May 8, 2008
Snipers in Iraq
Killing by the numbers. "In 2007 elite U.S. snipers executed an unarmed Iraqi prisoner in cold blood. Have the insidious tactics that led to atrocities in Vietnam reemerged in Iraq?"
Thumbs down. No stars.
What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Movies by Armond White. Premiere.com critic and cineaste blogger, Glenn Kenny responds. Movie reviewers across America lose their jobs. Hachette Filipacchi follows suit at Premiere.com. Kenny blogs about The End of an Era - having written reviews for the site and the previously cancelled Premiere magazine for nearly fifteen years.
Gab Zamgrh?
Harmanz ha haz b bargan ahn za MMARBG Ahban Bahb [brahbazazzah ] ar zambahz. Zambahz haz AAGHZ g!bz gab azzar zambahz: a, b, g, h, m, n, r, z. Zambahz maz hab gab, za Zambahz zgrabbarh Zamgrh, a gab grh a gab bag, a grammah, n zhranzazzaz. Habganna barbaga zaarz grh za bra!nz?
“There is nothing quite as enigmatic as a platypus”
It turns out if it looks like a duck it's partly a duck. A bunch of scientist got together and set about to decode the platypus genome, and guess what!?! "What we found was the genome, just like the animal, is an amazing amalgam of reptilian and mammal characteristics with quite a few unique platypus characteristics as well". “You have got these reptilian repeat patterns and these more recently evolved milk genes and independent evolution of the venom. It all points to how idiosyncratic evolution is.” “We have microRNAs that are shared with chickens and not mammals as well as ones that are shared with mammals, but not chickens.” Also, apparently, male platypi have venomous spikes on their heels that can kill dogs! [more inside]
Encyclopedia of Transportation Planning Strategies
Too much traffic? Can't find parking? Choking on smog? Worried about climate change? Gas prices too high, but you still have to drive? Send your city planner a link to the Online Encyclopedia of Transportation Demand Management strategies. [more inside]
Planetary Pathogens
West Nile virus and Avian influenza and Chronic wasting disease, oh, my! (and Monkeypox...) Outbreaks of disease in
populations of wild and domestic animals, having such a heavy impact on human health, has led the United States
Geological Survey and the University of Wisconson to develop a way to track news of disease outbreaks around the
planet: The Global Wildlife Disease News Map.
Non-sucky web typography
15 Great Examples of Web Typography. Because 95% of web design is about typography in the first place.
Vault of McCarthite Terror
The pictures that horrified America - how comic books tipped 50s America into a moral panic. [more inside]
Web 2.oh-no-you-don't
CityTV to apologize for photos stolen from Flickr. The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has issued a ruling that CityTV must make a rare on-air apology for broadcasting pictures taken from Flickr without crediting the photographer.
Nothing Is Real, not even Real
Patrick Dangin on the work of a photo retoucher. Make no mistake about it: in this age, even Real Beauty is fake.
Bebe Barron, RIP
Bebe Barron, 82, Pioneer of Electronic Scores, Is Dead. Best known for the soundtrack to the 1956 sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet -- the first full-length feature to use only electronic music -- she and her husband Louis Barron recorded the film's pre-synthesizer "electronic tonalities" with electronic circuits of their own invention. She never scored another feature film, but remained active in the avant-garde music scene.
Flowers for Mom
With Mother's Day fast approaching, you may want to consider a gift of Orchidaceae. Orchids belong to the most diverse family of plants known to man. There are over 880 genera, 28,000 species and well over 300,000 registered cultivars currently documented. First, choose one you would like to cultivate. Then, learn how to buy your first orchid. Finally get the scoop on growing them yourself. Mom will give you a hug, 'cause everyone needs a hug.
How d'you like them apples?
Beyond the McIntosh. The apple whisperer of New England.
Drink your bacon, it's good for you!
Meatwater: A high-efficiency survival beverage. Don't worry; there is bacon water for your dog or cat, too.
High Sheriff on my heels. I better get on my way, yes!
The full length of Tom Davenport's "Born for Hard Luck" featuring Peg Leg Sam, the last of the great medicine show singers/dancers/musicians. [more inside]
Josef Hoflehner Hawaii Volcano photography
"It was relatively quiet along the shores of the Big Island in Hawaii for quite some time. But since early March of this year, lava from the Kilauea Volcano flows down again to the coastal plains - which produces new land for the island - and makes the Big Island even bigger. Now when the red lava meets the Pacific Ocean, giant steam plumes rise high in the sky - this makes it so magnificent and absolutely unique to Hawaii. I photographed the phenomenon from land, water and air. A white plume currently issues from the vent - and I was lucky enough to get some shots."
-Josef Hoflehner [more inside]
Nothiing Can Stop The Chuckleberry Handshake
"You know, there's something stirring about the peaceful transfer of no power"
"The Daily Show is no doubt entertainment, but it is entertainment, measurably, with a substantive point. It is, in its own way, another kind of No Spin Zone." The Project for Excellence in Journalism discusses what is and is not journalistic (PDF) about The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Eddy Arnold: After All These Years
Eddy Arnold, one of Country Music's all time greats died early this morning just days short of his 90th birthday. [more inside]
Who's going to break the news to Cory Doctorow?
Nothing signals the death of a trend like an article in the NY Times Style section. Steampunk: "The subculture that is the aesthetic expression of a time-traveling fantasy world..." [more inside]
Online Music & Performing Arts Films
Medici.tv is an online "television" dedicated to performing arts and music documentaries. Its current catalogue includes many classical concerts, documentaries by Johan van der Keuken and on the Kinshasa musical underground (previously), portraits (lots of Glenn Gould, Shostakovich by Sokurov, Maya Plisetskaya...), and plenty more. Launched April 30th, it's streaming its full contents in lovely quality for free until May 15th. [more inside]
Mugabe Attempts to Beat Zimbabwe into Submission
"'If voters fail to return Mr. Mugabe to office...Prepare to be a war correspondent.' Mugabe's party in Zimbabwe spasms into mass repression and political violence to prevent Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change from winning power. The African Union dithers, as does the UN (as it gives Zimbabwe leadership positions). Many Chinese rationalize their government's weapon shipment. According to the government-published Herald, everything's just fine. What are the options?
The eye of Mordor
Six days ago, the Chaitén volcano in Chile began a surprise eruption. So far, more than 8000 people have been evacuated, and NASA has tracked the results from space. Even more stunning however, are the images that occurred when a thunderstorm collided with the volcanic plume.
'People are machines of forgetfulness'
Heart Sutra, by Geshe Kunkhen
Here's a small representation of some of the culture that many Tibetan protesters hope to save from eradication in Tibet: Heart Sutra, by Geshe Kunkhen. [more inside]
Simsalabim, your oyster card shall be mysteriosly transformed into a chip and some wires.
Several websites have been trying to out do one another in the melt your oystercard using nail polish remover stakes. I like Skeptobot's idea of using an Oystercards RFID chip in a magic wand. But, so far, for me Chris Woebken is winning, not least because he ties it all in with an interesting discussion of e-money. Add a video of a magnetic glove being used to give Darth Vader like powers. And only one word remains - genius.
Why everything new in finance has already been new at least once before
The year was 1978. The US Dollar was collapsing, inflation was beginning to surge, the American economy was on the brink of recession and many warned of the perils of easy money. Needless to say, Arthur Burns, 10th Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, had a tough job. [more inside]
But it needs it, Kramer! It needs it bad!
Tank on empty -- how far can your car go on an empty tank? Basically a collection of statistics and stories from users on just how far they pushed their car on reserve fuel. (via) [more inside]
Simplicissimus
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