April 17, 2008
So much time has passed...and not much has changed.
YOUNGME - NOWME. Amusing recreations of childhood photos.
The Aurora is Rising
Well, I'm running down the road trying to loosen my load
A few years ago when I was visiting Alaska, one of the more interesting portions of the trip was the 45-minute drive from Anchorage to Girdwood along the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet. This is one of the world's rare bodies of water that features bore tides, an amazing scene. The highway is one of only 15 roads in the United States that have been designated an "All-American Road." What about some of the world's greatest highways? [more inside]
This is the way the world ends
Superstar Scottish comics writer Grant Morrison is about to tear the DC Universe apart again with Final Crisis, the latest in a series of apocalypses and world ending events he's inflicted on various comics worlds over the years. But there was a time before fame when he wrote the tie-in comic for ZOIDS, the robot dinosaur children's toy. So what did he do? Ushered in the apocalypse, in the form of THE BLACK ZOID.
Does age matter?
Miguel Tejada lied about his age. It's not the first time a public figure has lied about his age. Gary Hart, Ann Coulter, Tom, the list goes on. But should we hold someone in contempt for lying and wanting to get ahead?
Biocrude
Pond scum saves the planet? In the beginning, there were algae, but there was no oil. Then, from algae came oil. Now, the algae are still there, but oil is fast depleting. In future, there will be no oil, but there will still be algae. ^ Power your ride with pond scum. In some iterations you don't even need light. (we have talked about this before and the fact that CO2 powers the algae production is not insignificant) More details here.
Fancy a fry-up?
It's what's for breakfast. But, according to the Times, anyone with a college degree is too intelligent to eat a fry-up. [more inside]
Cross The Road, Molina
South Asian Classical Music
Hundreds of hours of classical music from the Indian subcontinent (realplayer files). Bonus youtube videos of Ashwini Bhide Deshpande , an extraordinary North Indian classical vocalist. Finally, one of the most ancient styles, dhrupad, by Ustad Wassifuddin Dagar
This is a story about a girl
Adam Gopnik and Malcolm Gladwell Debate Canada as Nation or Notion
Canadian-born New Yorkers Adam Gopnik and Malcolm Gladwell have an eloquent conversation (MP3) about the nature of our eternally under-confident country. Gladwell quips early on that "those of you who are familiar with my writing will know that this practice of talking about X by discussing Y is my only rhetorical move." Text (though not an exact transcript) is also available, as is a report.
Back to the Future
50 years ago, it was the era of Sputnik, nuclear power, decolonisation, European vows of ever closer union, transistor radios, cars for the masses, and Hula Hoops.
What better time to hold a damn big party? [more inside]
i can has privilij?
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack as illustrated by lolcats.
Also, White Liberal Bingo.
The Grace Lee project
The Grace Lee Project Inspired by the Jennifer 8. Lee post, here goes Grace Lee. She's a filmmaker who made a documentary about women named Grace Lee.
The Divisions of Cyprus
Labour, which had started the disasters of Cyprus by denying it any decolonisation after 1945, had now completed them, abandoning it to trucidation [by doing nothing when Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974]. London was quite prepared to yield Cyprus to Greece in 1915, in exchange for Greek entry into the war on its side. Had it done so, all subsequent suffering might have been avoided. It is enough to compare the fate of Rhodes, still closer to Turkey and with a comparable Turkish minority, which in 1945 peacefully reverted to Greece, because it was an Italian not a British colony. In the modern history of the Empire, the peculiar malignity of the British record in Cyprus stands apart.The Divisions of Cyprus, an article in The London Review of Books by historian Perry Anderson, is an excellent history of Cyprus from 1878 to the modern day as well as a polemic against the way that outside powers have treated the island. [more inside]
Housing Crisis: 1 in 33 Face Foreclosure Within 2 Years
Will States Respond to the Foreclosure Crisis? Their headline is that 1 in 33 homeowners are projected to face foreclosure in the next two years. But I found the stat that neighboring homes will lose $356 billion in value a rather staggering number to swallow for those not facing the threat of foreclosure.
Route 79
They're Gr-r-r-izzate!
Get all your underground urban Kellogg's-branded gear from Under the Hood.
We Were Five
Born in Ontario in 1934, they were
the first set of identical quintuplets to survive infancy. The girls were an
instant sensation. Citing fears of exploitation, they were separated from their parents and named wards of the crown. Despite this, they became one of
the largest tourist attractions in Canada, made millions in endorsements and starred in multiple films. In 1943
their parents finally regained custody. Though reunited with their family, they found a new kind of isolation. Adulthood turned sour for the quints: death, family alienation, and divorce marred their later years. They were the Dionne Quintuplets. [more inside]
the red invasion
Abortion as Art
Abortion as Art To quote: "she artificially inseminated herself “as often as possible” while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process."
Los Angeles libraries offer video games to kids
Los Angeles libraries offer video games to kids - Yes, they play Guitar Hero in the library these days. Over half of the LA public libraries are offering video game nights to encourage kids to visit libraries. Also, this Friday is 'gaming @ the library day', part of the effort to get children more comfortable at the library.
Lemon Ades You?
tasty Sinocentrism
"As American as Apple Pie" is an oft-repeated remark on the innate "Americaness" of the dish - but when was the last time you actually had apple pie? When was the last time you had General Tso's Chicken?
Jennifer 8. Lee gives an interesting talk on the cultural phenomenon of Chinese Food.
Jennifer 8. Lee gives an interesting talk on the cultural phenomenon of Chinese Food.
Happysad
Out of Africa
- "Please don't beat me. I'm having my period." ~ Mama Wangari
- "It is being both black and gay [which is problematic]." ~ Zanele Muholi (Nehanda Nyakasikana) [NSFW]
- "Sisters at heart, these women are: from Kibera to Loresho." ~ WM
- "My vagina wants an Uzi" ~ Larissa Klazinga (Amanda Atwood)
- "You are from Kenya? So are you Kikuyu or Luo?" ~ Wangui
"It does not pollute the skies."
A Virtually Virtual Terminal
cb.vu is a javascript virtual terminal which opens up full window in your browser and lets you fiddle with some UNIX goodness without being connected to a server, or affecting anything in The Real World whatsoever. Try creating, copying and reading files (and, particularly, read the about.txt), or playing one of the games provided. It even has an implementation of vi! [more inside]
Search engine battle heats up
According to ComScore, Google takes 59.8% of search traffic in the US, leaving Yahoo, MSN and smaller players to fight for the scraps. Pretty pie-chart here. Slightly different numbers are available from Compete and Hitwise, but Google still rules the roost.
All Our Favorite Toxins
The Drug Addiction Paradox "The plants should never have developed toxins that reward animals for eating them, and humans should never have developed a reward mechanism for toxic plants"... De-evolution or Idiotic Design? [more inside]
How to paddle your kayak
KayakPaddling.net These animated sea kayak paddling tutorials, created by a single student as a final work, just won Finnish eLearning award over national broadcasting company and other big name publishers.
Try melontaopas.fi for other languages.
Stop and smell the roses. While you still can.
Flowers are losing their smell. The discovery could be one of several factors in the "colony collapse disorder" that is wiping out honey bees around the world. Even a brief glance at the titles of the news articles on Wiki reads a bit frighteningly, as do the previous mentions here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
Chaaaaaaaarrrrrrlieeeeeee!!!!
Swim away, Fugu fish, swim away! The epic sequel to the original classic, Charlie the Unicorn. Chaaaaaaaaarrrrlllllliieeeeeeeeeee! (Previously. I'm not even sorry. YouTube links.)
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