May 2008 Archives
May 31
Carrie Bradshaw knows good sex*
It all started with a NYC writer wearing a tutu, getting splashed by a passing bus...
"It's really hard to walk in a single woman's shoes—that's why you sometimes need really special shoes." a 7-parter on the shoes that made the show... [more inside]
"It's really hard to walk in a single woman's shoes—that's why you sometimes need really special shoes." a 7-parter on the shoes that made the show... [more inside]
In Soviet Russia billboard...no, wait....
Billboards that display a personal message for you...that was sort of cute, and voluntary. Billboards with speakers that focused sound on a spot...voices in your head are not so cute, and not voluntary. Billboards that photograph you, and him, and her, process the imagery, perform a statistical analysis, and return a targeted ad based on your demographic profile...maybe plan a different route home....
Autistic Student Kicked Out of Class
5-Year-Old Autistic Student Voted Out of Kindergarten, Survivor-Style. (Link to interview with a representative of the school district).
Blouse of Cosby's
Bill Cosby auctions off ic/ronic sweaters from Cosby Show for charity. This article has a nice description of the auction, the charity, and also mentions that there's a National Cosby Sweater Day!
Rufus Harley, the Jazz Bagpipe Player
Rufus Harley is generally best known for being a Jazz Bagpipe player. He promoted peace and an appreciation of the United States. A native of Philadelphia, he gave out replicas of the liberty bell to famous celebrities including Bill Cosby. A documentary of his life, which includes an extended interview of Rufus in his home, was recently released: Pipes of Peace [Trailer]. [more inside]
Mark Bittman talks to TED about what's wrong with what we eat.
Perhaps more widely known as the New York Times' "The Minimalist", Mark Bittman implores us to change the way we think about and consume food during his December 2007 talk at TED. The related NYTimes article. His NYTimes blog, "Bitten".
"Crude is passé"
TV Pirate Tells All
Christopher Tarnovsky, smartcard programmer, gives a fascinating insider account of his years in the cloak-and-dagger world of satellite TV piracy. Tarnovsky began as a satellite pirate himself before being hired by a DirecTV contractor to develop anti-piracy electronic countermeasures; he was allegedly responsible for the "Black Sunday" attack on DirecTV pirates. [more inside]
Stories of where US stimulus checks are going
HowISpentMyStimulus.com In January, Congress approved $152 billion in economic stimulus checks for millions of American households, intended to boost the economy and avert a recession. Just how this money will be spent remains to be seen. We hope this website helps shed some light on where the stimulus money is going.
Vintage Girly Magazines
Vintage Girly Magazines is a blog devoted to nude photography from the era before Photoshop and breast implants. NSFW. [more inside]
Being Black in Utah
Being Black in Utah. The Washington Post chronicles some amusing stories (and some not) of racial interactions in the Beehive State. Yet despite their small numbers black people have been in Utah from the beginning.
Decoding Stonehenge
Flipper? Is that you?
The aquatic ancestry of elephants Scientists believe they have discovered why elephants have trunks - they used them as underwater snorkels. New research suggests that the animals evolved from mammals like the sea cow. [more inside]
10th July 2003
To Whom It May Concern: If you are reading this then I can only assume that you have removed the pond under which this note is buried... [more inside]
Don't play with your food - well, OK, go ahead.
Sushi art. Weird sushi art. Sushi ASCII art. Sushi soap. Sushi jewelry. Sushi candles. Wind-up sushi. And finally, sushi made of chocolate!
Tights Are Not Pants
Literary Interviews from The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic Monthly has helpfully indexed literary interviews from its archives. These include, among others, Alice Munro, Chinua Achebe, Dennis Lehane, Zadie Smith, Charles Simic, Salman Rushdie, Susan Sontag and John Irving.
Hitler defaced
Jake and Dinos Chapman have bought a stack of Adolf Hitlers paintings for £115,000 and defaced them with rainbows and butterflies for their new show, "If Hitler Had Been a Hippy, How Happy Would We Be". The show also recreates "Fucking Hell", a huge swastika shaped diorama of tiny plastic nazis torturing and killing each other, which had been destroyed in a fire.
The Earls of Derwentwater
When King James VII of Scotland died in 1700, Louis XIV of France gave his word and his support to the cause of his son, James VIII, or the "pretender" as he was known to his enemies. One of history's most famous lost causes, the story contains smaller tragedies, like the downfall of the Radclyffe family of Cumbria. An almost embarrassingly romantic tale, it includes a "murdered" (actually executed) Earl (sound), a haunting (and some say haunted ruin), an "incorruptible" corpse, a daring prison escape and, according to at least one novelist, a possible American connection. [more inside]
Let's write a sawng
Rivers Cuomo (of Weezer) picks the theme, "80s radio," and
develops
a
song,
step
by
step,
collaborating
with
some
of
his
fans.
Watch some of the responses.
It's not his first collaboration, and he's no stranger to the internet.
"I very seldom tell anyone what I actually do, because you just don't know who you are talking to."
"The Guardian has been granted exclusive and unfettered access to one of the most controversial research facilities at a British university." Caring or cruel? Inside the primate laboratory. Audio slideshow. A necessary evil - Colin Blakemore. Wise monkeys - Gill Langley.
Rhetorical Terms
"...the aspiring speaker needs no knowledge of the truth about what is right or good... In courts of justice no attention is paid whatever to the truth about such topics; all that matters is plausibility..." A Glossary of Rhetorical Terms with examples.
"But once we were in, it was, like, fuck it."
On May 29th two hackers infiltrated Comcast, gaining control of over 200 domain names, for nearly six hours. Was it revenge for Comcast's recent sabotage of BitTorrent networks? Or was it merely a "generic attack?" Either way, it's been forty eight hours and the police have yet to come knocking. Freaked, yet proud they hackers have given an exclusive interview to Wired.
May 30
For the birders
Home Turned Upsidedown
Open House, Home Turned Upsidedown "This house at 15 S. Putnam has stood victim to the elements – it’s been vandalized, looted, and its leaking roof has made it uninhabitable. In June 2006, the structure was condemned by the city due to structural problems, destined for demo.
But now – thanks to cooperation between the University of Buffalo School of Architecture, Harvey Garrett, and home owner Dennetta Stikkel – new, and decidedly unique, life will be breathed into the otherwise abandoned house. Under the direction of Professors Frank Fantauzzi and Brad Wales, the project architect, 14 graduate students will be working creatively to revitalize the structure. It is a unique opportunity for the students to use their classroom architecture training in a real-life application."
Quoted from Buffalo Rising Story
Longer story on the completed project at Artvoice.
Snoring animals
“A most dread portent took place, the sun gave forth its light without brightness.”
The Atlantic has an interesting article about the high probability of "space rocks" hitting the earth, possibly as high as a 1 in 10 chance of a major catastrophe each century. Not a new theme, but the article has some new developments suggesting it is more common than once thought. Includes a 10 minute video.
Orders of Magnitude
Leave the planet to travel into the largest structures of the universe, then plunge into the tiniest. Forty two orders of magnitude in thirty six minutes.... Cosmic Voyage. (single link Google video via) [more inside]
A one-man cinematic AskMe
Have your filmmaking questions answered by Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC . One of the great cinematographers maintains a forum on his website in which he answers readers' questions with a treasure trove of information and opinion on cameras, lighting and filmmaking in general.
Women are Heroes.
Scroo Grammer. Hows Yer Speling.
In honor of tonight’s Scripps National Spelling Bee final, take a stab at these spelling tests – Scripps Test, MSNBC Test. [more inside]
I feel safer.
Raaaatt Swaaarrmm
The only thing cooler than playing D&D is listening to recordings of people playing D&D! Tycho and Gabe from Penny Arcade and Scott Kurtz of PvP got together with a couple of Wizards of the Coast guys for an episodic D&D romp to promote the upcoming release of D&D 4th edition. The first episode (and pictures!) is available online.
Enjoy!
When you can walk the rice paper en pointe and leave no trace, you will have learned
"Long River High Sky" is a collaborative performance by Alonzo King's Lines Ballet and the monks of the Shaolin Temple USA.
A grim day for robot kind...but we could always build more killbots...
Fearless Fightin' Flash Fun for Friday: Robokill is a demo that recalls the overhead action of SMASH TV - though this time, you're placed in the metal shoes of a lowly salvage bot, sent to decimate your mechanical brethren who commandeered an orbital outpost. As you clear the halls for the benefit of some lazy humans, you can trade supplies and armaments with an alien merchant who mistakes you for one of Earth's fleshbags. It's a thankless job, sure, but you're supposed to be a remorseless machine...[via]
It Is Rocket Science
Assemble a rocket from main engine to payload fairing. Rocket Science 101 shows the basic parts of the launch vehicle, how they are configured, and how they work together to launch a NASA spacecraft. More Friday Flash Fun.
Caucasian Challenge
Looking for a little something to do come August? Haul yourself from from Budapest to Yerevan in a "minimal assistance" rally they're calling the Caucasian Challenge. Our idea of a tricked out and dependable race vehicle is an old Soviet Lada with fuzzy dice.
Complicated but satisfying.
Friday Flash Fun: Caravaneer is a game where you are a caravan leader in a post-apocalyptic world where towns and cities have formed around oases in the desert. [more inside]
6 Differences
6 Differences is an extremely simple and oddly soothing Flash game with nice background music. [more inside]
Government spending and tax levels
Want to know how government spending and taxation levels have gone up or down over the last 20 years, and how they compare with other countries? The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has a handy set of tables (Excel, HTML-ized by Google): total spending, total revenues, fiscal surplus or deficit (Norway's surplus is 17% of GDP). Part of the statistical tables for the semi-annual OECD Outlook.
Cat Ladies!
Take a photo with your cat, open in photoshop, remove heads from cat and human and switch. Yet another strange but magical internet meme
ReBoot ReTurns
ReBoot's back! A new online comic book is now available*, and three feature-length films are in development. Remarkably, the comic was developed as a combined effort between producers and fans; fans voted on five different stories and even contributed art. ReBoot was one of the first TV shows to feature 100% digital animation and has a warm place in the hearts of many children of the 90s.
