November 12, 2007
A Crack in the War on Drugs
The US Sentencing Commission has recommended that Federal sentencing guidelines be reduced for crimes involving crack cocaine -- and is now deliberating making the new guidelines retroactive for prisoners already incarcerated. [WaPo] If taken into effect, about 3,800 inmates could be released by this time next year. [more inside]
2012: Stories From the Near Future
The inaugural New Yorker Conference, “2012: Stories From the Near Future,” took place on May 6 and 7, 2007. Here is an archive of videos from the event.
Solanum virus outbreak in Ancient Egypt
Zatch Gaspafanasky
Zach Galifianakis Live at The Purple Onion His NSFW Magnum Opus
Google Video (scammed offa Netflix) 1 hour, 1 minute.
Hate his drunken belching voice? Try You Bring Me Joy, It's Not About Love, or Can't Tell Me Nothing. Hate him still? You may be a preschooler.
Google Video (scammed offa Netflix) 1 hour, 1 minute.
Hate his drunken belching voice? Try You Bring Me Joy, It's Not About Love, or Can't Tell Me Nothing. Hate him still? You may be a preschooler.
The reason I talk to myself is because I’m the only one whose answers I accept.
The human whose name is written in this note shall die.
The manga series "Death Note." The first volume. The adapted anime series, newly arrived on Adult Swim. The Japanese movie trailer. Spoilers: Possible origins. The early press. Interviews with writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata. The controversy. The collectibles. The online Death Note. The last volume, finally released in the US and reviewed.
Columbidae Love
The Brooklyn Pigeon Serial Killer vs The Brooklyn Pigeon Advocate. Related to The Brooklyn Pigeon Blowdart Attacks of '98?
A terrible waste
map paintings
Map Paintings by Paula Scher: “These are absolutely, one hundred percent inaccurate,” Paula Scher declares of her colossal map paintings. Then, after a pause: “But not on purpose.” Another pause: they’re actually “sort of right.” [via]
Crafty Cartography
Lost? Why not consult a map? Because, according to a past exhibit at the British Library, the mapmaker might have a political agenda.
Just don't tell Podhoretz...
HEMA (Hollandse Eenheidsprijzen Maatschapij Amsterdam) is a quintessentially Dutch department store chain, specialised in selling unbranded no-nonsense goods at low prices. It is also known for its whimsical (previously) advertising and strong corporate identity.
The art collective Mediamatic decided to have a few multicultural laughs by launching "El Hema", an Arabic/Muslim version of the Dutch classic. [more inside]
Delmar
In October, Vladimir Putin posthumously awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation to George Koval, who, using the code name Delmar, successfully penetrated the Manhattan Project as an agent for the Soviet Union. But, he wasn't the only one. Some think the award is just a disinformation campaign orchestrated by the Russians.
"It is a private world that continues to grow."
Elena Dorfman's photos of RealDolls have been mentioned in the blue before. In her latest project, Re-Anime: Photographs of Fandom, Dorfman explores the world of cosplay.
Black breastfeeding. From the 'stuff you don't think about' dept.
"I am on a near-daily treasure hunt of sorts. I scour our American past to help understand modern breastfeeding..." The Black Breastfeeding Blog, with photographs and history.
Hot space bot uses stirling engine
NASA proposes using a Stirling cooler (essentially a Stirling engine in reverse) to keep a probe cool on the surface of Venus, which has had a tendency to melt or smash previous probes. The cooler would maintain a 25cm sphere within the probe at 200°C -- 100°C above the boiling point of water but sufficiently cool for a high-temperature microcontroller to operate. The waste heat radiators on the exterior of the sphere would reach the temperature of 500°C, 40°C above the the normal Venusian surface temperature.
A modern day O Henry story
It was the early 90s and the World Wildlife Federation was trying to save the rhino. They offered up Saiga horn as an alternative to rhino horns for use in Chinese apothecary shops, thinking that the millions-strong population of Saiga on the steppes of Central Asia would buffer the demand for rhinos. The result is one of the most devastating population crashes for a large mammal species in modern times. There is now a fear that the Saiga will become extinct in the next few years.
Cyclops!!
Cyclops! A fun little comic to make your Monday better.
From Flight Issue 4 and Israel Sanchez (another comic; some illustrations)
From Flight Issue 4 and Israel Sanchez (another comic; some illustrations)
Bleed for Public Safety.
Have a Bowl of Cereal, Make a Bowl of Gut Chutney.
The latest All-Bran commercial really pushes out the product's virtues, although not without making a stink. Personally, I still prefer a heaping bowl of Colon Blow.
Free books, but not just any free books
Six Great Apples
Think the Osmond Brothers didn't rock? Think again. "In spite of their squeaky clean image, the Osmonds had a soulful, sometimes raucous sound which was a precursor of the power pop of later years." Color my preconceived notions shattered.
Zigzag Zombie
Zigzag Zombie.
As part of the recent Dutch Design Week, students were instructed to produce an original typeset using thin, flat material (metal strips, tape, toilet paper, etc.) and then "pick one location, and create a large scale zigzag lettering and make passersby hallucinate."
As part of the recent Dutch Design Week, students were instructed to produce an original typeset using thin, flat material (metal strips, tape, toilet paper, etc.) and then "pick one location, and create a large scale zigzag lettering and make passersby hallucinate."
I'm gonna get on my knees and pray, we don't get fooled again.
Clinton in planted questions row. The US presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, has criticised her aides after she was accused of taking pre-arranged questions at a rally in Iowa. A case of meet the new boss, same as the old boss?
Give 1 Get 1
One Laptop Per Child - Give 1, Get 1 Started by Nicholas Negroponte, the One Laptop Per Child project aims to put inexpensive durable laptops into the hands of millions of children in developing countries with the idea that the best weapon against poverty is education.
For a limited time, people in the US can buy an OLPC laptop for themselves, and send one to a child in a developing country for $399 via the Give One, Get One program.
Lost Places in Japan
An update on the 'Marlboro Marine'
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