April 12, 2011
Freelancer covering Tohoku Disaster(s)
Covering Tohoku The Foreign Correspondent's Club of Japan (FCCJ) has posted a special edition of its No. 1 Shimbun covering the Tohoku Earthquake: FCCJ members, many of them freelancers, were the first on the scene after the quake and have led coverage since. Weeks after the global media pack left, they're still here. There's articles by veteran Japan reporters such as Charles Pomeroy who recently retired to Otsuchi after covering Japan for 50 years, to newer stringers such as Gavin Blair who worked as a "fixer" for foreign prima-donna journos dashing in and out of the disaster zone. There is a photo by photographer Rob Gilhooly who recently made a heartbreaking trip into the exclusion zone near the plants. Although not included in No 1 Shimbun, freelancer Yas Idei provides a Japanese perspective (in English) about the multiple disasters. Idei's piece about Rokkashomura is pretty enlightening, frightening, and depressing.
"Just a free lunch that never ends."
Why is the Federal Reserve forking over $220 million in bailout money to the wives of two Morgan Stanley bigwigs? The Real Housewives of Wall Street (via) [more inside]
Much like the political career
David Byrne Takes On The Man. Good ole Charlie [Crist], used Bryne's (Talking Heads) song, Road to Nowhere, during Crist's failed run for Senator of FL in 2010, without permission, without licenses.
The lawsuit that was filed was settled this week, which culminated in Crist issuing a YouTube apology.
Crist also told the Associated Press that Byrne "couldn't have been more of a gentlemen" when the two met to settle the case.
How to Get a Real Education, by Scott Adams
I need help with my garrys mod.
Garry Newman, the creator of the insanely popular Garry's Mod, which is a sandbox game that uses Valve's Source Engine, has come up with an ingenious way to catch people who pirate the game.
My cell phone connects me with my friends and also calculates logarithms
Are graphical calculators pointless? Graphical calculators are required by many college-level math courses, but they don't perform as well as mobile phones. Pedagogically, they may be less useful than a slide rule. [more inside]
A nation of fickle fools
We care about climate change, but we hate the idea of having to do anything about it. Professor of Public Ethics at CAPPE, Clive Hamilton (also author of Requiem for a Species and Affluenza), tells it like it is on climate change policy in Australia.
Square pizza slices have a permanent place in my heart
Little Village Elementary Academy on Chicago's West Side has prohibited students from bringing packed lunches from home, unless they have a medical excuse. Despite stricter nutritional standards implemented by the Chicago Public Schools last year to help curb childhood obesity, some parents are not happy. (Tangentially, I watched this clip about the school food in France and got sort of jealous.)
Science museum adds to membership
``Several people had pledged their penises over the years — including an American, a Briton, and a German — but Arason's was the first to be successfully donated, Hjartarson said.'' [more inside]
Music sounds better with you
IOU Blue
The IOWEYOU project. You can't go to a shop and buy these clothes. Because each textile is unique they have an app that allows you to trace your garment right back through the production process to the actual weaver that hand-wove the fabric. You can see some of the delightful people involved in the project at their YouTube channel.
Huffin'n'puffin' for Arianna and nuthin' to show for it
Thank you for visiting HuffingtonPostLawsuit.com. On April 12, 2011 Plaintiff Jonathan Tasini, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a federal class action lawsuit against The HuffingtonPost.com, Inc., AOL Inc., Arianna Huffington and Kenneth Lerer for unjust enrichment and deceptive business practices. For more information, please see a copy of the complaint or contact Kurzon Strauss LLP.
Soda > Slander & Lies
1980SLYT: Kim Mitchell* - "Go For a Soda" (1984). In whiche our protagonist experiences his favorite rock singer (1) step out of the television, (2) do a little dance on the table, and (3) join his band in the refrigerator. All while singing a Hard Rock Anthem about the joys of S-O-D-A. [ *wiki • via the voice of great antiquity's great blog post about being a contestant on Jeopardy. via jessamyn ]
Enhance, Rotate, Zoom in.
An amazing bit of photoshoppery transforms an extreme oblique view of a poster into a straight on view.
The Zippo Car
In 1947 Zippo founder George G. Blaisdell celebrated his lighter's success by commisioning the Zippo Car. [more inside]
We're going back... to the current immediate present.
Comic Rock
A Journey's End
Following on the heels of NASA's announcement of the final resting places of the various space shuttles, NASA, in conjunction with William Shatner, released a final video commemorating the program. (SLYT)
Guitar Spin Idiots
Like a travel guide, but crime.
Under this mask, another mask
I'm in training - don't kiss me - Daniel Douglas aka Claude Courlis aka Claude Cahun was a French artist, photographer and self confessed narcissist.
She began a long lasting relationship and collaboration with her stepsister Suzanne Malherbe aka Marcel Moore at an early age.
Cahun was imprisoned by the Nazis and condemmed to death but was released shortly before the war ended. She left a diary; and Jersey Heritage Trust has more.
She was also a writer. A short video of some of her self portraits as a slide show.
She began a long lasting relationship and collaboration with her stepsister Suzanne Malherbe aka Marcel Moore at an early age.
Cahun was imprisoned by the Nazis and condemmed to death but was released shortly before the war ended. She left a diary; and Jersey Heritage Trust has more.
She was also a writer. A short video of some of her self portraits as a slide show.
"Do you know any gay people?" asked Sir Ian McKellen. "Well, you do now. I'm gay."