* sign-up required and their web-viewer is a pain, be warned.
* sign-up required and their web-viewer is a pain, be warned.
The Cover America Tour
4 months, 48 states, 3 full-time staff living and working out of a 31-foot Winnebago. "The Cover America Tour aims to put a face on the problems Americans are experiencing and to make sure their voices are heard as the debate over health care reform heats up." Meet Blake, Pauline & Meg (Consumer Reports) and talk about your health care issue or just follow past and upcoming stops along the route on the blog.
Suggest a stop in your city or view pictures.
Swap books; read more.
You may have heard that reading is in a slow decline (previously). We now know that such reports were either exaggerated, or at least statistically questionable. On the flip-side of all this is the fact that reading as an activity has never been more accessible (or thrifty!) considering the number of reputable book swap programs available on the internet. There's no excuse now! [more inside]
The Greatest Wine on the Planet
Peculiar corpses
Peculiar corpses: "Incorruptibles remaining free of decomposition have baffled scientists to this day. These bodies are discovered in many different environments, including environments that would typically cause an accidental or deliberately preserved corpse to decompose rapidly." The photographed examples seem to all be associated with Christian faith. Hmm. "[At Oratorio di San Lorenzo] in Palermo, however, corpses are treated as characters in a play": The Museum of the Dead, reassuringly less preserved.
Speak good now, ask me how
Falipornia Speak Institute Single-link Youtube Filter from The Ministry of Unknown Science. (previously)
They're messing with LIBOR - UhOh!
Underlying several hundred thousand Student Loans, millions of Adjustable Rate Mortgages and trillions of dollars worth of financial derivatives is the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR. Launched in 1986 by the British Bankers' Association (BBA), LIBOR is the most widely used benchmark of short term interest rates.
And with the recent credit market difficulties still fresh in the minds and impacting the balance sheets of many market participants, the way LIBOR is calculated - and the interest rates charged - may be changing. [more inside]
And with the recent credit market difficulties still fresh in the minds and impacting the balance sheets of many market participants, the way LIBOR is calculated - and the interest rates charged - may be changing. [more inside]
The Dangling Conversation
"People are talking, but no one is really listening. For all the fun and fantasy that can be had following this election on the internet, the overriding impression it gives after a while is of tuning into thousands of people as they sit in their cars and complain about the traffic." David Runciman on "The Cattle-Prod Election."
May 29
The Dude abides
How to make the worst White Russian ever. That's what you get for asking for cocktail at some super square looking business hotel adjacent to an exhibition center. Ok, ok, here's how to make a nice one. Ooh it looks like Jupiter. Try one hot. Teeny tiny Kahlua drinks. Do NOT cook pork in it. Oh, okay, go ahead. Make you own kahlua. It won't be as pretty as this. While we're adding coffee to booze why not add booze to coffee.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Come, take a ride and look at some of the Islamic Art of the past. Or, you could call it Art of the Islamic World if you're so inclined. If not, then how about taking into account some of the major milestones of Islam throughout the centuries, from past till present (more examples here), including the art of Calligraphy and Architecture. Not to mention the Arab world's contribution to music, both old and new. [Previously mentioned, here, here, here, and here, with a wonderful comment from nickyskye as usual]
Life in a retirement home
Senior High: A week-long series from the Globe and Mail on life in the Terraces of Baycrest, a retirement home in Toronto. Drawing parallels to high school (the average stay of residents is 4.5 years), stories have ranged from the anxieties about the first day, the problems with cliques and getting snubbed by the cool kids, the ups and downs of the dating scene, and what to do about the awful food in the cafeteria.
On Friday the series concludes with graduation, the one area where you might think the analogy would fall apart. [more inside]
Khadr judge removed
The military judge presiding over child solider Omar Khadr's case has been replaced. Khadr's lawyer claims the judge, Colonel Peter Brownback, was fired because he “threatened to suspend proceedings in the case of Omar Khadr if prosecutors continued to withhold key evidence from Omar's lawyers.” Defence officials claim Brownback was planning to retire.
Although Khadr was only 15 when he was captured, and is the only Western citizen still being held at Guantanamo Bay, Canada's Conservative government has refused to seek extradition or repatriation for him.
Although Khadr was only 15 when he was captured, and is the only Western citizen still being held at Guantanamo Bay, Canada's Conservative government has refused to seek extradition or repatriation for him.
The American way
State by state electoral college analysis and predictions for the main 2008 presidential candidates, based on polling data and updated daily. [more inside]
Nosed me in the fist, assed me in the boot, then hit my car door with his torso
Another one bites the dust, and Canada's largest city reaches its yearly average cyclist fatality tally, less than half-way through 2008. While Toronto is a moderately bike friendly place, its 2001 plan to join up 1074km of city bikeways within 10 years seems to have fallen flat (as have the city coroner's cycling safety recommendations). Could this be the first opportunity for the newborn Toronto Cyclists' Union to make a mark? Will a Canadian city ever join the world's best? Ah well, let's just go for a ride. In Quebec. [more inside]
Photographer or Terrorist, You Make the Call
On April 3, The Memphis Flyer ran a story describing a town hall meeting in Shelby County in which citizens were instructed on the art of finding a potential terrorist. Among the 'qualifications' are having a camera and taking pictures of well known or important structures.
"They are almost certain not to understand what the plane is -- perhaps a spirit or a large bird."
"Skin painted bright red, heads partially shaved, arrows drawn back in the longbows and aimed square at the aircraft buzzing overhead. The gesture is unmistakable: Stay Away. The apparent aggression shown by these people is quite understandable, for they are members of one of Earth's last uncontacted tribes." [more inside]
He has all the fruit cups he wants now.
Not Just a (Fundamentalist) Mormon Thing
Plural marriage, less publicized, in other faiths: polygamy among Black Muslims in Philadelphia; Rastafarianism; Judaism. Polyandry in Tibetan Buddhism. [more inside]
Bobble, weave, tap, tap, tap ...
This past weekend the St. Paul Saints, Minnesota's minor league baseball team, did away with the traditional "bobblehead" giveaway day. Instead they handed out "bobble foot" dolls in honor of Idaho Senator Larry "I am not gay" Craig who was busted for soliciting sex in an MSP International airport bathroom while waiting to change planes for Idaho. "The baseball team [said] the promotion, which coincide[d] with National Tap Dance Day, is 'in tribute to all their toe-tapping friends and fans from around the nation who may ever have set foot in Minneapolis-St. Paul… even for just a change of planes." As reported on CNN [video | 2:18], people were lined up at 10 a.m. for a 7p.m. game so they could get one of these unique mementos. [more inside]
Jason Freeny, unlocking the mysteries of the Gummi Bear.
Overlooked or ignored for far too long by the medical establishment, twisty balloon dog anatomy and gummi bear anatomy are just two of the crucial areas that Moist Production's Jason Freeny is working to bring wider attention to. He's also to be commended for his tireless efforts in raising awareness of Disney character suicide and death by unexplainable circumstance. And there's free downloadable desktops, kids! [1 or 2 of the pages at Moist maybe NSFW] [more inside]
The Devil's Tramping Ground
The Devil's Tramping Ground is a barren circle in the forest in North Carolina. As a result of nothing having grown within the circle for at least the last hundred years, it has become the subject of some of that state's oldest legends. John Harden, a journalist, newspaper editor and author said of that place "... the story is that the Devil goes there to walk in circles as he thinks up new means of causing trouble for humanity. There sometimes during the dark of night, the Majesty of the Underworld of Evil silently tramps around that bare circle; thinking, plotting, and planning against good, and in behalf of wrong. So far as is known, no person has ever spent the night there to disprove this is what happens.". No person until you came along and played this neat interactive flash movie, that is.
RIP Steve Cisler, the man who turned the Dummy's Guide to the Internet into a hypercard stack
Steve Cisler - first Internet librarian died on May 15th. "Steve was a unique intellectual populist. I believe his driving force was to put the power of computing resources, and the ability to communicate with same, into the hands of all who could benefit" Librarians, techies, activists and the unconnected alike will miss him terribly. This tribute from Ted Byfield went out to the nettime mailing list. A more official obit from the Mercury News "Steve Knew A Lot About A Lot". If you knew Steve you can post memories of him here or here. [cite for thread title]
Nonoo!
Houda Nonoo heads up Bahrain's Human Rights Watch and now she's been appointed Bahrain's (and anywhere else in the Arab world) first Jewish ambassador.
The Tribute of the Three Cows
Magic Fruit Turns Sour to Sweet
Would you ever mix lemon sorbet into a glass of Guinness? With the help of a small red berry called miracle fruit, that's just what one woman did
at a rooftop party in Long Island City, Queens, last Friday night. The berry rewires the way the palate perceives sour flavors for an hour or so, rendering lemons as sweet as candy. [more inside]
The World Beyond What?
About twenty years ago, HBO aired The Mondo Beyondo Show, a sort-of send-up of avant-garde performance shows like Alive From Off Center and Night Flight. Hosted by Bette Midler (as the character Mondo Beyondo), it showcased artists that covered the broad spectrum between performance art, dance, and absurdist comedy. Strap on your Eighties Goggles; here's the meat of the show:
Bill Irwin | La La La Human Steps | The Kipper Kids | Yes/No People | Paul Zaloom | David Cale | and the Divine Miss M as Eudora P. Quickly [more inside]
Wolverphibian!
A new study has found that 12 species of African frog have retractable claws. All twelve species are members of the Artholeptidae family, and should not be confused with the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). [more inside]
Wash Your Weave, Brush Your Bong
How To Clean Stuff. From kitchen and bath, to flooring and carpets. Indoors, outdoors, your car, dog, colon and bong. More than 800 cleaning tips in all. Submit your best ideas. Each one that gets published, the site will contribute to the Clean Water Fund.
The best defense is a good offense
Internet television host Revision3 was the victim of a denial of service attack this weekend. The source of the attack? None other than RIAA and MPAA-funded MediaDefender.
