June 11, 2018
Just Breathe
Whatever satisfies the soul is truth, Part II
BoredPanda presents an Oddly Satisfying Art Video Compilation. Here's another one. Oddly satisfying things previously.
Old time telphony: cable crazy
In the early days of the telephone, about a decade after Alexander Graham Bell's telephone (patented in 1876), telephone poles were the skyscrapers of their day. Hundreds of lines could be strung from a single pole or structure, often collapsing each winter under the burden of snow. The era of these many-tiered poles lasted only about ten years, with the development of telephone cables. Many telephone wires were contained in one telephone cable, and with better insulation, employed for aerial, underwater and underground use starting around 1879. Meanwhile, barbed wire was used by Great Plains farmers to transmit telephone calls. [more inside]
The Doors of Fall River
The Doors of Fall River. Documenting architecture in a crumbling New England mill town. Fall River is one of Massachusetts's "Gateway Cities" - a once mighty center of the textile trade forgotten as The Hub ascends ever higher. (The Chess School has been out of business since forever, they just used great paint and the space is really that unrentable.)
"bioclutter can be seen and was observed moving west..."
"Today was the greatest birding day of my life." writes Ian Davies on May 28th when he saw (approximately) 721,620 warblers, beating the previous warbler high by about half a million, in what Andrew Del-Colle from Audubon describes as "an absolutely bonkers eBird checklist."
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, Movement 2
Why Is Beethoven's Allegretto So Completely Captivating? The second movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7—the Allegretto—has captivated listeners since the symphony’s 1813 premiere, when it was so popular that the orchestra used it as an encore. WRTI’s Susan Lewis has more on why this particular movement continues to engage us.
Some people swore by zippy Yoshi, others argued that big, heavy Bowser.
Here's The Best Mario Kart Character According To Actual Science by Henry Hinnefeld [Medium] “Most of us love a good Mario Kart session every now and then; there aren't many better things in life than ordering in a pizza, having some friends over, and proceeding to throw your controllers at each other in uncontrollable rage as the umpteenth blue shell of the evening comes hurtling towards you. One question always slows things down a little, though: which racer do you pick? While we suspect many players will simply stick with childhood favourites for the most part, one man has worked out exactly which character is best for the job with real, actual science. The data has been collected by Henry Hinnefeld, who has used nineteenth-century Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto's concept of Pareto efficiency to work out precisely which racer should be number one.” [via: Nintendo Life]
Human, why are you looking at my insides? Why?
VR interactions have the potential to be easier and more intuitive than with any other technology. Cat Explorer is a fun demo that points to the transformative potential of VR and natural interaction in fields as diverse as education, training, healthcare, and entertainment.
Infrastructure weak
The lifespan of a lie
The Women in Toronto's Comedy Scene Aren't Going to Take It Anymore
normal operation
Openly fascist philosophies of eternal conflict
EA Sports Looks to the Future With Three Terrifying Dystopian Games Set in the Year 2019 by Matthew Dessem for Slate
Rhythms of Change: The Victorian Science Poems of May Kendall
"The poems vary in subject matter from an Ichthyosaurus to the possibility of a fourth dimension, but they share a deep fascination and engagement with science itself, along with relentless mockery of anyone who would use science to maintain the status quo." Olivia Rosane looks at the work of May Kendall (1861-1943), in which she "take[s] science as inspiration, to act based not on the male-dominated discourse surrounding it but the spirit of inquiry that animates it at its best." [more inside]
If the plate is vibratin', do be note-takin'
Here's a gorgeous collection of Chladni figures, illustrations of vibration patterns by acoustics pioneer Ernst Chladni. Full scan of the original 18th C. German text (illustrations start around page 90). Hat tip to interrobang.
Chladni and cymatics variously previously on MetaFilter: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014.
Chladni and cymatics variously previously on MetaFilter: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014.
New Excavations in Pompeii
Since new excavations in Regio V of Pompeii began in March 2018, the discoveries have been phenomenal. [more inside]
Brought to you in blurry, badly-exposed phone camera-o-vision!
Fresh off their “Ridiculously Self-Indulgent Ill-Advised Vanity Tour”, the most versatile band in the world is made up of drummer Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz, bassist Steve Jay, guitarist Jim “Kimo” West, and keyboardist Rubén Valtierra. On this tour, along with their lead singer / accordionist (a guy who goes by the name “Weird Al” Yankovic), the band focused less on the parodies they’re best known for in order to show off their lesser-known original material and, for the first time, cover songs... [more inside]
Bon appetit.
"A good match of soccer is much like a fine meal. When carefully prepared and crafted, both ought to leave one challenged, provoked, delighted, entertained, and, one hopes, nourished. Likewise, picking a soccer team to root for can be, perhaps even should be, akin to picking a restaurant at which to dine — a flavor quest." SBNation presents: A Tasteful Quiz for Selecting Your Team.
Sistema Huautla Cave
One of the Deepest Caves in the World is Even Bigger Than We Thought Sistema Huautla is now known to be 53 miles long and has 25 distinct entrances. With a depth measurement of 5,118 feet (1,560 meters) from its highest known entrance to its lowest reached point, System Huautla is the deepest cave in the Western Hemisphere and the ninth deepest cave in the world. [more inside]
Counterculture Club
Fred Turner’s research and writing explore media, technology and American cultural history. He is especially interested in how emerging media have shaped American life since World War II. He is the author of three books, including The Democratic Surround: Multimedia and American Liberalism from World War II to the Psychedelic Sixties (Chicago, 2013) and From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the Rise of Digital Utopianism (Chicago, 2006).
I didn't think he knew how to cry until our dog died that year.
Do you remember Fireflies? Well, after spending nearly all of 2016 on his ambitious Scores project (in which he would create a truncated film score about various topics, one each month), Adam Young, AKA Owl City has quietly been moving forward with a new pop album. Released in three "Reels", the first single I encountered from Cinematic is from Reel 2: Lucid Dream. [more inside]
Tokyo Drifting
It's been 11 days since art challenge #Kaijune has dropped for 2018.
Some highlights so far (all SLInsta):
artist @fourthdensity
artist @jordanlewerissa
artist@anna.pavleeva
artist @alexdaikaiju
artist @theadrianchin
artist @charleslister [more inside]
Some highlights so far (all SLInsta):
artist @fourthdensity
artist @jordanlewerissa
artist@anna.pavleeva
artist @alexdaikaiju
artist @theadrianchin
artist @charleslister [more inside]
72nd Annual Tony Awards
2018 Winners- Catch up on the performances from last night's 2018 Tony Awards! (many YouTube links ahead) [more inside]
You are a man in a box.
The last time Michel Gondry and Jim Carrey linked up we got Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Now, they're Kidding. [more inside]
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