February 24, 2010

The art of paper cutting

A two-dimensional piece of paper takes on a third dimension in recent works by paper cutting artists. Fairytales. Maps and fairies. Forests. Journeying through a book. (Previously) [more inside]
posted by emilyd22222 at 10:14 PM PST - 10 comments

Methane and Climate Change

Climate change could be accelerated by 'methane time bomb' Atmospheric methane levels began rising in 2007, when an Arctic heatwave caused sea ice to shrink significantly. Now new preliminary results suggest levels have continued to rise through 2008 and 2009. The new figures [were] disclosed [earlier this week] at the start of a two-day conference on greenhouse gases at the Royal Society in London. (more here; via).
posted by HP LaserJet P10006 at 8:45 PM PST - 47 comments

Mobile Suit Gundam

Gundam in Excel [SLYT]
posted by at the crossroads at 8:44 PM PST - 47 comments

Crankin'

Antique Circular Sock Knitting Machines [more inside]
posted by Chrischris at 8:35 PM PST - 23 comments

The Teenager Audio Test

The Teenager Audio Test "Clicking the play button below will produce a tone that is generally only heard by people under the age of 25. It has been used as a deterrent device to keep teenagers from loitering in malls and shops, and sounds similar to a buzzing mosquito. The elderly and people with hearing damage often cannot hear the sound." SLTO (Single Link The Oatmeal post) [more inside]
posted by sid at 8:29 PM PST - 201 comments

Lolacaust?

"Where Brooklyn At?!" by Adolf Hitler. [SLYT]
posted by phaedon at 8:12 PM PST - 46 comments

Your body is now a crime scene

"Using the legal standard of "reckless behavior" all a district attorney needs to show is that a woman behaved in a manner that is thought to cause miscarriage, even if she didn't intend to lose the pregnancy. Drink too much alcohol and have a miscarriage? Under the new law such actions could be cause for prosecution." A new Utah law now makes intentional behavior leading to miscarriage or "reckless" behavior leading to miscarriage a crime punishable by life in prison.
posted by Avenger at 7:53 PM PST - 88 comments

I'm Sorry Dave, I Can Compose Better Than You

Computer generated music is about to get better.
posted by herodotus at 7:46 PM PST - 45 comments

Two teachers one chair.

The kids are calling it Two teachers one chair (SLYT). The news says that simulating a lap dance during a high school prep rally is going a little too far. What does in loco parentis mean these days? What's a teacher gotta do to be good these days?
posted by kneecapped at 6:49 PM PST - 66 comments

Prezi, the Zooming Presentation Tool

Power corrupts. Powerpoint corrupts absolutely. There are many online alternatives to Powerpoint (like 280 Slides, Google Docs and Sliderocket), but nothing breaks the mold quite like Prezi. [more inside]
posted by Hildegarde at 6:21 PM PST - 66 comments

New Pew Study Finds the Millennial Generation the Most Educated, Underemployed, Optimistic, Plugged-In, Nonreligious, Democratic generation in American History

Dig out the flannel from the attic--there's another grunge movement a-comin'! According to a new study from the Pew Research Center, the millennial generation (18-29 year olds) are becoming one of the most educated generations ever, but many of them are still unemployed. This research revealed another very scary statistic. They said the college students who graduate during a bad economy typically suffer long term consequences that can affect their careers and earnings for as long as 15 years (Gen-Xers everywhere wince). [more inside]
posted by njbradburn at 5:51 PM PST - 85 comments

The Lessons of Gobekli Tepe

Laying bare the gratuitous assumptions of the patriarchal historical narrative. A weblog entry from the Aristasian Empire, of which a history and some kinnies [NSFW]. • Gobekli Tepe [previously] • Aristasia [previously]
posted by tellurian at 5:00 PM PST - 31 comments

The Treachery of Images

A French association for non-smokers' rights has launched a new ad campaign [all links potentially NSFW] that visually equates smoking with oral sex, using the tagline: "To smoke is to be a slave to tobacco." The pictures show adolescents, young men and women, and the act looks submissive, even forced. Uproar ensues. The Minister for Families vows to ban the images. Commentators join in. French slang helps explain: "Faire un pipe" and "Fumer le cigare" are both common-enough terms for the act that most people who see the images would get the double-entendre. [more inside]
posted by chavenet at 3:46 PM PST - 70 comments