Ghost Bottle: No Maintenance Required
A Friend in Weed Is a Friend Indeed
"Try Legal Weed" is the slogan printed on bottle caps made by Weed, California brewer Mount Shasta Brewing Company's latest microbrewed lager. The ATF has ordered the brewer not to use the caps, as they may "mislead consumers about the characteristics of the alcoholic beverage." [more inside]
PCs in Iraq
As Close as Any Brother - Ali Hameed, an Iraqi NYT employee, writes about PCs in daily life in Iraq. Once a mortar fell near to our house. Everyone stopped what they were doing, I mean if it was eating, watching TV, sleeping — except Rana. She kept on typing and typing. I yelled at her: "Rana leave the PC and come here, you are sitting near the glass!" She told me, "Just a minute, I want to talk to my friend, she is online and it has been a long time since I connected with her." From NYT's Baghdad Bureau blog.
Stone Trek
Stone Trek - To boldly go where no caveman has gone before.
Online Analeptic
Blogging could be positively deadly (previously); or (previously) at least stressful, if not lethal. Then again, it might
actually be good for you!
My eyes!
Paul Nylander's home page is garish and busy, but full of interesting tidbits about fractals, insects, physics, and other things.
Sometimes you can't yell.
"Nothing like a meeting you have to carb up for"
You Look Nice Today
You Look Nice Today | A Journal of Emotional Hygiene is one of those podcasts all the kids are talking about these days. It's just a few guys, you know, talking, but it's newish, amusing, and one of the guys is Metafilter's Very Own™ MerlinMann. [more inside]
May 28
The Androids are coming!
Hi, everybody, eh!
An analysis of the medical care provided to the family of Homer J. Simpson from the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
State of decay
State of decay :"Over the years, Boston artist Rosamond Purcell has photographed goliath beetles and translucent bats culled from the backrooms of natural history museums; a collection of teeth pulled by Peter the Great; moles flayed by naturalist Willem Cornelis van Heurn; and scores of worn and weathered objects, like termite-eaten books and fish skeletons."
The Apostrophe Engine
A poem that builds upon itself and grows as the world wide web grows. The Apostrophe Engine is a website operated by Bill Kenney and Darren Wershler-Henry. It is the source of the poems in apostrophe, a book published by ECW Press in 2006.
The home page of the Apostrophe Engine site presents the full text of a poem called "apostrophe", written by Bill in 1993. In this digital version of the poem, each line is now a hyperlink.
How it works. [more inside]
Read at work
Read at Work. How to read at work without being busted, and not in a "guide to" kind of way...
Waverly Films
Waverly Films has already been discussed on Metafilter... 3 years ago. Since then, they've posted over 100 consistently funny weekly videos. [more inside]
Cluster bombs banned by over 100 countries
More than 100 nations have reached an agreement on a treaty which would ban current designs of cluster bombs. Naturally, the most militant nations (USA, Russia, China, India, Pakistan) have refused to negotiate (creating significant interoperability issues for allied nations such as the UK to the USA). The Cluster Munition Coalition is an excellent resource about the issue. [more inside]
Vintage Motocross
Jake.
monkey see, monkey do
Scientists from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon have demonstrated that a monkey can control a robotic arm with its brain when food is used as a reward.
Watermelon On Tap
I know what you're thinking: "What if I attached a faucet to a watermelon and filled it with spiked watermelon juice so party guests could serve themselves right from the melon?"
All-organic or none!
All One God Faith, maker's of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap, are suing thirteen cosmetic brands for using the term "organic" on products that include petroleum-based ingredients. And now, Olympic gold medalist Mark Spitz is suing them for using his name on their unique bottle labels (where he appears alongside folks like Jesus, Mohammed and Einstein). [more inside]
Iron Lung Patient Dies
Dianne Odell passed away today. After contracting polio at age 3, she spent 58 years in an iron lung. "It's the only thing I know," she said. "I'm comfortable with it. I've never had a bedsore, which is remarkable." In 1998 she got a computer and, using voice dictation software, wrote a childrens' book. She died after the power failed and family members were unable to start a backup generator. As late as 1988 polio was still present in 125 countries around the world. Today it has been eradicated in all but 7 countries.
Dignity and Bioethics
The Stupidity of Dignity: Conservative bioethics' latest, most dangerous ploy. Steven Pinker reviews Human Dignity and Bioethics, the latest report from the President's Council on Bioethics. [more inside]
Life Lock's CEO Identity Stolen
Life Lock CEO's Identify Stolen Remember all those commercials recently tell us to steal Life Lock's CEO Todd Davis' Identity? Well seems as though someone did.
If God gives you lemons...
Among European countries, Spain has been hit particularly badly by the global credit crisis. Miguel Marina, a recently unemployed real estate agent (what else?) has been one of its victims. Unable to keep up with his mortgage payments or to find a buyer for his home, he has found an original solution: he's raffling his apartment at 5€ a ticket. [more inside]
Gospel On Sundays
The man who's remaking Coney Island, in his own words. Joe Sitt is a developer "who has spent 20 years trying to lure the nation's top retail chains into inner cities and yuppie downtowns."
A one, a two, a you know what to do
For some, being a WWII veteran and spending 30+ years at the US Postal Service would be a career. But Frankie Manning is more well known for dancing, inventing the air step, choreography, winning a Tony, being one of the few living Savoy Ballroom dancers and, at age 94, still teaching regularly. [more inside]
Want a Kaffiyeh with that Donut?
The Perfect Hate Storm: Malkin vs. Rachael Ray and Dunkin' Donuts. The food blog at epicurious, of all places, presents a concise summary of the dustup that resulted when the forces of right-wing punditry ran headlong into the pillars of corporate marketing. If it seems as if there are no winners here (especially since it's not even clear if the scarf in question was a kaffiyeh), at least we can take solace in the fact that no one will be wearing them any more.
Lucybelle Crater posts to Metafilter
"The Photographer Ralph Eugene Meatyard (May 15, 1925 - May 7, 1972) suffered a fate common to artists who are very much of but also very far ahead of their time. Everything about his life and his art ran counter to the usual and expected patterns. He was an optician, happily married, a father of three, president of the Parent-Teacher Association, and coach of a boy's baseball team." "His images had nothing to do with the gritty "street photography" of the east coast or the romantic view camera realism of the west coast. His best known images were populated with dolls and masks, with family, friends and neighbors pictured in abandoned buildings or in ordinary suburban backyards." His most well known and last photography series "The Family Album of Lucybelle Crater" (1972) was based on the short story by Flannery O'Connor, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own." [more inside]
Weekly Themed Art Challenge
1 X Semana is kinda like a Spanish language version of Drawer Geeks (prev.). From the site: "We are a bunch of colleagues who every week propose a character, concept or idea to be drawn. In this Blog we share the results of our exercise." The site is relatively new, but so far, this result in the "Sea Monster" challenge is my favorite. Via.
Distributed computing: something for everyone, a call to arms.
CPU Filter: You know what they say about idle hands... What about idle FLOPs? Distributed computing (a.k.a. grid computing / a.k.a. cloud computing) has come a long way in the past years, and most people probably don't know the vast number of projects they can put their idle CPUs to work on - it's not just aliens and genomes anymore. There are more than one hundred projects ranging from 3D rendering to climate prediction to saving the world with nutritious rice to neurons and nanobots. Why not lend an idle hand?
Scott McClellan was "badly misguided"
Scott McClellan wrote a book. The former Press Secretary admits some of his answers to White House Press Corps questions were badly misguided. One section of his book accuses George W. Bush of deluding himself about his alleged cocaine use.
Of course, part of the blame for the entire mess should fall on the liberal media for being "too easy on the administration during the run-up to the war...".
Hey. Joe.
Hey Joe -- Hey Joe -- Hey Joe -- Hey Joe -- Hey Joe -- [please see hoverovers for link descriptions] [more inside]
Nordic Design
Icelandic designer Steinunn Sigurðardóttir (not to be confused with the author of the same name) has won this year’s, Torsten and Wanja Söderberg Prize one of the most prestigious Nordic design awards (billed as "world's greatest" in the Swedish media), awarded by the Röhsska Museum of Design in Göteborg Sweden, for "exceptional critical acclaim for her work in fashion design." She's run her own clothing label STEiNUNN since 2000.
It's not your dad's bicycle.
If Wile E. Coyote entered the Tour de France, this would be his ride. Brought to you by some guy who always wanted to be a human missile. No word if he's going to move from eBay to Acme one day. (The bike running briefly at ear-shredding volume. The slightly more elegant European version. And, of course, Jeremy Clarkson on a jet-powered bike with a pretty basket in front.)
The year 2000 as imagined in 1910
BBC's Learning English
Did you know the BBC has extensive pages on learning English?
Seriously, don't try this at home.
Point dog!
Intense debate about weighty issues like racism, abortion, and immigration... between animals in funny hats! This is the silly punditry of Scenario: Dog v. Cat: Round 1, round 2, round 3.
"Crime. Boy, I dunno."
"Ok, my eyes must be deceiving me. That can't be someone aiming a gun at someone else on Google Maps Street View", says Michael Beck.
An Accessible Eden
The video (50mb .mov) for Sigur Rós' new single Gobbledigook was shot by Arni&Kinski, inspired by (and in collaboration with) Ryan McGinley (previously), discussed photographer, chronicler of stars, commercial short film (60mb .mpg) director, and (apparently) Jonsi's former paramour. (Some links NSFW.)
May 27
Anglo-Saxon life
Regia Anglorum, an English re-enactment society, maintains a wealth of information about life in medieval England using the virtual village of Wichamstow and its surroundings. They have in-depth articles on many of the crafts and trades that the villagers would have undertaken, and about the places they would live and work. (A full listing is here.) They are perhaps unique, however, in building a medieval village and estate with which to demonstrate medieval craftsmanship.
sudo apt-get install creepyrobotgirlfriend2.0
The uncanny valley just got deeper. "Treat yourself to the perfect woman."
