September 10, 2014
WE ARE IN NO DANGER, EVER, FROM BETELGEUSE.
Worried about when Betelgeuse will go supernova? Worry no more.
Windows on the World That Was
In June 2001, Estonian immigrant Konstantin Petrov got a job as an electrician for Windows on the World, the famous restaurant in the World Trade Center. The New Yorker has an article about the recent discovery of a trove of photographs he took during lulls in his shifts, an incredible record of the complex before the events of thirteen years ago. [more inside]
Bowling ball pendulum wave
A mesmerizing pendulum wave demonstration with 16 bowling balls in a North Carolina forest. [Previously]
What in the name of Bezos is going on here?
Amazon's formula for literary success is, as far as I can deduce: Write as many books as you can, and then sell them cheaply and in bulk. Even though none of my books has sold more than 15,000-ish copies, Amazon continues to pay me to write them. The idea is that eventually one of my efforts will hit, and then the backlist will rise. I'm a writer, and my experience with this supposedly evil corporate behemoth has been fantastic.
Just do it already
"And yes, I get that sexuality is fluid and all of that, but honestly, can't they just do it and get it over with? Either that, or shut up about it." Are Sherlock and Watson Gonna Bone, or What? [more inside]
Oh yeah, I was into them WAY after they were cool...
the birth of the idea to make himself a character writing a fake memoir
The Pale King drafts: The David Foster Wallace archive at the Harry Ransom Center UT has made some documents from The Pale King accessible online, including a few pages of his workbook, handwritten drafts, and typed edits. [more inside]
I want to be a nice skeleton when they excavate me
I lay my fingertip there, just inside the socket, where some of the bone is chipped away: it was pecked out, by the beaks of vultures. These are the markings the huge black birds made when they consumed her eyes, with the permission of her family.The Oxford American on the people who work at, and the people who choose to donate their bodies to, the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility in San Marcos, Texas, the largest of America’s five “body farms.”
"No... No... No... N-wait... No..."
Weird Things About Couples (a cute series of videos):
• Weird Things All Couples Do
• Weird Things Couples do in Public [outtakes]
• Weird Things All Couples Fight About.
Animated Shorts
It's September, which means the irritatingly talented young animators at the prestigious Gobelins Animation School in Paris have their graduation films out. As usual, they rival anything produced by professional studios, all in less than 3:45 minutes. Some highlights: [more inside]
More like Freezer Burned out
Freezer Burns is a youtube show where Gregory Ng reviews frozen food items you can buy in US Supermarkets. Amazingly, the Freezer Burns YouTube channel was nearly at 700 shows when he tried out a Kid Cuisine How To Train Your Dragon meal and you'll have to watch it all the way to the end to see his Come To Jesus moment (previously).
The Millionaire's Magician
Most people have probably never seen the magic of Steve Cohen, who for 14 years has held court in a private suite at the Waldorf-Astoria, to sold-out crowds of "celebrities, royalty, government officials, and other VIPs." But bits of his "Chamber Magic" show are available online to marvel at. [more inside]
5 million gmail accounts compromised
Last night, a hacker posted a text file on a cryptocurrency forum in Russia which contained 5 million Gmail accounts and associated passwords. It's probably time to change yours again.
Redder and redder, and prettier and prettier.
The Awful Reign of the Red Delicious: How the worst apple took over the United States, and continues to spread.
Birthday of the World
There are previouslys enough to fill an FPP but this deserves mention and honour in its own right.
In recognition of her transformative impact on American literature, Ursula K. Le Guin is the 2014 recipient of the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. She is the Foundation’s twenty-seventh award recipient.Long live the Ekumen.
The Sexual Outlaw At 83
83 year old Chicano author John Rechy (City Of Night, The Sexual Outlaw, Rushes) talks to Lambda Literary about gay assimilation, being mistaken for white, melding truth and fiction, the post-Stonewall peroid, and hating the word 'queer.'
Sept 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day
Today is the day to make a difference in someone's life. Suicide is one of the top 15 leading causes of death across all age groups worldwide, and the third leading cause of death among young adults in the U.S. Every person reading this probably knows someone who's thought about or attempted suicide. We've lost too many good people to this problem. It's time to take a stand and take 5 minutes to help save someone's life you know. [more inside]
Innocent Critters Squashed on the Highway of Life!
In 1980, Kevin Reynolds was attending USC film school; his 30-minute short Proof was an affectionate nod to his undergrad years at Baylor University back in Texas. It caught the eye of Steven Spielberg, who offered to produce a full-length version. That film, Fandango, has had an impressive impact – it introduced Reynolds to longtime collaborator Kevin Costner, it spawned one Hollywood marriage, and it has drawn an impassioned fanbase. [more inside]
A Lovely Night
Tonight, 21 year-old actress Keke Palmer will make her Broadway debut in the title role inRodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, the first African American actress to play the role in any stage production of the show, first mounted as a television production on CBS in 1957, with Julie Andrews. [more inside]
ScratchJr
ScratchJr is an introductory visual programming language for young children. It is inspired by Scratch (previously), and is available as a free iPad app. Future plans include an Android version and a web-based version.
"Spy" cameras for wildlife photography
The Click Clique
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