July 2008 Archives
July 31
Vamp
Curt Purcell of The Groovy Age of Horror (previously) on Vampirella and the art of José González, who modeled his version of the character after Sophia Loren (NSFW, mild boobies) (Previous Vampirella)
Anthrax suspect kills himself ahead of arrest
Breaking anthrax attacks update: A new suspect, a US goverment expert on anthrax, kills himself as he's about to be arrested. Bruce Ivins helped analyze the killer powder sent by mail in 2001 that killed five people and freaked out the US right after 9/11. The govt paid out $5.82 million just last month to former govt scientist Steven Hatfill for wrongly targeting him in the investigation.
Bye!
Travelers' Laptops May Be Detained At Border.
The policies cover "any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form," including hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes. They also cover "all papers and other written documentation," including books, pamphlets and "written materials commonly referred to as 'pocket trash' or 'pocket litter.' " [more inside]
Malwebolence.
Zeno of Elea, Socrates and Jesus, Weev said, are his all-time favorite trolls. He also identifies with Coyote and Loki, the trickster gods, and especially with Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction. “Loki was a hacker. The other gods feared him, but they needed his tools.” The New York Times investigates the ever-evolving, LOL-corrupting, epileptic-seizuring, iPod-leaving-on-gravestone-ing phenomenon of major Internet trolling, featuring interviews with Jason Fortuny, Weev, and a gentleman named Christopher Poole (prev). [more inside]
Gold Medal in Piano!
Winning the Gold Medal in Young International Piano Superstardom is Chinese pianist Lang Lang. The 26 year old former prodigy compares himself not to Glen Gould, but to Tiger Woods. Given his "star appeal" and numerous endorsements, it's an apt comparison. [more inside]
At last, something on Livejournal I enjoyed
Now I have seen a lion in a sidecar on a vertical wall of death. There are a lot of eye-popping images to be found on the vintage photographs livejournal group. The lion may be the eye-poppingest, but there's also this flattened elephant, this tiny photographer, and this soldier and dog in gas masks.
Fallen Lights
Model T Body Modification
Ford Model T owners "transformed the cars into tractors, pickup trucks, paddy wagons, mobile lumber mills and power plants for milling grain." [more inside]
A long time coming. Delicious.
Oh happy day — the new Delicious is here "Over the past few days we’ve been transitioning Delicious over to our new platform, quietly starting with RSS feeds and APIs. Today we’re taking the final step and flipping the switch on the new web site".
Ooh, look at all the pretty data.
Stream graphs, or stacked graphs, are a new form of (sometimes interactive) visualization that present data in a fluid timescale format. For example, the NY Times website has a graph showing the box office receipts from 1996-2008. There's a Twitter streamgraph based on keywords. Here's one of all the musicians a Last.fm user has listened to over time. Track the popularity of baby names back to the 1880s. Possibly the most striking, if not necessarily intuitive, is this visualization of US population by county, 1790-2000. There's already an academic study of the technique.
Watching the Growth of Walmart Across America
Around the Country in 121 Days
62 year old emergency physician John Hall and his wife Jane took off on a Bike Ride Around America to promote cancer awareness. They started on April Fool's Day, and completed their 12,000 mile journey around the perimeter of the country just today. Along the way they encountered hundreds of towns and thousands of friendly people, and a few not so nice. All in all, a pretty amazing accomplishment in my book.
Too much love in the home?
The Kindergarchy: An essay on modern parenting.
China's No. 1 Internet TV station
SexyBeiJin (性感北京) Weddings Gone Wild Beijing Vs. Hong Kong Lost in Translation
The Lost in Translation piece (above) introduces Beijing folks and the English names they have chosen for themselves. One "auntie" goes by the name "Smacker" (it sounds nice), and so SexyBeijing develops an entirely new segment called Ask Smacker.
Hosted by Anna Sophie Loewenberg, the show has a frequently updated blog and downloadable video and audio podcasts. [more inside]
Yes I know people die of starvation but this is ROTTEN food
Food Fight! For reasons unknown to mankind the people of Kreuzberg fight the people of Friedrichshain (two Berlin precincts) on the Brigde that connects them. Their ammunition is rotten vegetables, diapers, rotten fruit and everything else you'd find in your bio-trashcan. More (sorry only a Trailer), more and still more (in german only).
Saint and Sinner
Rasa von Werder is the current name of one Kellie Everts [NSFW], stripper for God, bodybuilder, and church-founder. During the 70's she toured the nation on the novel concept that a stripper could save souls, and during the same time helped establish female bodybuilding as a legitimate sport. Nowadays she tends the followers of her female empowerment doctrines via the University of MotherGod Church, Woman Thou Art God! [NSFW] website and her Matriarchy RAMANA MAHARSHI Mother God Worship Femdom YouTube channel. [more inside]
Fast Food Apartheid
Fast Food Apartheid: The Los Angeles City Council has placed a one-year moratorium on the opening of fast-food restaurants in sections of the city with low-income residents. The council says it's meant to encourage healthy fare in locations that lack ready access to supermarkets and healthy restaurant. This columnist calls it "fast food apartheid." We're not talking anymore about preaching diet and exercise, disclosing calorie counts, or restricting sodas in schools. We're talking about banning the sale of food to adults. Treating French fries like cigarettes or liquor.
Batman and Joker care about your safety.
Better Living with the Batman & Joker Supersquad. Respect. Heavy Lifting. Bike Safety. UV Protection. Taking Time for Play. Herpes. Sexual Harassment.
A lifetime of lost playlists
A lifetime of lost playlists Martin Belam offers a personal history of music formats and describing how he made playlists with each of them. I'd love for his conclusion to become a reality.
Gomphotheres, megafauna, and anachronistic fruits
Osage orange, avocado, papaya, honey locust, paw paw, persimmon, and many more: fruits that have outlasted the gomphotheres and other megafauna. These "anachronistic fruits" can be a key to understanding their intended consumers. More. More. More. And even more.
Broadcast Pioneer
Edie Huggins was one of Philadelphia's most accomplished news journalists. The first African-America woman to report on television in Philadelphia. She began her career as a broadcaster in 1966 as a features reporter on WCAU-TV. In 2006, Philadelphia City Council declared March 30th “Edie Huggins Day” to honor Huggins’ more than 40 years of accurate news reporting and dedication to the City of Philadelphia.
Edie passed away yesterday at 72 years of age. [more inside]
Gilberto Gil
Brazil's Gilberto Gil, now 66 years of age, is stepping down from his position as Minister of Culture to concentrate, once again, on his music career. That's good news for his fans, and here's some more good news: a huge chunk of his recorded work is available as streaming audio for your listening pleasure. [more inside]
July 30
"Taking them off feels like an orgasm."
Parer & McIntosh
Ray Parer & J C McIntosh; The Flying Wreck. In 1919 six teams entered an Air Race from England to Australia, but only two teams finished. The winning team finished in 28 days, while the second team didn't even get started until the race was already over, but they didn't let that stop them. Ray Parer and John McIntosh in their de Havilland DH9 airplane deviated considerably from their intended course, suffered many mechanical problems, had 7 crash landings, and took 237 days to finish. But they sure did have an adventure. [more inside]
Where my bees at?
Häagen-Dazs wants you to know they are concerned about the disappearance of honeybees through a nice little flashed website. But we all know that the real reason our bees are disappearing is because of that damned hip hop music.
OMNOMNOMopoly
Sysco : whether it's Wendy's, Applebee's, the local diner, a fancy restaurant, the cafeteria, or Guantanamo Bay, it's what you eat. Serving over 400,000 businesses, the "Wal-Mart of Food Service" has all the bases covered, from "Unique 3-D technology gives you the look and texture of a solid muscle chicken breast, at a fraction of the cost" to more gourmet offerings.
Bring in 'da statistical noise...
Dear Ms. Patron
Uncle Bobby's Wedding: A librarian's rebuttal to a book removal/relocation request involving a children's title dealing with gay marriage. Via MyLiBlog.
C'mon, Get Happy! And Married!
The Massachusetts House of Representatives voted to repeal a ban on out of state marriages that has been on the books since 1913. The up-shot? Out of state gay and lesbian couples may soon wed in Massachusetts. The vote goes next to governor Deval Patrick, who has already indicate that he is in favor of repealing the law. [more inside]
Libraries: Let them eat cake
You're planning on baking a cake, but you're bored of your plain old square pan, round pan, or bundt pan? If you live in the US Midwest, it's very possible that your nearby library allows you to check out cake pans. [more inside]
Princess Chunk - she ain't heavy, she's my fuzzy buddy
Are you looking for a nice, big kitty to let into your heart? Princess Chunk, at 44 pounds, might fit the bill nicely. Just two pounds shy of the world's record, the pudgy kitty was roaming sans collar in Voorhees, NJ and is now in good hands at the Camden County Animal Shelter. Chunker's owners have until Saturday to claim their big pal - after that, this big quarterback of a kitty is ready for a loving home.
War (and Peace) Photographer
Andrija Ilic is a photographer from Belgrade, Serbia. He uses photography to document social change to his environment and events in his homeland. He has covered some of the most important events in the region: war in Kosovo in 1998, NATO maneuvers in Italy in 1998 and intervention in 1999, numerous anti-regime protests 1996-2000, events surrounding the fall of government in Belgrade in October 2000, the crisis in southern Serbia. More recently, he has published new photos from the conflict in Israel and Palestine, every day life in Gaza,
and reportage from the Faroe Islands. [some images NSFW - war violence and gore] [more inside]
Antikythera Mechanism revealed
The Antikythera Mechanism has been decoded. Two years ago, it was confirmed that the machine was capable of astronomical calculations. Now it appears there's just one more thing: 3D imaging of the machine made it possible to reconstruct the complete workings, and it turns out it was also capable of tracking the timing of the Olympic games. The findings were reported today in Nature. Previous Apple joke here, an incredibly deep post about it here, and a longer report from the New Yorker.
Eureka Hunt
"That's why so many insights happen during warm showers."[pdf/html]
Aprint-only print-mostly article in last week's New Yorker magazine fascinatingly describes the neurological processes behind human insight, with nods to Henri Poincaré's omnibus eureka ("Having reached Coutances, we entered an omnibus to go some place or other. At the moment when I put my foot on the step the idea came to me, without anything in my former thoughts seeming to have paved the way for it") and Archimedes' bathtub eureka* ("Eureka!")
A
Tripping the Light Fantastic
Electing a US President in Plain English
A three-and-a-half minute video explaining the American electoral process. As a Canadian, I've also found the American electoral system a little baffling. Electoral colleges? Maine and Nebraska do it differently? I thought this video by the smart folks at Common Craft did an excellent job of explaining how somebody gets to the White House.
Unmasking the perp
There's something about Mary. Sarasota, Florida, resident Mary McFate was a prominent gun control activist, active in anti-gun groups around the country. Mary Lou Sapone was a freelance spy with an NRA connection. They are the same person.
How high can you get?
Don Hodges writes scholarly (but readable) articles on the mathematics and logic of classic video games - with a special emphasis on kill screens, such as "Stage Zero" in Galaga, Level 22 in Donkey Kong, and the legendary split screen at the end of Pac-Man. More here. [more inside]
"Israel is not a country! Delist it from Facebook as a country."
Anti-Israel Facebook group "seized" - the Jewish Internet Defense Force (warning: self-starting Google video) says that it has taken control of an anti-Israel Facebook group and is steadily deleting members by the second. "It has also changed the group's administrator titles to read 'Mossad Zionist.'"
Popery, Free Love, and Women's Rights.
John C. Frémont is a secret Catholic.
Twones is a multi-service music tracker.
Twones is a music tracker that monitors Last.FM, YouTube, MySpace, iTunes, Muxtape, and a few other services. [more inside]
20 Ways to Die Trying to Dunk a Basketball
20 Ways to Die Trying to Dunk a Basketball - the only thing more triumphant than throwing down a tomahawk slam is having 20,000 people see you fail at doing it. (youtube)
Transcendence
Transcendence, the outer space exploration/trading/shoot 'em up, has hit version .99. I cannot begin to tell you how much time I sunk into previous releases -- the Nethackish randomness, both in the layout of the systems to explore, and the mysterious devices and substances to apply to your ship in hope of an extra edge, makes the replay value immense. RGCD has a glowing review and an interview with the developer. (Mentioned but not actually linked to earlier.)
12 Glowing Men
Give us this day our daily unleaded
St. Louis group Pray at the Pump is trying to lower gas prices the old fashioned way - by praying for them.
the night is young, the mood is mellow...
Vaughn Toulouse was not born Toulouse. He was born Vaughn Cotillard on the island of Jersey on this day in 1959. In the summer of ’78, he left home to tag along on tour with the Clash, which he chronicled in an early issue of The Face. Thus inspired, Toulouse formed a series of bands of his own including Guns For Hire and Department S, which scored a big hit with Is Vic There? (TOTP, Cheggers) and a lesser one with I Want. [more inside]
Dirty wars leave tough stains
Von Wernich signed the baptism certificate of a girl born in a clandestine prison, whose mother was murdered at his orders. He encouraged torture victims to "testify, for the sake of god and country," perverting the confession into an interrogation tactic. Under a Nazi flag, he witnessed the torture of Jewish journalist Jacobo Timerman [...] Von Wernich was convicted on nearly all counts "under the mark of genocide." The crowds inside and outside the courthouse broke into celebration, singing, lighting firecrackers, some burning effigies of the priest. After thirty years, the saga to bring Von Wernich to justice was over.The Unending War — Argentina's quest for justice by Sam Ferguson is about how Argentine society is dealing with the legacy of the junta's Dirty War of 1976-83. [more inside]
Libraries: delicious!
Libraries are neat. The New York Public Library has uploaded a collection of menus dating from 1851 to 1956 thanks largely to the efforts of collector Miss Frank E. Buttolph, a "mysterious and passionate figure whose mission in life was to collect menus" and whose unique collection aroused the interest of the NYT of her day (1, 2).
What a Joker!
"Zombie juice!"
Australian short film - I Love Sarah Jane 'Jimbo is 13. All he can think about is one girl, Sarah Jane. And no matter what stands in his way - bullies, violence, chaos, zombies - nothing is going to stop him from finding a way into her world.' NSFW - swearing and gore. SLYT.
The Great Automobile Race of 1908
On 30th July 1908, after 169 days of competition, the 4-cylinder, 60-horsepower Thomas Flyer, driven by George Schuster from America, crossed the finish line to win the Great 1908 New York-to-Paris Automobile Race. After driving to the West Coast, the vehicles were shipped to Vladivostok from where only three teams managed to continue with the race across Asia and Europe. [more inside]
July 29
Speaker for Himself
Orson Scott Card on gay marriage, which he says "marks the end of democracy in America". Not everyone is too happy about that.
Business Guys on Business Trips
Business Guys on Business Trips. Cool set of web cartoons about the 'creative' field. Clients and projects and corporate doublespeak, oh my!
Down, Up, Down, er, ...
So ya skateboard, ya go ta prison, ya get a movie made of ya, you get famous, ya come out, ya get in the NYT, ya try to get t' the x-games...
A Social History of the Surge
A Social History of the Surge by Juan Cole.
The 100% Unofficial blog of the Indian Prime Minister
Narayan, Narayan. I was Atal Bihari some time back, now I am Manmohan. I may be Manmohan now but sometimes I am Sonia. I am the variable constant in Indian politics the Prime Minister, Pradhan Mantri. Soon I may be Advani or Rahul or Modi. Or maybe I may become Laloo…that will be the day of prayer in India. But if I become Mayawati will I need a surgery... A log of the nation in hypertext marked lies.
Professor Obama's final
Well what do you want? It's just an FPP!
Calvin. Hobbes. Calvin and Hobbes. John Calvin and Thomas Hobbes. Calvin and Hobbes and Ten Pounds of Bullshit. Calvin and Durden. Nash and Hobbes. Calvin and Hobbes and School Controversies. Calvin and John Calvin and Hobbes and Thomas Hobbes and Republicans. Calvin and Hobbes and Childhood.
Where do the stolen bikes go?
Igor Kenk was arrested for bicycle theft in Toronto on July 17. Here's an audio documentary that includes an interview with the man himself: Steal This Bike (be warned, a lot of profanity, and a little pretentious). [more inside]
Wanted: "Kindred Spirit" with "Bosom Friend" potential
Still looking for a vacation destination this summer? 2008 is the centennial anniversary of L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, the girl Mark Twain called "the dearest, and most lovable child in fiction since the immortal Alice." You can attend the L. M. Montgomery Festival and see Anne & Gilbert: The Musical (warning: exuberant fiddling).
Or if you can't make it all the way to P.E.I., you can Blog About Anne.
Wheels on fire, rolling down the road...
From New York City to Seattle, Critical Mass cyclists are not having a good week. In Seattle, some question the motivations of Critical Mass, some report conflicting stories, while others suggest foul play.
Nexis Nexus
Tom Waits in Concert
"The simplest example of the truly complex"
Anything but clear. It is well known that panes of stained glass in old European churches are thicker at the bottom because glass is a slow-moving liquid that flows downward over centuries. Well known, yes, but long known to be wrong. Scientists still disagree about the nature of glass, and researchers continue to try to understand its dual personality . [more inside]
Psychemathadelica!
How deep does the rabbit hole go? The Ultimate Fractal Video Project features animated zooms into the famous Mandelbrot Set. Some zoom in so far that, by the end of the dive, the first frame you had viewed would be as large as (or larger than) the known universe. | The animations are offered as .zip'd WMV files; lower-quality versions are viewable on FractAlkemist's YouTube page. [more inside]
Japan from the Driver's Seat
He wanted to be a priest, now he's a beast...
Urlesque curates the Top 10 WTF Bodybuilding Routines. Because nobody does the robot like a guy coated head to toe in glistening lubricant.
where the beer is not the life of the party
What's Folk-Punk? Although celtic-punk groups like the Pogues, Flogging Molly, and the Dropkick Murphys may have been the first bands to combine punk rock with folk music, other groups have been crossing over folk music and punk rock for some time now. [more inside]
Microchip microscope
Researchers working on optofluidic microscopy at the California Institute of Technology have developed a minuscule microscope that works without lenses.... (via) [more inside]
Battlemind
Battlemind: Armor for Your Mind is a U.S. Army website designed to help, in part, families deal with deployment, including a series of cartoons and videos intended for children whose parents may be sent to or be returning from warzones. Part of the Army's Behavioral Health program, these give intriguing insight into military culture. [more inside]
Van Doren Gives Answers
When I stepped out the door of the caucus room, I saw a large crowd—members of the press, photographers, and bystanders. I realized that there was no way to avoid repeating my testimony. I was, I said, “foolish, naïve, prideful, and avaricious,” and added, “I have deceived my friends, and I had millions of them.”
Charles Van Doren breaks his silence on the cheating scandal that inspired the movie Quiz Show.
Gender "Cheats"
In late 2006, Santhi Soundarajan took the Silver Medal in the Women's 800m at the Asian Games in Qatar. Less than a week later, she was stripped of her medal by the Olympic Council of Asia after a chromosomal test. According to the Times of India, "the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said the 25-year-old had failed a sex test, implying she had deceived the sporting world by competing as a woman when she was actually a man." The disqualification ended her athletic career, and several months after returning to her rural village in Tamil Nadu, India, she attempted suicide. [more inside]
The FBI is not a truck
NewsFilter: The Internet is a series of tubes indictments. Sen. Ted Stevens has been indicted for corruption. [more inside]
The Waiter has hung up his apron.
The Waiter unmasked. After several years of consistently great writing about his experiences as a high-end waiter on his blog Waiter Rant (previously), Steve Dublanica has finally revealed his identity. With the release of his book, Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip- Confessions of a Cynical Waiter, he is trading in his apron for a book tour.
How Edison Are You?
Thomas A. Edison did not simply invent; he created the invention industry. He not only inspired the American Industrial Revolution, he provided the model for modern R&D concepts. Perhaps his greatest success beyond his legacy of innovation and invention is the introduction of team-based research. The Edison Innovation Foundation is using Edison's Invention Factory to educate the next generation of inventors.
Jetpack!
Take a look at this jetpack Is Adam Savage here?
Hiram Bullock dead
Hiram Bullock, original guitarist for Paul Shaffer's "Worlds Most Dangerous Band" died on July 25th. He was a fixture in the early days of David Letterman's show. The cause of death was not disclosed but Bullock had been undergoing treatment for cancer and was known to have had drug problems. Bullock was 52. [more inside]
Free as in ... money
Coding Horror blogger Jeff Atwood granted $5,000 of his ad revenue to a worthy, open-source .NET project only to find the winner doesn't know what to do with the money. [more inside]
silver, orange, purple, month
Write Rhymes : As you write, hold the alt key and click on a word to find a rhyme for it...
Word Withdrawal
The sad day has come: Facebook has shut down Scrabulous. Read the complaint here (PDF). Those suffering from withdrawal can head on over to Scrabulous.com. [more inside]
Turkish folktales
The Uysal - Walker Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative is an immense repository of folktales from modern Anatolia. The full list of stories but luckily there's a search function. But that's not all, oh no, there's also a music section, with downloadable mp3s and a whole nother section with more stories and Turkish literature and mp3s. Here's a somewhat random selection of stories to get you started (all links pdf): Nasreddin Hoca's Brilliant Donkey, A Saint Urinates in Public, The Girl Disguised as a Monk and the Padishah's Youngest Son, Behlül Dane Discourses with the Dung Heap and finally, Elia Kazan in Kayseri (yes, that Elia Kazan).
Let's Step Outside
Who ruined the Hollywood fight scene? With average shot length under six seconds and falling, are fight scenes more exciting than they used to be? Or is Hollywood's love of fast editing cutting us short? [more inside]
The Moist Towelette Museum
So lemony and wonderful. Of course I searched the Metafilter Archives. I wanted to be sure I was not reposting a link. But I did find one reference to moist towelettes from machaus
"Many individuals have asked me in past months, Why moist towelette collecting? Why not stamp collecting, or numismatics? To be different, perhaps? " posted by machaus (12 comments total) back in 2001.
Well -- Machaus -- now you know where you can leave your collection when preparing your will.
"Many individuals have asked me in past months, Why moist towelette collecting? Why not stamp collecting, or numismatics? To be different, perhaps? " posted by machaus (12 comments total) back in 2001.
Well -- Machaus -- now you know where you can leave your collection when preparing your will.
So Open it Hurts.
So Open it Hurts. Web 2.0 visionaries Tara Hunt and Chris Messina blogged and twittered about their romance to all of geekdom as if it were one of their utopian open-source projects. Sharing their breakup has been a lot harder. [more inside]
I don't think we should treat religion lightly, Mr. Gore
We've discussed what Bush and Batman have in common, but when presented with a list of quotes, can you tell which is by Bush, and which is by Batman (as played by Adam West)? It's Bush or Batman!
Nintendo Entertainment System Hacks.
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was the most popular console of the 80s but the unstoppable march of time and the introduction of more advanced 16 bit consoles inevitably ensured its demise. But you can't keep a good console down and now it's back, thanks to the work of some dedicated mods out there. But it's not quite how you remembered it. I mean, I don't remember the NES ever coming in the form of a belt, do you? Or a coffee table, for that matter. Those insane NES hackers have even gone and put an NES in an NES cartridge. There's also an NES in an NES controller, an NES in a lightgun, a wooden NES, an NES alarm clock, an NES wallet or finally, an NES guitar. Want to see more? Check this out.
