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."
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:50 PM PST - 61 comments

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.
posted by Atreides at 5:50 PM PST - 3 comments

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]
posted by carsonb at 3:29 PM PST - 32 comments

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...
posted by spoobnooble at 2:58 PM PST - 32 comments

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]
posted by shoesfullofdust at 2:56 PM PST - 71 comments

Stereotypes -- "chop suey" and other "ethnic type"

Stereotypes -- Derided by typophiles as crass, "ethnic type" has a revealing taxonomy and, surprisingly, serves a purpose.
posted by cog_nate at 1:33 PM PST - 66 comments

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]
posted by filthy light thief at 1:31 PM PST - 59 comments

"...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.
posted by Artw at 1:12 PM PST - 17 comments

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?
posted by Stephen Elliott at 12:33 PM PST - 131 comments

Quick! Alert Ed and Lorraine Warren!

The objective of the experiment was to determine whether infrasonic frequencies and magnetic field fluctuations similar to those found in supposedly "haunted" spaces can elicit physiological or psychological effects similar to those experienced in "hauntings".
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:36 AM PST - 39 comments

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]
posted by velvet winter at 11:27 AM PST - 20 comments

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)
posted by squalor at 10:27 AM PST - 177 comments

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.
posted by Joe Beese at 10:18 AM PST - 7 comments

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.
posted by Ufez Jones at 9:35 AM PST - 48 comments

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?
posted by hippybear at 9:11 AM PST - 86 comments

Klaatu. . .verada. . .

It's Friday! Enjoy Necronomicon, a fun little flash-based card game inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
posted by EarBucket at 8:42 AM PST - 33 comments

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"
posted by The Gooch at 8:37 AM PST - 94 comments

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]
posted by criticalbill at 8:07 AM PST - 4 comments

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?
posted by itsjustanalias at 7:09 AM PST - 21 comments

"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]
posted by zarq at 6:50 AM PST - 42 comments

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]
posted by symbollocks at 6:32 AM PST - 41 comments

Hey. Hey! HEY!!!!

Hey: the Motion Picture. Featuring dinosaurs and a brief intermission for snacks. That is all.
posted by Naberius at 6:21 AM PST - 13 comments

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]
posted by Fizz at 6:14 AM PST - 5 comments

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.
posted by tawny at 4:32 AM PST - 48 comments

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]
posted by Avenger at 2:28 AM PST - 14 comments

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.
posted by ornate insect at 1:22 AM PST - 21 comments

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