October 5, 2011
Man Up!
eep op ork ah ah
Elusive quadruple rainbow photographed for first time.
You've seen a double rainbow, if lucky a triple, but never a quadruple rainbow. Until now (?). [more inside]
Steve Jobs, RIP
National Lampoon: 52¢ on the dollar
Fans of National Lampoon Magazine circa 1970 might remember the iconic Trots and Bonnie comic strip. Recently Jeff Kay (previously) asked the cartoonist, Shary Flenniken for an email interview. She unexpectedly answered his questions in a 4 part video response. PT1 PT2 PT3 PT4 [more inside]
A peak behind the curtain: the making of Disney animation
Journey back to the late 1930s, and see how Walt Disney cartoons are made, with a focus on that groundbreaking new Disney title, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Now let's dash ahead a few decades, to watch Ed Wynn and Jerry Colonna as they inspire the animators in a test-run of dialogue from Alice in Wonderland, synced with final animation for comparison.
States' Rights Meet Gun Rights
Even as medical marijuana activists in states like Arkansas, Ohio, and Massachusetts look to legalize medical use in 2012, the ATF has sent letters to gun shops in existing medical marijuana states. The letter says that shop owners cannot sell guns or ammunition if they have "reasonable cause to believe" that the customer is a drug user, even if their use is legal under state law -- and that having or even mentioning a medical marijuana card constitutes reasonable cause. The entire text of the letter can be viewed here. [more inside]
Science fiction writers have a job, and it's time to do it
The Hieroglyph Project. Neal Stephenson: SF needs to stop mucking around with steampunk and dystopia, and start making decent roadmaps for a future where we all want to live. Previously
The best a man can get, for 8 months at a stretch.
Don't worry, on YouTube there are videos of thrifty men* willing to share their secrets on extending the life of your disposable razor blade. [more inside]
♬I want to ride my bicycle/ I want to [text while riding] it where I like♬
Most states have enacted laws banning texting while driving. The New York Times even featured a game testing simulated drivers' attention. Chicago, one of America's more daunting traffic hubs, will now be extending the prohibitions to non-motor vehicles. The City Council today passed an ordinance prohibiting bicyclists from texting while moving. [more inside]
Risky Risk
Risk, the game of World Conquest, has been a feature in mainstream boardgaming for decades, but is not usually well thought of by more serious boardgamers. Several recent editions have been better received, but the latest iteration (out sometime later this year) may be the most divisive yet. In Risk Legacy, each game played will permanently change the board and rules based on who won and how. Are boardgamers ready and willing to alter their boards with permanent markers and stickers and tear up unchosen cards? Some early reviews have been positive, but opinion is still divided. The designer answered some questions on BGG as well.
So the world may be mended.
Dark Souls, the spiritual sequel to 2009's Demon's Souls (previously 1, 2) and heir to the King's Field series of games, is out in most of the world this week. Reviews have been excellent, sales have been surprisingly robust; Dark Souls was the top selling title in Japan last week, with 279,567 copies sold, compared to an estimated 40,000 for Demon's Souls first week of release.
From Software has taken an interesting approach to players who somehow acquire the game early: rather than banning the player outright or limited online features, From Software is embracing Dark Souls' unique multiplayer model, sending super leveled invaders into player's games to hunt them mercilessly. [more inside]
David Bedford RIP
“I was on the road playing keyboards with these bands, fighting off the groupies, and then the next night I would be in the Festival Hall doing some plinky-plonk music to an audience of about four.” David Bedford, composer, keyboardist and orchestrator died on October 1st. From working with Kevin Ayers to Mike Oldfield to Ursula Le Guin to Roy Harper and even Madness, he trod a strange, singular path that was governed more by the need to feed his kids than you might think. He even managed a no 1 classical album in the UK. This, unfortunately, wasn't on it.
The Lost Yankee
Kei Igawa arrived in the US with a lot of fanfare in 2007. After failing miserably with the Yankees, he was sent to the minor leagues. Since then, he has existed in an uncomfortable limbo, not completely part of either world.
