March 15, 2011
Unicorns and Pegusus and Sharks and Snakes oh my.
Claymation of the Roesch - Willi Schlage (Hamburg, 1910) chess game featuring fight scenes between the pieces. [SLYT] [more inside]
on helping after the earthquake
Want to help out after the earthquake in Japan? Huffington Post has info on how best to donate to disaster relief and Charity Navigator has information on what organizations are working there.
On the nerdier side of things, the fandom community over at Livejournal is auctioning off their art, from fanfiction to scarves to editing, at help_japan and quite a few of the DeviantArt kids are making "Pray For Japan" (and "don't pray, just act") themed art to encourage people to donate. (More on the DeviantArt stuff.) Some Etsy users are also selling crafts for earthquake relief*. [more inside]
SXSW winners
SXSW is winding down and there are winners! Skateboarding punks and crippling anxiety! But is winning worthwhile? What happened to these guys?
"I want to tell my dad that I love you, and I finally made it now."
Thailand's Got Talent: Boy or Girl? (SYTL) Maybe this reinforces some cliches, and maybe it's overwrought and scripted reality tv, but I still found this pretty sweet.
A First Time for Everything
Diana, at first I was just happy that you weren't a naked guy yeah
ChatRoulette Love Song; SLYT (3.44). Cool moment at 1.33.
Penguins on a plane
Returning from the 2011 National Science Teachers Association Conference with their cargo of penguins that had been on display in the exhibit hall, SeaWorld animal escorts decided to give their charges some freedom to stretch their legs during Southwest Flight 583 to San Diego. The flightless birds promptly made the most of the situation.
The Death (and life) of Salvador Dali
The Death Of Salvador Dali [18m23s] is a 2005 short film surrealistically depicting an imaginary visit to Sigmund Freud by the legendary artist. (Alternate Yahoo Video link) [more inside]
Is Glee's "Kurt" an Offensive Stereotype?
Glee has been massive ratings success for Fox and the character of Kurt has been named one of the "best gay characters" of all time. But others argue Kurt is nothing more than the latest embodiment of a tired cliche -- the 'fabulous' gay man. [more inside]
Uke Virtuoso
The Horror of Solitary
Dickens condemned it over 160 years ago: "I hold this slow and daily tampering with the mysteries of the brain, to be immeasurably worse than any torture of the body: and because its ghastly signs and tokens are not so palpable to the eye and sense of touch as scars upon the flesh; because its wounds are not upon the surface, and it extorts few cries that human ears can hear; therefore I the more denounce it, as a secret punishment which slumbering humanity is not roused up to stay. I hesitated once, debating with myself, whether, if I had the power of saying 'Yes' or 'No,' I would allow it to be tried in certain cases, where the terms of imprisonment were short; but now, I solemnly declare, that with no rewards or honours could I walk a happy man beneath the open sky by day, or lie me down upon my bed at night, with the consciousness that one human creature, for any length of time, no matter what, lay suffering this unknown punishment in his silent cell, and I the cause, or I consenting to it in the least degree." But this very moment, over 25,000 prisoners in the U.S. are being subjected to it. Its horrific effects are well known. [more inside]
The Orphan Tsunami
Around midnight on January 27, 1700, a mysterious tsunami stole through several villages on the eastern coast of Japan. [more inside]
Form Constants
"In the Bible, God appeared to Ezekiel as a “wheel within a wheel”. Spirals and concentric circles are commonly found in petrogylphs carved by cultures long dead. Similar visual effects are reported during extreme psychological stress, fever delirium, psychotic episodes, sensory deprivation, and are reliably induced by psychedelic drugs."
Form Constants and the Visual Cortex, or Where Psychedelic Visuals Come From.
Form Constants and the Visual Cortex, or Where Psychedelic Visuals Come From.
Cathartes Aura, or "Purifying Air"
Celebrate "Buzzard Day" this weekend at Arizona's Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Too far away? You can always join the Turkey Vulture Society instead. They'll teach you how to attract vultures to your property (or if you prefer, how to discourage them).
