November 7, 2012
analog beauty in a digital world
From The Sky Down
For some, it's a document examining a pivotal point in rock history with one of the biggest bands. For others, it is a eulogy marking the transformation of a vibrant force in music into ironic self-importance. Either way, David Guggenheim's 2011 film From The Sky Down [in two parts, ~90m total, trailer] is an interesting, somewhat historical, definitely hagiographic documentary about the struggles U2 faced between the end of the Joshua Tree tour and during the recording and release of Achtung Baby. [more inside]
I will do everything in my power to help him through the transition process
"We discussed the danger of partisan division, and the need for us, all of us, to come together and find common ground after a very rough and divisive couple of weeks. ... It is no secret that Brad and I had two very different visions for you and whom you date. Tonight, you have spoken, and Brad has prevailed."
--- The American People Have Spoken About Our Relationship
Sweet Feet
Internet sensation: Nine-year-old girl shredding defenses to the tune of 25 touchdowns Sam Gordon just wanted to run with the older kids. The coaches in the local tackle football league figured, hey, why not? Maybe they could turn it into a drill: Who can outrun Max's little sister?
They were shocked to find the answer: no one.
"Some kids, right before the contact, they stop," Sam told her father. "I don't. I just hit 'em."
... which really should be pronounced "fra" and not "pra."
RIP Bob Quinn. If you've spent any time at the University of Washington, you'll likely recognize him as the guy who wandered, with his well-behaved off-leash dog, up and down the Ave, spending all day at various coffee shops and bookstores. Or if you were using heroin or were otherwise at high risk for HIV in North Seattle anytime between the 1980s and now, you likely recognize him because he may have saved your life. [more inside]
"In this country, I can marry ANYONE I WANT! Because there's CHANGE in this country now!"
However long it takes for a real victory to be certified—no matter what happens on Election Day, it will be too early to unfurl a "Mission Accomplished" banner—the once ragtag march of lovers has acquired an air of inevitability. Edith Eyde's prophecy is almost fulfilled: gays are more or less regular folk. All the same, many who came out during the Stonewall era are wondering what will be lost as the community sheds its pariah status. They are baffled by the latter-day cult of marriage and the military—emblems of Eisenhower's America that the Stonewall generation joyfully rejected. The gay world is confronting a question with which Jews, African-Americans, and other marginalized groups have long been familiar: the price of assimilation.—Love on the March by Alex Ross. [more inside]
"Is this still you?"
On Election Night 2008 in Seattle, Renee received a random celebratory text from a stranger. She saved that text for four years, until last night.
Serious Eats' Ultimate Turducken
Just in time for (American) Thanksgiving, Serious Eats' Kenji Lopez-Alt provides an illustrated dissertation on the finer points of Turduckening. Warning: Link contains pictures of dead birds in various states of undress.
Roll up, roll up, buy three, get one free. War for All.
The Gulf protection racket is corrupt and dangerous folly.
Here is a graphic showing UK arms sales to the Middle East and North Africa.
Is Britain arming oppressive regimes in the Middle East?.
However U.S. Arms Sales Make Up Most of Global Market.
Here is a graphic showing UK arms sales to the Middle East and North Africa.
Is Britain arming oppressive regimes in the Middle East?.
However U.S. Arms Sales Make Up Most of Global Market.
"I am done making excuses for the pro-life movement."
How I Lost Faith In The Pro-Life Movement: "What I want to share here is how I came to this realization. And if you, reader, are one of those who opposes abortion because you believe it is murder and you want to save the lives of unborn babies, well, I hope to persuade you that the pro-life movement is not actually your ally in this, that you have been misled, and that you would be more effective in decreasing the number of abortions that occur if you were to side with pro-choice progressives. If this is you, please hear me out before shaking your head." [more inside]
The Nation That Stereotypes Together, Stays Together.
A long par five, right past death row
If ever there were a question about the ballooning scale of America's prison system, the Louisiana State Penitentiary provides an answer. It has its own golf course.
Don't Tell Him Pike
Actor Clive Dunn, best known for his role as Lance Corporal "Jonesy" Jones in Dad's Army, has died aged 92. A veteran comedy actor, Dunn was famous in the UK for his signature appearance in Dad's Army. Thanks to the BBC and endless repeats, he became well known outside the UK for his portrayal of the doddering Lance Corporal pressed back into service to defend Walmington-on-sea from an impending German invasion during WW2. The Home Guard based comedy had a large fan base.
There are a wide range of clips of his performances on the internet. Don't miss the Dad's Army movie which showed Dunn in his element.
