September 13, 2018

Ignoble Prizes 2018

The 2018 awards honor research on cursing while driving and cannibalistic calories. Ever wondered why so many people don't read instruction manuals, or how many calories are in the human body? Or whether stabbing a voodoo doll representing your horrible boss with pins could help reduce workplace tension? The winners of this year's Ig Nobel Prizes have got you covered. These and other unusual research topics were honored tonight in a ceremony at Harvard University's Sanders Theater.
posted by MovableBookLady at 10:14 PM PST - 13 comments

We don’t use the front door ever under any circumstance

Culinary innovator and podcast host Georgia Hardstark asked the Internet "What’s a weird thing your family did that you thought was normal till you moved out?"
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:10 PM PST - 473 comments

Bang your head to this...

Cypress Hill spitting hard bars over a slinky Pearl Jam groove and dank Sonic Youth noise, Mudhoney and Sir Mix-A-Lot sharing a dirty Seattle scumbag sesh, Helmet’s taut riffs slowing down for steely-eyed House of Pain verses, Teenage Fanclub bummer jangle matching with De La Soul’s reflective rhymes... An oral history of the ‘Judgment Night’ soundtrack
posted by Artw at 9:50 PM PST - 9 comments

Dynamic Underwater Photos::Dramatic Baroque Paintings

Muses. Photographer Christy Lee Rogers recently photographed multiple people wearing long-flowing clothing underwater in a swimming pool after sunset.
posted by myopicman at 9:27 PM PST - 5 comments

"If I'm being honest, I can’t say I really like Dylan."

[F]or reasons I may never be able to fully explain, when Lucas Wiley tells the camera, “Uh, yeah. He shits at Priceless Moments,” to explain why Dylan refuses to use the bathroom at Lucas’ mother’s house, because “squishy toilet seats are like pressing your butt against someone else's butt,” I was struck by two immediate and inexplicable thoughts:
  1. This show is going to win a Peabody Award.
  2. I am going to transition before I grow another year older.
From the incomparable Daniel Ortberg, A Taxonomy of Dudes as Inspired by American Vandal.
posted by rorgy at 8:09 PM PST - 7 comments

Edward Snowden Reconsidered

This summer, the fifth anniversary of Edward Snowden’s revelations about NSA surveillance passed quietly, adrift on a tide of news that now daily sweeps the ground from under our feet. [more inside]
posted by standardasparagus at 7:27 PM PST - 45 comments

He found almost normal buddies.

A young narwhal has been hanging out with a pod of beluga whales, about 1000 km south of where he should be hanging out. But they're friends. [more inside]
posted by ChuraChura at 6:30 PM PST - 29 comments

Universe Size Comparison

Basically a comparison of the entire Universe. (slyt)
posted by curious nu at 6:00 PM PST - 30 comments

"I can’t wait to play with my favourite capitalist overlord"

Over half a decade since the last full version, and the more recent mis-steps of the mobile version, at the end of a game-packed Nintendo Direct which included the teaser of Isabelle joining Super Smash Bros, Tom Nook appears to herald the announcement of Animal Crossing for the Switch in 2019. The Internet is happy. Questions, some previous life advice and post title.
posted by Wordshore at 4:18 PM PST - 28 comments

“It was just like: Man, we could drag race down that beach.”

The Race of Gentlemen (TROG) is a vintage hot rod and motorcycle festival. To qualify, cars must have been produced before 1935 and motorcycles before 1947. This year nearly 20,000 spectators watched almost 200 cars and bikes racing down the sandy beach. [more inside]
posted by kimberussell at 11:32 AM PST - 3 comments

So You've Changed Your Mind About Gender Roles In Dance (Great!)

So You Think You Can Dance judge Nigel Lythgoe has come a long way in Season 15. Nine years after he made homophobic comments about two men dancing together, enforcing his very strict views on gender roles in dancing (previously), Nigel was quietly applauded for not freaking out when Miss Estranja danced and showed off her signature death drop, though he he referred to Laganja by her performer’s first name, “Jay.” But perhaps more impressive was Nigel's pick for favorite dance number for the season: Taylor & Darius performing to "It Takes A Lot To Know A Man" by Damien Rice (extended clip). Choreographer Travis Wall talked about the dance, wanting SYTYCD to tackle gender and masculinity, and getting Rice to approve of the use of the song. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 11:30 AM PST - 29 comments

