August 15, 2012
Red & Dead
"I, Polina Marinova, have resigned as the editor-in-chief from The Red & Black, the student newspaper covering the University of Georgia. The Red & Black’s top editors, design staff, photo staff and reporters walked out of the newspaper building this afternoon."
The mass departure follows a memo of staff expectations issued by the board of directors of the newspaper, which is independent of the university. Among the "expectations" issued by the board to which Marinova objected was that the newspaper's coverage find a balance of "GOOD" (human interest pieces directly relating to the UGA student audience) and "BAD" (explained in the board's memo as "Content that catches people or organizations doing bad things. I guess this is 'journalism'."). This was followed by a final note to "[i]f in question, have more GOOD than BAD." Marinova also alleged that students no longer have final approval in the content of the newspaper, writing that "[r]ecently, editors have felt pressure to assign stories they didn't agree with, take 'grip and grin' photos and compromise the design of the paper." [more inside]
The mass departure follows a memo of staff expectations issued by the board of directors of the newspaper, which is independent of the university. Among the "expectations" issued by the board to which Marinova objected was that the newspaper's coverage find a balance of "GOOD" (human interest pieces directly relating to the UGA student audience) and "BAD" (explained in the board's memo as "Content that catches people or organizations doing bad things. I guess this is 'journalism'."). This was followed by a final note to "[i]f in question, have more GOOD than BAD." Marinova also alleged that students no longer have final approval in the content of the newspaper, writing that "[r]ecently, editors have felt pressure to assign stories they didn't agree with, take 'grip and grin' photos and compromise the design of the paper." [more inside]
The War on Whistleblowers
The year 2009 began a disturbing new trend: the criminalization of whistleblowing. The Obama administration has pursued a quiet but relentless campaign against the news media and their sources. This Article focuses on the sources who, more often than not, are whistleblowers. A spate of “leak” prosecutions brought under the Espionage Act has shaken the world of whistleblower attorneys, goodgovernment groups, transparency organizations, and civil liberties advocates. The Obama administration has prosecuted five criminal cases under the Espionage Act, which is more than all other presidential administrations combined. [more inside]
The stuff that Dreams are made of
The Man Box
They avoid the treacherous edges, they navigate the contradictions as best they can, they do everything they’re supposed to to stay inside the box. And what’s the prize? Noah Brand and Ozy Frantz on the "man box".
Terror has a new game...
There seems to be a recent golden age of genuinely terrifying indie horror games that experiment with new ways to upset you. Slender [PC/Mac, free], is based on the creepy Slender Man mythos and has been garnering rave reviews and videos of terrified reactions as you try to escape the being that draws ever closer. The 4th Wall [free or $1 on Xbox/PC] is a even more abstract take on existential dread. SCP Containment Breach [PC, free] features the very disturbing Sculpture (even the picture in that link will creep you out) from the SCP series, it follows another SCP game - The Staircase. And there is more - Which [PC, free] has you stumble in the dark; Ib [PC, free] places you in the shoes of a girl in an abandoned art gallery, and Candles [free, Win/Mac] is all about atmospherics. On top of that, there are some cheap independent commercial games that generate great scares, such as Lone Survivor [online demo] and the now-famous Amnesia: The Dark Descent [PC/Mac/Linux, $20], whose upcoming sequel A Machine for Pigs, may have the best title of any game.
Honestly, you guys, these are *supposed* to be pretty rare...
Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners has pitched the Major League's 24th 23rd perfect game, in a 12-strikeout, 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. You can watch an abbreviated video showing all 27 outs in succession at mlb.com here (6:08). [more inside]
Clapton/Layla - 41 years
Layla, written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon has survived over 40 years (wiki), and matured nicely.
For your listening pleasure "Layla" - 1970 Derek and the Dominoes, 1992 MTV Unplugged, 2011 Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis.
A masing grace
Using spare chemicals, a laser bought on eBay and angst from a late-night argument, physicists have got the world's first room-temperature microwave laser working. [more inside]
Seed a large prone turkey
"a clear and written threat that they could storm our embassy."
Following claims that Ecuador would accept Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's asylum application, Britain has threatened to raid the Ecuadorian embassy if Assange is not handed over.
Vans are gathered outside the London embassy, reports suggest British police have been seen entering the building. Live stream here.
Vans are gathered outside the London embassy, reports suggest British police have been seen entering the building. Live stream here.