Good governance 2.0
"What kind of lawbreaking has happened on President Bush's watch, among his top and mid-level advisers? What hasn't? Who is implicated and who is not? Despite the lack of oral sex with an intern, the past seven years have yielded an embarrassment of riches when it comes to potentially prosecutable crimes. We have tried to sketch out a map of who did what and when, with links to the evidence that is public and notes about what we may learn from investigations that are still pending." Via Slate
A barber came to Bristol...
Eighty one years ago to the day, barber, banjoist and balladeer B.F. Shelton travelled from his home in Kentucky to take part in a recording session in Bristol Tennessee. Now referred to as the "Bristol Sessions", these recordings are widely viewed as some of the most important and influential in American music history. The four songs Shelton recorded that day, stark, simple and immensely powerful in their unadorned honesty, can all be heard here. After Bristol, Shelton never recorded again. [more inside]
Is $40000 fair punishment for setting up a fake Facebook profile?
£17,000 damages for victim of fake Facebook profile. Matthew Firsht found a fake facebook profile created in his name, and he has successfully sued the person who did it. Amol Rajan knows exactly what having your facebook online ID 'stolen' feels like, as do many others. Are your social networking friends always who they say they are?
July 28
Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood not included in weekday program services this fall
After 40 years of national broadcasts, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood will be removed from PBS' weekday program service this fall. The current situation is that PBS beams the show to member stations as part of its children's programming block Monday through Friday. Most (63%) stations air it. Starting in the fall, PBS stations won't receive the show daily but rather one episode per week will be sent. This summer, PBS stations that still want to play the the show during the week will have an opportunity to receive a season's worth of episodes to stockpile. But receiving and scheduling those episodes requires effort. [more inside]
The loss of a consumer advocate
In Memoriam -- Ed Foster, Infoworld Ed Foster, the Infoworld columnist who often went to bat for consumers screwed by tech companies that misrepresented their products and services, died on Saturday. He was 59. :-(
Who owns your ink?
Can you copyright a tattoo? Yes, you can. But there's more to it. The idea raises a lot of questions and concerns—for the artists, the inked-skin owners, and certain parties seeking to represent or showcase the work. Shortly after Marisa Kakoulas wrote The Tattoo Copyright Controversy guest article, featured at BMEZINE.com, she encountered a small legal battle of her own. [more inside]
Warp Drive
The Little Giant
Legendary post-bop jazz tenor saxophonist, renowned for his speed and tone, Johnny Griffin (wiki) has died at the age of 80 at his home in France, where he had lived for 24 years. Originally from Chicago, at the age of 18, three days after his high school graduation, Mr. Griffin left Chicago to join Lionel Hampton’s big band, where he switched from alto to tenor (see preceding link). He played with, among others, Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Clark Terry, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, and many more. From the wiki link: his first Blue Note album "Introducing Johnny Griffin" in 1956, [which featured] Wynton Kelly on piano, Curly Russell on bass and Max Roach on drums, brought him critical acclaim...A 1957 Blue Note album "A Blowing Session" featured him with fellow tenor players John Coltrane and Hank Mobley. Here he is playing the Village Vanguard.
Chinese Superpower? Maybe, maybe not.
The algae problem was taken care of. But the smog is the worst it's been in several months. All kidding aside, is China the next world superpower? Maybe, maybe not. [more inside]
This is an intense love story.
Contortionist Olga Pikhienko
Max & The Marginalized
How can bands claiming to want to make a difference write a song about, say, ending the war and then hold on to it to make a perfectly polished recording of it for their album which will come out in a year...? We don’t have any interest in that. We write songs about things that are happening now, record them, and release them with the hopes that they can be a small part of a big conversation that leads to real progress.
Max and The Marginalized are a band and a blog. Mastermind Max Bernstein writes and records a new song every week (available to download), punk political broadsides aimed at anything and everything wrong with the world today.
Max and The Marginalized are a band and a blog. Mastermind Max Bernstein writes and records a new song every week (available to download), punk political broadsides aimed at anything and everything wrong with the world today.
"This is why I carry, even in church."
Man kills two, injures 7 others, in church shooting. Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church had "just put out a sign this week which says it welcomes gays." Link to Knoxville news. And the updates page. Greg McKendry, a 60 year old foster parent, attempted to subdue the shooter and was killed in the process. Knoxville's police chief says the man accused of a shooting that killed two people at a Tennessee church targeted the congregation because of its liberal social stance. The church sponsors the Spectrum Cafe, a meeting place for GLBT youth. A Facebook page has been created so you can express your condolences.
Moby Dick? Middlemarch? Jane Eyre?
Humiliation: Which book are you most embarrassed to admit that you have never read? Several "respectable" authors answer the question at the Ways With Words festival. (single-link Telegraph post)
cuil kids?
Cuil is a new search engine developed by former Google employees, and claims to index 3x more pages than Google. CNN Money story has the basics. My attempts were met with timeouts. [more inside]
What Muslims Really Think
Who are Muslims? Gallup has conducted a poll "in 40 predominantly Muslim nations and among significant Muslim populations in the West. It is the first set of unified and scientifically representative views from 1.3 billion Muslims globally." They'll be parsing and interpreting this data for years, but for the time being, they've offered some of their key results online and in print. See also, the Muslim-West Facts Initiative. (via) [more inside]
Victorians, eminent and otherwise
The Victorian Web is your one-stop resource for England in the Victorian era (1837-1901). The site is much too extensive to give but a flavor. It is divided into 20 categories, including Technology, Gender Matters, Economic Contexts, Authors, Political History, Theater and Popular Entertainment, Science and Genre and Technique. Here are a few examples of the articles inside: Inventions in Alice in Wonderland, The Role of the Victorian Army, Earth Yenneps: Victorian Back Slang (and a glossary of same), Algernon Charles Swinburne and the Philosophy of Androgyny, Hermaphrodeity, and Victorian Sexual Mores, Evolution, progress and natural laws and, of course, Queen Victoria.
History Lessons
On this day in 2002, Canada's Govenor General declared "A Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval," which continues to be observed.
In short, it marks the expulsion of the Acadians from what is now Nova Scotia. Their decedents became what are now known as Cajuns. It is still memorialized, both in Louisiana, as well as in Nova Scotia. Longfellow's poem, Evangeline tells this tale.
How did I find this out? In the funny pages.
Macro Photography on the Cheap
Macro Photography on the Cheap (film camera or digital). Reverse Ring tags and a roundup discussion on Flickr. All you need is an SLR body (scratch that: you can even do it with a point and shoot) and reverse ring for your camera mount, and a lens whose filter size matches the reverse ring (doesn't even have to be the same mount as your camera!). Or, make one from a body cap. How/why it works, tips on shooting reverse macro, and even a podcast on the subject. It's even possible to do EXTREME closeups. Come to think of it, why not try this with video? Now, need to get some light on your macro subjects? Make a cheap LED ring light, or go low tech. Make tons of more stuff for your creative photography needs at DIY Photography.
Mead Day 2008
This post is supposed to be uncool, for effect--really!
Who decides what's cool? And what is the effect that it is having on our society (previously linked to metafilter on multiple occasions). An interview with the author of Birth of The Cool, and articles on how Conglomerates and Countries are trying to increase their "cool" quotient. Finally, a look at how coolness is experienced in different cultures.
July 27
His favorite pickup line? "Would you like to see my penis again?"
Imagine if millions of people had seen you naked before you were old enough to say "embarrassing." That's the story of Spencer Elden. [more inside]
JollyMetaFilter
In the years after leaving MST, Joel Hodgson of Mystery Science Theater, and his "smarter brother" Jim Hodgson, worked on a new movie-repurposing concept for USA Networks. The introduction for the test clip read:
"The Jolly Filter segment is a proof of concept test for a new film process. You will first view 2 minutes of the original film 'Rollercoaster' and then the same 2 minutes utilizing the JollyFilter technique.
"Note: If you find yourself getting bored during the original 'Rollercoaster' footage, don't worry, this is normal."
(SLYT, but an awesome one.) [more inside]
"The Jolly Filter segment is a proof of concept test for a new film process. You will first view 2 minutes of the original film 'Rollercoaster' and then the same 2 minutes utilizing the JollyFilter technique.
"Note: If you find yourself getting bored during the original 'Rollercoaster' footage, don't worry, this is normal."
(SLYT, but an awesome one.) [more inside]
Toby Jones for the win!!1!
The Music Lists
The Greatest Frontmen of RockMore: The Music Lists
The Greatest Acoustic Guitar Albums
The Greatest Punk Rock Songs
The Greatest Britpop Artists
The Greatest 'Live' Blues Albums
The Top 10 Songs by the Greatest Jazz Artists
The 50 Greatest Classical Tone Poems
The Greatest Glam/Hair Metal Songs
The Greatest Country Love Songs
The Top 100 Songs of 1967
The Greatest Underrated Rock Artists
The Greatest Girl-Group Songs
The Greatest Rap/Hip-Hop Lyricists/Emcees
Something Stupid This Way Comes
The Genealogical Revolution Will Be Digitized
For decades, the LDS church microfilmed old records of genealogical interest and stashed them in the Granite Mountain Record Vault for safekeeping. Copies could be ordered and viewed at local Family History Centers. Now, through massive digitization and volunteer indexing efforts, those records are starting to come online. [more inside]
Internet Literacy
When is reading reading? Or, rather, when is it good for you? The New York Times looks at how the internet is changing the ways we think and how we learn.
Sleep tight!
Noseybonk Returns. This is not horrifying news unless you know who he was. Then it becomes endearingly nightmarish. As with V, the man in the mask is Noseybonk. [more inside]
Nubby Twiglet
Black and White Graphic Insight : a body of work by collage artist Nubby Twiglet. [via] [more inside]
How to become a DIY strongman
Handy, but out of shape? Make your own exercise equipment—mostly out of PVC tubes, steel pipes, webbing, and the occasional mouse pad. Instructions (with lots of pictures) for making chinup/dip/pushup bars, various grips, isokentic devices, isometric devices, isotonic devices, and martial arts equipment from Grunt and Shen's workshop. (Warning: Angelfire hosted site)
PBS falls on hard times
'Llectuals. The fresh new PBS show about honor students learning love at Heidegger High School.
Narco-State
Is Afghanistan a Narco-State? "Drug-related corruption pervades the government in Afghanistan, a former U.S. counternarcotics official says."
"Comments on Comments"
NPR's On The Media presents a short set of pieces about comments on news websites and the challenges of "digital democracy," with discussion from Ira Glass about responses to a show about teenage runaways, and New Republic editor and critic Lee Siegel, who posted anonymously to respond insultingly to comments on his own blog. And a Roanoke newspaper editor discusses how one paper sees the integration of comments into online news sites and whether it's a valuable reader service. [more inside]
Walk This Way
The Clown Walk (also known as the C-Walk) refers to a modern dance style, usually done to hip hop music. It is a variation of the Crip walk, a gang related dance. Clown Walking, however, was created to distance the relationship between the dance style and the Crips gang. PimpMyWalk.com is a site where you can learn how to C-Walk. (language and lyrics NSFW). Step-by-step video instructions teach you how to do the V, the shuffle, and when you're really gangsta, the wiggle walk. More than a dozen tutorial videos plus expert samples.
Israeli paper publishes Obama's stolen Western Wall prayer
Israeli paper publishes Obama's stolen Western Wall prayer New York, July 26 : Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama wrote a prayer in Jerusalem this week - and left it at Judaism's holiest of sites, the Western Wall. As Barack placed his prayer in the cracks of the Western Wall, someone came from behind and stole it.
That pilfered prayer has now been published in an Israeli newspaper, exposing to the world a personal plea for God to help him "guard against pride and despair."
Screw brushes (redux)
Dictionary of Sex in the Bible
And Adam Knew Eve: A Dictionary of Sex in the Bible. It's Sunday, an ideal day for increasing one's knowledge.
Wait, this Nicol guy played with the SPOTNICKS? Oh, and that other little outfit from Liverpool, who were they again?
These Beatles clips from a 1965 NME show are straight off the mixing desk, so the voices are way up front. Man, those vocals are so loud you can hardly hear Ringo! But let's back it up just a year, to Holland in 1964, and catch one of the rare performances without Ringo. Aside from his brief stint as a Beatle, session drummer Jimmy Nicol also played with zany Swedish instrumental surf rock band The Spotnicks. So, there you have it: Jimmy Nicol, a lucky fella who got to play with two of the greatest bands in the world! [NOTE: see hoverovers for link descriptions] [more inside]
July 26
Bloom in the desert
Very nice High definition video from Phillip Bloom music is "28 Ghosts IV" by Nine Inch Nails. Deer Vegas music is Deer Stop" by Goldfrapp [more inside]
He looks kind of like Ernest Borgnine.
With allies like these who needs enemies?
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice surprised New Zealand during her visit by calling us allies, despite our long history of disagreement over certain issues. The Auckland Student Association's shameless plug for self promotion has prompted a response.
Rocket pistol
The gyrojet pistol (video) - a handgun firing 13mm rocket ammunition, was an attempt to revolutionise gun design in the 1960s. Around a thousand were produced, and some may have seen use in Vietnam. Rifle and carbine versions were also produced. Design problems meant that it never seriously competed conventional firearms, but there is a modern attempt to revive the concept.
"Fighting evil so you don't have to!"
Javier Grillo-Marxuach's PoMo spy-fi tv show, "The Middleman" (based on his eponymous comic book series) is in trouble -- ABC Family launched the show in late June with little fanfare in the 8 p.m. timeslot. After a strong start, ABC Family grew a little anxious about the show's PG-13 content and moved the show to 10 p.m. killing their under-18 audience share, if ever there was one. [more inside]
cult/horror/exploitation/B/sci-fi and basically any other genre to which one may refer as 'shit'
Wrong side of the art. This blog was originally made as an easy access page to view/manage my collection of movie posters specializing in cult/horror/exploitation/B/sci-fi and basically any other genre to which one may refer as 'shit'. Don't forget the blaxploitation, naziploitation, nunsploitation, and bruceleeploitation, and watch out out if you're at work: some B-movies aren't for kids.
Raise one for the red lantern
As the Tour de France concludes, let's spend a moment commemorating the derrière garde of world-class cycling, those bad enough to come in last but never bad enough to fail, les Lanternes Rouge. If Wim Vansevenant can retain his tenacious hold on 145th place in Sunday's stage he will be the worst cyclist to complete the Tour de France for three consecutive years and set a Tour record. You can, indeed, win by losing. [more inside]
The Map-Happy Chaplain
John Henry Wilbrandt Stuckenberg emigrated from Germany to the United States, where he was eventually a Chaplain in the American Civil War. He also really liked maps; in the course of traveling over his lifetime, he collected hundreds of maps, some dating back to the 16th century. [Most maps in Latin]
Eurosceptics triumphant
Have the Eurosceptics won? Despite the referendum in Ireland being badly lost, a rabidly nationalist media, and a tottering Labour government likely to give way to the most Eurosceptic government ever, pulling Britain out of the EU remains an obsession for a few rather than a concern for many. Even the Eurosceptic hardcore is fretting that once in power, David Cameron will have to cosy up to Brussels.
Occupations' Health Concerns
Should CEO's have to disclose health conditions to the public? The question matters if the person being referred to is Steve Jobs, whose health is under constant scrutiny. Does it matter that the person asking the question is one of Mr. Jobs' biggest critics?
First Bangalore, now Ahmedabad
Two cities in two days. Multiple injuries and several fatalities. The BJP has of course come out strong against the [ruling] Congress party for not trying to do enough to stop the menace of "terrorism" in the country, after having lost its fight to overthrow the government. Now, it is up to the Prime Minister to pick up the pieces and move on. [more inside]
Poppinpalooza
Japanese-style popping is dope - check out u-min and dancers on the Polysics I My Me Mine. The girl, Strong Machine 2, was only 11 years old at filming. And let's not forget the classic display of popping in Late at Night. But beyond these dancers who've achieved some commercial prominence, check out a few fun and stylized Japanese popping clips from lesser known but great dancers. [more inside]
HistoryShots—information-related history graphics
Looking for the graphic "The Genealogy of Pop/Rock Music" I remembered from Tufte, I found HistoryShots. [previous mention]
July 25
Harp And Rythmn Train Time Soundscape
Harp And Rythmn Train Time Soundscape + The Mermaids Return ...v "What Conrad Praetzel and Robert Powell have done (again), no one has done."
Heed the Birds
M1911A1 Video Remix
Technical animations are sometimes dull, with no soundtrack and limited change in viewer perspective. The M1911 Animated Assembly Video Remix is much better. [more inside]
Papercraft Designs, Models and Instructions
Got some time to kill? Well then, maybe you should start exploring the exciting world of papercraft! To get you started, here's a link to 100 free paper models and toys. Once you're done there, you might want to start checking out card modeling, build some skyscraper models, animals and motorcycles and when you get really good, faces of real people such as these. There's even some creative paper modeling websites out there for the kids and people who like Pokemon and Nintendo. And if all those links still aren't enough to satiate your new found lust for papercraft, check out this papercraft search engine for even more designs.
Pregnant Man Gives Birth. That's a fact.
The first legally transgendered man to become pregnant has given birth. Thomas Beatie and his wife Nancy have welcomed a daughter into the world. [more inside]
Coal.
Coal. Cheap, Abundant, Clean.
sex in the park
Police set up a sting in a park and men are arrested for lewd behavior. The mens behavior is illegal but should their lives be ruined? He says he was told to plead guilty and did so to avoid a harsher punishment that would have come had Giles pled innocent and then been found guilty. Afterward, his employer fired him.
"When I lost my job over it my wife was so upset and distraught and distressed that she had a major heart attack," said Giles, whose wife died shortly after ABC News interviewed him. John Stossel does his report.
a beautiful life
"A friend confessed to me that she didn't need to build credit. If the need for a loan ever arises, she told me, she can go to her parents or—as she secretly hopes—a husband who will take care of it."
A generation of twenty-somethings ponder when, or if, they will begin their financial independence from their parents.
A generation of twenty-somethings ponder when, or if, they will begin their financial independence from their parents.
A Place for Science
Those Wacky Swiss
Hats of Meat
Hats made of meat. From the canadian, the brisket yarmulke, to the porkpipe, come inside and cherish the present of meat hats. [warning: frametastic, 1995 design, and via [31d1]]
LibraryVenture!
Mazes and Monsters? Dungeons and Dragons? Faugh! When the Earth's very history is at stake, it's time for Tomes and Talismans!
Learn the Dewey Decimal System and other library skills with Ms. Bookhart, a librarian cryogenically preserved from the 1980's and revived by The Users to save the books of Future Earth from technology-destroying race of alien beings, The Wipers. 260 of the geekiest minutes ever committed to video.
The Lost Engines of Roanoke
"Looking for all the world like an engine abandoned in the Amazon jungle, M2 class 4-8-0 number 1118 lies forlorn and forgotten at the Virginia Scrap Iron and Metal yard in Roanoke, VA." The Lost Engines of Roanoke website chronicles the history of four steam locomotives that were sold in the 50's to a scrapyard in Roanoke, Virginia. There are plenty of photos of the engines and other train equipment and information on two other lost engines. The news section has been busy of late since one of the engines has been sold to a railroad themed restaurant in Bellville, Ohio. The move was photodocumented.
The team up you never expected to see! Together for the first time on one pulsating panel!
"I think we should get paid for it, don't you, Stan?"
"I'll do what I usually do: he'll do all the work and I'll take all the credit."
Stan Lee, comics legend, and Grant Morrison, fan favourite writer, sparring with each other.
Appendicitis In Popular Culture
Medpedia is coming. "In association with Harvard Medical School, Stanford School of Medicine, Berkeley School of Public Health, University of Michigan Medical School and other leading global health organizations, the Medpedia community seeks to create the most comprehensive and collaborative medical resource in the world." Apply to contribute content. [more inside]
Randy Pausch dies at 47
Randy Pausch, who became famous for his "last lecture" after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, has died at 47. (previously)
The last lecture video went viral in late 2007. Pausch became a minor celebrity and made a commencement address at Carnegie Mellon which also gained media attention. Homepage (currently being overwhelmed) and Wikipedia.
Second Suns and Planets X
Second Sun? Not in my solar backyard! The so far successful Cassini-Huygens Mission has been extended by two years, but we can rest easy knowing that if NASA ever scraps the probe by sending it into Saturn's heart, the end result will not be a redundant Sun. After all, Galileo took a programmed header into Jupiter back in September 2003 and we're all still alive, right? But for some, that's not enough to disprove the biggest conspiracy of all time: Project Lucifer STARCHILD!!! [Cue Soundtrack Music] [more inside]
Building Worlds
Fantasy cartography collects scans of maps and charts from video games, comics, and novels. Take a look at the doll-house like maps of the Fantastic Four's Baxter Building from various comics (a Trophy Room and a "TV Sending Room"!), the Legend of Zelda's Hyrule, Asimov's Foundation galaxy, lots of Lovecraft locations, the lands of the Princess Bride, the Discworld, and lots of Star Trek maps and ship schematics. Also, some thoughts on how "serious fiction" writers often start with maps, from Joyce's use of the ordinance maps of Dublin to Pychon's use of aerial photographs. More fantasy maps (many in German) are available from the Fantasy Atlas. Also, from my previous post on the subject of maps of fantasy worlds, see the extensive listings in the Dictionary of Imaginary Places.
Every day, once a day, give yourself a present.
Pssssst. Hey you. Yeah... you. Feel like some damn good hot coffee? Of course you do. Well then... here ya go.
One Toke Over the Line
Dr. Kush: The New Yorker takes a detailed look at California's medicinal marijuana dispensary industry.
Which Barbapapa are you?
The Barbapapa family are shapeshifters. (In French, Barbapapa's name loosely translates to "Cotton Candy.") Barbapapa was lonely; thus he went on an adventure to find others of his species, only to find that his Barbamama had been laying dormant in the same garden where he'd been first discovered! He and Barbamama now have seven brightly-colored children. Here are all of their names. [more inside]
Go Superlambanana, go.
Superlambananas are creatures about the size of a cow which have recently been herded through Liverpool and beyond, and been photographed all over the place. One particularly animated beast has recently escaped and its owners are looking for information to aid its re-capture, though its larger ancestor is still in place (for now).
Love me, leave me, pay me.
A jury in Georgia this week awarded a woman $150,000 after she sued her fiancé for breaking off their engagement three days before the wedding....Adding insult to injury, the groom-to-be, Wayne Gibbs, informed his intended, RoseMary Shell, of his decision by leaving her a note in the bathroom." Shell sued for breach of contract ..."[She] said she has suffered emotionally since their breakup." "Gibbs testified that he paid $30,000 of Shell's debt while they were engaged" and "argues he got cold feet after he found out Shell hid [other] debts from him." [video | 0:50] She refutes Gibbs's claim that she was swimming in debt. [video | 03:33]. [more inside]
Be careful what you wish for... you just might get it.
Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.
Great Opening Sentences From Science Fiction from io9.com.
Warming Keith Moon's chair
Before the year is out it's worth giving a belated Metafilter sendoff to Thomas Scot Halpin, who died in February, his place in history secure as one of the great substitutes of all time, alongside Earl Morrall, Mr. Bergstrom, and tofu. [more inside]
Monkey!
Jamie Hewlett of Tank Girl and Gorrilaz fame has created the animated film that will be used to introduce the BBC's coverage of the summer Olympics with music by his fellow Gorrlaz compatriot, Damon Albarn, inspired by Monkey, the cult classic television program. [more inside]
Batbush? Bushbat? Bushman?
