July 12, 2011
"O.K. Everybody take a valium!"
Dangerous When Provoked Pt. I | II | III | IV | V is a documentary about Canadian editorial cartoonist and Order of Canada recipient Terry Mosher, also known by his pen name Aislin.
Computer RTFM, Conquers Civilization.
Computer Gets 33% Better at Playing Civilization, By Reading the Manual: An MIT experiment has apparently succeeded in getting a computer to learn from human-readable, English-language text, the computer extrapolating useful strategies and tactics from an instruction manual so effectively as to dramatically increase its victory ratio in the Sid Meier universe.
Via io9.
Just the facts, ma'am
Audio Noir offers a continuous stream of classic radio crime dramas, including Johnny Dollar, Broadway Is My Beat, and Dragnet.
Public Relations vs. Journalism
PR Industry Fills Vacuum Left by Shrinking Newsrooms - "You would go into these hearings and there would be more PR people representing these big players than there were reporters, sometimes by a factor of two or three" ..it's getting tougher to know when a storyline originates with a self-interested party producing its own story.
Achilles’ bane full wrath resound, O Goddesse, that imposd
A book recommendation by Mr. O'Brian
(previously);
the Chapman translation of the Iliad.
The same book that guided William Shakespear in writing Troilus and Cressida. [more inside]
The 1967 International and Universal Exposition
Still, Expo is regarded as the best world's fair ever. Its success changed the world's view of Canada, and more importantly, it changed the way Canadians viewed themselves. For the first time the country basked in the pride and the glory of its talents and accomplishments. A nation had come of age. (previously) [more inside]
NOT SURE IF WANT
Well basically, it's men in thong underpants dancing. And they have eagle heads. And... OK, I don't know either, but I can't stop watching it. SLYT. NSFW, life, sanity.
Making-Of sicherstes Fahrradschloss
The way to make a very secure lock for your bike. Auf Deutsch, but the working of the device is clear. Webpage for the invention, Google Translated, apparently with a parts list.
Oh, It's On!
30 years ago this summer Ronald Reagan was president, Raiders of the Lost Ark hit the theaters, and Nintendo launched Donkey Kong. [more inside]
Every metaphor starts out as a wild beast
"Writing about metaphor is dancing with your conceptual clothes off, the innards of your language exposed by equipment more powerful than anything operated by the TSA. Still, one would be a rabbit not to do it in a world where metaphor is now top dog, at least among revived rhetorical devices with philosophical appeal." [What's a Metaphor For?]
Your/My Unfinished Novel
OK, so you've partly written a novel, but you're having trouble finishing the damn thing. What to do? Summon stamina, press on, and be proud of your literary success? Or, post your abandonment for all the world to see! Ladies and gentlemen, a place for your unfini--
It's Time to Play the Music
Muppets: The Green Album is being released on August 23rd and the new movie on November 23rd, but if you need your fix, here's a taste: My Morning Jacket covering "Our World" from Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas. [more inside]
'South California' for 51st state?
Jeff Stone, a politician from Riverside County, wants 13 conservative Southern California counties to secede and become the country's 51st state.
[T]he parties have repeatedly shown that they are immune to reason. Consequently, in my decision, I have tried ridicule as a last resort."
An Ontario Family Court judge was not very happy with the parties involved in a divorce case [PDF] before him.
"Colonial Africa" themed wedding
An English couple weds in a Colonial Africa themed wedding in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa.
Eight flugelhorns, one alto baritone and twenty-seven C melody tubas.
Wanna Buy a Record?
A 1951 promotional film in which Mel Blanc takes Billy May on a tour of the Capitol Records studio on Melrose (followed by the somewhat less glamorous Scranton pressing plant) in an attempt to convince him that 85 cents is not too much to charge for a record. [SLYT] [more inside]
A 1951 promotional film in which Mel Blanc takes Billy May on a tour of the Capitol Records studio on Melrose (followed by the somewhat less glamorous Scranton pressing plant) in an attempt to convince him that 85 cents is not too much to charge for a record. [SLYT] [more inside]
Betty Ford
Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren Ford--model, dancer, feminist, founder of one of the best-known substance abuse recovery centers in the world, and former First Lady of the United States--died Friday, July 8, at the age of 93. [more inside]
Fine Feynman Fare
Physicist Freeman Dyson reviews two new books about Richard Feynman, one about the science and one in graphic novel form.
He never showed the slightest resentment when I published some of his ideas before he did. He told me that he avoided disputes about priority in science by following a simple rule: "Always give the bastards more credit than they deserve." I have followed this rule myself. I find it remarkably effective for avoiding quarrels and making friends. A generous sharing of credit is the quickest way to build a healthy scientific community.
