February 19, 2013
Black History Month for White People.
Prison privatization meets college football
Florida Atlantic University announced today that its football team will play in "GEO Group Stadium", named after a for-profit prison company. According to the New York Times, GEO Group Inc. gifted 6 million to the public university as part of a controversial deal to secure the naming rights for its stadium.
I'm in love with the way you're in love with the night
Every Word Handwritten is a new short film by New Jersey rockers The Gaslight Anthem centered around the lifespan of a single vinyl record. It's title comes from a line in Handwritten, a song off their album of the same name. The Gaslight Anthem have long written about the power of old music formats, from their proclamation that they're the 'last of the jukebox Romeos' on their first album to their many invocations of the mythical 'radio' on songs like Angry Johnny and the Radio and Queen Of Lower Chelsea to 45, another song from Handwritten.
But why?
Dr Ainley, is there such a thing as insanity among penguins? What makes a penguin abandon its life and quest into the heart of Antarctica? What is a life well-lived for a penguin, anyway? What makes a human spend a year in a frozen wasteland? Is scientific curiosity kin to the derangement of the penguin? A short clip from Werner Herzog's excellent film, Encounters at the End of the World.
Some guy from Normandy
The last 2:50 of Teen Jeopardy! has made a viral star out of winner Leonard Cooper, 17. In an interview, Cooper discusses his preparation, applying to Brown University, meeting Steve Harvey, and that tricky buzzer.
Not to mention that Questlove Instagram.
Morris Scott Dollens' Dream of the Stars
Morris Scott Dollens was an active and creative science fiction fan from the earliest days of sci-fi fandom, starting with making the fanzine Science Fiction Collector via hectography at age 16. He went on to illustrate covers for various other fanzines and wrote short stories, but largely left those creative endeavors for technological hobbies and jobs related to photography and recording from the 1950s to 1960s. Following the moon landing in 1969, he began creating small-scale astronomical paintings that he mailed to sci-fi conventions all over the country, where they were part of convention art shows. He also made miniature scenes of space exploration, which he crafted as teasers for a movie, Dream of the Stars, which he sent to magazines and book publishers, but his movie was never made. [more inside]
When Nikita met Marilyn
Khrushchev Tours America - His shoe banging incident at the UN and the the Kitchen Debates with Nixon are well known but less attention has been given to the time Nikita Khrushchev went to Hollywood. He met Marilyn Monroe and other film luminaries but he was denied a trip to Disneyland (previously). [more inside]
"Dad, have you ever heard of Portal?" "I've had Portabella Mushrooms..."
Dan writes about games for a living. Dan's dad does not play games. Dan plays games with his dad. Much amused frustration is had by both parties. 2011, 2012, 2013. Individual Youtube videos after the jump. [more inside]
The hands are dealt; we get to see how we play them.
Luck was a David Milch-created show on HBO last year. It was cancelled after one season. Some of you might have dug it. If so, you might also dig Out of Luck: "The following blog is the writer’s depiction of an imagined racetrack-based story, an ongoing saga, which includes some of the characters depicted in the ill-fated Luck series." It's written by John Perrotta who was a writer/producer/story editor on the show.
Life Advice from Machines
Neil Gaiman Interactive
The twelve tales are written. (PDF) But words are only half the story – now Neil wants your help bringing them to life. The next step is to illustrate them. [more inside]
"Honky-Tonky Double Barrel Meat Loaded Blast"
Guy Fieri's American Kitchen (maybe not Metafilter's own, but definitely Metatalk's favorite) has a new menu. It is only marginally more ridiculous than the old one.
Cheesecake rubbed on a pig's tongue.
Listening to what the tongue feels:
First, drink some black coffee. Next, rub your tongue against the roof of your mouth. It should feel a little rough, like very fine sandpaper: the tiny bumps on your tongue, called papillae, are raised just enough to create friction against your palate. If you now add cream to your coffee and try again, the sensation should be much smoother — almost velvety. A layer of fat and mucous is now coating your tongue, providing lubrication and preventing friction. What you have just done was, until very recently, the most accurate method for evaluating the oral perception of fat — the precise degree of tongue-coating creaminess in milk, mayonnaise, or chocolate pudding.
We, The Aliens.