copyright changes in EU

Acusaciones de robo y censura centran la víspera del voto europeo sobre el ‘copyright’ [El Pais] Que peut changer la directive européenne sur le droit d’auteur pour les internautes ?[Le Monde] What’s in the sweeping copyright bill just passed by the European Parliament [Ars Technica] Europaparlament für Urheberrecht mit Leistungsschutzrecht[Die Zeit] EU approves controversial Copyright Directive, including internet ‘link tax’ and ‘upload filter’[Verge] Diritto d'autore, il Parlamento europeo approva la direttiva sul copyright: ecco cosa cambia [La Repubblica, video] EUROPE'S NEW COPYRIGHT LAW COULD CHANGE THE WEB WORLDWIDE [WIRED] [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:46 AM PST - 52 comments

RIP Rachid Taha

A World Music legend. Taha is considered as one of the godfathers of what we call today "worldbeat / global fusion", as he blended Algerian Rai and rock early from the 80s as a member of the Carte de Séjour band through his diverse Solo career as an international music star. He has suddenly died yesterday, just six days before his 60th birthday. [more inside]
posted by avi111 at 9:55 AM PST - 24 comments

Centuries-old tradition expands internationally

Native American farmers plan moves to global market, greater sustainability [more inside]
posted by poffin boffin at 8:39 AM PST - 2 comments

RIP Bill Daily.

Actor Bill Daily has died at age 91. He was best known as Roger in I Dream of Jeannie and Bob Newhart's neighbor. He also appears in this early episode of "My Mother the Car." How he landed the role in I Dream of Jeanie. Episode of Match Game featuring Bill Daily shenanigans. I Dream of Jeannie reunion interview. Variety obit. Hannah's Bill Daily web site.
posted by Melismata at 8:39 AM PST - 39 comments

“Happy Birthday!”

Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina [Teaser Trailer] “The new series stars Mad Men’s Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina Spellman, a teenage girl whose 16th birthday is more scary than sweet: She has to decide whether to sign the Devil’s book and become a Bride of Satan. If she does, she becomes a full-fledged witch. If she doesn’t, she’s reduced to a mortal life, but gets to hang out with her cute boyfriend Harvey Kinkle (Ross Lynch). Of course, things don’t go exactly as planned, as her favorite teacher Mary Wardell (Michelle Gomez) is possessed by the Devil’s handmaiden and becomes Madame Satan, a vengeful spirit determined to destroy Sabrina and everything she holds dear.” [via: io9]
posted by Fizz at 7:48 AM PST - 75 comments

"Let's tow the bum out of town"

Immortalized by folk singer-songwriter Steve Goodman as the "Lincoln Park Pirates", the infamous Lincoln Towing Service has had their license revoked by the Illinois Commerce Commission, effective immediately. The firm vows to appeal.
posted by kgander at 6:19 AM PST - 24 comments

Artefacts

Around one year ago, a journalist I know came across a standard pro-Trump trolling/bot account on Twitter. These are sometimes called “MAGA-head” accounts or similar, and they have bio descriptions that are flavoured with a distinctive soup of patriotism. This account was named @GuntherEaglemann, and Gunther was putatively “Fighting the good fight! #BackTheBlue and Support our Troops, USMC, Conservative | Helping the confused Left turn Right – one at a time”. His location was listed as Texas, USA, and he had 2335 followers. The journalist knew that Gunther Eaglemann did not exist because the picture of “Gunther” was a picture of himself. Once challenged, the account disappeared. [more inside]
posted by the duck by the oboe at 4:39 AM PST - 62 comments

25 years

The Team Coco channel just posted The First Episode Of "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" to YouTube, 25 years after it aired. It is pretty interesting to see how far both he and the format of the late night talk show have come.
posted by dominik at 4:09 AM PST - 16 comments

'I haven’t been really and truly bored since sometime about 1997'

If the pop culture of the 1950s onwards was premised on wealth – the modest affluence of having pocket money was the cornerstone of “youth” culture – its transcendent emotional pull was built on a kind of poverty: namely, the severely restricted access to the means of producing and disseminating media. It is an axiom of political science that fanaticism thrives on poverty – the kind of deep, obsessive engagement made possible by the near-total absence of other outlets for one’s emotional and intellectual energies.
Houman Barekat contemplates how music stopped meaning everything.
posted by MartinWisse at 1:38 AM PST - 44 comments

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