January 27, 2017
“I'm not very good at playing the game.”
The Voice Behind 'The Witcher' Is A College Professor [Eurogamer] “He isn't gruff, either, or arrogantly aloof. He is mild-mannered and friendly. And as we walk to an onsite cafe for a cup of coffee we make everyday small talk about students leaving for Christmas and oh my isn't it getting cold. He buys me a coffee with a handful of change from his fleece pocket. It is an entirely unremarkable situation. Then I hear his American accent, half growl, half purr, and I remember who he is, like it's some kind of secret, like he's wearing some kind of disguise. I realise I know, and I'm not the only one. "I don't know when people really clock," he says, "some of my students I think still don't know. I do share it when I'm recording something; if the students ask, I'll tell them. But I was supposed to be very tight-lipped about The Witcher 3 so I didn't say a lot about it. I got told off once for just tweeting. But the ones who were listening knew.”
Cats ... Opium for the Masses ... Are You at Risk?
When The Art Assignment featured Nina Katchadourian, she was sifting through the personal library of William S. Burroughs to create the Kansas Cut-Up series in her Sorted Books project (more sorted books: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9; Katchadourian previously: 1 2 3). A follow-up episode very briefly displayed viewer responses. There have been many more assignment / response episodes--most recently, a challenge from Houston artist Jamal Cyrus (see especially Pride Record findings--Tokyo, 2005-2016) to visually suggest an impossible sound--but The Art Assignment is refocusing on its Art Trips and The Case For series.
John Hurt: 1940-2017
He was Olivander, that's true, and the War Doctor. But he was also John Merrick, Kane, and Winston Smith. John Hurt has died at the age of 77.
“Yeah he got bands in the Bando / Missy got dudes in Orlando”
Japan has its first native-born yokozuna for 19 years
Kisenosato Yutaka has been officially named the 72nd yokozuna, the highest rank achievable in sumo. After logging several years of solid performances and second places at the second-highest rank of ozeki, Kisenosato finally won his first tournament last week, removing the last obstacle to his promotion. [more inside]
¡El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido!
Need a rousing song for your marches? In 1973, Chilean composer Sergio Ortega and the folk group Quilapayún wrote the ultimate political marching song, ¡El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido! (Inti-Illimani, 2010, goosebumps start at 1m:10s) in support of Salvador Allende. After the 1973 Chilean coup the song became the anthem of the Chilean resistance and has since become a universal protest song (wikipedia). [more inside]
The Last Jedi (Singular/Plural/Only A Callback)
With only about 323 days until the next Star Wars theatrical release, Lucasfilm has announced the title of Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. As to be expected, rampant discussion followed as to who or whom the title referred to, including a bold attempt by the fearless Josh Gad to get answers from Daisey Ridley. [more inside]
Unlocking the world's most unsolvable puzzles
The Millennium 13 piece burr, designed by Donald Osselaer in 2012, is thought to be almost unassailable in its stubbornness not be solved. Check out the Millennium and other wickedly difficult puzzles. There's a puzzle wiki, of course. For state of the art stuff, check out the annual Puzzle Design Competition.
The Lost Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a unique form of the "battle royale" in pro wrestling. Instead of beginning the match with all participants in the ring, the Royal Rumble has a new entrant running in to the ring every two minutes, adding up to anywhere from 12 to 40 total participants.
But it almost never happened, because Vince McMahon thought the idea was "stupid." [more inside]
Kids: don't believe the Vole troll!
Her Name Was Glynis
Now for the sad story (CTRL+F "Now for a sad story") behind The Smashing Pumpkins' dreamy song Glynis. [more inside]
Publicizing the horrors
Shocked by the conditions he discovered at a liberated Nazi concentration camp, General Eisenhower took decisive action to ensure that the horrors of the Holocaust were never dismissed as propaganda. (via The Presidential Timeline) [cw: pictures taken in concentration camps]
An interesting week of politics has occurred in a former British colony
Exactly a week after attaining power, the 45th and popular vote-losing President of the 240 year old United States of America continues novaturient actions and promises such as a wall, to rescind other things, and to investigate things which may not exist. While allegedly refractory, he also allegedly has size "issues", fulminating at the numbers involved in the global and extremely well attended Women's March in comparison to his less impressive inauguration, while his initial approval rating craters. His press secretary, in between struggling with a basic 140 character service, angrily amplified his bosses grievances. Yesterday T(h)eresa May, the Prime Minister of Her Majesty's realm on an unbipartisan trip, addressed Republicans; today, she meets the current POTUS. Meanwhile, vote suppression and electability continue, with less than 22 months to the crucial midterm elections.
Tiffany Richardson Doesn't Need You to Root for Her Anymore
"Since Tyra Banks yelled “We were rooting for you!” on America’s Next Top Model, it’s become one of the most iconic moments in reality TV history, and one of the most inescapable GIFs on the internet. Now, more than a decade since Banks flipped on contestant Tiffany Richardson, the former model hopeful reveals what viewers didn’t see, how she feels about Banks, and how far she’s come."
Selling The Past: A Story From Tbilisi
"I focused on one part of the market and set about creating a 360-degree panorama of everyone and everything in my field of view. And after nearly four months of work, always standing in the same place, it became a four-metre-long ink drawing." Artist Andrew North has drawn a 360-degree panorama of the Eliava Bazaar in Tblisi, Georgia. [more inside]
The Woman at the Center of the Emmett Till Case
With a renewed cultural interest in the 1955 murder that catalyzed the 20th century civil rights movement, an interview with the author of a new book who tracked down the long-hidden woman at its center.
Fellow prisoners...
In Times of Crisis, find solace and inspiration in the lucid voices of cultural critic John Berger (recently departed) and leading intellectual Noam Chomsky. [more inside]
Thundercat's new single features Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald
You might know him from collaborations with Kendrick Lamarr, Flying Lotus, and Erykah Badu, but Thundercat is a "multi-genre bassist, producer and singer" in his own right.
The first single from his upcoming album Drunk, "Show You The Way" somewhat unexpectedly features yacht rockers Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald. [more inside]
How a sex site left member data open to anyone
"...the editors found that at that time, thousands of personal images that members had uploaded in order to join Skirt Club were accessible to non-members – photos of users partially or fully naked, often recognisable, sometimes even with their names mentioned in the image. You didn't need to hack the site to see – they weren't password protected and anyone curious enough to make a bit of an effort could view and download the photos." [nsfw]
Have you ever wondered what goes on inside a Mormon temple?
An ex-mormon, whose internet moniker is NewNameNoah, goes into temples and records secret Mormon rituals with a hidden camera. He has recorded a baptism for the dead, a prayer circle, and the entire endowment ceremony, which Mormons believe is essential to their salvation. The videos are choppy at the very beginning, but they settle down. The reddit ex-mormon community discusses his work here.
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