(previously, previously, and probably in the future, but not predictably so.
He never showed the slightest resentment when I published some of his ideas before he did. He told me that he avoided disputes about priority in science by following a simple rule: "Always give the bastards more credit than they deserve." I have followed this rule myself. I find it remarkably effective for avoiding quarrels and making friends. A generous sharing of credit is the quickest way to build a healthy scientific community.
(previously, previously, and probably in the future, but not predictably so.
Surely This...
Getting Away with Torture. "Overwhelming evidence of torture by the Bush administration obliges President Barack Obama to order a criminal investigation into allegations of detainee abuse authorized by former President George W. Bush and other senior officials, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Obama administration has failed to meet US obligations under the Convention against Torture to investigate acts of torture and other ill-treatment of detainees." [more inside]
Applied Narrativium 101
I am not a number, I am a free woman!
A shot-by-shot remake of the opening sequence of The Prisoner is the video the first song of seventeen planned tunes by Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, all based on episodes of the cult spy-fi series. You can compare the video and the sequence from the series by screenshot or with a picture-in-picture video. The Prisoner, previously, previouslier, still previouslier, previousliest.
‘Ike ‘ia no ka loea i ke kuahu
"I knew that by assembling seven different people and forcing them to live together, the show would have great philosophical implications". Television genius Sherwood Schwartz, dies at 94.
Tour de Crash
When American Tyler Farrar symbolically claimed America's first stage win on the 4th of July, he dedicated his achievement to the memory of his best friend, Wouter Weylandt, whose tragic crash just two months ago left many questioning whether modern cycling had become too dangerous for today's professional riders (previously). They may have found their answer in Sunday's Stage 9 of what is now being dubbed by many the "Tour de Crash". [more inside]
Fear the Future
Metro 2033: Multimedia Online Fiction. Cruel but beautiful Russian shooter Metro 2033 and its upcoming sequel, Metro: Last Light are arguably two of the most polished games to come out of a country better known for the buggy, idiosyncratic work of GSC Game World and Ice-Pick Lodge. Less well-known is the games' source material, a self-published, soundtrack-backed online novel of the same name (warning: Russian).
Words and Music
No, not Jamie Lee Curtis
The first planetarium in the western hemisphere is now the most technologically advanced
Adler Planetarium, founded in 1930, was the first planetarium in the western hemisphere, and is a US national monument. Until recently, the planetarium was run with a Zeiss Projector (Mark IV) that was around 40 years old. The proposed upgrade was controversial in the 2008 presidential elections, as $3 million in federal funding was earmarked for the $14 million project. In the end, the high-tech projection system was funded. The result: the world's most advanced planetarium system, with a 64 megapixel resolution display, provided by 20 individually modified projectors, 42 GPUs and run with the help of 84 servers. And it can be controlled from an iPad or X-Box controller.
"The Third Way of COIN: Defeating the Taliban in Sangin"
100 Firefights, Three Weeks: Inside Afghanistan's Most Insane Fight
"In its first three weeks in Afghanistan’s Sangin district, the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines got into more than 100 firefights and sustained 62 casualties. The insurgents managed to negate the Marines’ night-vision gear, and rendered their traditional close-combat tactics useless. Things got so bad, the 3/5’s superior officers even suggested pulling their troops back. That didn’t happen. Instead, the 3/5 went after the militants, hard. When the 3/5 came home, they told counterinsurgency historian Mark Moyar all about their deeply unconventional approach to what was already an unconventional war."This is an excerpt in Wired of Moyar’s 74-page after action report. (pdf) [more inside]
"there's crazy, ther's legitimately insane, and then somewhere way past that is Jimmy Olsen"
It tastes like burning!
Sunscreen: Are you really covered? from WebMD. Debunking the most common myths about sunscreen. [more inside]
I bet the made-for-tv movie will star Kevin Costner
A Pain in the Asana
What becomes of your yoga when you are forbidden to do asana? "My chiropractor gave me the ultimate prescription: no asana. Since my practice inspires my teaching, I cut back on my teaching as well, only offering one super gentle community class and working with a few private students. (...) I’ve been in a place of inquiry: What is my practice? What does asana mean to me? What is yoga?"
Dog and Deco
Dog and Deco. My name is Pickles McConchie. I’m a 15 year old Art Deco and camera loving Terrier from Scotland. I like to travel the country with my bitch and pose in front of art deco factories and industrial buildings from the 1920s, 30s and 40s, as well as other twentieth century architectural gems.
Where we won't go anymore.
Orda Cave Awareness Project
« Previous day | Next day »