June 19, 2009
WoW Detox
WoW Detox -- "WoWdetox is a volunteer-run web site aimed at people with a gaming addiction to World of Warcraft. Here gamers and ex-gamers can share their testimonies freely and anonymously."
Where He Couldn't Go Home Again
Its previous owner named it the Old Kentucky Home. For Thomas Wolfe, it was the home of his youth, a boarding house run by his mother, Julia Wolfe. Now it's known as the Thomas Wolfe Memorial, located in Altamont Asheville, North Carolina, and its website offers fair overview of Wolfe, and even his legendary editor, Maxwell Perkins. Wolfe, the author of Look Homeward, Angel (.txt file), Of Time and the River (.txt file), and You Can't Go Home Again (.txt file), among other works. Text file copies courtesy of Project Gutenberg Australia.
The tiny phantasmagorias of Bernard Gigounon
'It has been said that cinema is in essence a special effect. The video work of Bernard Gigounon reduces that notion to its minimal essence: cinema as an illusion, created by the manipulation of images in time. He does not create this effect with advanced, multi-dimensional digital technologies, but rather through simple, transparent magic...' [more inside]
So Lily doesn't think the dog is much good in bed then?
The Lilyest Hobo... for fans of Lily Allen and CanCon children's TV: Lily Allen's 'Not Fair' vs 'The Littlest Hobo Theme'. Lily likes it too, by the way.
I stole the header quote from the Youtube comment thread, in case you're wondering...
I stole the header quote from the Youtube comment thread, in case you're wondering...
Mark Helprin vs The Mouth Breathing Morons
The overall effect is like listening to an erudite gentleman employing $20 words while he screams at a bunch of punk kids to get off his front lawn. A review of Mark Helprin's Digital Barbarism : A Writer's Manifesto. [more inside]
Stereotypes -- "chop suey" and other "ethnic type"
Stereotypes -- Derided by typophiles as crass, "ethnic type" has a revealing taxonomy and, surprisingly, serves a purpose.
Nintendo Demo Mode: Optional Walkthroughs on the Wii
At this year's E3, Shigeru Miyamoto told Kotaku (video interview included) and USA Today that the "Kind Code" patent (noticed back in January 2009, and well summarized on Kotaku) will be implemented in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The tentatively named "Demo Mode" was discussed by developers and received early approval from a teacher. With this new, slightly more solid information, feelings are mixed. [more inside]
"...and finally the robots and music non stop..."
Ralf Hütter of Kraftwerk gives a rare interview to the Guardian, who also have a rather nice interactive feature on the bands influence.
Some useful current Iran links
Andrew Sullivan, retweeting the revolution, day 7, aggregates many of the best "tweets" coming out of Iran. Over at Huffpo, There Will Be Blood: An interview with a journalist in Tehran. TPM has video of the basij shooting into a crowd, causing at least one protester to go down. Speaking of the Basij, the counter protesters credited with most of the violence, Jon Lee Anderson answers the question, What are the Basij?
Quick! Alert Ed and Lorraine Warren!
Alternative Belly Dance
Explore the joy of American Tribal Style (1, 2, 3), tribal fusion (1, 2, 3), industrial, gothic (1, 2, 3), fantasy, heavy metal, punk raqs, ‘80s fusion, hip hop, new age, feminist, Star Trek, or tough love belly dance. [more inside]
It is available through churches and at Wal-Marts....
“They are brands that may not be considered cool by the often elitist and self-absorbed standards of New York media,” she said. She had taken a car from Manhattan that morning, and wore a pink wool shirt-dress, patent leather Manolo Blahnik heels, and diamond hoop earrings.
Reader's Digest jumps the shark. (NYT)
Reader's Digest jumps the shark. (NYT)
Visual history of nurse uniforms
This site is dedicated to those hardworking and underpaid Angels of Mercy who, over the years, have made a stay in hospital that much more bearable. It's a growing collection of images of Nurses taken from Film, TV and The Media from the 1930s to the present, showing how uniform styles have changed over the years.
Flip Flop Fly Ball - Sports infographics.
