August 22, 2013
to thine own self be true
"The perception of Shakespeare's matchless linguistic inventiveness is closely bound up with his role as an icon of English nationalism." New computerized research indicates he didn't make up so many words. [more inside]
"...I assumed that this was another such check."
Don't fly during Ramadan. Aditya Mukerjee describes his experience while attempting to clear the U.S. Transportation Security Administration's checks and board a JetBlue flight. After being cleared by the TSA, following two hours of questioning and checks, Mukerjee was prevented by JetBlue from boarding his intended flight. He was offered rebooking for the following day and, when he declined, given a refund.
This isn't the first time that the TSA and JetBlue have been called out for this type of action.
This isn't the first time that the TSA and JetBlue have been called out for this type of action.
OONTZ OONTZ OONTZ OONTZ
Man in Power Ranger costume becomes hero of Tokyo subway station
Man in Power Ranger costume becomes hero of Tokyo subway station Compared to how Kanemasu started, he claims that people have been more positive in their response. “When I first began, people basically said, ‘Get away from me, you weirdo’,” he recalled.
The Future, with Emily Heller
Gaze into the Past ... the Present ... the Future ... with psychic (and occasional comedian), Emily Heller, as she delves into the cards for Reggie Watts, Kal Penn, John Mulaney, Kenan Thompson, and Janeane Garofalo.
Abandoned Buildings AND Cute Animals
Once upon a time, a man explored some abandoned cottages. The people had left long ago, but the houses were still being lived in. Fortunately, the man was a photographer.
“Live, from New York, it’s ‘Saturday Night’!”
The God of ‘SNL’ Will See You Now. "How do you please Lorne Michaels? Twenty-two ‘Saturday Night Live’ cast members – and one who came close – share tales of the audition that can make or break a career." Also, extended interviews with Kristin Wiig, Will Ferrel, Chevy Chase, Dana Carvey, Jimmy Fallon and Molly Shannon, on what it took to get hired for 'SNL.' Check out audition tapes from: Phil Hartman, Andy Kaufman, John Belushi, Jimmy Fallon, Dana Carvey: 1 & 2, and Dan Aykroyd. [more inside]
Glide on the shrew train
"Young shrews are occasionally observed following their mother in a ‘caravan’. Each shrew grasps the base of the tail of the preceding shrew so that the mother runs along with a line of young trailing behind. This behaviour is often associated with disturbance of the nest and may also be used to encourage the young to explore their environment." - The Mammal Society
Funny, he seemed like such a normal fellow... a little quiet...
Cyriak interviewed about taking inspiration from his cats, living in Brighton, making music videos, animated GIFs, and so on.
Another scandal in academic psychology
Most work in the psychological and social sciences suffers from a lack of conceptual rigor. It’s a bit sloppy around the edges, and in the middle, too. For example, “happiness research” is a booming field, but the titans of the subdiscipline disagree sharply about what happiness actually is. No experiment or regression will settle it. It’s a philosophical question. Nevertheless, they work like the dickens to measure it, whatever it is—life satisfaction, “flourishing,” pleasure minus pain—and to correlate it to other, more easily quantified things with as much statistical rigor as deemed necessary to appear authoritative. It’s as if the precision of the statistical analysis is supposed somehow to compensate for, or help us forget, the imprecision of thought at the foundation of the enterprise.
Meet the Town That's Being Swallowed by a Sinkhole
"One night in August 2012, after months of unexplained seismic activity and mysterious bubbling on the bayou, a sinkhole opened up on a plot of land leased by the petrochemical company Texas Brine, forcing an immediate evacuation of Bayou Corne's 350 residents—an exodus that still has no end in sight." [more inside]
Step two: Excitedly state the facts
How to politely react to your friend's terrible engagement! (Without lying) (SLYT)
Persistence of Vision
Ever do a photo shoot with hundreds or thousands of similar images, only to find yourself scrolling through Lightroom really fast, rating the best shots and/or deleting the worst ones? Here's an optical illusion that makes the case for why you might want to slow down. (via) [more inside]
It was designed to go into your mind and never leave.
Today's SLYT, Tomorrow's GPS turn by turn directions
Fast sharp right! Fast sharp right! Sharp right! Sharp right!
Listen, Samir, you have to listen to my calls, please! (Some NSFW cursing) [more inside]
The Last Days of Stealhead Joe
The Deschutes River fly-fishing guide called Stealhead Joe was an angling master with a long list of devoted clients. But off the water, Joe’s life was a tangle of troubles that ultimately overwhelmed him.
Sort of like a cross between a giraffe and a stork
9 things you may not know about giant azhdarchid pterosaurs, via Quetzalcoatlus: the evil, pin-headed, toothy nightmare monster that wants to eat your soul
"I feel like I'm in a GIF."
Molly Lambert and Emily Yoshida go see Taylor Swift at the Staples Center and are transformed by the experience: Basically, you are at a slumber party with 15,000 people where everyone gets to talk about their emotions and just get real as girlfriends. And by everyone, I mean Taylor. The concert also featured the unlikely collaboration of Swift and Tegan and Sara on the latter's single "Closer."
Dueling Geniuses
Sick Costs.
John Green: "Why Are Americans Health Care Costs So High?" A quick, handy little overview of common misconceptions on the US healthcare system. (SLYT)
Nasty Pieces of Work
Tim Noble & Sue Webster make art (mildly NSFW), including an ongoing series of abstract sculpture which, when spot-lit, throw very human shadows. [more inside]
Speaking in foreign tongues
The Atlantic's
Ta-Nehisi Coates has spent the last few months in Paris specifically studying French. His latest dispatch, "Or Perhaps You Are Too Stupid to Learn French," looks at how hard it is to apply the rules of new language in real time, while fighting with one's perceptions and limitations (Other dispatches are here).
Washington Post writer Jay Matthews asks if learning a foreign language is worth it and recounts his own struggles studying Chinese. Another WaPo writer, Elizabeth Chang, recalls her experience in learning Arabic.
Washington Post writer Jay Matthews asks if learning a foreign language is worth it and recounts his own struggles studying Chinese. Another WaPo writer, Elizabeth Chang, recalls her experience in learning Arabic.
It's Pug Life, each day new wins
Shake hands with the doorknob before a cup final
It has been during his time in charge of Blyth that Jameson has displayed the kind of obsessive-bordering-on-mentally-unstable behaviour that separates a casual Football Manager player from a genuine addict. "The worst it got was probably when I reacted to getting a touchline ban by playing the game from outside my room," he says. "I hit start, left the room, came in again at half-time, hit start and left again. It was a Champions League tie against Espanyol. We lost 1-0." -- Some blokes get a wee bit obsessive playing Football Manager, The Grauniad reports. [more inside]
The past and the present are one
Ghosts of the past revisit little-changed streets and avenues of New York City in Famous Daily News photos brought back to life.
OHGODOHGODOHGODFUCKNONONONONONO
"My wife and I were chatting while she was slicing potatoes on a mandoline..." A list of kitchen accidents, both personal and professional. (Maybe NSFW, definitely gory, though entertaining as hell.) [more inside]
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