July 31, 2012
10 years of language hat
Gore Vidal October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012
Gore Vidal, arguably one of america's greatest living post-war writers, died Tuesday at the age of 86. [more inside]
Goodbye, Hotmail
Bored of Gmail? Why don't you try Outlook?
FPP: Fundamental Physics Prize
Russian billionaire Milner's new physics prize is awarding nine scientists 3 million dollars each in its inaugural year. Aside from the size of the prize, it's different from the Nobel in physics in that it can be awarded to scientists whose ideas have not yet been verified by experiments. According to the Forbes article, the winners "can be groups of any size; scientists of any age; and there is no limit on how many prizes an individual can win." And soon the prize would be open to online nominations. [more inside]
But....but....you'd be Batman!
Have an extra $682 million lying around, taking up space?
Want to wreak havoc unsuspecting crims?
You could become Batman! [more inside]
James Salter's "A Sport and a Pastime"
James Salter's A Sport and a Pastime is one of those very rare novels that seems not so much to have been written as discovered. At its heart is a love story, an encounter, that transforms its relatively ordinary protagonists into beings around whom the entire cosmos shapes itself. The love story is delicate and ephemeral, put together out of bits and pieces, like a bird's nest. The vulnerable lovers tremble, in the most mundane circumstances, on the edge of catastrophe. Simply the way one of them moves across the room to meet the other seems miraculous and hazardous. Were they to become aware of themselves everything would be lost. But there is no danger of that. Oblivious, they tiptoe on a precipice. They do not and cannot know that their innocence cloaks them in a kind of divinity and infallibility. Actions and attitudes we expect to bring them down don't. They do things that seem so perfect, so poignant, without knowing they are doing anything at all. They arc beautifully across our path, and then vanish. - Michael Doliner (previously) [more inside]
The Parasols of Portugal
This is clearly where God meant for me to be.
RIP Bill Doss 1968-2012
Bill Doss, co-founder of the seminal indie rock collective The Elephant Six Recording Company and member of classic lo-fi groups and projects such as Olivia Tremor Control, The Sunshine Fix, and the Powerpuff Girls: Heroes and Villains album passed away today at age 44. No cause of death was released. [more inside]
RIP Maeve Binchy
'the largest, meatiest ox that money could buy.'
In 1969, anthropologist Richard B.Lee wrote about his experience 'Eating Christmas in the Kalahari.' (PDF)
Tolkien, l'anneau de la discorde
Last May, Christopher Tolkien, a resident of the South of France since 1975, granted a rare interview to Le Monde. Naturally, the interview and article are in French. For those of us who don't read French, American ex-pat Sedulia Scott provides an English translation. [more inside]
Introducing Kuratas
A whole new level of Cosplay From the shut-up and take my money division of way kool comes this fan boy wet dream.
With water driven rockets and a BB spittig Gatling gun this is sure to spice up the next Con you attend. Price (if you have to ask). I love Japan! YouTube Link with sound
"Corn liquor by moonlight in a deserted aviation field in Alabama."
Last week, the New Yorker published a (previously rejected) F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, "Thank You for the Light", written in 1936. The magazine has also made available "A Short Autobiography," in which Fitzgerald gave a chronology of his life in terms of alcoholic beverages imbibed. [more inside]
Zyngapocalypse Now
Both inside and outside the walls of Facebook, the story of social games has become one of dead geese and golden eggs, flatlined growth, formulaic games and shady practises. Many warned that the sector was slowing down, but sometimes giants need to fall. It needs to get bad enough before people start to really consider what's next... So what comes next?
BuzzFeed’s strategy
BuzzFeed's strategy. Jonah Peretti, a co-founder of the Huffington Post, later went on to found BuzzFeed, famous for it's linkbait lists. He recently wrote a company-wide memo touting the company's success and plans for the future.
80,000 bees in the ceiling
"Your argument has to be beautiful."
Paul Lockhart, author of the famous Mathematician's Lament, has a new book coming out called Measurement, which tries to discuss mathematics "as an artful way of thinking and living". Lockhart discusses his passion for math and motives for writing the book in this video.
Makes No Difference Who You Are
Disasterland [NSFW cartoons] is Mexican artist Rodolfo Loaiza's tribute to pop culture, fashion, animation, horror films and the undeniable attraction of celebrity, often in the form of twisted Disney juxtapositions. More at the artist's Flickr.
The Naked World of Spencer Tunick
The Naked World of Spencer Tunick (probably NSFW).
If it weren't for those medaling kids...
Here's a nifty realtime Olympic medal tracker that allows you to sort by rank, country, total, gold, silver, and bronze medals. Too obvious for you? There are plenty of alternatives: medals per capita ; medals by GDP per capita; number of athletes and billions of dollars GDP per medal (2008); and a discussion of alternative rankings with a sortable rankings table. There is also a booming business in predictions that take into account GDP per capita, population size, and other factors: FT; BBC. [more inside]
These fuck paintings feel more dispiriting and vulgar than risque (NSFW)
Fuck Paintings, by Betty Tompkins [NSFW] The large scale photorealistic paintings of heterosexual intercourse which Betty Tompkins made between 1969 and 1974 were practically unknown when they were exhibited together for the first time in New York in 2002. The idea of sex without a hint of modesty or mediation was too much to handle (nsfw) in a day and age when the word “hell” (not uttered on television until 1967) raised eyebrows and Penthouse was the scourge of morality for showing pubic hair (1969). It’s no surprise, then, that Tompkins originally titled her series Joined Forms in an earnest — albeit tongue-in-cheek — appeal to fit within the period [more inside]
Skitter skitter thud skitter gruff
What's My Name?
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr., aka Snoop Dogg, is furthermore to be referred to as Snoop Lion, after having a spiritual awakening in Jamaica. His next album will be reggae, as rap is no longer challenging to him.
In Soviet Russia... something something... cats are lazy.
Buttermilk
Buttermilk the goat is very excited. All signs point to Buttermilk being an actual goat, and not a person.
Modeling minorities
The Mythical Rise of Asian Americans The model minority myth perpetuated by the Pew research is misleading. At its core, it contains a highly objectionable assumption that other minorities do not work hard enough to succeed. In addition, as others have eloquently argued, the topline numbers and statistics hide wide variance within the Asian American community itself. Finally, insistence on holding up Asian Americans’ “success” often serves as an excuse to overlook the very real challenges that they face.
"What else could one do to culminate a career than to become a very great international star as the voice of a Muppet?"
You probably didn't know the name or face of New Zealand actor Jonathan Hardy, but you may recognise his voice: he was Dominar Rygel XVI in TV's Farscape.
But did you know he was also an Academy Award-nominated scriptwriter?
He died at his home in the NSW Southern Highlands on Sunday. [more inside]
Wearable air bags
Equestrian riders use what are essentially air bag vests, which immediately inflate when they fall from the saddle. They work much like a safety strap on a treadmill. The vest is attached to the saddle by a line, and when that line pulls free, it fires a CO2 cartridge that inflates the vest. Here's a video of one in action on a course, and here's a clearer view of one being inflated. [more inside]
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