March 10, 2016
Museum of Lost Objects
A series of ten articles at the BBC News Magazine by Kanishk Tharoor and Maryam Maruf tracing the stories of ten antiquities and cultural sites that have been destroyed or looted in Iraq and Syria: (1) The Winged Bull of Nineveh; (2) The Temple of Bel; (3) Tell of Qarqur; (4) Aleppo’s minaret; (5) The Lion of al-Lat; (6) Mar Elian Monastery; (7) Al-Ma’arri: the unacceptable poet; (8) The Genie of Nimrud; (9) The Armenian Martyrs’ Memorial Church in Deir al-Zour; and (10) Looted Sumerian Seal, Baghdad. [more inside]
Open
Pardon me. Du bist Bertolt Brecht, recht?
"I was going to write up a little essay about the way Hamilton incorporates Brechtian performance techniques and whether Brecht still packs any punch in the twenty-first century.
But then for some reason it became a rap battle instead."
...But for you - only five million francs
Coral Bleaching in American Samoa
You're running out of time to see one of nature's most spectacular sites, writes Tom Philpott in Mother Jones. American Samoa is just one of the locations affected by a massive coral bleaching event. [more inside]
Hey, No Pressure...
Singer-songwriter Ray Lamontagne released his new album Ouroboros this week. Produced by Jim James, of My Morning Jacket fame, Lamontagne's 6th studio album lends new artistic credibility to the 42 year old artist's oeuvre. Comparisons to Pink Floyd aren't completely unfounded... the cover of Ouroboros seems to show, among other things, the dark side of the Moon.
Hoof Capsule Removal
This is just a youtube video of a lady pulling the hoof right off of the disembodied foot of a dead horse, as an educational demonstration of equine anatomy and a lesson in the proper care of hooves. Warning: exactly what it sounds like.
Paul had no interest in salad. For him, it was always about the dressing
The Clickhole brings us an oral history of the Newman’s Own food company, its flagship dressing, and its distinctive founder.
I Know You’re Lonely for Words That I Ain’t Spoken
Bruce Springsteen: 41 Years on Thunder Road, a supercut of the Boss performing his iconic song, from the famed 1975 Hammersmith Odeon show to a New Jersey show earlier this year. (via The Morning News, whence comes the post title as well)
Too Awesome For This Poor World
As if they weren't awesome enough individually, Neko Case, k. d. lang, and Laura Veirs have released a new song from a forthcoming album to be released this June.
Joseph Heath on the benefits of risk-pooling and the social safety net
Privatization and demutualization. A concise explanation of the efficiency gains of health insurance and public pensions, from Canadian philosopher Joseph Heath. Heath points out that the "social safety net" provides tremendous gains from risk-pooling, completely separate from redistribution or reduced inequality. [more inside]
Jody, Jodi, Jodie, Jodee, Jodey, Joedee, Joedey, Joedi, Joedie, Joedey
Jody Rosen explores what it felt like growing up a boy with a "girl's" name, a Jody instead of a "Colin" when Jody is both the "country girl doll" star of 1970s toy commercials and "the wily sexual scavenger" woman-stealing man of traditional call-and-response, R & B classics, and military chants. [more inside]
Restless and hungry: good books to tackle before you turn 30
30 Books You Need To Read Before You Turn 30 (Huffpost Arts & Culture, Katherine Brooks) /
33 books everyone should read before turning 30 (Business Insider, Richard Feloni and Drake Baer) / 30 works of Canadian fiction to read before you're 30 (CBC) / 30 Books by Women to Read Before You Turn 30 (Bustle, Gina Vaynshteyn) / 30 Books Every Man Should Read By 30 (slideshow or thumbnails, Esquire, Sam Parker and Claudia Canavan)
Michelle Obama and Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau attend dinner with husbands.
We can look at each facial hair property returned by the Face API
Analysis of coder stereotypes by facial analysis of github profile pics, including an in-depth look at correlations with different kinds of facial hair.
Brew Your Own Penguin...
Scottish brewing outfit Brewdog have open-sourced all their beer recipes, scaling them down for home brewing. 215 recipes in total, and yes, it includes both "Sink The Bismarck" and "Tactical Nuclear Penguin".
Dog mama gets reunited with her puppies
Scared dog + lost puppies = happy dog. With pics and video.
On the internet, it is always day somewhere—and night somewhere else.
