December 11, 2014
Greenpeace Apologizes for Nazca Lines Stunt
"The Nazca Lines are a set of giant images of plants and animals, such as a monkey, a spider and a hummingbird, excavated in the soil some 1,500 years ago. " This week, as a message to the climate change summit it Lima, Greenpeace activists entered a restricted area near one of the sets of lines and placed a message in the sand: TIME FOR CHANGE: THE FUTURE IS RENEWABLE
Of course, the problem is that the lines are located in a fragile desert. "You walk there and the footprint is going to last hundreds or thousands of years," said Deputy Culture Minister Luis Castillo. Peru is attempting to bar the activists involved in the Greenpeace stunt from leaving the country while asking prosecuters to file charges against them for "attacking archelogical monuments". [more inside]
It's a Long Way Down, Baby.
The Descent of the Barnacle Goose, a gosling makes a long freefall and bouncy trip down a cliff-face to leave the nest. It is all sorts of wrong, and unexpectedly cute. [via]
We are not animals, are we?
Where do you stand on the use of the Oxford comma? Celebrities respond.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
The Hum can only be heard by 2% of the population. It has been called a conspiracy theory, but scientists have identified "Vibroacoustic Disease" which causes depression, lesions, and strokes. The Hum has been documented extensively in Taos, Kokomo, and Windsor, Canada. There is even a worldwide Hum map, and you can update their database if you are hearing it. But what is causing the hum, and does it really exist? [more inside]
To me, my cosplay!
This drawing of the Silver Surfer isn't really a drawing at all- it's a photo of an incredible bodypaint job based on a classic comic cover by Hollywood makeup artist Cris Alex.
Find eyes within, look for the door into the unknown country
The life of Pamela Coleman Smith: actor, illustrator, set designer, hermetic occultist, possibly-queer black woman, synesthete, suffragist, and unsung designer of the famous Rider-Waite tarot deck. [more inside]
Of Balls and Short Australian Men: A Nuanced Guide to AC/DC
"For the uninitiated, I have set about distinguishing AC/DC albums. My hope is that you'll never hear these same-sounding records the same way again."
What's In Your Bag?
Do you know your purse history? Would you like to visit a museum of purses? Did you know the world's largest handbag was sewn by a group called The Pickles? Do you have $200,000 for the world's most expensive handbag?
Maybe your purse doesn't contain what's in Qyeen Elizabeth's handbag, but that doesn't mean it can't contain the world's largest wallet.
If you do love handbags and purses, maybe just take a trip through a set of lovely examples of the craft.
Digital Cookies
Back in 2006, 235w103 asked "...is there some sort of online thing where it'll find me a girl-scout to purchase from? Because I don't know any". There is now. Starting December 12, customers can order cookies from scouts online; and have the boxes shipped directly to their homes. There is also a new app that will point you to booth sales in your area.
Worse than a Defeat
The British army is back in Warminster and its other bases around the country. Its eight-year venture in southern Afghanistan is over. The extent of the military and political catastrophe it represents is hard to overstate. It was doomed to fail before it began, and fail it did, at a terrible cost in lives and money.
How bad was it? In a way it was worse than a defeat, because to be defeated, an army and its masters must understand the nature of the conflict they are fighting. Britain never did understand, and now we would rather not think about it. (SLLRB)
Coco Chan, the corn eating golden retriever from Japan, has died.
COCO: February 17, 2003 - September 11, 2014. Coco's happy life was well documented by her owners, who lovingly recorded their beloved pet in over a hundred videos on her YouTube channel. She can be seen as a puppy in a fuzzy white cape, learning basic commands. As she grew older, she ate tons of fruit and vegetables, and became famous for eating corn on the cob adorably and efficiently. She patiently watches as her owner mashes potatoes and sculpts them into a mini sculpture of a Golden Retriever. She finishes off half a melon and at the end of this video, beautifully models two versions of melon rind hats. She jumps for noodles in this overhead perspective slow motion video entitled A dog such as the Jaws. Coco gets a good brushing before being transformed into GOLDEN LION, and she sweetly wears a tiara of flowers in DANDELION DOG. Dog Pez begins as an unpacking video of an interesting toy and then displays the owner's developing mastery of shooting treats at his dog and her obliging retrieval of them, finally catching one treat shot out of the dispenser directly into her mouth. She lies calmly and patiently as COCO's claw has increased. And she performs adorably again, although not completely accurately, in this shell game called Which one? The darling Coco touched the hearts of many internet viewers and she will be greatly missed.
Suing A Goodfriend in Budapest
The Head of the Hungarian Tax authority, Ildiko Vida, is suing the Charge d’Affaires at the United States embassy in Budapest, M. André Goodfriend, for defamation after it emerged that Ms Vida was one of six Hungarian officials banned from entering the United States over alleged corruption. This followed the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, saying that Ms Vida sould be relieved of her role if she did not undertake legal proceedings. US-Hungary relations have been strained for some time over the banning and were recently exacerbated by Senator John McCain's description of Hungary as "a nation that’s on the verge of ceding its sovereignty to a neo-fascist dictator".
While Budapest awaits the arrival of the recently confirmed US Ambassador, Colleen Bell,(former producer of the The Bold and the Beautiful and fund raiser for President Obama) FIDESZ's popularity has fallen dramatically in recent months. A large protest march is planned (link in Hungarian) for this Sunday. . This follows large scale protests in October when the Hungarian government announced an Internet tax.