Wonderland
A 10,000 YouTube Link Post
Ever wonder what music videos were popular the week Lorena Bobbit cut off her husband's penis and the Unabomber injured computer scientist David Gelernter at Yale University? Or what about the week The Simpsons first went on air? Grabb.it TV has the answer. It aggregates the top 20 music videos for each week of the 80s and 90s and mashes them up with wikipedia to make the ultimate virtual retro music video station.
McGriff's Groove
Soulful, funky and blues-inflected jazz organist Jimmy McGriff passed away over the weekend. McGriff (wiki) belonged (along with Jimmy Smith, Charles Earland, Lonnie Smith, Melvin Rhyne, John Patton, and others) to that select group of Hammond B-3 players who defined that instrument for jazz and related music--he played in small soul jazz combos that owed their greasy, riff-based sound as much to R&B as to bebop. Here's a small taste of McGriff's music.
Is eating Ben & Jerry ethical?
"Worst of all from this point of view are those more uncivilized forms of eating, like licking an ice cream cone ... This doglike feeding, if one must engage in it, ought to be kept from public view, where, even if WE feel no shame, others are compelled to witness our shameful behavior." Leon Kass, former chair of the President Bush's Council on Bioethics tells us what he really thinks of modern America. [more inside]
Hava nagila, have two nagilas, have three nagilas; they're very small.
Claire and Merna Bagelman, better known as The Barry Sisters. Every Sunday from 1938 to 1955 on WHN in New York, they mashed Swing with Yiddish Folk as the main attraction on the radio program Yiddish Melodies in Swing.[via] "We take a tune that's sweet and low, and we rock it solid and make it gold." They are indeed a Hebrew National Kosher Classic.
More Yiddish music webceptacles. [more inside]
Don't condescend me, man. I'll fucking kill you.
True Romance: 15 years later. Maxim article (hence slightly NSFW ads) with interviews with Christian Slater, Tony Scott, Quinten Tarantino, etc. If you're a fan of behind-the-scenes gossip, or the film -- or both -- it's an interesting read.
Enter ingredients, get recipes...
An interesting food web site - enter your ingredients, it tells you what you can make. Even suggests items you'll need for other dishes. Previously questioned in AskMe.
Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, 1914-2008
Before developing exotic space propulsion systems like the ion engines on deep space probes, he developed guidance systems for Nazi Germany's ballistic missile, the V2. As Dr. Werner von Braun's Chief Scientist, he was one of the brilliant minds that founded the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama and sent astronauts to the moon atop MSFC's Saturn V rocket. Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, one of the last surviving rocket scientists extracted from Nazi Germany in Operation Paperclip, died today at 94.
Play games, teach computers
Each year, people around the world spend billions of hours playing computer games. What if all this time and energy could be channeled into useful work? What if people playing computer games could, without consciously doing so, simultaneously solve large-scale problems?
GWAP is Luis van Ahn's answer [PDF, HTML cache] to these questions, a collection of easy and engaging games that make computers smarter.
GWAP is Luis van Ahn's answer [PDF, HTML cache] to these questions, a collection of easy and engaging games that make computers smarter.
Smoke and mirrors
Meet Joules the climate change-sceptic robot. Joules is employed to teach 8-14 year-old school children in the UK about energy use. Joules says: "oil and gas could be in short supply in about 50 years time. The earth is believed to be getting warmer and sea levels apper to be rising. Energy Chest is funded in part by the world's biggest oil company: ExxonMobil. [more inside]
beardo
FBI After Vegans
The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is infiltrating vegan potluck dinners (via the Harper's Weekly Review)
The Rebellion Within
The Rebellion Within: An Al Qaeda mastermind questions terrorism.
Argus eyes
Muxfind
24: Season Two: The Musical.
24: Season Two: The Musical. (Language is perhaps NSFW.)
The right to do wrong
Auroville Funded by Governments all over the world, the city of Auroville is an ongoing experiment 'whose stated purpose is to realize human unity in diversity' through yoga. Unfortunately, it seems the 'rule free' society has attracted some of the least welcome of humanity's outliers, namely child sex tourists. [more inside]
City of the Future, Taiwan 1960s
Green Bombs.
Reading Proust or Proust Reading You?
Waggish Reads Proust Reading In Search of Lost Time, or Remembrance of Things Past, is quite the daunting task. Whether you've read Proust, or are considering reading Proust for the first time, a helpful summary & guide, that examines significant passages for your own discussion.
Doc Savage, whose real name is Clark Savage, Jr., is a physician, surgeon, scientist, adventurer, inventor, explorer, researcher, and musician
The Man of Bronze. We've already thrilled to his magnificent covers, but pulp hero Doc Savage really existed in text. Therefore, The Groovy Age of Horror has done us the favor of working their way through the books of Doc Savage, providing in-depth reviews. Invaluable if you have ever considered purchasing The Sargasso Ogre or I Died Yesterday, but didn't know if it was worth it.
The Real Indy
Did you know that the original Indiana Jones was an openly homosexual, Jewish, Nazi archeologist [more] and Obersturmführer in the party, hunting the Holy Grail? The documentary The Secret Glory chronicles his story (interview with the director: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4). [more inside]
Erkin Koray, Turkey's psychedelic minstrel.
Erkin Koray's long career as a major rock star in his native Turkey has seen him cover all sorts of musical territory. His songs are often a curious (some might say bizarre) hodgepodge of musical influences, and one thing's for sure: you couldn't call the man unadventurous! Here's a sampling of some of his psych-Turk-rock from decades past: Krallar - Gel Bak Ne Söylicem - Cemalim - Allahaşkına - Aşka Inanmıyorum - Yanlizlar rihtimi - Gönül Salıncağı - Anma Arkadaş - Aşk Oyunu - Gün Doğmuyor - [more inside]
Can Two Engineers and Some Elbow Grease Save The World?
Planet Mechanics Dick Strawbridge and Jem Stansfield have been travelling Europe (for National Geographic UK) on a mission to lower energy consumption (and make interesting television).
Air Propelled Sandwich | Cow Power | Lake District Dilemma | Solar Paella | Electric Water Taxi | Surf Power | Heavy Metal House | Tree Powered Truck
My brain hurts.
May 26
History is a Weapon
History is a Weapon -- Featuring Propaganda by the inventor of modern PR, Edward Bernays, essays by Bill Clinton, Eugene Debs, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Mark Twain, the entirety of A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, and much, much more.
Zombie-Like Doo-Doo Heads
Jen Wang draws
If you like the art styles of Dresden Codak, Questionable Content, or Tony DeTerlizzi, you'll probably like the style of Jen Wang. She has recently started a new art blog. She also has a pretty nice gallery. Several of my favorites. (Several of the gallery pieces are NSFW.) [more inside]
Angola, it's not like they said
Fascinating account (w/ pix) of a motorcycle journey through Angola. Stumbled onto this from the Black Flag forums and have not been able to stop reading it.
RIP Sydney Pollack
Sydney Pollack has died of cancer, at age 73. While best known as the director of Out of Africa and Tootsie, he also made documentaries (Sketches of Frank Gehry) and was an actor with notable roles in Eyes Wide Shut, Michael Clayton, and even an appearance in The Sopranos.
"... there is no appeal but mutual love and trust."
RelationshipFilter, 1873. An online archive of letters from a wife to her husband, which include an intimate look at their relationship crisis. [more inside]
Brutal New York
I've only ever seen 70 & 80's era New York in movies and I've never really thought about their source of inspiration. Until I saw this.(a few graphic photos on that last link)
the Prince "Come Together" bootleg
the Prince "Come Together" bootleg ... from Coachella 2008 that's popping up suddenly on many indie mp3 blogs now .
..Incidentally.. the Beatles wrote this as an unofficial Presidential campaign song for Timothy Leary (incarcerated at the time) .
A progressively intense audience engagning performance ... if they ever do a career spanning Prince box set they'll put this on.
Surf's Up
Clips & trailers from vintage & modern surf films: "Big Wednesday" from Blue Surf-ari (1965); opening sequence from Blue Surf-ari; clip from The Endless Summer (1966); Endless Summer trailer; Pipeline (1st Ride) from Surfing Hollow Days (1961); Fantastic Plastic Machine (1969) trailer; Follow Me (1969) trailer; The Sunshine Sea (1972) trailer; Pipeline sequence, Five Summer Stories (1972); Morning of the Earth (1973) clip; Storm Riders (1981) long trailer; wipe-out scene from Momentum (1992); Thicker Than Water (1997) trailer, Step Into Liquid (2003) trailer; famous clip from Riding Giants (2004).
Inner City Snail
Inner City Snail is the sister site of the (previously Mefi'd) Little People ongoing outdoor art installation. Like the Little People project, it takes place in London & features tiny figures, only these ones are alive & vandalized.
God loves my country more than he loves yours.
Wonderfully artistic video for the song "God Loves My Country", by Balthrop, Alabama, a small-town band.
Stop messing up the music.
The most important essay about music I've ever read. (And part 2.) Make sure to listen to the examples. [more inside]
...oh look everybody, a black lady voter....
"'Hello pig farmers!'... oh look everybody, a black lady voter... I am going left with the political thumb pointed down... I am now the center of attention...." Rosemary Watson's impersonation of Hillary Clinton in That Hillary Show is dead-on perfect. Listening to the clips with your eyes closed, it's nearly impossible to distinguish the actor from the politician. Right down to the trademark Hillary chuckle. Except that Rosemary Watson's Hillary is far funnier.
Well, they're great big brown pills, and they look like M&Ms. They don't melt in your mouth, and they won't melt in your hand.
The Bonkers Institute presents The Nearly Genuine and Truly Marvelous
Psychoneuropharmacological Mental Medicine Show, a gallery of modern and vintage psychiatric drug advertising. [more inside]
We are weird. And somewhat echoey.
KnowHow2Go wants you to take on the tough classes - such as Biology, Foreign Languages, and Algebra II - to prepare yourself for college.
All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.
