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Fifteen months ago, Donald declared and we commented; two months earlier, Hillary did likewise. And now, here we are near the end of an divisive and damaging election. As Donald's campaign struggles under many allegations [BBC] [NBC News] [Guardian] [New York Times] and increased conversation on abuse, Hillary pulls out a 7 point lead in a Fox poll, a gap in the Real Clear Politics poll average and a large victory chance in 538 (though, cautionary words about poll bounces). Michelle Obama spoke about the language of this election (FPP title from her speech) [BBC] [New Yorker] [Washington Post] and in The Guardian: "She lent her extraordinary ability to say what people are feeling to every English-speaking woman in the world". Elsewhere, Trump-stooge Chris Christie is facing a criminal summons and Utah could be a three-way race which leads to a small possibility of President Evan.
comment posted at 12:23 PM on Oct-14-16
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Shiro Across the Sea The owners of Maneki agree to build Shiro a proper sushi bar—no more preparing omakase hidden in a kitchen. Seattle in 1969 is swarming with Japanese businessmen here to do deals—shipping, lumber, imports, Boeing. And they want to seal those deals the best way they know how: at a sushi bar. But first, the liquor board needs convincing that a sushi bar is merely a counter where the chef stands, making food and presenting it directly to diners.
comment posted at 11:40 PM on Oct-8-16

2014 is coming to a close. Likely you've seen the previous post about DJ Earworm's 2014 mashup, in which 25 songs (and their videos) were compressed into a 4 minute and 11 second mix. But while the United State of Pop is the oldest game in town, it's far from the only one. Here a half-dozen other takes.
comment posted at 6:24 PM on Dec-27-14

Adam Pearson suffers from neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes tumors to grow on his face. They are sizable. You wouldn't fail to notice them, even from a distance. Nonetheless, he appears in a small but absolutely pivotal role in Under the Skin, opposite Scarlett Johansson, playing a sexy alien serial killer, in one of the most remarked-upon scenes in the film. "[Facial scars and other disfigurements are] always used very lazily" by filmmakers, he tells The Guardian. "In an ideal world actors with conditions would play the characters with these same conditions.... If they'd got Adam Sandler and blacked him up to play Nelson Mandela, there would have been an uproar ... but with scars and stuff, it seems like people are cool with that."
comment posted at 6:22 PM on Apr-14-14

Merry Clickmas! Make presents for everyone in the world and save Christmas!
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comment posted at 5:17 AM on Dec-12-13

Every Animated GIF on Wikipedia
comment posted at 4:55 PM on Dec-6-13

The Trans-Pacific Partnership has come under fire for the sweeping effects it may have on intellectual property laws in signatory countries, and is expected to export and even extend some of the worst features of US copyright law, including the criminalisation of DRM circumvention. The level of secrecy surrounding the agreement has been controversial: the US Trade Representative has refused to make the text of the agreement public, and only three persons in each TPP nation have access to the full text. The New York Times editorial board has been criticised for its endorsement of the deal, when the public (and supposedly the NYT) were unable to read the agreement. In advance of the 19-24 November Chief Negotiators summit in Salt Lake City, Wikileaks has obtained and published the secret negotiated draft text of the TPP Intellectual Property Chapter, including negotiation positions and disagreements between all 12 prospective member states.
comment posted at 6:02 PM on Nov-13-13

Kids react to gay marriage.
comment posted at 3:43 PM on Nov-4-13

16 teams are competing in Seattle at the The International, a Dota 2 esports competition with the largest prize pool in electronic sports history.

Meanwhile the members of the Dota 2 subreddit had the privilege to visit the HQ of Valve, the developer of the game. They took some photos. On the most interesting one you can see the recent development commits.

Take a closer look. And there is this site too. We all know where does this lead to. But. Counter-Strike Source was the first Source engine game in 2004. Two weeks later Valve released Half-Life 2. Left 4 Dead 3 now unofficially confirmed and the new Source engine is surely in development.

