June 11, 2013
Oh oh, Sherry!
The Pirate of Love is an album of love songs to Sherry by outsider musician / truck driver Daniel C. The self-released album somehow found its way to Iceland, where it's had some influence on the music scene and caused an animation student to make an animated documentary about the film. A truck dispatcher in Memphis was given the CD by one of his drivers, Daniel Ciocan. The man googled it, found the documentary, and put the driver and the filmmaker in touch. Each of them is now working on a sequel. Daniel and Sherry are now married.
Complete awesomeness at all times
Promotion is ramping up for the sixth studio album by Kanye West, the
modestly titled "Yeezus", due for release June 18. The 36 year-old rapper and producer debuted the songs "Black Skinhead" and
"New Slaves" on SNL, following up by projecting videos for the songs on buildings across the country. In a new interview, Kanye
shares his grandiose artistic ambitions and frustrations.
Formation of a Rotating Supercell
Information, Please!
Can you identify a composition, given only a single clarinet cadenza? Can you recite a poem, given only the last words from a single stanza? Can you play on the piano extempore the most popular song from a Gershwin show, given only a snippet of a few seconds from a little-known piece in the production? And can you believe this was once one of the most popular radio shows in America?
The radio quiz show from a wrier age, Information, Please, features an urbane, erudite host (Clifton Fadiman, the editor of the New Yorker's book review section), whip-smart panelists (like Franklin P. Adams, of "Baseball's Sad Lexicon" fame), and ridiculously interesting guests (Dorothy Parker, Leonard Bernstein, S. J. Perelman...!). Several years' worth are available here, for your listening pleasure. (Start with Page 2 -- the quality of the broadcasts on Page 1 is quite low.)
Nasty sex, nasty money, nasty murder, and nasty cops
Dodger Blue
Yo Dodger Blue (L.A. Loves You) (SLYT) "It's no surprise [Harry] Nilsson was a Dodger fan. They were both Brooklyn born, and both eventually relocated to Los Angeles. In the late 80s and early 90s, when Harry was doing little in terms of his "career," he was still actively writing songs and still coming up with ideas like this to amuse his creativity. These unreleased recordings probably come from 1990. The first version is a studio recording (musicians unknown) while the second version comes from KABC in Los Angeles, where Harry personally showed up to premiere the sing along. It's a catchy, rousing stadium chant that coulda/shoulda worked, though it was never officially adopted by the team." Links to both downloadable versions can be found at the blog For The Love of Harry Nillson. (via) [more inside]
Everyone is the main character in their own story
sonder - n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own (from the dictionary of obscure sorrows)
Embryonic koro in birds
Cocks (almost) don't have a penis, a trait common to 97% of bird species, but they can grow one when the expression of the Bmp4 gene is prevented. The expression of this gene causes the percursor of the phallus in the chick embryo to undergo apoptosis (cell death) and Bmp genes are also involved in 3 other bird traits: feather development, toothlessness and beak shape. In penis-less bird species, copulation requires a sex maneuver nicknamed the cloacal kiss (in French) which requires a full cooperation of the female (3 min of tender parrot sex). In species where males have a penis, like ducks, females are less lucky: the coevolution of the rather convoluted morphology of male and female genitalia has been hypothezised to occur through sexual conflict [many previouslies]. The evolutionary mechanisms that drove phallus reduction in most birds species are still unknown.
Armed With Antique Clothes and a Bike
Dressing: "It is a gift, and the way God expresses herself through me. I’m so grateful for this art form because I don’t have to invite you to my studio to see my painting. You get to see it on me. I get to wear it, live it, be it". Collector's Weekly profiles Tziporah Salamon.
What's A Little Innocent Looping Between Friends?
Between pounding out Flying Lotus on a typewriter, plucking at Erykah Badu with a Chinese harp, and tickling a bit of Lapalux on a vibraphone, BINKBEAT has quite possibly the best live performances of any Youtube channel I've seen or heard.