More idiocy from the British Home Office
Article in UK newspaper The Independent about two members of Nottingham University, U.K., Rizwaan Sabir and Hicham Yezza, who were arrested last week on terrorism charges and held for six days before being released without charge. The reason was that they had downloaded a terrorist manual from a US government website, which MA student Sabir needed for his research into terrorism, and which was approved by his supervisor. His friend Hicham Yezza, former student and current administrator at the university was arrested for helping to print out the 1500 page document. On release Yezza was then immediately rearrested on immigration charges and now faces imminent deportation, despite being a resident of the UK for 13 years and currently in the process of applying for citizenship. A campaign is currently underway to prevent this. [more inside]
Twisters, masticators and more...
Endangered Giant Panda suffers another setback after earthquake
Efforts to save China's endangered giant pandas suffered another setback after the Sichuan earthquake. Less than 1600 pandas are thought to remain in the wild, with 249 pandas in breeding programs around the country. The Wolong Nature Reserve, subject of National Geographic's adorable Panda Nursery documentary and just 19 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, was badly damaged. Five staffers were killed, and several pandas are still missing. Search teams have been sent out to locate the missing pandas, and several injured pandas have been evacuated to the nearby Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding as well as to zoos around the country. Though they now have enough water to give the pandas, local officials have said that they are short on food. "We are in urgent need of bamboos and apples." Pandas International is collecting donations for relief efforts at Wolong. [more inside]
International Efforts Still Failing Child Soldiers
Child Soldiers Global Report 2008. "Despite progress, efforts to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers are too little and too late for many children, according to the 2008 Child Soldiers Global Report, launched today by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers."
Do It Yourself Ghost
Robert Hodgin -- musical visualization and more.
Robert Hodgin does wonderful stuff with visualization [recently discussed in this excellent FPP]. To get you started, here's a Radiohead video that's been making the rounds. [more inside]
To Have Her Please Just One Day Wake
Bear McCreary's essay, with sheet music, on composing Gaeta's Lament for Battlestar Galactica. Spoilers if you haven't seen the most recent episode, Guess What's Coming To Dinner. Via.
Brand, James Brand.
Sebastian Faulks' Devil May Care sees the return of the literary James Bond to the 1960s. Published on May 28th in celebration of creator Ian Fleming's Centenary, the 007 brand name will also be back on the big screen in November - with Daniel Craig's second outing as the British Secret Service Agent in Quantum of Solace. [more inside]
Pop, Lock and Drop It
Remember the awesomeness that is Hilti & Bosch and Co-Thkoo?
Well Robert Muraine is right up there with them.
Who knew you could pop and lock rubber?
May 25
Beat the monday doldrums
Monday got you stressed? Tired of all the politicking? Here's something to help you relax. Remember, just like real life, yellow is good, purple is gooder and red is bad.
Remember manuals?
Lost your manuals, quick reference cards, and the like for your old games? Fear not! Replacement Docs is here!
Driving fast and jazzing it up in the 1920s.
The opening shots of 1920s New York City are wonderful, then you get a zany high-speed Harold Lloyd blazing down the avenues, and that's fun to watch, but the real killer is the horse-drawn trolley absolutely tearing-ass through lower Manhattan, full gallop. Ends badly. Then it's over to San Francisco for one last bit of homicidal vehicular activity with a bus. Well, they sure don't drive like they used to! [more inside]
Would you like obesity with that?
Bisphenol A. Canada is banning it in baby bottles, while the California State Senate recently passed a bill to ban it in child care products. Even the US Senate is getting in on the action. Bill Moyers thought it was interesting enough to run this Expose story. In addition to the previously discussed cancer risk, it may also cause obesity. Is this pointless overreaction, or is it an example of government's failure to act [PDF] in the face of industry pressure?
The FDA, was, after all, tasked with screening such endocrine disruptors over ten years ago.
Previously on the blue and green.
Is It Wrong to Lust Over an Optimus Keyboard? Yes.
The best thing about WIRED Magazine's 15th Anniversary celebration is it's not all self-congratulatory. Of course, any media entity involved in the rapidly-changing but well-archived internet is going to sometimes do silly things that we all can see - forever. In one area, at least, WIRED is owning up to its bad judgment with the Lamest (their word) Gear Ever Highlighted in their 'Fetish' Feature. 1993-1995. 1996-1998. 1999-2006. It's not that there are less lame items in recent years; they're just waiting for history to confirm what smart readers saw all along. My favorites - and why some of them may not be so lame: [more inside]
Phoenix to land on Mars.
In the blue painted of blue
Once again, the Eurovision Song Festival has taken place this weekend, giving rise to the usual recriminations about political voting. However, it is worth noting that it is exactly fifty years since Italian singer Domenico Modugno managed only third place (out of ten contestants) with a charming little ditty called "Nel blu dipinto di blu", but better known as "Volare". [more inside]
They see me co-opt'n They hatin'
Memorial Day
Memorial Day it seems is getting a bad name in recent years. But as the politicos run around like crazies, we mustn't forget the little things about the holiday, its history and what it stands for, and even its more traditional customs like grilling, and of course flag etiquette.
This are the world.
Dick Martin Passes
Say good night, Dick. Best known for the highly successful Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Dick Martin was the silly, almost child-like counterpart to straight-man Dan Rowan.
Dick "accompanies" Tiny Tim.Good night, Dick.
Another Laugh-In intro.
In the Cocktail Party scenes, Dick's specialty was delivering pick-up lines.
Soup Nazi cosplay
How to ruin a joke. A concise and surprisingly astute explanation of how referential humor works on the web and why it kinda sucks. (Warning: somethingawful.com)
Puss puss puss
Hello Kitty becomes Japan's ambassador to China. The little half-Japanese, half-English cat has become so globally recognisable that it is, perhaps, inevitable that the Japanese board of tourism has appointed her their official tourism ambassador to China and Hong Kong. This is not the first time the world has looked to Hello Kitty to perform an ambassadorial role; she has been United States children's ambassador for Unicef since 1983. [more inside]
From Zadie Smith to The Kindle
Observer literary editor Robert McCrum, retiring after ten years in the job, writes about the revolution in the book world he's seen over the last decade.
Bill Henson's censored photographic exhibition.
Photographs of esteemed Sydney artist Bill Henson have been removed by police from the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, and the debate over art vs pornography vs pedophilia heats up in Sydney this week.
Some of the debate is quite measured and intelligent while other sides are descending to unruly levels. [more inside]
Grief in the Rubble
Chinese Are Left to Ask Why Schools Crumbled. "A staggering number of students died as schools collapsed in the May 12 earthquake, and grieving parents are speaking out about shoddy construction."
May 24
Not to be confused with the Glooper.
The Phillips Machine, also known as the Moniac, is a early analog computer for economic modeling with an unusual twist: all of the computation is done by water flowing through its pipes. The flows represent taxes, income, and so on, and the chambers represent balances held by various bodies. Floats attached to pens can provide graphical output such things as GDP and interest rates, and valves can be opened and shut to change the state of the system in real time. You can listen to a BBC radio segment on the origin of Phillips machine, or see a demonstration of one of the only extant working models at the University of Cambridge. [more inside]
Remembering Ricky
A war widow at age 20. That is all.
Aint no party like the San Francisco values party!
Shakespeare's Sonnets
William Shakespeare wrote some of the world's finest sonnets. The website shakespeares-sonnets.com is a fine place to start delving into the poems. Here you can see scans of the first edition of The Sonnets as printed by Thomas Thorpe in 1609. If you wish there were more sonnets by Shakespeare, your jones might be eased by the Shakespeare Sonnet Shake-Up, which lets you remix them according to taste. And finally there's Shakespeare in Tune, a site where Jonathan Willby recites each of the 154 sonnets following a short improvisation on a German flute.
Blacula is Dracula's Soul Brother
Shaft was so cool that he had his own theme song. Shaft walked across the street whenever he wanted to. Shaft was a complicated man. But not all Blaxploitation heros were Private Dicks. They could be a Pimp, a Power-Hungry Criminal, a Coke Dealer, or a Male Prostitute. One was a Former Green Beret, one was a Bounty Hunter, and one was a Prize Fighter. Some were Foxy Ladies, such as Vigilante Nurses, US Special Agents, or Escaped Convicts. They might even be a Karate Master or a Vampire. [more inside]
Free Game of the Week: Thrustburst
Developers Helm, Fuzzpilz, Ptoing, DarkStalkey, Lackey and Ghormak formed indie game development team, Umlautgames, around the 85% completion mark of Thrustburst. A stylish and beautiful take on an old game called UrthWurm (scroll down), Thrustburst is now complete.
Photoblog by Núria Jordán and Salvador Barceló
NJ & SB Photography ― Just another photoblog? Perhaps. Keep clicking previous or go to browse. Then decide. [more inside]
Please eat the daisies
Summer has arrived! It's the perfect time to experiment with flowers. Begonias, pansies, roses, violets, lavender and more are all edible. Throw some color in your salad and enjoy! Careful, though!
He caught the westbound.
Start-up Junkies
Start-up Junkies. An eight-part documentary on hulu about the genesis and growth of a multi-million dollar startup company.
Fifty Thousand Shirts
Fifty Thousand Shirts. Creative guy Steve Paterson has teamed up with a number of other partners (and is still looking for more) to sell 50,000 t-shirts in memory of the more than 50,000 people who died in China's recent 7.9 magnitude earthquake in order to raise $1,000,000.
Longer, Farther, Faster
The highest recorded skydive was performed in 1960 by Joe Kittinger from 102,800 feet. That record may not stand any longer. After twenty years of planning and attempts, almost twenty million dollars, and a two hour ascent on May 26th, Michel Fournier, wearing only space suit and parachute, will step out of the gondola of a 650 foot helium balloon at 130,000 feet.... The Great Leap. [more inside]
"Orientalism" and its Discontents
Historian Robert Irwin reviews two books critical of Edward Said's Orientalism. Irwin's own critique received positive and mixed reviews.
In this brief interview, Said explains what he was trying to do in Orientalism.
Art! NOM NOM NOM!!!!!!!! Let me just eat FRAME!!!!
