June 23, 2012

Calamari Calamity

Were you perplexed and mystified by the behavior of the Prometheus crew? Well, it'll all make sense once you watch this helpful training video. [slyt]
posted by cthuljew at 11:20 PM PST - 167 comments

I don't need no sample; gotta girl with a banjo.

Let the Beat Build. Fantastic single-take video by Nyle. [more inside]
posted by davidjmcgee at 9:13 PM PST - 17 comments

Chéri Herouard and La Vie parisienne

Two Flickr sets of 295 illustrations and 103 illustrations each (plus three more illustrations), by French artist Chéri Herouard who is most famous for his work for "naughty French magazine" La Vie parisienne from 1907 to his death. You can find some high quality scans from La Vie parisienne and more information about the magazine at Darwination Scans. Quite a few of the images are not safe for work. [via Kate Beaton]
posted by Kattullus at 7:45 PM PST - 13 comments

Starry Night - Vincent van Dominogh

Starry Night - Vincent van Dominogh (slyt)
posted by merelyglib at 5:01 PM PST - 14 comments

IAmAn Ex-Member of the Westboro Baptist Church

"I think my father is a hateful person first. The religious beliefs gave him a forum and permission to be cruel to the world." Nate Phelps, son of Fred Phelps, answers questions about growing up in the Westboro Baptist Church, and his life after leaving it. (Warning: descriptions of domestic violence.) [more inside]
posted by roger ackroyd at 4:55 PM PST - 71 comments

a Dickensian tale for graduates living in harperland

Rohinton Mistry's convocation speech to Ryerson [video - g&m, must wait for short ad) this link is to the text, with no ads, but hearing his reading is nice.
posted by chapps at 4:19 PM PST - 6 comments

Hot enough for ya?

Arthur Miller describes New York summers before air-conditioning. (New Yorker Archive)
posted by whimsicalnymph at 3:27 PM PST - 76 comments

It's Liz.

Liz Climo's mostly animal cartoon tumblr, Hi, I'm Liz.
posted by Atreides at 2:27 PM PST - 20 comments

Sleeping for health and profit.

The Hunt For The Perfect Mattress. 'Technology in bedding is becoming as advanced as that of running shoes or rockets, with an explosion of gels, foams, latex and assorted materials harvested from organic rubber plantations and rare sheep around the globe, being molded, refined and patented by innovators and entrepreneurs to provide night after night of perfect, deep sleep.' [more inside]
posted by VikingSword at 2:14 PM PST - 69 comments

Rare songbirds of the world.

The changing prominence of the contralto. While female contralto pop and jazz singers can be heard on just about every i-device and radio station in the United States and Europe, their classical counterparts are increasingly rare in today's opera, concert, and radio programming. [more inside]
posted by Currer Belfry at 1:53 PM PST - 13 comments

Every Hollywood Movie Is A Children's Film

Essayist and cartoonist Tim Kreider is no stranger to film criticism ( previously) but his thoughtful, surprising, detailed analysis of Lynch's The Straight Story and Spielberg/Kubrick's AI deserve special attention.
posted by The Whelk at 12:54 PM PST - 42 comments

eval. rinse. reload. and repeat

Having trouble with Javascript? An automated solution, the descendant of a long line of DWIM aids to programming, is at hand. (library name NSFW) [more inside]
posted by zippy at 12:18 PM PST - 45 comments

Computer says No

For the past 4 days, up to 12 million NatWest / Royal Bank of Scotland customers have been unable to pay bills, move money or get paid due to a technical problem. Customers have been unable to complete on house purchases and some are stuck because they can't pay hotel bills abroad. The new mobile banking service has also been affected. The bank has called in 7,000 staff to open all weekend as problems persist.
Just three months ago, the State-controlled bank outsourced nearly 300 back-office roles to Hyderabad in India.
posted by Lanark at 10:48 AM PST - 72 comments

But they are our bastards

Why Is the U.S. Selling Billions in Weapons to Autocrats?
posted by AElfwine Evenstar at 10:43 AM PST - 54 comments

Animated Absurd Animal Anatomy

The Frog's Bollocks (and Other Assorted Bollocks) NSFW. Not Shown To Scale. Not Narrated by Richard Attenborough. NOT related to this story (I hope). Blame Drawn.
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:10 AM PST - 17 comments

Dancing Lights

Conceptual Juggling using illuminated balls is exceptionally mesmerizing. [slyt]
posted by quin at 10:00 AM PST - 23 comments

Future past

Driving down the street in LA, you may notice coffee shops, gas stations or motels with bright primary colors, sweeping lines, bold angles and a retrofuture feel: Googie - Architecture of the Space Age [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:55 AM PST - 16 comments

“I hope you’re not trying to check that,”

Clearing the Bar Is the Easy Part: [NYTimes] "Mark Hollis is a pole-vaulter, and while he and his competitors here feel significant pressure as they compete for a place on the Olympic team, the anxiety they experience just trying to get their equipment to meets is sometimes even more excruciating."
posted by Fizz at 8:36 AM PST - 35 comments

"GOOD ONE HONEY! Did not see that coming."

The Power of Crowd Sourcing. When Fox News provided a list of ten pranks to help your marriage (as we all know, that junior high locker room horse play was really preparation for a healthy and loving monogamous relationship), the Internet rose as one to say, "These are fantastic, but we need more!" Sorting the comments by Popular/ Best shows you how normal people, people just like you and me, added a little butter and salt to this Paula Deen-esque confection of an article.
posted by yerfatma at 6:51 AM PST - 143 comments

Annie's pretty young, we try not to sexualize her

Alison Brie gives a candid interview [YT, 29:41] with film critic David Poland as part of his DP/30 series. Topics covered include her schooling and early career, landing roles on Mad Men [YT, 0:54] and Community [YT, 4:52], developing as a comedy actress, interacting with a cult audience, what it's like to be the internet's favorite subject of titillating animated GIFs, and how to pronounce "GIF" for that matter.
posted by Rhomboid at 4:58 AM PST - 37 comments

Ali G's forefathers

Almost sixty years ago, a BBC satirical review created a segment to mark current events in Mississippi. Almost sixty years later, Millicent Martin's song and dance number still has the power to shock. (slyt, nsfw, inflammatory/racist language, etc.)
posted by PeterMcDermott at 4:10 AM PST - 32 comments

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