Stonewall is a UK-based European charity founded as a response to the controversial Section 28 (which prohibited local authorities and teachers from intentionally promoting homosexuality) that was enacted in the UK in 1988. In the decades since being founded, the charity has become well-known for lobbying for gay rights. In 2005, Stonewall started Education for All, a campaign against homophobic bullying and for an inclusive learning environment for all. The charity has included support from famous people before, and now includes Sir Ian McKellen and others going to secondary schools to talk with kids and teachers about homophobia. (via TheophileEscargot on MetaChat)
You Can Call Me Al.
An Ode to Paul Simon's Graceland, now 25. "Here is Simon proving that he could be divorced and soft in the middle and still make an album that put him back on the playing field, and as a center forward. This, too, is why I think the album has been such a mainstay of so many station wagons since the late 80s: It said to those rear ends planted in those drivers’ seats, “Our idols have aged and proven human. They have turned into yuppies like us who smoke weed only occasionally and in comfortable living rooms with Persian rugs and who have kids who play soccer, and that’s okay." Don't miss the covers and rare editions at the the end of the article. Unfortunately they miss Tangoterje's amazing "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" dub edit. Obligatory, the Zimbabwe concert.
The State of White America
In a lecture entitled
The State of White AmericaCharles Murray, a W. H. Brady Scholar of the American Enterprise Institute and co-author of the controversial The Bell Curve, details the thesis of his upcoming book Coming Apart:
Over the last half century, the United States has developed a new lower class and a new upper class that are different in kind from anything America has ever known. The second contention of the book is that the divergence of America into these separate classes, if it continues, will end what has made America America.[more inside]
"If only you knew the power of the Dark Side."
"...perhaps she will." [SLYT] Sariah Gallego Joins the Dark Side.
Juju-enhanced Internet scamming.
The Sakawa Boys: Inside the Bizarre Criminal World of Ghana’s Cyber-Juju Email Scam Gangs is a short documentary about Sakawa, the Nigerian mix of African black magic and Internet scamming that has grown into its own cultural phenomenon, complete with clothing brands, music, and "Nollywood" movies. Previously, we have seen I Go Chop Your Dollar, whose star was subsequently arrested.
See also this (PDF alert!) academic paper on the subject
Humble Bundle 3: Frozenbyte
The Humble Frozenbyte Bundle. It's back! The third Humble Bundle (previously: 1 2) includes Trine, Shadowgrounds, Shadowgrounds: Survivor, and more, all from indie Finnish developer Frozenbyte. Pay what you want and choose how to split the proceeds between the EFF, Child's Play, Frozenbyte, and Humble Bundle Inc.
The guy who says he owns 50% of Facebook produces E-Mails
Paul Ceglia has refiled his lawsuit against Zuckerburg and Facebook. With a much larger law firm. And a lot more evidence. Ceglia has produced more than a dozen of what he says are emails between him and Mark Zuckerberg from July 2003 to July 2004, the year in which Facebook was created. [more inside]
The Washington Post's dependence on the government it covers
Put another way, the company that owns The Washington Post is almost entirely at the mercy of the Federal Government and the Obama administration -- the entities which its newspaper ostensibly checks and holds accountable. "By the end of 2010, more than 90 percent of revenue at Kaplan’s biggest division and nearly a third of The Post Co.’s revenue overall came from the U.S. government." The Post Co.'s reliance on the Federal Government extends beyond the source of its revenue; because the industry is so heavily regulated, any animosity from the Government could single-handedly doom the Post Co.'s business... -- Glenn Greenwald examines WaPo's entanglement with for-profit education
Susan Orlean
Susan Orlean's short essays for The New Yorker have an air of effortlessness to them, as if they were something she just tossed off while taking a break from her more important subjects, but their brevity reveals a true mastery of form, and at their best, they are brimful of surprisingly elegant sentences, self-deprecating wit and a kind of warmly feminine, disarmingly sly charm: On Adopting a Stray Cat :: The Difficulties of E-mail :: The Joys of Snooping :: Books That Changed Her World :: World War I :: Heat Wave :: Fear of Flying :: Chickens
Alcohol Helps the Brain Remember, Says New Study
According to Science Daily a New Study (done on mice) found drinking alcohol primes certain areas of our brain to learn and remember better. When we drink alcohol our subconscious is learning to consume more. But it doesn't stop there. We become more receptive to forming subsconscious memories and habits with respect to food, music, even people and social situations. [more inside]
Inflammation theory of Depression
Have you been keeping up with research on the inflammation theory of depression and mental illness? If you'd like to explore the pathology if inflammatory cytokines in the development of depression, this paper breaks it down. [more inside]
Maybe nuclear power is your problem, too?
The German weekly newspaper Die Zeit shows Americans (and a few Canadians) what a Fukushima-sized evacuation zone might mean to them.
Airline goes out of its way to save sight of a passenger
Imagine this: you live in a fairly remote place and need emergency eye surgery to save your sight that very same day. you get onto a plane but mid-trip your flight gets cancelled because of a technical problem. flying with most airlines we know would mean you'd miss your surgery and be in a pretty tough spot.
but not when you're flying SAS. instead of leaving you stranded with a voucher, the airline found a replacement aircraft at another airport, flew it over to the passenger and got her to her surgery on time (original article). there is a lot going wrong in the airline industry these days but in my book that's pretty awesome.
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