Don't Eat the Pictures! Sesame Street gets locked inside of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. [more inside]
Robert Bruce: American Poet
Robert Bruce is an American Poet who eschews Lit and Poetry Journals and instead posts a poem a week to his blog, Knife Gun Pen. [more inside]
"Like a particularly tame episode of 120 Minutes."
Sanding down the thorny edges of new wave and post-punk, adult alternative dominated the airwaves in the 1990s. You couldn't go half an hour without hearing "mature rock" artists like Crash Test Dummies, Goo Goo Dolls, Blind Melon, and Gin Blossoms. Although the one hit wonders stacked up like cordwood, established, one-time indie bands like Soul Asylum, R.E.M. and Butthole Surfers (often billed as the "Buttonhole Surfers" when they played conservative towns) bolstered their airplay and sales during this decade. Hover over links for extended descriptions.
What's in yer lunchbox?
Earthquake fashion shoot
The editors of the Chinese lifestyle magazine New Travel Weekly thought it might be a good idea to shoot a fashion spread in the rubble of the Sichuan earthquake. The editors have now been sacked and the magazine is undergoing rectification.
Holy Wall-Walking Cameo, Batman!
When you are ascending the side of a building with your Boy Wonder, you really don't know who is going to pop out of that window.
Hey, one string's all you really need.
One fine old day in old LA, in the year of nineteen and sixty, one Frederick Usher met Eddie "One String" Jones, heard him lay down some deep blues on his diddley bow, and was so taken with Jones' monochord masterpieces that he ran home, grabbed his tape recorder and recorded Jones in the alley. One other recording session ensued soon thereafter, which was released as an LP in 1964. By that time, however, the mysterious Eddie Jones (if that was even his real name) was long gone, and was never heard from again. [NOTE: see hoverovers for link descriptions] [more inside]
May 23
The Future Without IPv6
The Future Without IPv6 "...imagine you're in the business of squatting on domain names today. It's pretty easy to see that a market is going to be opening up soon allowing you to speculate on the future value of IPv4 address allocations. What would you do? You'd be trying to eat up as much of that free pool as you can before it's all gone."
Propaganda is now officially hip.
Propaganda is now officially hip.
Barack Obama's presidential campaign has struck a palette with those interested in good, effective design. Shepard Fairey was recently given the opportunity to create a screenprinted poster for Obama's campaign, which sold out quite quickly. Next, his campaign turns to artist Scott Hansen, aka ISO50 for his visual art and Tycho for his music. Mr. Hansen's poster employs his idealistic and nostalgic style, yet more direct than his typical dreamy work. It's quite lovely.
“Can I give you a tour? It’s non-binding.”
"This might be a weird request, but I just want to cuddle," Nevada Sagebrush columnist Jordan Butler decided to do something for his last column (before graduating college) that he hadn't done before. He decided to solicit a brothel. Here's the catch: he wasn't interested in paying for sex. He just wanted something to write about for his last column. The result is half after school special and half Twilight Zone episode, but it's all funny.
Italian Spiderman
You too can play with fire.
Plans for a Simple Atmospheric Gas Forge that can be constructed using mundane tools. Zoeller forge is also a parts source for speciality items you may not be able to source locally.
It's always right - two times a day.
Fasting may be the remedy for jet lag. By overiding your clock (audio interview 12 min) that prepares your body to eat, it is likely that you can reset your body's clock. Might this be the missing step in training yourself to be an early riser? via
"How wonderfully Gothic!"
Heated controversy over cousin marriages in Britain. The Guardian argues it's fine, legal in the UK for centuries, done by Darwin, HG Wells and Queen Victoria; and a 2002 study (prev) found little increased risk. But in Bradford, England, where half of babies born are to ethnically Pakistani parents, cousin marriage is very common -- as high as 70% in that community. Bradford, with 1% of British population, has 70 youths with terminal disorders which lead to dementia-type illnesses – eight per cent of the UK total. Should the government ban cousin marriage? Encourage genetic testing? Or keep its mouth shut? [more inside]
↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A
In 1989, Lieutenant William “Mad Dog” Rizer was called before the Senate Military Investigations Committee to discuss his statements regarding the effectiveness of military operations in response to the Red Falcon invasion of the previous year. The following is a transcript of his testimony before Congress. The Contra Hearings. [more inside]
Where are Mulder and Scully when you really need them?
Missing: four left feet or some number of bodies. Another severed right foot has been found in British Columbia. Another severed human foot has been discovered washed ashore on Canada's Pacific coast, but police are no closer to solving the gruesome mystery on where they are coming from. The shoe-clad foot was discovered on Thursday on a small uninhabited island south of Vancouver in the Strait of Georgia, and is the fourth discovered in the region in the past 10 months. All four cases involved right feet, and each was found on a different island. The earlier feet were also still in shoes. Previously 1, 2.
Never put anything in their mouth
Graphic epilepsy seizure footage - "[The] piece of footage was shot with the assistance of our friend David, in January 2003, at the repeated insistence of my wife Christine. She wanted to know what happened to her body while she was seizing, and we were under standing orders to catch any footage possible... Upon viewing this footage a few days later, she was shocked and astonished, as one could well imagine."
Logo-rithms
Logólogos makes mathematical equations out of the 'creative' process of logo design.
also a good example of "you don't need to speak the same language" blogging
also a good example of "you don't need to speak the same language" blogging
My Favorite Moisturizer
You may have elbow germs and not even know it. Eeeww! "The crook of your elbow is not just a plain patch of skin. It is a piece of highly coveted real estate, a special ecosystem, a bountiful home to no fewer than six tribes of bacteria. Even after you have washed the skin clean, there are still one million bacteria in every square centimeter." Beware some of these germs may be on your hockey equipment.
New Law Cracks Down on Animal Fighting and Puppy Mills - Amazon Begs To Differ
A new US Federal law cracks down on animal fighting, bans foreign puppy mill imports, and increases penalties for animal cruelty. The US Senate yesterday followed the lead of the House of Representatives and overrode President Bush’s veto of the Farm Bill. In addition to strengthening animal cruelty laws, the Act adds a provision to federal law to make almost any form of animal fighting a federal felony.
The Humane Society of the United States is taking legal action against Amazon.com, as the main distribution hub for animal fighting magazines, paraphernalia, and DVDs. Amazon even has a community for cockfighting. Amazon claim that the legal action contravenes their First Amendment rights and have vowed to continue selling cockfighting materials. You can tell Jeff Bezos what you think of this (via the HSUS website).
[more inside]
The Biggest Drawing In The World
Lilacs
They are members of the olive family, among the earliest flowering plants imported to the United States. Planted near the front doors of flat, bare early Colonial house facades, they helped to create "dooryard gardens," which softened and brought beauty to a rough-hewn early America. Jefferson planted them; at Monticello, some of those bushes still bloom.. They gave Pan his pipes. They are employed as evocative symbols in American literature, song, and poetry, where they symbolize the sensuousness of love in its earliest stages. Festivals celebrate their blooming, and NOAA tracks the earliest leaves and flowers for evidence of climate change. The inability to smell it may be an early indication of Alzheimer's disease. No wonder people like to steal them.
A triangle needs a point
I Am Trying to Take Your Cash is a spot on parody of the Wilco documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart by The Goblins.
Along the same lines is All You Need is Cash by the Rutles. (previously)
Weezer - Pork and Beans
Anubis, drink your heart out.
In War Profiteers We Trust
According to an audit released today by the DoD's IG, there has been virtually no oversight of over $8 billion paid by the Defense Department to contractors in Iraq. The report confirms a similar finding back in 2005 that over $9 billion in Iraq war funds were unaccounted for. As a factual and non-polemical matter, this spectacular waste of taxpayer money has undoubtedly lined the pockets of more than a few war profiteers. To say the Iraq war has been plagued with rampant corruption, fraud and fiscal mismanagement is not an editorial position or overstatement: even lawmakers have begun to acknowledge this.
The Rhythm is Going To Get You
The Youth and Children Orchestras of Venezuela have won the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts. It might be in part due to their charismatic conductor, or very probably due to their unique style. What sets them apart from most orchestras, though, is their System, which the NYT referred to as "the most ambitious program of music education and orchestra training in the world". [more inside]
The Hole in the Wall on Top Shelf!
The Hole in the Wall [via mefi projects] is our own interrobang's surrealistic cat story now being serialized at Top Shelf Comics as part of their new Webcomics section, and it's definitely something special - pen & ink & watercolor adventures of two cats exploring a mysterious and dangerous underground landscape. More comics like this will be posted there depending on the popularity of this one, so if you love art, great comics, or cats, you will want to check it out. This was a part of interrobang's Year in Comics project, so if you fall in love with the Hole in the Wall kittehs (you will!), go have look at his other stuff, as well.
Yesterday, and Before
HistoryWorld is a general-knowledge website, designed for anyone above the age of about twelve with an interest in history. I found the site searching for dance history, but it includes 400 broad topics with more added all the time. It approaches history as a narrative, making full use of chronology. This is for the student as well as the researcher. [more inside]
"I dreamed a gold man was reading to me from a dirty book."
"You people bring matches for Mikey?" When people fondly remember TV's Mystery Science Theater 3000 they commonly focus on the film riffing part of the show, but some of the best comedy to come out of the Satellite of Love involves the host segments that provided a break from the movie. MSTies over at Satellite News have spent the past ten weeks discussing the best host segments from each season of the show, analyzing what makes some segments work while others fall flat. [more inside]
"If it isn't doom it'll do until a proper doom comes along."
NOT Safe for Work
Blonde Zombies - So NSFW, unless your work is cool with trashy Mexican comics, space vixens, pulp paperback covers, and the like.
Land of Make Believe?
Flash Friday Fun: Pew pew space lasers! (Sort of.)
May 22
RIP Robert Asprin
Not another fine myth. I've read Robert Asprin's Myth books from the beginning, and still re-read them every couple of years. You may also know him for co-creating the Thieves' World shared universe books. RIP Mr. Asprin, Skeeve, Aahz, Tananda, and the rest of the gang. (Now I have to go and dig up the graphic novels he did with Phil Foglio.)
