May 6, 2018

"In case you're wondering, Taco Bell is a metaphor for Taco Bell."

The Bachelor: a history of the months leading up to first contact. [more inside]
posted by queen anne's remorse at 8:37 PM PST - 4 comments

Not one of the liberators, mind you. THE liberator.

“On an April night in 1945, [Canadian soldier, Léo Major] single-handedly chased the Germans out of the town of 50,000 souls, and Zwolle has never forgotten it....Major [PDF see p. 113] and another soldier, Cpl. Willie Arsenault, entered the German-held town on a reconnaissance mission sometime after sunset on April 13, 1945. The area was crawling with German occupiers, but many had gone to bed. Major returned at 9 the next morning and announced the town had been liberated, but that Arsenault had been killed.”
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:53 PM PST - 20 comments

“...physical violence and tender psychodrama.”

God of War review – muscleman on a mission [The Guardian] “In an industry now in its mid-to-late 30s, and still with a predominantly male workforce, the glut of recent blockbuster video games featuring father-child relationships surely reflects the preoccupations of the men who make them. God of War is the latest specimen: a game in which a monosyllabic muscleman is on a journey to scatter his late wife’s ashes on the tallest mountain in Norse myth, while accompanied by his young son. [...] This reboot swaps the soap opera of Olympia for that of Asgard and the move northwards ramps up, if such a thing were possible, the machismo of the enterprise (all those crumb-laden beards). But, beneath the surface, this is a game reckoning – like so many of us, in times like these – with masculinity, and what it means to be an interested father.” [YouTube][Game Trailer] [more inside]
posted by Fizz at 4:13 PM PST - 44 comments

That's just how they roll

Dogs in wheelchairs:

   Loki
   Jessie
   TurboRoo
   Daffodil
   Dogs on the beach
   Dogs playing fetch

posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:33 PM PST - 10 comments

‘The quiet accumulation of urban elements rooted in daily life’

Dan Hill, whose blog City of Sound was last linked here more than decade ago, writes about his visit to two houses in Tokyo: Moriyama House, in Kamata, and House NA in Koenji. Both are remarkable in and of themselves: the former comprising several small blocks with green space woven between; the latter a stack of glass cubes. But they also prompt Hill to muse on, among other things, the peculiarities of living in Japan compared to standards in the west – from the nuances of ‘public’ and ‘private’ space to the ephemeral nature of the buildings themselves, when “the typical life expectancy of a Tokyo building is 26 years”.
posted by macdara at 12:56 PM PST - 10 comments

Falcon Cam 1201 Bldg. fka Washington Mutual Bldg. aka Saturn V Bldg.

Falcon Cam 1201 3rd Avenue Building fka Washington Mutual Building aka Saturn V Building WARNING ! HIGH SCHMOOP CONTENT !
posted by y2karl at 11:59 AM PST - 11 comments

Be sure to like and subscribe

Subscription Hell: "This time, it’s Bloomberg, which announced that it would be adding a comprehensive paywall to its news service and television channel...That’s not the only subscription coming up though. Now Facebook is considering adding an ad-free subscription option." As virtually every product and service becomes "subscriptionalized," what does that mean for us? [more inside]
posted by hexaflexagon at 11:50 AM PST - 66 comments

“I don’t even know if we have had our ‘Silent Spring’ yet”

"Increasingly, though, individuals need to worry about another kind of privacy violation. I think of it as a modern tweak on the tragedy of the commons — call it “privacy of the commons.” It’s what happens when one person’s voluntary disclosure of personal information exposes the personal information of others who had no say in the matter. Your choices didn’t cause the breach. Your choices can’t prevent it, either. Welcome to a world where you can’t opt out of sharing, even if you didn’t opt in." [SL538] [more inside]
posted by not_the_water at 11:26 AM PST - 6 comments

A daring interpretative piece, part of a series of unfinished works

After a contractor left a hole in his office wall, graphic designer Padraig Murphy put up a museum label next to it. Voila, modern art.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:23 AM PST - 12 comments

This is a celly / that's a tool

Childish Gambino - This is America
posted by komara at 8:31 AM PST - 152 comments

The Writing On The Wall

"Daring Do can't believe her luck when she is asked to help explore the most ancient tomb known to ponykind." But she's never seen anything like this.
An MLP:FIM fanfiction one shot [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:30 AM PST - 11 comments

Australia's live sheep export back up front in the news

Australia. Live sheep exports: 'terrifying' new footage prompts maritime union to call for suspension. Live export ban could harm rural communities, meat industry claims, as protests continue in South Australia. Labor promises to ban live sheep exports and have meat processed in Australia. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has hit out at the federal opposition's promise to ban the practice. Australia exports over three million live animals every year.
posted by spaceburglar at 4:31 AM PST - 24 comments

Cercle Republicain Cafes in Provence

There used to be hundreds of these membership cafes across France. But they are slowly dwindling and now there are only 26. Political history is a good reason to visit one, and so is the hidden piazza in back with sweeping views.
posted by MovableBookLady at 1:09 AM PST - 4 comments

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