What Bush and Batman have in common. "A cry for help goes out from a city beleaguered by violence and fear: A beam of light flashed into the night sky, the dark symbol of a bat projected onto the surface of the racing clouds . . .Oh, wait a minute. That's not a bat, actually. In fact, when you trace the outline with your finger, it looks kind of like . . . a "W."
Shoes by GWAR, handbag by Gorgoroth.
Green Jelly
Green Jellÿ (pronounced Green Jellö) is a Grammy-nominated (Best Music Video, Long Form), Top 40-charting metal band that nonetheless purports to be the world's worst band, choosing to "disguise their lack of ability with stupid props." [more inside]
Different, that's how.
How do things look to colorblind people? Colour Lovers (Prev: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 - all more useful to those who aren't colorblind) offers some popular websites and iconic art, As Seen By The Color Blind. Luckily humans are smart and have created technology like the Color Blind Web Page Filter. Prev. Wiki.
15 Mistakes Designers Make
15 awful mistakes made by designers in the music and apparel industries - such as not charging enough, ignoring typography, and unprofessional behaviour.
July 24
fotoopa and his Amazing Flying Insects
Who is this Belgian man "fotoopa"? A nerd's nerd (and I say that with extreme admiration). Photopainting, Macro photography, 2004: Let's start with the simple stuff, moths (mostly at rest). Now, can you think of anything more difficult to photograph than insects in flight? 2005, 2006 (the 2006 equipment), 2008 (2008 equipment & more equipment). Images of the man working with the equipment. His Flickr photostream and new YouTube channel bears watching. (Previously)
Breaking Tarantino's Code
Bite me, Larry Summers.
No gender differences found in math performance. None. Not on average, at least in countries where the sexes are treated equally. And no, not at the highest, outlier levels of mathematical ability, either, despite what some believe.
And not in number of undergrad math degrees earned. And not in terms of complex problem solving ability. Just plain not.
Do you really know who people are?
I think I like Natalie Portman more now.
Natalie Portman releases the fire of pain inside her body and immolates herself. Neat! (YT)
NASA Images / Internet Archive
Brewster Khale over at Internet Archive just announced they are working with NASA to make available the most comprehensive compilation ever of NASA's vast collection of photographs, historic film and video at nasaimages.org. It combines for the first time 21 major NASA imagery collections into a single, searchable online resource.
We secretly switched their operating system....
Microsoft, browbeaten by criticism over Windows Vista, demoed a new operating system code-named Project Mojave to a group of Windows XP users. An overwhelming majority of the XP users liked what they saw.
It was then that Microsoft told them they were drinking Folgers Crystals, er, using Windows Vista. [more inside]
Songs we wish were ours
Songs we wish were ours l 2 l 3 l 5 l bootleg Great idea, no? I thought the series was over but it looks like they kept it going.
Some Guy's 78 Collection
The following is a list of over 3600 titles recorded from my collection of 78 rpm records....Right now, there are over 2,450 titles on this page linked to mp3's....I have about 2500 more records to record, so I'll be adding more titles as time permits over the next hundred years or so....I loaded a searchable ACCESS database for this list HERE. [.mdb] I don't know if it will work for everyone. Good luck! [more inside]
You're not like the others. You like the same things I do: Wax paper. Boiled football leather. Dog breath.
freedom
On a sunny May morning, six plainclothes police officers, two uniformed policemen and a trio of functionaries from the state prosecutor's office closed in on a small apartment in Amsterdam. Their quarry: a skinny Dutch cartoonist with a rude sense of humor. Informed that he was suspected of sketching offensive drawings of Muslims and other minorities, the Dutchman surrendered without a struggle.
"I never expected the Spanish Inquisition," recalls Gregorius Nekschot, the cartoonist.
"I never expected the Spanish Inquisition," recalls Gregorius Nekschot, the cartoonist.
The Mayan World
Mundo Maya Online is chockfull of illustrated articles about various aspects of Mayan history and culture. Learn about the Mayan calendar, read Mayan legends, explore Mayan history, archaeology and the natural environment they thrived in. Mundo Maya also has articles about the daily life of the modern Mayans and the handicrafts they make.
Mental note: Rogaine for the groomsmen.
Dog Years. A short film.
101 Stories on Counterfeit Goods
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
This week in mathematical physics, John Baez looks at the amazing tile patterns in the Alhambra in Granada, dividing the patterns into their characteristic Wallpaper Groups based on their symmetries. And if these patterns aren't good enough for you, try drawing your own with the Escher Web Sketch tool. [more inside]
Moniker La Winski
Sushi Go Round
Sushi Go Round - a sushi serving game.
Anger can make a man verbose
Giles Coren is restaurant critic at the Times (of London). Last week he wrote a very angry letter to the subeditors complaining that they were "tinkering with his copy". The subs were guilty of deleting a single indefinite article. [more inside]
Next time around, I'm going to stay in bed!
July 23
You are beautiful.
What's nu?
A linguist and a sociologist at Hebrew Union College have teamed up to track the inroads made into American English by words and idioms from traditionally Jewish languages, including Yiddish, Judeo-Arabic, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish), and Hebrew. They've created an online survey and are looking for people from all religious and ethnic backgrounds to answer a few questions about their word choices, phrasing, and pronunciation. They're also trying to determine whether certain linguistic quirks usually attributed to Yiddish's influence are actually carried over from Jewish ancestors' speech patterns and accents, or whether they're merely an artifact from growing up in or near New York City. [via]
Shut Em Down?
'We done heard your voice, we saw your marches, we don't want to hear that any more.' Music artist Nas directs pointed criticism toward civil rights stalwart Jesse Jackson and his generation. But he's not alone. Kevin Powell is running for congress and shares the sentiment. [more inside]
Carlos Is an Asian at Heart
Why do Asian-American students achieve higher grades than Latino-American students? Despite the fact that the students come from the same socioeconomic background (median annual household incomes below $50,000 in working-class Los Angeles neighborhoods), Asian-American students disproportionately get better grades, attend AP courses, and go to college than their Latino-American counterparts. Students at Lincoln High School sit down for a frank discussion of why that is.
Anything you want, for $2
Kind of like Corel Painter, but without the crashing
Artweaver is a freeware "natural media" paint program, of the same type as Corel Painter. Natural media means it uses tools that are intended to simulate actual art tools, like oils, pastels, pencils and so forth. It's not as feature-rich as Painter, but it's getting better. [more inside]
George, you old dog, you...
Meet Lonesome George. George is the last known remaining Pinta Island Tortoise. That's pretty lonely. He's also, according to some, the most famous reptile in the world. via. But there's good news: George might be a dad!
Cops on Segways
Cops on Segways From Kevin Kelly. Criminals beware!
"We don't know whether to cry. Or laugh. Or hope to God that..."
Church Committee 2.0: TSP, Main Core & PROMIS?
Is Congress gearing up to hold a new American Truth Commission? What new horrors would they find if they did? The last time we tried this we uncovered MK/ULTRA, plots to kill Castro & Project SHAMROCK. One of the most significant outcomes was a little thing called FISA. After 30 years it may finally be time to wash out our national dirty laundry again.
The Devastation of Iraq's Past
The Devastation of Iraq's Past. "Since the looting of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad in April 2003, the international press has accorded considerable space to the country's imperiled ancient heritage. Much of this coverage, however, has been devoted to the museum, the impressive campaign to recover its stolen works, and the continued struggle to reopen its galleries. Only occasional, anecdotal reports—mostly from the first year of the conflict—have borne witness to large-scale plunder of archaeological sites, to which the damage is irreversible."
Hitmanforhire.com
We all nurse private ambitions. Essam Ahmed Eid, a 53-year-old Egyptian man living in Vegas and dealing poker at the Bellagio, dreamed of becoming a hit man. He longed to take off the casino clown suit, the Nehru shirt and simpering smile — and replace them with a gun and a grimace. So Eid did what any enterprising 21st century contract killer would: He created a Web site — www.hitmanforhire.net — and waited for the clients to come.
Knol goes live
Knol, Google's single-author answer to Wikipedia, has gone live. Or at least beta. Early beta. While there is a great Knol (defined by Google as "a unit of knowledge") on unclogging a toilet, it still has a way to go, as can be seen by contrasting Wikipedia on Knol and Knol on Wikipedia.
you say you want an evolution
EO Wilson believes in Darwinism group selection: "evolution as a multi-level process1 that can evolve adaptations above the level of individual organisms."
Don't Cry for Me, I'm Already Dead
Don't Cry for Me, I'm Already Dead. A comic about brotherly love, loss and quoting the Simpsons. A brilliant short comic by Rebecca Sugar, creator of the excellent Pug Davis. Stupid sexy Flanders.
Closer to Disney than punk
"I haven’t figured out whether cracking open your computer, attaching it to an Underwood typewriter, then inserting it into a combination Victorian mantel clock/desk and calling it “The Nagy Magical-Movable-Type Pixello-Dynamotronic Computational Engine” is some sort of daft wit or evidence of a pedantry bordering on the pathological. " - Steampunk'd, Or Humbug by Design, design writer Randy Nakamura takes a look at the Steampunk phenomenon.
"you have the legs and you have the head"
It's almost time again for everyone's favorite WTF Olympic Sport -- Modern Pentathlon. But as the Games approach, the sport is rocked by scandals -- faked scores, questionable competitions, international disputes. Meanwhile, the French MP team, not content to merely swimshootfenceriderun, add singing to their skill set with this catchy tune "T'as les jambes et t'as la tête".
Fowler Museum of Cultural History
The UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History has an extensive, searchable online collection. It focuse on material art and household items and has objects from all over the world. The website can be browsed either by geographic orgin: Africa, Asia, North and Central America, Pacific, South America, or through its two exhibits, Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives and Fowler in Focus. Some of my favorite objects (but really, everything is entrancing) are The Blind Scholar (a Taiwanese handpuppet), Chikunga (a Zambian mask) and a stirrup spout bottle which looks like a puma eating a piglet (Peruvian). All items have accompanying descriptions and some have short texts or audioguides with further information.
Chitravina
Ever heard a chitravina? It's a 21-stringed musical instrument from India, similar in appearance to the more widely-known veena, but with a sonic character all its own, due in large part to the fact that it's fretless, and it's played with a slide. Here's an NPR feature on the instrument's prime exponent, N. Ravikiran. [NOTE: embedded audio on that last link] [more inside]
Dead Funnies
The Comic Bardo Thodol, or: Everything you ever wanted to know about the Tibetan Book of the Dead but were afraid to not read in a streamlined comic context. [via mefi projects]
Googles social interface
Google is testing a Digg-like social interface to Google Search results, Techcrunch has an early preview video. This is bad news for Jimy Wales's Wikia since this is what they have been trying to build. Perhaps related it looks like Google is buying Digg.
Urinal Bitchie - Hello
Lionel Richiie's voice has a makeover in this creepy audio dub of the video to Hello. If you get bored half way skip to the Sinister/ridiculous drama at the end.
July 22
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Butch Cassidy wanted to call his gang The Train Robber's Syndicate, but the name never stuck. The gang's core members - most notable among them The Sundance Kid - and a revolving cast of supporting outlaws were most commonly called The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang and The Wild Bunch, and their goal was to be the most successful train robbers in history. The Butch and Sundance site is a comprehensive collection of "the hundreds, if not thousands, of theories, legends and folk tales" surrounding the gang, including an exhaustive list of biographies of the members, their associates, the lawmen who pursued them and the women who loved them, an archive of transcribed news articles dating from the 1880s (including a letter to the editor from Sundance himself), a picture gallery and more. [more inside]
There will also be a singing crocadile
In January of 2004, Disney shut down their Florida animation studio, part of their decision to move away from 2D, or cell-shaded, animation for good. Two years later, as part of the new deal with Pixar, John Lasseter and Ed Catmull were brought in as heads of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, and promptly declared that 2-D Animation would thrive again on their watch. For their first new project, the team wanted to show support for the still-struggling New Orleans, and simultaneously introduce Disney's first Black Princess in "The Frog Princess" (Or The Princess and the Frog, as it is now known), a fairy tale set in 1920's Jazz-era Louisiana, with Randy Newman providing a period-specific score. Much response to the project has been quite positive, but as with all things, the devil is in the details.
Artifacts from the Future
For years, Wired magazine has tapped a bevy of designers and artists in the tech field to craft detailed visions of futuristic objects for a monthly showcase at the close of each issue. Now, after hinting as much in the July edition, it is clear that that the tradition of FOUND has been brought to an end. What better way to say goodbye to this whimsical feature than by taking a look back at the full archived run of the series? [more inside]
And All The Time You Could Feel Your Heart Beating Along The Wounds
Roald Dahl (1916-1990) is probably best known as one of the principal architects of the 20th century children’s fairy tale, with such sly, savage and addictive masterpieces as The Enormous Crocodile, The Witches, The BFG, and personal favourite The Twits. [more inside]
I want my five dollars back?
Fivedollarcomparison.org is a collaborative photo project designed by a number of Nokia researchers to understand the buying power of 5 dollars across the world. The goal of this project is vague: to understand how culture, context and communication might change the world. Post your own example here. Sample photo.
The Historic American Sheet Music archive
The Historic American Sheet Music archive at the Duke University Library has over 3000 pieces published in the United States available online, from the 1850s up to 1920. Composers represented include well-known names such as Scott Joplin, Irving Berlin, and John Philip Sousa. All the music is now in the public domain, and may be printed and performed freely. [Note: Language or stereotypes may occasionally be NSFW.]
Cake Wrecks
Quick, Henry, the Flit!
Continuing the miniaturization of earlier designs, researchers at the Technical University of Delft have created a very tiny ornithopter which carries a one half gram video camera. The DelFly micro. [more inside]
Viacom will steal your film
Now Viacom will STEAL your movie Viacom has claimed ownership of an independent filmmaker's film and now she has to fight them for it. They allow her to leave it on YouTube but they claim ownership and they get to collect data on who's watching.
music
The future of classical music lies in China. Chinese enthusiasm for Western classical music is deep, says New Yorker music critic Alex Ross, but traditional Chinese music is older and more classical than anything in the West.
Second Most Popular (Unwatched) Sport.
What's the second most popular sport in the world after soccer? Badminton. (According to some sources - volleyball and cricket are also contenders.) When played competitively, badminton looks more like this and less like this. The Chinese are poised to win Gold in Beijing, while the American team, featuring star player Howard Bach gets no love.
"Hear angel trumpets and devil trombones!"
The Mercury Prize shortlist for 2008 is: Adele - 19 |
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music? |
Burial - Untrue |
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid |
Estelle - Shine |
Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim |
Neon Neon - Stainless Style |
Portico Quartet - Knee-Deep in the North Sea |
Rachel Unthank & The Winterset - The Bairns |
Radiohead - In Rainbows |
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand |
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement [more inside]
That Golden Girl
The Apparition of Enoch Soames
In the summer of 1897, the Devil transported a minor Decadent poet named Enoch Soames one hundred years into the future to see what posterity would make of his work. The only witness to the affair was the parodist Max Beerbohm, whose account of Soames and his journey ensured that at 2:10 P.M. on June 7, 1997, some dozen pilgrims waited in the Round Reading Room of the British Museum to see the poet appear...
Better to limbo under a stick than become one...
See Nemo fetch. Want to train your comet to join the Comets? Your Shubunkin to do some dunkin'?
Goldfish training.
A school of fish or a school for fish? You be the judge.
Goldfish training.
A school of fish or a school for fish? You be the judge.
Fonts Personified.
Font Conference. A video from CollegeHumor which made me laugh more than a video from CollegeHumor really should.
Semi-moving images
The Breakfast Manifesto
The Coffee Junkie’s Guide to Caffeine Addiction. Caffeine's a hell of a drug. In fact, it's the world's most popular psychoactive drug. And more and more of us are getting hooked on the stuff. [more inside]
My, it seems you have uncovered a periodicals repository!
Art Deco
Art Deco was the dominant style of the interwar era, coming out of Paris in the 1920's and ruling the roost until World War II broke out. Randy Juster's Decopix - The Art Deco Resource has enough pictures of Art Deco architecture to send one hurtling into The Gernsback Continuum. If that's not enough then there's always the 11000+ images of the Flickr Art Deco Pool. But Art Deco wasn't just about architecture. On the Victoria and Albert Musem's Art Deco site one can view Art Deco objects in great detail, rotating them and listening to audio lectures on each object. But before Art Deco was a design aesthetic it was an art-style. Illustrations for the Art Deco Book in France has more than 170 images from the proponents of that then-new style (some images are not safe for work, especially in the George Barbier section).
No "pic-a-nic baskets" anymore
The latest issue of Yellowstone Science quarterly is devoted to 5 articles chronicling the history of the management of grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park, from the 1950s era "garbage dump bears," to listing as an endangered species, to de-listing as endangered, to current management. Many excellent photos, maps, charts and graphs make this a great resource for people interested in the fate of grizzlies in the lower 48 states. Part 1 of the issue. Part 2. [links to PDF files] (via)
Baby's First Internet
Baby's first internet comes amidst other, less illustrated, concerns about the all-consuming 'blogosphere' and increasingly online life. The problems, it seems, are somewhat novel and (one assumes) almost endless.
July 21
Squeeeee!
"It doesn't really seem that long ago."
Home Movies. A 1975 documentary by a young academic folklorist, exploring what it was that people were doing when they made home movies: remembering selectively, creating a "golden age." [more inside]
Virtual Thinking
Correlative Analytics -- or as O'Reilly might term the Social Graph -- sort of mirrors the debate on 'brute force' algorithmic proofs (that are "true for no reason," cf.) in which "computers can extract patterns in this ocean of data that no human could ever possibly detect. These patterns are correlations. They may or may not be causative, but we can learn new things. Therefore they accomplish what science does, although not in the traditional manner... In this part of science, we may get answers that work, but which we don't understand. Is this partial understanding? Or a different kind of understanding?" Of course, say some in the scientific community: hogwash; it's just a fabrication of scientifically/statistically illiterate pundits, like whilst new techniques in data analysis are being developed to help keep ahead of the deluge...
Traction Park
Active in the years before padded jungle gyms (and class action lawsuits), Action Park was a sometimes bloody rite of passage for many New Jersey kids. Infamous for its gravity-and-friction-defying looping waterslide and beer gardens, it eventually produced so many injuries that the park bought the surrounding city extra ambulances to cope. It still is alive in many New Jersey hearts today.<-video. [more inside]
NFB beta...
The NFB beta is worth exploring... You'll find some lovely old chestnuts like Mindscape, or The Romance of Transportation in Canada...the quality is generally good enough to watch in full screen mode if you choose a higher streaming speed under "options".
Pushing the Limits of Sandbox Games: Rollercoaster Tycoonists
Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 came out in 2004, and was received with mixed reviews. Four years later, hobbyists of the game continue to take it to a whole other level. You may have already seen links to the creative ways to devastate in RCT3. A whole other group of fans, however, have gone on to create highly detailed parks and ride recreations. They use customized textures and mods to create massive architectural works that require hundreds--sometimes over thousands--of hours of work. [more inside]
Justice postponed?
Newsfilter: Radovan Karadžić arrested today in Serbia. Trial to follow. Will Srebrenica and Vukovar finally see justice? Or will another suicide intervene?
Old dangerous playground equipment.
Slides used to be dangerous..... After climbing up those sandy, metal crosstrax steps you got to the top and stared down at that steep ride below. The slide was burning hot to the touch, a stovetop set to high all day under the summer sun, just waiting to greet the underside of your legs with first-degree burns as you enjoyed the ride
She is your Virgil on the descent into L.A.
Kristin's List. There are plenty of events guides in Los Angeles, but none has as personal a voice, as finely honed an aesthetic (the Neutra font is an inspired touch) or as discerning an eye as Kristin's. Her weekly emails and web listings are one woman's recommended sampling of the most interesting music, film, architecture, food, fashion, literary and unquantifiable events across the megalopolis. And so far, it's completely ad-free.
Virtucon alone makes over 9 billion dollars a year!
Emirates Palace, a seven-star Hotel in Abu-Dhabi, is offering up the world's most expensive vacation.
"The Greatest Traveler of His Time"
Burton Holmes, Extraordinary Traveler. Burton Holmes didn't invent travel stories, slide shows, moving pictures or cross-country lectures, but he put them all together and created the travelogue (a term coined by his manager) as performance art. The site is full of information, pictures and additional links (including companion pages about the Trans-Siberian Railroad) chronicling Holmes' life and legacy.
Tunnel boring machines
We are men. Men in tights!
Insta-Cake
A tasty chocolate cake you can make from scratch in five minutes. In the microwave. In a mug. Other 5-minute variations include peanut butter chocolate cake (picture), jello cake (picture), and spice cake
Extraordinary Renditions
Jay-Z wanted the guitar to look like a big, goofy prop (in Gallagher's formulation, after all, guitars aren't instruments so much as membership cards); he wanted to mistreat the melody, not coddle it; and he couldn't be bothered to remember lyrics that, when you think about it, sound sort of flubbed to begin with. By butchering the cover, Jay-Z weaponized it.
I sense you want to plead the 5th
For the first time in the Indian state of Maharashtra, life sentences were meted out based on the findings of Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature(BEOS) profiling. [more inside]
It's time to play the music.
The Muppets have their own YouTube channels! Enjoy a little classical music with Beaker or Gonzo, opera with the Swedish Chef, get patriotic with Sam the Eagle, or just leave commentary with Statler and Waldorf.
Caricatures from the late 19th Century and early 20th
900 caricatures of noted Victorian and Edwardian personages from British society magazine Vanity Fair which ran from 1868 to 1914. Among those pictured are Oscar Wilde, Benjamin Disraeli, Herman Melville, Alfred Dreyfus, Teddy Roosevelt, Gustave Eiffel and Charles Boycott (from whose name comes the word). A couple are mildly not safe for work, a few quite racist, as was the prevalent attitude of the time, and at least one is both.
July 20
he could bear to wait no longer
Last Year I Killed A Man , by Vaughan Thomas. Published Saturday July 19, 2008 by The Guardian.
Packing a Punch
When you first hear of a shrimp breaking out of it's tank, the prospect isn't really frightening. But when you learn that the mantis shrimp has punched through the glass container, it becomes a little more serious. [more inside]
Music - You Will Definitely Miss Music
Not much is know about Bobby Gaylor, aside from what can be gleaned from his "songs," actually spoken word pieces set to music worlds apart from either Henry Rollins or King Missile. His official webpage now redirects to Google, and he has no wikipedia entry. His sole album, Fuzzatonic Scream (2000), was a buried treasure for anyone who could find it, with good music backing a born storytelling everyman from Massachusetts giving sometimes gentle, sometimes harsh, insights into life through the details of his own. Now, the only songs you may find video for are "One Moment," which discusses his first kiss, and "Suicide," the closest thing he had to a "hit," but his full (sadly bleeped) work may be found here. Personally, I recommend "Smelt," "I Hit a Guy With My Car," "Masturbation," and "Business End of a Gun."
Password Chart
Password Chart - Generate strong passwords.
Први светски рат
Prvi svetski rat - Gritty and poignant Serbian postcards from the First World War. Just one of the seriously interesting (e.g. check out the collection of 78s) holdings at the Digital National Library of Serbia.
One-woman crime spree
She robs, she injects herself with heroin, she flits across borders like a ghost, she seems to kill with almost professional precision, she leaves clues and bodies – and she has no identity. [more inside]
Twas mine, tis his, and has been slave to thousands
How did this man end of with a copy of the most iconic book in the English language? He says he got it from a friend in Cuba, but the Folger Library has identified it as the copy of Shakespeare's First Folio stolen from Durham University in 1988. Turns out that stealing the book is much easier than selling it.
