March 19, 2010
Put my tape on pause and add some more to yours
Odd Homes Built of Tires and Trash Lure Environmentalists, Turn Off Bankers
Builders/owners of eco-friendly homes can't refinance in the new, tighter credit market simply because there is a lack of appraisals for comparable homes. I've long been a fan of unusual homes, especially artsy/organic-looking ones. A common theme is "off the grid" energy-efficiency and natural climate control. Sometimes, they are extremely creative, totally trippy, or even oddly pretty . And sometimes, they are absolutely stunning.
Mockus Presidente
Antanas Mockus, a Lithuanian-Colombian mathematician-philosopher and former mayor of Bogota, is running for president of Colombia. As president of the Colombian National University, he mooned the student body. In two terms as mayor, he hired mimes to stand on corners with red "INCORRECTO" banners to humiliate Bogota's legendarily reckless drivers, took a shower on TV to demonstrate water conservation, and instituted a one-night men-only curfew so the city's women could enjoy a single-sex night out (as seen previously on MetaFilter.) Mockus will be the Green Party candidate in the May 30 election, part of a crowded field with no overwhelming favorite. Mockus on Twitter (en espanol.) Mockus campaign commercial (en espanol tambien.) Mockus speaks at Harvard's Kennedy School (in English, long.)
1:12 Scale Food
What does keeping kids out of school do, and why, and how?
Suspension: It Grows on You Is "Suspension" ever corrective?
Ronnie of Botswana, on guitar
OK. Alright. That's it. Ronnie of Botswana is my new favorite guitarist.
An Extraordinary Adventure Actualized via Cosmetics Product Placement... Jessica Watson is live blogging her attempt to be the youngest person to sail solo around the world.
That much wind means some very big and nasty waves... We experienced a total of 4 knockdowns, the second was the most severe with the mast being pushed 180 degrees in to the water. Actually pushed isn't the right word, it would be more accurate to say that Ella's Pink Lady was picked up, thrown down a wave, then forced under a mountain of breaking water and violently turned upside down.
"A special everyday thing that brings happiness to my heart and steamed soy to my lips."
"Here come the inevitable Freudian references: the Solo Traveler lid is a substitute for a mother’s breast – what we might call nature’s original travel lid. The flat covers with the tear-back openings offer no such metaphoric representation. Instead, spout = nipple. Paper cup = warm skin. Coffee, tea or soy = mother’s milk. Ergo the lid is a nurturing apparatus. It provides comfort and joy as well as nourishment." [via] [more inside]
The Social Networking Appliance
Plug in a wall-wart to delete your Facebook profile! Eben Moglen, General Counsel of the Free Software Foundation, solves the problem of proprietary social networks.
Eight Cow Wife?
Johnny Lingo paid eight cows for his wife.^ (Original Story, 1960's version [1, 2, 3] , and a 2003 full length movie)
Atomic Surgery
Better Smile When You Cross That Border, Part II
Remember Peter Watts, the Canadian sci-fi writer who in December was arrested and charged with assaulting a border agent, resisting arrest, and being an asshole after being pulled over for inspection while leaving the US because his rental car had Washington plates? He was today found guilty of "failure to comply with a lawful command" by a Port Huron, Michigan, jury.
Part Three, The Sentencing, will take place April 26. Watts faces up to two years in federal prison. [more inside]
Canada is sex?
One Nation Under Sex. Pornographer and free speech activist Larry Flynt is no stranger to politics, hypocritical politicians, or to writing books on same.
But his latest project "One Nation Under Sex", co-written by Columbia lecturer David Eisenbach, and subtitled How the Private Lives of Presidents and First Ladies Shaped America, is nothing less than "a sweeping account of how the sex lives of American presidents have had a tangible effect on American policy and history." Gawker has posted the book's proposal online. [All links SFW.]