Dunn was well known before he even set foot on the Dad's Army set from his work in the classic comedy series Hancock's Half Hour and The Tony Hancock Show. We also shouldn't forget his time as a pop star or a potato loving alien. But most importantly, don't panic.
Previously.
There are a wide range of clips of his performances on the internet. Don't miss the Dad's Army movie which showed Dunn in his element.
Dunn was well known before he even set foot on the Dad's Army set from his work in the classic comedy series Hancock's Half Hour and The Tony Hancock Show. We also shouldn't forget his time as a pop star or a potato loving alien. But most importantly, don't panic.
Previously.
The Critical Net Critic
The Gutenberg press, as Carr is well aware, did not precede or produce the literate subject, but merely facilitated its generalization by making the production of books more economical. Along the way it undoubtedly—through some of its own formal characteristics—exerted an influence on the text it carried... But there is a tendency in the critique of technology to over-emphasize such factors at the expense of farther-reaching socio-historical explanations.In the latest issue of New Left Review, Rob Lucas discusses the work of Nicholas Carr and calls for a socioeconomic approach to the history of computing. [more inside]
Films for Action
The Marvellous Mechanical House Organ
MR-808 is a replica of the famous 1980s electronic drum machine TR-808 – with robots playing the drum sounds.
Knife-Wielding Robot Slices Cucumber
Korean robot prepares salad... very slowly. It also is (apparently) capable of loading a dishwasher, although there's no video of that.
What am I, an idiot? I mean, kind of?
You are carrying: A licence to kill
Whenever a new Bond film is released, the promotional push for it is huge. Sony, which is distributing the movie in many territories, has taken the bull by the horns with this one and commissioned a text adventure game loosely based on the character of James Bond.
You're all gonna die! / The world's gonna end!
From the guy who brought you Actual Cannibal Shia Labeouf and Christian Bale is at Your Party comes a new musical:
In every disaster movie, some guy bursts into the Oval Office and says, "Mr. President! There's an asteroid headed directly for the earth!" This is that guy's story. [password: calvert]
An extraordinary coincidence?
And think about it for a second: this is bizarre. If Americans are in fact divided between two extremely different political ideologies, it would be an extraordinary coincidence if each of those philosophies were to hold the allegiance of nearly equal blocs of support. [more inside]
¿Sí Se Puede?
The November 6th elections saw a lot of historic decisions made in the United States -- the first black president re-elected, marijuana legalized for the first time in two states, gay marriage affirmed by the voters in four, and even the first openly gay senator. But perhaps the most underreported result yesterday came from outside the country altogether: in the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a solid majority voted to reject the island's current status and join America as the long-fabled 51st state.
How the bid might fare in Congress is an open question, but both President Obama and Republican leaders have vowed support for the statehood movement if it proves successful at the ballot box (while D.C. officials ponder a two-fer gambit to grease the wheels). Though it would be the poorest state, joining the Union might bring economic benefits to both sides [PDF].
And politically, some argue the island might prove to be a reliably red state, despite the Hispanic population, although arch-conservative governor and Romney ally Luis Fortuño appears headed toward a narrow loss. But the most important question here, as always, is: how to redesign the flag?
(Puerto Rican statehood discussed previously.)
ELECTRICITY FIGHT!
ELECTRICITY FIGHT! (slyt- some audience responses NSFW)
Somewhere, over the rainbow, far far away
The light from a primary rainbow is partially polarised. Now, in a paper accepted by the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, the authors show how to use the weak signal from rainbows in starlight reflected by exoplanets to detect the presence of liquid water clouds. [arXiv preprint link]
In particular, liquid water clouds covering as little as 10%-20% of the planetary surface, with more than half of these covered by ice clouds, still create a polarized rainbow feature in the planetary signal. Indeed, calculations of flux and polarization signals of an exoplanet with a realistic Earth-like cloud coverage, show a strong polarized rainbow feature.
70% of Muslims in America voted for Bush in 2000
"In the 2000 election, approximately 70% of Muslims in America voted for Bush; among non-African-American Muslims, the ratio was over 80%. It can be safely said that if the Muslim community had voted the same way they had in 2000, [Romney] would have won." So what happened? [more inside]
No, not the rover...
"Curiosity – what’s inside the cube" is the first experiment out of Peter Molyneux-headed game studio 22cans. "Something amazing is hidden in the cube but only one player will be fortunate to discover what it is." You can get crackin' at the cube for free from the iTunes App store or Google Play. [more inside]
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