February 24, 2010
The art of paper cutting
A two-dimensional piece of paper takes on a third dimension in recent works by paper cutting artists. Fairytales. Maps and fairies. Forests. Journeying through a book. (Previously) [more inside]
Methane and Climate Change
Climate change could be accelerated by 'methane time bomb' Atmospheric methane levels began rising in 2007, when an Arctic heatwave caused sea ice to shrink significantly. Now new preliminary results suggest levels have continued to rise through 2008 and 2009. The new figures [were] disclosed [earlier this week] at the start of a two-day conference on greenhouse gases at the Royal Society in London. (more here; via).
Mobile Suit Gundam
Gundam in Excel [SLYT]
Crankin'
The Teenager Audio Test
The Teenager Audio Test "Clicking the play button below will produce a tone that is generally only heard by people under the age of 25. It has been used as a deterrent device to keep teenagers from loitering in malls and shops, and sounds similar to a buzzing mosquito. The elderly and people with hearing damage often cannot hear the sound." SLTO (Single Link The Oatmeal post) [more inside]
Lolacaust?
"Where Brooklyn At?!" by Adolf Hitler. [SLYT]
Your body is now a crime scene
"Using the legal standard of "reckless behavior" all a district attorney needs to show is that a woman behaved in a manner that is thought to cause miscarriage, even if she didn't intend to lose the pregnancy. Drink too much alcohol and have a miscarriage? Under the new law such actions could be cause for prosecution." A new Utah law now makes intentional behavior leading to miscarriage or "reckless" behavior leading to miscarriage a crime punishable by life in prison.
I'm Sorry Dave, I Can Compose Better Than You
Two teachers one chair.
The kids are calling it Two teachers one chair (SLYT). The news says that simulating a lap dance during a high school prep rally is going a little too far. What does in loco parentis mean these days? What's a teacher gotta do to be good these days?
Prezi, the Zooming Presentation Tool
Power corrupts. Powerpoint corrupts absolutely. There are many online alternatives to Powerpoint (like 280 Slides, Google Docs and Sliderocket), but nothing breaks the mold quite like Prezi. [more inside]
New Pew Study Finds the Millennial Generation the Most Educated, Underemployed, Optimistic, Plugged-In, Nonreligious, Democratic generation in American History
Dig out the flannel from the attic--there's another grunge movement a-comin'! According to a new study from the Pew Research Center, the millennial generation (18-29 year olds) are becoming one of the most educated generations ever, but many of them are still unemployed.
This research revealed another very scary statistic. They said the college students who graduate during a bad economy typically suffer long term consequences that can affect their careers and earnings for as long as 15 years (Gen-Xers everywhere wince). [more inside]
The Lessons of Gobekli Tepe
Laying bare the gratuitous assumptions of the patriarchal historical narrative. A weblog entry from the Aristasian Empire, of which a history and some kinnies [NSFW]. • Gobekli Tepe [previously] • Aristasia [previously]
The Treachery of Images
A French association for non-smokers' rights has launched a new ad campaign [all links potentially NSFW] that visually equates smoking with oral sex, using the tagline: "To smoke is to be a slave to tobacco." The pictures show adolescents, young men and women, and the act looks submissive, even forced. Uproar ensues. The Minister for Families vows to ban the images. Commentators join in. French slang helps explain: "Faire un pipe" and "Fumer le cigare" are both common-enough terms for the act that most people who see the images would get the double-entendre. [more inside]
Ackbar
Students at the University of Mississippi voted yesterday to help select a new mascot. The previous mascot, Colonel Reb, a white-bearded old man with a cane and wide-brimmed hat, was removed from sporting events in 2003. There is now a student-led effort to select "Star Wars" character Admiral Ackbar (video of Ackbar saying "It's a trap!" here) as the new mascot. This effort includes a Facebook group and twitter account. The slogan is, "This time it's not a trap." Officials at the University say "No chance." Meanwhile, the "Save Colonel Reb Foundation" has sponsored a series of radio ads, including this one.
Heavy Metal Curling, FTW!
Heavy Metal Curling! Gothenburg band, Hammerfall joins forces with the Swedish Women's Curling Team for a power metal promo. Meanwhile, Americans get shafted with the godawful AT&T Team USA Soundtrack. Curling owns the 2010 Olympics.
You know, that thing where...
Death Never Looked this Cosy!
Killing Time. Daniela Edburg's (previously) series of photographs about compulsive knitting and death.
A cool place to play
I have been working on and off for about 2 years building our "D&D ROOM" to hold most of our collection and give us a cool place to play...
The nuclear option
The Vermont state legislature voted today to close Vermont Yankee, the Green Mountain State's own nuclear power plant.
"The list of people who were blown up or poisoned while trying to do so is impressive"
There are many exciting chemicals. These are the ones that Derek Lowe won't work with. Derek Lowe authors the "In The Pipeline" blog on Corante, and writes primarily about the pharmaceutical industry. However, the subset of entries marked "Things I Won't Work With" delves entertainingly into the realm of substances like dioxygen difluoride (tl;dr: it explodes. A lot.)