Nintendo DS: Is that a music production studio in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
Looking for a new musical toy to supplement your current studio setup? You may already have a MIDI-via-WiFi-enabled* sequencer (1, 2)/drum-and-bass groovebox/audio sampler & scratcher/Mod Tracker in your pocket!
*a wired version is also available. [more inside]
*a wired version is also available. [more inside]
Urban Tentacles
McMafia: The World's Shadow Economy
In EU and NATO member Bulgaria, the state is a part of the Mafia. The world's "shadow economy" accounts for 10 trillion dollars each year. Chechen mobsters bent on revenge kill a young woman in London in a case of mistaken identity. Welcome to the global pillage following the fall of Communism and the 'liberalization' of trade. Misha Glenny travels through the underworld.
Not Pixies After All
"It is definitely not a UFO thing, crop circles, tree-killing fungus or meteors falling from the sky," Hamilton laughs. He does admit, though, that forest rings have "a million mysteries." For example, the electrical field found inside the forest rings is a puzzle that needs to be solved.
Chanson française
Fancy a whirlwind tour of Popular Chanson? A broad term referring to contemporary French popular music, "chanson" applies to a startling array of stuff. Just how broad do I mean?
Let's start with Grand Corps Malade, sublime slam poet/lyricist. Les voyages en train. Quatre saisons. [more inside]
Polaroid Packaging, the Apple of its Day
The Branding of Polaroid 1957-1977: How we beat Eastman Kodak and its little yellow boxes at point of purchase despite a clunky product and an irrelevant corporate name. Graphic designer Paul Giambarba blogs about his experience creating Polaroid's iconic corporate identity, product packaging and print advertising while freelancing for Polaroid through the company's rise and fall.
Myoelectric Music
What does your father do?
Pigs can fly?
Conceptually speaking...
...with the sun still high in the sky and his heart full of joy, Brian O’Doherty attended his own wake." The artist's alter ego was so named as a gesture of protest over the events of Bloody Sunday. Satisfied with the prospect of peace, he laid Patrick Ireland to rest. Slideshow of the wake.. Doctor, poet, novelist, art critic, journalist, film and television writer/director, pioneer in conceptual art, and author of the influential essays collected as 'Inside the White Cube: The Ideology of the Gallery Space.' What will be the next chapter in Brian O’Doherty's prolific career?
Ibn Rushid Psychiatric Hospital
The Arrival of Energy Positive Buildings
A positive energy building is one that produces more power than it consumes (yes they have been around for a while). The Masdar Headquarters in Abu Dhabi – due for completion in 2010 claims that it will be the first to do this on a substantial scale (mainly thanks to use of solar energy). David Fisher's spectacular “Dynamic Architecture” building in Dubai will aim to achieve the same goal using wind. Scaling up on the ambition stakes France has pledged all of its new housing will fit into this category by 2020.
Blistering barnacles!
But is it art? Apparently so - A page of original Tintin artwork by Belgian artist Hergé becomes part of the Pompidou Centre's permanent collection of Modern Art, the first comics artwork to do so despite Frances vibrant comics culture.
Theremin cats
where's the old lady?
If these three can do it, there must be hope for the middle east. Sorry for the single video post, but it's just too awesome.(via bb)
Uh, what the hell Twitter?
Twitter refuses to uphold own Terms of Service. After being shown the very definition of harassment, Twitter alters its terms of service rather than protect one of its users from behavior that its own TOS prohibits.
a description of everyday life
In the 17th century Dutch painters began to create informal paintings that focused on the features and/or expressions of anonymous people. These were called tronies. Although a tronie showed a person’s face, it wasn’t considered a portrait. [...] In 1995 Dutch photographer Hendrik Kerstens began a series of tronies featuring his daughter Paula. some images NSFW
Slugging to Work
In a few areas, like Washington, D.C. and the East Bay, lone motorists can pick up anonymous "slugs" to take advantage of carpool lanes. Ettiquete and rules have evolved to keep the peace between you and your anonymous carpooler.
"The fact that I was a girl never damaged my ambitions to be a pope or an emperor..."
The Willa Cather Archive is an incredible resource provided by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, including biographies, letters, photos, and even full (often annotated) text of much of her writing, including scholarly editions of two of her greatest (and most famous) works, My Antonia and O Pioneers. About the archive.
End Nigh?
After a comprehensive study of 400 oil fields, the International Energy Agency has concluded that, barring a substantial decrease in demand, the world faces an oil supply shortfall of 12.5 million barrels a day by 2015--15% of current production. [via]
Re-Pet, LLC
BestFriendsAgain.com The Best Friends Again program, sponsored by BioArts International, is a limited commercial dog cloning program. BioArts is the only entity in the world with both the know-how and the legal right to practice commercial dog and cat cloning. We are auctioning off 5 dog cloning service slots to the general public. We may or may not perform any additional commercial dog cloning services after this auction.
Soup, stew, broth, and stock
Make your own stock. Make your own broth. Argue about the difference! Use your stock to make French onion soup. Or Beef Bourguignon. But whatever you do, don't use the storebought stuff unless you have to.
Play with a Curta
I first learned about them when they featured prominently in a Gibson book (Pattern Recognition). When I looked on eBay, I was stunned at the prices they fetch. Now I can at least play with a virtual Curta mechanical calculator.
Ham Radio and Antennas
It's no secret that amateur radio operators, or hams, often build their own equipment. Especially with the aid of antenna tuners, most anything can be used as an antenna. One group of hams took this to the extreme, using ladders and shopping carts as antennas as they started an annual competition that would eventually see trucks, train tracks, a tree, and even a pair of exercise machines and a football stadium used. I stumbled across the site last night, and it turns out that this year's competition is this weekend! Ham radio, by the way, no longer requires a Morse code exam, just a set of questions on electrical and operations theory. Those curious can take practice tests online, since the FCC releases the question pools.
Baddest eggs revealed
The "a few bad eggs" theory crushed - ACLU summarizes the Justice Department Inspector General's report. "This new report should become exhibit A at the next congressional hearing on the Bush administration's use of torture," said Christopher Anders, Senior Legislative Counsel to the ACLU. ... "The questions are who did what and what crimes were committed. This Justice Department report helps answer both questions." [more inside]
Too much TMI?
Living the life observed, or the life exposed? Emily Gould (formerly of Gawker) writes about the impact her blogging, and exposure on the internet, has had on her life. (NYTimes, registration or use of bugmenot possibly required.)
Tag Galaxy
Tag Galaxy is pretty cool. [Flickr, tags, photos, fun for all]
Hitting a high note.
Reefer Man - Heroin - Cokane In My Brain - Sister Morphine - Purple Haze - Don't Bogart Me - The Pusher. [more inside]
Poor people drive our economy, okay? Poor people ... with checks.
"America's most valuable resource is poor people." The award-winning Internets Celebrities (Dallas Penn, Rafi Kam and director Casimir Nozkowski) take on check cashing joints with a short documentary called Checkmate. Don't know the IC? Educate yourself with Bodega, Cereal Is Dope and the incredibly informative Urine Nation. (via Hip-Hop is Read)
WiiFit vs. WiiFat
"You don't tell kids that they're overweight ... This can have such a negative effect on young girls especially, that they can focus on eating and develop eating disorders." A professor of nutrition takes on WiiFit. [more inside]
We Have a Nutcase
His Excellency Alhagi Dr. Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh , President of the Gambia and American Biographical Institute 2000 Millennium Medal of Honour, has reportedly called for the murder of all homosexuals. But it's all good, because he can cure AIDS (or so he says).
May 21
Current insulator fun
From a .com to a .info netting the price of a Westinghouse (R-Skirt) "Telluride" Type B. SB (part of the Greatest Insulator Find in the History of the Hobby). via Zoltan Drinoczi. [previously]
Errin' USA
Immediately, Herson spotted an offense—a second-floor awning outside a tarot shop that advertised "Energy Stone's." They climbed the stairs to the second floor and approached a middle-age women with a quizzical expression. "We happened to notice the sign for energy stones," Deck said, "and there happens to be an extra apostrophe. 'Stone's' doesn't need the apostrophe."
"And?" she asked, her voice flat with annoyance.
"And we wanted to bring it to your attention," Deck said.
A look inside the daring lives of Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson, vanguards of the Typo Eradication Advancement League.
"And?" she asked, her voice flat with annoyance.
"And we wanted to bring it to your attention," Deck said.
A look inside the daring lives of Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson, vanguards of the Typo Eradication Advancement League.
King of the land
Great story about being Jack Sparrow. A quick story of a guy hired to play Jack Sparrow at Disneyland.
At least it's a roomy place to work.
Talk about a sexually uncomfortable working environment. Oh my.
Debralyn: 'Tween time tester
A Star is Unborn
“Here was an object brand new. At first we didn’t recognize it.” Dr. Alicia Soderberg on the discovery of Supernova 2008D, using the Swift satellite telescope....
Pierre Precieuse
The amazing (but true!) journey of a can of S & W® brand black beans as they make their way across this great land of ours, and to other nations!
March '79 to October '97: One Mans Polaroid Collection
What does a man do during the last 20 years of his life? We learn what every day was like for this unnamed soul who lived through the death of John Lennon, was there for the biggest television experience ever and who saw many presidents inaugurated and witnessed some of them shot.
It might have been because of the holidays or just to fit in but sometime around the early 80's he began smoking. Throught the 90's his health declined and eventually the illness took over.
What must we think about the Star Trek fan with a surreal taste for art and who loved pasta? I'm not sure, but I am certainly thankful for the images.
It might have been because of the holidays or just to fit in but sometime around the early 80's he began smoking. Throught the 90's his health declined and eventually the illness took over.
What must we think about the Star Trek fan with a surreal taste for art and who loved pasta? I'm not sure, but I am certainly thankful for the images.
The ampersand & more.
The ampersand has been the subject of typographic embroidery, has famously been used as a tattoo, displayed on plates, and has even been deep fried. There are dancing ones, printed ones, but unfortunately no Russian ones. How do you like your ampersand?