Food, Glorious Food
Open Source Food is a multi-lingual community of enthusiastic cooks browsing, creating, and sharing recipes. The Itsa Pita Pizza is quick and easy, Yuzu Pesto Tagliolini is almost too pretty to eat, but !!!warning!!!, do not even look at the mango crepe a la mode. 2000 recipes with photos.
Well, it is what they're there for...
Bandstand Busking have decided to put liven up the underused bandstands of London by, well, you know, putting bands on in them. [more inside]
Lateral gene transfer and the history of life
Festooning The Tree Of Life. Carl Zimmer describes new research on lateral gene transfer which makes the Tree of Life look more like a Gordian Knot.
How reliable is DNA in identifying suspects?
A discovery leads to questions about whether the odds of people sharing genetic profiles are sometimes higher than portrayed. Calling the finding meaningless, the FBI has sought to block such inquiry.
The beautiful and disturbing art of Dino Valls
Dino Valls (NSFW) (large format slide show of his work) is a self-taught Spanish artist who studied Italian and Flemish masters of the 16th and 17th centuries. Use of egg tempera and oil is one of his favorite painting techniques, requiring great mastery but affording rich color and tone. His works are beautiful, disturbing and surreal. [more inside]
Domus momus
A slightly drunken Momus sings us a song from his living room, then gives us 5000 years of chairs in 5 mimutes.
Lifestyles of the Rich and Flavorless.
Vormittagsspuk
Flying derbys! Revolving revolvers! Ladders to nowhere! It's Hans Richter's wonderful Vormittagsspuk (or, Ghosts Before Breakfast), certainly one of the most playful and entertaining of all the Dada film experiments of the 1920s. Presented here with a nicely done soundtrack by Donald Sosin.
. [more inside]
Customize your disease and wipe out the population
Flash Sunday: Customize your disease and wipe out the population, Pandemic II. Get to Madagascar before they close their shipyard!
July 19
China Colonizing Africa With Dire Consequences for Africans
China is making a concerted effort to colonize Africa with dire consequences for Africans. In protest to China's involvement in Darfur's genocide, Steven Spielberg has resigned as Artistic Director of the Beijing Olympics.
Festejo
Welding Plastic
Most people are familiar with welding metal, but it’s entirely possible to weld plastic. There are a surprising number of ways to weld plastic, but first you will need to identify what kind it is. The smell of burning plastic is a particularly effective diagnostic. This man is welding with hot air. Many instructional videos are made by companies whose products are featured in the video, like this somewhat surreal demonstration of speed tip welding. Perhaps the most low-tech method is with a soldering iron.
Where Musicians Come to Play
Larry Groce has been producing Mountain Stage in West Virginia for 25 years. This weekly radio and public television program has been broadcasting the best mountain music in Appalachia, usually from the WV Cultural Center. This month NPR began distributing the show nationally in the U.S. Also, last year Mountain Stage began archiving podcasts of the programs ... many, many hours of wonderful mountain music. [more inside]
The Taco Bell Dana Carvey Show
The Dana Carvey Show lasted for only a handful of episodes on ABC in the spring of 1996. but produced more than its share of memorable sketches, thanks to a talented writing staff (with Charlie Kaufman among others), and a cast including Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, and Robert Smigel. Some highlights for the Hulu-impaired: Leftover Beatle Memories - Skinheads from Maine - Germans who Say Nice Things - First Ladies as Dogs - Waiters who are Nauseated by Food
we heart electric bikes
Bicycles are the most efficient mode of transportation; walking is a distant second, followed by crowded vans and motorcycles, with everything else being relatively equal. This may change soon. WSJ online jokingly tests a new plug-in electric bike versus a standard racing model.
Russian poetry and drama
Early Twentieth Century Russian Drama and From the Ends to the Beginning: A Bilingual Anthology of Russian Poetry are both products of Northwestern University Slavic Department. The former is devoted to Russian theater from the 1890s through the 1930s and focuses on the visual aspect of theater, with images of costumes, set designs and photographs of stagings. The latter is a collection of 250 poems, both in Russian and English translations ranging from the 18th Century to the modern day. There are some amazing images from the history of Russian drama, such as Kazimir Malevich's designs for Victory over the Sun and a quicktime video of actors doing Meyerhold's biomechanical exercises. The Listening Gallery of russianpoetry.net has over 75 recitals of poems, including Vladmir Mayakovsky reading his own And Could You? and a reading of Velimir Khlebnikov's famous Invocation of Laughter.
From the Ottoman military to the Balkan Roma
The Mehterhane or Mehter, as they are often known, are thought to be the oldest military marching band in the world. Starting around the 13th century, the band accompanied the Ottoman empire troops (Janissaries, or yeniçeri, roughly meaning "new troops" and were comprised mostly of young men from the Balkans) into battle, spreading their music along the way and influencing western classical composers like Mozart and Beethoven. [more inside]
Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh
They're coming outta the goddamn walls.
The žižkov television tower in Prague
was pretty weird looking to begin with, since 2000 it's gotten much stranger...
Christie's breaks out in a cold sweat.
Coming in at just under $860,000, the take for the recently auctioned estate of James Brown fell well short of the two million that Christie's had hoped for. You'll want to browse the collection for yourself, of course. If I had the extra scratch, I'd have sure bought this.
The amazing comic book adventure of Brent Rinehart
Meet Brent Rinehart: Conservative Republican. Active Christian. Roads Scholar. NOT a homosexual pedifile. [PDF] The controversial mix of comics and politics are back in the news this week. So are Oklahoma's homophobic politicians, with the amazing comic book adventure of Brent Rinehart. [more inside]
July 18
Totem Destroyer
Totem Destroyer ... a puzzle game where you strategically remove blocks in order to lower a golden idol closer to the ground. Get it within 3 squares from the bottom, but not touching it, and you move on to the next level. (via)
Guinness World Records Podcast
Meet the World's Greatest Distance Zorber [what's zorbing?], some dude who put ten rattlesnakes in his mouth?, the rellepS drawkcaB tsetsaF s'dlroW, TheWorld'sFastestTalker, and a host of others who are the World's ____-est via the Guinness World Records podcast. [all links are in .mp3 format except to the main site.]
The Sacred Mushroom
One Step Beyond - The Sacred Mushroom. A 1961 episode of One Step Beyond investigates whether or not psilocybin mushrooms can give you extra-sensory perception. Part 2, Part 3. [Via Neurophilosophy]
Vanhacking
In a time before the Prius, the custom conversion van ruled the roadways. Pushing the boundaries of the airbrush form, testing the limits of mobile interior design, featuring the latest in automatic pink leather bed, compact toaster, 8-track, and love machine technology, the 70s van was celebrated in song and cinema. You started with a factory model, new or used, and ended at a place limited onlyby your creativity, your budget, and your old lady's patience (NSFW). Ford could make you a man.If push came to shove, you could even live in your van. It was fantasy on wheels: van-tastic, man. [more inside]
Italian metal band Fratello Metallo's lead singer is a Capuchin friar
Br. Cesare Bonizzi, "the heavy metal friar"(watch out for the volume on that last link), says he was inspired by the energy of Metallica and that he is not trying to convert anyone to Christianity, but rather to "convert [listeners] to life" and get them to live their lives "full stop."
Leopard Vs Crocodile.
It's the Pew News IQ... Comin' right at you...
What's YOUR Pew News IQ? (not to be confused with the New Zoo Revue, even though it rhymes) We've discussed Pew's surveys about news knowledge before, but this time you can test yourself. Just 12 eeeee-zeee questions (not 100). Wendell got them all correct. Can you? [more inside]
How do you rate as a husband or wife of the 1930s
This scale was first brought to my attention by the blog "The Unwound Road". It appears someone took the original 1930s rating scale and posted it to Flickr. From there it was a natural progression to Internet quiz. So, how would you rate as a husband or wife in the 1930s? Answer 100 true or false type questions and find out!
how I'll dream fast asleep
The flora....The flora....
They started out as spritely saplings, but something went horribly wrong.... The lucky ones merely got a little funny, the others became tormented, monstrous. Creepy Trees.
Kay Ryan is the new Poet Laureate
Magnificent Obsessions # 5,184
MIT TechTV
The best years of their lives
Listen, can you hear them talk? They might be soft spoken, and not easy to get along with, but they can still command (previously) our respect. Read how they are looked after around the world, and the stories which affect their daily lives. Also, here (pdf) is a comprehensive study of their living conditions in different kinds of societies across the globe.
Bleeps and bloops
NASA's Deep Impact Films Earth as an Alien World
NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft has photographed Earth from 31 million miles away. NASA has woven the images together, creating a video of Earth as the moon orbits around it. Videos: 1 | 2 [.mov]. [more inside]
Duke Nukem Trilogy
The developers of the long awaited vaporware title masterpiece, Duke Nukem Forever, had previously expressed their disdain for the E3 game conference, calling it "irrelevant nowadays," but in a surprise move they showed up for the conference and released this stunning four minute trailer for the three new handheld Duke games that are in development. "Duke Nukem Trilogy trailer redefines awesome," declares joystiq.com
Feel like a dork for humming the Superman theme? Now you can SING IT.
Mario is at bat, man! Just in time to handle your jones for singalong fan bonding, to speak the heretofore unspoken truths of super jawesome classic film themes. Also he dresses up, like it's, um, Halloween.
Type is Art
Type is art. Take little pieces of letterforms and make something new.
An Engineer's Delight
Encyclopedia of Greece, from ancient times to the modern day, focusing on science and technology
Hellenica is an encyclopedia of Greek culture, from classical Hellas, through the Byzantine Empire until the modern day, though its focus is on antiquity and especially the science and technology of Ancient Greece. Featuring technical diagrams and explications, there's no better site if you seek information on gigantic galleys, now obscure great Greek mathematicians, the last still working Ancient lighthouse and gears and how they were used by Archimedes and other ancients. This is not to denigrate other sections of the site, such as the page on the Olympics (including a Google Map of the site of the games), biographies of ancient, Byzantine and modern Greeks, the warring and healing of the Byzantines or the overview of Greek literature, taking in antiquity, the medieval era and modern times. That said, Hellenica is at its finest when treating science and technology.
Not Marvel
"That kid at your door with a magazine order form will tell you a story -- part sad, part hopeful."
Winding their way down from California, they lost a few agents. Two were arrested in Albuquerque after they allegedly forced their way into the home of an elderly couple and beat them to death, raping the wife first.... Then, in West Texas, a van flipped, killing one agent and injuring three others. That's seven agents out of commission. That's about a $2,800 loss per day. After they turn in their cash and receipts, two agents, a pudgy girl and a lanky guy, hit the parking lot for a smoke.... It's a blast, they say. You lie all day to sell subscriptions, and you unwind afterward with some smoke. You tell the customers that you live a few streets over, that you go to the local school and play on the soccer team, that you just sold subscriptions to their neighbor, and the idiots buy it because by now you've got it down to a science. And on to the next town. And the next.
Forget about this," she says, "it's for interest only."
A recently uncovered musical experiment by Delia Derbyshire predicted the sound of modern dance music three decades before it became fashionable. [more inside]
An effluent tribute for the man who did so much to help the affluent.
The San Francisco Department of Elections has qualified our initiative. The Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco has won its ballot initiative to honor George W. Bush: Should The City And County of San Francsico Rename The Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W Bush Sewage Plant?
Something Awful Forum Hilariously Hijacks CBC Anthem Contest
Something awful in a new CBC anthem. The CBC's Hockey Night in Canada is one of the highest-rated programs on Canadian television. It's something of a national shrine to our beloved sport. For the past 40-odd years, it's had a distinctive theme which most Canadians could hum. After something of a fiasco, the CBC lost the rights to the theme. They're running a contest to replace the venerated theme. A Something Awful forum user composed a truly dreadful entry ("mostly comprised of cat and sheep sounds, baby cries, and gunshots/explosions"), and got the community to 'vote it up' on the Anthem contest site. You really need to hear the awfulness to truly appreciate it. [more inside]
July 17
"It's like a dead animal stink"
A corpse flower is blooming right now and you can watch. In addition to smelling like rotting flesh, the flowers are beautiful, and their scientific name means "misshapen giant penis."
The young island Surtsey
Surtsey was first observed on November 14, 1963, as a pillar of smoke on the water some ways south of Iceland. The very next day lava and tephra broke the surface of the Atlantic and by May, 1964 the formation had grown to 2.4 km². Over the next three years lava eruptions continued, coating the loose debris in a hard shell and protecting it from erosion. An island born. Naturally, Surtsey has been under close scientific observation since its emergence, and courtesy The Surtsey Research Society you can read published reports on the geology and biological colonization of this new earth.
Wu-Checkmate: flexin' ya mentals.
The Wu-Tang Clan ain't nuthin to PLAY CHESS wit. WuChess.com is the worlds first online chess and Hip-Hop community. You can create and share profiles with your friends and triumph over enemies on the 64 squares. Not just against people in your neighborhood but from all over the world. Play live chess with people from all over the world and get your learn on. Blog.
Can iDrag be far behind?
It looks like a cigarette. It smokes like a cigarette. But it's actually the e-cigarette, and it might be the future of smoking. [more inside]
The NOPD: Returning NOLA to Normal ... Normal Embarassment.
More worries in New Orleans, this time from the Police Department. Within three weeks, Police Superintendent Warren Riley (as seen on the left) has suspended three NOPD officers in separate incidents: one for leading Crescent City Connection police on a high speed chase which ended in one pursuit officer grazed by the fleeing car and another slapped (video). One involved an off-duty officer brandishing a gun at a children's camp and shouting expletives, apparently even backed up by responding officers, according to witness accounts. Another was suspended for wearing the wrong colored shirt on the day he retired, a punishment Riley sees as appropriate as a "consequence of his actions".
I'M AWSOME
"It's good to know sports - at its core - still can bring out the best in us."
Watchmen Trailer is Up. It's not good.
A whole new China
A couple recent documentaries have accurately shown how China is changing and developing at lightning speed. The People's Republic of Capitalism speaks mainly of China's all-consuming economic growth and its ramifications. I was riveted by Frontline's Young and Restless in China and Frontline World: Jesus in China. These show the struggles of the Chinese to keep up with the changes, deal with their hypocritical government and define their beliefs in a society still riddled with corruption.
Art of the Kathmandu Valley
Investors can still afford stones
Pakistani Investors Stone Exchange Pakistan investors stormed out of the Karachi Stock Exchange, smashed windows and cursed regulators after the benchmark index fell for a 15th day, the worst losing streak in at least 18 years. [more inside]
Naked hive rats!
Eusociality - its what bees, ants, and all those other insects that divide into workers, drones, and queens do. But naked mole rats (which are not related to moles or rats) are one of only two mammal species that follow the same pattern, with their cousins Damaraland mole rats as the only other eusocial mammals. They're also nearly cold blooded, impervious to pain, and feed their young on their own feces from the time they're a month old until they can eat the giant tubers that make up most of their diet.
I'll buy that for a dollar or a stupid misfortune of placenta...
buum bom boom bonk!
Retronomatopeya - cute collection of comic book images and language conveying sound and motion. Also see anastasiav's prior post: Ka-BOOM, the Dictionary of Comic Book Words on Historical Principles. (via oink!) [more inside]
Digital Vaults
This is a collection of the National Archives stored in the Digital Vaults. You can browse through hundreds of photographs, documents, and film clips and discover the connection between some of the National Archives' most treasured records. With the Pathways tool you can see the unique and surprising connections between events and people and test your knowledge of history. As you travel through the site and collect documents, images and films, you can then merge the objects to create your own poster or movie from your collection.
Tiled Background Designer
Tiled Background Designer is just a small, useful tool to create patterns. Experiment with pictures, colors, textures and transparency to get best result.
July 16
Penguins and more penguins.
Like penguins? Hey, who doesn't, right? So, head over to PenguinScience for all your penguin needs. Recommended: their "Webisode" documentary on Blondie, the rare "blonde" penguin, which also features footage of another thoroughly adorable genetic mutation: an all black penguin. [more inside]
Posts totally win
Saving the Regal Fritillary The Regal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia) is one of the largest and most spectacular butterflies found in North America....About ten years ago, the Regal Fritillary could only be found in a single nature preserve in Indiana. This year, the Fort Indiantown Gap Training Center won the [Environmental A]ward for its efforts in preserving the Regal Fritillary Butterfly and its habitat, building nesting boxes and tracking migratory patterns of 12 bird species, restoring five acres of wetlands, and conducting prescribed burns to manage fuel loads and forests. [more inside]
But I pity the guy that looks like Carrot Top
Along the lines of celebrity/muppet vein, I give you Totally Looks Like: Famous People and Celebs that Totally Look Like Animals and Other Things.
Some are weak, but others are surprisingly close. Mefites will especially enjoy the Nick Nolte and Cthulu comparison.
Medieval church carvings, masturbation included
Tina Manthorpe's Flickr set of churces and church carvings has many lovely images of the kinds of things one isn't surprised to see in churches, trees of life, colorful roof bosses, misericords and many more such beauties. More shocking to modern sensibilities are the pictures in the set she calls exhibitionist church carvings, featuring such images as a protogoatse, Starbucksesque mermaids, autofellatio, free-hanging genitals and, uh... something involving thumb-sucking and snakes.
just a fun loving (and surprisingly buff) nerd!!!
Just a Fun Loving Nerd!!! "the names abilio people just call me bill , let me tell you about myself..."
Please Say Something........any answer will do
Please Say Something -- ten quick animated episodes starring Mouse and Cat. [description] | More animation by David O'Reilly, creator of the "award-winning destructive and massively overrated" RGB XYZ [previously on MeFi]. | [be warned: some animations NSFW for language; jarring sounds and flashing colors in places.]
Nothing to see here.
Now, here's something you don't see every day.
I found it unlikely, but perhaps he was a copycat suicide. [more inside]
Dalai Lama teaches the Lam Rim at Lehigh
Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, just gave a historic six-day teaching of Je Tsong-kha-pa’s Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (the Lam Rim Chen Mo), a vitally important explanation of Buddhism written in 1402 and just recently translated into English by a team organized by Joshua Cutler of New Jersey's Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center.
The teaching, attended by about 5000 participants (my estimate), consisted of two two-hour sessions per day, except for a
public talkon Sunday afternoon, at which the Dalai Lama received an honorary doctorate from Lehigh and gave a speech. The speech is available as downloadable audio clips and for viewing online. It is possible that eventually the videos of the teachings themselves will be made available on DVD or for download at lamrim.com.
The Times They Are A Changin' because....
Now is the Winter of our Discontent
With its totemic population (pigmen and gente, riskloves and Old Maid Cards), and idiosyncratic lingo ("Q que aconteceu?") Russ Winter's blog could sometimes be mistaken for a work of speculative fiction, but in fact it's the most compulsive readable financial commentary out there... whether you agree with his massively bleak outlook or not.
Francium Goes to Hollywood
"Welcome to the "Periodic Table of Videos". Tables charting the chemical elements have been around since the 19th century - but this modern version will have a short video about each one."(YT subscription) (via kottke)
New Hi-Res Mars Pix
The European Space Agency's Mars Express Probe has sent back some beautiful new high-resolution images of the Echus Chasma. More images and information can be found here.
Nintendo's E3 Keynote Largey A Dissapointment, Says Internets.
This was not a triumph. I'm making a note here. Epic fail. It's hard to overstate my disappointment. Nintendo. They do what they must at E3 because they can.
For the good of all casual gamers except the ones who are hardcore. But there is no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of new games. And the science gets done, and you make some neat pheripheral add-ons for the people who own a Wii.
"You're obviously stuck in some drunk logic fugue state"
Next-Door Neighbor, from SMITH Magazine, takes a bunch of renowned artists and writers from the world of Indie Comics and asks them to tell stories about, well, memorable Next-Door Neighbor experiences. "The Next-Door Neighbor I Don't Know," by Harvey Pekar and Rick Veitch is worth a look, of course, but personal favorites for me include "Halloweens Ago," and "Hank & Barbara." And after reading, "Dream Train," be sure to check out the video link of the subject playing an old cowboy song.
That is what my youth was for
1 2 3 4: Feist visits Sesame Street, the latest artist to send up her work for an adoring audience of (what else?) furry happy monsters. [more inside]
Information Design + Politics = WIN! (Hopefully)
Sean Tevis Takes On Intelligent Designer with Some Intelligent Design of His Own... Sean Tevis is running for State Representative in Kansas, against an opponent he describes as a proponent of intelligent design. Short on name recognition (and campaign funds) he took it upon himself to use his skills as an information designer to connect to his "constituents" - could he be the first true candidate for a generation that grew up on the Internet? Very clever xkcd-style infographic deployed against the agents of doom... (I donated, couldn't help myself) via BoingBoing
Suspect Soldiers
Suspect Soldiers. "A Sacramento Bee investigation finds the military let in applicants with risky backgrounds -- with sometimes tragic results." Part 1: Troubled histories follow some troops to Iraq war. Part 2: Is there a link between postwar stress and crime? Part 3: Iraq doctor's shooter had long record. Part 4: Patriotic Texas city mirrors nation's recruiting troubles.
Should This Feat With No Feet Be Defeated?
Should Oscar Pistorius be allowed to run with prosthetic blades in the Olympics for South Africa? Current money says maybe.
"It was beautiful, kind of like abstract art"
In March 2007, the FermiLab Office of Public Affairs in Batavia, IL "received a curious message in code" via USPS. In May 2008, scientists posted a facsimile image of the letter to their blog in the hopes of soliciting cryptologists to decipher the letter. [more inside]
Urban farming, Architecture, and Art
P.F.1 (Public Farm One) is a project designed by WORK Architecture Company for MoMA and P.S.1's Young Architects Program. P.F.1’s intent is to "educate thousands of visitors on sustainable urban farming through the unique medium of contemporary architecture." An artist in Providence, RI developed a similar installation called Green Zone, "an organic vegetable, herb, and flower garden planted in the detritus of wartime consumption: used tires, shopping bags, shoes, and other repurposed containers" at local venue Firehouse 13.
"this is my violin,” he said, gesturing over his body. “I play the violin."
Look out, New York ladies, the Goot is loose! His experience on Dancing With the Stars "made him a better person"; after getting the hook as a hoofer, a disllusioned Steve Guttenberg abandons Hollywood for New York.
Airstreaming from Cape Town to Cairo
"Don’t stop. Keep right on going.... Go someplace you’ve heard about, where you can fish or hunt or collect rocks or just look up at the sky. Find out what’s at the end of some country road. Go see what’s over the next hill, and the one after that, and the one after that." In 1959 Airstream founder Wally Byam - taking his own advice to heart - led a convoy of 36 of his company's trailers - together with over 100 American adults, children and pets - on a journey from Cape town to Cairo. They stayed in remote villages, negotiated rough roads, saw upteen tribal dancers, met up with Haile Selassie and finally ended up at the pyramids of Cairo. Here is the original film account of the expedition (complete with its own theme song). Next year, on the 50th anniversary, there is a plan to do the trip again - this time there and back again. Wanna go?
The oldest joke in the book - really!
Humor goes back a long way. The oldest recorded joke in the world was told 4,600 years ago to Pharoh Snefru by the magician Djadjamankh: "How do you entertain a bored pharaoh? You sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fishing nets down the Nile and urge the pharaoh to go catch a fish," and there's lots more ancient Egyptian humor (some quite dirty) as well. Humor really got rolling with the Greeks, however, and the Philogelos (Laughter Lover) a joke book from the 4th century. A representative joke: “An intellectual was on a sea voyage when a big storm blew up, causing his slaves to weep in terror. ‘Don’t cry,’ he consoled them, ‘I have freed you all in my will'." [more inside]
I really want to be Batman
Is Batman Possible? "There's a quote from Neal Adams, the great Batman illustrator, who said Batman would win, place or show in every event in the Olympics."
