March 10, 2013
Projectors de cinema infantil
Here is a little collection of crude but oddly charming Spanish and French animation, originally created for children's hand-cranked film projectors, from 1932 to 1952. [more inside]
the ultimate in spyware
Meet the men who spy on women through their webcams - "If you are unlucky enough to have your computer infected with a RAT, prepare to be sold or traded to the kind of person who enters forums to ask, "Can I get some slaves for my rat please? I got 2 bucks lol I will give it to you :b" At that point, the indignities you will suffer—and the horrific website images you may see—will be limited only by the imagination of that most terrifying person: a 14-year-old boy with an unsupervised Internet connection."
Muppet Musicians of Bremen
"You may have noticed that the heroes in this story are all animals, and the villains are all people. I hope none of you take that personally."
The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972) (Part 1 2 3 4 5 6). [more inside]
You don't have to leave Justin alone.
Short Song For Justin Bieber and His Paparazzi by John Darnielle. [slv]
Path of Exile
Path of Exile is an independent game developed by Grinding Gear Games that was recently released into open beta, and it is getting quite good reviews so far.
Its heritage is obvious, and many observe its spiritual relationship not only to Diablo 2 and Dungeon Siege, but perhaps more directly Diablo 1, in terms of tone and feel. It has a number of things that keep it in obvious continuity with other recent games in the genre, but arguably improve on it in a number of ways. Why should you consider this game? Let me count (just a handful) of reasons. [more inside]
no one could have predicted
With sincere regret we must inform you that due to circumstances recently discovered we must immediately cease trading activity on www.intrade.com. InTrade is apparently shutting down completely, at least for a while. Previously.
Come! We must find the pin head!
A Mind Reader, A Pin Head, and a Fool; The Story of "Professor" Johnstone's Visit to Wind Cave [previously].
When they [the search party] arrived in that portion of the cave two members of the party were insensible. I was raving and Moore was the only man in his right mind. He had me down on the floor of the cave, my throat clutched with his hand while in the other hand he held a Colt revolver. We had had nothing to eat for five (sic) days and four nights. McDonald dies soon after that, one of the party was adjudged insane and taken to the asylum. I was almost blind and it was necessary to have an operation performed on my eyes.
New York State Capitol Restoration Picture
The New York State Capitol Building was original completed in 1899. A recent renovation was just completed and there are stunning photographs of the results.
Teaching Viewers to Hear the TV With Eyes Only
"This week ABC Family did something that no commercial television channel in the United States had ever done: It broadcast an entire episode of a show, “Switched at Birth,” in American Sign Language, with next to no oral dialogue."
The Book I am Working On Has Much Of The Punctuation Rinsed Out Of It.
DIY sous-vide
Serious Eat's The Food Lab cooks The Perfect Rack Of Lamb. "You don't have a $450 low-temperature water oven"? Good thing it isn't necessary...
Brass in the blood: UK coal miner brass bands, and bands world-wide
In the United Kingdom, many brass bands were started by colliery owners, and funded in part by the coal miners themselves. Some of those bands live on, after the coal pits have been closed for years. These bands are facing hard times, with limited funding and waning interest in the music, but some youth join bands to continue family traditions, and the government provides some funding to numerous bands. If you'd like to know more about brass bands in the UK and around the world, Internet Bandsman's Everything Within (IBEW) has tons of material, links to bands in the UK and elsewhere as well as a list of extinct bands and vintage brass band pictures, local events and radio shows, recordings, and plenty more.
Better and Better, Worse and Worse
"My unprovable hypothesis is that obsessive upgrading and chronic stagnation are intimately related, in the same way that erotic fantasies are related to sexual repression. The fetish that surrounds Google Glass or the Dow average grows ever more hysterical as the economic status of the majority of Americans remains flat. When things don’t work in the realm of stuff, people turn to the realm of bits. If the physical world becomes intransigent, you can take refuge in the virtual world..." - George Packer, Upgrade or Die
Hidden Photographs of a Hidden People
A box of magic lantern slides, owned by a doctor who died in 1940, turned out to hold many images of the Romany Travellers who came to Sussex each year to take part in the hop harvest. The pictures have been published, with commentary by the Romany historian Janet Keet-Black, in the pamphlet Hidden Photographs of a Hidden People (PDF of full pamphlet). You can also watch a slideshow which includes more images and interviews with Keet-Black, magic lantern expert Peter Gillies and the Romany Traveller Penfold sisters. [more inside]
Masters of making you cry
The Chopsticks Brothers (筷子兄弟)
[Google translated bio] are Xiao Yang and Wang Taili,
Chinese indie musician/filmmakers making internet short films which generally function as extended music videos for their original songs.
Old Boys (42 min, english sub) October 2010
[Youku copy] - over 52 million views
Short video on YouTube, english subtitles [more inside]
Heros to many
Zine-publishing 13-year old girls from 1996, outcast as "Dirty Girls", talk about their experience. [more inside]
A small group of thoughtful, committed citizens changing the world
"From the metropolis of Miami to the small town of Sapulpa, Okla., communities are building pocket parks, sometimes so small that they have barely enough room for a swing set, to drive out sex offenders. One playground installation company in Houston has even advertised its services to homeowners associations as an option for keeping sex offenders away." [more inside]
I believe I can fly
R/C cameraman Robert Mcintosh takes you soaring high above Santa Monica, Venice, and San Francisco.
Float through the air as you glide along the beach and up through the spokes of the Ferris wheel over the Santa Monica Pier. Then head a mile or two south and get a bird's eye view of Venice's Muscle Beach. When your head has stopped spinning you can take in San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge or get away from it all (including the ground) out at at Vasquez Rocks. [more inside]
Donkey Kong: Pauline Edition
"My three year old daughter and I play a lot of old games together. Her favorite is Donkey Kong. Two days ago, she asked me if she could play as the girl and save Mario... So what else am I supposed to do? Now I'm up at midnight hacking the ROM, replacing Mario with Pauline." (SLYT)
A Roguelike Primer
"It wouldn't hurt you to seek out a little.....companionship".
Men in Saris: Mumbai's new lavani dancers
Men in Saris: Mumbai's new lavani dancers Lavani is a folk dance, traditionally performed by women for men. The popularity of Bin Baykancha Tamasha (or Performance Without Women) and other female-impersonation groups in Mumbai suggests that the city may slowly be getting comfortable with flamboyant expressions of male sexuality.
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