January 2, 2013
bang on a saw
Most musical saw players use a bow to coax melodies from their construction-tool-cum-musical instrument, but here's a fellow who taps out his saw tunes percussively. [more inside]
The Royal Mail marks 50 years of Dr. Who
I can haz greatest poems of twentieth century??
There's No Avoiding Google+
Google is challenging Facebook by using a controversial tactic: requiring people to use the Google+ social network. The result is that people who create an account to use Gmail, YouTube and other Google services—including the Zagat restaurant-review website—are also being set up with public Google+ pages that can be viewed by anyone online. ... The impetus comes from the top. Google Chief Executive Larry Page has sought more aggressive measures to get people to use Google+, two people familiar with the matter say. ... Some users of Google's services are startled to learn how far the integration can reach.There's No Avoiding Google+ from the Wall Street Journal
Far Clouds In Stately Formation
The New John Handy Quintet · Naima
Dave Holland Quartet · Conference Of The Birds
John Abercrombie, Jan Hammer, Jack DeJohnette · Timeless
Rob Wasserman, Stephane Grappelli · Over the Rainbow
Dave Holland Quartet · Conference Of The Birds
John Abercrombie, Jan Hammer, Jack DeJohnette · Timeless
Rob Wasserman, Stephane Grappelli · Over the Rainbow
So I voted for an axe-murderer
A new MP, Gloria De Piero was taken aback by how many people despised her because of her new profession. So she took to the streets to find out why. [more inside]
The Frenzy on Fox will be glorious...
Al Jazeera has purchased Al Gore's Current TV, giving them a much wider American audience. However, the deal suffered an immediate casualty when Time Warner Cable Inc., the nation's second-largest cable TV operator, announced it is dropping Current TV due to the deal. "Our agreement with Current has been terminated and we will no longer be carrying the service. We are removing the service as quickly as possible," the company said in a statement.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. National Collegiate Athletic Association
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett filed a federal anti-trust lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association today. Announcing the suit at a press conference this morning, Corbett claimed that the NCAA "seized upon the opportunity for publicity on the backs of the citizens of the Commonwealth". The suit seeks vacation of all of the sanctions levied against Penn State University by the NCAA (previously) after the release of the Freeh Report (previously) on the University's improper handling of allegations of sexual abuse against Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky (previously). Responding to the lawsuit, the NCAA called the lawsuit "an affront to all of the victims in this tragedy". Corbett, who has faced criticism for his slow-moving but ultimately successful investigation of the abuse and his close ties to Sandusky's Second Mile charity, is pursuing the case on behalf of the citizens of the Commonwealth rather than the University, which has stated that it is "committed to full compliance" with the sanctions, and is not a party to the lawsuit.
Assumption of parentage
In 2009, William Marotta, donated his sperm to a lesbian couple. Although they did not go through a licensed physician, per Kansas state law, the three signed an agreement relieving Marotta of any financial or paternal responsibility. The women, who co-parent 8 children, broke up in 2010, and the state of Kansas is now attempting to get Marotta to pay child support. [more inside]
"and even when there's nowhere left, no refuge for their pain, they turn to the illusion of travelling" - Kajal Ahmad, translated by Mimi Khalvati
The Poetry Translation Centre pairs living poets from Asia, Africa and Latin America with English-language translators and then puts the resulting translations online. You can browse the poetry by country, language, translator or poet. Besides the hundreds of individual poems, all presented in the original and both literal and poetic translations, many have been recorded in dual readings by translator and poet, and put online as videos or mp3s (look for the microphone or camera icon). There are also podcasts to download, articles to read, and chapbooks to purchase. It is absurd to single out a few poems as favorites, but nonetheless, here are a few that struck me hard, Birds by Kajal Ahmad, translated by Mimi Khalvati, Cataclysm and Songs by Conceição Lima, translated in a workshop, and Survivors by Choe Young-mi, translated by Kyoo Lee and Sarah Maguire (who is the founder and director of the Poetry Translation Centre). If these poems do not hit you, no need to worry as there are literally hundreds more to read. [via The Guardian]
The sound you hear may be the world's smallest violin
"Las Vegas bookmakers make their money by balancing their risk, but sometimes they simply come out on the wrong side of too many bets." With the regular 2012 NFL season now over and the playoffs about to begin, please take a moment and shed a tear -- or more likely, raise your beer -- as you consider the terrible beating Las Vegas sports books absorbed in 2012. (LAT link, so potentially behind a paywall depending on your number of previous visits in last 30 days.) [more inside]
Great sports photos
Sports Illustrated's 100 greatest sports photos of all time.
