November 2, 2011
Skinemax
Skinemax is Koyaanisqatsi for a generation raised on late night television and B-movie VHS tapes. It's long form entertainment for short attention spans. An hour long VJ odyssey, it will move your body and warp your mind. A nostalgic look back at a half remembered childhood growing up in the 80s and early 90s, Skinemax takes a close look at the culture of that era. The images that motivated, delighted, and terrified us on the silver screen, set to propulsive modern music that pines for a simpler time.
The Shadow Superpower
The Shadow Superpower: a survey of globalized black market trade, and the size of the informal economy. [more inside]
A prehistoric monster which has mysteriously survived into the modern world
The City of London Corporation has been in the news lately related to Occupy London. But the deeper story of how this medieval remnant functions in 21st century England is far stranger... and more sinister.
A message from your king.
What would happen if a monarchy ruled in part of America? With a monarch divinely crowned? And then a soldier, fighting in the trenches against your hated enemy, saves the king's son and is thrust into court politics? If you flimed it all in New York City, you'd get Kings, a short-lived (March 2009 - July 2009) television series that aired on NBC. It starred Ian McShane as King Silas and you can watch all 13 episodes of it on Hulu or NBC's website. [more inside]
Port of Oakland "effectively shut down"
At least 4,000 are at the gates to the Port of Oakland - San Jose Mercury News. More links inside. [more inside]
Steinway & Sons
Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037, a documentary by Ben Niles. "Invention for 900 Hands", a nine-part series in The New York Times. "K 2571: The Making of a Steinway Grand", an article in The Atlantic Monthly. [more inside]
They Went For Broke
On Wednesday, the United States Congress awarded its highest civilian honor to a group that had waited more than 60 years to be recognized for its service. [more inside]
17 Hours of Russian Animation
No one rivals Doom! NO ONE! Doom is supreme! There is no power on earth, no intellect in all creation to equal Mine!
The ecstasy of the feet.
Christopher McDougall, barefoot running advocate and author of Born to Run (2009), pens a multipage article on shoeless running for the New York Times.
What ever happend to predictability? The milk man, the paper boy, evening TV...
World's first manned flight with an electric multicopter
Throw your hands in the air
We're Going To Be Friends by the White Stripes, in American Sign Language.
They should put wheels on those!
The Girl Who Couldn't Come
The Girl Who Couldn't Come - This is a book of dirty stories. It is a book where sex is fun and good and people are kind to each other. Also there are ghosts and there is math and there are obsessive compulsive disorders. (Direct link to eponymous story - NSFW text) [more inside]
Anonymous vs Los Zetas Cartel
On October 6th, a video claiming to be by Anonymous Veracruz was posted on YouTube, requesting the release of one of their members. A member of Anonymous was kidnapped during a public demonstration, by Los Zetas Cartel (or simply Zetas) of Mexico. The video included threats of exposing those who collaborate with Zeta, from corrupt police to taxi drivers and journalists. This, in light of internet snitches hung from an overpass (warning: graphic image) and a beheaded blogger from Laredo. On Sunday, one arm of Anonymous called off their threat to Zeta via a series of Twitter posts, citing concern for those not involved. Several Twitter accounts went silent, showing signs that Operation Cartel, or #OpCartel, was over. But there are still members involved, posting on their Facebook page that those not directly involved with the efforts should not try to participate, even going as far as to recommend people do not buy or wear Guy Fawkes masks, or use such images in their online.
I call him Nev-Bard
Neville Bardos is a very cool horse. Actually, he was a pretty terrible racehorse. Australian Three-day Event rider Boyd Martin bought him off the truck to the glue factory for $850.
Originally developed as horse trials for the military, three-day eventing combines dressage, cross-country and showjumping to test horses' obedience, fitness and stamina. It's the triathlon of Olympic equestrian sport. By 2009, glue factory reject Neville Bardos was a good enough event horse to win the Fair Hill CCI***, a United States Equestrian Federation championship event; in 2010 he placed fourth at Rolex Kentucky, the pinnacle of the sport.
Then came the fire. [more inside]
Judge William Adams beat his 16-year old daughter with a belt for downloading music and computer games
In 2004, Texas Judge William Adams beat his 16-year old daughter with a belt for downloading music and computer games. Unbeknownst to him, she filmed the whole thing. Seven years later, fed up with the continued harassment and abuse from her father, she uploaded it to YouTube (warning: graphic language and violence, NSFW). Less than 24 hours after hitting Reddit, the video is all over the news. Hillary Adams says on Twitter that she hopes her father will receive help, not condemnation.
Noodlin'
Turn It To The Left! Now Turn it To The right!
I, _____________ ,am not gay; I never have been gay.
Late last month, the Board of Trustees at Shorter University, a Christian school in northwest Georgia, instituted a "personal lifestyle statement", asking all employees to, among other things, "reject as acceptable" homosexuality. The University president has stated flatly that anyone who "adheres to a lifestyle outside of what the bibical mandate is" will not be allowed to continue at Shorter.
Reaction from a gay employee. [more inside]
Reaction from a gay employee. [more inside]
Back to San Andreas
The Grand Theft Auto V trailer is out. This time, in sunny California.
"How long before ... Greece, in its desperation, turns once again to the colonels?"
Mired deep in financial crisis, the Greek government of George Papandreou has sacked the country's military leadership:
In a surprise development, Panos Beglitis, Defence Minister, a close confidante of Mr Papandreou, summoned the chiefs of the army, navy and air-force and announced that they were being replaced by other senior officers. Neither the minister nor any government spokesman offered an explanation for the sudden, sweeping changes, which were scheduled to be considered on November 7 as part of a regular annual review of military leadership retirements and promotions. Usually the annual changes do not affect the entire leadership.[more inside]
"By any definition, these orcas are slaves."
"I'm on the Conan show / show / show / show."
In part five of Jon Ronson's Escape and Control, he talks to Patrice Wilson, the man behind Rebecca Black's "Friday" (YT) and finds himself part of the Ark Music Factory assembly line. [more inside]
Fantastisk Mediemanipulation
SYGNOK and The War For Radical Computer Music. -- "We join Gæoudjiparl van den Dobbelsteen (aka Goodiepal), internationally acclaimed 'Danish Techno Prophet' and creator of Radical Computer Music (RCM), in the aftermath of his war against the Danish Royal Academy of Music. Now operating under the moniker 'SYGNOK' after teaming up with DJ HVAD and VJ Cancer, the film traces how Gæoudjiparl's RCM goals of creating music for 'artificial and alternative intelligences' has now diverged into a tangled web of race wars, theft, forgery and death threats."
LET'S BLOW SOME SHIT UP
The Formula for Complete and Utter BAYHEM or, How Michael Bay has Made Billions in Box Offices Worldwide. SLInfographic (the last graph is particularly depressing)
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