A Journal of Insomnia is an interactive documentary that only comes alive at night. Make a nighttime appointment to experience a sleepless night through stories, images and webcam videos shared by the insomniac of your choice. [more inside]
The Peterson Farm Blog
We are glad you are here! This blog was created for us to address the many questions people have about farmers and modern day agriculture. We hope that our blog will be a source of answers for people who are searching for the truth! ... This blog will focus mainly on family farmers like us who live in the Midwest and grow typical Midwest crops and livestock (wheat, corn, soybeans, sorghum, cattle, etc). There are countless other farmers out there who grow all sorts of different things (fruits, veggies, nuts, etc.) and raise all sorts of different animals (swine, poultry, dairy, etc.), but since my expertise lies solely on Midwest USA farmers, that’s what I will generally be referencing! The point to take away here is that we need to appreciate all farmers, no matter what kind they are, and we should all do our best to thank those who help grow our food! [more inside]
More dinochicken advances
Scientists have genetically modified a chicken to make its fibula tubular all the way down, just like a dinosaur. A different group of scientists previously modified a chicken to give it dinosaur teeth. Previously, and previously-er.
March Sadness
A tournament bracket of sad songs from 1980-2001. Vote for matchups and let's argue about sad music instead of politics. [more inside]
Carl will be here soon
Brian the spider
Say hello to the newly discovered Australian spider named Brian*, that can - obviously - surf, swim and eat toads up to three times its size. But it's not harmful to humans (unlike these fellas). Plus the recent warm weather down under has been a bit of a boom to our eight legged friends there. Warning: Spiders. [more inside]
At least 50 per cent
On International Women's Day, the National Film Board of Canada announced that at least 50 per cent of all productions and 50 per cent of spending will be allocated to films directed by women. [more inside]
What's so Civil about War, anyway?
The second trailer for Captain America: Civil War has dropped. The film, the longest yet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will clock in at 2 hour and 26 minute and comes out on May 6 in the US. [more inside]
I sang it in Iceland, in Greenland, England, Germany, in Czechoslovakia
Second Sound Barrier Trailer
#Bam4Ham
On Monday, the cast of Broadway's Hamilton will be going to the White House today to test a pilot version of its educational program as well as perform a concert of “Hamiltunes” for the kids and the First Family. [more inside]
How to replicate the origami figures in Blade Runner
Kenneth Thompson searched the internet to find a place to purchase one of Gaff's unicorns from Blade Runner, and when he couldn't find any he decided to make it himself. And while he does sell them, he has provided free instructions and videos to help anyone make their own Blade Runner origami unicorn or chicken. Includes bonus matchstick man instructions.
"but it coordinates even better with deindustrialization and despair"
Thomas Frank, perhaps most notable for using his home state of Kansas as a case study for the transformation of the United States by the Republican Party's embrace of the Southern strategy and the Reagan revolution, now draws out the difference between the treatment of Trump's appeal by the mainstream press versus what Trump seems to emphasize in his speeches.
Millions of ordinary Americans support Donald Trump. Here's why (SLGrauniad)
[more inside]
Millions of ordinary Americans support Donald Trump. Here's why (SLGrauniad)
[more inside]
A crash course in the history of black science fiction.
42 black science fiction works that are important to your understanding of its history. Nisi Shawl has assembled a rich syllabus of novels and story collections, from 1859 to 2015. Some fantasy and horror along with the strictly science fictional.
"All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure"
Disaffection pays dividends
A USB stick containing the registration details of 22,000 ISIS members from 51 countries has been obtained by Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondant for Sky News. The source is Abu Hamed, a disaffected former Syrian Free Army convert to ISIS and was apparently the USB was stolen from the head of Islamic State's internal security police. [more inside]
You have to get out of that neighborhood if you want decent children
Memphis Burning
To understand racial inequality in America, start with housing. Here, in the nation’s poorest major city, the segregationist roots go deep.
This is the first article in an ongoing series, “The Inequality Chronicles.”
To understand racial inequality in America, start with housing. Here, in the nation’s poorest major city, the segregationist roots go deep.
This is the first article in an ongoing series, “The Inequality Chronicles.”
First Listen Live: Esperanza Spalding, 'Emily's D+Evolution'
Fulfilling the performance-art vision of her spirit-muse Emily, Esperanza Spalding played the music of her forthcoming album Emily's D+Evolution in concert at BRIC House in Brooklyn, N.Y. [1h3m video] on Thursday, March 3. WFUV and NPR Music presented a live video webstream of the performance as part of the First Listen Live series. [more inside]
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