June 11, 2009
Louie Bluie
Howard Armstrong, AKA Louie Bluie, has his own festival, two movies, and made music until the day he died at the ripe old age of 94 (about 5 years ago). I post this now because the festival is upon us. (I'm gonna miss it.)
Online Unit Converter
UnitConversion.org is quite the resource to easily convert between different units of measurement. It has over 2100 units in 78 categories, which range from those that are
common, such as, length,
weight,
volume, currency, velocity, and pressure, to more specialized categories like magnetic flux density, electrostatic capacitance, and surface tension.
"MY BED SCREAMS"
"There were a lot of possibilities with Krazy Kat and bricks and 'I’m gonna kill you all kinds of dead,' but I ran out of time." Conjectural movie posters for what might result if Frank Miller applied his certain je ne sais quois to classic comics "Little Nemo in Slumberland," "Pogo," and "Little Orphan Annie."
Open Source Religion
Open to Revisions. "Some religious entrepreneurs have adopted an 'open source' model, where rituals and doctrines can be rewritten as easily as computer code."
Flash Game: Starcom
In Starcom, a space-based action adventure game, you pilot a starship defending the galaxy from an encroaching enemy invasion with an increasingly powerful array of armaments and technologies. It's a hell of a lot of fun, so play and enjoy! [via mefi projects]
So-Me, a.k.a. Bertrand de Langeron
JOIN THE COOLCATS MVMT. So-Me is the art director for Ed Banger Records. His job description includes touring with his muse Busy P, living with Justice, directing music videos, fashioning t-shirts and album art, designing Coca-Cola bottles, contributing to art exhibits, and just being a Cool Cat. [more inside]
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Whacking great hot rods.
Blastolenes are mighty hot rods built by artists. And the meaning of it all from Kevin Kelly. [more inside]
WangDangSweetPoonTwang
Twangfest 13 is underway in St. Louis. A multi-day festival of Americana music, past editions have featured artists such as the Bottle Rockets, Neko Case, and Jason Ringenberg. Several of this year's featured artists will be playing live on KDHX during the festival, live streaming audio available.
The Sinking of An American Standard in Venice
At the 53rd International La Biennale di Venice (wiki) Art Exhibition, titled "Making Worlds," one particular artist's work took an unexpected turn. Mike Bouchet's installation piece titled "Watershed" was intended to be a full-scale replica of an American suburban home that would float on pontoons. Except it didn't.
The Dalai Lama's Buddhist Foes
The Dalai Lama's Buddhist Foes contrasts "the tolerance and rationalism that the Dalai Lama represents globally and the theological hardball over mystical principles that he seems to play on his home turf." But the Shugdenpas aren't the Dalai Lama's only Buddhist opponents. Tibetan Buddhism's only female living Buddha, the twelfth Samding Dorje Phagmo, who chose to stay in Tibet when the Dalai Lama fled, has said, "The sins of the Dalai Lama and his followers seriously violate the basic teachings and precepts of Buddhism and seriously damage traditional Tibetan Buddhism's normal order and good reputation." [more inside]
I Was A Marine Sniper
A bowling alley? What the Frick?
Old bowling alleys are often things of beauty. Some are (in)famous. The NYTimes just had a wonderful feature on a little-known bowling alley in the basement of the Frick collection, complete with pristine antique bowling balls and a gravity-driven return mechanism. [Previously] (mandatory Big Lebowski reference)
The Linguists
The S.C.U.M. Manifesto
Life in this society being, at best, an utter bore and no aspect of society being at all relevant to women, there remains to civic-minded, responsible, thrill-seeking females only to overthrow the government, eliminate the money system, institute complete automation and destroy the male sex. [more inside]
You might as well have said you were going to fly to the moon
The English town of Doncaster has a new mayor. English Democrat Peter Davies was elected on the 8th of June 2009.
His first engagement in his new role was an interview with the local BBC Radio station. Listen here (MP3 link) with a transcript here.
Dedication to your car: a $300,000 parking space.
"There's only so many parking spaces in the city," said Sordillo. "And in this part, there's very few." A private parking space in Boston's Back Bay area sold for $300,000.
junkification
Are US tobacco companies conspiring to make tobacco more addictive through additives or aren't they? Ever since the first reports published in 1999, this has been debated off and on for years as the tobacco lobby defended itself against allegations of racketeering and outright lies. Recently they lost the case. But the question of American cigarettes being more addictive than others still remains unsettled.
Keep an eye in the sky
Go buy a helmet because Astronomers calculate there is a tiny chance that Mars or Venus could collide with Earth. [more inside]
I saw a cool video so I thought I'd Post-It.
Ditch your [student loan] Debt
A short video explaining the new Income Based Repayment going into effect July 1st Your student loans might be more manageable soon. [courtesy of IBRinfo.org].
Madagascar's Ports Still Open, Though
WHO declares global flu pandemic. "The world is moving into the early days of its first influenza pandemic in the 21st century," [WHO Chief Margaret ]Chan told reporters. "The (swine flu) virus is now unstoppable." [more inside]
Hurfdurfium, anyone?
The periodic table will soon have a new addition - the "super-heavy" element 112. More than a decade after experiments first produced a single atom of the element, a team of German scientists has been credited with its discovery. But before it can be added to the official list of elements, they have to come up with an official name (hopefully better than its current unofficial moniker Ununbium).
RIP Hugh Hopper
"Hey. Whatever you just said was really stupid."
Following in the fine tradition of The Nietzsche Family Circus (previously), Pearls Before Swine, And the Dysfunctional Family Circus, comes Scott Meets Family Circus ( via and self-salvaged from metachat)
Karl Waldmann's Collages
Strike a pose, Asian style!
Asian Poses - The Definitive Guide You may already know about the victory sign's popularity amongst Asians, but how about Nyan Nyan, Giant Heart, or Pigtails? Warning: cute overload.
A new treatment for cancer?
Rose bengal is a red dye that has been used for decades to identify eye and liver damage. A company, Provectus Pharmaceuticals, has developed a drug based on this compound, which clinical trials show may be able to destroy advanced melanoma with minimal risks. Melanoma is an extremely dangerous form of skin cancer. The company hopes to extend this drug to other cancers as well as to other skin conditions, such as eczema and psoriasis, for which poor treatment solutions exist. Claims such as these inspire skepticism, but the melanoma trials have been conducted by some of the most eminent names in the melanoma community. Does this drug hold potential, or is the whole thing snake oil?
The "Intelligence" of Plants
Mind = Melted.
Mind-Melting Demo Disasters. An independent record label posts some of its more....interesting submissions. [more inside]
Gothiness: 7 Sweatiness: 5
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