September 14, 2013
Don’t blow smoke up my ass
Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.
Some tasty morsels from the 1920s jazz table
Have you heard the music of Tiny Parham? Though not as celebrated a name as some of his early jazz contemporaries like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong or King Oliver, Tiny's arrangements were inventive, lively and big fun to listen to, and his bands were full of fine players. Here are three slow to medium tempo numbers selected by The Mainspring Press Record Collectors blog that are a good starting point. Then, if you want to get things jumping a little hotter, try Nervous Tension and Sud Buster's Dream. We'll round it out with Tiny's Stomp. Thanks for the music, big man!
Infographic Maps
Where in the world are you most likely to be hit by lightening? Where's the best place to go to totally escape from the Internet? Which countries has Britain *not* invaded? [more inside]
Marty Stouffer's Wild Times
I'm Marty Stouffer, and these are a few of my favorite animals. A strangely hypnotic YT project devoted to the host of the long-running PBS series "Marty Stouffer's Wild America" and his many mentions of wildlife.
TIME MOVES ONLY WHEN YOU MOVE
Conceived as part of the 7 Day FPS Challenge, SUPERHOT (playable in-browser, requires Unity plugin) is an FPS with a neat time mechanic. Trailer on Youtube. Steam Greenlight page.
The Feynman Lectures on Physics
Caltech and The Feynman Lectures Website are pleased to present this online edition of The Feynman Lectures on Physics. Now, anyone with internet access and a web browser can enjoy reading a high-quality up-to-date copy of Feynman's legendary lectures.
Let's Look at a Clip
A look at the flexible DVR systems and production workflow that powers clips used in television shows like The Colbert Report and others. Other organizations, including the police and local governments use them too.
The sound of galloping horses
The Bluffer's guide to Irish folk: 20 songs from the last 50-odd years of Irish traditional music.
"Well, now they know."
John Banvard, 95, Gerard Nadeau, 67, were married Thursday at a Chula Vista, CA Veterans' senior living facility. Mr. Banvard, a World War II vet, and Mr. Nadeau, a Vietnam vet, have been together for 20 years, and were married at the facility despite the opposition of some residents. In response to the opposition, Mr. Nadeau said, "Oh, that's their problem not mine, but you know what this will do, open the door for other people." [more inside]
FBI Admits It Controlled Tor Servers Behind Mass Malware Attack
The FBI yesterday acknowledged that it secretly took control of Freedom Hosting last July, days before the servers of the largest provider of ultra-anonymous hosting were found to be serving custom malware designed to identify visitors. [more inside]
Marginalia and Annotations online
In literature, there are two key sorts of annotations: marginalia, or the notes jotted down in the margins by the reader, and additional information formally provided in expanded editions of a text, and you can find a bit of both online. Annotated Books Online is an on-line interactive archive of early modern annotated books, where researchers can share digitized documents and collaborate on translations. For insight into a single author's notes, Melville's Marginalia provides just that. For annotations with additional information, The Thoreau Reader provides context for Walden (linked previously), The Maine Woods, and other writings. Then there's the mostly annotated edition Ulysses, analysis of Joseph Conrad's Nostromo, and the thoroughly annotated US constitution (twentieth amendment linked previously). More marginalia and annotations inside. [more inside]
DC May Look to Raise the Roof(s)
Washington DC has had restrictions on the heights of its buildings since the first year of its existence, thanks to its namesake -- George Washington himself laid down a limit of 40 feet in 1791 (and then suspended the limits, as did several of his successors). The limits waxed and waned over the next century or so until the U.S. Congress, in its capacity as the over-government of America's capital, laid down the Heights of Buildings Act of 1910, setting the upper limit of any building at 130 feet. Now that the city is gaining population again (for the first time since the 1950s), developers and officials may be looking to release the federal height restrictions and give control to the city government (which already has zoning limits in various areas that further restrict heights). The WaPo provides a visualization demonstrating what the skyline might look like if the limits are raised, or even if areas filled out to the current Height Act maximums.
Two attractive kids and their Lassie-like fish
If there was ever one man responsible for how an entire generation of American kids dreamed about science, animals, and nature it might be a producer by the name of Ivan Tors. [more inside]
"A sort of fleshly pogo stick..." Lowly was Scarry's favorite creation
Fans of the late Richard Scarry may be happy to know that a new book featuring Scarry's favorite character Lowly Worm is due on the shelves this autumn. From the Guardian article: "The book will feature one of Scarry's best-loved and most ubiquitous [and mysterious] characters, the alpine-hatted, singly-shod Lowly Worm, who drives an applecar and was probably the first worm in space." [more inside]
It's whole new world for Disney princesses.
Disney princesses try to maintain their cultural relevance and popularity by cross-dressing, twerking, and hitting the hottest (and fakest) magazine covers.
Ghost Stories
Ghost Stories is a series of animated shorts by the Late Night Work Club, a group of animators working with their spare time and funding.
Hulk's Essential Reading List
Film Crit Hulk recommends "136 great books for your eyeballs".
Cosmic infection
SETI chief astronomer Seth Shostak on how soon we might find evidence for extraterrestrial life (SLYT)
X Inactivation and Epigenetics
X inactivation is a type of gene dosage compensation. In humans, the sex chromosomes X and Y determine the sex of an individual - females have two X chromosomes (XX), males have one X and one Y chromosome (XY). All of the genes on the Y chromosome are required in male development, while the genes on the X chromosome are needed for both male and female development. Because females receive two X chromosomes, they inherit two copies of many of the genes that are needed for normal function. Extra copies of genes or chromosomes can affect normal development. An example is Down's syndrome, which is caused by an extra copy of part or all of chromosome 21. In female mammals, a process called X inactivation has evolved to compensate for the extra X chromosome. In X inactivation, each cell 'switches off' one of its X chromosomes, chosen at random, to ensure the correct number of genes are expressed, and to prevent abnormal development.
Here is a helpful eleven minute description of what it is and why it's important by Etsuko Uno and metafilter's own Drew Berry in a fucking gorgeous Goodsell-esque 3D animation.[more inside]
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