July 29, 2015
Planning for the next Vesuvius eruption
This Italian giant is nestled in the sprawling metropolitan area of Naples, population 3.1 million. We’re not talking “nearby” like Rainier is to Seattle or Popocatépetl to Mexico City. We’re talking a volcano smack in the middle of the city. It is merely ~12 km (~7.5 miles) from the summit craters at Vesuvius to downtown Naples. For your average pyroclastic flow from a volcano like Vesuvius, that is a trip that would take only about two and a half minutes.The World’s Most Dangerous Volcano May Kill Another City
Will the endgame pairing be Jo/Laurie, Jo/writing, or Jo/Cyborg Bhaer?
CW Developing ‘Hyper-Stylized’ Reboot of ‘Little Women’ "Disparate half-sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy band together in order to survive the dystopic streets of Philadelphia and unravel a conspiracy that stretches far beyond anything they have ever imagined – all while trying not to kill each other in the process." [more inside]
A Renegade Trawler, Hunted For 10,000 Miles By Vigilantes
It was an unexpected end to an extraordinary chase. For 110 days and more than 10,000 nautical miles across two seas and three oceans, the Bob Barker and a companion ship, both operated by the environmental organization Sea Shepherd, had trailed the trawler, with the three captains close enough to watch one another’s cigarette breaks and on-deck workout routines. In an epic game of cat-and-mouse, the ships maneuvered through an obstacle course of giant ice floes, endured a cyclone-like storm, faced clashes between opposing crews and nearly collided in what became the longest pursuit of an illegal fishing vessel in history. (SLNYT)
"like Piers Morgan in a lift"
The top 50 assholes in cinema - by Andrew Blair, Den of Geek
Seriously.
'Feminist' seemed to put guys off, but now I realize, who cares?
Bumble, founded by Tinder co-founder Whitney Wolfe, is a dating app where women call the shots. [more inside]
Boron is a Subdued Element...
Kaycie D. is an animator and artist who grew up on Disney films and has used that inspiration to create her own anthropomorphized illustrations of the chemical elements.
Top 10 Medieval Butt-Licking Cats
Books about women don't win big awards: some data
"When women win literary awards for fiction it’s usually for writing from a male perspective and/or about men. The more prestigious the award, the more likely the subject of the narrative will be male. I analysed the last 15 years’ results for half a dozen book-length fiction awards: Pulitzer Prize, Man Booker Prize, National Book Award, National Book Critics’ Circle Award, Hugo Award, and Newbery Medal." Nicola Griffith notes the absence of stories about women from prize-winning novels--even when those novels are written by women. The Seattle Review of Books adds an interview with Griffith on the writing and aftermath of her original blog post.
Taking It Slow, Until She Took Charge
Potential MH370 wreckage found
Potential MH370 wreckage found Wreckage of an actuator from a Boeing 777 has washed ashore on the island of Reunion. [more inside]
Jamestown Rediscovery
Yesterday, the Jamestown Rediscovery and the Smithsonian Institution announced that they had identified the remains of Capt. Gabriel Archer, Rev. Robert Hunt, Sir Ferdinando Wainman and Capt. William West, four of the earliest leaders of the Jamestowne settlement. Among Archer's remnants was a small silver box that researchers have identified as a Roman Catholic reliquary. [more inside]
Can't keep a secret
Who first said Motherf$cker on TV? What was with Lesbian Kiss Episodes? Are Crossover Episodes ever a good idea? Why do Bottle Episodes make good television? What was Cousin Oliver Syndrome? [more inside]
"If measured on the U.S. political spectrum, he’d be 'left of center.'"
The Making of Leopoldo López: A closer look at the democratic bona fides of the rock star of Venezuela's opposition. [more inside]
What? And Give Up Show Business?
(Or I CAN Get Arrested in This Town!) Aspiring actor Jason Stange nailed the audition for the role of an evil doctor in the forthcoming horror film Marla Mae. The low budget production was shot in Olympia Washington, where the local paper took an interest. [more inside]
Hollywood and Vine
"That was definitely an E-ticket!"
"Roger roll, Discovery." The sweet, sweet sounds of NASA mission control audio snippets, edited for your sampling and ringtone pleasure as MP3 and M4R downloads.
I run a university. I’m also an Uber driver.
