May 23, 2009
Steam Punk Beetles
Insect Lab -- is real insects remodeled to add clockwork, as if they were from the age of steam and brass. For instance, a Rhino beetle, a Tarantula, a dragon fly, and a mantis. NOT SAFE FOR PEOPLE WITH INSECT PHOBIAS!!!
So You Think You Can Define Gender Roles In Dance
So You Think You Can Dance, the American dance-based reality show with a very high viewership (and more than 10 country-specific spin-offs) has a minor controversy brewing in their fifth season: one of the judges, Nigel Lythgoe, commented "I think you'd probably alienate a lot of our audience" after watching a straight/gay male ballroom dancing couple. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) issued a call to action to contact FOX and Lythgoe. Lythgoe tweeted more of his thoughts, but then went on to apologise for all his comments. Additionally, FOX issued a comment on how auditioners and contestants are reviewed. But none of this addresses the role of gender in dancing, though Lythgoe has clarified his thoughts before: that men "need to be very strong. Dancing is role-playing most of the time. And you need to be strong and lift girls. You need to look stronger than the girl you’re dancing with." Specific roles are assigned by gender in many styles of dance, including Square dancing, Tango, Poi, Haka, and many others. But there are opportunities for gender-role free dancing, as with the Lavender Country and Folk Dancers and other such groups.
Lengthy Lantern Lifeline
Over at Comics Should Be Good! Greg Hatcher outlines the history of Green Lantern to show how changes in a storytelling property eventually requires a "reboot" and why that occurs. [more inside]
Nightmares on Wax.
Omniglot's Tower of Babel Has Grown!
The site Omniglot has grown somewhat since its previous mention on the blue. Creator Simon Ager has added glossaries of useful phrases, tips on learning a foreign language, assorted "useful phrases" from other sources he's found amusing (an Esperanto book he quotes shows you how to say "there is a frog in my bidet", for instance) and even more writing systems. Plus -- a page telling you how to say "My hovercraft is full of eels" in 79 different languages.
"That is why you are free to see in M. Ubu however many allusions you care to..."
The Loss of Nameless Things chronicles the rise and literal fall of the playwright Oakley "Tad" Hall III. Many who knew him - including his father Oakley Hall (previously) and the avant-garde group of actors that formed around him at the Lexington Conservatory Theatre (now Capital Repertory) - were convinced he was destined to be a great American playwright. However, his ascent was cut short when a mysterious plunge from a bridge left him unable to write for years. [more inside]
Chk Chk BOOM!
Chk Chk BOOM! 'Clare the Kings Cross bogan' gets her 15 minutes of internet fame from an unintentionally hilarious eyewitness account of a shooting in Sydney's red light district. [more inside]
Tell me a secret.
Published speculation first appeared in 1911, although others point to 1945 for its first modern phrasing. It originally looked like a flashlight on Star Trek. In Star Wars, it walked, talked, and was fluent "in over six million forms of communication." Many narratives have just abandoned the idea entirely.
Previous iterations have been quite limited in scope, but now it appears that the first learning, dynamic universal translator has finally arrived. And its futuristic aesthetic has been relegated to fiction in favor of a much more familiar object. [more inside]
Previous iterations have been quite limited in scope, but now it appears that the first learning, dynamic universal translator has finally arrived. And its futuristic aesthetic has been relegated to fiction in favor of a much more familiar object. [more inside]
Quickie Ring
If you're in a hurry or just don't care much for opera, here's Richard Wagner's "Ring der Nibelungen" in 45 seconds (SYTL). Also a good chance to brush up on your German.
The Cryptic Canvas - now with 100% less annoying background music.
Remember the M&M's Dark Movies game from 2006? Empire Magazine has a new movies-hidden-in-a-painting-vaganza, called The Cryptic Canvas.
"Piss in the sink!"
Why men should pee standing up. There's no arguing with science.
Full speed into the "Big Muddy".
While the President is under The Pressure of an Expanding War; appointing Stanley McChrystal; the general from the dark side; some vets ask about Afghanistan "What was I fighting for?" suggesting that the $94.2 billion supplemental war-funding bill "will be a complete waste of taxpayer dollars, as we continue to pursue a military solution for a political problem"; and that America should Rethink Afghanistan. ( previously: all three videos are up now ).
Last October British commander Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith warned that the war in Afghanistan cannot be won. ( related )
Kathleen Supove rocks
I did saw a puddy tat
Apparently last.fm's parent company CBS did recently hand over last.fm user data to the RIAA. Most likely last.fm did not know until after the fact. Previously.
The Ginger Darlings...
'We Three Cats' -- "telling tales, of walking in wild places, of painting, of sleeping in warm places and of mice and other things," as chronicled by children's book illustrator and artist Jackie Morris.
Hijabistas
Chances are, if you live in a cosmopolitan urban centre, you'll have noticed how young muslimahs are
growing
ever
more
adventurous
in
their
fashion
choices.
But taking the veil is no simple matter: the aspiring hijabi will need tips on how to tie her headscarf, as well as ideas on how to stay covered up and stylish all year round. Modesty is clearly no barrier to urban cool, as Elenany's see-them-want-them graphic-print dresses prove, although this year, certain trends are off limits. (previously)
Just SIP the book
According to Amazon, this is the "essence" of Ulysses: matrimonial gift, quaker librarian, charming soubrette, editor cried, retrospective arrangement, pike hoses, pensive bosom, seaside girls, absentminded beggar. At least, according to their SIP algorithm. Too obscure? How about: barn cellar, famous pig, grey spider, old sheep, egg sac. Pretty easy, right? Now consider: shock shop, seclusion room, least black boy, bull goose loony, big black boys, wicker bag, ward policy, tub room, drug room, red capsules, dorm door, two black boys. Catching on? Now try the quiz.
Folk Music from 1947
To Hear Your Banjo Play is a documentary by Alan Lomax from 1947. It is narrated by Pete Seeger and features Woody Guthrie, Sonny Terry, and Brownie McGhee among others.
A Monument To Greed
A new stadium, paid for with public money, that is far too expensive (even after prices were slashed) for most members of the public to visit, especially during a recession. Bomber Bucks. $5 bottles of water and $48 for a lousy steak. Have the New York Yankees finally pushed their fans too far?
It's not point-and-laugh. Really. These are just two people playing the music they believe in. And in that sense, it's some of the best music ever made.
Rod and Joann Mainhood, from Oregon City, on guitar and accordion, performing "When I Was Hungry Lord You Fed Me". Rod's yodeling in the home stretch is not to be missed.
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