April 16, 2010
more soon
Talk Show
A Turn For the Worse
Pictures From the Daily Mail
Tales of the Unexpected
A Strange Theory of Light and Matter
[more soon]
A Turn For the Worse
Pictures From the Daily Mail
Tales of the Unexpected
A Strange Theory of Light and Matter
[more soon]
Physics Experiment Will Use Lead From a Roman Shipwreck
Roman ingots to shield particle detector. "Around four tonnes of ancient Roman lead was yesterday transferred from a museum on the Italian island of Sardinia to the country's national particle physics laboratory at Gran Sasso on the mainland. Once destined to become water pipes, coins or ammunition for Roman soldiers' slingshots, the metal will instead form part of a cutting-edge experiment to nail down the mass of neutrinos." [Via]
Games as art?
Movie critic Roger Ebert has previously said that he doesn't think video games can be art, an opinion at odds with the gaming community. In a recent blog post, Ebert clarifies his position. [more inside]
Truth to power.
The Day Einstein Died
Albert Einstein died 55 years ago, on April 18, 1955, of heart failure at the age of 76. His funeral and cremation were intensely private affairs. Only one person, LIFE photographer Ralph Morse, managed to capture the events of the day Einstein died.
Music for everyone
We've had a post on bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding previously, but perhaps we could do with an update. Last year she played at the White House for Stevie Wonder's Gershwin Prize concert and again for the Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word (previously). In December she performed at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, and, according to wikipedia, her February 6 performance on Austin Cty Limits (PBS [US only?], with Madeleine Peyroux) made her the most-searched person, and the second-most-searched item on Google the next day. [more inside]
Hallelujah
K.D. Lang singing Halleujah Leonard Cohen's Halleujah may be one of the most powerful songs I heard in the past few years. This version by K.D. Lang was a pleasant surprise...
Local Commercials GONE WILD
Rhett and Link love local commercials, and, with a sponsorship by MicroBilt, they want to visit your town to make one! Don't worry [NSFW], they've had experience doing this kind of thing in the past. • Rhett and Link's website and YouTube channel are chock full of fun stuff besides commercials--why, they even helped me learn all about regional variations of southern BBQ! • [ many previous appearances ]
Every Painting in the MoMA
Zerg 'em if you got 'em
StarCraft II (previously) has yet to be released, but that hasn't stopped the open beta in Korea from being played so extensively that standout players and strategies are becoming clear well in advance of the limited US beta. Moreover, tournaments are taking place and, while probably inaccessible to those unfamiliar with StarCraft, many matches are available to watch in very high definition on YouTube, complete with surprisingly professional and insightful commentary by SC veterans.
Despite not being a major SC fan, I found myself embarrassingly absorbed by a monster 47-minute Terran vs. Protoss battle, TheLittleOne vs. LiquidNazgul: parts one, two, three, four. It's an excellent crash course in SC2 culture and terminology as well as a fun watch and great match. There are many more.
Despite not being a major SC fan, I found myself embarrassingly absorbed by a monster 47-minute Terran vs. Protoss battle, TheLittleOne vs. LiquidNazgul: parts one, two, three, four. It's an excellent crash course in SC2 culture and terminology as well as a fun watch and great match. There are many more.
Ain't no grave, can hold my body down
The Johnny Cash Project : animating the music video for Ain't No Grave with frame-by-frame contributions from visitors. Draw your own too.
please take me home.
Noah Kirkman was stopped by the police while riding a bicycle without his helmet... He then spent the next two years trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare... trying to go home.
The Kirkman family has been locked in Kafkaesque bureaucratic limbo since a misunderstanding ruined an idyllic summer vacation in small-town Oregon in 2008. [more inside]
the universe: a self-similar hierarchy of intelligent neural networks
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog, mmmmm yeah baby. A walk through for Sonic 1 with one smooth mutha
One Last Cry
After more than 160 years of treating patients, historic St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City's Greenwich Village filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday and will close its doors to new patients. The last remaining Catholic Hospital in NYC, St. Vincent's was originally founded in 1849 to serve the poor. The effect is already being felt at other hospitals in the area. But despite the filing, there was still time for one last cry: Abigail Jancu was the the last baby ever born in St. Vincent's maternity ward.
Death of the Last Sideshow Fat Man
Weighing 607 pounds, Bruce Snowdon was a sideshow fat man from 1977 to 2003, billed as "Harold Huge". His death on Nov. 9, 2009, at the age of 63 marks the end of a long tradition dating back centuries. [more inside]
City of Brotherly UUUHHHHGGGGG
Sports fans in Philadelphia have a bad reputation. They booed when their long-time star quarterback Donovan McNabb was drafted. (Something he took personally for years.) They booed and threw snow balls at Santa Claus. They booed when Michael Irvin lay motionless on the field with a neck injury that would end his career. They fought so much at football games that, for a time, their stadium had its own criminal court.
Adding to this glorious legacy, at last night's Phillies game, a man allegedly stuck his own fingers down his throat and intentionally projectile vomited on a father and his two daughters who were cheering for the Washington Nationals.
Boar-deer-butterfly GO!
Hanafuda (Koi Koi) is a flash game that plays with the hanafuda deck of cards. (As a trivia side note, hanafuda cards were the beginning of Nintendo.)
Once you're familiar with the deck, you can play Minhato, a java game that uses the same cards. [more inside]
"Now, open my Hello Kitty bag, I think I’m coming up."
No more Tasers for you!
BART Police stripped of Tasers. After a sergeant attempted to taser a 13 year old boy, fleeing on bicycle, BART has decided to remove Tasers from the BART Police force. “What are you going to do about Tasers? What are you going to do with officer who does something silly like shoot their Taser out of a window at the victim?” asked Sweet. “BART does not have enough insurance to pay for some of the things we do.” Previously.
