June 25, 2017

This was the sound, this was the sound I saw

Nigerian American writer Teju Cole also takes vivid photographs which, in his latest book, Blind Spot, he matches with passages of allusive prose. [more inside]
posted by standardasparagus at 6:42 PM PST - 7 comments

There are roughly 3,738,429 Browns fans for some reason.

Redditor calculates which NFL teams have fewer fans than whatever animal/occupation/mythological creature after which the team is named.
posted by chaoticgood at 4:36 PM PST - 34 comments

My Mother knew words that will never be spoken again.

Sherman Alexie (his website) speaks about his mother and the world. [more inside]
posted by Deoridhe at 4:24 PM PST - 22 comments

I may not be a bed book, but I'd like to see you.

This and many more shitty pickup lines are the work of an something something AI. [more inside]
posted by Foci for Analysis at 3:07 PM PST - 66 comments

Operation Tracer

Rear Admiral John Henry Godfrey, the Director of the Naval Intelligence Division of the British Admiralty, suggested that they establish at Gibraltar a covert observation post which would remain operational even if Gibraltar fell into enemy hands. This observation post would be located in a hidden chamber within the Rock of Gibraltar with two small openings to watch for movements on the harbor. Six men were selected to be sealed inside the cave, and while there were enough supplies to last one year, there was to be no way out of the chamber, and if any men were to die they were to be embalmed and cemented into the brick floor. [via Nelson]
posted by Chrysostom at 2:40 PM PST - 31 comments

Great Barrier Reef valued at $56 billion

That's the "total asset value" according to a new Deloitte Access Economics report that calculates the World Heritage site's full economic, social and iconic brand value for the first time.
posted by adept256 at 2:33 PM PST - 33 comments

If you stop every time a dog barks, your road will never end.

These photographs prove that dogs are weird. There's video evidence, too [ambient noise with music]. Sometimes they're weird and jerky to cats.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:28 PM PST - 10 comments

Mayors can’t start nuclear wars.

Red versus blue. Richard Florida calls for devolving American federal power to the cities, so that progressive and conservative urban areas can do their own thing. [more inside]
posted by doctornemo at 12:54 PM PST - 69 comments

Rag Rappy Ad Astra

"One of the biggest things I can think of off the top of my head is when my grandfather died. It was a Thursday in winter. I was living at school at the time. When I got the phone call, I needed to be alone at first, so I went home and cried. It sounds weird, but after that I needed to hear people talking. So I logged onto the voice chat here, and just sat in and listed to the banter and bickering. I logged in and did a run or two with some friends. And by the end of the night when I went to sleep, I was feeling much better." | Wes Fenlon writes about Phantasy Star Online and the people still playing SEGA's first MMO nearly 17 years later. [more inside]
posted by byanyothername at 12:42 PM PST - 7 comments

The Boy from the Black Sea

'Shadows: The Val Lewton Story' - part one of a series in which the The Secret History of Hollywood podcasts tells the story of film producer and screenplay writer Val Lewton, with prologues by Mark Gatiss.
posted by Artw at 12:09 PM PST - 9 comments

Trap Streets, Ghost Words, and Mountweazel - see: Fictious entries

Fictitious or fake entries are deliberately fabricated items and listings in reference works such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and other directories. There are terms for specific types of entry, such as trap or paper streets, paper towns and phantom settlements, phantom islands, ghost words (nihilartikel), and specifically, (Lillian Virginia) Mountweazel. Fictitious entries are included either as a humorous hoax or as a copyright trap to reveal subsequent plagiarism or copyright infringement, unlike intentional forgeries or unintentional mistakes. Except, sometimes those fake things are real, in a way. For example, Londonist found some "real" trap streets, and Urban Ghosts Media identified two almost-real phantom settlements.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:55 AM PST - 10 comments

“...we are now well into the fourth decade of digital Nazi slaughter,”

The Alt-Right are complaining about Nazis being killed in video games [New Statesman] “The he use of minorities as stock villains is something that has plagued entertainment media for years. Now that political correctness has gone thankfully mad, it has become less acceptable to lean on generic brown terrorists, effeminate criminal masterminds or scheming mandarins when finding adversaries for an action hero to plow through. Video games may have lagged behind somewhat but many developers do at least make some effort to to avoid stereotyping. There is one notable exception, however. One beleaguered minority that seemingly has no voice in wider society. Nobody to stand up and say, "Enough. Leave these poor people alone, you MONSTERS." I'm talking, of course, about Nazis.” [more inside]
posted by Fizz at 11:49 AM PST - 78 comments

Muscular Evangelism

'in the midst of the decline of religious affiliation in America, and the rise of isolation and loneliness, many ostensibly non-religious communities are “functioning in ways that look a little bit religious,”' [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 11:17 AM PST - 27 comments

...the effects of the intervention became self-reinforcing.

What if one series of writing assignments during one year of school could significantly improve the chances of students of color succeeding academically and attending a selective college? [more inside]
posted by Huck500 at 8:42 AM PST - 11 comments

Come, come, whoever you are.

Last week in Berlin, in a rented room at the Protestant Johanniskirche, Seyran Ateş, a 54-year old lawyer, women's rights campaigner and imam-in-training, opened Germany's first inclusive place of worship for liberal muslims, the Ibn-Rushd-Goethe Mosque. [more inside]
posted by progosk at 7:43 AM PST - 5 comments

"They were ideal inmates."

Remembering the Murder You Didn't Commit Relating a horrifying tale of psychological manipulation and miscarriage of justice, writer Rachel Aviv recounts the manipulation of suspects and creation of false memories in the case of the Beatrice Six, all convicted for the murder of an older woman, prior to their exoneration on DNA evidence in 2008. [more inside]
posted by Miko at 7:32 AM PST - 12 comments

Inmates Saved Collapsing Guard

Six convicts are getting their sentences shortened after saving a guard who collapsed on duty last Monday in Polk County, Georgia. "As soon as the officer dropped, the six inmates he was overseeing came to his aid. They removed the officer's outer bulletproof vest to help cool him off and took his phone to call 911, according to a statement released by the Polk County Sheriff's Office on Friday"
posted by grobertson at 6:50 AM PST - 26 comments

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