So one important question remains unanswered: when will Valve release Half-Life 3?
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Many of America's biggest corporations rely on temp workers to make up an ever increasing portion of their work force. This has led to a boom in the temp agency industry and a sharp decline in temp workers' quality of life.
comment posted at 8:20 PM on Jul-2-13

Today, Danish shipping line Maersk took delivery of the new World's Largest Ship from Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. The M/V Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, a 165,000 metric ton container vessel, that is too big (particularly with her 48 foot loaded draft) to call on most North American ports, employs novel design and operating strategies to radically lower shipping costs. First in the new "Triple E" class of 20 similar ships on order by Maersk, the Mc-Kinney Møller will initially support container trade between Asian and European markets.
comment posted at 7:06 PM on Jun-28-13

Now, "Voyager": in praise of the Trekkiest "Trek" of all "As we mourn Abrams’ macho Star Trek obliteration, it’s a good time to revisit that most Star Trek-ian of accomplishments, Voyager, the most despised object of fanboy loathing in the franchise's history."
comment posted at 6:53 AM on Jun-20-13

Officer Serrano’s Hidden Camera "Once he joined the 4-0, nothing seemed clear-cut. 'Every now and then, we would have to be put in a van and hunt, basically…'"
comment posted at 5:45 PM on Jun-3-13

The Dalai Lama is hanging out in Oregon, catching a Red Hot Chili Peppers show, describing his environmental awakening, and making his lectures available both live and on demand. I was worried for a bit that it was the 'His Holiness the Dalai Lama brought to you by Nike', but I was wrong, he's just trying to be nice.
comment posted at 3:50 AM on May-10-13

Top dog comedian, Louis C.K., has picked up a number of industry nods for the talented writing, acting, editing, and directing he does for his show Louie on FX. The highbrow aesthetics of the show might come as a surprise to anyone that remembers his Hollywood flop, Pootie Tang, but C.K. also created a number of indie comedy shorts during the 90s and 00s that may now merit closer attention: Ice Cream (1993), The Letter V (1998), The Legend of Willie Brown (1998), Ugly Revenge (??), Hijacker (1998), Hello There (1998), Brunch (1998), Searching for Nixon (2006), Persona Ne'll Aqua (1999).
comment posted at 5:03 AM on Apr-18-13

Prolific and well-respected film critic Roger Ebert has died at 70.
comment posted at 1:38 PM on Apr-4-13

Why Claw Machines Filled With Live Lobsters Delight and Disturb Us
comment posted at 3:12 AM on Mar-26-13

Google Glasses are being tested by tech writers as we speak. But are they a good thing? The long awaited Project Glass is nearly here. There are articles about them here, here, and here among many others. But is it a good thing? Questions are being asked both about safety and about privacy. Everything good, bad and ugly about the online world is about to get more intense. Are you ready?
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The Biden/Ryan showdown is upon us.
comment posted at 6:22 PM on Oct-11-12

It's D-Day: Governor Mitt Romney debates President Barack Obama in Denver, Colorado. Will we see an epic game-changer or an airless, pre-orchestrated zinger-swap?
comment posted at 8:20 AM on Oct-4-12

Pier 1 hasn't come to my country yet, but with fine and funky service like this, let's hope it does soon!
comment posted at 3:36 AM on Aug-31-12

Spike Lee on New York, Obama, film, Hollywood, reality teevee, marriage equality, Taylor Lautner, and so forth.
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Iggy Azalea is a 22 year old Australian rapper. Her promotional videos Pu$$y, My World, and Two Times brought her Youtube viral fame and helped launch her career. Her first studio album, The New Classic, is set to be released sometime later this year. Other videos include Look At Me Now and two freestyle videos Get Big, and Hell of a Life.
comment posted at 6:25 PM on Jul-1-12

On the evening of May 8th, exactly thirty-five years ago tonight, two remarkable things happened at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. A beautiful spring afternoon suddenly turned to dropping temperatures, and by nightfall a light snow was falling on the campus; meanwhile, in a campus auditorium, Barton Hall, one of the greatest improvisational rock bands in history was performing what would later come to be known as their greatest concert.
comment posted at 7:06 PM on May-9-12

Is the English language becoming another factor of inequality? How English shaped the academic world? (pdf). Is this linguistic imperialism?
comment posted at 7:31 AM on Apr-10-12

Guy comes out of closet on Facebook to friends who are entirely too geeky to care.
comment posted at 11:10 AM on Mar-28-12

A guy videotapes his father trying out Windows 8 for the first time.
comment posted at 3:37 AM on Mar-14-12

Nat Morris built a machine that gives his dog a treat and takes photos when people tweet to @FeedToby.
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An interesting tale of fair use and Shepard Fairey. Not the one about the AP Image, this one has to do with a fellow artist. [NSFW: nudity]
comment posted at 10:44 PM on Mar-7-12