Jumping Through Hoops
Is Xinjiang Province The Islamic Jihad Battlefront in China? China detains 82 'terrorists' targeting Olympics and police have shot Uighurs dead. Meanwhile people from the Uighur minority call on the international community to boycott the Beijing Olympic games. What side of the Jihad is China on? Previously there was The Al Qaeda - China Tie. The oil and petrochemical sector account for 60% of Xinjiang's local economy.
You may fiddle, I may dance
Some lesser-known superheroes and their stories.
C is for Cookie that's good enough for me
David Leite, on his quest for the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie, learned that letting the cookie dough rest for 36 hours before baking makes for one hell of a cookie. Chefs Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot didn't want to wait that long.
Escaping the Amish
"I hadn’t gotten beaten by my mom that day, and we hadn’t had any significant arguments over anything. I thought that if I died, I wanted to die without being mad at my mom. So I thought, I might as well take the opportunity to do so before I got back to the house—at which point who knows whether there would be another fight or a beating." Escaping the Amish.
Great Civilizations of Ancient Worlds
The ancient web is an online resource for students, teachers, and anyone interested in the cultures of the ancient world. With the Olympics fast approaching, here is an opportunity to learn more about the past 4500 years of Chinese civilization. Or how the Celtiberians would get drunk and eat raw meat before going to war. 24 ancient civilizations in all.
Just when you thought you had it all sussed out
Copyright, copywrong, copyleft, copyWHAT?! Peter Hirtle is no stranger to the questions surrounding copyright and the use of public domain materials. He has been thoroughl in researching and referencing other's work in this area. Peter's handy little chart could not have been more timely; it was really long overdue. But it really just gets overwhelming sometimes ... I blame it all on that d*m**d mouse! [more inside]
So, how do you spell it?
Freakonomics coauthor/blogger writes about a "spelling mistake" the Economist made in a recent issue.
He is corrected within 5 minutes.
The Economist responds to his "correction".
Blogging from the top of the world
Dispatches from Polar Scientists -- A compilation of blogs "in celebration of the International Polar Year (2007-08), [giving] you an up-close-and-personal look at research in extreme environments through the thoughts and experiences of the scientists working there. We’ll post their photos, videos, and blogs on this site."
The psychological impact of war
For the former U.S. marine Michael Elliott the psychological impact of war is the latest and most challenging battle.
Private Joseph Dwyer survived rocket-propelled grenades and shocking violence, made his way back to his family and friends, but couldn't escape the “demons” that followed him home.
Experts say up to 30% of returning soldiers will require psychiatric help: a number not seen since the end of the Vietnam War. Today 60% of war veterans suffering from PTSD don't receive any help at all.
July 15
Flesh and Blood
"'I am not a defendant,' Mitchell declared. 'I do not have attorneys.' The court 'lacks territorial jurisdiction over me,' he argued, to the amazement of his lawyers. To support these contentions, he cited decades-old acts of Congress involving the abandonment of the gold standard and the creation of the Federal Reserve ... Judge Davis ordered the three defendants to be removed from the court, and turned to Gardner, who had, until then, remained quiet. But Gardner, too, intoned the same strange speech. 'I am Shawn Earl Gardner, live man, flesh and blood,' he proclaimed." Too Weird for the Wire: How black Baltimore drug dealers are using white supremacist legal theories to confound the Feds. [via]
Iran, Iran So Far Away
Regardless of whether or not the photos of recent Iranian missile tests were faked (previously), and regardless of whether Bush (and/or Israel) is planning to strike Iran (previously)--or is simply sabre-rattling--it certainly seems something's heating up: first, the BBC alerts the world that Canadian and other international troops stationed in Afghanistan may be targeted by Iranian missiles, and now the Bush administration claims Iran has the ability to strike Europe with its missiles. Note how both these claims involve allies who would likely have to consent to a US-led strike against Iran.
The Tertullian Project
If the Tiber rises so high it floods the walls, or the Nile so low it doesn't flood the fields, if the earth opens, or the heavens don't, if there is famine, if there is plague, instantly the howl goes up, "The Christians to the lion!" What, all of them? To a single lion? So wrote Tertullian. In the huge intellectual project that was the foundation of the Christian Church he was the great wit, most powerful rhetor and finest writer. Starting out as a pagan delighting in adultery and gladiator combat he became a great champion of martyrdom, defender of Christianity against its malefactors and heretics. His most famous contribution to our culture is undoubtedly the doctrine of the trinity. Towards the end of his life he threw his lot with a small group of hardcore ascetics called Montanists and was denounced as a heretic. Ending his life among the defeated of ecclesiastical history he was forgotten for a millennium until rediscovered during the Renaissance. The Tertullian Project collects all his extant writing and information about his lost texts as well as biographical information, selected quotations and much more.
Liquor. For free. (or cheap.)
myopenbar.com (Chicago link) is a dandy little site that lets you know where to score free and/or cheap eats and/or drinks on any given night in your area (assuming 'your area' = NYC, SF, LA, Honolulu, Miami, or the aforementioned Chi-town). The places are rated, and visited personally by the website's bloggers, but who cares? It's free booze. [more inside]
July Madness...no really, this is madness
Best Rapper Alive? No Krs-1, no Rakim, but Scarface is there. No MF Doom, no Pharoahe Monche, but Lil Mama is there. [via] Voting starts July 21st.
"Every idea I ever had is based on the fact that it's 2:30 and there's a production meeting at 3:00."
In the introduction to his close friend's "Best of" DVD, Jack Lemmon says, "Ernie Kovacs was the funniest, wildest, zaniest man I ever knew. Ernie thought so, too, and so did millions of happy people. Ernie was all over television on one network or another from 1950 until he died in 1962. He had an unpredictable and illogical view of the world. He played with the medium of television in a way no one ever had before. And he created a batch of cockeyed characters that have become classics. So, slow down your internal clock; it was a more leisurely time, you know. Here's Ernie Kovacs." [more inside]
A Man-Eating Machine
Grace Jones is coming to get you. [SLYT] From Jones' new album Hurricane, due this October. Sweet dreams, MeFites!
There Could Be Blood
Andy Grove on Our Electric Future - "Energy independence [viz.] is the wrong goal. Here is a plan Americans can stick to." Perhaps some infrastructure spending1,2 is in order? [etc., &c., cf.] [more inside]
They were applying his own paradigms for learning
Papert, who was a professor of mathematics, education, and media technology at MIT, has devoted much of his career to learning: self-learning (he taught himself Russian) and learning about learning. He was one of the early pioneers of artificial intelligence, and he invented the computer language Logo to teach children about computers.
Now he must learn something even more challenging - how to be Seymour Papert again.
Defender Of The Favicon
Defender of the Favicon -- I've never played a game inside a favicon before. Until today. Works in Firefox and Opera.
Any paper, any time
Digital pens like the Zpen and the Mobile Digital Scribe are electronic pen and receiver combinations that can capture hand-written text as you write it. [more inside]
This ain't Ringling Bros.
The Bindlestiffs - Looks like a show about a crazy traveling circus. I'm not sure cotton candy and elephants are part of their act, but they have a clown!
Meow! Meow! Meow!
TV Dinner, the third part in Simon Tofield's award-winning animated series Simon's Cat (Previously Let Me In, Cat Man Do)
birds
The Dude Abides
This deal here is new
"New Deal Programs: Selected Library of Congress Resources was created to serve as a starting point for research using Library of Congress collections of New Deal program materials." Includes links to numerous collections of digitized materials, including photos, posters, music, manuscripts and more. [more inside]
Demolition
Kajima's floor-by-floor slow demolition is one of those rare things in life that leaves you truly speechless....After all, seeing the video of a 20-floor building submerging into the asphalt as if it was liquid is something that belongs to a sci-fi movie. [more inside]
Light Graffiti Artists and Photographers
10 Amazing Light Graffiti Artists and Photographers: From Light Writing to Extreme Exposures. [Possibly NSFW]
Can I see it from here?
What's the name of that peak over there? Can my HDTV antenna see the broadcast tower?
Can I see that fixed wireless base station?
See viewsheds and labelled horizons from where you're at, with a list of what other people are looking at,
and all done with someone else's computers.
Saved and Depoliticised at One Stroke
"The most startling features of Kosovo, now that the cleansing of the Serbian minority is on hold, are the poverty of the province ... and the pitiful economy that keeps it locked in." [more inside]
Sometimes people are nice!
"Something really amazing happened in Downtown Spokane..." Slide show (annoying interface, but worth it for the cuteness).
The letters of Stanley Kubrick
"Dear Mr Clarke... I had been a great admirer of your books for quite a time and had always wanted to discuss with you the possibility of doing the proverbial really good science-fiction movie." Excerpts from the letters of Stanley Kubrick. [more inside]
Guantanamo Release
Al Jazeera cameraman and Guantanamo detainee Sami al-Haj was released after 6.5 years. Meanwhile, an interrogation video of current Guantanamo resident, now 21 year old Canadian Omar Khadr, has also been released. Previously.
Exiled
The Exile is back. Iconoclastic Moscow-based web-rag The Exile, having recently been shut down by the Russian authorities for its often less-than-complimentary views on all things to do with the motherland, is back, having relocated to Panama. A victory for the spirit of Gonzo.
WFMU's Free Music Archive
WFMU's Free Music Archive, "an online digital library of music that will allow music fans, webcasters and podcasters to listen, download, and stream for free, with no restrictions, registration or fees. And it will all be legal." Still pre-launch, but there's already quite a bit of music available on the site, including a sampler CD.
The Doom of Super Mario
I didn't think this would be cool but after seeing the video I am converted. Experience the original Super Mario in 3d... with a shotgun?
Incest: Taboo or not taboo?
I had sex with my brother but I don't feel guilty. An interesting article in The Times written by a woman who'd had a sexual relationship with her brother that started during their teenage years and continued through to their twenties. Many societies have an incest taboo, but anthropologists have differing views as to how the taboo arose. Claude Lévi-Strauss believed it to have arisen as a method to encourage the practice of marriage outside of one's immediate social group, so that unrelated households or lineages would form relationships through marriage, thus strengthening social solidarity.
Lookin' for a home...
In the little town of Enterprise, Alabama, there stands a bizarre statue that would make any card-carrying surrealist proud: an archetypical Greek goddess raises her arms toward heaven and holds high above her head... an enormous insect. Of course, it's the boll weevil. That cotton-eatin' critter inspired not only the world's only monument to an agricultural pest, but some great tunes as well, from a wide range of artists. [note: see hoverovers for link descriptions] [more inside]
When is a door not a door?
Open Doors - a puzzle game.
Jazz bassist who blew them all away
In July of 1961, the bass genius Scott LaFaro, perished in a fiery car crash after visiting family and friends in upstate NY, just ten days after doing the last gigs he would ever do with the great Bill Evans's trio (which became the legendary live recordings from the Vanguard) . He was only 24 years old. But he was also developing as a fine writer as well, as this Evans trio track - a mystical ballad in 9/4, shows. [more inside]
July 14
Khaufpur
Khaufpur is a city of approaching a million souls situated at the absolute centre of India. The lakes around which our city is built were made a thousand years ago. Since that time the city was lost in jungles, rediscovered and rebuilt. Again in the lifetime of those living, a terrible calamity came upon this city, but again it has risen and continues toward a future filled with promise.
Pirates, Ninjas, Cthulhu, BOOM!
Free comics! BOOM! Studios' new web comics site, launching today, will be posting a page a day from six different titles including its Ninja, Zombie and Cthulhu Tales anthologies...
Embroidered household goods
Framce Trombly creates household goods such as garden hoses, extension cords, and receipts out of cloth and thread.
Don’t ask, don't tell - gays in the US military
[G]ays do not belong in the U.S. military because American troops need to be hardened warriors. "We aren't the Brits. We're not the Europeans. We're not the Swedes," says Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter, who is the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. The choicest quote from the 16 Dec 2007 60 Minutes investigation into gays in the military (recently updated). [more inside]
If we all choose world "My" we can play together! Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday, MeFi, here's a fun free* game! Ikariam is sort of like a Skyrates version of Civ, with the real-time MMO combat and diplomacy that might bring to mind. Also, it's set in Olympian Greece, but only kind-of. Enjoy!
*Batteries not included. Some registration required. Suggested age: 8-and-up. Some implied violence and consumption of alcohol (wine). Expansion materials may be purchased but are not necessary to enjoy the game and are, by the judgment of this MFGA (MetaFilter Gaming Authority) member: "some kind of bullshit."
Art and poetry from the post-Enligthenment and pre-Modernist era
ArtMagick is a collection of art and poetry that roughly dates from after the Enlightenment but before Modernism. While the poetry section is extensive the main draw is the sites extensive art collection, which can be browsed by artist, art movement, title, theme or albums created by the site's users. So, forget the summer heat with some chilly pictures of winter, check out famous objects of devotion or search the archive.
A cautionary tail
The end of Moore’s influence came when, years later, she tried to block the publication of a book by E. B. White. Watching Moore stand in the way of “Stuart Little,” White’s editor, Ursula Nordstrom, remembered, was like watching a horse fall down, its spindly legs crumpling beneath its great weight. [more inside]
Obama as Political Animal
Making It, in which a young, black, upstart politician rises through the Chicago political scene by having his opposition stricken from the ballot, turning against his endorser, and redistricting himself into a fundraising monster. [more inside]
Bryant Park Project Deemed a Failure
"The Bryant Park Project”, NPR’s attempt to reach a younger demographic and "capture listeners who had moved online" has been cancelled
Hearts of the WorldWideWeb
"Pulse", a project by Markus Kison, "...is a live visualisation of the recent emotional expressions written on the private weblogs of blogger.com. These emotional expressions are parsed according to a list of synonyms and transform a physical shapeshifting object...." (QT video) (via) [more inside]
Punk rock pogo robots
Espresso on Ice is Not Okay
He wanted his espresso iced, but the coffee shop wouldn't let him. "Hey man. What you're about to do … that’s really, really Not Okay." [more inside]
Radiohead's House of Cards video
Radiohead's promo for their single House of Cards was "shot" using light and laser-based scanning systems rather than cameras, with data being generated in real-time. Includes video and making of, and you can even play around with a 3D visualization of Thom Yorke's head.
Мотылёк - Butterfly
Мотылёк - Butterfly - is just a sweet little Russian cartoon (with subtitles) (and foxes). I seem to get a little speck of something in my eyes when I watch it for some reason.
Interval Signals Online
Interval Signals Online is a site devoted to "Interval signals, signature tunes, airchecks and identification announcements from international, domestic, and clandestine radio stations around the world" such as Radio Tirana, AFAN Radio of Antarctica's McMurdo Station, and Radio Greenland. (Last three links are automatic downloads). Tip of the hat to mykescipark.
This is how we roll
This is how we roll in India
This is how we slide in Saudi
This is how we fly in Sweden
Some people are a little bit casual about road safety.
This is how we slide in Saudi
This is how we fly in Sweden
Some people are a little bit casual about road safety.
While this is timely information bank failures are normal part of life.
Worried about bank failures? First step: check if your bank is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). If so, then your first $100K is insured against loss so no worries.
Got more than $100K? Well then, you'd better speak with EDIE. [more inside]
Got more than $100K? Well then, you'd better speak with EDIE. [more inside]
And it's day-glow orange. Srsly.
All of the light, 40 times the power. Improve the performance of run-of-the-mill solar cells by standing orange pieces of glass on them. MIT's Mark Baldo describes the technology. [more inside]
Visual jazz.
(Follow-upFilter) It's rare that jazz videos venture beyond filming live performances. This makes the exceptions all the more notable.
Animation seems the medium of choice: from George Griffin's 1988 paper collage for Charlie Parker's "Ko Ko" to Len Lye's swinging The Lambeth Walk (1939), or (stretching musical definitions just a bit) his 1958 masterpiece "Free Radicals". More recent jazz seems to fit just as well: witness Lung's psychotic piece for Ladyscraper's "Thou Art Fucking Dead". [more inside]
Whatever
Join the Apathy Party 08 campaign and make sure that nobody decides or makes a difference, because we couldn't care less. Americans everywhere will make their voices heard and their voices will say, "Whatever."
Photography of British Sci-fi fans at home dressed in character.
Land of the Free, home of the geek. Steven Schofield takes photos of british sci-fi fans, dressed in character in their homes. He treats it as 'found' photography, which seems to illustrate the subjects vulnerability. The title of the work is Land of the Free - and illustrates how American culture infiltrates, with the ironic edge of questioning the idea of the freedom of choosing to copy the look of these fictional characters. via kottke
Ooh Yeah I'm A Wild One
50 years ago Johnny O'Keefe released "Wild One" and Australia had its first homegrown rock'n'roll star. To commemorate the 50th year of Australian rock'n'roll The Age newspaper has asked various Australian music industry figures to pick the top 50 Australian albums (scroll down for the Top 50 - or check the (more inside)). [more inside]
Happy Birthday Metafilter!
Cat-scan.com Cat-Scan.com is one of the strangest sites I've seen in some time. I have no idea how these people got their cats wedged into their scanners, or why.
July 13
That toddlin' town
Photographs from the Chicago Daily News, 1902-1933. Stumbled upon whilst looking for historical info on 1933, this Library of Congress-hosted site provides access to "over 55,000 images of urban life captured on glass plate negatives" by the photographers of the Daily News. memory.loc.gov simply never disappoints.
A New Mozart?
5 Year Old Adopted South Korean Blind Piano Prodigy Yoo Ye-eun can play songs after hearing them once. Watch her perform with Britain's Got Talent's Connie Talbot in a South Korean TV show called "Star King".
Hello Hello
Hello Hello Finally a myspace blog post worth seeing: funny window messages about neighbors with trash disposal concerns, vaguely reminiscent of the window messages in "You and Me and Everyone Else We Know" [more inside]
Best Books
The Worlds Best Books (1909), One Hundred Best Books (1916), One Thousand Books for a Village Library (1895), The Book Lover, a Guide to the Best Reading (1889), The Choice of Books (1905), A Thousand of the Best Novels (1919), Comfort Found in Good Old Books (1911), A Guide to the Best Historical Novels (1911), A Guide to Historical Fiction (1914), and lots more..
'The Politics of Fear'
"The New Yorker says it's satire. It certainly will be candy for cable news." The cover illustration (by Barry Blitt) of the magazine's July 21st. issue depicts Barack Obama in tribal African dress, fist-bumping his wife "in full revolutionary garb, an enormous afro making her look like a millennial Angela Davis, holding an automatic weapon and wearing military pants" in the Oval Office. On the wall -- a portrait of Osama bin Laden; in the fireplace a burning American flag. [more inside]
Condensed: 'Care, constraint, concise, cut, character, clarity, and charity.'
A Web of Geeks, Every One of Which Knows a Lot about Something
Vegging Out vs. Geeking Out. Romance as the MSG of film. The bifurcated careers of Lucy lawless, Sigourney Weaver, and Hugo Weaving. Characters making smart decisions vs. stupid decisions. Neal Stephenson discusses Sci-Fi/Speculative Fiction as a literary genre at Gresham College. (Warning: requires Flash 9)
AP Diary
"In one booklet, I come across the rather fabulous student error that the protesters at Kent State in 1970 were shot by 'the Federal Reserve.'" In his essay "AP Diary," Christopher Phelps shares the true story of what it's like to spend a week grading Advanced Placement exams.
The Greatest Sideshow Video Ever Made.
The Greatest Sideshow Video Ever Made. "The Greatest Sideshow Video Ever Made was shot at the Moore theater in Seattle in 1992. The oddball cousin of Seattle's grunge music scene, the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow mixed vintage sideshow acts with novel stunts never before seen. Previously available only on VHS tape or DVD, this mind-blowing collection of feats of human daring is now available online in six parts for your viewing pleasure: 1 2 3 4 5 6 As an added bonus, watch as Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam participates." [via mefi projects] [more inside]
Banksy uncovered?
English newspaper Mail on Sunday claims to have uncovered the identity of artist Banksy claiming his name is Robin Gunningham: "People who know Gunningham are now unable to say what has become of him. His father Peter, who lives in Kingsdown, Bristol, denied that the man in the photograph was his son, and his mother Pamela was surprised by the picture, then denied she even had a son, let alone one called Robin." More information in a report from CBC. If you don't know who Banksy is visit a Flickr pool with over 7000 pictures of his work in situ or check out previous MetaFilter posts about Banksy.
science
"In humans, the categories of gay and straight are socially constructed.” Researchers are now revealing that animals may engage in same-sex couplings to diffuse social tensions, to better protect their young or to maintain fecundity when opposite-sex partners are unavailable—or simply because it is fun. These observations suggest to some that bisexuality is a natural state among animals, perhaps Homo sapiens included, despite the sexual-orientation boundaries most people take for granted
the secure solution to ultra-urbanization
WII? NO. EEG? LOL!
Just when you were getting tired of all this typing and clicking, a little slice of sci-fi has finally made it to real life. Let the calm-voiced folks at Emotiv Systems usher in the latest advancements in the brain-computer interface realm, where a thought, a wink, and a wave might replace the keyboard and mouse. [more inside]
Weather World 2010
The Weather World 2010 project at UIUC began as a comprehensive meteorology tutorial designed for a high school/undergraduate level. It has since expanded to include guides to remote sensing and reading weather maps. (Some highlights include optical effects, severe storms, and the basics of weather forecasting.) For folks in the US, it also has current surface and satellite imagery for a number of different atmospheric properties.
China's plan to tame Tibet
China's secret plot to tame Tibet. "Internal Communist party documents have revealed that China is planning a programme of harsh political repression in Tibet despite a public show of moderation to win over world opinion before the Olympic Games next month." Meanwhile, the military has sealed off several monasteries in Lhasa, keeping over 1,000 monks locked up. Another 1,000 monks have mysteriously disappeared, and may have been sent to prisons in a neighbouring province to keep them silent through the Olympics.
Don’t put it in your mouth!
Food and Beverages in Hungary
Food and Beverages in Hungary is a pretty excellent blog, particularly for anyone who's interested in food, beverages, and/or Hungary.
squaring numbers are just like women, if they're under thirteen just do them in your head
I'm bo, yo. Bo Burnham is a precocious 17 year old musician, singer, and rapper who displays a gift for word play and rhyme through themes such as Rehab for Fictional Characters, a romance with a larger woman, and, my personal favourite, math. Previously. MLYT [more inside]
Be a Bloomer
Want to know what actions can have the biggest impact on your carbon emissions? Bloom helps you choose actions tailored to your home and lifestyle, then lets you compare them by how much CO2 they save and how cheap they are. With background guides for recycling, organic foods, energy ratings, and emissions. From the BBC.
Well whaddaya know? Strip searching a 13 year old on a hunch IS unconstitutional!
Strip searching 13 year old girls is bad mmmkay. Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled in a 6-5 decision that students cannot be strip-searched based on the uncorroborated word of another student who is facing disciplinary punishment. In an even bigger twist, the court has found that the school official who ordered the strip search, Vice Principal Kerry Wilson, is financially liable in the case and cannot claim qualified immunity.
Goodbye Mr. Benihana
Hiroaki "Rocky" Aoki, founder of Benihana restaurants and father of Devon Aoki, died from cancer complications on Friday. He was also an olympic wrestler, balloonist, backgammon player, and more.