Apple's Folly
License Plate of the Future
South Carolina wants to switch to digital license plates that will display messages related to the driver's eligibility to operate a vehicle. In 2010, California considered using similar technology to display advertising.
"You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment."
The recent Netflix House of Cards series starring Kevin Spacey was a remake of a very popular British political thriller of the same name that aired during the 90's. The show begins by tracking the dark political machinations and skullduggery of an urbane Chief Whip of the Conservative Party, who is conspiring to become Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher's resignation. [more inside]
Raising the Flag
China flings humans towards "Heavenly Palace"
Ohio Bicentennial Barns
In September 2002, Scott Hagan completed a five-year project to celebrate Ohio's bicentennial by painting a logo on a barn in every one of Ohio's 88 counties (although he had to paint at least 90: one was destroyed by a tornado and one was torn down for a gas station). And Hagan is still painting barns.
Greek TV closes
Austerity at work. The public radio-television broadcaster Elliniki Radiophonia Tileorasi (ERT/EPT) is closing down, throwing thousands out of work and at least temporarily depriving Greece of one of the totems of statehood (such as a national airline, a national cuisine, a national comic-book character...). Announcement in Greek here, with reactions. It will be interesting to see what sorts of job the former journalists will be competing for when the service is reopened.
RAF Museum successfully raises Dornier Do 17
The only known example of a Second World War Dornier Do 17 aircraft has been successfully lifted from Goodwin Sands in the English Channel. [more inside]
They think he's a righteous dude.
It's the 27th anniversary of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. "Unlike almost every modern protagonist I can think of, whether it be comedy or drama or superhero movie, Ferris Bueller wasn’t defined by his exclusion. He didn’t wear some dumb label, like “jock,” or “drama geek” or “bro” or “nerd,” he was just himself. He was a little bit of everything, and that’s why people liked him. On his day off, he went to a ball game and an art museum."
The lost island of Ferdinandea, AKA Graham Island, AKA Île Julia
In 1831, the Mediterranean south of Sicily began to boil and bubble, and before long a volcanic island appeared, in full eruption. The English were the first to lay claim to the new island, naming it Graham Island, for James Graham, First Lord of the Admiralty. Then the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies laid claim to the island, removing the Union Jack and naming the island Ferdinandea, after King Ferdinand II. The next nation to claim the island was France, though initial French interest was in the geology of the newly emerged island (Google translation of French text, much from geologist Constant Prévost). France's choice of names was practical, Île Julia, as the island was formed in July. Spain also tried to lay claim to the newly formed island, setting the stage for a grand four-way dispute over its sovereignty, but before a single shot could be fired over its possession, geology rapidly had the last word on the matter. Graham Island/ Ferdinandea/ Île Julia crumbled in on itself and all but disappeared by the end of the year. [more inside]
Musical theatre used to be the last refuge of perfect rhyme.
"Can't innovate anymore, my ass!"
At Apple's keynote presentation at the WWDC yesterday, scorn for Scott Forstall – their recently-fired VP of iOS software – ran rampant. His preference for skeuomorphic design (calendars that look like leather and so-on) was mocked repeatedly by Craig Federighi: “Look! Even without all that stitching, everything just stays in place.” But the real shocker was the completely redesigned iOS 7, created under the supervision of Jonathan Ive, who prior handled all of Apple's hardware design and none of its software. Previously Ive and Forstall were much at odds, reportedly refusing to even meet with each other—and it should be noted that Ives' famous idol, the legendary industrial designer Dieter Rams, famously rejected artificial wooden furnishings with his breakout design, the record player that was nicknamed "Snow White's Coffin" for its transparent lid. Forstall's ousting placed Ive in charge of interface as well as industrial design, and it was expected that the shift would lead to a change in iOS design philosophy. But the change was perhaps more radical than expected—a complete overhaul that looks simple to the point of cartoonishness, with abstracted icons and stark layouts. Some critics are already complaining that iOS 7 goes too far in the other direction; others note the deep rigor of its new rules-based design. You can hear Ive talk about his design here [warning: obnoxious Apple promo video]. And Apple threw its support behind Ive with an unexpectedly lovely short video about the design process [warning: possibly also obnoxious]: "We start to confuse convenience for joy, abundance with choice. There are a thousand no's for every yes."
