June 25, 2013
Don't Fuck With The Saints!
The upcoming game Saints Row 4, an over-the-top open world action game that features weapons like a Dubstep Gun, has been refused classification (banned) in Australia. The new R18 classification for games was supposed to make this less common, but Saints Row 4's (trigger warning) 'alien anal probe' weapon and 'alien narcotics' have caused it to fall afoul of the new guidlines. Developer Deep Silver said they'll resubmit Saint's Row 4 to the reclassification board, while The Guardian sees this as evidence of Australia's conservative culture. Saints Row previously.
The Ruins of Nan Madol
On the other side of the world from Venice, there exists the ruins of another mediaeval maritime city, built upon dozens of small islands divided by canals, that was home to a political dynasty that lasted for centuries. Unlike the world-renowned Adriatic city, however, the Micronesian city of Nan Madol faded away into history, leaving behind an overgrown archipelago of artificially-constructed rectilinear islands for modern eyes to marvel at centuries later.
Whatever you do, don't tell Tom Six about these things.
There are certainly drawbacks to living in Florida this time of year. You have to deal with the heat. You have to deal with the tourists. And you have to deal with erratically flying pairs of insects joined by their genitalia. [more inside]
Rick Santorum: Movie Mogul
"Dallas can become the Hollywood of the faith-and-family movie market." So says former Pennsylvania Senator, Fox News contributor, and erstwhile presidential contender Rick Santorum, who has taken a new job as CEO of Echolight Studios, a "family-friendly" Christian movie studio based out of Dallas. Mother Jones asks the question, what does Santorum actually know about movies? [more inside]
The official Zelda timeline, and some fans' attempts retconning
The Legend of Zelda universe is complex, even if you focus only on the canonical material. Fans have been trying to create a timeline for the stories, but in 2009, Nintendo shot down those attempts, specifically in response to a split timeline series. Still, fans were not satisfied. For instance, in 2012, a fan named Zach played all the canonical titles in a month and wrote a 55 page paper (PDF; page 56 is just a short list word frequencies) on the topic. The only problem was that Nintendo released Hyrule Historia (fan translation) in late 2011, complete with an official timeline. Fans made a humorous translation of the timeline, and had some criticisms for the official history. [more inside]
[disposable]
"If I had to conduct an experiment that would give an insight into neorealism, I'd build a time machine and travel to Italy, circa 1952. I'd ask Vittorio De Sica to make a film using Hollywood actors like Montgomery Clift and Jennifer Jones. I'd then team De Sica up with a Hollywood producer, the kind that liked to impose his will and sensibility onto a film—someone like David O Selznick. In bringing these two worlds of cinema together, I'd hope for a clash of sensibilities so great that it would result in two cuts of the same film, one by De Sica and the other by Selznick. I would run these two films side by side and examine each cut, and in the difference I would find something to say about the essence of neorealism."Sight & Sound magazine's excellent video essay 'What is neorealism?' compares Terminal Station to Indiscretion of an American Wife.
Genetic Algorithm 2D Car Thingy
Science experiment of the week: an AI car simulator with these supercar sounds playing in the background.
Even if you have never been there, you know these people
Stratus Dance Club mid-80s style - videos from a club in Spring Valley CA offer hours of dancing voyeurism. [more inside]
I Got You Covered.
Is the font: Sans serif?
"Mourning" Chimpanzees
"After she passed, the chimps examined the body, inspecting Pansy’s mouth, pulling her arm and leaning their faces close to hers. Blossom sat by Pansy’s body through the night. And when she finally moved away to sleep in a different part of the enclosure, she did so fitfully, waking and repositioning herself dozens more times than was normal. For five days after Pansy’s death, none of the other chimps would sleep on the platform where she died."—
"Want to Understand Mortality? Look to the Chimps", by Maggie Koerth-Baker in the NYT [more inside]
Oh Boy
Obama takes action on climate change
President of the United States Barack Obama unveils his Climate Action Plan
While no single step can reverse the effects of climate change, we have a moral obligation to future generations to leave them a planet that is not polluted and damaged. Through steady, responsible action to cut carbon pollution, we can protect our children’s health and begin to slow the effects of climate change so that we leave behind a cleaner, more stable environment.[more inside]
Professional Cuddlers
“I think a lot of people don’t have someone in their life that they can receive comforting touch from on a regular basis." Since Jacqueline Samuels established The Snuggery in 2012, similar services have cropped up in Portland and Tokyo. [more inside]
Teens trained to spot drama before it turns dangerous
School violence prevention programs typically focus on risk-reduction by teaching girls not to be victims and boys not to be rapists, with no other roles to play. Even though bystander intervention not a new concept, some schools, advocacy groups and corporations are pushing it with renewed vigor in an effort to deter violence.
