April 20, 2020
What's that underneath your hair? Is there anybody living there?
1985 was a ridiculously strong year for music releases. We've already discussed Songs From The Big Chair and Dream Into Action so let's let's announce this a bit early so you can prepare: April 22, 1985, Prince And The Revolution release the second album billed under that name, Around The World In A Day. The album [YT playlist] would go double platinum and yield two top ten singles. Side A: Around The World In A Day, Paisley Park [video], Condition Of The Heart, Raspberry Beret [video], Tamborine [more inside]
Power rangers link
The funkiest alumni association in the world?
Tower of Power is a funk and soul band from Oakland, CA that's been around since 1968. The current version of the group still is led by founding members Emilio Castillo and Stephen "Doc" Kupka, but as you might expect for a band with a half-century of history, they've had quite a few members over the years.
With such a large number of alumni, they recently did something that's hard to imagine too many other bands pulling off. Last week, they released a video featuring SIX of their former lead singers - Tom Bowes, Larry Braggs, Brent Carter, Ray Greene, Ellis Hall, and Hubert Tubbs - who collectively span more than 40 years of their history, collaborating on what they're calling a "socially distanced" version of TOP's signature song "What Is Hip?"
A robin feathering his nest has very little time to rest
Please enjoy this 90 minutes of Slow TV. I love how the bird tries it out for fit with so many different poses and then makes adjustments accordingly. I'm watching a few minutes at a time to relax.
Tracking urban killers
Cats are mysterious, dangerous and far more unpredictable than one might expect from an animal that is, theoretically, domesticated. What does an outdoor cat do all day? According to new research (NCSU), it could be taking a heavy toll on local wildlife. Another discovery from GPS (wild)life tracking (Wikipedia), this time with information from the US-focused Cat Tracker database, a project related to the wildlife tracking Move Bank (Where The Animals Go and a NatGeo Tracking Animal Migrations educational page; previously). [via NPR]
Man dances on metal pad; onlookers astonished
Seth Sanchez a.k.a. happyf333tz showcases the arcade dance game Pump It Up for Games Done Quick's COVID-19 relief event.
To baldly show…
Star Trek Fact Check (previously) is a blog that revealed a lot of behind-the-camera knowledge about the original Star Trek series, but it's been trapped in a stasis field for a couple of years. Its creator announced today that he is collaborating with another Star Trek insider on a new project that sounds like it has the same ongoing mission: Fact Trek.
(Re)Make Part II Ultimate Classic Edition
What We Remake [Kotaku] “From fan-made revamps like Black Mesa to the highest of AAA productions like Final Fantasy VII Remake, enhanced, often reimagined takes on familiar games packed the early months of 2020. Remakes tug at nostalgia and deliver a comfort that players seek desperately in complicated times. But many of these games forge new paths, interrupting the comfortable ritual of returning to our youths in favor of messier, bolder ambitions. [...] Remakes and remasters are a type of ritual. Players return to these places, experiencing versions and variations of stories and events much in the way that the Bible contains various accounts of key moments penned by different authors. As in any anthropology, the question of what is truly “canon” lurks underneath it all. What is the definitive way to experience a game? What is the proper way to ritualistically retell the stories that gaming culture enshrines as the stories to tell?” [more inside]
“I thought maybe I could read it to you, a chapter a day.”
Radio host Phoebe Judge, best known for the Criminal and This Is Love podcasts, has a new project: Phoebe Reads A Mystery, in which she records herself reading a chapter of a classic mystery a day.
She has finished The Mysterious Affair At Styles and The Hound of The Baskervilles, and has just begun The Moonstone. [more inside]
She has finished The Mysterious Affair At Styles and The Hound of The Baskervilles, and has just begun The Moonstone. [more inside]
"Shadow Puppets " doesn't even begin to describe them
Shadow puppet troupe/film production company/performance collective Manual Cinema has made two of their feature-length shows available to stream for free this week. [more inside]
wireframe before computers
Need a project for yourself or kids? Make a wireframe (remote control!) car out of scrap wire like this child in Malawi (people of a certain age may remember seeing this 1962 historical film clip on Sesame Street). Solomon from Uganda shows the build in detail.
Black Gold Falling
On the 10th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, crude oil prices have dipped below $10/barrel, the lowest inflation adjusted price in memory. If coronavirus stimulus money will be wasted on fossil fuels maybe climate activists should just buy the wells. [more inside]
Today Invisible Children gets most of its funding from the US government
“Operation Kony: A US Crusade in Africa” (42½min video, .mp4, magnet) A documentary explores the relationship between the Kony 2012 viral video, the organization Invisible Children which produced it, and U.S. military activity in Africa. [more inside]
"Remember to feel your feet, everyone. Feel your feet."
Why Life During a Pandemic Feels So Surreal (Wired): The study of the surreal has mostly concerned Dali's paintings and Kafka’s writings. But there are psychological reasons why every day seems so otherworldly. Related: Time Is Meaningless Now (Vice) and The pandemic is giving people vivid, unusual dreams. Here’s why. (National Geographic)
TLDR
TLDR [Vimeo, 60 min.] is a portrait of a community of sex workers who live and work in Cape Town by South African artist Candice Breitz (previously), currently on display as part of a solo exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Bonn.
A musical of sorts, TLDR articulates the community’s ongoing struggle against violence and stigma and towards basic human rights. Parsing the relationship between whiteness, privilege and visibility, Breitz points a finger at herself to bluntly ask whether and how artists living privileged lives can succeed in amplifying calls for social justice.[more inside]
A Needed Blog In These Uncertain Times
It's the middle of a lockdown in the face of an epidemic, with professional sports closed down more or less across the board.
Which means that it's the perfect time to reopen the Unnamed Temporary Sports Blog (Dot Com), courtesy of CBD oil purveyor Sunsoil. (SLUTSB(DC)) [more inside]
Which means that it's the perfect time to reopen the Unnamed Temporary Sports Blog (Dot Com), courtesy of CBD oil purveyor Sunsoil. (SLUTSB(DC)) [more inside]
A Stellar Mystery: How Could 100 Stars Just Vanish?
Off the Swedish grid
Tova and Mathias are living in a formerly abandoned fäbod (summer farm) in Talasbuan, Sweden. They started out with a couple of derelict log huts on a barren piece of land and little money. Their ongoing journey to make this into a livable, self sufficient home is documented in a series of vlogs. [more inside]
"Life is short. Eat dessert first."
From Bon Appetit, pastry chefs attempt to make gourmet versions of: Cadbury Creme Eggs, Andes Mints, Girl Scout Cookies, Bagel Bites, Combos, Butterfingers, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Jelly Belly Jelly Beans, Pizza Rolls, Milky Way Bars, Warheads, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Mentos, Takis, Ruffles, Sour Patch Kids, Hot Pockets, M&M's, Pocky, Pop-Tarts, Pop Rocks, Starburst, Twix, Doritos, Almond Joys, Peeps, Cheez-Its, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Ferrero Rocher, Pringles, Snickers, Instant Ramen, Sno Balls, Twizzlers, Oreos, Lucky Charms, Skittles, Kit Kats, Cheetos, Gushers, Twinkie. [more inside]
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