What To Do When The Warnings Sound
It's hard to believe these days, what with Gazprom sponsoring the Champions League, that thirty years ago, if not for the actions of one man, Stanislav Petrov, (previously, previouslier) the world might have ended in a nuclear holocaust. His story long kept secret, only revealed in 1998, Petrov has finally been rewarded for his courage this week, as he became the latest recipient of the Dresden Peace Prize. Coincidently, this honour came only days after the meteorite strike in Russia, which as Charlie Stross points out, in the Cold War context of three decades ago might have ended in tragedy. Curious of how that might have panned out? Well, the Protect and Survive series at Alternate History.com shows what would've happened to Britain in a full scale nuclear war: it's not pretty. [more inside]
I wanted to be a real person to my parents again
"Y'ALLQUEERS BETTER BE ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOR, I AM HERE WITH MY MOTHER AND IT'S HER FIRST TIME IN A GAY BAR SO YOU JUST STOP THAT HANKY-PANKY RIGHT THIS SECOND." [more inside]
Links To The Damn Paper
Hello and welcome to Links to the Damn Paper, an open discussion community showcasing the best in freely-available biology research. If you’ve ever tried to have a discussion about science on the Web and been stymied and frustrated by inaccessible articles, misrepresentation of research in science journalism, or a community that seems uninterested in digging into the actual research behind a topic, then welcome: you are our people. If you’ve ever wished for a place to talk about the Science of Life where you could be sure that the actual articles were available, where compelling research was presented in a way that allowed it to speak for itself, and where you could discuss science with actual scientists and with other people who are passionate about science for its own sake, then you have found your haven.MeFi's own Blasdelb, ChuraChura, and Scientist have G(T)OB. And it is good. [via mefi projects]
Teh Exhibishun
The Framers Gallery in London is currently hosting Teh Exhibishun, an exhibition of lolcat art. Special guest is Kate Miltner, author of SRSLY PHENOMENAL:
AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE APPEAL OF LOLCATS [MA dissertation, pdf available on her website]. Admission is free, but 50% of all proceeds collected will go to Battersea Home for Dogs and Cats. The BBC is there (with video) to speak with curator Jenny Theolin, some of the artists, and Miltner.
With malice, toward none
The Lafcadio Hearn of Our Time
Donald Richie, American author, journalist, critic and expert on Japan, dies at 88.
Smilingly excluded here in Japan, politely stigmatised, I can from my angle attempt only objectivity, since my subjective self will not fit the space I am allotted . . . how fortunate I am to occupy this niche with its lateral view. In America I would be denied this place. I would live on the flat surface of a plain. In Japan, from where I am sitting, the light falls just right – I can see the peaks and valleys, the crags and crevasses.
-- from The Japan Journals, 1947-2004[more inside]
"His writing is not about something; it is that something itself."
In theory: the unread and the unreadable - "We measure our lives with unread books – and 'difficult' works can induce the most guilt. How should we view this challenge?"
Mutant Women of Earth
The Secret Law of Page Harmony
A method to produce the perfect book (single-link graphic design essay).
"The fact that this happened is a big problem for us."
A "suicide," GaN semiconductors, a found hard drive, China, intrigue
Death in Singapore The body of a young US electronics engineer, Shane Todd, was found hanging in his Singapore apartment. Police said it was suicide, but the Todd family believe he was murdered. Shane had feared that a project he was working on was compromising US national security. His parents want to know if that project sent him to his grave.
The TFA insurgency and its uses
[Teach for America's] goals derive, in theory, from laudable—if misguided—impulses. But each, in practice, has demonstrated to be deeply problematic. TFA ... underwrites, intentionally or not, the conservative assumptions of the education reform movement: that teacher’s unions serve as barriers to quality education; that testing is the best way to assess quality education; that educating poor children is best done by institutionalizing them; that meritocracy is an end-in-itself; that social class is an unimportant variable in education reform; that education policy is best made by evading politics proper; and that faith in public school teachers is misplaced.Teach for America's hidden curriculum: neo-liberalism, union-busting, and the teacher as cultural tourist. [Via.]