Lawrence Schall, the President of Oglethorpe University, decided to learn more about Uber by becoming a driver in his free time. He writes: "I wanted to understand the sharing economy. Instead, I got schooled in the failures of Atlanta's public transit system. . . . I assumed the people who used Uber fell into three basic categories: young people (including lots of students at my own university) responsibly avoiding drinking and driving on nights out, business people who had switched to Uber for a faster response and lower cost, and folks like me who occasionally used Uber to avoid the hassles of traffic, parking or just because it’s the cool new thing to do. Yet in my dozen-plus Uber forays thus far, I’ve encountered no one who fits those categories." [more inside]
Our neighbour
Pechito Alejandro Ferreiro, better known as Pechito, lived with his 2 dogs on the corner of two busy avenues in the Palermo barrio of Buenos Aires for 12 years. Well-known and well-liked in the area, he died in 2013. In this short film he tells his story.
“...the Canada you once knew and were so proud of, is no longer Canada.”
“My name is Donald Sutherland. My wife’s name is Francine Racette. We are Canadians....” [The Globe and Mail]
“Did you know that? If you don’t live here all the time you can’t vote. Americans who live abroad can vote. They can vote because they’re citizens! Citizens! But I can’t. Because why? Because I’m not a citizen? Because what happens to Canada doesn’t matter to me? Ask any journalist that’s ever interviewed me what nationality I proudly proclaim to have. Ask them. They’ll tell you. I am a Canadian. But I’m an expatriate and the Harper government won’t let expatriates participate in Canadian elections.”[more inside]
"Perhaps the most difficult part is keeping a group in harmony."
There are more than 285 competitive bagpipe bands in the United States, made up of thousands of pipers and drummers. Bands are divided into grades based on skill: Grade 5 is the lowest, akin to Little League; Grade 1 is the majors. In May 2014, the Massachusetts-based Stuart Highland Pipe Band was promoted to Grade 1, and next month they'll be facing off against other top-level bands in Glasgow at the annual World Pipe Band Championships. But first, the Stewies made their North American debut at the premier level at a competition in Ontario: Blowhards: On the road, down the bottle, and across the border with Boston’s greatest competitive bagpipe band. [more inside]
What we wanted was to adjust the car to the city
How Groningen invented a cycling template for cities all over the world
Motorists woke up one mid-70s morning to find new one-way streets made direct crosstown journeys impossible by car. Forty years later Groningen boasts two-thirds of all trips made by bike … and the cleanest air of any big Dutch city [more inside]
Motorists woke up one mid-70s morning to find new one-way streets made direct crosstown journeys impossible by car. Forty years later Groningen boasts two-thirds of all trips made by bike … and the cleanest air of any big Dutch city [more inside]
“Let the posh bingo begin!”
The Man Booker Prize Longlist has been announced! This year, it includes more US authors than Brits (per country breakdown), the first Jamaican nominee and three first-time authors. [more inside]
"She was a wife of Kalaiopuu, the chief when Lono [Captain Cook] came"
nupepa : Another place to talk about Hawaiian-Language Newspapers. A few selected highlights: Duke Kahanamoku Off to Hollywood, 1936 -- More bats found, 1905 -- Names of the stevedores who participated in Queen Liliuokalani’s funeral, 1917 -- The Beautiful Flag of Hawaii / Let it forever wave -- Hei, cat’s cradle, Hawaiian style, 1916 -- On eating stones, 1894 -- Did Not Forget His Mother Tongue
extra sauce
Fitted
Operation Vula
How the ANC sent encrypted messages to one another during the struggle against apartheid. Talking to Vula is a series of six articles by Tim Jenkins about the project from the ANC`s monthly journal Mayibuye from May 1995 to October 1995. (via Schneier) [more inside]
"We are the megadead."
In 1983, at the height of the Cold War, the National Film Board of Canada produced War with Gwynne Dyer, a seven part series in which the historian Gwynne Dyer traced the evolution of total warfare from its origins to the present day. [more inside]
Famous Fluid Equations Are Incomplete
The Singular Mind of Terry Tao - "Imagine, he said, that someone awfully clever could construct a machine out of pure water. It would be built not of rods and gears but from a pattern of interacting currents." (via) [more inside]
The Dark Knight Cringes
Activist Deray McKesson took this photo of an armored vehicle parked at the Waller County, TX jail. JPat Brown at Muckrock asked the Waller County Police Department for "[a]ny documentation (receipts, work orders, emails ) regarding customization of armored vehicles in the office's possession, specifically the application of the 'Batman/Dark Knight' logo. They were not amused. However, it's likely that the Chief Deputy is telling the truth, since companies like The Armored Group makes vehicles that are similar to the one spotted at the Waller County jail. This same company was mentioned in a October 2014 Mother Jones article about militarization of police forces across the country.
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