February 11, 2008
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
A look at the (likely terrible) CGI Star Wars prequel hitting theaters this autumn. The "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" movie is expected to run around 100 minutes and pick up between episode II and III. Anakin Skywalker is not yet Darth Vader. The story will then continue in 30-minute smallscreen installments.
Querying the hive mind
Querying the hive mind [pdf]
Jane McGonigal, one of the lead designers of I Love Bees writes about collective intelligence, the phenomenon of massive groups of people gathering online to solve problems, as it played out in I Love Bees (an alternate reality game).
Jane McGonigal, one of the lead designers of I Love Bees writes about collective intelligence, the phenomenon of massive groups of people gathering online to solve problems, as it played out in I Love Bees (an alternate reality game).
Spongebob + Casablanca = Awesome
A special treat from the Annie Awards on February 8th, 2008. The cast of Spongebob Squarepants redubs a clip from Casablanca. They are accurate to the script; which makes it completely awesome. via.
Do do do dooo dooo
Rainbow Divider warning: sound; animated gifs; awesomeness
Headgehog eating.
The Yankee King of Spain
Acquitted of the murder of Francis Scott Key's son by the first successful pleading of temporarily insane? Check. Civil War Union general? Check. Medal of Honor winner? Check. Amputated leg on display to the public? Check. Lover to the deposed Queen of Spain? Check. Ladies and Gentlemen, I introduce you to Major General, Foreign Minister, and Congressman Daniel Edgar Sickles. [more inside]
Adieu Howard
Doodles, Drafts and Designs
Doodles, Drafts and Designs: Industrial Drawings from the Smithsonian. Including crayon tests, the original telescoping shopping cart and more. [via the horse's neck]
All your berries in one basket?
"It's amazing how we rely on them." BlackBerry email service went down this afternoon in "The Americas Network." That's bad. But is over-reliance on a network the worst of it? Or is it the thumb-ache? or the back-ache? or the work-life imbalance? or the shakes?
Three Little Vids
Three Little Pigs claymation Music video by Green Jelly NSFW YouTube
Three Little Pigs as told by Christopher Walken NSFW YouTube
Three Little Pigs BeBop Trio Looney Tunes cartoon (YouTube) [more inside]
The Pritzker Military Library
The Pritzker Military Library, a "public institution for the study of the citizen-soldier as an essential element for the preservation of democracy." Found while doing some after-film research on Charlie Wilson's War, the site is a trove of largely non-partisan, often refreshingly candid military perspectives. Particular highlights are video and audio interviews with Jim Lovell and Congressional Medal of Honor winners.
Wiimote + LED Yo-Yo = "yo-yo core"
Finish your plate please.
The Twenty Worst Foods in America. There's something for everyone!
Zed-neck
Meathook Through The Nose
Yeah, that's right. It's just a video of a guy putting a meathook through his nose & back out his mouth.
Anonymous' Church of Scientology protest has some and gone
If you have missed knowing about the 'declaration of war' from Anonymous, Jess Lee does a good job of summarizing the story. In short: some people don't like the Church of Scientology and have been waging a virtual war on the Church's various electronic presences. After some of that, someone called for a live action: protesting in front of CoS facilities.
It happened this weekend. [more inside]
Would he swear on the Bible?
"We have the chance to accomplish two other things: to provide a model for what a truly sincere, forthright, and courageous Presidential candidate might look like, and to demonstrate how desperate America’s voters are to see one." Jesus in 2008!
Esalen, where "California" bubbled up
Esalen: Where "California" Bubbled Up (one photo mildly NSFW) For many others in America and around the world, Esalen stands more vaguely for that metaphorical point where “East meets West” and is transformed into something uniquely and mystically American or New Agey. And for a great many others yet, Esalen is simply that notorious bagno-bordello where people had sex and got high throughout the 1960s and 1970s before coming home talking psychobabble and dangling crystals. In short, Esalen is in every way, even geologically, California at its most extreme. It is its caricature, as well as its noblest expression.
Chris Lightfoot - "a one man think-tank"
It's a year since the untimely death of
Chris Lightfoot. He had a remarkable
combination of political commitment and technical expertise that led him to develop sites
such as WriteToThem and Pledgebank for the splendid political and social
software group, MySociety.
His political writing brings a sharp and sarcastic wit to bear on such subjects as the Iraq war, and ID cards.
There are also some good rants.
A sad loss to British society.
Alternative, political and swedish poster art
proggensaffischer.se - alternative, political and swedish poster art. The main gallery can be found here. [The site is in swedish, some of the posters are NSFW.] [more inside]
"We'd like to confirm, from the crew of Apollo 17, that the world is round."
The most widely-distributed photograph in history may be The Blue Marble, a shot taken in 1972 by an unknown crewmember on Apollo 17. In 2002, NASA released a new Blue Marble photograph, familiar to desktops everywhere, using a composite of many photographs. In 2005, Blue Marble: The Next Generation offered even better views and some spectacular animations of the seasons from space. In the same spirit, the Discovery Channel just launched Earth Live, which lets you see the dynamics of weather and climate through a well done interface.
Viral Obama
John.He.Is turns John McCain quotes into a beautiful song. Two suburban women sit around discussing whether or not America is ready for a smart President. Filmmakers get ready to release Barackula: The Musical. Rap musician BigHitBuda drops Elect Obama. [more inside]
Put down that diet soda and back away slowly
An older study that claims artificial sweeteners actually cause weight gain, has resurfaced. In addition to the other health hazards linked to artificial sweeteners, it appears there is yet another reason to go back to nature. Unless of course you take advice from Nancy Appleton, Ph.D, who seems to think sugar is the cause of almost everything.
I just want more episodes of Metalocalypse
With the Writer's Guild of America strike possibly coming to close in a couple of days, you might be interested in a guide to when the various shows will be coming back.
If any of these pictures appear on your friends wall, he's better off than he is letting on.
A trio of thieves have made off with over $150 Million in art from E.G. Buehrle Museum in Zurich, Switzerland. The four stolen paintings are Cézanne's The Boy in Red Waistcoat, Degas's Viscount Ludovic Lepic and His Daughter, Monet's Poppy Field Near Vetheuil and Van Gogh's Blooming Chestnut Branches.
This comes only two weeks after 2 Picasso pieces were stolen in Pfaeffikon, Switzerland. No one has been caught in either thefts. [more inside]
DIY Biotech
Worried about the state of biodiversity? Why not make some of your own? Moore’s law is all over biotechnology right now. Can the hackers be far behind? MIT's Drew Endy doesn’t think so. Ready to get started? You might already have some of the tools that you will need. Plans for others are available on the web. All you need now are some parts.
RIP Rep. Lantos
Rep. Tom Lantos, 80, passed away this morning. Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, he was the only Holocaust survivor to ever serve in the United States Congress.
Iminimi
Here we have a virulent earworm (with a high language-independent sing-along quotient) from early 80's Hungary. Over here we have a site for constructing catastrophic webcam karaoke versions.
Penile Art.
He's not just a poet. Pricasso also paints with his penis. He's 'done' Ron Paul and other world leaders. This is not a self-link, but it is a tad NSFW.
At The End Of The World, No One Can Hear You Scream.
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