April 19, 2014
Williamsburg, 2021
The Exit Room. "In 2021, an imprisoned journalist facing execution contemplates a desperate escape attempt in order to return to his wife and newborn child." [Via]
The 2014 Hugo Nominees
The finalists for the 2014 Hugo Awards and finalists for the 1939 Retrospective Hugo Awards have been announced in advance of LonCon3, the 2014 WorldCon of Science Fiction. [more inside]
Virgin? Check. Fed? Check.
New research suggests that it's the male black widow spider who chooses the female in order to avoid being post-coitally eaten, rather than the female who chooses the male. (article abstract)
"You can measure your life in a number of drops."
World's longest-running experiment captures elusive tar pitch drop fall on video after 84 years of waiting — though, sadly, too late for physicist and former pitch drop custodian Prof. John Mainstone, who passed away last year.
Data probably does have a fully-functional pornoraphic memory
Make It Social
Advertising trade paper ADWEEK is trying to handle 'viral marketing' and 'social media' the same way as it always handled TV commercials and magazine ads. So, it noted that one of the most successful 'social branding' promotions of the last six months was for Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart on Broadway.
Note: While McKellan was much more active on Facebook recently, Stewart has had many more MetaFilter FPPs (in fact, Ian's only post here was about him officiating at Stewart's wedding).
Note: While McKellan was much more active on Facebook recently, Stewart has had many more MetaFilter FPPs (in fact, Ian's only post here was about him officiating at Stewart's wedding).
15 famous landmarks, put into context
Sometimes, famous landmarks lose some of their draw when put in context, as seen in this Imgur gallery, which was expanded and modified slightly by Bored Panda. For more physical context, there are Google earth links below the break. [more inside]
Not 21 days
How Long does it actually take to form a habit? Answer: Not 21 days. ...Maltz's work influenced nearly every major "self-help" professional from Zig Ziglar to Brian Tracy to Tony Robbins. And as more people recited Maltz's story -- like a very long game of "Telephone" -- people began to forget that he said "a minimum of about 21 days" and shortened it to: "It takes 21 days to form a new habit." A study debunks a popular self-help myth.
Rachel Frederickson was doing exactly what we asked of her.
Roxane Gay on The Biggest Loser: "My body is wildly undisciplined and I deny myself nearly everything I desire. I deny myself the right to space when I am public, trying to fold in on myself, to make my body invisible even though it is, in fact, grandly visible. I deny myself the right to a shared armrest because how dare I impose? I deny myself entry into certain spaces I have deemed inappropriate for a body like mine—most spaces inhabited by other people. "
Do your civic doody.
Over the last six months, an unidentified person has been leaving feces on children's slides in the parks of Ypsilanti, Michigan. Despite deploying hidden cameras, the police have been unable to identify the mystery pooper. To enlist the help of the public, a series of billboards have been erected around Ypsilanti with such humorous taglines as "Do Your Civic Doody: Report the Pooper" and "Help us Catch the Poopetrator," as well as a Twitter campaign featuring the hashtag #ypsipooper.
(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ GOOD GAME
Tabletop Simulator is a, well, simulator for tabletop gaming. The trailer shows a number of applications: classics like chess and chinese checkers, RPG campaigns, and games using a standard deck of playing cards. And if you're looking for something with less structure you can set up domino chains. The game supports net-play with friends (video has a bit of cursing), with the option of flipping the table if the game isn't going your way. [more inside]
Buzzfeed, it ain't
TheGuardian.com recently surpassed the 100 million Unique Visitor monthly threshold for the first time. To mark the occasion, its editors have compiled the 100 most read pieces of Guardian content since 2010. Refreshingly, the Top 100 is (mostly) click-bait and listicle-free.
(Though a Top 100 is inherently click-bait and a listicle, innit?)
Edward Snowden: The Whistleblower Behind the NSA Surveillance Revelations tops the list.
3D Reconstruction from Accidental Motion
Fisher Yu, a Princeton grad student, and David Gallup, a Google employee, have published a method for retrieving the 3D information of a scene from the small motion of the hands that occurs while taking video. They've given their paper a website that includes a video, the paper itself, and a dataset. One neat application of this is the ability to simulate short depth of field, a feature that has made it into the new Google Camera app.
"AH! Oh my God! Oh my God! Arg!"
Did you ever reach a point in Super Mario Brothers that you wanted to see them all pay? Here you go: Mario goes Berserk.
The Broadway community has always been at the forefront of this issue
If you go to see a Broadway or off-Broadway show this June, the masthead of your Playbill will look a little different; for the first time in its 130 year history, the program, along with their digital properties and social media sites will turn rainbow during the last week of June to commemorate Pride weeks in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, and other major cities around the world.
I hope that no one at the nursing home gets us confused
Grandma: What are you doing for a living? Because your mother says you’re "kind of like a model," and she wouldn’t say "kind of" if you were, and, no offense honey, but you’re a bit short.
Stoya: You know like Bettie Page, right? I do stuff like that except, because everybody runs around in skimpy clothing now, I do the modern version, where I have sex with people on video.
Grandma: Oh, you’re a nudie girl in the moving pictures!
Stoya: Yes!... I’ve got to tell you another thing.... I’m using your name.
Grandma: Ooooh no.
Coming out as a porn performer. (SLVox)
Stoya: You know like Bettie Page, right? I do stuff like that except, because everybody runs around in skimpy clothing now, I do the modern version, where I have sex with people on video.
Grandma: Oh, you’re a nudie girl in the moving pictures!
Stoya: Yes!... I’ve got to tell you another thing.... I’m using your name.
Grandma: Ooooh no.
Coming out as a porn performer. (SLVox)
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