July 11, 2013
"Seeing you in action is a joke"
Moving in stereo
Stereophoto maker lets you make anaglyphs and stereo animated gifs, like these. (You can control the point of focus with your mouse in the flash versions.) Instructions for making it work on a Mac.
Stock violining is harder than you think
Useful visual lessons in the art and etiquette of holding your violin and bow, illustrated by stock photos. You can also use some random violin, it doesn't have to be yours, or even used to produce music. Because violins are apparently very sexy props that show how very sexy you are. You don't need to already know how to hold a violin to appreciate this tumblr.
Grunge's not dead, man.
To kick off the celebration of Sub Pop Records 25th anniversary, Mudhoney played a live set on top of the Space Needle today. Performance begins at about 21:00. [more inside]
Drowning World
Photographer Gideon Mendel's stunning portraits of flood victims in the UK, India, Haiti, Pakistan, Australia, and Thailand. (via)
Presented By
Willy Pogany, born in 1882 in Hungary, was an artist and illustrator in the first half of last century, who worked on everything from children's books to books of poetry, history, magazine articles and ads, and much, much more. [more inside]
One man's treasure is another man's trash
Ireland's Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013
With a vote of 127 to 31, Ireland has passed a law allowing limited rights to abortion when the mother's life is at risk or she is at risk of suicide. Amendments to include rape and incest were defeated. Last year, almost 4,000 women travelled to the UK for abortions, including termination of more than 1,000 non-viable fetal abnormality pregnancies. [more inside]
The Heliotail
Because life is sometimes surprising...
Pat-down
"All of us in TV have had people try to sabotage one of our reports before, so I figured if they want to be on TV so badly, I'll put them on TV." Parts 1 and 2, and related.
I'm the new Jean Michel, surrounded by Warhols
"By then, somehow, he'd taken me around my waist, and we were strutting around the room. My hands were ice cold. I was shaking. My reactions were shot. The entire time were together, there was no doubt in my mind that he was controlling me, taking my energy and giving it back, manipulating the space around us. I felt like my internal ship was on fire and useless. I loved it. And him. And this." Jerry Saltz visits Jay-Z's performance art piece at the Pace Gallery in Chelsea: performing his new song, "Picasso Baby", for six hours. To one person at a time.
"You're barred from Trivia Night!"
That's it. The Internet is done. Courtesy of The Nerdist, Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) hits up Karaoke Night with a stirring version of "West Coast" at everyone's favorite hive of Star Wars scum and villainy, the Cantina on Tatooine! Also: Making-of.
Terran Trade Authority - Spacecraft 2000-2100AD
"Government was created in this equal footing for men and women."
"The country has cheaper medical care, smarter children, happier moms, better working conditions, less-anxious unemployed people, and lower student loan rates than we do. And that probably will never change."
In The Atlantic, a comparison of some of the socio-economic aspects of Finland and the USA. [more inside]
"Dog Eat Dog"
Five Feet of Books
"During his days as Harvard’s influential president, Dr. Charles W. Eliot made a frequent assertion: If you were to spend just 15 minutes a day reading the right books, a quantity that could fit on a five-foot shelf, you could give yourself a proper liberal education. Publisher P. F. Collier and Son loved the idea and asked Eliot to compile and edit the right collection of works. The result: a 51-volume series of classic works from world literature published in 1909 called Dr. Eliot’s Five Foot Shelf, which would later be called The Harvard Classics." (Via) [more inside]
"We were not asked for our approval, and we did not give our approval."
This was not the act of a fringe contingent. The letter—which, until now, has never been published in its entirety—is signed by 154 staffers, including J.D. Salinger, Calvin Trillin, John McPhee, Jamaica Kincaid, Saul Steinberg and Janet Malcolm. There are a few notable abstentions, including John Updike and Charles McGrath, who would soon be named Gottlieb's deputy. At the bottom, it reads "cc: S. I. Newhouse."The Letter: Robert Gottlieb's Tenure as the New Yorker's Managing Editor, Elon Green, The Awl (SLTheAwl)
Pen Ultimate
In an idle moment, you've probably drummed on a desk with your pen. But chances are middle schoolers could show you some skills.
Masters like Shane Bang and many less well-known practitioners are pushing the old idea of pen-as-drumstick - Pen Beats, aka Pen Tap - to new heights. [more inside]
Nerdy Love Song with bonus kitten
DeAnne Smith and Her Kitten Perform a Nerdy Love Song (some lyrics NSFW)
Each week on our show we choose a theme...
Tomorrow, public radio show This American Life airs its 500th episode. Started in 1995 by Ira Glass, with the initial title Your Radio Playhouse, the show is a popular reference point here on the blue, covering everything from the minute goings-on of ordinary people, to allegedly unearthing the secret recipe for Coke, to the 2008 financial collapse.