Cheesy music video about NASA
"Very interesting and attractive young women without hats"
"The people in these photos park like they're fleeing the zombie apocalypse"
Microsoft announces support for its open document format
... Microsoft made an unobtrusive announcement that brings a degree of closure to a seven year long epic battle between some of the largest technology companies in the world. The same saga pitted open source advocates against proprietary vendors, and for the first time brought the importance of technical standards to the attention of millions of people around the world... [more inside]
A photographic essay on modern day Slavery
Lisa Kristine, a photographer, gives a thoughtful and very moving talk on the extent of modern day slavery in this TEDx talk. The photos she shows are absolutely beautiful and the bare-bones stories behind them are exceptionally hard to hear at times. The group she is working with, Free the Slaves, seems to be doing a lot of good work and working on real solutions for the people involved (such as the one example she gives where the slaves that were freed carried on doing the same work, the only work they had ever known, but rent the quarry themselves and are now the recipients of the profits etc). She has published a book with these photos as well and it's available on her website.
"H. R. Gigerstuff was by far the creepiest Sid & Marty Krofft show ever."
The life and times of Empress Wu
Her name was Wu Zetian, and in the seventh century A.D. she became the only woman in more than 3,000 years of Chinese history to rule in her own right.
[more inside]
"The world would not be a darker or poorer place without me."
"I make even my most ardent pro-choice friends and colleagues very uncomfortable when I explain why my mother should have aborted me."
There are still so many mistakes to be made!
Who is the world's greatest athlete? Is it Kelly Slater? Is it Jesse Owens? Maybe. If you ask Josh Wilker, proprietor of Cardboard Gods, one thing is certain, it will be a player from his childhood baseball card collection [more inside]
Australian High Court backs plain packaging for cigarettes
Australian High Court backs plain packaging for cigarettes Government and health groups yesterday hailed as a victory for global health the High Court's rejection of the tobacco industry's challenge to the unprecedented legislation. The measure will ban brand logos and trademarks on cigarette packets from December 1
Hello my little Metafilter Malt lovers...
Well, nobody's perfect. But at least we have cameras.
What makes a memorable movie quote memorable?
A news summary of how they went about it.
A short audio version (via NPR) of the story and research summary.
A Wikipedia list: AFI's 100 years, 100 quotes.
A short list of advertising slogans that fit the research model for movie quote memorability.
The research paper (automatic PDF download). [more inside]
A news summary of how they went about it.
A short audio version (via NPR) of the story and research summary.
A Wikipedia list: AFI's 100 years, 100 quotes.
A short list of advertising slogans that fit the research model for movie quote memorability.
The research paper (automatic PDF download). [more inside]
Photographs will always depict connections, a mirrored image of life through his/her lens.
Christina Garcia Rodero was the first female Spanish photographer to join Magnum.
She mainly specializes in projects involving Ritual.
Whether Maria Lionza in Venezuela.
Catholic Spain - The Sacred and the Profane.
Ritual in Haiti. or Burning Man (slideshow).
Here is a short video of stills of her project Espana Oculta and another (9mins) and a further project Between Heaven and Earth with Video.
Interviews in Spanish and English 1; 2
( Some NSFW some repeats).
Whether Maria Lionza in Venezuela.
Catholic Spain - The Sacred and the Profane.
Ritual in Haiti. or Burning Man (slideshow).
Here is a short video of stills of her project Espana Oculta and another (9mins) and a further project Between Heaven and Earth with Video.
Interviews in Spanish and English 1; 2
( Some NSFW some repeats).
Note: pure nepetalactone will not enable you to create a cat army.
Do you like cats? Do you enjoy chemistry? Do you appreciate having contraptions sitting around that look a lot like you are working with dangerous and/or illegal substances? If so, here's a detailed DIY guide to steam-distilling concentrated catnip. [more inside]
Stand by Your Mann
Aimee Mann's [previously, previously] highly anticipated eighth studio album CHARMERS is due out in September, and the songstress is about to go on tour to support it. But she's worried about the toll that touring will take on her. The solution (courtesy of sporadic mefite John Hodgman and a dead-panning Laura Linney)? A robot double. [more inside]
Soylent Green is sad people
Science Fiction writer Harry Harrison, best known as the creater of The Stainless Steel Rat but also Make Room! Make Room! which became Soylent Green and Bill, the Galactic Hero, has died.
Books, book bindings, and the death of the book
Ever since something was invented to replace it, people have been predicting the end of the book:
The Death Of The Book Through The Ages [more inside]
Passacaglias...
The Longest Transplant Train
30 Donors, 30 recipients in the world's longest kidney transplant train. The National Kidney Registry facilitated the chain. At any time 90,000 people are waiting for a kidney transplant, each year 4,700 of those will die. [more inside]
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