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2339 MetaFilter comments by Faze
(displaying 1 through 50)
Is television holding back the evolution of football?
What is rarely considered is that television could be shaping the way the game is played, and not necessarily for the better. It sounds, admittedly, a touch far-fetched, but two of football's most respected thinkers believe it to be true, and when Jorge Valdano and Arrigo Sacchi are in agreement, it is usually worth listening. Sports journalist
Jonathan Wilson investigates the effect televised football/soccer might be having on the tactics of the game.
comment posted at 9:10 AM on Jan-5-10
Metafilter's own
JF Ptak has an
interesting post on the Life magazine issue of March 2nd, 1942, readers of which were confronted by some startling maps detailing possible Axis invasion strategies for North America. There was invasion down the
St. Lawrence valley, there was invasion via
Trinidad, via
Bermuda,
full frontal west coast, and down the
west coast as well - note the mapping of the large "fifth columns". As Ptak notes, maps such as these with huge arrows pointed menancingly at the American homeland were very much not the norm of the day.
comment posted at 4:43 PM on Jan-3-10
Losing the War
"From the beginning, the actual circumstances of World War II were smothered in countless lies...People all along have preferred the movie version: the tense border crossing where the flint-eyed SS guards check the forged papers; the despondent high-level briefing where the junior staff officer pipes up with the crazy plan that just might work...The truth behind these cliches was never forgotten -- because nobody except the soldiers ever learned it in the first place."
comment posted at 11:25 AM on Jan-3-10
There isn't a single decent candidate running for office, the homeless guy struck by a car was more fortunate than the auto workers and if you want a grilled raccoon they sure have a deal for you: it's
Detroit 2009, The Movie, the chronicle of a rough year from The Detroit News.
comment posted at 8:46 AM on Jan-2-10
David Levine, beloved caricaturist for several publications, but most notably for the
New York Review of Books,
died last Tuesday at age 83 due to complications of prostate cancer. Since 1963, he contributed over 3,800 caricatures for the magazine, which prominently featured his drawings in promotional material. You can look at over 2,500 of his drawings
here, review his website featuring his painting
here, and see him interviewed
here.
Toward the end of his life, his vision failed due to macular degeneration and his relationship with the magazine became
somewhat strained. Upon his death, the magazine noted that he was, simply, "the greatest caricaturist of his time."
comment posted at 6:06 AM on Jan-2-10
comment posted at 9:00 AM on Jan-2-10
"
It... picked up cars and equipment as though they were so many snow-draped toys, and swallowing them up, disappeared like a white, broad monster into the ravine below." Nearly 100 years ago, on March 1, 1910, the
deadliest avalanche in United States history struck the small town of Wellington, Washington.
Ninety-six people died as a massive wall of snow struck two Great Northern trains stopped at Wellington to wait for the tracks to be cleared, rolling them nearly 1000 feet into Tye Creek and burying the victims under
huge piles of snow, trees, and debris.
comment posted at 8:00 AM on Jan-1-10
November 13, 2001: Musical unknown Andrew W.K.
(Previously 1, 2) releases his debut album "I Get Wet." It is a simple rock record of power chords and unabashed, un-ironic party music -- exemplified perfectly both by its first song, "
It's Time To Party," or its lead single, "
Party Hard" -- released during a month of American
depression,
paranoia, and
insincerity that borders on nihilism. The album finds mainstream success,
selling over 30K copies in its first three weeks, with songs from the record
appearing in commercials, movies, and television shows, not to mention heavy rotation on MTV and awesome appearances on
Conan and
Saturday Night Live.
comment posted at 4:45 AM on Dec-30-09
SomBy
were the winners of the
Liet International 2009 song contest for minority european languages and cultures. Sámi rock, you say? But wait, there's more! There's
Alit Boazu from the Norwegian side, and
Tiina Sanila, a
Skolt Sámi singer from Finland. And yes,
there is Sámi metal, from the band
Intrigue. There are plenty other Sámi musicians across
Sápmi and outside of the genre of rock, of course. There's
Amoc, an Inari Sámi rapper from Finland;
Adjágas who are folky and bluegrassy at times;
Niko Valkeapää, who is more ambient and electronic; and of course,
Mari Boine,
recently knighted for her long career of artistic work (
translation). [Sound, MySpace warnings]
comment posted at 12:32 PM on Dec-25-09
For many, this time of year brings to mind
George Frideric Handel's masterpiece
"Messiah" - a three part oratorio for orchestra, chorus and soloists.
