July 9, 2012
Guitar Hero with swords
Neal Stephenson's Kickstarter project for a realistic sword-fighting video game has just been funded successfully. Clang is meant to be played with a motion controller and aims to represent certain historical fighting styles as accurately as possible. [more inside]
When I die, bury me / In my high top Stetson hat / Put a twenty-dollar gold piece on my watch chain / God'll know I died standin' pat.
It is a sad day in New Orleans. At the age of 80, Uncle Lionel has passed on. Uncle Lionel was the long-time bass drummer and sometime singer for New Orleans favorites the Treme Brass Band. (Watch the Treme Brass band playing one of their standards, "It Ain't My Fault".) Known to many as The Best-Dressed Man in New Orleans, he was a legendary and universally-loved fixture of the New Orleans music scene. Here is a video of him partying down at Sydney's Saloon on St. Bernard Ave, age 78. Here he plays drum and sings Let Me Call You Sweetheart at the Palm Court Jazz Cafe, earlier this year. And finally, here he is with Monty Banks singing Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans? at the Spotted Cat in 2009. Funeral arrangements have not been announced, but rest assured there will be one hell of second line the day they lay Uncle Lionel down.
The Ones We've Lost: The Student Loan Debt Suicides
The Ones We've Lost: The Student Loan Debt Suicides: "I'm an advocate for people who are struggling to pay their student loans, and I've been receiving suicidal comments for over two years and occasionally receiving reports of actual suicides".
Ann Marsden
Photographer Ann Marsden passed away last night. Much of Marsden's work depicted the theater and arts in the twin cities of Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Her best friend, Lisa Nebenzahl, was documenting Marsden's losing battle with cervical cancer with photographs. Those simple and powerful photos are posted here.
Photography in Afghanistan
Alex Jansen is a lieutenant in the US Army currently deployed in Afghanistan. He is embedded as a liaison officer working with and training the Afghan National Army. He's been taking photos of his experiences and posting them on the Pentax forums, offering a different view of the life of soldiers in Afghanistan. Forum posts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 [more inside]
The wrestling stars of tomorrow, today?
Last night at TNA iMPACT Wrestling's annual Destination X pay-per-view, Austin Aries defeated Bobby Roode to win the TNA Heavyweight Title. Meanwhile, in the WWE, CM Punk (previously on the blue) is currently the WWE champion and feuding with Daniel Bryan (seen here wrestling Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Title prior to his feud with Punk). And wrestling news sites today were abuzz with the news that the WWE has offered a developmental contract to Sara Del Rey, the "Queen of Wrestling," who has made a name for herself by wrestling men on equal terms.
What do Aries, Punk, Bryan and Del Rey all have in common? They're all alumni of Ring of Honor. [more inside]
TRANSSUBSTANTIATIO
1. Save sound file as raw.
2. Open raw in graphics editing program.
Pieces of Gold
The Aikiu's new music video "Pieces of Gold" cleverly transforms porn actors into... very intense studio musicians.
Should I Eat This, yellow-orange-oil anal leakage edition
The Ex-Lax Fish. "Talking to the fish guy convinced me that Escolar was the way to go . . . . But something I never thought ask would have been the most important question: 'Does this fish cause anal leakage?'" [more inside]
listening in
"Maintaining this level of surveillance is very burdensome for companies. According to the letters, AT&T has more than 100 full time employees assigned just to handle law enforcement requests, Verizon has 70, and Sprint has a whopping 226. That’s a lot of people power devoted solely to surveillance." Mobile Phone Surveillance by the Numbers.
'Imagine what these scenes would be like'
‘In 2005 Sci-Fi Channel announced that it would make a sequel to The Thing with Shawshank Redemption/The Mist director Frank Darabont serving as a producer. This earlier Thing sequel project was to be a four-hour mini-series written by Darabont’s former assistant David Leslie Johnson and broadcast on the cable channel.’ The Return of The Thing screenplay reviewed: Part 1, Part 2. [more inside]
Detroit 1982 (Single link Flickr)
A fun photo set of drunk 20 year olds touring the Motor City in 1982 and taking pictures.
I will include your name on the letter in a bigger font
Comedian Myq Kaplan starts a Kickstarter to Figure Out What Kickstarter Considers Art. [more inside]
Dear Reader, I texted him.
Texts from Jane Eyre. Texts from Scarlett O'Hara. On a more serious note, Text Messages From A Ghost and The Return of Ghost. (Mallory Ortberg for The Hairpin)
You sound like my wife.
"...women get this movie much quicker than men."
Four Men. Forty Years. An interview with Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox about Deliverance, on the film's 40th anniversary. Additional interviews: Collider. THR
Dance before the police come
"Shut Up and Dance’s 1991 hardcore LP ‘Dance Before the Police Come’ was released at a time when the UK authorities were struggling to contain the massive explosion of raves. Thousands of people each weekend were playing a cat and mouse game with the police to party in fields and warehouses, and if the state was often outwitted by meeting points in motorway service stations and convoys of cars, it tried to keep the lid on the phenomenon by staging high profile raids."
Dance before the police come: a social history, covering UK (and US) raves, queer activism, morality police (both figurative and literal) and racial discrimination. [more inside]
Dance before the police come: a social history, covering UK (and US) raves, queer activism, morality police (both figurative and literal) and racial discrimination. [more inside]
What to Make of Finnegans Wake?
What to Make of Finnegans Wake? by Michael Chabon
Good Pony!
Go for a 1st-person ride at Rolex with Doug Payne and Running Order Here's a nifty window into the world of 3-day eventing; the triathlon of the equestrian sports world [Previously] beware, video maybe vertigo and/or habit forming; OP not held accountable for time spent down the rabbithole linking thru Doug's many other wonderful helmet-cam rides & analyses. [more inside]
"We are one step closer to our dream otaku bros"
Super Golden Friends
"And so if elites have a culture today, it is a culture of individual self-cultivation."
The New Elitists (NYT) - "...omnivores seem highly distinct and their tastes appear to be a matter of personal expression. Instead of liking things like opera because that’s what people of your class are supposed to like, the omnivore likes what he likes because it is an expression of a distinct self. Perhaps liking a range of things explains why elites are elite, and not the other way around. By contrast, those who have exclusive tastes today — middle-class and poorer Americans — are subject to disdain. If the world is open and you don’t take advantage of it, then you’re simply limited and closed-minded. Perhaps it’s these attributes that explain your incapacity to succeed." [more inside]
Friendly Neighbourhood
Something Clever About Star Warsteros or Something
Traveling through time is a great way to burn a few hours.
From the story of the lost comet that came too close for comfort, to the radioactive eagle scout who simply wanted to complete his collection, there is more than enough here (the scandalous history of Union general Daniel Sickles) to fill any long summer day with historical marvels. [more inside]
"I have never, ever, ever admitted to being a member of the I.R.A. — never — and I’ve just done it here."
As reported in this article in the Guardian, a US appeals court recently ruled that confidential oral history interviews given by former members of Northern Irish paramilitary groups to researchers from Boston College are not confidential. [more inside]
Actors and Directors Name Their Top 5 Movies
Rotten Tomatoes asks some of the biggest names in Hollywood: Name Your Five Favorite Films. Browse at the link or click on people of possible interest below the fold. [more inside]
Cage Music Walk
To celebrate John Cage's centenary, 10 pieces of music by 10 different composers have been created, inspired by 10 places close to the Royal Albert Hall. [more inside]
Please, help yourself.
This might be the only video on the Internet of a bread robot violently committing suicide. [more inside]
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