October 6, 2009

Beep. Beep. Beep.

On October 7, 1952, the first patent [PDF] for a barcode was issued. Today, Google is celebrating the anniversary with a special logo. Why not generate your own or find out how they work. In addition to generally making things easier, barcodes also have to power to mesmerize world leaders.
posted by Deathalicious at 11:47 PM PST - 49 comments

Make a Monster

Make A Monster! Just one of many activities over at Universal Leonardo (previously).
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 11:44 PM PST - 3 comments

How William Shatner Changed the World (and Ballet)

Canadian actor William Shatner continues to diversify his cultural contributions in two recent documentaries making the rounds on the film festival circuit entitled: How William Shatner Changed the World (youtube trailer) and William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet (youtube clip).
posted by rumbles at 11:31 PM PST - 32 comments

The James Koetting Ghana Field Recordings

The James Koetting Ghana Field Recordings has 142 reels of Ghanaian music, almost all of which have more than one track, collected by ethnomusicologist James Koetting. There is a glossary of musical terms should you want to know a bit more about Ghanaian music and Koetting's notebooks should you want to know a whole lot more. All the music is wonderful but here are a few that stood out to me. Here are two tracks featuring postal workers whistling over a rhythm beat with scissors and stampers. Flute and drum ensemble. Brass band blues. And finally, twenty teenage girls singing over some nice rhythms. [requires RealPlayer]
posted by Kattullus at 8:01 PM PST - 35 comments

Twitter in Tehran, Anarchists in America

Vic Walczak, legal director for the Pennsylvania ACLU, sees the FBI's action as pure "intimidation," and part of a "much bigger war on demonstrators" in Pittsburgh. [more inside]
posted by acro at 7:25 PM PST - 69 comments

Metamania will run wild over you

Botchamania is a series of fan-created, professional wrestling video mashups that showcases the physical slip ups, bad commentary and interviews, and bizarre aspects of wrestling.
posted by ollyollyoxenfree at 6:56 PM PST - 41 comments

Can you find Satan?

"This may truly be the most important new painting of the twenty first century." The McNaughton Fine Art Company presents "One Nation Under God" [cache], an... interesting take on American history in a nifty zoom interface. Artist John McNaughton, who calls himself "the only living artist in the world today" to practice the Barbizon School of French Impressionism, has an extensive body of less opinionated work for you to admire. Interview. Character list.
posted by Rhaomi at 5:29 PM PST - 305 comments

Wall Street's Near Death Experience

Wall Street's Near Death Experience
posted by SeizeTheDay at 5:21 PM PST - 31 comments

Les Freres Lumière

The Lumière brothers, Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas and Louis Jean, were among the earliest filmmakers. Their father, Claude-Antoine Lumière, ran a photographic firm and both brothers worked for him. It was not until their father retired in 1892 that the brothers began to create moving pictures. They patented a number of significant processes leading up to their film camera — most notably film perforations as a means of advancing the film through the camera and projector, and the cinématographe. Their first public screening of films at which admission was charged was held on December 28, 1895 in Paris. This history-making presentation featured ten short films, including their first film, Sortie des Usines Lumière à Lyon (Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory). Each film is 17 meters long, which, when hand cranked through a projector, runs approximately 50 seconds. [more inside]
posted by netbros at 5:14 PM PST - 11 comments

"Shouldn't have had that 12th coffee, I can't even blink anymore and I can hear my heartbeat in my ears!"

Clips from each six episodes of BBC's Walk on the Wild Side, which involves the overdubbing of voices to natural history footage. 1 2 3 4 5 6
posted by MaryDellamorte at 4:49 PM PST - 16 comments

Mmmm, coffee

Time for the morning jolt delivered by the dark nectar of the gods? Ok fine, but shouldn't you know what's in that cup of coffee?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:23 PM PST - 57 comments

Dumb inventions

LIFE magazine presents: 30 Dumb Inventions of the 1950s and 60s. via laughing squid.
posted by serazin at 4:18 PM PST - 82 comments

RIP, Mama

Laura Mae Gross, founder and owner of Babe's and Ricky's Inn in Leimert Park (a gem of an artistic community in Los Angeles), died this past Saturday. [more inside]
posted by pazazygeek at 3:23 PM PST - 2 comments

Life under a giant plastic bowl

In the bright and shiny future, we all live in cities under giant domes, green and warm all the year round - a sort of Logan’s Run, but without the forced euthanasia. It almost happened in, of all places, in Winooski, an old mill town in northern Vermont. [more inside]
posted by daniel_charms at 1:42 PM PST - 33 comments

Not now James, we're busy

Robert Yang on the homophobic response to his Half-Life 2 mod Handle With Care.
posted by Artw at 12:38 PM PST - 145 comments

Shiny, Shiny Ballet on Czechoslovak TV

It’s the 70s, you’re Czech, sassy, and your future is bright. [more inside]
posted by The Devil Tesla at 12:35 PM PST - 16 comments

Birth of a Notion

Birth of a Notion: Implicit Social Cognition and the "Birther" Movement asks why 'white Europeans are more “American”' to many people than nonwhite Americans and includes details like this: "Horne was asked to give two concerts at Camp Robinson in Alabama, one to white servicemen, the second to black GIs. But she refused to do the second one when she saw that black Americans were sent to the back of the theater. Who got the good seats up front? German prisoners of war." Institutional Racism Ignored notes “racial bias in conviction rates and length of sentences of both juvenile and criminal courts,” “direct discriminatory practices in housing…as well as in mortgage lending,” and in the educational system, “racial bias in the type of disciplinary action given to white or minority students.” Tucson schools create race-based system of discipline and Tucson Arizona school discipline policy is not racist; Alan Keyes is right address one anti-racist solution. But anyone interested in racial justice should note The Queer, "Racist" Case of the Spank-Happy Judge.
posted by shetterly at 12:18 PM PST - 60 comments

Small Wonders: Finalists From the Nikon Small World Competition

"Here we present ten of the finalists from Nikon’s 35th Annual Small World Photomicrography Competition, which recognizes photographs shot through a microscope."
posted by geoff. at 10:23 AM PST - 21 comments

Go Purple Pounders!

Thirty-One Unbelievable High School Mascots
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:03 AM PST - 184 comments

Whip it good

Isabella Sinclaire isn't just a world-famous dominatrix. She's also owner of two film distribution companies, an accomplished director of high-quality fetish videos, and is now a pitch-person for Lynda Resnick's Wonderful Pistachios. (NSFW)
posted by valkane at 7:27 AM PST - 75 comments

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