June 26, 2012
Hunger For Fresh Material
The Big Picture: Hollywood's creative talent wants to be on cable. 'A decade ago, a host of studios and specialty divisions were making and buying movies, but only a handful of cable and pay TV outlets commissioned original programming. But today there's a huge array of cable TV outlets making shows. In film, many specialty divisions have disappeared, and independents have merged, so the number of studio buyers has shrunk dramatically.' [more inside]
Janken (rock-paper-scissors) Robot with 100% winning rate
"The purpose of this study is to develop a janken (rock-paper-scissors) robot system with 100% winning rate as one example of human-machine cooperation systems." [more inside]
Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash
Nora Ephron, best known for writing the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally, has died at 71 from pneumonia as a complication of acute myeloid leukemia. [more inside]
The World in its Extreme
It is the hottest place in the world, and the driest. It is home to thriving commerce and to desperate, hopeless poverty. It is the Sahara, an eternal source of fascination and terror. Part 2. Part 3. [Hat tip: Longform]
FDA Moves to Reduce Antibiotic Use in Livestock
Worried about the widespread use of antibiotics used in the raising of steer, pigs and poultry, and fearing the rise of antibiotic-resistant illness, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began the process of withdrawing its approval for the non-medical use of penicillin and tetracyclines (scribd, posted by Wired magazine's Maryn McKenna in conjunction with one of her posts on this issue).
That was in 1977. The FDA stopped pursuing the process, and antibiotics have continued to be given in feed. But a recent court order may allow the FDA to oversee a major change to the system. [more inside]
“Buy my art . . . or I’ll kick your ass.”
Sponge-Fraud!: 'Artist Todd White seemingly had it all. With a multi-million-dollar art brand, collectors and clients ranging from Sylvester Stallone to Coca-Cola, and a burgeoning reputation in art-mad Britain, his days as lead character designer of SpongeBob SquarePants were but a distant memory. But, as David Kushner reports, when his confidante and gallerist Peggy Howell reported a burglary of his paintings at the hand of ninjas, things took a turn for the even stranger.' [more inside]
Impeachment or Coup d' Etat
This past Friday, after a five hour trial in which Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo had less than two hours to mount a defense for, the congress and senate of Paraguay, in a close to unanimous vote, relieved the president of his duties. The election of Lugo, a former priest and a vocal advocate for the poor in Paraguay, a country in which a small handful of elites own close to 80% of the land (much of it given away in the 35 year Stroessner dictatorship) had officially brought an end to the 60 something year rule of the right wing Colorado Party (35 of those under Stroessner). [more inside]
It’s a joke. Except that it isn’t
In a light-hearted but genuine response to a number of perception problems in the music industries, Any And All records will sign you or your band to their label. [more inside]
A song to the bearded glacier
Write Like The Wind (George R.R. Martin) is a tuneful plea by Greg "Storm" DiCostanzo and Paul Sabourin that perhaps it's time for the author to work hard finishing up his Song Of Fire And Ice series.
Rise of Flight
Rise of Flight is a World War 1 combat flight simulator that focuses on historical accuracy, from realistic engine behavior, impressive damage modeling, and machine gun synchronization to generating historic dogfight scenarios based on the date. But to be honest, crashing is half the fun! Want a closer look? Check out GiantBomb's RoF Gameplay video or the Trailer. [more inside]
Shardenfreude.
Is It Moist On Mars?
The Art of π, φ and e
Traction Park Memories
In a somewhat unusual move, the staff at Longform.org has chosen as today's Editors' Pick the Wikipedia entry on New Jersey's notorious Action Park. [more inside]
Music of the Ghetto
"The early death of I-Roy and dozens of other great reggae personalities is first and foremost – directly as well as indirectly – a legacy of the colonial power structures which still dominate the third world and cripple its inhabitants...We who survive due to the same structures must honour those who did not – and incidentally also whose who are still out there – by listening carefully to their music."
An entreaty from a Norwegian gal on a an epic journey learn about early reggae music.
All You Need Is Love
Forty-five years ago yesterday, various countries and networks (coordinated by the BBC) presented the first live, international satellite broadcast - "Our World", which was seen by an estimated 400 million people. The world's most popular band came up with a new song just for the occasion, which they debuted with a live performance. If you missed it at the time, here's exactly how that song was presented. [more inside]
Battery Powered
ArtHistoryImages
ArtHistoryImages: Over 1000 artists organized by movement, from Byzantine to Realist, from Gothic to Pop. Each movement gives you a list of artists, and each artist's page joins images of their works with information from Wikipedia about their lives. [via mefi projects]
Sorry
I Can't Apologize Enough is an ongoing series of small mixed media drawings by David Fullarton. [more inside]
Louis CK attempts to both stop scalpers and avoid Ticketmaster
Popular comedian Louis CK announced yesterday that he plans to sell his upcoming concert tour exclusively direct to the public on his website. [more inside]
Epilogue: The Future of Print
“This documentary is a humble exploration of the world of print, as it scratches the surface of its future. It is built upon interviews with individuals who are active in the Toronto print community and question whether or not they expect to see the disappearance of the physical book within our lifetime. The act of reading a “tangible tome” has devolved from being a popular and common pastime to one that no longer is. I hope for the film to stir thought and elicit discussion about the immersive reading experience and the lost craft of the book arts, from the people who are still passionate about reading on paper.” — Hannah Ryu Chung, the filmaker [more inside]
Fuck Yeah Hotel Hallway
Fuck Yeah Hotel Hallway TheCoug documents unfortunate hotel carpets from his travels. [via mefi projects]
No, I won't tie your shoes for you
Drawing on recent work by anthropologists Elinor Ochs and Carolina Izquierdo (working draft in PDF format of relevant paper here), The New Yorker asks: Are Americans raising the most incompetent and spoiled children in the world? The Wall Street Journal also considers Ochs' and Izquierdo's conclusions...
"An Obedient Human is a Happy Human.:"
How to Walk Your Human: by Kodi the Kitten [slyt]
[] Brackets
Presto! A Helical Hem
1,143,839,622,748,050,000,000,000,000 Sonnet Anagrams and oodles of other oddities from Mike Keith involving constrained writing, mathematics, music, and the number π.
Madeon Mixing It Up for Annie Mac
18-year-old French dance music phenom Madeon had his first break with his contest-winning remix of "The Island" by Pendulum and exploded after the viral success of the Ableton-enabled YouTube performance of his sample-fest "Pop Culture".
Apparently, 39 tracks in three and a half minutes just wasn't enough. He's just recorded a 95-tracks-sampling, five minute minimix for Annie Mac's show on Radio 1.
Apparently, 39 tracks in three and a half minutes just wasn't enough. He's just recorded a 95-tracks-sampling, five minute minimix for Annie Mac's show on Radio 1.
What it is is Beautiful.
Wave Wash
"A pod of orcas, or killer whales, cooperate to wash a Weddell seal off an ice floe. This sequence, filmed for Frozen Planet, marks the first complete filming of killer whale "wave washing" behavior." [more inside]
I've traveled to the floor of the pit of my own free will.
The trailer for Dungeons and Dragons 3: The Book of Vile Darkness has been released onto the Internet. [more inside]
The Atlantic's Biggest Ideas of the Year
The Atlantic have published what they feel to be the 23.5 Biggest Ideas of the Year
(You can click each idea in the box on the right for an article. Alternatively, you can start on the first one, The Right to Be Forgotten and click Next through each idea. I wish they were all on one huge page, but I couldn't find that).
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