Eight Arms to Film You
It suddenly dashed towards me and rips my shiny new camera from out of my hands, then swims off. Single link YouTube of an Octopus's directorial debut.
I agree with Nick: you're no Jack Kennedy.
Yesterday, the leaders of the three largest political parties in the UK engaged in a live televised election debate for the first time in history. Most commentators seem to agree that Nick Clegg, the leader of Britain's perennial third party the Liberal Democrats, made the best impression in yesterday's first of three weekly debates leading up to the general election on May 6. The progressive-leaning Guardian even goes so far as to claim that he is now prime ministerial material.
This being Metafilter you will undoubtedly ask, "how does Cory Doctorow figure into all of this?" Well, he agrees with Nick on the Digital Economy Act. Then again, Nick is agreed with quite a lot.
This being Metafilter you will undoubtedly ask, "how does Cory Doctorow figure into all of this?" Well, he agrees with Nick on the Digital Economy Act. Then again, Nick is agreed with quite a lot.
Mondo Cane
"If you like orchestral music and have a heart in your fucking chest, you will like this record." Mike Patton, former front man of Faith No More, frequent John Zorn collaborator, founding member of Mr. Bungle, is releasing an album covering old Italian pop songs in May, called Mondo Cane. A live performance can be streamed from Youtube. [more inside]
ULTRA MONSTERS ATTACK!
Ultra Monster art by Takayoshi Mizuki: Japanese monster-kaiju art from the 70s. Warnring: Contains Dino-Tank
How To Look Punk
Only be sure always to call it please "research"
An autistic Jasper Johns emerging?
Alex Masket is an autistic young man and prolific artist using Duct Tape, Stick-On Letters, and Legos, among many materials. His work has a suprising vibrance and rhythm. Inspiring, especially for fans of Duct Tape and Outsider Art. Listen to an interview with his parents here. (Hat Tip to the latest Utne Reader)
The Invisibles
"This is a story about a different thing. Something I call Man to Man (M2M)" This blog entry describes the events of a clay pigeon shooting outing as experienced by young woman of color. She muses about whether she should have removed her invisibility cloak and called out the M2M business at play.
Too big not to fail?
SEC sues Goldman Sachs for fraud. GS has already come under fire for "betting against" financial products it was marketing, a practice that apparently helped it prosper from the real estate bubble but come out relatively unscathed. The SEC now says that one such product was designed specifically so that a Goldman business partner, Paulson & Company, could take a short position on it. Investors were apparently not advised of this fact. Goldman's stock was off more than 10% in the half hour following the announcement. [more inside]
Dance like none of the 10,000 people around you is watching
Something you might want to see before summer concert season starts. People Dancing at Concerts. Drink responsibly, the internet is watching.
"Construction period: 2007-2009"
"In Magnasanti the most advanced construction techniques were employed to achieve a near optimum population density configuration." Remarkable video of Sim City 3000, beaten.
Video Shows Maryland Police Beating Student
Video of University of Maryland student John McKenna being punched, kicked, and beaten with clubs by Prince George's County police. McKenna was charged with disorderly conduct and assaulting a police officer; the police report claims that he had punched the officers and their horses, and that his injuries were due to being kicked by the horses. The video shows otherwise.
Passive Aggressive Library Signs
Passive Aggressive Library Signs Everyone loves librarians, don't they? In honor of National Library Week, here's a collection of threatening library signs. Librarians can be VICIOUS. Some librarians hate those signs more than you'd think: Ten Signs I Hope I Never See in Libraries Again. And just in case you missed them, Five Technically Legal Signs for Your Library if you worry about PATRIOT related issues.
The cat invasion of chatroulette was inevitable
Cat Roulette Single Link, Multi-Youtube. No requirement to be a cat yourself, or to own a cat.
Last Night Of Mephedrone Party
London hosts "Last Night of Mephedrone" party [FB link] Today a UK-wide ban on the drug Mephedrone, otherwise known as Meow Meow, becomes law, meaning a potential five year prison term for those caught possessing the substance. But several police forces are saying that they will operate a week-long amnesty while others are saying they will target dealers rather than seeking out users. London's biggest meph-heads are gathering tomorrow night to use up their stash in one final blowout, and according to them a "Central London club has offered us their venue for free and is even supplying Philip Starck brushed aluminium tables and Tiffany silver keyfobs from which to do our bumps of Meph". Apparently "one of the biggest DJs on the M-CAT scene is doing a set of specially sped-up meph sounds for at least 16 hours" and they're inviting requests - from "Love Cats" to "Stray Cat Strut".
Guardian of Language
Born 88 years ago in a bear cave in Eastern Oregon, Virginia Beavert now teaches a language with no textbooks, no study abroad programs, and no dubbed TV shows. The only surviving elder of the Yakama who knows the sacred songs and parables of the "Dreamer Religion", Waashat, Beavert researches and teaches Sahaptin (Ichiskíin Sínwit). [more inside]
It's 'kin social
This week Microsoft unveiled the Kin, formerly Project Pink (previously), which emerged out of the troubled Sidekick (previously). Built on the same foundation as the Zune HD, making it the first in-phone use of the NVIDIA Tegra, the phones operating system is a cut-down version of Windows Phone 7 with a focus on photo sharing and social networking. Will the Kin make Microsoft cool again? Perhaps. Of course all eyes are still on the Smartphone market, and how Windows Phone 7 will compare to the iPhone. Some see a clear lead for WP7 from a developers perspective, others are more doubtful.
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