July 12
Lightning Strike on Camera
Star Maiden, Walking Liberty
Multicolr Search Lab
Multicolr Search Lab With the Multicolr Search Lab, you can browse through 3 million of Flickr’s most interesting images images, and find ones that share the same colours. Choose up to 10 colours from our palette of 120 different shades.
Museum Makeover
The Art Institute of Chicago's website has been revamped. [T]he goal of this project was to integrate the site with their backend asset management system to allow users to browse the Museum's entire collection online. The changes are pleasing and highly functional. via
Rumplo' and behold!
Rumplo will help you waste even more of your hard-earned cash on artist and designer created T-Shirts. You can submit shirts you've found anywhere online, as well as comment on and favorite other people's findings. Thanks to user-submitted tags, you can browse by color, type ('boys', 'girls', 'kids'), and many other attributes. If you get bored of browsing aimlessly, you can always check out what's popular.
Wankel all day long
Two-dimensional Flash animations of gears, linkages, pumps, turbines and other mechanisms.
Tim Krabbé's Chess Curiosities
Dutch author Tim Krabbé, also an expert chess player, catalogues the unusual and sublime in chess: Tim Krabbé's Chess Curiosities.
Chess Records. The 110 greatest moves ever. Underpromotion in serious games. A poignant encounter with Garry Kasparov after a loss. Or you could just start at his Open Chess Diary and work your way back.
Chess Records. The 110 greatest moves ever. Underpromotion in serious games. A poignant encounter with Garry Kasparov after a loss. Or you could just start at his Open Chess Diary and work your way back.
Your weiner, your vageener, and your ovary
Jamie Lynn's Reproduction Rap A slightly educational, slightly ridiculous look at where babies come from.
We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims.
Today is R. Buckminster Fuller's 113th birthday. Visionary, designer, inventor, engineer - 'Bucky' continues to inspire us. Known as the grandfather of sustainability, even today we discover that we've barely scratched the surface of his thinking and still have far to go and much to learn about managing Spaceship Earth. [ previously]
You can't beat the Axis if you get VD.
Les Parisiens sous l’Occupation
Freedom Flies
The Department of Homeland Security has expressed interest [PDFs] in forcing all commercial airline passengers to wear a taser bracelet that can be used to incapacitate anyone on an airline. This video, from the company that will produce the bracelets, explains how the bracelet would be put on the passenger at the point that they clear security, and would not be removed until they leave secure areas. It would take the place of boarding passes, carry personal and biometric information about the passengers, track and monitor every passenger via GPS and shock the wearer on command, immobilizing him or her for several minutes. DHS official, Paul S. Ruwaldt of the Science and Technology Directorate, office of Research and Development is also excited about the possiblility of using it as an interrogation tool at airports. Ah freedom, who knew it smelled like burning flesh?
Dr. DeBakey, innovative heart surgeon, died last night.
Dr. Michael E. DeBakey died last night a few months shy of 100 years old. The father of modern cardiovascular surgery, he extended the lives of thousands through multiple surgical innovations. [more inside]
The Long Island Express
It was called the Great Hurricane of 1938. The tradition of naming Cyclones had yet not begun, and not since 1869 had a storm of such ferocity hit the US mainland. What had made it unusally unique was the speed with which it had hit landfall, and the damage that it caused in its wake. (60 years on, and people can still recall the frightening grip that it had on their lives for those few days.)
July 11
Universe Sandbox
An Interactive Space Simulator "Smash planets together, introduce rogue stars, and build new worlds from spinning discs of debris. Fire a moon into a planet or destroy everything you've created with a super massive black hole. You can simulate and interact with our solar system: the 8 planets,160+ moons, and hundereds of asteroids, the nearest 1000 stars to our Sun, and our local group of galaxies." [31Mb, Windows only, sorry, but see inside for similar Mac and Linux apps] [more inside]
Charles Wheeler R.I.P.
As a child in Germany, he witnessed the rise of adolf Hitler. As a young man in WWII, he served in the Royal Marines as they fought their way to Berlin. And as an adult, for over fifty years, Charles Wheeler became one of the finest reporters on British television and radio.
Manhattanhenge
Dub(step)
Dubstep is from the UK. It's typified by skittering, shuffled, syncopated rhythms with lots of triplets, dissonant and minor tonality, and most strikingly... (sub)bass. It uses a lot of effects people associate with dub. Crank your woofer and listen to the likes of Skream (who has done a pretty good introductory mix), Plastician, Digital Mystikz, and El-B. [more inside]
IndyMac Bank seized by federal regulators
The FDIC has taken control of IndyMac Bank This is being described as the second largest bank failure in US history. If you are a current customer with funds on deposit, here's what you need to do.
Glass trombone
Major selling point: Trash can lids
It's lovely! I'll take it! Sometimes, you just wonder what people were thinking when they posted photos in their real estate listings.
"I can’t believe they included Quibble-Man but not The Human Quibble!"
The mysterious old shop
The Lido was a shop on a busy road in East Vancouver that was always closed -- yet clearly occupied and maintained. It's been an intriguing mystery for locals for many years. Following the recent death of the owner, an elderly woman who lived above the shop, cleanup crews found old furniture, cans of dry goods -- and more than $400,000 in antique banknotes. [more inside]
Caring for the Old
The NYT has a new blog on aging and eldercare. Thanks to the marvels of medical science, our parents are living longer than ever before.The Gray Lady has started a blog catering to the sandwich generation, with topics, so far, ranging from when to take the car keys to personal accounts of eldercare crises. The 290 comments on this post in particular are eye opening and heartbreaking.
chomp
A new sort of pop art has sprung up in New Orleans - cars emblazoned with brand names, usually snack foods.
GalaxyZoo First Anniversary
Today is the first birthday of Galaxy Zoo. The largest astronomical collaboration in history, Galaxy Zoo has enlisted nearly a 150,000 volunteers to help classify over a million galaxies and released four science papers. It's made a number of interesting discoveries such as a large number of ring galaxies, Hanny’s Voorwerp, and a large number of visually (but not physically) overlapping galaxies. You can help classify galaxies or classify galaxy mergers. Don't miss the visual catalog of over 250 Objects of the Day--pretty much every one of them stunning.
I'm not here...
Ryhiner maps collection
The Ryhiner Collection of maps has over 16000 images of world maps from 16th through 19th century. There are maps of every part of the world as well as sky maps, historical maps and optical views, caricatures & other drawings. All are viewable in high detail.
I am a stranger in your land, a wandering man, call me Sand.
This is Sand "is a website for play. It changes the pixels on the screen into digital sand that can be used as building material for cosmic landscapes, Clemens-style sand paintings, mandalas and so on." [Via The Presurfer]
Dude, I'm flippin' out!
I first saw Russian Barre at Cirque du Soleil's Alegria show. I find it an exciting display of acrobatics but the ending of this video is absolutely amazing to me.
Hollywood Muppets
It's been proven that people tend to look like their dogs, but startling new findings reveal a freakish resemblance between Hollywood celebrities and Sesame Street puppets.
Interpreting Due Process
An Interpreter Speaking Up for Migrants: Erik Camayd-Freixas is a professor and a legal translator who assisted in the fast-track trial and sentencing of the over 400 illegal immigrant workers in Postville, Iowa, who were arrested on criminal charges involving identity theft rather than the usual deportation proceedings. Unusually for a court interpreter, who maintain a strict code of impartiality and neutrality, Camayd-Freixas spoke out, writing "that the immigrant defendants whose words he translated, most of them villagers from Guatemala, did not fully understand the criminal charges they were facing or the rights most of them had waived." [more inside]
Filter for president! It's a mildly amusing prank that's also a viral ad!
Are there any two better words together than "Free Slurpee"?
Today is July 11th. In the Gregorian Calendar, that is the eleventh day of the Seventh month. The free world celebrates it as Free Slurpee Day. [more inside]
Caring Too Much
Lillian Ladele, a Christian registrar, has won her discrimination case after refusing to conduct same sex civil partnerships. " Islington Council cared too much about the "rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual" community, the panel ruled. "
Master of the hoax finally goes straight.
Master of the hoax finally goes straight. Clifford Irving, author of the now infamous Autobiography of Howard Hughes, publishes his own autobiography, Phantom Rosebuds. Irving has already covered the story of that Hughes forgery pretty thoroughly in his earlier book, The Hoax, and Lasse Hallstrom retold the story in a film starring Richard Gere. Phantom Rosebuds though makes a case for the rest of Irving’s life - f for fake, the subsequent novels, the jail time and the dramatic consequences of the hoax which draw him into a world of espionage, renegade presidents, and rogue hitmen.
!A Rambo No Le Gusta La Guerra!
At long last, margarine freedom
Quebec Margarine War Ends! For 21 years Quebec has regulated the colour of margarine, insisting it be distinctly lighter or distinctly darker than butter... The stated reason has been to protect consumers from unscrupulous restaurateurs selling margarine as butter. The real reason was to protect the province's politically influential dairy industry. [more inside]
Historical Slovenian Popular Music
Slovenian compositions, mainly performed by solo singers (with piano or orchestra accompaniment) and by different orchestras and smaller vocal groups. The tracks are listed here. Might I suggest you start with Vinko Vodopivec and see if this the sort of thing you like?
July 10
The $6.9 Million Man | Woman
"It's not just the American dollar that's losing value. The Environmental Protection Agency has decided that an American life isn't worth what it used to be. The value of a statistical life is $6.9 million in today's dollars, the [EPA] reckoned in May -- a drop of nearly $1 million from just five years ago." [more inside]
House of Gauss
"The secret lives of invisible magnetic fields are revealed as chaotic ever-changing geometries." Very pretty, eerie, animated interpretations of the fields inhabit Semiconductor's "Magnetic Movie." [more inside]
Why the West is ablaze.
Fugitoid on the run again
El-P, founder of Def Jux, is not your average rap artist. His themes and style are frequently lush and apocalyptic. While Deep Space 9mm launched 'El-Producto', cleverly futuristic works like Stepfather factory, Flyentology with Trent Reznor or the darker Tasmanian Pain Coaster are his hallmark. He recently released a new mixtape free online, along with the lyrics pdf for his album. He also recently remixed a song from MTV's TRL, warping it into a chaotic police state jam, mirroring other songs of his with themes of authority and control. [more inside]
Train in Vain
"This could take exactly 77 hours and 15 minutes, if the trains keep to schedule. Most likely, they won’t." GOOD Magazine takes a cross-country train ride to examine exactly why America's rail system sucks so badly, and where we go (slowly) from here.
Skulls Unlimited
Skulls Unlimited: For all your osteology needs.
the quick brown fox
Feuding movie directors: Movie-goers WIN?
Sometimes a simple Amazon reader's review leads you to a fascinating story (or stories) of which you may have been previously unaware. In this case, the story of (the so-called) Buffalo Soldiers that liberated Tuscany in WWII. The novel Miracle at St. Anna also captivated director Spike Lee, who is bringing it to the Big Screen (Higher quality at apple.com). This may be considered his latest shot in the "feud" with director Clint Eastwood, who offended many by overlooking the contributions of black soldiers in his two recent WWII films.
To Tha Batcave, Wobin!
Combining the camp of the live action Batman with the whimsy of Little Batman, The Amazing Adventures of Little Batman!
Salman Rushdie wins all-time best of Booker Prize
Salman Rushdie is now officially the Booker Prize's best-author. Rushdie's 1981 novel Midnight's Children was named Thursday as the greatest-ever winner of Britain's most prestigious literary award, in celebration of the prizes 40th anniversary. The only other time this award was given, on the 25th anniversary in 1993, Midnight's Children also won.
Why Learn Algebra? I'm Never Likely to Go There.
EducationFilter: California becomes the first state to mandate all 8th graders take Algebra; in part because U.S. students constantly trail their peers from other nations in mathematics. At least one person thinks it's a bad idea ("If only 25 percent of this nation ever earns a college degree, why insist that all children take algebra in eighth grade?"). Here's the algebra curriculum 8th graders will have to learn. [more inside]
Ancient, Medieval and Classic Works
In Parentheses is a collection of many ancient, medieval and classic texts from all over the world, many of whom are hard to find anywhere, let alone on the internet. There are translations from Greek, Old Norse, Medieval Irish, Japanese, Incan, Old French, Medieval Latin and many more! As well as all that they have papers in medieval studies and vaguely decadent and orientalism series. Adding to that there's a linguistics section with wordlists and language flash cards in languages such as Icelandic, Quechua, Basque, Classical Armenian and a whole bunch more. [flashcard links go to pdf files]
Bible gets sued
As the gay marriage fight unfolds in California, some gays (and others) are fighting back: one gourp is boycotting a rich hotel owner, others are standing apart and one is suing the Bible (who gets subpoenaed for that one?). Meanwhile, a key opponent to gay marriage keeps its doors open (and its ballot committee going) despite being suspended. They say they're working on it, but no changes yet.
"A valley frozen in time."
In November 1943, the village of Tyneham in Dorset, England, received an unexpected letter from the War Department, informing residents that the area would soon be "cleared of all civilians" to make way for Army weapons training. A month later, the displaced villagers left a note on their church door: Please treat the church and houses with care; we have given up our homes where many of us lived for generations to help win the war to keep men free. We shall return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly. Residents were told they would be allowed to reclaim their homes after the war, but that didn't happen, and Tyneham became a ghost village. Though most of the cottages have been damaged or fallen into disrepair, the church and school have been preserved and restored. Photo galleries 1, 2, 3, 4. Panoramic tour [Java required]. Video: Death of a Village [YouTube, 9 mins.]
Pickens Plan
Pickens Plan -- oilman T. Boone Pickens has a plan to reduce America's oil dependency problem: exploit the country's massive windpower potential for domestic energy, replacing natural gas, and then use natural gas to power cars instead of foreign oil. Some problems with the plan.
From blue to red
What if Al Gore really had won? J. M. Kearns crafts a new, imaginative Bush conspiracy in his new short story, "The Eagle Has Landed."
In the bowels of the beast
Doug Skinner translates Paul Vibert's House of Flesh and Bone, a short story about living inside large animals. Part 2. Part 3. via
Between enraged and engaged Buddhism
Can I has stock quotes?
Let Our Congress Tweet
It is really interesting that Representatives John Culberson and Tim Ryan have started to really use Twitter and post from the House floor. While the Franking Commission reconsiders rules on Internet Use, the Sunlight Foundation wants to make sure they Let Our Congress Tweet.
Iranian Photoshoping Skills
In response to Israel's show of might, Iran tested long range missiles capable of hitting Israel and other U.S. targets in the region. Was the image AFP used photoshopped?
America's Pastime
Enterprising kids in Connecticut spend a few weeks clearing weeds out of an empty lot, planning a halcyon summer of wiffleball. They scavenge some plywood out of a dumpster, buy some paint, dig some holes, pour concrete, and next thing you know, they have their own custom built playing field. As one kid put it, "if we build it, they will come." But the outcome was not what they expected.
...for players and plastic surgeons
[SO VERY NSFW] Fake or Not? The site will show you ten pictures of boobies, a pair at a time. You must determine whether or not they are augmented. Wes Cherry, creator of Solitaire for Windows, aptly cites it as one of his three favorite websites. [via memepool]
The Wandering Eye (Pleuronectiformes, We Hardly Knew You)
A University of Chicago doctoral candidate has shown that the evolution of the flatfish was much more gradual than previously thought.
Whackity schmackity doo, kids!
All of you have been given a harsh gift. It’s the same gift the graduating class of 1917, and 1938, and 1968 and now you guys got – the chance to enter adulthood when the world teeters on the rim of the sphincter of oblivion. You’re jumping into the deep end. You have no choice but to be exceptional. Patton Oswalt addresses the class of 2008 at his old high school. [more inside]
Wax on... wax off...
Invade New Zealand
The Good, the Stop and the Motion
July 9
Just the facts Ma'am
This is the city, Los Angeles California. I work Here. I carry a badge. My name's Friday. [more inside]
Bacon!
Bacon is dead! Long live bacon! is the title of a Salon.com article on the current wave of popularity the pork product is now surfing. Featuring a killer doughnut photo on the first page.
You're drowning in the past, Mike. But I've got your life vest right here: it's called the 80's, and it's gonna be around forever!
Channel 101 spoof of Turkish cinema, "Return to Supermans" Starring Hunter Stair, David Lyons and Hollywood Steve of Yacht Rock. Good Wikipedia overview of Yacht Rock.
Futility Closet
And DJB's $500 is safe for another day
A major flaw in the DNS system is promised to be revealed at the next Black Hat conference. Convinced it was too important to wait, security researcher Dan Kaminsky (video, autoplays) convinced several software vendors to issue emergency patches today, before publicizing details of the attack. It can't be that serious though, can it? Oh yes it can.
Good dance moves for two right feet
Obama votes to grant telecom companies immunity for illegal wiretapping and "refines" his stance against Iraq to consider indefinite, undefined or vaguely defined occupation. One remarks about Obama's recent move to the right with a new campaign logo. Obama denies any change in policy.
Thomas Jefferson's Library On Exhibit
WWJD (Which Words Jefferson Digested) Some Flash
MarineBio
The ocean gives us life. It gives us oxygen, the rain, food, excitement, wonder, and mystery. The ocean buffers the weather and helps regulate global temperature. It manages vast amounts of our pollutants, contains all kinds of amazing creatures, and supports all life on our planet. But, the ocean is just now beginning to be understood and with that understanding comes the increasing realization that the ocean is in trouble. Marine conservation efforts are outnumbered by the problems. MarineBio is here to call attention to those issues and to provide information to inspire the actions necessary to address them.
Boyz 2 pipettemen
We have heard the PCR song. Now we have the epMotion song. "Yeah girl, it is time to automate." Even Nature has an article about it.
Nanotube City
Nanotube Radio. "We have constructed a fully functional, fully integrated radio receiver, orders-of-magnitude smaller than any previous radio, from a single carbon nanotube". (via)
The Cake is a Detour
Ask and it shall be given. Also, here's what Knight Industries has been working on for the past 20 years. Seems like they went backwards a bit.
DR. SBAITSO WAS MY ONLY FRIEND.
Try the African Cookbook
The African Cookbook is a compilation of recipes from 9 countries in Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, Sudan and Tanzania & Zanzibar. As well as a handful of recipes each section has short chapters on how food is served in each country. For more recipes and information go to Try African Food.
Words of warning
Words of warning: Watch out for squirrels. Keep your kids with you, but don't put them here. And finally, some advice for golfers. (links go to pictures) [more inside]
3D renderings of the inner workings of human body
Fascinating 3D renderings of different processes inside of a human body. Yes, the style is quite similar to The Inner Life of The Cell, but this one is different. Dissolving of the pills was definitely entertaining. It would be great if a doctor could comment on the other processes that are displayed.
If I ran the zoo, I would not be able to link to it here.
The National Association of Scholars has been publishing a series of articles called "If I Ran the Zoo" (inspired by Seuss) in which various contributors describe what they would do if they were in charge of higher education. (via) [more inside]
Neuroses of the Rich and Famous
Translucent Creatures
Historical Photographs of China
The Sidney D Gamble Photograph Collection at Duke University consists of about 5,000 newly digitised pictures, taken predominantly in China between 1917 and 1932. Browse by subject, category or location tags. Photos taken in 1908 are to be added in the future. [via]
Your roots. They has a flavor.
Have Food Will Travel: Pearl River Delta is a travelogue teaser video from Leonard Shek, a second generation Chinese American from San Francisco. Shek traveled to the Guangdong Province as part of the SF Chinese Culture Center's In Search of Roots program. While the main purpose of the trips is for Chinese Americans to explore where their parents or grandparents came from, Shek wanted to explore the origins of the food he grew up with.
"I saw fire coming from his hand."
Blood on the Mountain; part 2. In 1981 Randall Smith killed two hikers along the Appalachian Trail and served 15 years for second-degree murder. Two months ago Scott Johnston and Sean Farmer were camping along the trail when a man walked into their campsite. It was Randall Smith. And he was carrying a .22. [more inside]
"Loaded with soul...under control"
"No one told me there would be unremitting noise every Saturday for the rest of my life.” Historic Harlem drumming circle drives young white professionals drum crazy. Who will prevail?
Fantastic, whimsical wooden furniture from Judson Beaumont
Inspired by such diverse influences as Pee-Wee's Playhouse to Frank Gehry and Warner Brothers Cartoons to Philippe Starck, Vancouver, BC based woodworker Judson Beaumont's furniture is whimsical yet fully functional and is suited for children and adults alike. [more inside]
Mother Nature is an abstract artist
30 Incredible Abstract Satellite Images of Earth "From 400 miles away, the earth transforms into abstract art. The global landscape is impressionist, cubist and pointillist." Nice NASA images from 2000, downloadable as wallpaper.
stavrosthewonderchicken's home is dying
Canadian expatriate (and Metafilter member) stavrosthewonderchicken has a detailed and depressing look at the impact of the mountain pine beetle in Northern British Columbia, where a perfect storm of "forest fire suppression, clearcutting (and subsequent replanting), [and] global warming" has led to the destruction of over 130,000 square kilometers of forest.
Death of a Pig
(Life and) Death of a Pig - farmer to butcher to curer.
Sir John Templeton, 1912-2008, RIP and thank you for the investing lessons.
The simple phrase "it's different this time" are the four most expensive words in the English language. Sir John Templeton, 1912-2008, we thank you for this lesson and countless others. [more inside]
Words like mother-blank!
Renegade high school English teacher Connie Heermann was suspended without pay for 18 months for using the book The Freedom Writers Diary in her class. [more inside]
July 8
Bigger and Russianer
Gorbachov the music video, contains basically everything I've ever wanted in a music video.
Honey, where's the remote?
Remote control birth control. The device, an implant for men that is billed as an alternative to a vasectomy, is still in testing. That's not the only idea for new male contraceptives, though. As a 20-something male, I can say with confidence that my favorite method so far is the application of an external heat source. This blog is my new favorite.
Don't be 3dvil
With 'Lively' Google tries something more interactive in the 3d space after buying SketchUp in 2006. [more inside]
Magnum Photos' two newest nominees
American-Dutch photographer Peter van Agtmael and English photographer Olivia Arthur are the two newest nominees recently welcomed into Magnum Photos. Agtmael's images of Afghanistan and Iraq are very powerful - he discusses his work in Conscientious. Arthur's recent work has focused on women's experiences in what she calls the Middle Distance. [more inside]
Marge Innovera's Favorite TV Show
The CarTalk guys are invading the television airwaves starting tomorrow night with their new cartoon show "Click & Clack's As the Wrench Turns," airing on PBS. [more inside]
I know who they are. They are French people.
William Burroughs recites from the last words of Dutch Schultz, set to the music of The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy
A Moving Optical Illusion || A Moving Optical Illusion
Improv Everywhere’s latest “mission”: Human Mirror [video]. They filled a New York subway car with 16 sets of identical twins and recorded the reactions of riders who eventually realized they were looking at an MTA carriage full of real-life “mirror images.” [more inside]
Post and run, post and run -- even when I was seventeen
Guyville Redux, the DVD included with the 15th anniversary reissue of Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville, is available for viewing (for one week only) on Pitchfork.tv
Law of the Letter
"Type designers know well that context, culture, and history shape the connotations of letterforms. . . . In fact, type plays a starring role in the making of nations." A short but interesting look at typography and political identity from Print magazine.
