December 29, 2015

"My secret to a long, healthy life"

He lived to the age of 108, having quit smoking the previous year so his new young wife would "have him as long as possible". He sang at his own centenary at which time he was awarded the title Kammersänger. He was said to be Adolf Hitler's favorite actor. The 82-year-old Johannes "Jopi" Heesters sings Freut Euch (Das große Fest kommt bald). [more inside]
posted by jet_silver at 7:55 PM PST - 24 comments

Forever in debt to your priceless advice

Please enjoy a cover of Nirvana's Heart-Shaped Box by Icelandic phenom Ásgeir. Then try a deep house remix of Ásgeir's cover by Romanian producer Kataa, and another one by Danish producer Notize. Heck, throw in a deep house remix of the Nirvana original by Argentine producer Ubbah.
posted by Rhomboid at 7:53 PM PST - 18 comments

Richard shared a photon with you!

Let’s draw Feynman diagrams! (Part 1 of 20) You do not need to know any fancy-schmancy math or physics to do this! That’s right. I know a lot of people are intimidated by physics: don’t be! Today there will be no equations, just non-threatening squiggly lines. Even school children can learn how to draw Feynman diagrams (and, I hope, some cool science). Particle physics: fun for the whole family.
posted by Wolfdog at 6:28 PM PST - 8 comments

Everything Old is New Again: Some people opt to just pay their doctor

Direct Primary Care: An Alternative to Conventional Health Insurance There are roughly 4,400 direct primary care physicians nationwide, up from 756 in 2010 and a mere 146 in 2005. [more inside]
posted by Michele in California at 6:19 PM PST - 49 comments

“You will never walk again. But you will fly.”

Game of Thrones: First look at Bran Stark in season 6 . [Entertainment Weekly]
We last saw Bran meeting the cave-dwelling mystical Three-Eyed Raven (now played by Max von Sydow) in the season 4 finale as Bran sought to control his fledgling psychic powers. As you can see, the 16-year-old actor has grown plenty since we last saw him. He now has short hair and is around six feet tall (poor Hodor’s back!).
[more inside]
posted by Fizz at 6:15 PM PST - 55 comments

Supreme Skills! Miracle Tops: May They Spin Forever!

Supreme Skills is a show on the NHK, presented here dubbed well into English, in which two groups of Japanese engineers who compete to meet the challenge of exceptionally strict production standards according to their talents and natural biases. Eight additional shows are linked inside.
In Supreme Skills! Miracle Tops: May They Spin Forever! [24:47] A group of young satellite engineers and a group of wizened craftsmen compete to produce a top that will spin the longest in an understated drama of rapidly rotating dreams. It showcases the design focuses and production process of both teams as well as the engineering and physics concepts they demonstrate supreme mastery over as we watch the tops spin and the engineers grow increasingly nervous.
[more inside]
posted by Blasdelb at 5:45 PM PST - 36 comments

Reality check on realty

American House Prices. FIVE years after the house price crash that nearly took down an entire financial system, America’s property market appears to be in rude health: prices have appreciated by 17% over the past three years. But that statistic hides vast differences in housing markets across America The graphic gives valuation assessments for 25 major cities in the context of what has happened to prices over the past 35 years, and allows you to plot and compare them.
posted by storybored at 5:08 PM PST - 64 comments

Hearing Loss Simulator

Find out what hearing loss sounds like : 'You can't recreate hearing loss simply by plugging your ears. A person with normal hearing can hear quiet, medium and loud sounds that vary from low pitch to high pitch with amazing clarity and definition.When you have hearing loss, you often lose higher pitched sounds, like the sound of women's and children's voices or consonants like T, S and F. Even though you still may be able to hear strong vowel sounds such as A, E and I, speech becomes harder to comprehend.'
posted by honey-barbara at 4:57 PM PST - 48 comments

The Internet can't decide how dogs should wear pants.

You can pin the blame on Maxim. Additional “coverage” from Thrillist, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, The Daily Mail, TIME, Mashable, and CBS.
posted by Going To Maine at 4:10 PM PST - 83 comments

The Seasons, by Tchaikovsky in 1876 and Ben Wendel and friends in 2015

The idea and goal of “The Seasons” was a simple one: 12 original pieces dedicated to 12 musicians I deeply admire, released over 12 months. Though this ended up being one of the most challenging and complex projects I’ve ever attempted, it also turned out to be one of the most rewarding.
Ben Wendel, inspired by Tchaikovsky's work from 139 years ago, has finished his year of duets: The Seasons Project (YouTube playlist)
posted by filthy light thief at 2:36 PM PST - 1 comments

John Bradbury (1953-2015)

John Bradbury, the drummer for The Specials, has passed away at the age of 62.
posted by tallmiddleagedgeek at 1:43 PM PST - 31 comments

BB-8 was only phase one

While Boston Dynamics will probably continue making the Skynet/Hellspawn robots for the foreseeable future, Disney has recently unveiled a wheeled robot that can climb vertical surfaces.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 12:43 PM PST - 28 comments

Syria, Segway, Caitlyn and Paris

The Guardians best photographs of 2015 (Some links NSFW) [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:17 PM PST - 8 comments

Trans Athlete Chris Mosier Is Training for the World Championships

In June of 2015, Chris Mosier, "athlete, coach, cool dude," and also a trans man, earned a spot on the US National team in Sprint Duathlon. He is now training for the world championships. But will he be allowed to compete? [more inside]
posted by not that girl at 11:25 AM PST - 56 comments

Theresa May and the Deportation of "Immigrant" Thomas Podgoretsky

Musician and performer Thomas Podgoretsky, who has lived and worked in the UK for so long he now draws his state pension here, has been told he faces deportation at 72 hours’ notice. [via Private Eye magazine] [more inside]
posted by marienbad at 7:48 AM PST - 94 comments

battle fatigue

Why has Russian culture become saturated with war?
posted by the man of twists and turns at 6:31 AM PST - 67 comments

Nieman Lab's Crowdsourced

Predictions for Journalism 2016
posted by infini at 4:30 AM PST - 50 comments

The center

In the 1960s, riots and the Black Power movement sparked a furious white backlash. In April 1965, 28% of non-Southern whites thought President Lyndon Johnson was pushing civil rights “too fast.”

By September 1966, after riots in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Cleveland, and the S.N.C.C.'s turn from racial integration toward Black Power, that figure had reached 52%.

This time, however, the opposite is happening.
posted by four panels at 12:11 AM PST - 95 comments

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