For you little gardener and lover of trees
It's wintertime in the northern hemisphere, and the seasonal chill is taking hold. With the year's harvests complete and the earth freezing or frozen, now is the perfect time to plan next year's garden. [more inside]
Hennessy Youngman/Art Thoughtz
It's been over two years since Hennessy Youngman's made an Art Thoughtz video, but that doesn't change the relevance of what he's posted and the deeper meaning behind them all. (NSFW SLYT) [more inside]
"Abandon. Cultural immunity. I had a self."
"Rap music wasn’t just the black CNN: it was the black Psychic Friends Network. In fact, the history of rap music could be viewed as a litany of complaints about the police that seems to have predicted this current state of unrest."A pair of articles: one tracing the evolution of rap's relationship with police, from Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and Public Enemy, to Lil' Wayne and Run The Jewels (previously) and a more personal look at how RUN-DMC and Parliament allowed a writer to embrace his African-American heritage. [more inside]
Play Your Ukulele
Do you play the ukulele? Do you like strum-alongs? Ukulele Play Along is there! The site offers YouTube videos of songs synced with displays of their chords and lyrics, and fretboard displays for each song that comes up, in the three most common ukulele tunings (C6, D6, G6). (Hat tip: Molly Lewis, who has also made the world's shortest ukulele tutorial.) [more inside]
Gotham Central
Ed Brubaker looking back on writing Batman, Catwoman and Gotham Central - an epic three part interview from Comics Alliance: 1, 2, 3
A previous interview with fellow Gotham Central writer Greg Rucka: 1, 2 3
A previous interview with fellow Gotham Central writer Greg Rucka: 1, 2 3
Beauty is cheap if you point a camera at a grand phenomenon of nature
Elevenses
People are obsessed with top tens. But what about things that are ALMOST as good but as-yet undiscovered due to their not-quite-top-ten-ness? What about ... Eleven? [more inside]
Women don’t just have a voice, they are forcing institutions to listen.
Top Feminist Hashtags of 2014, and the accompanying infographic; Time Magazine's overview of Feminism on social media (trigger warning for domestic abuse). An alternative view: The trouble with Twitter Feminism. Bonus link: Wikipedia entry on Networked Feminism and examples.
ADVENTURE: I absolutely loathe adventurers
Werner Herzog Inspirational Posters [SLTumblr] (brief but perfect)
Sam Cooke
Do you have any idea how many phone calls we'll get?
Seasoned news photographer John Harte is telling stories, naming names, and even sharing unpublished pictures from his 28-year stint at The Bakersfield Californian at a new blog, You can't have my job, but I'll tell you a story: My three decades of photojournalism in one hell of a news town. Be warned that some of these photos may be disturbing. (They include images of dead children — notably the famous, award-winning, and highly controversial Hart Park drowning photo, which generated 500 calls of protest and a bomb threat against the newspaper.) Less-upsetting highlights include the stories in these individual entries: Meet the sheriff! My first arrest, We can't upset our readers!, and The greatest sports photo in history.
it's like waking up to the same nightmare every single day
Brothas and sistas, there's an App for THAT
Worried about being pulled over for Driving while black? No worries, there's an App for that coming, checkout the official site with video demo.
Coke and Peanuts
This treasured custom is, to us Southerners born before LBJ took office, what the tea ceremony is to the Japanese. Carol Penn-Romine pens an ode to a very Southern culinary peculiarity.
The viewer is hit with a ten-thousand-ton wave of sheer joy.
We Never Have to Be Alone is a blog post by Will Sheff of the band Okkervil River about Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show: Live, a 10-dollar import DVD of a live-for-German-TV performance sometime in 1974. [more inside]
The Comic-Book Guys Quivering in Fear of Cosplay
Noah Berlatsky in The Atlantic discusses how the backlash against cosplay in the comic book community is an illustration of the community's struggles with the gendering of their fandom. [more inside]
This is Rita, your new landlord
One Year Lease is an 11 minute film that was featured at the Tribeca Film Festival documenting almost entirely through voice mail messages, One Year Lease documents the travails of Brian, Thomas, and Casper as they endure a year-long sentence with Rita, the cat-loving landlady. "
You never knew you needed it, until now.
Stephen Colbert, dressed as Legolas. (note: animated GIFs)
The Caterpillar Defense
"Let’s say you’re a baby bird. You can’t fly. You can only wait for your parents to bring you food. You are, in other words, easy pickings. So what might you do to avoid getting snatched up by a predator? If you’re a cinereous mourner, ... you grow brilliant orange plumage. You make yourself absurdly easy to see."
"Just a Fairy Tale"
"The engineers weren’t all boys with crewcuts, short sleeve oxford shirts, and narrow black ties. That’s just a fairy tale they told for a while."
A short Medium post about a great picture of Margaret Hamilton, lead software engineer in the Apollo Program, standing next to a taller-than-her stack of her code. [more inside]
"...like taking a Polaroid but on glass."
Photographer Jonathan Keys is taking a step back from modern techniques and using a Collodion camera (previously) that dates back to the 1880's and uses a wet plate process. Here's his Flickr gallery.
Let it snow P3s
All snowflakes are special, but they are classified into just 8 general, 29 intermediate and 121 elementary categories.
Speech Synthesis Choir
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