Vegetable Garage Band
Bladerunner agonistes
'Bladerunner' Oscar Pistorius (previously), the South African olympian and paralympian sprinter, charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp whom he shot four times through a locked bathroom door, has now given his account of what happened that night at a bail hearing. In an affidavit he claims that he loved Steenkamp, who he thought was still in bed, and fired at what he thought was a burglar, before breaking down the bathroom door with a cricket bat and watching his girlfriend die in his arms. The prosecution takes another view. Police have asked for blood tests on Pistorius, anticipating a possible 'roid rage' defence after steroids were found in the home following the shooting. Pistorius is the latest in series of elite male athletes to find themselves mired in controversy.
Privacy vs. Pseudonymity
"Pop quiz: what is the favorite social networking site of Americans under age 25? If you guessed Facebook you are way behind the eight-ball, because Tumblr now enjoys more regular visits from the youth of America." Tumblr is not what you think. "Tumblr provides its users with the oldest privacy-control strategy on the Internet: security through obscurity and multiple pseudonymity [... it] proves that the issue is less about public vs. private and more about whether you are findable and identifiable by people who actually know you in real life."
The Changing Face of Superman
A poster showing the evolution of Superman, 1938 - 2013. It covers the big guy's appearance in comic books, live-action, animation, Elseworlds and other comic book variations, and marketing and promo images.
All Your Nets Are Belong to the PLA
The Mandiant security firm has released a report attributing a number of hacking events to Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) activity perpetrated by China's 2nd Bureau of the People's Liberation Army General Staff Deparment's 3rd Department. They have also released an appendix containing multiple artifacts that can be used to detect intrusions on networks.
this is why that is important
NSFWCORP presents This Is How You Healthcare: American Death in London by Sarah Bee:
The main things that keep me sane are the airy beauty and peacefulness of the hospital building, messages from friends and family far away on earth, the mundane magnificence of the staff: and the knowledge that all of this is free and taken care of and I do not have to fill in a single fuckforsaken form or bust one precious braincell worrying about how I might have to find money to pay for the futile care of my dying deadbeat dad.[more inside]
She looked good coming down those stairs
One hundred years ago today in 1913, an art exhibition opened in New York City that shocked the country, changed our perception of beauty and had a profound effect on artists and collectors.
The International Exhibition of Modern Art — which came to be known, simply, as the Armory Show — marked the dawn of Modernism in America.
'Do you think you’re going to give this part to somebody else?'
The Making of 'Pulp Fiction' as told by Quentin Tarantino and the cast. Plus ephemera, a QT death chart, and Marvin.
A horse robot talking to a meat robot
Will members of the "seduction community" attempt to mate with nonsensical robots? Yes, yes they will.
Silent No More: Women In The Military Speak Out Against Sex Crimes
Sexual Assault In The U.S. Military is the focus of a serious contender for Best Documentary Feature at this year's Academy Awards. The Invisible War is a groundbreaking investigative doc that sheds light on the under-reported epidemic of sexual abuse against female members of the military, as well as the lack of punitive action in these crimes: of the 8 percent of sexual assault cases that are prosecuted in the military, only 2 percent result in convictions. A female soldier in a combat zone is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire.
By official estimates from The Department of Defense, 19,000 violent sexual crimes occurred in the military in 2011 alone. Sexual assault is grossly under-reported in the military. In 2011, 3,191 assaults were reported when its likely that somewhere between 19,000 and 22,000 assaults occurred. The women in the film speak about the physical and mental abuse they underwent while serving in the military - and about the the lawsuit they joined and the verdict in which their experiences were labeled "occupational hazards". The film is already garnering much attention, especially as front-running Oscar Nominee - and lawmakers are taking notice. [more inside]
By official estimates from The Department of Defense, 19,000 violent sexual crimes occurred in the military in 2011 alone. Sexual assault is grossly under-reported in the military. In 2011, 3,191 assaults were reported when its likely that somewhere between 19,000 and 22,000 assaults occurred. The women in the film speak about the physical and mental abuse they underwent while serving in the military - and about the the lawsuit they joined and the verdict in which their experiences were labeled "occupational hazards". The film is already garnering much attention, especially as front-running Oscar Nominee - and lawmakers are taking notice. [more inside]
Bad, but not THAT bad.
Last month, we saw that Google Flu Trends was predicting doom for the U.S. Turns out, Google was wrong. [more inside]
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