Ackbar

Students at the University of Mississippi voted yesterday to help select a new mascot. The previous mascot, Colonel Reb, a white-bearded old man with a cane and wide-brimmed hat, was removed from sporting events in 2003. There is now a student-led effort to select "Star Wars" character Admiral Ackbar (video of Ackbar saying "It's a trap!" here) as the new mascot. This effort includes a Facebook group and twitter account. The slogan is, "This time it's not a trap." Officials at the University say "No chance." Meanwhile, the "Save Colonel Reb Foundation" has sponsored a series of radio ads, including this one.
posted by bguest at 3:26 PM PST - 41 comments

Heavy Metal Curling, FTW!

Heavy Metal Curling! Gothenburg band, Hammerfall joins forces with the Swedish Women's Curling Team for a power metal promo. Meanwhile, Americans get shafted with the godawful AT&T Team USA Soundtrack. Curling owns the 2010 Olympics.
posted by snottydick at 3:12 PM PST - 30 comments

You know, that thing where...

The secret origin of TV Tropes (Previously)
posted by Artw at 3:05 PM PST - 48 comments

Death Never Looked this Cosy!

Killing Time. Daniela Edburg's (previously) series of photographs about compulsive knitting and death.
posted by Emanuel at 2:48 PM PST - 10 comments

A cool place to play

I have been working on and off for about 2 years building our "D&D ROOM" to hold most of our collection and give us a cool place to play...
posted by Joe Beese at 2:44 PM PST - 61 comments

The nuclear option

The Vermont state legislature voted today to close Vermont Yankee, the Green Mountain State's own nuclear power plant.
posted by vortex genie 2 at 2:26 PM PST - 26 comments

"The list of people who were blown up or poisoned while trying to do so is impressive"

There are many exciting chemicals. These are the ones that Derek Lowe won't work with. Derek Lowe authors the "In The Pipeline" blog on Corante, and writes primarily about the pharmaceutical industry. However, the subset of entries marked "Things I Won't Work With" delves entertainingly into the realm of substances like dioxygen difluoride (tl;dr: it explodes. A lot.)
posted by scrump at 2:16 PM PST - 46 comments

The Territorial Imperatives of the Trumpeter Swan

Be forewarned that somewhere, sometime, someplace, some enterprising young man who seems to know ten times what you do about computers is going to try to convince you that his program will make a jug of cider jump off the table and turn ducks' eggs into solid gold. Look this man straight in the eye and ask him for names of people who are successfully using his program. DO NOT, under any circumstances, bet him that he can't do it. There's no telling what someone might be able to make a computer do.

A journey through the whimsical computer manuals of the Franklin Ace.
posted by shakespeherian at 1:17 PM PST - 8 comments

Killer whale kills

Killer whale kills at theme park.
posted by found missing at 1:16 PM PST - 130 comments

NSFWord

NSFWord: Effing Typeface.
posted by yellowbinder at 1:08 PM PST - 15 comments

Customizable kitchen garden planner

The Kitchen Garden Planner allows you to create a customized plan for a Square Foot Garden. They also have designs for pre-planned square foot kitchen gardens, such as the high-yield garden and the salsa garden.
posted by mudpuppie at 12:53 PM PST - 17 comments

Your upload has been queued for screening - Expect it to go live within the next 12 - 24 months

In 2006 some Italian teenagers filmed themselves assaulting a youth with Down Syndrome and uploaded the video to Google Video Italia. It was pulled from the site within hours, but that did not satisfy the Italian Down Syndrome support group named Vivi Down, who filed a complaint that resulted in a two-year investigation. That lead to charges and indictment of four Google executives, who were never aware of the video until after it had been removed, for violating Italy’s privacy code. Today the Italian court ruled that three of the four - chief legal officer David Drummond, global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer and former CFO George Reyes - are guilty, and sentenced them to 6 months to a year of jail-time. The fourth, Arvind Desikan, former head of Google Video in London, was acquitted. [more inside]
posted by BeerFilter at 12:22 PM PST - 79 comments

