September 11, 2007
ESG: The famous band you've never heard about
For almost thirty years, the female post-punk/neo-hip-hop all-sister band ESG from the South Bronx has been influencing your favorite music [mp3 direct link]. You've probably heard them sampled recently, and sampling credits don't pay the bills. After three decades of quietly making a big noise, they are hanging it up to enjoy their golden years. Long live ESG.
Survive the Street
Street Survival: Learn to survive a knife attack, a blunt instrument attack, and a two on one attack in five minutes or less. Note: Don't miss the lively real life examples at the end of the videos.
Get off my lawn
Explaining the JPEG Algorithm
Algorithm. JPEG compression explained.
Homeland Insecurity
Homeland Insecurity. "What happened to the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, which Democratic leaders promised to make one of their top legislative priorities? What are the most deadly potential terrorist targets no one talks about—and who's lobbying against securing them? What's the one measure that could improve our chances of preventing an attack—without costing a penny? Why are the 2008 presidential candidates—Republicans and Democrats alike—nowhere on this issue? In this seven-part series Mother Jones' senior correspondent James Ridgeway examines how the government has let homeland security languish since September 11, 2001, with dire consequences."
"This collection outlines the promises and pitfalls of new energy technologies..."
Navarre now generates more than 50% of its energy needs by wind power: a profile of the small autonomous region in northern Spain that is leading the way in renewable energy. This is one of many free access articles in this special supplement on energy issues to the journal Nature.
Jonathan Haidt on the "Five Foundations" of Morality
"From a review of the anthropological and evolutionary literatures [Edge.org]... there were three best candidates for being additional psychological foundations of morality [embedded video], beyond harm/care and fairness/justice. These three we label as ingroup/loyalty (which may have evolved from the long history of cross-group or sub-group competition...); authority/respect (which may have evolved from the long history of primate hierarchy, modified by cultural limitations on power and bullying...), and purity/sanctity, which may be a much more recent system, growing out of the uniquely human emotion of disgust, which seems to give people feelings that some ways of living and acting are higher, more noble, and less carnal than others. [more inside]
9/11: I Hear America Singing
Back in 2001, amateur musicians seeking exposure on my.mp3.com responded spontaneously to the 9/11 attacks by posting their own heartfelt musical tributes to the event, which included the Wings cover Taliban on the Run, the anti-abortion ambient synth rock of Unborn Baby of Tower One, and the Christian numerology of Wayne and Liz's 9-11 Warning. More recent tributes can be found on YouTube and elsewhere, including the pro-Bush emo of 9 11 Vision of You, What Does Nine 11 Mean 2 U from "blog 'n' roller" Dr. B.L.T., and the Moby-ish The 9/11 Memorial Song. Meanwhile, YouTube has inspired somebody to ponder if you can make 9/11 look more "funny" by adding the Benny Hill theme song.
What is poetry? And does it pay?
Now I'm going to suck your feet
Dr Evermor's Art Park
Dr Evermor's Art Park featuring the world's largest scrap metal sculpture, the Forevertron, is one of the most impressive metalwork collections I've ever seen. Great write up on the place over at Neatorama with tons of pix.
Training Ground for Democracy
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art was to have been the home of Christoph Büchel's first major US installation, "Training Ground for Democracy". But disputes over budget overruns and missed deadlines led the museum to cancel the project. [NYT registration required] The incomplete installation is now tied up in litigation, and covered by tarp.
Because buying new is for suckers.
BeaterReview was formed to help the depreciation-averse enthusiast and automotive bottom-feeder alike find gold in them thar' mountains of rust.
Pretty dollies
The Theatre de la Mode exhibition featured scaled down haute couture designs from Paris's top designers on miniature mannequins, and was intended to help revive French fashion after WWII. If you're in the area, you can go see the exhibition where it ended up-- the Maryhill Museum, established by a rather unique guy named Sam Hill (who also built a full-scale poured-concrete replica of Stonehenge nearby) in a small town in south-central Washington state.Or you can just look at some flickr pictures (hey, look, it's "Metafilter's own" Harvey Girls!) Or get the viewmaster disk.
Happy Patriot Day!
Taliban Glamour Shots!(video)
Cognitive Differences Between Liberals and Conservatives?
In an experiment reported in the journal Nature Neuroscience, scientists at NYU and UCLA demonstrate that political orientation is related to basic differences in cognition - how the brain processes information. Psychological studies in the past found conservatives tend to be more structured and persistent in their judgments while liberals are more "open to new experiences." The latest study finds these traits are not confined to political situations but also influence everyday decisions. [more inside]
The Frozen Maiden
The maiden, the boy, the girl of lightning: they were three Inca children, entombed on a bleak and frigid mountaintop 500 years ago as a religious sacrifice.
Solar planes making progress
The Zephyr, a solar powered plane, has smashed the record for the longest duration un-manned flight, staying aloft with engines running for 54 hours. This was just a test run at the US military White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, according to the UK developers, "You ain't seen nothing yet". Meanwhile in Switzerland, development continues on the Solar Impulse, which has a goal of flying around the world, manned(!), by 2010.
Guitar playing motivation
This might lead you to learn to play guitar, to write poems, to sing, or just to watch and listen more intently. Kelly joe Phelps, from washington state, is one of the most beautiful musicians I've ever seen. He's got a great way to play traditionals and his originals are mesmerizing.
It's Tuesday
The Great Melting Post
America ★ America ★ America ★ America ★ America ★ America ★ America, Fuck Yeah! ★ America the Beautiful ★ America's Funniest Home Videos ★ America's Got Talent ★ America's Most Wanted ★ America's Next Top Model ★ American Beauty ★ American Dad ★ American Express ★ American Gigolo ★ American Girl ★ American Gladiators ★ American Idol ★ American Idiot ★ American Inventor ★ American Life ★ American Pie ★ American Pie ★ American Psycho ★ American Psycho ★ American Tune ★ American Woman ★ An American Tail ★ An American Werewolf in London ★ Angels in America ★ Breakfast in America ★ Captain America ★ Coming to America ★ Good Morning America ★ I'm Afraid of Americans ★ Kids in America ★ Living in America ★ Living in America ★ Lost in America ★ Miss America ★ Once Upon a Time in America ★ Only in America ★ The All-American Rejects ★ The Greatest American Hero ★ The Justice League of America ★ This American Life ★ White America ★ (You Can Still) Rock in America ★ Young Americans ★
Not something you can drop on your foot ...
A recent article in Reason magazine discusses a World Bank report that comes to some unexpected conclusions, not the least of which is that "human capital and the value of institutions (as measured by rule of law) constitute the largest share of wealth in virtually all countries." Worldwide, the study finds, "natural capital accounts for 5 percent of total wealth, produced capital for 18 percent, and intangible capital 77 percent." In other words, rich countries are not rich because they have cheap natural resources (or exploited those of other countries), they are rich because of their social institutions. [more inside]
Zawinul gone at 75
The very great Joe Zawinul has passed at 75 Accordionist, proud Austrian, composer of Mercy, Mercy, In a Silent Way, and Birdland, associate of Miles, McLaughlin, Cannonball, Hancock, and Shorter, arguably the father of world music, Zawinul has left the building.
Lady Vera down, er, Clitheroe Avenue, she, er, she reads people's farts.
For the duration of three profanity-laden LPs in the 1970s, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore were two disgusting foul mouthed oafs named Derek And Clive. Listen to them here (real); here be transcripts.
Enkutatash
The Millenium is approaching. In a little under two hours, the Millenium will dawn again - in Ethiopia. [more inside]
"This is what they look like with their clothes off."
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