A mind dismembered: In search of the magical penis thieves
According to Ilechukwu, an epidemic of penis theft swept Nigeria between 1975 and 1977. Then there seemed to be a lull until 1990, when the stealing resurged. “Men could be seen in the streets of Lagos holding on to their genitalia either openly or discreetly with their hand in their pockets,” Ilechukwu wrote. “Women were also seen holding on to their breasts directly or discreetly, by crossing the hands across the chest. . . . Vigilance and anticipatory aggression were thought to be good prophylaxes. This led to further breakdown of law and order.” In a typical incident, someone would suddenly yell: Thief! My genitals are gone! Then a culprit would be identified, apprehended, and, often, killed.
Freaks
Tod Browning's 1932 cinematic masterpiece Freaks tells the story of a close-knit group of circus sideshow workers who are wronged and take revenge. The film's use of real-life freaks so disturbed audiences that some ran screaming from theaters, distributors refused to handle the film, and it was banned in Britain for over 30 years. [more inside]
The World's First Software Engineer
The World's First Software Engineer David Caminer, the System designer behind LEO, the world's first business computer, has died, aged 92. He was a true pioneer, inventing many of the standards now called systems engineering. [more inside]
The successor to TimeCube?
Nature's Creative Destruction
Natural disasters are good for the economy. No, they aren't. Yes, they are. Well, maybe sometimes they are and sometimes they aren't. (pdf) It helps if somebody makes a movie or a television show about it. The Broken Window fallacy.
US Eastern Seaboard the spillway for a "slow wave" of melting Greenland glaciar water
Melting Greenland glacier water forms a "slow wave" that stays in the Atlantic for at least 50 years before reaching the Pacific, according to a new study. The water piles up in the Atlantic. "It is often assumed that sea levels will rise instantaneously, but that is unlikely, given what we know about ocean dynamics." Fifty years after the meltwater is released from Greenland, sea-level rise could be 30 times greater around Greenland and down the eastern side of North America, including the Gulf of Mexico, than in the Pacific Ocean. Sea-level rises in Europe are around six times that of the Pacific, but only a fifth as great as on the opposite shore of the Atlantic.
Medinat Weimar
Medinat Weimar wishes to establish a Jewish state in Thuringia, Germany, with the city of Weimar as its capital. A land without a people for a people without a land! Oh, wait ... [more inside]
Naxalite revolt in India
Naxalites are India's most dangerous revolutionary organization (of which there are many). They capitalize on dissent against the Indian Government where it is weakest, promising a better life to India's poor. This Maoist movement has waxed and waned since its inception in the 1960's. The Government's latest attempt to vanquish the Naxalites, called Salwa Judum, has been a failure. Though little known in the West, the Naxalite uprising has torn asunder large parts of India, devastated local economies, terrorized millions and turned brother against brother.
Bruce Conner Moves On
The news today is that Bruce Conner, an amazing artist across many forms, died yesterday.
Sewn artifacts based on children's drawings
"We create sewn art and artifacts based on the drawings of our two children using only thrifted and recycled materials. We also make custom pieces with a child's drawing provided or requested by you." Via plsj tumblelog.
Cosmin Bumbuţ
Freeze +20
In July 1988 the art exhibition Freeze, largely organised by Damien Hirst, gave birth to the YBAs... twenty years on the artists involved are reuniting for another exhibition.
Yes, I'll take the full insurance coverages please.
'If I didn't have this house to look after, then I'd be well off'
Maintaining a historic home is an expensive business.
Tissington Hall, a 400 year old house in Derbyshire with a mere 12 bedrooms, had a £16 000 bill for heating alone last year. The current owner sat down a cried when he inherited it and its £100 000 annual running costs. [more inside]
Southern College Accepts Dwarves
SCAD Shorts, playful videos that stretch the imagination are from The Dandy Dwarves, an eclectic group of students who formed a video production company while attending Savannah College of Art Design. Each month the dwarves will release a brand new video short like the recent Scribe Conjures Alternate Dimension. It’s up to us to create fitting, descriptive, and creative S-C-A-D titles for each new video.
Wallbot is watching you...
"What we've invented is a way to induce charges on the wall using a power supply located on the robot....The robot carries with it positive and negative charges, and when the walls sees these charges it automatically generates the opposite charge. The robot can then clamp onto those charges." Scientists have robots climbing the walls.
July 7
Truth Vandals?
XKCD mocks Wikipedia's "in popular culture" sections. Wikipedians take the idea seriously. The article ("Wood"). goes on lockdown. But is adding correct, even if useless, information really WikiVandalism?
Here he stands. He could not do otherwise. God help him.
"...aside from the Devil, you have no enemy more venomous, more desperate, more bitter, than a true Jew... What shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews? Since they live among us, we dare not tolerate their conduct, now that we are aware of their lying and reviling and blaspheming.... First, to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of Christendom, so that God might see that we are Christians.... Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed.... Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them.... Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb." -- From On the Jews and Their Lies, authored by the man voted by his countrymen the second greatest German of all time, the theologian whose break with Rome began the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther. [more inside]
Is this really worth a shorter sentence?
Hans Reiser leads police to the body of his wife. Software engineer Hans Reiser, who was convicted in the murder of his wife, Nina, long denied he killed her. His defense was based on the theory that she was hiding out in her native Russia and her body could not be found. Today, in a possible exchange for a shorter sentence he led police to the shallow grave of Nina Reiser, just a moment's drive from the house he lived in with his mother and two children. Previously, previously.
The Fallacy of Examples
Waffle, meet Splasher. Splasher, this is Waffle.
We just like to dance in our goatskin pants.
The kids today sure do love the hip hop music, so let's be sure to cram as much of it into our movie as possible. Thrill as MC Hammer jams with the Addams family, Bobby Brown preaches the word of the Ghostbusters via bluescreen, Rodney Dangerfield cuts loose, Ronald McDonald busts a move, and Tom Hanks & Dan Aykroyd dance their way through a criminal investigation. [Previously]
Librarian with ‘McCain=Bush’ sign charged with trespassing at public campaign event.
"Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was in Denver, CO, today for a town hall meeting. The event, at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, was billed as 'open to the public.' Yet Carole Kreck, a 61-year-old librarian carrying a 'McCain=Bush' sign, was taken away by police [on orders from McCain's security detail] for trespassing. A police officer told Kreck:
'You have two choices. You can keep your sign here and receive a ticket for trespassing, or you can remove the sign and stay in line and attend this town hall meeting.'Kreck received a ticket for trespassing and her court date is July 23."*. Video of Kreck's encounter with the police. [more inside]
Gerd Arntz and the origins of the stick figure
The Gerd Arntz Web Archive collects graphics from the career of the man who - in creating over 4000 Isotypes for social scientist Otto Neurath in 1930s Red Vienna - can make a serious claim to be the inventor of the modern stick figure. He attacked the corruption of German society as the Nazis rose to power, then joined Neurath in an attempt to create a transnational visual language that bore later fruit in Otl Aicher's 1972 Olympic pictograms and the AIGA passenger/pedestrian symbol signs. [via Mark Larson and Austin Kleon]
Ines Brun rides a track bike
Sitting With Fire
Sitting With Fire is a blog running from Tassajara, one of the oldest Zen monasteries in the US. It provides information on the status of Tassajara's residents who have stayed behind to combat the Basin Complex fire. [more inside]
'Rejected' Dark Knight script
Michael Bay, director of Transformers and other predictable blockbuster movies apparently wrote a script for The Dark Knight that was rejected by Warner Bros. Amazingly, it has surfaced on the net…
Collateral Damage?
"Nobody in the antipoverty community and nobody in city leadership was going to welcome the news that the noble experiment that they’d been engaged in for the past decade had been bringing the city down, in ways they’d never expected. But the connection was too obvious to ignore, and Betts and Janikowski figured that the same thing must be happening all around the country."
American Murder Mystery. Page 2. Page 3. Page 4.
Class Worrier
Bill Gates - 10,000,000; Vegetarian student - 300. Carbon Footprint of different lifestyles. [more inside]
The Inevitable
Free Government is a directly-controlled, open-source, entirely transparent political "meta-party" in the United States that intends to field candidates guided exclusively by online polling and user-drafted bills. Recruiting of candidates has already begun.
Dystopian Evolution: Imagining an Envirogeddon
Dystopian storytelling is pillar of Western narrative tradition, but this decade has seen a significant shift in the way our apocalypse is told. Orthodox tales of government tyranny are giving way to visions of humans running helpless in the wake of environmental meltdown. From the plausible to the fantastic, most of this fiction remains hauntingly real while the non-fiction can get downright scary. In 2008, the 20th anniversary of climatologist James Hansen's landmark speech before Congress, popular art is beginning to reflect an increasingly bleak public sentiment on the future, playing out some of our worst nightmares. It may be that these writers and directors are wishing for the end of the world, but even so, they are certainly giving voice to the creeping feeling that indeed, we might not make it.
How Godzilla and Sinbad were lost, and other tales
After a lengthy hiatus, Terry Rossio is once again writing columns on screenwriting and other aspects of the film trade for Wordplayer (previously). New articles include a dissertation on the use of dramatic irony, a fascinating story about a single vacation photo and the strange twists of life, and an insider's look into how good stories get killed, and which battles are worth fighting. [more inside]
The Urge to End It All
In a 2001 University of Houston study of 153 survivors of nearly lethal attempts between the ages of 13 and 34, only 13 percent reported having contemplated their act for eight hours or longer. To the contrary, 70 percent set the interval between deciding to kill themselves and acting at less than an hour, including an astonishing 24 percent who pegged the interval at less than five minutes.A surprising article about the nature, methods, and deterrence of suicide.
He won't be back in two and two.
Eric Lieber, producer of the groundbreaking Dick Cavett and Mike Douglas talk shows as well as the creator of (my own beloved guilty pleasure) Love Connection, has passed away of leukemia at age 71. [more inside]
Dirk Valentine and the Fortress of Steam
Dirk Valentine and the Fortress of Steam ... The year is 1897. For five long years Europe has been ravaged by Baron Battenberg's Steam powered war machines. Led by Great Britain, a handful of defiant countries remain free of the Baron's tyrannical rule. But time is running out for them as his forces grow stronger every day. As dawn breaks high above the Atlantic, a tiny airship arrives at its secret destination. Onboard, Britain's greatest explorer, spy, and master of esoteric fighting arts readies to strike at the heart of the Baron's empire!
Bleeding cool
Nearer to thee....
What would Jesus fly? Senator Charles Grassley investigates TV evangelists. One of whom claims his financial records belong to God. Further Investigation of TV evangelists some of whom are leaving on a jet plane. All thanks to the Prosperity Doctrine
"This mighty garden" and its "methods of culture"
I first encountered the concept of forest gardening in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland (1915) [relevant part pages 79-80]; the fictional race of women in her book have completely remade the forests to contain only beneficial and food-bearing plants, which live harmoniously together and replenish the soil naturally. This is actually being done, less than a hundred years later. More; similar, similar.
Pocket Calculator Show
He's right on the money. Wait, um, not anymore...
For the first time in nearly a decade China is issuing new banknotes without the image of Chairman Mao. Instead there's a picture of, you guessed it, their shiny new Olympic stadium. And a discus thrower on the back. [more inside]
2008 Weird-Ass Picture Book Awards
The Weird-Ass Picture Book Awards, WAPB, are given to the books that make you go “Huhhh?” Awards are given for story, illustration, and cover art. The highest award goes to the picture book achieving outstanding weirdness in both illustration and text. The 2007 WAPBA went to The Fuchsia Is Now, by J. Otto Seibold, for its strange story and artwork. The interesting use of condoms as hats was clearly a deciding factor in this book’s selection. Dear Fish, by Chris Gall, won for both illustration and cover art. For storyline, My Father the Dog, by Elizabeth Bluemle, took the prize.
Truly Brutal
The Birmingham Central Library, one of the largest and most important public libraries in Europe, has often been vilified as one of the ugliest buildings in Britain. A prime example of Brutalism, English Heritage has (controversially) recommended that the structure should be listed. Others want it to go the way of Portsmouth's hated Tricorn Centre. [more inside]
Hindenburg Omen: Doom?
Expeditions
One World Journeys produces exciting and educational photo-documentary expeditions that connect online viewers to unique wilderness areas around the world. Travel to the remote mountain forests of the former Soviet Georgia, track jaguars in Mexico, dive on pristine coral reefs, swim with wild salmon and wildlife of British Columbia and step into the heat of the Sonoran Desert.
July 6
He's just a humble motherfucker with a big-ass dick.
After 'The Wire,' Moving On to Battles Beyond the Streets - 'The Wire' co-creator Ed Burns talks about his life and his and David Simon's new project, 'Generation Kill', premiering next Sunday on HBO.
"iPhone and iPod Touch wallpapers for the rest of us."
Poolga: iPhone and iPod Touch wallpapers from a selection of designers and illustrators from around the world.
The Caves of Dunhuang
"In the long run, we are all dead" -- JM Keynes
Little blue pills of cheer.
"The drug's effectiveness inspired an elegant theory, known as the chemical
hypothesis: Sadness is simply a lack of chemical happiness. The little blue pills cheer us
up because they give the brain what it has been missing.
There's only one problem with this theory of depression: it's almost certainly wrong, or at
the very least woefully incomplete."
How Prozac sent the science of depression in the wrong direction, from the Boston Globe.
How Prozac sent the science of depression in the wrong direction, from the Boston Globe.
There's Always One More Time
September 14, 1998 "the Tan Canary" passes away. He started out as a gospel singer but went on to perform blues, soul, county, and jazz. In 1968 he covered the country standard "Release Me" and it became a hit. His audience grew, but stardom outside of his home in New Orleans was not to be his. [more inside]
Major climate change economics study released
The draft Garnaut Climate Change Review was released last Friday. This is the most comprehensive look so far at the economic implications of climate change and emissions trading for a developed country (Australia). Essential (but weighty) reading for those interested in the economics of the issue, a useful localisation of Stern (2006). [more inside]
The Comeback
Josh Hamilton was destined to be an all-star baseball player, selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as the #1 draft pick in the 1999 MLB draft. By 2002, though, he was a bust, beset by injuries, spending his days downing an entire bottle of Crown Royal and snorting cocaine. [more inside]
I Met the Walrus
I Met the Walrus In 1969, 14-year-old Jerry Levitan snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace. This is the whimsically animated film that Jerry has produced about the interview.
Jezebelism
Jezebel.com editor on why she hasn't been raped: "I think it has to do with the fact that I'm like smart. I don't hang around with frat guys" -- a quote from Jezebelism: Lizz Winstead's interview with Moe Tkacik and Tracie Egan (aka Slut Machine). Winstead's intent was "to have a conversation about Hillary and sexism, women’s magazines and if they feel any obligation to write about responsibility and safety when they write graphically about their sex lives." After the interview Winstead stated: "I don’t know if they came to the show drunk, or just ended up drunk by the time they hit the stage, but what I do know is that the discussion that ensued was deeply disturbing to me..." [more inside]
Czech animator Karel Zeman
Karel Zeman was a Czech animator probably best known for his movies Journey to the Beginning of Time and The Fabulous World of Jules Verne. He used stop-motion animation, cartoons, puppetry, colorization, and live action to create surreal and otherworldly films of amazing beauty. Sadly (for some), there's not a lot on the internet in English about the man. [more inside]
What's up, doc?
Channel 4 recreates The Shining to promote its Kubrick season. A 65-second tracking shot through a recreated Shining set, complete with look-alikes.
Synthesizer Porn
Matmos provides a song-by-song exposition of their synth-only* album Supreme Balloon, including explicit pics of the gear they used. Highlights include the Electronic Valve Instrument, the Coupigny, & everything else.
*Mostly - all sound sources were synths, some software controllers were used.
*Mostly - all sound sources were synths, some software controllers were used.
New Zealand War Art
New Zealand War Art showcases about 1,500 images of New Zealanders at war beginning with World War I. Lots and lots and lots and lots of images in a wide variety of media by a long list of artists. [more inside]
The Economic Organisation of a P.O.W. Camp
In the latter years of the second world war, the economist RA Radford was a prisoner of war. After the war ended, he wrote this now well known (if you're an economist) article on the economic structures that emerged in the POW camps. (JSTOR link) [more inside]
Nutrition's his mission, good health's his goal
Remember John Burstein? Since 1975, he has been educating children (including many of us!) about the human body and the importance of health and nutrition in a rather unique way. Like many superheroes before him, he dons a form-fitting suit and transforms into a shocking alter ego... the living anatomical reference, Slim Goodbody! [more inside]
July 5
Johnny Temple
Those familiar with the plaintive falsetto of Delta blues great Skip James will surely hear Skip's influence in the much lesser-known Johnny Temple's Evil Devil Blues, recorded in 1935, which features some delightfully unexpected melodic twists. And though Johnny Temple "never achieved stardom", he does have a Wikipedia page. [more inside]
Here's an idea: I'll post more than a single youtube post, how's that?
Where creative juices come from. Now that you're in the mood, let's get down to some great new creative stuff! What is likely to be ripped off on College Humor next week! Learn how to interrogate a lemon! Previous creative goodness...
Real Danny Deckchairs
While the Darwin awards look away ... cluster ballooning is taking off. More and more people are taking to the sky with a cluster of helium balloons and a lawn chair.
Back-to-school in diapers
Kids at school in nappies. Another report claims the average age of toilet-training is now 3 or 4, compared to the former norm of 18 months. Teachers don't want to change diapers; parents say they don't have time to toilet-train. Is our future a continuum of diapers to Depends?
The Paintings of Fred Einaudi
Wordchamp: hover over a foreign-language word and get its definition
Wordchamp lets you view foreign-language web pages with definitions in your language as mouseovers (registration-only). [more inside]
L’shloshet yamin: “In three days you will know that evil will be defeated by justice”
Gabriel’s Revelation: “This should shake our basic view of Christianity... His mission is that he has to be put to death by the Romans to suffer so his blood will be the sign for redemption to come... This is the conscious view of Jesus himself. This gives the Last Supper an absolutely different meaning.”
How Ordinary People Do Extraordinary Things
MeFite scrumtralescent thought it would be fun to interview people who dared to take a chance and do something cool or exciting, like leaving their jobs to travel for a year, picking up an unusual hobby or starting their own business, and then share these interviews via a website for all to enjoy. So she did, and the result was 'The Life Less Traveled: How Ordinary People Do Extraordinary Things…And How You Can, Too!' [via mefi projects]
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Also, 2 and 3. NSFW due to a tasteless header image. You'll have to arrange by date and ascending to view them in proper order.
... and living on a prayer
Living on the Edge Welcome to Ronda, a beautiful city in southern Spain which is split in two by el Tajo gorge. As a result, certain buildings have been perched on the edge of the gorge’s vertical walls, enormous cliffs bridged by the 200 year old Peunte Neuvo. [more inside]
Your favorite band sucks.
50 Bands, 50 States: The Boston Phoenix declares the best all-time band, best all-time solo artist, and best new band from each state. [more inside]
$4 gas, not that bad
According to TIME, there are at least 10 things good about high gas prices. Such as four-day work weeks, less pollution, and fewer traffic deaths.
RED WORM TIME is begin.
Congratulation! You have a fruit!
A fruit is not ready currently. You must prepare a fruit. The color of a fruit is green. The color of a fruit to taste great and put inside your body is red.
[YES! A link to SomethingAwful "dot com." BUT.] [more inside]
[YES! A link to SomethingAwful "dot com." BUT.] [more inside]
Personal photos from the Pacific (WWII)
According to the photographer's daughter, "All photos in this collection were taken by then Lt. and later Capt. George S. White, my Father, while he was serving in the Pacific as a pilot. They are generally between 1945 and 1948 from what is documented."
My favorites? The barmaid or postwar Tokyo or wrecked planes and airplane graveyards.
JR Williams
J.R. Williams is a prolific comics artist with a distinctive visual style 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. He is fond of fanciful takes on pop culture icons like Quisp and Yogi Bear, as well as more ribald characterizations like Polly Purebred and Jane Jetson (NSFW) More recently he has branched out into abstraction, which might be characterized as psychedelic pictographs.
The good kind of Noise. And the non-racist kind of White.
Simply Noise. Streaming white noise for your auditory zen needs. That is all. That is enough.
John McCain, Prisoner of War
John McCain, Prisoner of War: A First-Person Account. Originally appeared in the May 14, 1973, issue of U.S.News & World Report. "My six years of hell" is a February 2008 extract from McCain's book Faith of My Fathers.
Super Jesus!!!
Jack English American presents I Hate Britain Day.
(Just pretend it's yesterday, ok? And ignore the Baywatch chick.) [more inside]
(Just pretend it's yesterday, ok? And ignore the Baywatch chick.) [more inside]
Is Day Care a luxury or a benefit?
On Day Care, Google Makes a Rare Fumble You’re probably guessing that because it involves “do no evil” Google, Fortune magazine’s “Best Company to Work For” the past two years, this is a heart-warming tale of a good company reversing a dumb decision. If only.
Freaky Face Paint
Face + Paint = ! Astonishing effects using the human face as canvas.
Eat it
Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% - far more than previously estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian. [more inside]
You know who else had his head torn off?
Displaying Hitler alongside celebrities, pop stars, world statesmen and sporting heroes at the new Madame Tussauds in Berlin was a bit controversial to begin with. And it didn't last long before one of the first visitors literally tore off the Fuehrer's head.
July 4
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Don't want to hassle with going to an amusement park? Build your own rollercoaster!
Journey to the center of the brain
Mapping the Structural Core of Human Cerebral Cortex. A new study of the connections in the brain has identified the brain's central hub.
I Never Drink Water, Fish F**K In It
The head is not a percussion instrument
"Several songs on the instrumental album were voted Best in Genre, and then shortly after that I was flown out to Los Angeles and nominated Independent Artist of the Year by the Association of Independent Artists." Until age 40, he'd never played piano. Then he suffered a concussion.. Also, cavemen sang -- and maybe echo-located. Where? Where they painted their cave art.
Jack Parsons
Jack "Marvel" Whiteside Parsons was the right hand man to Aleister Crowley, a founder of modern US rocket science, and early partner to L Ron Hubbard. Celebrate July 4th by investigating this major character in the birth of our age. [more inside]
They could photograph reality, but they can't picture your fantasy
'Nick Veasey uses x-ray technology to create mesmerizing and intriguing art.'
Regrets? I have a few, but then again...
Decision on FISA delayed
Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) delayed. Senator Dodd says, "This bill does not say, 'Trust the American people; Trust the courts and judges and juries to come to just decisions.' Retroactive immunity sends a message that is crystal clear: 'Trust me.'" Obama talks about why he supports the bill. Senate may vote after the Fourth of July recess. (previously)
Capturing Fireworks
Former United States Senator Jesse Helms, 1921 - 2008.
Gotta call for Phil Mccracken? Somebody, please? Phil McCracken?
Canada's own Phil McCracken offers a guitar tutorial for folks just starting out. If guitar isn't your thing, how about keyboards? Bodybuilding? Also, ladies, he's available!
A New World Is At Hand
These are the documents that started it all. The Charters of Freedom. As the USA celebrates another Independence Day, the National Archives presents the historical development of the Declaration, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, and their impact upon the nation and the world.
"...the geek factor is high, there's no doubt..."
