June 1, 2012
Loveless
Bottle cap blues
Bottle Cap Blues (slv)
Maxim Interrogates the Makers and Stars of The Wire
The Indian Memory Project
The Indian Memory Project "is an online, curated, visual and oral-history based archive that traces a personal history of the Indian Subcontinent, its people, cultures, professions, cities, development, traditions, circumstances and their consequences." See for example, Sarees, or Migration.
No-hitter for Johan Santana!
Mets pitcher Johan Santana has just thrown the first no-hitter in the fifty-year history of the New York Mets.
Why Windows 8 Scares Me - and Should Scare You Too
10 Faces Behind The Incredible Law School Underemployment Crisis
"He's fearless and he's honest"
DC Comics hinted recently that one of its first-tier superheroes would be revealed as gay, and here he is: Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern (...sort of). [more inside]
"Villains used to always die in the end. Now the nightmare guy comes back."
Medieval Illuminated Initial Cookies
Anniina, the editor of Luminarium, makes beautiful cookies that look like medieval illuminated initials: "I chose historiated initials from several manuscripts, printed them on edible paper with edible ink, attached them to square cookies and gave them gold edges. Who says love of literature and art can't fill a belly?!" [more inside]
An Amazon Nation
The current issue of The Nation turns its focus to Amazon: The Amazon Effect by Steve Wasserman, How Germany Keeps Amazon at Bay and Literary Culture Alive by Michael Naumann, Search Gets Lost by Anthony Grafton, and finally Ten Reasons to Avoid Doing Business With Amazon.com.
Digital Divide?
The NYT published an article this week covering a new "digital divide" where poor children are spending more time "wasting time" online. [more inside]
And a great anger was Nookd in the hearts of the e-readers
While reading an e-book copy of War and Peace on his Nook, North Carolina blogger Philip noticed a minor glitch in the text: "It was as if a light had been Nookd in a carved and painted lantern." He ignored it and moved on, but then encountered a similar error shortly thereafter. As it turned out, the word "kindle" had been systematically replaced by "Nook" throughout the whole book. [more inside]
NO, REALLY, WE MEAN IT
George Zimmerman's Bond Revoked in Trayvon Martin Case
"The judge in the George Zimmerman [who is accused of killing teenager Trayvon Martin] second-degree murder trial revoked his bond today and ordered him to surrender himself in 48 hours. Prosecutors had filed a motion today seeking to revoke his bond and accusing Zimmerman of 'deceiving' the court about his finances and his possession of a second passport, which he apparently acquired two weeks after the shooting....In conversations Zimmerman and his wife speak in code -- reducing the amounts in their financial accounts by a factor of 1,000. Prosecutors said the couple knew that their jailhouse conversations were likely being recorded. The new documents show that Zimmerman had $135,000 in his bank account the day before his bail hearing -- in which he declared himself financially indigent." Zimmerman has 48 hours to turn himself in.
Books Received
Books Received is the latest post in a series by BLDGBLOG about interesting books that have crossed their desk. Previously: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
4AD: 1980 forward, 2012 and beyond
Mention the British record label 4AD, and some significant band names usually come to mind: Bauhaus, Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins, Pixies, and The Birthday Party, to name a few. There is no singular "4AD sound," but there is an overall aesthetic, with some off-shoots into unusual territory (see: M|A|R|R|S - Pump Up The Volume). Recently, 4AD added another off-shoot to their roster: South Florida producer and MC, SpaceGhostPurrp. Purrp took a moment and talked with MtvHive about his decision to sign with 4AD, his current work, and growing up in Miami. More of 4AD and SPVCXGHXZTPVRRP inside. [more inside]
Jack Twyman, NBA Star Known for Off-Court Assist, Dies at 78
In the 1950s, Maurice Stokes was a superstar basketball player for the Rochester (later Cincinnati) Royals. Stokes was Rookie of the Year and an NBA All-Star in each of his three seasons, trailing only Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson in scoring. But at age 24, a brain injury sustained in the last game of the 1958 season left him almost completely paralyzed. With his teammate alone in an unfamiliar city, Jack Twyman became his guardian and advocate. Stokes died in 1970, after years of care and friendship with the Twyman family; Jack Twyman [NYT] died yesterday. [more inside]
Wire Mesh Portraits
False Fronts in the Language Wars
"Not since Saturday Night Live’s Emily Litella thundered against conserving natural racehorses and protecting endangered feces has a polemicist been so incensed by her own misunderstandings."
