December 3, 2014
Get Lost! And found.
The Queen's English
One Woman, 17 British Accents: Have you ever wondered about the locations of accents used by British celebrities such as Maggie Thompson, Richard Burton, and Sean Bean? As part of the Anglophenia series, actress and comedian Siobhan Thompson takes us on a one-woman tour of regional accents of the British Islands.
Orange Julius and a Hotdog
1989: America's malls. The places where nothing — and everything — has changed. In 1989, Michael Galinsky, then a 20-year-old student, took a month to traverse the U.S. Everywhere he went, he documented the same place: the shopping mall. The results are now an archive of a vanished world, simultaneously familiar and foreign, trivial and full of meaning.
'Ecological differentiation is the necessary condition for coexistence'
The Ecological Society of America will mark its 100th anniversary in 2015, and to celebrate, the ESA is asking people to weigh in with their ideas about the biggest ecological innovations over the past century. Brian McGill at Dynamic Ecology presents a thoughtful summary of the most important concepts and methods over 100 years of ecological research, and many other ecologists are weighing in as well. [more inside]
CS301: Intro to V--
This particular solution to the Fizz Buzz problem is entertaining enough. Further reflection shows that it's actually an example of the Vogon programming language V--.
If Klein had even just read the entry on Wikipedia
"Religious freedom applies to all"
The Satanic Temple is a controversial religious organization whose main purpose is not to worship Satan, but to bring awareness to the varieties of religious freedom in the United States. [more inside]
"What was the fittest you ever were?" / "Ah, day of birth, I think."
Peter Cook interview from 1967: Part 1 [YouTube]. Cook talks about the writing process, creating Bedazzled, taxes, Beyond The Fringe, stage-work, and more in this unguarded interview. [more inside]
Alright, let's light this candle and head back into space
NASA’s new Orion spacecraft will soon blast off on its maiden voyage into space. It’ll be a quick and unmanned flight to test the craft, particularly its innovative heat shield, which will protect Iron man, Captain Kirk, Slimey the Worm and a unnamed Tyrannosaurus Rex from the white hot temperatures as Orion returns to Earth. Watch the launch on NASA TV (Audio only stream) on Thursday, December 4th, at 7:05am EST (1205 GMT) i.e. tomorrow morning for most of the Western world. [more inside]
The history of chairs: translating social authority into furniture
Chairs, they're everywhere these days. They seem simple enough, and they are indeed ancient in general existence. But it was the chest, the bench and the stool that were the ordinary seats used in everyday living, and the number of chairs which have survived from an earlier date is exceedingly limited. In China, chairs brought about a change in posture and display of hierarchy, and into the 17th century England, the chairs in a household reflected the social hierarchy for family and guests. Even into the 1970s, chairs served to mark hierarchy in the workplace, and it took an examination of workplace injuries, turn-overs and general productivity to re-evaluate how chairs were selected for office workers. [more inside]
i carry your dick pic with me (i carry it in my heart)
The Beast of Turin
100 years ago bigger was better in search for speed and this is the biggest of them all. The beast of Turin [more inside]
the Ukips
“I don’t mind causing offence when I intend to, but I don’t like causing it accidentally” Interview with comedian Stewart Lee
Is Loon flying?
Google's balloon-based internet seems to be working. After some hiccups, one bad demo, and lots of redesign, Google's Project Loon (previously) is bringing some internet to some people in the developing world.
Fluffier socks play a crucial role. (SLS)
Fluffier socks play a crucial role. (SLS)
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Gävlebocken 2014 - Long Live The Goat!
Sweden's annual Straw Christmas Goat was revealed on November 30. A regular target for arson, 2013's incarnation survived nearly until Christmas Day. This year, steps are being taken that are hoped to keep the goat in place until the end of the holiday season. The Goat has an oddly encouraging (yet still a bit existential) twitter account you can follow, and also a webcam so you can keep watch no matter where you are. (Previously)
Shooting the hand that feeds the fire
After nearly a decade, it was time. The old fire was still burning, sure, but technological advances meant the flame could be brighter, the sparks a little sparklier. And so in the driving rain, exactly seven weeks before Christmas, a crew of four (plus one mysterious cast member) descended on a rustic homestead on Vancouver’s North Shore, to build – and record – a fire.
