November 30, 2009
Binder Dundat
Turn up the good, turn down the suck. The 'bangers are back. Greenlighted in April, FUBAR II, the sequel to the 2002 Sundance film FUBAR began shooting Monday in the Tar Sands of Alberta. [more inside]
Cupcakes are mostly made of four elements
There must be something about cupcakes and the periodic table of the elements. Not sure who did it first, but now it is ubiquitous. Then of course there is The Periodic Table of Cupcakes, which is a whole other matter. [more inside]
The Last Nazi trial?
Germany is, for the first time, trying a non-citizen for crimes committed as part of the Holocaust. John Demjanjuk, originally from Ukraine, is an 89-year-old man, retired US auto factory worker, and former US citizen who has been deported and charged with 27,900 murders for the part he may have played in World War II. This is the second time Demjanjuk has been tried. [more inside]
A Long, Incomplete, and Mostly Wrong History of Free Software
In Two Bits (full-book in html) , Christopher M. Kelty investigates the history and cultural significance of Free Software, revealing the people and practices that have transformed not only software, but also music, film, science, and education. The author encourage his readers to modulate the book. [more inside]
Everything you never wanted to know about the American prison-industrial complex
Everything you never wanted to know about the American prison-industrial complex. Part 2: Prison Nation.
Well, that's that then
Lev Grossman (wiki) has picked the six greatest fantasy novels of all time to This Weeks "Best Books...chosen by" series. Grossman blogs that each one"absolute indisputable classic" that "completely changed the game." [more inside]
It's THE DELICIOUS.
Homeowners! You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Mortgages!
The Moral Dimensions of Ditching a Mortgage: University of Arizona law professor Brent T. White has written a provocative new paper (pdf) that urges homeowners with "underwater" mortgages" to walk away by strategically defaulting on their mortgage debts. [more inside]
War of the Worlds and the Power of Mass Media
WNYC's Radiolab took a look into Orson Welles' 1938 radio production of H.G. Wells' novel The War of the Worlds, which caused mass panic in the United States when listeners mistook a radio drama for actual reporting. They then explored the question of whether such hysteria could be recreated in a similar way, recounting stories from Quito, Ecuador in 1949 and Buffalo, New York in 1968. (There was one other attempt in Santiago, Chile in 1944 which is not mentioned in the Radiolab synopsis.)
Hillbilly Truffle
Hillbilly Truffle "In France, they call them Périgords—and they’re known as the diamonds of the kitchen. You probably know them as black truffles, those baseball-sized fungi that are sniffed out of the earth by pigs or dogs, get sold for thousands of dollars, and transform any meal into a luxury item. So what happens when—sacrée merde!—an obsessed Yankee learns to grow them in the scrub woods of Davy Crockett’s Tennessee?"
Table for Two
Jeffrey Steingarten thought Gisele didn't like him and Susie Essman wasn't surprised. They gave Gisele her favorite part: crispy penis. Susie said, "Nothing like crispy penis."
According to Jeffrey, salad is a silent killer. He claims almost every plant has a chemical in it that helps defend itself from the outside world. If we eat too much of it, we're basically eating poison.
The general rule is you don't let the women at the table tell you there's enough food.
According to Jeffrey, salad is a silent killer. He claims almost every plant has a chemical in it that helps defend itself from the outside world. If we eat too much of it, we're basically eating poison.
The general rule is you don't let the women at the table tell you there's enough food.
The Big Apple
My Rikers, let me show you them
Secret Supper. Shhh!
The owners of Casa Saltshaker in Buenos Aires have compiled a list of venues in what they refer to as the Underground Dining Scene. [more inside]
Lego Matrix Trinity Help.
Play 5,000+ classic video games in your browser
TheSmartAss.info's suite of Java emulators allows smooth, in-browser playback of literally thousands of old-school video games: 517 Atari titles, 148 for DOS, 636 Game Boy games (and 410 for Game Boy Color), 2,019 (!) NES titles, 238 GameGear games, 802 Sega Genesis titles, and 284 for the Sega Master System. Highlights include Space Invaders, Frogger, Galaga, Pitfall!, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, SimCity, Zero Wing, Duke Nukem, Sonic the Hedgehog, Aladdin, Earthworm Jim, Pokemon, and Metal Gear Solid. Use the search function to find your favorites! You can also register an account to save games on emulators that support it. Make sure to check the purple bar below each game for control info and links to alternate emulators in case the default one is buggy or slow.
