February 2, 2008
Ya'll n----- gonna make me leave the game. I thought ya'll loved me
Ghostface Killah begs his fans to buy his new album. He figures that if he has 100,000 myspace friends then he should have at least 30,000 early sales. He doesnt and tells downloaders that they should "cop" the CD at the store even if they've downloaded it.
Lace metal welding sculptures
From her isolated rural New York property, Cal Lane produces amazing filigree lace patterned sculptures by welding everyday and found objects. My favourites are the shovels and wheelbarrows. Background at New York Times and NSCAD University. [via gardenhistorygirl]
War FM
It's such a good feeling to know you're alive.
Fred Rogers wrote two hundred songs during his career. Here are fourteen of them, accompanied by the amazing Johnny Costa.
Comrade J: What's true in the world of spies and lies?
"My defection was the major failure of the Russian intelligence, probably in all of history," - Sergei Tretyakov, former colonel in the Russian intelligence service and the subject of Comrade J: by Pete Earley. His claims of Russian turned Canadian politicians, Russian scamming of the UN for millions, and of a Russian duped ranking member of the Clinton Administration have been denied, while legal action has frozen plans to sell Comrade J in Canada.
Two contrasting reviews of Comrade J, here and here.
Two contrasting reviews of Comrade J, here and here.
Beirut Music Videos
The band Beirut released the Flying Club Cup on October 9th, and La Blogothèque has filmed unique, one take, on the spot, mostly public 'music videos' of each track. [more inside]
"There was no forcible penetration but Hope felt as if she was being raped."
Policestate Filter: Woman who is a crime victim brutally strip searched by police. Hope Steffey's cousin called 911 to report that Hope had been assaulted. When the police arrived, Hope accidentally turned over her dead sister's driver's license, which she keeps in her wallet as a memento. After being arrested, and brutally strip searched, she is made to spend six hours in a cell, naked. Warning: the video of the incident is disturbing.
Sentenced to Death
Afghan journalist found guilty of blasphemy by Sharia court and sentenced to death. The decision has been upheld by the Afghan Senate.
Back in the Saddle
Mix and match portraiture
How to make the best Hot Chocolate
Cold outside? Gray skies and icy rain? Seasonal affective disorder got you down? What you need is a nice frothy cup of Hot Chocolate. [more inside]
Art Garfunkel's Reading Habits
“I tried ‘Gravity’s Rainbow,’ and I thought it was fraudulent:” Art Garfunkel’s Reading Habits. (previously on MeFi)
Wyclif's Bible
Just ended on eBay: Auction for the Wycliffite New Testament ca. 1400. Closing bid; US $399,100.00. The seller supposedly is The Bible Museum, Inc. (according to The Little professor). More about Wycliffite editions and some choice bookbinding samples at Bridwell Library [more inside]
Zap!
Spark, Bang, Buzz is a site (well, two sites, one at earthlink, and the other at sparkbangbuzz.com) dedicated to dangerous and awesome science.
Can you charge a refridgerator with propane?
Make an air cannon!
Flame triodes ! And, of course, as the author notes, "There is a great deal of satisfaction in the idea of having built your own laser".
Haisai Ojisan
Shoukichi Kina, peace activist, club owner, environmentalist, sailor, critic of the US presence in Okinawa, proponent of Okinawan independence, and, since 2004, member of the Japanese House of Councillors has been playing his highly influential hybrid of traditional Okinawan min'yo, reggae, and other island music styles since he formed the band Champloose in 1968. [more inside]
New peer-reviewed Creationist Research Journal
Answers Research Journal is a new "professional peer-reviewed technical journal for the publication of interdisciplinary scientific and other relevant research from the perspective of the recent Creation and the global Flood within a biblical framework." Current Volume. Call for Papers.
