December 10, 2007

The confining dark...

The Enigma of Amigara Fault is an absolutely compelling and terribly creepy short manga story by Junji Ito about mysterious human-shaped holes exposed in a cliff by an earthquake, each perfectly matching the outline of someone who is then compelled to enter the confining, claustrophobic darkness. For more of Ito in English, there is Falling. Make sure to read from right to left.
posted by blahblahblah at 9:57 PM PST - 72 comments

The Whale Hunt

A photographic catalog of a traditional whale hunt. (Flash, photos include whale hunting in all its bloody detail) In order to develop an experimental interface for storytelling, photographer Jonathan Harris accompanied a family of Inupiat Eskimos on a subsistence whale hunt. During his week long journey, he took 3,214 photographs, including pictures taken every 5 minutes while he was sleeping. The navigation allows for for very quick navigation through the series, using a heartbeat metaphor and a number of filtering constraints so that you can narrow your search to cast members, locations on the journey, and even something as loose as a photo's "concept". via
posted by mkb at 7:31 PM PST - 21 comments

Three Years. Fifteen Suicides.

Prison and the Mentally Ill in Massachusetts: The Globe reports on the pitfalls and consequences of using a retribution-based correctional system on the criminally insane in MA, as inmates in the state kill themselves at triple the national rate. Part I. Part II. Part III (in tomorrow's Globe). Photos of the system's most troubled. Last words of some disturbed inmates. [more inside]
posted by rollbiz at 6:55 PM PST - 92 comments

The Last Battlefield

It has been called the Last Battlefield of World War II in Europe. [more inside]
posted by beagle at 5:17 PM PST - 37 comments

Why does the WGA hate freedom and democracy so much?

On December 7th, talks between the Writer's Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) broke down. From AMPTP.com: "We are heartbroken to report that despite our best efforts, including sending them a muffin basket, making them a mix CD, and standing outside their window with a boombox blasting Peter Gabriel songs, our talks with the WGA have broken down."
posted by Tehanu at 4:52 PM PST - 48 comments

Animal Planet investigates alcoholism in monkeys

"Significantly, the percentage of monkeys and humans who avoid alcohol is the same." [YouTube]
posted by finite at 4:32 PM PST - 28 comments

Humans are evolving rapidly

Humans are evolving more rapidly than in the distant past, according to a new study published in PNAS. "The massive growth of human populations has led to far more genetic mutations, and every mutation that is advantageous to people has a chance of being selected and driven toward fixation. We are more different genetically from people living 5,000 years ago than they were different from Neanderthals", says lead author John Hawks. [more inside]
posted by stbalbach at 3:53 PM PST - 137 comments

American Idol. Err... American Icon.

American Icons from Public Radio International's Studio 360 is host/author Kurt Andersen's "...survey into the books, movies, art, and architecture that have come to represent American culture and character."* For example, in the episode on 'Moby-Dick,' listen to Ray Bradbury, Tony Kushner and Frank Stella talk about Melville and his literary masterpiece. Listen to Laurie Anderson compare 'Moby Dick' to 'Star Trek.' In a segment on 'The Great Gatsby,' listen to the only known recording of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Then witness Salman Rushdie as he credits 'The Wizard of Oz' as his first literary influence while Bobby McFerrin performs snippets from his eight-minute medley condensing the entire movie.*
posted by ericb at 3:48 PM PST - 10 comments

Jew - Not a Jew.

Know your musical Jews!
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 2:59 PM PST - 49 comments

4) Don't touch me there!

The Four Essential Travel Phrases in 435 languages + 242 dialects + 49 conlangs!
Including Popculture English and more!
See also: I Can Eat Glass...it does not hurt me.
posted by sushiwiththejury at 2:58 PM PST - 34 comments

Earle of the land of Imagination

4 Artists Paint 1 Tree, a segment from Disneyland included on the recent DVD release of Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty, features the artistic process of one of my favorite painters and cartoon modernists, Eyvind Earle. If you've seen Sleeping Beauty, Lady and the Tramp, Paul Bunyan or Peter Pan, you're familiar with the fantastical and brilliant landscapes he produces. His paintings show a particular fondness for Big Sur and Central California.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 2:35 PM PST - 5 comments

Black, in white stripes

"Newman's prediction that I am gone for life, to be buggered by American criminals, will not come to pass," said Lord Black.

