. Queerty has more details and video reports, including video of the sermon where he made the announcement. [more inside]
a knitted skeleton
A knitted skeleton seated atop a pyramid of Borden’s condensed milk cans and a cloud of screen prints on Plexi glass suspended above it. The knitted skeleton is seated in the lotus position. The prints are of disembodied anatomical parts photographed in high resolution with diagrammatic illustrative overlays. Transcending the Material by Ben Cuevas [nsfw]. [more inside]
Space Funeral
Yours truly
"The modern hand-written love letter is dead," says Doyle. "That is the consensus. People communicate differently now – though not necessarily without meaning. They still are learning to get to know each other through the written word." Love written digitally may not have the romantic image of quill and ink (though ink-stained fingers may also have dampened some ardour in the old days), but the new medium doesn't necessarily harden the heart. Think only of the popularity of dating websites, which prove that communicating feelings of hope and tenderness in text continues to thrive in certain quarters. ~ The dying art of the billet doux
"A smile God designed to melt mortal men's hearts"
Stunning Audrey Hepburn photos: now you too can leaf through this marvelous Taschen limited edition by famed Hollywood photog Bob Willoughby, which sold out in hours despite its hefty price tag.
I'll just pretend
I watched with glee, tears, a bottle of Jack Daniels
An Open Letter to Mark Gatiss A personal reaction to the horror aficionado's recent series. (Watch here on iPlayer.) [more inside]
plants in sanskrit poetry
Seasonal Poetry in Sanskrit : The blog Sanskrit Literature has been running an excellent series on plants that appear in sanskrit poetry. Some examples : Jasmine (malati), Lotuses and Water Lilies, Mango.
Milkshake!
Pencils down.
It's Election Day in America, and as is so often the case in this fickle land, the results of the 2010 midterm elections are up in the air. Although President Obama's party is expected to suffer significant losses, record numbers of districts remain competitive, and even minute errors in polling could mean the difference between a historic Republican landslide and an unexpectedly robust Democratic defense. At stake are control of not just the Senate and House, but myriad state and local offices, many of which will play key roles in the dynamics of the 2012 presidential race -- and, more subtly but no less crucially, the once-in-a-decade congressional redistricting process. Much uncertainty surrounds the behavior of the electorate -- how many will turn out, and how informed will they be? To help move those statistics in the right direction, look inside for voter guides, national and state fact checkers, and an assortment of other resources to keep tabs on as the results roll in. [more inside]
Kye Allums Makes NCAA History
Transgender Man Plays on Women's College Team. A guard for George Washington University's women's basketball team is a transgender man. Kye Allums, who was born female and has not undergone any hormone treatments, changed his name from Kay-Kay to Kye within the last year and was relieved not to lose his scholarship. "When people refer to me as 'girl' or 'she,' it doesn't sit well with me," Allums said. "That feeling you get when someone pisses you off, that feeling you get when your stomach gets hot and it aches, that's what it feels like. And that's how I know I'm not supposed to be a girl." On Nov. 13, he will be the first transgender person to compete in Division One college basketball, according to OutSports. Opposing fans used to taunt Allums about his masculine build, but it backfired. "I love it," he said. "It makes me feel better about myself to hear them call me a man."
Not Only... But Also
Not Only... But Also, the 1960s Peter Cook and Dudley Moore sketch show, was one of the many programmes where many of the episodes were lost due to the BBC's strangely appalling archival policies. Last month, however, audio recordings of 11 of the lost episodes were found at the home of NOBA fan Graham Webb, who had recorded them off the TV at the time of transmission, using a reel-to-reel tape recorder. [more inside]
The next level of street art
Generally, the Arts & Design section of the New York Times talks about reviews, gallery openings, ballet performances, open-air concerts, and the latest violin virtuoso. But sometimes art isn't in museums, galleries, parks, or on the sides of buildings - it’s where you can’t go. [more inside]
The Automatypwriter
Smoke, Smoke, Smoke that Cigarette
Every Cigarette Smoked in Mad Men. Well, clearly not every cigarette, but it seems to me the show is one big tobacco ad. Also mentioned in parody. [more inside]
Get the Gist
Gist is an online contacts management system that knows about your social media contacts as well as your IRL friends... [more inside]
Giants Baseball: Torture.
The San Francisco Giants are the 2010 World Series Champions, having defeated the Texas Rangers 4 games to 1. [more inside]
Field Mice Needed
Old school hardware hacker, Postscript enthusiast, electronics writer, woo debunker, all around geek, and now amateur archaeologist Don Lancaster (prev 1, 2) needs you. And maybe some of your nerdy gadgets. [more inside]
The sorcerer must therefore find someone who is willing to take the pants
>If you want to make your own necropants (literally; nábrók) you have to get permission from a living man to use his skin after he's dead. Click here for a vocal description. NSFW image here.
[via Great Dismal, via Got Medieval] [more inside]
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