August 18, 2011
Butchers, Bakers, and Candlestick Makers.
The Exile's Ramon Glazov reports on the blitz debut of Australia's own Tea-Party-esque political demonstrations. [more inside]
Catholic? Had an abortion? Here's your chance to be forgiven.
Church forgives abortion during Pope's visit to Spain Special powers have been given to all priests in Madrid to absolve women who confess to abortion in the sacrament of penance during Pope Benedict's four-day visit to the church's World Youth Day event. [more inside]
Handheld Games Museum
Can You Find His Shiny Metal Ass?
I need ya, Decks. This is a bad one, the worst yet. I need the old blade runner, I need your magic.
Ridley Scott, now finishing post-production on Prometheus, the not-exactly prequel to Alien (previously) is now planning "a prequel or a sequel" to Blade Runner. [more inside]
Kick to kill.
Corey Adams and Alex Craig are a tag-team of independent filmmakers probably best known for their feature film, Machotaildrop, the fruit of having won a million dollars in a filmmaking contest held by Fuel TV. That win was on the strength of their very cool short, Harvey Spannos. Their most recent project features the dread "Manwolf" gang from Machotaildrop and appears to be an ad for an eponymous skate shoe model that is being released by éS. Mammas don't let your babies grow up to be Manwolfs (sic, so sic, dude.)
Scandybars
Scandybars is one of the strangest sites I've seen in some time. I have no idea how these people got their Snickers wedged into their scanners, or why.
I should have recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board
Robert Rodriguez, acclaimed film director of the Mariachi trilogy, From Dusk Till Dawn, Sin City, one half of Grindhouse (Planet Terror), and Machete [amongst others] will release the 4th installment of his charming Spy Kids movie series, Spy Kids 4: All The Time In The World in "4D". Otherwise known as Aroma-Scope, directly inspired by Polyester's Odorama release. In doing so, Rodriguez joins a long line of movie directors who have attempted to integrate smell into the moviegoing experience.
DIY Job
Maybe It’s Time for Plan C - since the dawn of the Great Recession, more Americans have started businesses (565,000 of them a month in 2010) than at any period in the last decade and a half. 'The lures are obvious: freedom, fulfillment. The highs can be high. But career switchers have found that going solo comes with its own pitfalls: a steep learning curve, no security, physical exhaustion and emotional meltdowns. The dream job is a “job” as much as it is a “dream.”' [more inside]
The Devil's Knot undone?
Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr - the West Memphis 3 - will admit to the killing of 3 boys in West Memphis, Arkansas tomorrow during a recently scheduled surprise hearing. In exchange Echols, currently on death row, and either Baldwin or Misskelley are expected be released with time served.
Wag the Dalek
The Outer Limits episode, The Architects of Fear is built around faking an alien invasion in order to stop nuclear armageddon. In a recent interview, Paul Krugman of the New York Times proposed a fake alien invasion to stimulate the economy.
Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.
Know who's more fun at parties than you? This guy. [slyt]
The Ghost of Slumber Mountain
"These giant monsters of the past are seen to breathe, to live again, to move and battle as they did at the dawn of life!" The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918), by Willis O'Brien. Previously.
The Mushroom Man of Boston, MA
Cramming for College at Beijing's Second High
Gorgeous landscape photography.
A most obscure sport - Aeronautical Pentathalon
The Aeronautical Pentathlon Has Six Events—and Flying Doesn't Count. Aeronautical pentathlon—which inexplicably has six events—is a riff on the modern pentathlon at the Olympics. Created 63 years ago, the military pilots' version has pretty much flown under the radar.
And though the sport is based on flying, the nonflying parts of the competition determine the winner. While it is exclusively practiced by air forces, it was always excluded from the military Olympics—called the World Military Games—until last month's event in Rio de Janeiro. ... and the home team wins. [more inside]
Dude, you're getting a DELL?
"Rotten But Beautiful"
Stéphane Missier alias Charles le Brigand (and/or Carlito Brigante) is a Brooklyn-based urban photographer and filmmaker. "From the Bronx to Brooklyn, I capture the real New York, the one I like to call 'RottenbutBeautiful'." Flickr Sets. [more inside]
Flickring out?
These Alligator Boots Are Made For Driving
Researchers Find That Alligator Fat Could Be a New Source of Biodiesel. Alligator farming is alive and well in the United States and elsewhere but traditionally it's all about the animals' skin and meat. Now it seems that there may also be a use for the 15 million pounds of alligator fat that are currently being deposited in land fills every year: bio diesel.
"We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow / And watch where the chalk-white arrows go"
Where the sidewalk ends: A new walking code of conduct, 10 proposed rules for New York City sidewalks.
Postmodernism is dead.