name four vegetables
This past fall, comedians Sara Schaefer and Nikki Glaser (hosts of popular podcast You Had to Be There) had "the amazing privilege" of hiring a writing staff for their upcoming TV show, Nikki & Sara Live. Sara "was flattered and honored when hundreds of people applied. It was a super fun experience, but it was also an incredibly illuminating one. Reading so many packets made a couple of things very very clear: there are some really easy, basic things you can do to improve your chances of getting a job writing for TV." Step 1: Dedicate Your Entire Life to Comedy
Gay Rights In The US, State By State
The Guardian has published a compelling interactive graph about where the 50 United States stand on LGBT rights. [more inside]
Lights out, uh-huh (but don't use the) flash, flash, flash!
What City Skies Would Look Like Without Light Pollution. (slAtlanticphotoblog)
It Probably Plays Doom Too
It's Spanish For Girlfriend
Special Guest Stars
In the bicentennial celebration of the historic Battle of Borodino on September 7th, 1812, that saw the Russian Army, despite heavy losses, withstand the attack of Napoleon’s forces, Orion Art multimedia group held a massive festival at Spasskaya Tower in Red Square, Moscow… complete with guest appearance by the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.
A time lapse night sight of Paris.
The holidays are over!
So you make less than $250,000 $450,000 and think the fiscal cliff deal doesn't affect you? Think again: the payroll tax holiday has been allowed to expire. Here's a helpful table outlining how much more you'll be paying this year. (Previously)
The full economic impact of Smaug can only be understood by recognizing that the dragon's arrival resulted in a severe monetary shock…
The Essential Guide to Dim Sum
How Millionaires Celebrate End-of-Days
To commemorate the Mayan Apocalypse, video game tycoon Richard Garriott de Cayeux threw a lavish soiree at his 65-acre spread along Lake Austin, complete with various scenes of imagined end-of-the-world scenarios. - Sonia Smith in Texas Monthly
We Own Network Scanning!
Network scanning do cost. Recent patent lawsuits have been praised or condemned as fair or absurd. BlueWave Computing fights back against a lawsuit that initially attempted to charge the company $1,000 per employee for a license to some “distributed computer architecture” patent, or basically, if your employees use a scan to email feature in the office, you have to pay a lot of money. Others have been targeted. Stop Project Paperless results.
a complete history of gerbiling so far
Gerbil-stuffing, urban legends, celebrity gossip, and homophobia: Jane Hu in The Awl with A Complete History Of Gerbiling So Far. [more inside]
Whenever there's trouble, they're there on the double.
"On a good day, the street maintenance team tasked by the New York City Department of Transportation with roadway repair might fill 4,000 potholes in eight hours. In an average week, they could resurface 100,000 square yards of road. After Hurricane Sandy, their crews removed 2,500 tons of debris. And every day, on a Tumblr called The Daily Pothole, New Yorkers can take a peek inside the workings of a city system few have likely thought about." Storyboard: A Day with New York City’s Pothole Repair Crew. [more inside]
Woese once said of himself and his work that when a wise man points out the moon, only a fool looks at the finger. Let us all be fools if just for a moment .
Microbiology's Scarred Revolutionary(PDF), Carl Woese (pron.: /ˈwoʊz/), a biophysicist and evolutionary microbiologist whose discovery 35 years ago of a “third domain” of life in the vast realm of micro-organisms altered scientific understanding of evolution, died on Sunday at his home in Urbana, Ill. He was 84. [more inside]
64 Photos by 64 Photographers
64 Photos by 64 Photographers From Booooooom. Here are 64 photos by 64 photographers that I came across in 2012. These photos weren’t all produced this year, I just encountered them at some point in the last 12 months. Enjoy.
"What books would be entering the public domain if we [the US] had the pre-1978 copyright laws?"
What Could Have Entered the Public Domain on January 1, 2013?:'Under the law that existed until 1978 … Works from 1956.' Yesterday was Public Domain Day, with many works entering the public domain, depending on jurisdiction. [more inside]
Any little vibration could reduce the whole creaking arrangement into a heap of rubble and ashes.
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