July 3
Those barricades can only hold for so long
Twenty years ago this week, the biggest escape ever over the Berlin Wall took place, but the event went nearly unreported outside of the two Germanies. The 182 persons who jumped over the Wall in the early morning hours of 1 July 1988, instead of leaving East Germany, fled in the opposite direction (scroll down to "Wolfgang Ritter") to escape the West Berlin police. East German border guards waited with trucks on the other side of the Wall in the middle of the death strip to pick up the wall-hopping protesters; they were driven to another location, served breakfast, and then taken to the Friedrichsstrasse crossing to West Berlin with the admonition to "use the usual border crossing next time." [more inside]
the doggy in the window
There She Is, Step 3: Doki and Nabi
We've seen the first two episodes. First they met, then they celebrated her birthday together. Now it's time for step 3: Doki (the rabbit) and Nabi (the cat) have their first date. [more inside]
eh?
Woman develops spontaneous Newfie accent after suffering a stroke. I'm not making this up. [more inside]
Canadian Brass
The brass quintet Canadian Brass is both venerable--it's been around 38 years--and prolific--its discography is as long as your arm. While they often play classical arrangements, they also mix in jazz and blues, along with a complement of showmanship and humor. (Also, they play Flight of the Bumblebee on the tuba.) [Mouseover for titles.]
The Book of Accidents
The Book of Accidents: Designed for Young Children (1831). "In presenting to his little readers The Book of Accidents, the Author conceives he cannot render a more important service to the rising generation and to parents, than by furnishing them with an account of the accidents to which Children, from their inexperience or carelessness, are liable. If generally studied it will save the lives of thousands, and relieve many families from the long and unavailing misery attendant on such occurrences." [Via]
Sexual Surrogacy
Sexual Healing. "Sad stories and otherwise freaky tales from Florida's last sexual surrogate." A longish article, and fascinating.
Journey's of Franz K
The Travels of Franz Kafka , a website that chronicles the many places and social interactions of Franz. A photographic journal collection of his life as he traveled. For your enjoyment, today being the 125th Anniversary of Franz Kafka's birthday. Cheers.
P'ansori: Korea's National Cultural Intangible Treasure
Pansori (aka P'ansori) is a genre of Korean folk music produced by travelling musicians, a singer accompanied by a lone drummer. Rooted in seventeenth century folk tales, by the 1960's, Pansori was in danger of dying out completely, when the director Im Kwon-taek made the film Sopyonje. [more inside]
Bozo the Clown dead at 83
With a big red shoe, Bozo has kicked the bucket. Larry Harmon, AKA Bozo the clown, gone to heavenly syndication.
Follows next a period spannin'/ Four long years with James Buchanan...
In honor of the Fourth, I give you the 50 States and their Capitals, the U.S. Presidents, and in hopes for a better future, what the hell, all the Nations of the World. [more inside]
City of Montréal drops charges against graffiti artist... and then hires him
Montreal Graffiti/Street artist Roadsworth, who was arrested in 2005 and faced up to 250 000$ in fines, is back on the streets, this time with a permit and a commission. Interestingly, the title of the new piece (which stretches across multiple intersections on downtown Sainte-Catherine street) is "Défense d'Afficher", which means "No Postering". It seems as though he's commenting on the role of art and advertisement in public space, but maybe that's just my take. Thoughts? For a more in-depth discussion, read the Torontoist's article on graffiti), and for more examples, check out Vandalist, the same blog's photostream of T.O. street art, Streetsy, a great photoblog showing off various street art from around the world, and, of course, Flickr's STREETART pool.
Chuff, Chuff, Chuff, Chuff, Wooo! Woooo!
Seventy years ago today a world land speed record was set that has never been broken... on July 3, 1938 LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard reached the giddy speed of 126mph. [more inside]
Putin' on the Ritz
Introducing Heinrich Kley
Who? Only one of the supreme German graphic artists of his time, that's all. Long an acknowledged influence among illustrators, animators and cartoonists, he is probably known primarily for a couple of Dover Books collection of his sketchbook art that were published back in the 60s and are now hard to find. [more inside]
African Bloggers
Internet in Africa is more than just Nigerian spam. There are honest African bloggers who fight corrupt government and police to go where mainstream journalists dare not. Compare their blogging experience with your own. Imagine the government calling you over the phone at night and questioning about a particular post you just wrote.
Body Mod 2.0
Some of us are into body art. Some are into customizing our laptops. This crazy bastich laser-etches his own skin. Yowza.
The Top Public Intellectuals
Prospect/Foreign Policy release their list of the world's top public intellectuals(full list). Number 1? The Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen.
The rest of the top 10? The microfinancier Muhammad Yunus, the cleric Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the writer Orhan Pamuk, the politician Aitzaz Ahsan, the evangelist Amr Khaled, the philosopher Abdolkarim Soroush, the philosopher Tariq Ramadan, the cultural theorist Mahmood Mamdani and activist Shirin Ebadi. Sense a theme? Yes, all Muslims.
This is a striking turnabout from the 2005 poll topped by Chomsky, Eco and Dawkins.
What happened? Prospect Magazine explains. The Turkish newspaper Zaman weighs in. The UK's Independent is outraged. Fethulah Gulen defends himself.
The rest of the top 10? The microfinancier Muhammad Yunus, the cleric Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the writer Orhan Pamuk, the politician Aitzaz Ahsan, the evangelist Amr Khaled, the philosopher Abdolkarim Soroush, the philosopher Tariq Ramadan, the cultural theorist Mahmood Mamdani and activist Shirin Ebadi. Sense a theme? Yes, all Muslims.
This is a striking turnabout from the 2005 poll topped by Chomsky, Eco and Dawkins.
What happened? Prospect Magazine explains. The Turkish newspaper Zaman weighs in. The UK's Independent is outraged. Fethulah Gulen defends himself.
Short and Scrappy
Nation Buys Porn With Stimulus Package (no, not from the Onion)
Bush Stimulates The Porn Industry With His Economic Package When President Bush announced his economic stimulus in January, he bragged that his package was “large enough to have an impact" and would “boost” the economy. It sure has led to “higher consumer spending”, but not where Bush had probably hoped. The adult pornography industry reports that has seen a huge uptick in business thanks to Bush’s package. According to a press release from the Adult Internet Market Research Company. A case of tax relief translating into a venti latte with full release?
wobniaR eht revO erehwemoS
This is utterly delightful: Tara Busch sings the first line from "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" backwards. Of course, you'll wanna check out how well she did it by watching it, um, forwards. Yep, she nailed it. I think I'm in love. [more inside]
Being slightly evil ensures a prolific sex life
'Bad is good as a mating strategy' (NewScientist PDF | plain text). "Nice guys knew it, now two studies have confirmed it: bad boys get the most girls." Being slightly evil ensures a prolific sex life according to a survey of more than 35,000 people in 57 countries. (ABC News: Why Nice Guys Finish Last).
WhoTubes?
Google has been ordered to turn over all of its electronic records of the videos watched by users on YouTube to Viacom. The 12 terabytes of data include records of every video watched by every user, including the user's login name (if any) and IP address. Google had complained that the disclosure would invade user's privacy, but this argument was blunted somewhat by Google's earlier statement that IP Addresses are not, in and of themselves, personally identifying information. Google was also ordered to turn over certain other information, including its video classification database schema, but was not ordered to turn over information regarding videos marked as private, its source code, or its advertising database schema.
Design Ideas, Web Trends, and Tutorials
Web Designer Wall is the personal weblog of Nick La who is N.Design Studio. He talks about design ideas he has, design tutorials from Photoshop to CSS, etc., and trends in modern web design. (see previous)
July 2
Phyta
Servigliano Calling
‘Even to this day the diary has a slight aroma of cocoa,’ says Steve Dickinson about a diary kept by his uncle Robert Dickinson while a prisoner at Servigliano, an Italian war camp, in the 1940s. The diary has a cover made of old cocoa tins (hence the smell) with a broadcast aerial design incorporating the title 'Servigliano Calling.' It begins with his capture by the Germans in November 1941, and finishes, about six months before his death, in September 1944. Via The Diary Junction blog.
Happy Birthday, Justice Marshall
"He grew up in a ruthlessly discriminatory world -- a world in which segregation of the races was pervasive and taken for granted, where lynching was common, where the black man's inherent inferiority was proclaimed widely and wantonly. Thurgood Marshall had the capacity to imagine a radically different world, the imaginative capacity to believe that such a world was possible, the strength to sustain that image in the mind's eye and the heart's longing, and the courage and ability to make that imagined world real." Born July 2, 1908, died January 25, 1993. Had he lived, he would have been 100 years old today.
title
Melt it down and make it into a coat hanger.
Canada allows for legal abortions, thanks to Dr. Henry Morgentaler, who yesterday received the Order of Canada. He was instrumental in the fight against the abortion provision in the Criminal Code of Canada; the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that said provision was unconstitutional, as it violated a woman's right under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to "security of person." Morgantaler served time in prison for his trouble but was eventually acquitted. That he received the Order of Canada has of course enraged anti-abortion groups, and has deeply annoyed some pundits.
The Prognosis, Doc?
Two years since Massachusetts instituted major statewide healthcare reform, the statistics are coming in. 340,000 residents, roughly half the state's previously uninsured, are now insured. The state says that 95% of its population is now covered, based on Department of Revenue estimates. However, a large portion of them are enrolled through state-subsidized insurance programs, and those program's rate of enrollment have far outpaced estimates. This has led lawmakers to forsee a budget shortfall. Premiums and co-pays are going up, cigarette taxes have increased, and a cost control proposal is making its way through the legislature. Assessments have been all over the map.
"Ecology is not just an urgency of the economy and protection of our world but also creativity and elegance"
Europa Film Treasures
Europa Film Treasures is a new window onto the film archivers of Europe, and "All genres are on the playbill! From comedy to science fiction, from westerns to animation, from erotic to ethnological movies..." take some time to explore the European side of carefully preserved film history.
The Head, the Hands, and the Heart
After 80 years, a complete version of Fritz Lang's Metropolis has been discovered in Buenos Aires. [more inside]
Fixing Attention
"Why not put the girls to work?"
The Solar Bra really doesn't make sense if your undergarments are going to stay under. Adrienne So examines the kinetic angle. Or, maybe this is as simple as breathing.
Ingrid Is Free (reportedly)
Ingrid Betancourt has reportedly been rescued by the Colombian Army. The former presidential candidate had been held hostage since 2002 by the FARC. Ever since, an intense campaign for her release had mobilised, among others, French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez (not always very wisely). Recent pictures of her weren't particularly reassuring. Ultimately, it apppears that the repeated raids of the Colombian armed forces have been more successful in securing her release. Now, let's hope the other 700 hostages follow.
TV "Firsts"
This post about TV "firsts" got me to thinking about other first-time events not mentioned in the article. What was the first closed-captioned show? What was the first Pay-TV station? When did television sets start including a standard UHF dial?
Faceless People
Mysterious faceless people have been attending prominent London events. Everyone seems to agree that this must be some viral marketing scheme, the most likely culprit being Group Lotus cars who have the facelesspeople.com url. The 'Faceless Ones' were also on Doctor Who forty years ago.
Everybody loves a choo-choo
The Boys and the Subway A father's artistic account of his sons' love of the NYC subway system.
101 is the tastiest number
101 20-Minute Dishes for Inspired Picnics (NY Times link irritatingly spread across multiple pages) from Mark Bittman, who also gave us 101 20-minute appetizers and 101 10-minute meals.
Owney is a tramp, as you can plainly see. Only treat him kindly, and take him along with ye.
Owney the Postal Dog was the unofficial mascot of the U.S. postal service in the 1890s, riding the rails with the mails and accumulating an impressive collection of dog tags on a specially designed vest. He even made it as far as Japan, being issued a special postal class (Registered Dog Package) and an official Japanese passport. After an illustrious career, however, Owney met a sticky end -- shot by the police under dubious circumstances in Toledo in 1897. [more inside]
...if waterboarding does not constitute torture, then there is no such thing as torture.
You may have read by now the official lie about this treatment, which is that it “simulates” the feeling of drowning. This is not the case. You feel that you are drowning because you are drowning—or, rather, being drowned, albeit slowly and under controlled conditions and at the mercy (or otherwise) of those who are applying the pressure.Christopher Hitchens, Iraq War supporter, militant atheist, and now volunteer subject of waterboarding. With video.
Anyone in the mood for a bit of Yağlı Güreş?
Every culture has its own way of expressing its masculinity. It so happens that in Turkey this involves a lot of oil, bare chests, physical contact, and putting your hands down your opponents kisbet. [more inside]
Loading Ready Run: Internets Funnymans
Loading.Ready.Run is a group of people who make funny videos on the Internet. They're also giant geeks, which makes their material more obscure to most people, but more hilarious to me. [more inside]
Music of the spheres
Earth is not a quiet planet. It transmits a rather hideous sound [flash] into space that is 10,000 times greater in strength than any man-made radio transmission. The Earth also quietly hums with seismic Love Waves (hear them), while the Magnetosphere is alive will all sorts of sounds (check out the creepy-sounding Chorus Emissions). Also, stars sing out in middle C before they explode as supernovae, and the Perseus Cluster black hole has droned a B-flat for the past 2.5 billion years.
Lester Brown's Plan B 3.0
In Lester R. Brown's new book Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (2008, full-text)) - an update to Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble (2006, full-text) - he calls for a war-time mobilization (ch.13) to save global civilization (already showing Early Signs of Decline (ch.6)) from Deteriorating Oil and Food Security (ch.2), Rising Temperatures and Rising Seas (ch.3), Emerging Water Shortages (ch.4), and Natural Systems Under Stress (ch.5)
Sing, Mr. Ambassador, sing!
Now that's what I call diplomacy! The US ambassador to Paraguay has become a music sensation in the country after recording an album of folk songs in the indigenous Guarani language. [more inside]
3-second Men
2 July 1863, second day of Gettysburg. Sickles has pulled his III Corps -- without orders -- off of Cemetery Ridge and positioned it a half mile in front of the rest of the Union lines. Longstreet smashes the hapless III Corps and its men are in full flight. Hancock rides back and forth inside the gaping hole left by Sickles. Below him, almost 2000 men of Wilcox's brigade are charging up the slope. They will gain a foothold on the ridge and be reinforced by Lee. As Longstreet pins down the Union left, Lee will roll up the center and right of the Northern army and chase them from the field. He will then march on and take Washington before turning north along the eastern seaboard. Lee will capture and burn Philadelphia and Boston in his March Along the Sea, chasing the Northern government from city to city until Lincoln finally sues for peace and the union is no more.
Suddenly, a line of blue-coated soldiers comes into Hancock's view. "My God, is this all the men here? Who are you?" "1st Minnesota, sir." "See those colors?", says Hancock, pointing at the flags of the oncoming Confederates, "Take them." [more inside]
Power from the people!
The Green Dragon, a roller coaster at Greenwood Forest Park, a family 'attraction' in Wales, generates more power than it uses. How is this possible? It's all those stairs ... [more inside]
Sha-pow or something. Or, rather, lack thereof.
Batman and Robin De-Assified. So, some anonymous gentleman has apparently tried to make a Joel Schumacher motion picture watchable. Gotta love comic geeks. [more inside]
Who's the blond?
This Spring Swedish super-blogger Blondinbella aka Isabella Löwengrip is causing a huge controversy in Sweden. 17 year old Isabella Löwengrip writes Sweden's most read and most discussed blog, Blondinbella. (Here is number two FWIW.) Löwengrip started blogging to recruit members to the political party Moderaterna (what passes for right wing in Sweden) but she discovered readers were far more interested in reading about what she was wearing. [more inside]
Search+mashup=smashup
Viewzi is a kind of metasearch tool built around 'views'. It's kind of the antiGoogle in that it's not so much for quick answers as for idle looking around, and it's all about the UI, but it's interesting and pretty and kind of fun. Beta, naturally, and fully buzzword compliant. Flash haters will probably hate it. Usability people may have an aneurism. That's OK. [via] [more inside]
July 1
I've got a gut feeling. . . this could work
Rare English Gandhi Recording from 1947
Saying His Peace: Rare Recording of Speech by Gandhi Landed in Safe, if Unknowing, Hands. [Via Linkfilter]
We salute you, General Hammond
Character actor Don S. Davis, known for his portrayal of Dana Scully's father Captain Scully on The X Files, Major Garland Briggs on Twin Peaks, and Colonel George Hammond on Stargate, passed away Sunday at the age of 65. Even if you don't remember him from those roles, if you take a look at his IMDB page, you will probably recognize him from something. He had a gift for taking stereotypical military roles and bringing a warmth and gentleness to them. One of his final roles was in the Stargate movie Continuum, which will premiere on DVD this month.
鳥捉魚 bird catch fish
For over a thousand years, fishermen all over the world have been using cormorants to help them fish in lakes and rivers. In Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, cormorant fishing on the Nagara river has continued uninterrupted for the past 1,300 years. In Guilin and Yangshuo, China, cormorant birds are famous for fishing on the shallow Lijiang River. The islands of the Beaver Island archipelago in Northern Lake Michigan host what may be the densest concentration of the big, black diving birds on the continent, an estimated 50,000 that eat about 9 million pounds of fish from the surrounding waters from spring through fall. Fishermen and tourism interests want the state and federal governments to cut the number of double-crested cormorants around the Beaver Island group by half, raising the ire of bird lovers and animal-rights activists who say the cormorants aren't at the root of the problem.
I want a girl with a long skirt and a loooooong jacket.
Apparently, no clothing is more exciting or controversial than an ankle-length skirt and puffed sleeves. The FLDS has launched an online store where members of the general public can purchase the dresses, long underwear, and other ranch-wear "as seen on TV." [more inside]
Are you a witch, or are you a fairy, or are you the wife of myself, Michael Cleary?
Early in July of 1895, a grand jury convened and returned an indictment against Michael Cleary of Ballyvadlea, Co. Tipperary, for the murder of his wife, Bridget. Bridget Cleary had been set on fire and burned to death in the hearth of the Cleary house, in front of family and friends, because Michael Cleary said she was a fairy changeling, and not his wife at all. That night, he sat for hours near a Kylenagranagh cairn with a silver knife, insisting the true Bridget would soon ride past on a white horse, and he could cut her bonds and set her free. [more inside]
Kelpie Sculpture Part of Boat Lift
The functional giant Kelpie heads would rock backwards and forwards as part of a mechanism allowing boats to move through Scotland's lowland canal network. "Although the Kelpie legend does talk of the mythical creatures luring seafarers into the water, British Waterways is quick to point out that anyone travelling through the boat lift will be given a small bridle which according to legend would tame the creature and allow safe passage." (via they must need bears)
Davy Crockett ain't got shit on me!
chainsaw maid
Bringing Down Bear Stearns
Bringing Down Bear Stearns, from Vanity Fair's August issue.
Liquid mirror telescopes
A liquid mirror telescope is made by spinning a reflective fluid, such as mercury, at a constant rate. This rotation produces a parabolic surface, which is an ideal shape for a telescope mirror. (You can try this yourself.) While these mirrors can be built to be large and orders of magnitude cheaper than solid mirrors, they have the disadvantage that they can only look straight up. Creating mirrors this way is not new; they have a history [.ps] that dates back to Newton. However, they have recently regained attention as the technology behind proposals to build an enormous (20m+) telescope on the moon. (A less technical treatment here.)
KA-BOOM!!!!
"Unenjoyably Difficult!" - Gamepro
"We're not building a themed adventure for Mega Man; just kill him!" Where does Mega Man's nemesis get his wonderful toys? How much does it cost to construct big spikes? Can one add ice blocks to the magnet level without violating a building code? It's not easy being in the Dr. Wily business.
Wei Wu Wei
Terence Gray was an English born aristocrat of an Irish family. He tried his hand at Egyptology, drama and theater, but gave it up to keep the family vineyards in the Monaco. He owned the winner of the 1957 Ascot Gold cup. He also became a mystic. [more inside]
Today in History: The Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg started on this day in 1863. Here are some essays on Gettysburg from MilitaryHistoryOnline. Here is a virtual tour with photos and maps.
Harshing your mellow
... --- ...
Happy 100th Birthday to SOS. “Send SOS,” one of the Titanic’s radio operators supposedly said to another after the famous ship struck that infamous iceberg. “It’s the new call and besides this may be your last chance to send it.”
That “new call” is 100 years old today... (via the J-Walk blog)
BREAKING NEWS: Americans Love War, Drugs, see War on Drugs as No-Brainer
A new WHO study finds that Americans by far lead the world in rates of illegal drug use, despite America's crusading role in prosecuting the Global War on Drugs. [more inside]
Wow-e: Malthusian Fear Mongering Can Be Annoying
While the latest Pixar/Disney animated film, Wall-E (teasers, trailers and clips) debuted as the No. 1 movie this past weekend and has been met with critical acclaim, including a 97% "Fresh Rating" at RottenTomatoes and a 93% ranking by critics and 90% by viewers at MetaCritic, the film has outraged the radical right. "[M]y kids were bombarded with leftist propaganda about the evils of mankind..." "...I will do my part to avoid future environmental armageddon by boycotting any and all WALL-E merchandise and I hope others join my crusade." "I agree that the Malthusian fear mongering was annoying."* [more inside]
Old Parliament House
Billy Hughes at War ― As Australia’s prime minister for most of the First World War, he steered the nation through the horrors of the war and the debates of the peace settlement. You can enter the conscription debate and examine political cartoons from the era. Billy Hughes provided Australia an independent voice on the world stage. [more inside]
My Gracious. Stingrays are migratious.
"W/ Extra Duck"
Massacre at Fort Pillow
"Nothing in the history of the Rebellion has equaled in inhumanity and atrocity the horrid butchery at Fort Pillow, on the 13th of April, 1864. In no other school than slavery could human beings have been trained to such readiness for cruelties like these. Accustomed to brutality and bestiality all their lives, it was easy for them to perpetrate the atrocities which will startle the civilized foreign world, as they have awakened the indignation of our own people."
Is it jazz? Listen, bud...
The swingin' sounds of Spider-Man! After years of searching, Kliph Nesteroff found original reels of the incidental music to the classic Ralph Bakshi Spider-Man cartoon, and has included most of the masters in his podcast. [more inside]
Pluribo
Hello friends and lovers -- Food Party
"Food Party is a (would-be) TV cooking show with a spicy saigon kitchen-witch as your hostess, a cast of unruly puppets as culinary advisors, and a cavalcade of hip-hop/sports world celebrities as surprise dinner guests. Shot on location in a technicolor cardboard kitchen, each episode will instruct you on how to prepare wild gourmet multi-course meals with ingredients you probably have on hand in your kitchen already, such as pretzel rods, cheese puffs, eggs, sugar, secret ingredients, and pizza. After all, you never know who might show up for dinner." [more inside]
Talkin' 'bout the old style too: dawn Landes & the We Sorta Tried Bluegrass Band
dawn Landes & the We Sorta Tried Bluegrass Band perform a rather charming version of Peter, Bjorn and John's Young Folks [SLYT]. [more inside]
Cunard Yanks
They were Britain's pop culture pioneers, bringing back American music and fashions to a nation still starved by post-war rationing and austerity. They paved the way for The Beatles. Meet the Liverpool Merchant Seamen known as the Cunard Yanks.
Bicycle Lock / Planter - get your bike out of the hall
Bicycle Lock / Planter This is a very simple invention. It is a big planter that you put in the waste of space at the front of your house and lock your bike to it. I had seen them popping up here and there in London but only found out today where they came from. Great video of the strength test - esp the freeze and then hit with a big hammer.
Mexican aerophones
Mexican Aerophones are wind musical instruments or artifacts that can generate sounds or noise with air jets and one or several resonator chambers of globular, tubular and other shapes. Roberto Velasquez, a mechanical engineer, has recreated some of these aerophones. Example sounds: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (.wav files)