Flip Flop Fly Ball - Baseball infographics and other visual treats. Highlights: How tall is the Green Monster?, Assembling and dismantling the '86 Mets, and Wu-Tang Clan vs. E-Street Band.
Name, Rank, Serial Number
"Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.," the City form states. There are then three lines where applicants can list the Web sites, their user names and log-in information and their passwords. The City of Bozeman takes their job application process too far?
Klaatu. . .verada. . .
It's Friday! Enjoy Necronomicon, a fun little flash-based card game inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
Match.com Sued for Deception
Online dating site match.com is being sued for deception by a New York man who claims their practice of keeping up profiles of non-paying members who have no ability to respond to suitors "defrauds the consumer of his/her time, labor, and emotional investment"
All aboard for the Africa Express
A preview version of a 20-minute film following Damon Albarn as he and other western musicians (including Franz Ferdinand and Fatboy Slim) travel to Mali, Nigeria and Congo as part of the Africa Express, a sprawling musical collective collaboration between Africans (including Toumani Diabate, Baaba Maal and Tony Allen) Americans and Europeans. The film includes a visit and concert at The Shrine for last year's Felabration. [more inside]
North Ustire, South Ustire, Rockall, Malin
Don't want to wait until bedtime (UK bedtime that is) to drift off to Sailing By (one of Jarvis Cocker's Desert Island Discs)? Well thanks to permanent bedtime you can listen to the BBC shipping forecast all day. Oh? What's that? It's no use because it's from months ago? Okay, here's the Met Office current data, and the listen again page on the beeb. Or test yourself: can you name all the weather areas?
"Scats in the Woods"
Following a 30-year trend, bear sightings and human encounters in certain US cities seem to be on the rise. But when Cleveland's Fox Channel 8 (WJW) needed to report about recent black bear sightings in a NE Ohio neighborhood, they had to get a stand-in. Perhaps the bear refused to sit for an interview with intrepid reporter Todd Meany? [more inside]
Definancialisation, Deglobalisation, Relocalisation
In a talk titled Definancialisation, Deglobalisation, Relocalisation given at The New Emergency Conference, Peak Oil activist and writer Dmitry Orlov (previously 1 2 3) shows how he has come to the conclusion that the oil price spike of summer 2008 was the trigger for the financial collapse that occurred later on in the fall. He goes on to summarize (from his point of view) pretty much everything that has been happening in the past year or so, and what he thinks is coming up next. [more inside]
Hey. Hey! HEY!!!!
Hey: the Motion Picture. Featuring dinosaurs and a brief intermission for snacks. That is all.
American Verse Project
American Verse Project is assembling an electronic archive of volumes of American poetry. Most of the archive is made up of 19th century poetry, although a few 18th century and early 20th century texts are included. Notables Include: Edgar Allen Poe, Carl Sandburg, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emily Dickinson (Series [1], [2], [3]), Hilda Doolittle (H.D.), James Russell Lowell. [more inside]
Beck covers
Beck intends to record cover versions of selected albums in a day, unrehearsed, with guest musicians and then to release them on his website. Pitchfork announced it yesterday here. The first song is Sunday Morning.
North America's Hidden Arctic
"I filled my water bottles , fuel bottle and ate some snacks. I reset my altimeter to 1300ft and started shortly past 2pm. The first sign stated 'Eagle Plains 363, Inuvik 735'. The distances were measured in kilometers with green km posts every 2km along the road. A few kilometers down the road, I crossed an old fire burn area with dead trees still standing. The sun was shining and I was eager to get started on the road. The gravel was occasionally soft as the road slowly climbed along the valley."
An enterprising man relates his journey up the Dempster Highway on bicycle. [more inside]
Dexter and Sara Romweber
Is Dexter Romweber about to finally get his due? One of the great underground geniuses of rock, in the late 1980s and early 90s Romweber fronted The Flat Duo Jets. Their brand of raw, pared-down rockabilly proved cathartic and influential, if never commercially viable. Now Jack White, who has always acknowledged his musical indebtedness to Romweber, has produced a new 7" EP (in addition, a new album, not produced by White, features Exene Cervenka, Chan Marshall, and Neko Case). Romweber seems poised to receive some long overdue recognition. It's about time.
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