The Cloud Is Coming For Your Children
The Body Snatchers look at a human and see a nice new home. The Visitors look at a human and see a yummy snack. The Smarter Planet people look at a human and see data. Our planet is alive with data. Yummy data.
sound in the mail
If an ad agency sent me this, I would be impressed.
One if by land, two if by sea.
Started in 1930 (by the by the lieutenant governor while the sitting governor was out of state) to protect the great state of Nebraska from all that wish it harm, Nebraska has it's own navy. Want a commission? Just ask the governor and join these notable members.
A Shrine Down the Hall
Bedrooms of the Fallen, from war photographer Ashley Gilbertson.
Via the NYT Lens Blog: War Memorials With Neatly Made Beds. (Slideshow: The Shrine Down The Hall)
Wolves, neo-Nazis and Germanys population crash
Due to population decline, Detroit plans on bulldozing roughly a quarter of the 139-square-mile city into semi-rural farmland. It is a worst case scenario in America, but pales to the problem of Eastern Germany, where demographic collapse in some towns is so severe, urban-wolves and neo-Nazis are the new order of the day. The mayor of one town says: "You can't go into the forest without a knife anymore." [more inside]
Heads I win, tails you lose...
"Although the word “entitlement” fits, it’s been used so frequently as to have become inadequate to capture the preening self-regard, the obliviousness to the damage that high-flying finance has inflicted on the real economy, the learned blindness to vital considerations in the pay equation. Getting an education, or even hard work, does not guarantee outcomes. One of the basic precepts of finance is that of a risk-return tradeoff: high potential payoff investments come with greater downside. But how did that evolve into the current belief system among the incumbents, that Wall Street was a sure ride, a guaranteed “heads I win, tails you lose” bet?"Yves Smith writes an essay on 'indefensible men.'
The teal and orange age of Hollywood
Those who have watched a lot of Hollywood movies over the past few years may have noticed a trend: many of these films sport a uniform palette of teal and orange, a result of the availability of digital colour-grading. Originally derived from applying complementary colour theory to human skin tones to make them stand out more, the teal-and-orange rule has spread, and is now being lazily applied across the board, whether appropriate or not.
Game-Inspired Music
Anyone who grew up playing video games understands the impact of the music. But the internet has allowed all sorts of people to express their love in many different ways. [more inside]
Odd, yet funny drawings
Money can't buy me love....
Everybody Have Fun. In 1978, a trio of psychologists curious about happiness assembled two groups of subjects. In the first were winners of the Illinois state lottery. These men and women had received jackpots of between fifty thousand and a million dollars. In the second group were victims of devastating accidents. How happy had they been before these events? How about now? How about expectations for the future? These and other results have shown that hitting the jackpot fails to lift spirits along with a whole range of activities that people tend to think will make them happy (getting a raise, moving to California, or having kid). Is the United States a nation of joyless lottery winners? And are there implications for public policy decisions?
The Psychology of the Unthinkable
The Psychology of the Taboo Trade-Off. A set of studies about issues that are considered "sacred" that can have an effect on the trade-offs involved in foreign policy. (via) [more inside]
Equine Inversion
Charlie Gillet; b. 20 Feb. 1942; d. 17 March 2010
Musicologist, Writer, Radio Presenter, and Record Producer.
Charlie Gillett who died yesterday was the author of The Sound of the City (1970), which has been described as "the first comprehensive history of rock and roll". Gillett was also among the first DJs to champion Graham Parker, Ian Dury (whom he briefly managed) and Elvis Costello. However he is probably best known for sharing his passion for world music.
Charlie Gillett who died yesterday was the author of The Sound of the City (1970), which has been described as "the first comprehensive history of rock and roll". Gillett was also among the first DJs to champion Graham Parker, Ian Dury (whom he briefly managed) and Elvis Costello. However he is probably best known for sharing his passion for world music.
I just love this music for its own sake,’ he says. 'I don’t have any other agenda in presenting it. I genuinely believe it’s the best music there is.[more inside]
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