Look At All These Pop Culture References Reduced To Simple Colors And Shapes
Fan art, bootleg or both? Fan art, bootleg or both? Tom Papalardo sounds off on the ubiquitous "Minimalist Revisionist Poster" trend [more inside]
The L*** H*** of D***ness
Would You Please Fucking Stop?: an article by Ursula K. Le Guin
Wayside School Is Not Funny In Real Life
In 1972, Washington, DC opened the doors to the HD Woodson Senior High School. It was the city's first new school in twelve years, and the first to be constructed after riots devastated the city in 1968. Like its sister school across town, it had been built to withstand another riot, and protect its students within its fortress-like walls. For a time, it stood as the pride and joy of the city's school system, featuring a diverse range of academic and vocational programs in a state of the art 8-story building complete with escalators, science labs, and a six-lane pool; a symbol of hope for a downtrodden community. By 2008, however, things had gone horribly, horribly wrong. The building was literally crumbling, many of its original facilities had closed due to neglect, only 13% of sophomores were proficient in reading or mathematics, and violence was a daily concern. Facing no other choice, the city closed the school in 2008, and demolished the brutalist structure shortly thereafter.
After a three year series of delays, next week, students will begin classes in the newly reconstructed HD Woodson High School; a 3-story state of the art building complete with elevators, science labs, and an eight-lane pool; a symbol of hope for a downtrodden community -- leading many to question: Will it work this time? The correlation between architecture and academic performance is not well-studied, and previous efforts have been inconclusive at best.
After a three year series of delays, next week, students will begin classes in the newly reconstructed HD Woodson High School; a 3-story state of the art building complete with elevators, science labs, and an eight-lane pool; a symbol of hope for a downtrodden community -- leading many to question: Will it work this time? The correlation between architecture and academic performance is not well-studied, and previous efforts have been inconclusive at best.
A supercut of the classic "walking away" shot.
Keep on Walking, a supercut.
"For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President Assad to step aside."
Obama calls on Assad to step down. The US and EU announce sanctions on Assad's regime. The New York Times looks at the resistence in Homs. Al Jazeera has an ongoing Syrian Live blog. Enduring America continues to cover the Arab Spring.
John Calhoun's Mouse Utopia
How do you build a mouse Utopia? In 1972, John B. Calhoun detailed the specifications of his Mortality-Inhibiting Environment for Mice: a practical utopia built in the laboratory. . . . To its members, the mouse civilization of Universe 25 must have seemed prosperous indeed. But its downfall was already certain—not just stagnation, but total and inevitable destruction.
Welcome to Montreal, where we play God with genetics!
Squirrog, anyone? How about a bullguin? No, you're not hallucinating, Montrealers and visitors, that is in fact a "foxtuan" you're seeing around town.
Courtesy of marketing agency Sid Lee, Montreal's tourism board has dropped $6 million for the interesting campaign. They're even on YouTube.
Creative? Unforgettable? Or just plain weird?
THE HOLLYWOOD MEGAMERCIAL
Still cycling, still maniacal.
Thursday Flash Fun: Cyclomaniacs 2! Several characters from the first game have created a cycling megapark. The First Cyclomaniacs post.
"I don't care what you think about me. I don't think about you at all."
A new book claims that recently declassified French intelligence material indicates that Coco Chanel was a Nazi agent during World War II. The House of Chanel suggests that people read other, "more serious" books about Gabrielle Chanel. However, this is not the first time that Chanel's wartime activities have been questioned.
Oh, Indeed.
Everyone knows those Successories-style motivational posters, and almost every mefite knows The Wire. Thanks to the internet, we now know what happens when the two are combined.
Graffiti Tag Letter Taxonomy (Paris)
2nd Hand Leno-Astro-Pope-Mobile for Sale.
A 1964 Stretch Lincoln Continental rebuilt and customized by Lehmann Petersen (clippings and history) for Pope Paul VI's visit to New York in 1965 (more history, pics); transported to Colombia and used by the Pope during his 1968 visit to Bogota; ridden in by astronauts from Apollo 8, 11, 13, and 15; and once owned by Jay Leno is to be auctioned (cat. listing, history, pics) at Bonham's Quail Lodge Sale in Carmel, California, today. Via The Register
Technofetishism and the indiscretion of athletes
I’d like to defend the practice of publishing pictures of athlete’s dicks. (no dick pics contained therein)
The story you are about to hear is true, all the world is a stage
Sex-crimes cop by day, improv artist by night. Kyle Kizzier works as a detective in the Sexual Assault & Child Abuse Unit and is also one of Seattle's best improvisational comedians. [more inside]
The T-50 takes flight
Watched by Vladimir Putin, the Sukhoi T-50, Russia's answer to the Raptor stealth fighter, has made its maiden public appearance at the MAKS 2011 air show near Moscow, after first flying in January 2010. Bearing a striking resemblance to the F-22, the Sukhoi T-50 has been developed in co-operation with India and is slated to become the backbone of Russia's airforce. While the F-22 first flew in 7 September 1997 and ceased production with just 187 aircraft ordered, Sukhoi director Mikhail Pogosyan hopes to build 1,000 T-50s for Russia's airforce and export. Despite its ageing engines, it is rumoured to have a range of a range of almost 3,500 miles, twice that of the F-22. What is believed to be China's 5th generation fighter, the J-20, is also under development.
The SEC's Memory Hole
Is the SEC Covering Up Wall Street Crimes? "A whistleblower claims that over the past two decades, the agency has destroyed records of thousands of investigations, whitewashing the files of some of the nation's worst financial criminals."
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