The goal is to challenge perceptions of "normal behavior" and make teens aware of the nuanced interactions that create a hostile climate. It could be as simple as diverting a friend's attention when he hollers at a girl on the street, encouraging your sister to talk to her boyfriend instead of secretly checking his texts, sneaking off to call 911 when the popular guys start messing with a girl who's barely conscious.[more inside]
Collecting comic book mail-order crap
Remember those little ads in the pages of comic books that offered mail-orders of cheap toys, novelties, and gags? (Previously.) Kirk Demarais collects that stuff so you don't have to. [more inside]
The Supreme Court rules on a key part of the Voting Rights Act.
In a 5-4 decision, "The Supreme Court on Tuesday gutted a key part of the landmark Voting Rights Act." [more inside]
Morse Code
The Walrus And The Lexicographer, or How Tolkien's OED Etymology Makes An English "Walrus."
Pro-Choice Filibuster in the Texas Senate
It began with a special session called by Governor Rick Perry, who put abortion restrictions on the table. SB5 bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and requires facilities that perform them to conform to new restrictions. The practical effect would close most of the abortion facilities in Texas.
Then came the People's Filibuster, a mass protest designed to run out the clock and prevent the bill from being passed. It didn't work. The bill passed the House and went to the Senate.
But today, Texas Senator Wendy Davis began a 13-hour filibuster to stop the bill. [more inside]
Hog Farmer Calls Hogs
On the last day of August, Arkansas will kick off against Louisiana-Lafayette, and Bielema will step to the sideline for the first time in this new conference. Hog calls will echo above and around him. The stadium will rumble with Week 1's blind optimism. The temperature will be warmer, the athletes faster, and the expectations higher. There will be more tailgaters, sundresses, and reporters. For now, on this practice field, every rep is geared toward preparing for that moment, when Bielema will begin to answer the question of just what the hell he's doing down here.Via Grantland.
Pop History
The People's Songs: The Story of Modern Britain in 50 Records is a radio series on BBC written and narrated by Stuart Maconie. Each episode focuses on one particular pop song and tells the story of the song as well as what social trends it mirrored, for instance the episode on Telstar by The Tornadoes focuses on the technological progress, especially in space travel and music, and the story of songwriter and record producer Joe Meek. 25 episodes have been broadcast, including ones on Dizzee Rascal's Bonkers and 21st Century Britain, Cornershop's Brimful of Asha and the British-Asian experience , and Serge Gainsbourg's Je T'aime and sex. There are 25 more to come. There is also a blog and profiles of the songs already discussed. [Previously on MeFi]
Might you be the plaything of Descartes’ evil demon?
Orson, you're behaving like an asshole.
In the early eighties, Orson Welles was a fixture at L.A.’s Ma Maison, where Wolfgang Puck was the chef before he moved on to Spago. Nearing 70, and 40-plus years removed from Citizen Kane, which he made when he was just 25, Welles was fat and famously difficult, no longer a viable star but still a sort of Hollywood royalty—a very certain sort. The younger director Henry Jaglom was one of many aspiring auteurs who admired him but possibly the only one who taped their conversations. These took place in 1983 over lunch at the restaurant.
"Please do not be afraid. I am a medical robot"
Dr. Easy is a beautifully produced dark sci-fi short based on the story The Red Men. It follows a medical robot trying to help an armed and wounded man before the police are sent in. [via | SFW but may have triggers]
Even though they were just 1s and 0s, I was sure they hated me.
Save Points is an essay about gaming after the loss of a friend.
Don't Bother Being Specific
On appeal, the Federal Circuit has upheld Ultramericial's patent on the process of users viewing video ads online in order to view content. The court ruled that the abstractness of the patent does not invalidate it. [more inside]
Harry Reser and his kah-raaaaaazy tunes!
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who, upon hearing Harry Reser's 1926 recording of OH! HOW I LOVE BULGARIANS will cover their ears and run as far as they can possibly get from the Victrola, and those who will, um... want to hear more? For those in the latter category, then, there's... [more inside]
The Moon Doesn't Have A Bed, Bath and Beyond... Yet
Samuel Aston Williams shows maps of the spread of urban sprawl in several American and international cities over 30 years, as seen from space.
Memes, memes, hedgehogs and sharks.
Richard Dawkins talks about memes. [SLYT, contains flashing images]
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