April 20, 2017
Build a Better Monster
The correct way to play Pac Man, of course, is to consume as much as possible while running from the ghosts that relentlessly pursue you. This was a valuable early lesson in what it means to be an American.
But can we do more?
Secret Empire #0 reveals that he was simply returned to his true base
A fundamental change to the history of World War II in Marvel Comics "Secret Empire #0 reveals a flip on that narrative. As we’re to understand it now, in the “true” history of the Marvel Universe, the Allies actually lost World War II. The only reason no one remembers this is because the Allies used a Cosmic Cube to change reality, warping it into a false history where they won and Captain America was always the Sentinel of Liberty and representative of the American dream." (previously on MeFi, when diversity was blamed for the poor sales)
0x100 bytes, no filler
A Mind Is Born is a C64 demo with a driving hypnotic soundtrack. The program is 256 bytes long. How it works: A Mind Is Born
How deep is my lack of artistic character? Pretty deep, it turns out.
My Life As a Failed Artist by Jerry Saltz [previously on mefi]. "I miss art terribly. I’ve never really talked about my work to anyone. In my writing, I’ve occasionally mentioned bygone times of once being an artist, usually laughingly. Whenever I think of that time, I feel stabs of regret. But once I quit, I quit; I never made art again and never even looked at the work I had made. Until last month..."
'We should have called them education camps.'
Late in the evening, early in the morning, really, on this day, at just about this time, 72 years ago, Norbert Masur, a Swedish volunteer from the World Jewish Congress sat down to talk to Heinrich Himmler in hopes of freeing and bettering treatment of Jews still remaining in concentration camps. Himmler was meant to arrive on the evening of the 20th, but was held up late celebrating Hitler's birthday and did not arrive until 2:30AM on the 21st. This is his first-hand account.
Admittedly, courage acorns ARE good bait
Almost 17 months ago (previously), MetaFilter enjoyed the tale of Biisuke, the ball who bravely saved his ball brothers after they were kidnapped by traversing a Rube Goldberg world full of enemies. Now can Biita and Biigoro return the favor? Find out in the action-packed, also-musical sequel Save Biisuke! Ball Brothers Big Adventure (SLYT). [more inside]
French bowldog, am I right?
"On a day of general perturbation, I bring you a French bulldog, skateboarding in Clissold Park." Children's book critic Imogen Russell Williams went to the park, and in the skate bowl, a dog was skateboarding. So she took a 45 second SLTwitter video of it. Despite the fact that it hasn't learnt any tricks yet.
Why the Snake?
The sort of isolation that gave us tall and short and light and dark and other variations in our species was no protection against the advance of language. It crossed mountains and oceans as if they werent there. Did it meet some need? No. The other five thousand plus mammals among us do fine without it. But useful? Oh yes. We might further point out that when it arrived it had no place to go. The brain was not expecting it and had made no plans for its arrival. It simply invaded those areas of the brain that were the least dedicated. ... What we do know—pretty much without question—is that once you have language everything else follows pretty quickly. The simple understanding that one thing can be another thing is at the root of all things of our doing. --Cormac McCarthy, "The Kekulé Problem"
“It is in the most dangerous times that art is the voice —”
'The Book Of Joan' Recasts A Historic Heroine — In Space [NPR] “What does it mean to be human? In Lidia Yuknavitch's new novel The Book of Joan, what's left of the human race is orbiting above the Earth, sexless and ageless, prisoners in a technological hell. Their lives are preserved through growing limbs and grafting skin. Presiding over it all is a one-time billionaire celebrity who evolved through media and technology into a despot. His adversary is a girl called Joan; Yuknavitch says she adapted the story of Joan of Arc to make her heroine "an eco-terrorist of sorts, although that name would depend on your point of view. She has allegiance to the planet, and diversity on the planet, including plants and animals and people. And as the story progresses, her allegiance turns into a question somewhat like "what's the worth of humans, and what's our relationship to the planet?"” [more inside]
Votre pain est exquis
Give up on Your Dreams of Becoming a Baker, a catchy music video by Brian David Gilbert. See also e.g. Thom Yorke was raised in a barn, Justin [Timberlake] checks WebMD, or When I Make a Good Pun.
MORTIMER had his photograph taken in his dress suit.
If the hostess asks him to have a chair Freddie comes right back at her with "No, thanks; we have chairs at home." If the host offers him a cigar he will say just like a flash, "What's the matter with it?" If one of the men borrows a cigarette and a light from him Freddie will say in that dry voice of his, "Do you want the coupons too?" Of course his wit is pretty fairly caustic, but no one ever seems to take offense at it. I suppose there is everything in the way he says things."Men I'm Not Married To", Dorothy Parker, 1922 [more inside]
The Ugly Side of Getting Rich
In one photograph, the German-born, Harvard-educated hedge fund manager Florian Homm, who made and lost a personal fortune of more than $800 million, poses in a German brothel that he once co-owned. In another, Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines accused of stealing billions from state coffers, sits in her Manila apartment beneath a gold-framed Picasso. Later on, a 43-year-old Chinese billionaire Huang Qiaoling is pictured walking from his mansion, built as a full-scale replica of the White House, to his chauffeured Mercedes S Class. Lauren Greenfield’s Generation Wealth will be published in May. Dozens more similarly lavish and disconcerting vignettes fill Generation Wealth (Phaidon, 2017), a 504-page monograph by Lauren Greenfield and out on May 15. [more inside]
First Listen: Willie Nelson, 'God's Problem Child'
Still going strong at 84, Willie Nelson releases yet another album and you can listen to it before it's released thanks to NPR.
“Is there a time traveling portal in your dashboard?”
Alex Tom took his car to the shop because its airbag had been recalled. But the tech found something odd in the airbag compartment: a smartphone, locked and stuck in January 2015. Tom, naturally, posted about it on social media, and eventually found the owner thanks to a dating app.
I still hear it. It's still going!
Many of these birds have flown thousands of miles to reach your yard
There are a lot of dumb birds out there. Here's how you can figure out what they are.
HERE SWEETIE. DINNERTIME.
Perhaps you're wondering, how does PawBot really work?
Joe Miller was a "snapper up of unconsidered trifles"
Joe Miller, also known as Joseph or Josias (1684–1738), was an English actor who favored comedies, but was in fact, known for his grave demeanor and subdued humor. This led to an in-joke whereby all his companions ascribed all new jokes to him, though he is also said to have collected jokes himself. After his death, John Mottley (1692–1750), using the pseudonym of Elijah Jenkins, Esquire, published a book called Joe Miller's Jests, or the Wit's Vade-Mecum in 1739 (Archive.org; also available in a semi-modern web format), containing 247 jokes, but that was just the first of many editions and copies. [more inside]
It's about coming in second and thriving anyway
Gudetama, a lazy, perpetually weary egg yolk, is a Sanrio cartoon character. Since its creation in 2013, it has become very popular in Japan, and is now starting to find an enthusiastic audience abroad, causing some to theorise that
Gudetama may be the cartoon mascot for our troubled age.
Monogamy Is In The Genes
A boring mouse who tends to their home and children show monogamous behavior is genetic, just like humans! Oldfield Mice not only make lifelong connections with their partners, they never inbreed. They even build better nests! Lady mice all over the world are looking for an Oldfield mouse...
Don't give me that look.
Guy Frees Owl from Kitchen Using a Swiffer (SLYT). NSFW due to a small amount of cursing.
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