April 19, 2008
Mental Illness Might Be Caused By Microbes
Are you batshitinsane? Viruses and/or bacteria may be the cause.
Michael Pollan: Why Bother?
Why bother? "That really is the big question facing us as individuals hoping to do something about climate change," by Michael Pollan.
"Yes"
Can you trust a television military analyst?
Television military analysts are wooed, courted, and privileged by the Pentagon. An in-depth investigative report by the New York Times uncovers logrolling, shilling, touting, back-scratching, and just plain bias on the part of the experts that television networks put on the air to talk about the war. Some of them appear to be as good as owned by the Defense Department. "The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air. Those business relationships are hardly ever disclosed to the viewers, and sometimes not even to the networks themselves."
Worship some vinyl
Today is Record Store Day!
What is it about music? It is Love and Passion channeled through a medium that cuts across and through actual definition straight to your soul whether you love Blues, Reggae, Country, Punk Rock, or Quawwali music, your favorite artists take you places you could otherwise never go - and that place is often a place of love and inspiration. - Marc Weinstein [more inside]
What is it about music? It is Love and Passion channeled through a medium that cuts across and through actual definition straight to your soul whether you love Blues, Reggae, Country, Punk Rock, or Quawwali music, your favorite artists take you places you could otherwise never go - and that place is often a place of love and inspiration. - Marc Weinstein [more inside]
he consumes their ghost costume but not their eyeballs. it's roughage
Colorful Theft
Illustrators up in arms. Darren De Lieto, owner of Little Chimp Society, recently received word that his work and the work of 93 other illustrators has been used without permission in a dubious 350-page book entitled Colorful Illustrations 93ºC, being sold online and in bookstores for $100. With the rise of copyright-shaky China and the revitialization of the Orphan Works Act, are artists rights becoming more precarious? (Via Drawn!)
Unintentionally Funny Voice Acting
We travel the spaceways
Brother from Another Planet (Pts. 2, 3, and 4) is a documentary about Sun Ra and his Arkestra(s) on YT. It features interviews with Archie Shepp, Amiri Baraka, John Sinclair, and several members of the Arkestra as well as several live clips and scenes from the 1974 movie Space is the Place. (previously) [more inside]
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five; Hardly a man is now alive who remembers that famous day and year...
"We Nathaniel Mulliken, Philip Russell, [and 32 other men], All of lawful age, and inhabitants of Lexington, in the County of Middlesex...do testify and declare, that on the nineteenth [of April] in the morning, being informed that...a body of regulars were marching from Boston towards Concord...and soon found that a large body of troops were marching towards us...whilst our backs were turned on the troops, we were fired on by them, and a number of our men were instantly killed and wounded..."* Thus "the shot heard around the world" [video | 10:01] led American colonialists (eventually with the help of the French) on the path to founding a new nation [video | 54:04].
"Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?"
713 Avenue takes pictures of Lego Star Wars stormtrooper minifigs in whimsical settings. [more inside]
What Is Your Favorite Cookie?
The 50 Best Cookie Recipes on the Internet -- for me, the best food on the planet is an oatmeal raisin cookie. My palate just goes ooohhh! Everything else just fills the hole. For many, it's the good ol' chocolate chip. There's bound to be some cookie gourmet's in the MeFi universe. So tell us, what is your favorite cookie?
Se necesita una poca de gracia
"I mean he quite literally -- and in no way do I exaggerate when I say -- [Paul Simon] stole the songs from us." [more inside]
Shedding Light on Life
Light makes a comeback. “New technologies — more sophisticated imaging techniques, fluorescent molecules that act as beacons of light in the cell, and the computing power to gather and stitch together multiple images and create videos from high-powered microscopes — make it possible to harness one of light’s key advantages: gentleness. Unlike higher-resolution techniques, light microscopes can image biological structures without killing them or chemically fixing them. At Harvard, the resurgence of light microscopy is making it possible to see structures and events that have never before been seen in the context of living cells and organisms.” Also don't miss the video samples of “in vivo” imagining.
Chladni patterns
Mbira
Ever since I first heard mbira from Zimbabwe almost 30 years ago (via this record), I've been a lover of that enchanting, delicate and intricate music. It's only recently, however, that many of us who aren't actually players of the mbira could see just how the instrument is played: Holding the mbira, and scales - Lesson One - Two - Three - Four, and more and more. And here are some recommended mbira players and groups with MySpace Music pages worth checking out: Spirit Talk Mbira - Mbira Oracle - Kunzawa Mbira Group - Joel Laviolette. [more inside]
Autopsy: Emergency Room
Autopsy: Emergency Room. The three-part Channel 4 series Autopsy: Emergency Room takes you on a unique and fascinating journey through the human body to see what happens when our bodies are damaged or injured. Previously: Autopsy: Life & Death and an a brief article on Dr. Von Hagens.
I’m Loving Aliens Instead
“He'd speak wistfully about some future day when he'd have less work on and could investigate the paranormal for real. And now that day has come.” Jon Ronson attends a UFO conspiracy conference with Robbie Williams. Compare and contrast, Dan Aykroyd.
I love arachnids! I love hot magma!
Chinese Nationalism
The "sacred flame" winds its way towards Beijing, creating new flashpoints like a car bumper scraping sparks from the pavement.
The chinese public's anger at CNN now has a wildly popular theme song. "You can't turn lies into the truth by repeating them a thousand times"
Chinese nationalism and an American backlash are both growing. Where is all this leading to? And even if we can't understand how China sees Tibet, or know whether the Shanghai Princesses will really give up their Chanel, can we at least assure the Chinese that we don't like Jack Cafferty either?
The chinese public's anger at CNN now has a wildly popular theme song. "You can't turn lies into the truth by repeating them a thousand times"
Chinese nationalism and an American backlash are both growing. Where is all this leading to? And even if we can't understand how China sees Tibet, or know whether the Shanghai Princesses will really give up their Chanel, can we at least assure the Chinese that we don't like Jack Cafferty either?
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