For Domu / Umod / Sonar Circle / Bakura (etc), This really is The End ...
The story starts in 1992 or so, when the 14 year old Brit, Dominic Stanton, bought turntables and started spinning early drum'n'bass. He transitioned from DJ to producer, made demo tracks, and got signed by age 17. He went on to produce broken beat* and jazzy downtempo*, even into the realm of disco edits. Then about two weeks ago, the 31 year old musician called it quits.
The point is that I am no longer Domu. He is a character, always has been, and as of Friday 13th November 2009, he no longer exists. Neither does Umod, Sonar Circle, Bakura, Yotoko, Rima, Zoltar, Blue Monkeys, Realside or any of the other names I put out music under. I am cancelling all my gigs and not taking any more. My hotmail is closed, my Twitter is closed and my Facebook is closed.Furthermore, his website is closed and the original post of his farewell message is lost, though you can still view the cached version or find it copied elsewhere. Domu's website now simply states This really is The End . . . Step inside for an abbreviated journey. [more inside]
Show me the working!
Why movies cost so much. (MLYT!) Let us pause, in our respective busy days, to celebrate the gag reel. Are you ready? House season 2 and 3 (and bonus valley girl take); Grey's Anatomy seasons 3 and4, Back to the Future, Star Trek (2009), Star Trek (1969), Star Trek (IV), Star Trek (TNG), Star Wars (original), Star Wars ("1"), Star Wars ("2"), Star Wars ("3"), Step Brothers, Men in Black, LOTR, POTC, POTC 2, POTC 3, Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad, Hot Fuzz, Yes Man, Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar, and many others.
CityCenter, Las Vegas
Tomorrow in Las Vegas, a mixed hotel/condominium called Vdara will open for business on the spot once occupied by the unlamented Boardwalk Hotel and Casino. It is the first stage of the CityCenter complex, the largest privately financed development in the United States, which has already cost $8.5 billion and six lives. Even before the recent debt-restructuring woes of 50% stakeholder Dubai World, there was concern over CityCenter's impact on the struggling local economy. (previously) [more inside]
“For surely of all the drugs in the world, Chess must be the most permanently pleasurable”
"Armenia is a tiny, poor country in the Caucasus, with a population of just over 3m. It has a long history of bloodshed and oppression; when it appears in the news it is usually because of its entanglement in some labyrinthine regional feud. And it excels at the ancient, cerebral game of chess." (via)
Marie Severin, First Lady of the Silver Age
Starting her comics career as a colorist, Marie Severin was largely responsible for the distinctive color palette of EC Comics, where her brother Johnny Severin also worked. She later worked in the Marvel Bullpen, drawing just about everything, including many well loved staff caricatures. She turned 80 this year; here are a few of her Marvel covers from the 60s and 70s.
The forgotten people
Western Sahara has the dubious distinction of being the subject of probably the most forgotten-about post-colonial conflict in the world. Until 1975, the Spanish government considered Western Sahara a Spanish province, just as much an integral part of its territory as any of its provinces in the Iberian peninsula. However, at the beginning of the 70s, a burgeoning pro-independence movement, and increasing appetites of its Northern and Southern neighbours, Marocco and Mauritania, led to a UN visiting mission in early 1975, which found that "there was an overwhelming consensus among Saharans within the Territory in favour of independence and opposing integration with any neighbouring country". This finding was given additional support by an opinion by the International Court of Justice supporting the Sahrawis right to self-determination against the claims of neighbouring nations. [more inside]
Abyssal chthonic resonator
RIP Robert Holdstock, writer of the Mythago Wood series and many other award winning fantasy novels.
Selected Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
To celebrate the start of its 350th year, the Royal Society has put online 60 of its most memorable scientific papers. [more inside]
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