"I tried to get killed in Birmingham and go home to God because I knew it would be better for you in Birmingham"
Civil Rights leader Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth passed away this morning at the age of 89. [more inside]
You're blind baby. You're blind to the facts.
Miss Representation is a film by Jen Siebel Newsom about the images, representations and media constructions that shape American society in a harmful way for women. It explores the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence that result. Shorter trailer here. [more inside]
Dominoes, move over.
This is a stick bomb. This is an AWESOME STICK BOMB. This is an awesome kid showing you how to make your own stick bomb. This is another really great stick bomb, but it's not done by that awesome little kid, so it's not nearly as cool.
Worthy of Dethklok
Uncle Ben's Farmyard Courthouse
In the cold open for this week's RadioLab (Loops), Jesse Thorn (MeFi's own) commemorates one of the craziest, most unconventional comedy bits in modern memory: Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler's "Kristen Schaal is a Horse", a sketch that starts out funny, then turns decidedly un-funny, then becomes hilarious. Ten minute version. Schaal on The Sound of Young America.
Fortunately, Atlas Shrugged is not one of the choices
Treasures of the Bodleian. Oxford University's Bodleian Library will move into a substantially renovated home in 2015. In preparation, it has put online a selection of highlights from the collection, ranging from papyri to Penguins. You can vote for your favorite treasure, and the top vote-getter will go on display when the library reopens.
Your wikipedia is currently not available.
In a protest against the Wiretapping Act that is set to be discussed in parliament this week, the Italian edition of Wikipedia has been blocked, with all access being redirected to a single page statement (also available in five other languages); so far no timeframe for the protest action has been stated. Comment in support by Wikimedia on this unprecedented initiative; an editor leaves in disagreement; other users discuss.
Bookseller/Zine Publisher/Free Speech Hero
"Born Shigeyoshi Murao in 1926, he was universally known as Shig. His playful demeanor—not to mention his signature beard, Pendleton shirts, Royal Air Force exercise vest, horn-rimmed glasses, and bowler—rendered him unforgettable. But that did not make him easy to know.
Shig, who died in 1999, is largely remembered for an event that occurred on June 3, 1957, when two undercover agents from the San Francisco Police Juvenile Squad showed up at City Lights to buy a seventy-five-cent book of poetry." [more inside]
Erasure
While their song Always may be forever enshrined in the minds of a generation of Adult Swim fans as the theme to the online game Robot Unicorn Attack, 80's synth-pop duo Erasure are still around, touring and putting out albums after 26 years.
Their 14th studio album, Tomorrow’s World, was released in the UK on Monday (October 11 in the U.S.), along with an official video for its first released song, When I Start To (Break It All Down). A (better) non-autotuned version labeled "Rehearsal Video" is on YouTube. (An abbreviated history of their work, with official music videos and links to several concerts, can be found within.) [more inside]
Their 14th studio album, Tomorrow’s World, was released in the UK on Monday (October 11 in the U.S.), along with an official video for its first released song, When I Start To (Break It All Down). A (better) non-autotuned version labeled "Rehearsal Video" is on YouTube. (An abbreviated history of their work, with official music videos and links to several concerts, can be found within.) [more inside]
They blinded me with science
As was not widely reported, The Rodale Institute has just published the results of a 30-year study that claims that -in terms of yields, economic viability, energy usage, and human health- organic farming is better than conventional farming, and they have the data to prove it.
What happened to hypertext fiction?
All This Remains
Top ten American columns in history
John Avlon, senior political columnist for Newsweek-The Daily Beast, created an informal poll listing 15 historically vital columns, basing the sample on research for his new book, Deadline Artists: America’s Greatest Newspaper Columns. He passed the list around the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, and they and a public poll on their web site ranked the top 10. The winner was Ernie Pyle's The Death of Captain Waskow. All 15 columns are available for download in a PDF file.
Henry Hargreaves: Bacon Alphabet and Toasted
"I believe it more than...other...stuff."
Music is a book/app/documentary film by photographer/film-maker Andrew Zuckerman (previously). Similar in format to Zuckerman's film Wisdom, Music features interviews with musical luminaries both fully- and not-so-luminous. [more inside]
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