“We all said, ‘Can we be the hand that just pokes the fire?’”
The answer was no. [more inside]
“We all said, ‘Can we be the hand that just pokes the fire?’”
The answer was no. [more inside]
Celebrating a notable artist... who also happens to be "special."
Fiber artist Judith Scott's style of assemblage sculpture may not be your cup of tea, but even her critics are impressed with the complexity and originality of her found object bundles. The Brooklyn Museum of Art is running the first US survey of her works through March. Her work is every bit on par with more famous assemblage artists like Robert Rauschenberg, made more remarkable by the fact that she was not only a mostly untrained "oustider artist," but Ms. Scott was born with Down's Syndrome and was almost completely deaf and mute.
"This tale begins and ends with a fellow named Bob Colesberry."
Out at Home
"I am extremely grateful that Major League Baseball has always judged me on my work and nothing else"In a "very quiet and understated way", 29-year veteran MLB umpire Dale Scott has become the first active official in any of the major US sports to come out as gay.
People are still having sex and nothing seems to stop them
A Federal Cab Marshal Service
Blake Ross details the ways in which the Nevada Taxicab Authority is fighting back against unscrupulous taxi drivers and out-innovating Uber & Lyft in the process.
Ninetyfive live spectators, three million views on Youtube
"It is an unbelievable goal. Both feet, over her shoulder. It is totally instinctive. The technique and contact required to volley a ball that is coming over your head is amazing. If Wayne Rooney or Ronaldo had done something like that you would be talking about it for years. It is the best of the three."And the nominees for the FIFA goal of the year are James Rodriguez, Robin van Persie and Stephanie Roche, the first woman football player to ever have been a finalist for the Puskas Award, beating out people like Diego Costa and Zlatan Ibrahimović.
Jean Béliveau, 1931-2014
Last night, Jean Béliveau ("le Gros Bill"), former Montreal Canadiens captain and winner of 10 Stanley Cups, passed away at age 83. Noted for both his skill on the ice and his gentlemanly conduct off it, he had 507 goals and 712 assists over a 20 year career, all with Montreal.
Rare is the talent so great that a sports franchise would buy an entire league to secure his services. Jean Béliveau of the Montreal Canadiens was such a talent. [more inside]
A hundred death whistles marching
Ancient musical reconstruction has led to the discovery of the sounds made by Aztec "death whistles".
[more inside]
[more inside]
Walking and talking while Deaf
"Unlike hearing people, the deaf have to keep sightlines in order to maintain conversations. So when deaf people walk and talk, they’ll lock into a kind of dance. Going through a doorway, one person will spin in place and walk backwards to keep talking. Walking past a column, two deaf people in conversation will move in tandem to avoid collision." The podcast 99% Invisible interviews a designer of a building at Gallaudet University designed for the way deaf people move and talk. [full transcript]
Stolen Valor
How viral videos became the way veterans combat ‘stolen valor’. Stolen valor are military wannabes, dressing up in uniform and presenting in public as military veterans (and getting store discounts etc). The 1998 self-published book led to the 'Stolen Valor Act' of 2005 and 2013. The 'Guardian of Valor' website has a Hall of Shame for those caught faking. The latest viral video involves a man at the Mall claiming to be an Army Ranger who is confronted. Regarding this video, the Guardian of Valor site owner says civilians don't understand why faking military service is looked at so negatively by the troops and veterans. “They don’t understand the anger he felt because he had lost friends wearing that uniform, had friends wounded in combat,” Anderson said. “So they want to watch because they are trying to figure out why it makes Veterans so angry.” [more inside]
The Original San Francisco Eccentric
Of Chinese Censorship, Punning and Braising
"China’s Web Doorkeeper", Lu Wei, may be the most powerful man on the Internet (NYT), and he has "ratcheted up restrictions in what is already the world’s most sophisticated system of online censorship." He addressed the 7th China-US Internet Industry Forum yesterday and everybody was listening (SCMP). But there is one big question: Will he joining the country’s print and broadcast watchdog's new campaign to “crack down on the irregular and inaccurate use of the Chinese language," specifically puns and wordplay (Grauniad)? If so, he may have issues with Google searches that match up his name with a new category of take-away food in Taiwan called "lu-wei" (“lu” means braised and “wei,” flavors) (Inquirer).
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