Delightfully tacky, yet overvalued

Rumor has it Hooters is for sale and could fetch up to $250 million. After the death of the chairman Robert H. Brooks about four years ago the company has been run by his son Coby who recently was on an episode of Undercover Boss. A legal battle erupted over Coby's widower step-mom claiming for a larger share of the inhertance under South Carolina's elective share law forcing the company to take on outside investors. Now the company looks to raise cash quick with a defunct airline, casino in default, and countless lawsuits plaguing its profitable salad dressing manufacturing, credit card, and franchise operations.
posted by wcfields at 11:14 AM PST - 169 comments

Townes Van Zandt poetry

Yesterday Night Dawn: The Unpublished Poetry of Townes Van Zandt by David Broza was released. I heard it last night and have ordered my copy. [more inside]
posted by bjgeiger at 10:37 AM PST - 15 comments

Still Life With Rock, Paper & Scissors

Vanitas, the 17th-century Dutch still-life genre emphasizing transience and mortality, is reborn through the lens of photographer Justine Reyes using everyday objects that belonged to her grandmother. Reyes is not the first contemporary artist to reinterpret this genre.
posted by Rarebit Fiend at 9:35 AM PST - 11 comments

"Many people are alive but don't touch the miracle of being alive."

Oprah interviews Vietnamese peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. The results may surprise you. [more inside]
posted by shii at 8:37 AM PST - 69 comments

Diary of a hunger striker

What drives somebody to hunger strike? The hunger strike as a method of protest has been employed for a very long time indeed. The first thing I think of when the words "hunger strike" are mentioned is the story of Bobby Sands, despite the fact I was too young to know what was going on at the time. Is it fitting that the bizarre actions of a huge food company has inspired another hunger strike? [more inside]
posted by Homemade Interossiter at 8:27 AM PST - 15 comments

I'll bake a saw inside a cake

Margaret Cho's "My Lil' Wayne" (SLYT). A folksy song about fightin' the man, making a break for the border, and living large. Cakes, strippers, and hairbraiding!
posted by yeloson at 8:20 AM PST - 11 comments

An education "turnaround"

“This is hard work and these are tough decisions, but students only have one chance for an education,” Education Secretary Duncan said, “and when schools continue to struggle we have a collective obligation to take action.” In response to a new federal mandate to fix under-performing schools, every teacher will be fired at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island.
posted by lunit at 7:29 AM PST - 231 comments

The meme is dead. Long live the meme.

Unrelated Captions. (via the A.V. Club Blog)
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:23 AM PST - 28 comments

Groovemeister and all-around fun guy, Bernard Purdie

I'm gonna 'splain to you what the Purdie shuffle is all about... Woooo! Don't worry about those ghost notes! Ain't nuthin' but rebounds! We're gonna take an extra step! I'm gonna go to my cowbell! You don't have to be a tub-thumper yourself to dig master percussionist Bernard "Pretty" Purdie's infectiously joyous drum instruction videos. Yeah!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:40 AM PST - 21 comments

"I had always known she had to have a routine"

Why autism is different for girls: "We may think it only affects boys. But the female variant is often much harder to spot – and that means thousands of girls may be going undiagnosed."
posted by Len at 6:14 AM PST - 100 comments

Dead People of Walmart

"Generously sized, the Star Legacy's Regal Wide Body has extended dimensions width combined with an adjustable bed. Exceptional quality, sleek design and squared corners add to its contoured look. The hand-tailored white crepe interior and hand-painted, high gloss antique gunmetal finish is complemented with classically designed hardware and premium swing bars. it is the perfect match for the person who lived life to its fullest." Yep, Walmart now does caskets.
posted by unSane at 6:12 AM PST - 72 comments

Men's evil manners live in brass

Medieval funerary effigies and brasses provide a valuable and fascinating look at the fashion, heraldry, and armor of the Middle Ages. [more inside]
posted by Shohn at 6:05 AM PST - 5 comments

Like the Mines of Moria

The G-Cans (warning: mind-blowing photos inside) water collecting system in Kasukabe City, Japan is a massive underground silo network (more photos) in the greater Tokyo area designed to control flooding (note: this site is in Japanese with English tour link) from typhoons. [more inside]
posted by bwg at 5:08 AM PST - 41 comments

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