Major Taylor
Marshall ("Major") Taylor was the first black American to be crowned World Champion in any sport, ever. Care to guess the sport? In 1899, he set the world one-mile track record in cycling (and repeated his win in 1900 and 1901. His legacy continues today with an association, a society, a foundation, cycling clubs, and a velodrome. [more inside]
Now you're thinking with... shiftiness
Shift, a flash game to take up 15 minutes of your Saturday. It's short, but interesting in the same slightly mind-bending way as Portal (and other recent flash games in the Blue). (Warning: I got dizzy)
The Top Ten Things Environmentalists Need to Learn
The Top Ten Things Environmentalists Need to Learn Unfortunately, many of those who claim to be working for environmental improvements lack an understanding of a few basic concepts which are absolutely critical to accomplishing anything. The idea that it is nessisary or honorable to make sacrifices to save this planet are overly simplistic and lack a true understanding of the forces at work. To use a phrase I have come to like, they are “Not even wrong.”
People with a History
People with a History is "an online guide to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans history." Ranging from the first stirrings of civilization to the modern day, People with a History gathers together original sources and academic articles dealing with queerness throughout history. To give you a feel for the wealth of material on the site, here are a few pages that caught my interest: The Vikings and Homosexuality, Coptic Spell: Spell for a Man to Obtain a Male Lover, an acount of a gay marriage ceremony described by Michel de Montaigne, But Among Our Own Selves (an 18th Century gay ballad), a chapter from The Life of St. Theodore of Sykeon, a 7th Century Byzantine monk and bishop, which mentions adelphopoiesis, or the rite of brothermaking, Wu Tsao, 19th Century Chinese lesbian poet, and finally Polari: The Lost Language of Gay Men.
Two great cartoons
I'm not a big fan of youtube posts. But without youtube, these two favorites of mine would be lost to obscurity. One from Seymour Kneitel, "La Petite Parade". The other is a Tex Avery, "Symphony in Slang". [more inside]
RIP, Tony Silver, director of Style Wars
Tony Silver, the director of the groundbreaking hip-hop documentary Style Wars passed last night. He was a family friend of mine, and had been sick for several years with a irreversible brain condition. Style Wars is considered by some to be the best hip-hop film ever made, and by everyone to be the first. It was shot at the very start of the 1980s, when graffiti was still hip-hop's dominant form, and the idea of graffiti as art was brand new. I recommend checking out the deluxe DVD edition of the film Tony put together a few years ago after many years where it was only available as an expensive educational-only VHS, but you can also check out the 1hr 10m version on Google Video.
2008 Animated Short Film Oscar Noms
Am I Blue?
The allure of blue eyes has long been celebrated. In the Odyssey, Homer gives the goddess Athena "bright blue eyes," and our fascination persists to this day with actors like Brad Pitt and Naomi Watts. Until recently, however, no one could explain the phenomena. [more inside]
A loveable old wheelchair-bound Stalinist...
Robert Wyatt is not dead. In fact, he recently released a new album titled Comicopera. [more inside]
EFF vs. AT&T
Up Against Big Brother: "For 18 years the Electronic Frontier Foundation has fought for the rights of ordinary Americans in cyberspace. Now it’s stepped into the limelight with a legal challenge to warrantless surveillance." [Via Boing Boing.]
Yes, We Can.
Yes, We Can! -- Obama's words, set to music.
Well, I'm Sorry, Timmy, but I don't dip that way.
Hey George, Timmy was right! A new study [PDF] by the Department of Food Science & Nutrition at Clemson University confirms that double dipping is just plain gross. “The way I would put it is, before you have some dip at a party, look around and ask yourself, would I be willing to kiss everyone here? Because you don’t know who might be double dipping, and those who do are sharing their saliva with you,” food microbiologist Prof. Paul L. Dawson says. [more inside]
What would Darth Joker do?
Can a lightsaber cut through Superman? Through him it cuts, hmmmm?
power comes in two forms–money and people
It's the economy, stupid.
The return of tight money fiscal conservatism? Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Paul Volcker endorses Barack Obama. [more inside]
omg, it's made of food!
Surreal photographic Foodscapes by photographer Carl Warner. Strawberry hot air balloons, towers of cheese, potato boulders, green pea boats on seas of salmon, spice roads, and sugar beaches populate these intricate and luscious scenes. More dishy foodscapes (the plate rainbow = ♥!) and other wonderful visual tricks at his Flash site in the "Fotographics" section (look for the fabulous forest of boots and the white cotton winter wonderland!). [more inside]
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