For many,
the holiday season has not begun until the local Messiah Sing-Along. (
Need a score to sing along? It's always a good idea to check the Choral Public Domain Library! And before you go, make sure you're ready with a handy - and hilarious -
quiz!) But the Messiah narrative has much less to do with that omnipresent, tacit, eponymous character and much more to do with the shared and often painful condition of the human family and our attempts to understand and commune with the universe. Director Claus Guth has staged the oratorio using a setting that mirrors that experience: a funeral.
[Clips of that performance within.]
comment posted at 3:33 PM on Dec-22-09
Confederate soldier
Richard Kirkland is known as the "Angel of Marye's Heights" for venturing in between the opposing army's lines to give water to his wounded foes. The Union soldiers were mowed down the previous day in a series of futile attacks against the Confederate positions. The story fits in with the narrative of post-war reconciliation and reunion and offers an inspiring tale of humanity amid the carnage of war. There is
a statue at the Fredericksburg battlefield and
a movie in the works.
But did it really happen? One writer takes a look at the records, and
it doesn't seem likely.
comment posted at 12:45 PM on Dec-22-09
San Francisco - the Worst-Run Big City in the U.S.
Despite its spending more money per capita, period, than almost any city in the nation, San Francisco has poorly managed, budget-busting capital projects, overlapping social programs no one is certain are working, and a transportation system where the only thing running ahead of schedule is the size of its deficit.
comment posted at 1:11 PM on Dec-21-09
The Known Universe
takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world's most complete four-dimensional map of the universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History. The new film, created by the Museum, is part of an exhibition, Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to an Evolving Universe, at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan through May 2010.
comment posted at 11:14 AM on Dec-19-09
The recession is hitting Ohio's former steel towns hard.
As other areas of the country start to revive, the recession's full force is still on display
here. Since January 2008, another 10,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost, according to recent Ohio employment figures. "There were other places that were dirtier, but you didn't get shocked every 15 minutes," Tomlin says with resignation. "This is what people around here without union jobs have to do to survive."
comment posted at 2:40 PM on Dec-17-09
"Well, all right, why is life
worth living? That's a very good question. Well, there are certain things I guess that make it worthwhile. Uh, like what? Okay. Um, for me... oh, I would say... what,
Groucho Marx, to name one thing... and
Willie Mays, and...
the second movement of the Jupiter Symphony, and... Louie Armstrong's recording of
Potatohead Blues...
Swedish Movies, naturally...
Sentimental Education by Flaubert...
Marlon Brando,
Frank Sinatra... those incredible apples and pears by
Cezanne... the
crabs at Sam Wo's...
Tracy's face..."
comment posted at 2:23 PM on Dec-11-09
"Men working on the river would move in time to the beat of the music. It was everywhere: on the street, in the church. In the tonks and barrelhouses where people went to be together. Like the beating of a big heart. It gave everyone a good feeling." The Cradle is Rocking is a delightful 12-minute film that, though somewhat damaged (Folkstreams has found what may be the only surviving print), is highly recommended viewing for anyone interested in American roots music: in this case, New Orleans jazz. The film's thoughtful and affable narrator is trumpeter
George "Kid Sheik" Cola, who can be heard along with Captain John Handy serving up some fine old-school Dixieland jazz
here and
here.
comment posted at 5:05 AM on Dec-10-09
comment posted at 3:04 PM on Dec-10-09
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