March 23, 2008

"Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?"

Every One That Hates Billy....” It featured a photograph of Billy’s face superimposed over a likeness of Peter Pan, and provided this description of its purpose: “There is no reason anyone should like billy he’s a little bitch. And a homosexual that NO ONE LIKES.”
Billy, busy building a miniature house, didn’t see it coming: the boy hit him so hard in the left cheek that he briefly lost consciousness. [His mother] remembers the family dentist sewing up the inside of Billy’s cheek, and a school official refusing to call the police, saying it looked like Billy got what he deserved.
[more inside]
posted by orthogonality at 11:05 PM PST - 269 comments

Rapid Offensive Unit Xenophobe will no doubt be pleased

Edinburgh author Iain M. Banks, creator of the post capitalist space faring society The Culture and it's oddly named ships, has long been the UKs top science fiction writer, but has never had more than a toehold in the US (in part through lack of availability, in part due to lack of promotion and in part due to some pretty awful covers. That could change: Matter, his latest, has been heavily promoted in the US and sports a cover nearly identical to the UK edition. This week Orbit are releasing US editions of the two earliest Culture novels, with the third following in July, which could mean a complete release of all the novels in the US in order. [more inside]
posted by Artw at 11:00 PM PST - 160 comments

NECs new biometric security cam will guess your age, gender, (and it would be nice if it could size you up according to how you dress).

NEC plans to market a system later this year that can derive someone's gender and age from images captured with a camera "The system compares the photo against a database of several thousand faces to figure gender and age based on such factors as facial shape and wrinkles. " According to Nikkei Weekly 01/28/2008 Edition. Link goes to Ubergizmo. "It's called FieldAnalyst and it's from NEC. The system homes in on faces of people who pass by the video camera. It then rapidly compares the image against samples in a database. It then spits out what it believes is your approximate age is and your gender." .."NEC scientists may next try to add clothing as a characteristic and classify people by whether they wear a suit or a T-shirt." more here
posted by celerystick at 10:46 PM PST - 9 comments

Tibetan Refugee

"Tibetan Refugee" is a documentary by Richard Martini consisting of interviews with Tibetan refugees who have recently fled to Dharamsala, India. It's on YouTube in 5 parts: part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5.
posted by homunculus at 10:00 PM PST - 8 comments

Kings of Power 4 Billion%

Kings of Power 4 Billion% [12 min AVI] - A new release from pixel artist Paul Robertson, known for such previous works as the video for "Pirate Baby's Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006" and Architecture in Helinski's "Do The Whirlwind."
posted by flatluigi at 6:39 PM PST - 24 comments

materialicious

Lust after some stair porn (don't miss the details of the hanging box stairs), visit some glass igloos, and get comfy in some iconic furniture. That and much more is at materialicious, a blog about "architecture + design + materials + products."
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 5:39 PM PST - 18 comments

Gamma Ray Bursts - they're neat

How far can the naked eye see? About 7.5 billion light-years. On March 19th, a Gamma Ray Burst was noticed by NASA's Swift satellite and given the name GRB 080319B. It left an optical afterglow estimated at +5 apparent magnitude for 30 seconds, about that of an average star. (Sadly, no one was looking at the area with an optical telescope at that exact time.) Read the original Burst Alert, including the email address of the Burst Advocate, here. [more inside]
posted by ikkyu2 at 4:14 PM PST - 37 comments

Almost statistics

realscoop.com "utilizes proven voice analysis technology to analyze statements made by public figures." The statements being on videos. They're all over Bill Clinton and Reagan. Bush and current candidates - not so much. [more inside]
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:57 PM PST - 23 comments

Jesus Shaves

"He nice, the Jesus. He make the good things, and on the Easter we be sad because somebody makes him dead today." Enjoy a little short story about cultural differences and Easter from David Sedaris.
posted by Del Far at 1:42 PM PST - 34 comments

Impossible piano piece visualized and (mostly) performed

John Mark Harris provides a interactive graphical score synchronized to his realization of the architect-composer Iannis Xenakis's Evryali, a piano piece that is intentionally impossible to play as written. Harris's notes on the piece are behind the non-obvious "on Evryali" button on the score page. Things start getting really interesting around page 22.
posted by dfan at 10:47 AM PST - 24 comments

I'm mellltiiiiing!

Even on Easter, chocolate bunnies just can't catch a break. source and inspiration via everlasting blort
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 10:13 AM PST - 8 comments

"Each day, every man must decide either to shave or not to shave. The act can be one of conformity, rebellion, laziness, or transition."

This year's International Deutsche Beard Championship is just a few short weeks away, which means now is the time to start grooming and perfecting your entry. Here, then, are some potential sources of inspiration. Previously. [more inside]
posted by jbickers at 8:23 AM PST - 22 comments

On this day of resurrection...

Speaking of speeches, David Eggers delivers one at TED on grassroots community tutoring for kids who need help with their English homework: "There's something about the kids finishing their homework in a given day, working one on one, getting all this attention. They finish their homework, they go home -- they're finished. They don't stall. They don't do their homework in front of the TV. They're allowed to go home 5:30, enjoy their family, enjoy other hobbies, get outside, play and that makes a happy family. A bunch of happy families in a neighborhood is a happy community. A bunch of happy communities tied together is a happy city and a happy world, right? So, the key to it all is homework." Love him or hate him (mefi consensus) it's a great example of nervous energy microphilanthropy, social entrepreneurship and, if I may make the connection, machines of loving grace. [previously]
posted by kliuless at 7:22 AM PST - 26 comments

Coming Home

Homeless people are just too lazy to work, aren't they? Besides, they panhandle to get by, so what's the big deal? What does it mean to be homeless [previously] anyway? How do people find themselves in these sorts of situations, and why can't they get out of them? How do they feel about it? And are there any alternatives that we can supply them with?
posted by hadjiboy at 6:57 AM PST - 69 comments

Israel 'Cachao' Lopez, R.I.P.

Bassist, bandleader and mambo pioneer Israel 'Cachao' Lopez has died.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:19 AM PST - 11 comments

Keep your telescreens on comrades

With Comcast, your TV watches you. Comcast is developing cable boxes with cameras to watch the room. They will know who is there to provide shows in your profile, engage parental controls, and of course, deliver targeted advertising. Ceiling Cat Comcast is watching you....
posted by caddis at 5:59 AM PST - 44 comments

The myth of food miles?

The locavore movement arose in recognition of the high environmental costs associated with imported food, particularly with respect to global warming (previously). This article from The Guardian (London) suggests that the carbon cost-benefit equation may be very hard to calculate, and that local (at least, without organic) may not always be better. As a planet we seem to be boxing ourselves into a very tight little environmental corner.
posted by cogneuro at 5:15 AM PST - 43 comments

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