The Territorial Imperatives of the Trumpeter Swan
Be forewarned that somewhere, sometime, someplace, some enterprising young man who seems to know ten times what you do about computers is going to try to convince you that his program will make a jug of cider jump off the table and turn ducks' eggs into solid gold. Look this man straight in the eye and ask him for names of people who are successfully using his program. DO NOT, under any circumstances, bet him that he can't do it. There's no telling what someone might be able to make a computer do.
A journey through the whimsical computer manuals of the Franklin Ace.
A journey through the whimsical computer manuals of the Franklin Ace.
Killer whale kills
NSFWord
NSFWord: Effing Typeface.
Customizable kitchen garden planner
The Kitchen Garden Planner allows you to create a customized plan for a Square Foot Garden. They also have designs for pre-planned square foot kitchen gardens, such as the high-yield garden and the salsa garden.
Your upload has been queued for screening - Expect it to go live within the next 12 - 24 months
In 2006 some Italian teenagers filmed themselves assaulting a youth with Down Syndrome and uploaded the video to Google Video Italia. It was pulled from the site within hours, but that did not satisfy the Italian Down Syndrome support group named Vivi Down, who filed a complaint that resulted in a two-year investigation. That lead to charges and indictment of four Google executives, who were never aware of the video until after it had been removed, for violating Italy’s privacy code.
Today the Italian court ruled that three of the four - chief legal officer David Drummond, global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer and former CFO George Reyes - are guilty, and sentenced them to 6 months to a year of jail-time. The fourth, Arvind Desikan, former head of Google Video in London, was acquitted. [more inside]
Delightfully tacky, yet overvalued
Rumor has it Hooters is for sale and could fetch up to $250 million. After the death of the chairman Robert H. Brooks about four years ago the company has been run by his son Coby who recently was on an episode of Undercover Boss. A legal battle erupted over Coby's widower step-mom claiming for a larger share of the inhertance under South Carolina's elective share law forcing the company to take on outside investors. Now the company looks to raise cash quick with a defunct airline, casino in default, and countless lawsuits plaguing its profitable salad dressing manufacturing, credit card, and franchise operations.
Townes Van Zandt poetry
Yesterday Night Dawn: The Unpublished Poetry of Townes Van Zandt by David Broza was released. I heard it last night and have ordered my copy. [more inside]
Still Life With Rock, Paper & Scissors
Vanitas, the 17th-century Dutch still-life genre emphasizing transience and mortality, is reborn through the lens of photographer Justine Reyes using everyday objects that belonged to her grandmother. Reyes is not the first contemporary artist to reinterpret this genre.
"Many people are alive but don't touch the miracle of being alive."
Oprah interviews Vietnamese peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. The results may surprise you. [more inside]
Diary of a hunger striker
What drives somebody to hunger strike? The hunger strike as a method of protest has been employed for a very long time indeed. The first thing I think of when the words "hunger strike" are mentioned is the story of Bobby Sands, despite the fact I was too young to know what was going on at the time.
Is it fitting that the bizarre actions of a huge food company has inspired another hunger strike? [more inside]
I'll bake a saw inside a cake
Margaret Cho's "My Lil' Wayne" (SLYT). A folksy song about fightin' the man, making a break for the border, and living large. Cakes, strippers, and hairbraiding!
An education "turnaround"
“This is hard work and these are tough decisions, but students only have one chance for an education,” Education Secretary Duncan said, “and when schools continue to struggle we have a collective obligation to take action.” In response to a new federal mandate to fix under-performing schools, every teacher will be fired at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island.
The meme is dead. Long live the meme.
Groovemeister and all-around fun guy, Bernard Purdie
I'm gonna 'splain to you what the Purdie shuffle is all about... Woooo! Don't worry about those ghost notes! Ain't nuthin' but rebounds! We're gonna take an extra step! I'm gonna go to my cowbell! You don't have to be a tub-thumper yourself to dig master percussionist Bernard "Pretty" Purdie's infectiously joyous drum instruction videos. Yeah!
"I had always known she had to have a routine"
Why autism is different for girls: "We may think it only affects boys. But the female variant is often much harder to spot – and that means thousands of girls may be going undiagnosed."
Dead People of Walmart
"Generously sized, the Star Legacy's Regal Wide Body has extended dimensions width combined with an adjustable bed. Exceptional quality, sleek design and squared corners add to its contoured look. The hand-tailored white crepe interior and hand-painted, high gloss antique gunmetal finish is complemented with classically designed hardware and premium swing bars. it is the perfect match for the person who lived life to its fullest." Yep, Walmart now does caskets.
Men's evil manners live in brass
Medieval funerary effigies and brasses provide a valuable and fascinating look at the fashion, heraldry, and armor of the Middle Ages. [more inside]
Like the Mines of Moria
The G-Cans (warning: mind-blowing photos inside) water collecting system in Kasukabe City, Japan is a massive underground silo network (more photos) in the greater Tokyo area designed to control flooding (note: this site is in Japanese with English tour link) from typhoons. [more inside]
« Previous day | Next day »