- Harvard Psychology Professor Steven Pinker responds to Joan Acocella's New Yorker piece, The English Wars [more inside]
Realpolitik in Action
The United States sees the world as Vietnam does: threatened by growing Chinese power. [more inside]
Agricola Lite
Flash Friday: Written for Ludlum Dare 23, Super Strict Farmer is a flash game that plays like a light version of the popular Eurogame Agricola. If you have trouble figuring out how to play, the rules are in the comment thread. [more inside]
Last chance this century!
Missed the transit of Venus in 2004? Want to know if you'll be able to see the transit on June 5/6 from your location? Want a free badge-of-geekhood app for your iPhone? It's all right here! [more inside]
Martin Creed: Die
Turner prize winning artist Martin Creed (prev) has a broad conception of what constitutes art - viz. two contemporary projects: 1. He wants all people to ring bells to mark next month's opening of the 2012 Olympic Games. 2. He has a new single half of which is called 'Die'. The other half of the title is NSFW, as is Josh Appignanesi's video for 'Die', which contains even more moving flesh than the average music video.
Mother Fuckin' Artist
"Although sometimes, they're not the most enthusiastic students"
Otter pups learning how to swim. Absurdly cute footage of a mother otter teaching her less-than-thrilled little ones how to get around in the water.
Sugar Sugar
Sugar, Sugar: Friday Flash Fun.
U.S. and Israel confirmed as the authors of Stuxnet virus
U.S. and Israel have been confirmed as the authors behind the Stuxnet virus. The program — codenamed "Olympic Games" — was started under Bush and accelerated under Obama. The virus was never meant to expand beyond the Iranian nuclear facility it targeted. (non-NYTimes link)
JavaScript at 17
JavaScript at 17 Brendan Eich on the language he initially created in just 10 days in 1995, and on its state now, 17 years later.
"It's the same way Michelangelo did the Sistine Chapel. There's no easy way to do it"
Up There (Vimeo). Ever seen those hand-painted high-rise advertisements, and wondered at the people behind them? This 12min documentary is a fascinating glimpse into the work of the painters, where apprentices spend years learning from their teachers before being allowed to paint.
Makers of All Things
3D printing can now make replacement jaws, thousands of user-designed widgets, electromechanical computers - but also ATM skimmer fronts, handcuff keys and gun parts. But can you own the shape of a thing? (Previously on the Blue.)
"Everybody that I've taught anything other than Tor to is in jail."
An anti-censorship software package Simurgh, aimed towards aiding dissidents in Iran and Syria, has been circulated with a backdoor that reports keystroke logs back to a server hosted in the U.S. but registered with a Saudi Arabian ISP. [more inside]
Terrifying French Children's books
There are some frightening looking children's books titles in English but, it seems nobody manages to bring them out like the French.
From a helmet cam on a steadicam
A 'Steadicam' shot from the operator's POV. Larry McConkey (who has worked with a 'Steadicam' before (the through-the-kitchen-into-the-Copa-club scene from 'Goodfellas')), put a helmet-cam on his Steadicam to film the making of this scene from "Hugo."
Greenbacks
Last week, I wrote about how urban trees—or the lack thereof—can reveal income inequality. After writing that article, I was curious, could I actually see income inequality from space? It turned out to be easier than I expected.
Bad day for Oracle
Following a jury finding that Google had not infiringed upon Oracles patents, a development described as a near disaster for the database company, Judge William Aslup has ruled that the Java APIs cannot be copyrighted. That leaves Oracle with only the 9 lines of rangeCheck code and a handfull of decompiled test files to show for the massivecourt case. CEO Larry Ellison remains confident, claiming that the aquisition of Java creator Sun has still paid for itself.
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