Aeterna
“Outside In” is a jaw-dropping IMAX film currently in production that uses only photographic images from space probes to create a tour of the solar system in a one smooth, continuous camera shot – no 3D, no models, no matte paintings - by a single filmmaker in his basement. Via
If you find the site overloaded, you can also see the trailer for the film at APOD or on Vimeo. Also of note: some amazing photographs of the Sun and other celestial objects by Alan Friedman, and a shot of Saturn’s moon Dione seen past Rhea, reminiscent of 2001.
If you find the site overloaded, you can also see the trailer for the film at APOD or on Vimeo. Also of note: some amazing photographs of the Sun and other celestial objects by Alan Friedman, and a shot of Saturn’s moon Dione seen past Rhea, reminiscent of 2001.
Debt is Dumb, Cash is King
Dave Ramsey - a syndicated radio host, author and revival-style seminar leader leads a Christian-themed, tough love crusade to convince Americans to cut up their credit cards and renounce debt forever. His detractors say our impulses, not our debt, are the problem.
Bahrain explodes (part two)
Government of Bahrain declares state of emergency. Mixture of Saudi, UAE, and other GCC troops enter Bahrain upon invitation. [more inside]
What Made This University Scientist Snap?
That's an awful nice box you got there.
Best-selling author Seth Godin has launched a challenge to traditional publishing with The Domino Project, the first publishing imprint to be powered by Amazon. [more inside]
That High, Lonsome sound
Toshio Hirano is from Japan. Toshio Hirano lives here now. He came to this country following a particular sound and has made a career of it. He even has a movie about him (YT trailer)! He plays monthly here in San Francisco. Last night, as I watched him sing the blues, I reflected on how different yet connected our two countries are. Join me in sending good thoughts to our brothers and sisters in Japan.
Baby Bleeding from 3 Orifices
Police reports are more than just the facts. Ellen Collett, who left entertainment to work for the LAPD, knows one officer by his words alone. [more inside]
A Lie of the Mind
A Lie of the Mind : 'Brain tumors are funny, but they're not hilarious.' On the Fourth of July 2010 I was walking to the train with my favorite person ever, Mike O’Malley, and had several massive, uncontrollable seizures. [...] I am now under the care of new specialists because of an insurance issue, and am kind of starting from scratch again regarding treatment. This blog is meant to record this bizarre process.
Victorian stuff in jars!
The Grant museum of zoology in London has been called "A restored Victorian treasure-house crammed with specimens from a bottle of preserved moles to extinct zebras and (just identified) the legs of a dodo. And all this was put together by the man that taught zoology to Charles Darwin"
The entire collection has been closed for almost a year as all 67,000 specimens were moved from a tiny (but charming) space to a new larger space.
The new Grant Museum and its reopening.
The entire collection has been closed for almost a year as all 67,000 specimens were moved from a tiny (but charming) space to a new larger space.
The new Grant Museum and its reopening.
"When you say to a child 'Bedtime, it's bedtime now' that's not what the child hears. What the child hears is 'Go and lie down in the dark. For hours. And don't move. I'm locking the door now."
Scottish teenagers to receive sleep training in schools. [BBC] Resources to teach teenagers how to get enough sleep are to be offered to schools across Scotland.
Not the insurance you're looking for
Bank of America has allegedly engaged in mortgage fraud, according to an Anonymous website. The first batch of leaked emails appear to show that bank employees were trying to hide documents from regulators. The emails are put into context on the website Seeking Alpha which explains that they refer to the use of force-placed insurance to increase mortgage servicers' profits through kickbacks from insurers - a practice which has just been forbidden under a settlement imposed by the US' states attorneys general. [more inside]
Kid Zangeif
Long-time bullying victim finally snaps: a video of an incident at a Sydney High School has gone viral over the internet three days prior to Australia's National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence. Police and bullying experts are concerned about the level of online support that the fed-up victim's actions have received after the video, filmed by his miscalculating tormentors, was posted to Youtube (since removed and reposted multiple times). The 16 year-old has been suspended from school, but already has an online tribute to his actions and thousands of Facebook supporters.
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