Ahead of the occasion, Ira Glass talked to Buzzfeed about the episodes that stand out in his mind. [more inside]
One Strategy, One Microsoft, One Xbone
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced a reorganization of the company today to focus on devices and services.
Ballmer said that the goal was to have "One Microsoft" where "our strategy will focus on creating a family of devices and services for individuals and businesses that empower people around the globe at home, at work and on the go, for the activities they value most". [more inside]
"[Amazon's] alleged violation of antitrust laws is not an excuse..."
U.S. District Judge Denise Cote has found that Apple conspired with publishers to fix the prices of ebooks. Publishers Weekly describes Apple's defeat as "a major blow". Writing before the ruling, Roger Parloff at Fortune Tech delved into Apple's "agency model" for ebook sales and noted that Amazon's business model is "the missing piece... of this jigsaw puzzle". Philip Elmer-Dewitt reviews Judge Cote's findings. (Review the decision and other trial information yourself here.) Michael Clarke at Scholarly Kitchen explains why he considers this a loss for the public.
Sikorsky Prize Claimed
Originally set forth in 1980, the Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition is deceptively simple: keep a human-powered helicopter aloft at 3 meters within a 10m by 10m square for 1 minute. The prize? $250,000.
In the past 33 years, great progress has been made (Davinci III, Yuri I, Gamera I, Gamera II Previously), but no one has succeeded until Aerovelo's Atlas.
Architects, Ethics, and Prison Design
The American Institute of Architects’ Code of Ethics [pdf] states that “Members should uphold human rights in all their professional endeavors." Raphael Sperry, president of Architects, Designers and Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR), wants to amend the code further so it reads "Members shall not design spaces intended for execution or for torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, including prolonged solitary confinement." From Architect Magazine: “Should Architects Design Prisons?” [more inside]
Konami meets Couture
1. Visit the website of British Vogue.
2. Enter the Konami code (↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A).
3. Be delighted.
2. Enter the Konami code (↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A).
3. Be delighted.
The Sentinelese people of North Sentinel Island, an "ancient" tribe
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a string of 572 islands that run roughly north-south in the Bay of Bengal between Myanmar and Indonesia, but are formally a part of the Republic of India. Of the hundreds of islands, less than 40 are inhabited. While you can travel and visit some of the islands, but as of 2005, there are also a few that India has declared closed to outsiders to preserve these distinct cultures, living much as they have for hundreds to thousands of years, remaining distant from all outsiders. The most extreme example are the Sentinelese people who live on North Sentinel Island (Google maps). [more inside]
"And then he shot you twice for flinching."
Dave Shumka's account of being shot after a comedy show is equal parts hilarious and terrifying. (Starts at 4:25) [more inside]
We Do Phoshop (포샵해드립니다)
Korean Photoshoppers Make the Internet a Better Place (Kotaku) On June 26, a Korean language Facebook page called "We Do Phoshop" appeared online. The site solicited Photoshop requests, and the ensuing 'shops weren't exactly what askers had in mind. Or what anyone had in mind, for that matter.
If your suffering leads to our suffering, you may be liable for damages.
The new documentary "Terms And Conditions May Apply," about the privacy overreach of major tech companies, presents its trailer on a cleverly written page of terms and conditions.
Factual Errors in your Column
The journalistic practices of the Washington Post and Walter Pincus.
What the Snowden Affair Reveals About US Journalism. The Snowden Effect: definition and examples.
It's as if Corporate Media is at War on Independent Journalism.
Back in June as the story broke it was noted that If Edward Snowden Is in Trouble, So Is Journalism,
and from zdnet The real story in the NSA scandal is the collapse of journalism.
So what does the Snowden Affair Reveal About US Journalism.
It should definitely force media self-examination.
What the Snowden Affair Reveals About US Journalism. The Snowden Effect: definition and examples.
It's as if Corporate Media is at War on Independent Journalism.
Back in June as the story broke it was noted that If Edward Snowden Is in Trouble, So Is Journalism,
and from zdnet The real story in the NSA scandal is the collapse of journalism.
So what does the Snowden Affair Reveal About US Journalism.
It should definitely force media self-examination.
Ever leave your coffee on the bumper of your truck and then drive away?
Visualizing Numbers with WebGl
How To Fold a Julia Fractal. A beautiful interactive introduction to complex numbers, fractals and waves. (Requires WebGL). To Infinity And Beyond is a similar introduction to calculus.
Why not?
After a six-month hiatus, Surveillance Camera Man (previously) is back with a new video, and a site of his own. (via waxy) [more inside]
"Oddly enough, ...in most of my dreams, I'm not disabled."
Seeking Sexual Surrogates is a short (5:28) documentary by NYT's Stefania Rousselle looking at sexual surrogacy for the disabled in France, where the practice is illegal. And continues, regardless. [more inside]
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