“The Modern Marco Polo”
“With a $100,000-plus salary from newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst, beginning in 1929, followed by endorsement deals, speaking engagements, and earnings from his best-selling books, radio shows, movies, and museums, he was earning well over half a million dollars a year during the height of the Depression. By 1936, a newspaper poll found, Ripley was more popular than James Cagney, President Roosevelt, Jack Dempsey, and even Lindbergh.” – Vanity Fair features an excerpt adapted from Neal Thompson’s new book, A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert “Believe It or Not!” Ripley. [more inside]
Lead Exposure Shown to Trigger Schizophrenia
The relationship between lead and crime has been well-documented. Now, researches show that there may be a link between lead exposure and schizophrenia.
Ruint
The Accumulation Of Ruin Space
In Between The Ruins On The Edge Of The Salton Sea (Salton Sea, previously)
Inhabiting Construction [more inside]
In Between The Ruins On The Edge Of The Salton Sea (Salton Sea, previously)
Inhabiting Construction [more inside]
The right to work for less
"In 1961, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. called “right to work” a “fraud,” saying that it “provides no ‘rights’ and no ‘works.’ ...Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining." -- The Most Dishonest Words in American Politics: 'Right to Work'.
And I Shall Name Him George
Yes, It Is Carved In Stone
The John Stevens Shop in Newport, Rhode Island is a 3 century old family business that primarily carves lettering in stone buildings and memorials using traditional designs, including the John F. Kennedy Memorial in Arlington. It is astounding to see the high quality of their work over time, from the documentary Final Marks (1979) to fonts designed for Adobe, to perhaps the greatest task: training those that will follow so they may lead.
Just don't fall off the monkeybars
Well, maybe Twitter is just another big toilet wall, but there's as much clean space and spray paint as you'll ever need. What are you going to do with it? Create something or destroy someone else's picture?
Ricky Gervais on the Internet as creative playground.
Quiet at Thunder Ridge
Horse (particularly harness) racing is often accused of being a dying sport, and if that's the case then Bill Finley attended a funeral at Thunder Ridge Raceway in (near?) Prestonsburg, Kentucky.
Even if horse racing isn't your bag, though, a worthwhile read for those interested in a night in the life of an entertainment venue on the border of Johnson & Floyd Counties (combined population ~70k). It's not the middle of nowhere, but it's not where you'd expect to find a gambling venue either.
Once you have found her, never let her go.
Your parent dies. You hurt. You weep. You mourn. You do and say the necessary things even as your daemon’s disciplined askesis has you (against your will) coldly taking notes on what the emotion feels like, how others around you react to the death, what the corpse of your parent looks like, how you feel while looking down at it, what voids there are in that feeling, what pretenses, what posturings. It's all part of finding your daemon that dwells perpetually in the Condition of Fire. Other entries in Dan Simmons' series On Writing Well.
Ah, the irony!
"I sincerely regret the loss of the life of Ms. Frago"
Jury acquits escort shooter. Texas Penal Code s. 9.42 has been interpreted to possibly allow the shooting of sex workers who accept money at night but do not then perform sexual services, and Ezekiel Gilbert was therefore found to have the legal right to shoot at a sex worker over a $150 dispute. This interpretation of the defence of property has come under some criticism, and although the jury may have reached their decision on a different ground, the possibility of this defence under state law appears to be sound.
Nutrition Attrition
"Don't forget to take your vitamins!" Or not. Some say it could kill you. Will there ever be any definitive answers when it comes to nutrition?
Peter Sellers documentary 1969
Will The Real Mr Sellers Please Stand Up - a rare ~50min film narrated by Spike Milligan and made during the filming of 'The Magic Christian'*via Cinephilia and Beyond. [NSFW - some nudity] [more inside]
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