NewsFilter: American criminals pleasantly surprised.
posted by bicyclefish at 2:08 PM PST - 36 comments

Reading Anna Karenina in Africa

Doris Lessing's Nobel Prize for Literature acceptance speech. "The storyteller is deep inside everyone of us. The story-maker is always with us. Let us suppose our world is attacked by war, by the horrors that we all of us easily imagine. Let us suppose floods wash through our cities, the seas rise . . . but the storyteller will be there, for it is our imaginations which shape us, keep us, create us - for good and for ill. It is our stories that will recreate us, when we are torn, hurt, even destroyed."
posted by jokeefe at 1:50 PM PST - 20 comments

The Terrible Secret of Animal Crossing

The Terrible Secret of Animal Crossing "I've documented the journey of Billy, a young, happy lad who believes he's going off to have fantastic adventures at summer camp... This is a literal and practically contextual account of what happens to poor bastards sent to Animal Crossing."
posted by chrismear at 1:38 PM PST - 28 comments

The Wheel Turns

Brandon Sanderson has been selected to write the twelfth volume in the Wheel of Time, having been chosen on account of his previous books Elantris and Mistborn
posted by ChrisR at 1:31 PM PST - 27 comments

Live Japan Rail Cam

Railway TV. Live video from the front of a train in Japan. [more inside]
posted by brownpau at 1:28 PM PST - 14 comments

Rage, Rage, Ted

Being But Men. Every year around this time, this interstitial runs and I am reminded of the genius of Dylan Thomas and how much fun it must be to make interstitials for TNT. [more inside]
posted by The Bellman at 1:17 PM PST - 8 comments

Hi, this is the Big O, Otis Redding....

O-T-I-S R-E-D-D-I-N-G died 40 years ago today at the age of 26.
posted by tallthinone at 12:35 PM PST - 26 comments

Cat Coiffure

"If you have any creature in the house with a head bigger than a walnut (including boyfriends), you need a Kitty Wig™."
posted by hermitosis at 12:33 PM PST - 34 comments

The whore you know...

Hieronymus Bosch Action Figures: Bosch action figures; a perfect gift for that special niece or nephew whose tastes tend toward the demonic and grotesque.
posted by psmealey at 12:19 PM PST - 21 comments

Reflection's Edge

Reflection's Edge, a monthly fiction zine (back issues), has many resources for writers, including slang/dialect (don't miss the links to Texas Talk, the Internet Guide to Jazz Age Slang, or the 1736 Canting Dictionary), writing advice and interviews, and advice on how to sell your story.
posted by Pants! at 11:34 AM PST - 10 comments

dance like nobody's watching.

Not just for PTSD.
posted by gman at 10:44 AM PST - 39 comments

The Virtual Tourist in Renaissance Rome

The Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae A collection of over 900 zoomable print engravings, organized around the work of Antonio Lafreri and other Italian publishers, whose documentation of Roman ruins and statues helped fuel the Renaissance. The itineraries are a good place to start for detailed discussion, or just browse away. [via the wonderful Bouphonia]
posted by mediareport at 7:29 AM PST - 8 comments

Cheers, Big Ears!

The first known film of the long-eared jerboa, an endangered Mongolian rodent with legs like a kangaroo, was released today by the owners of London Zoo. Previously
posted by chuckdarwin at 4:25 AM PST - 29 comments

Philip Beesley

Philip Beesley is an architect who also creates wonderful kinetic sculptures. You can see them in motion on his Youtube page.
posted by swordfishtrombones at 3:50 AM PST - 2 comments

Pictures of Bicycles

Pictures of bicycles. And previously. Please be advised, there some pictures of girls that might be considered Not Work-Safe, but mostly just lots and lots of really sexy bicycles.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:54 AM PST - 38 comments

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