I Love the 80s
With Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull restarting a franchise from the 80s, this is the perfect time to consider how to ruthlessly pillage the treasured movies of our youth. So, on that note, presenting: Back to the Sequels
College is too expensive; but is it necessary?
The Atlantic: Is college necessary? Fascinating article on a growing concern. Does college really generate a good ROI?
It doesn't matter how much security you put on the box. Humans are not secure.
The AI-Box Experiments. The hypothesis: "A transhuman can take over a human mind through a text-only terminal." Does Artifical Intelligence create moral monsters (PDF) ? Can we create friendly AI?
You ever listen to Michael Pollan talk ... on weed?
On the Rain-Slick Precipace of Darkness
The first video game based on the internet's most prominent gaming comic, Penny Arcade is released today. [more inside]
Slow Motion Punches to The Face
The Skunk Whisperer
Canadian author Lesley Choyce and his family share their extended encounter with a surfeit of skunks in a short documentary, avaible on YouTube in three parts. [more inside]
An except from a new book, American Nerd: The Story of My People.
The Cool Nerds. It's hip to be square, or something.
It was, as they say, inevitable: the bacon tuxedo.
Uncle Oinker's Bacon Scented Bacon Print Tuxedo. A dry-clean-only opportunity for all MeFis to wear their bacon obsession on their sleeve this prom/grad/wedding season!
Xenophobic Attacks in Johannesburg, South Africa
Xenophobic violence breaks out in Johannesburg and around South Africa. The victims of these attacks have been primarily poor foreigners living in townships and shack settlements. Durban-based shack dwellers' movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo (previously) have posted an incisive and informative response. More coverage of the events here and here. Photo galleries here and here.
And the winner is...
Soon, state delegates will meet in Denver to conclude a contentious competition and nominate a presidential candidate. No, it's not the Democratic National Convention. It's time for the Libertarian National Convention! Check out the schedule of events and possible seminar topics. Some find the very idea hilarious. Others are watching with more serious interest to see how the outcome may affect John McCain's campaign.
"It's constituency was the drunk, unemployed insomniac, student, loners that understood my passion for the minutia of television."
The classic post-pub television program of the nineties, In Bed With Medinner had a simple format - Bob Mills would present and comment on clips from the many documentaries he had made over the years. [more inside]
Hierarchy of Disagreement
The Hierarchy of Disagreement: Based on Paul Graham's essay "How to Disagree" (prev), the diagram ranks the types of arguments that can be made. Not quite the same as logical fallacies but a useful guide to measure whether you're making a good argument or if "you are an ass hat".
Fuzz It Up
Last.fm beta. Again.
Last.fm is inviting subscribers to test the new Last.fm beta. Features include a fully visible library down to individual tracks and charts updated in real time. People seem to dislike the new visual design. There's more discussion at the Last.fm beta group.
I have a scrambler in my brain.
Tom Waits interviews Tom Waits. A charmingly rambling (but what else would you expect?) interview in advance of his PEHDTSCKJMBA tour. Includes these tantalizing words: I’m doing songs with them I’ve never attempted outside the studio. via reddit.
Helping to dismantle the walls of deception, one brick at a time
HM The Queen v Associated Forces of Xenu
A 15-year-old in London is being prosecuted for holding a sign calling Scientology a "cult", during a peaceful demonstration (0:55-1:40). The teenager refused to back down, quoting a 1984 high court ruling from Mr Justice Latey, in which he described the Church of Scientology as a "cult" ... The City of London police came under fire two years ago when it emerged that more than 20 officers, ranging from constable to chief superintendent, had accepted gifts worth thousands of pounds from the Church of Scientology. The City of London Chief Superintendent, Kevin Hurley, praised Scientology for "raising the spiritual wealth of society" during the opening of its headquarters in 2006. Last year a video praising Scientology emerged featuring Ken Stewart, another of the City of London's chief superintendents via
Anointy-nointy
Worried that contemporary academic poetry isn’t difficult and weird enough? Then check out this YouTube’d performance (which might be NSFW for some) of Hot White Andy by Keston Sutherland, poet, academic and J.H. Prynne disciple. [more inside]
An earthquake on your wedding day
Video killed
YouTomb MIT project that tracks youtube file deletions for aledged copyright infringement. They do not host the deleted files, fyi.via wired [more inside]
You Know, For Kids
Playing Dirty: Greenpeace vs Nintendo, Microsoft, et al. "The Greenpeace scientific report Playing Dirty states that video games consoles have tested positive for hazardous chemicals and materials such as polyvinyl chloride, phthalates, beryllium and bromine." [more inside]
Free MMOs to devour your free time
Still paying a monthly fee for an MMO? Free-MMOs boasts an exhaustive (exhausting?) list of games that are free to join, free to play; try the excellent dungeon crawl Gods of Time, or the odd abandonware homebrew Ultima 6 Online.
its a small world after all
Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience - “massive American-style amusement park that will feature a skateboard park, rides, a concert theatre and a museum. It is being designed by the firm that developed Disneyland.” Here's a quick roundup of some commentary. (last link with concept design sketches)
Geohashing
Geohashing:
"As you may have noticed, today’s comic contains an algorithm for converting dates into local coordinates. For a given day, you can calculate what that day’s coordinate is for your region. Dan has put together a tool for calculating a day’s coordinates and show it using Google Maps." [more inside]
May 20
This complete breakfast: Feedback Loops
Script-Doctorin' the TARDIS
As of 2010 Steven Moffat will be replacing Russell T. Davies as lead writer and executive producer of Doctor Who. In 2005 Davies revived the series, which had been dormant (bar the odd US co-production or audiodrama) since 1989, for BBC Wales. It won awards and was successful enough to spawn the spin-offs Sarah Jane Adventures and the popular-in-America Torchwood. He is replaced by Moffat, one of the regular writers on the show, whose highly acclaimed episodes have won a number of awards and nominations. "I applied before but I got knocked back 'cos the BBC wanted someone else. Also I was seven. Anyway, I'm glad the BBC has finally seen the light and it's a huge honour to be following Russell into the best - and the toughest - job in television. I say toughest 'cos Russell's at my window right now, pointing and laughing."
Matt Furie
The Art of Matt Furie (many images NSFW)
For all the Maybes and the Don't-Knows
F R DOUBLE E D - D O M spells FREEDOM [Youtube, perhaps NSFW]. In 1967, photographer William Klein created what is possibly the most surreal cinematic political satire imaginable: Mr. Freedom. Featuring production design outlandish enough to later inspire Beck and Pizzicato Five, the film went on to bewilder French critics and tank at the box office. Today, Criterion makes Mr. Freedom available on DVD for the first time in America as part of the strange and wonderful box set, The Delirious Fictions of William Klein.
Renaissance Dude
Michael Bluejay: ...... Who says he almost always rides a bike, tried to expose the cult he was born into, (Aesthetic Realism), is concerned about pedophiles in the nudist community, played with the Ben Folds Five, and can tell you really really effective ways to save electricity? Why, its some guy called Micheal Blue Jay and his densly information packed web site of practical millenial knowledge and other fascinating factoids. Kind of Ben Franklinesque.
For we are all Killers, on land and on sea; Bonapartes and Sharks included...
Operation Orca - Springer, Luna and the Struggle to Save West Coast Killer Whales (1) They Shoot Orcas, Don't They? (2) Era of the Orca Cowboys (3) How Not to Ship a Whale [more inside]
What's up bud!
Marijuana harvesting like you've never seen. Brought to you by the same folks that unpacked your iPhone (not really).
Coming Soon: A pink hotel, a boutique and a swinging hot spot
The [US] National Trust for Historic Preservation has released its 21st annual list of the nation's Most Endangered Historic Places. Among them: Sumner Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas, (where Linda Brown tried to register for school, resulting in Brown vs. Board of Education); New York City's Lower East Side; California's State Parks; Philadelphia's Boyd Theatre, and several others. The previous 20 years of Most Endangered Historic Places can be found in the Archive. [more inside]
Humane decision by UK government on Iranian refugee.
Mehdi Kazemi is granted asylum in the UK. Mehdi, now 20, was studying in the UK when Parham (his boyfriend) was arrested for the crime of homosexuality by the Iranian government. Mehdi was named by his boyfriend and warned he was liable to arrest on his planned return. The UK Home Office denied him asylum [despite a thoughtful campaign by human rights campaigners] - because it was said he had overstayed his student visa and was therefore not seen as genuinely seeking asylum. So he escaped to the Netherlands. That's where it gets complicated. [more inside]
What is not a map?
Ruminations on the Borderlands of Cartography, or: What is not a map? "..as far as animals with map-like blotches on them, they don't get in the tent as family, but we might consider letting them in as entertainers." [via]
Main Core
The Last Roundup. "Is the government compiling a secret list of citizens to detain under martial law?" [Via]
Edward Kennedy has malignant brain tumor
Edward Kennedy has malignant brain tumor A cancerous brain tumor caused the seizure Sen. Edward M. Kennedy suffered over the weekend, doctors said Tuesday in a grim diagnosis for one of American politics' most enduring figures. "He remains in good spirits and full of energy," the doctors for the 76-year-old Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement. [more inside]
I Feel Beneath The White There is a Burundi
When Malcolm McLaren was managing Stuart Goddard (alias Adam Ant), there was one song that Adam says he listened to over and
over -- Burundi Black. You can definitely hear the influence. [more inside]
Earthquake lights
Until recently, earthquake lights were folklore. It wasn't until the phenomenon was captured in photographs, taken during the Matsushiro earthquake swarm in Japan between 1965 and 1967, that the seismological community acknowledged their occurrence. The precise mechanism is unknown. A stunning example was captured on video thirty minutes prior to the Sichuan earthquake.
Kids? Who'd have 'em?
Dark pools of liquidity, or the secret stock market
The rapid growth of electronic trading since 1976 has benefited equity market participants by improving competition, reducing cost and increasing liquidity while insuring better pricing.
One unexpected side effect has been the recent emergence of "dark pools of liquidity", or the secret stock market. [more inside]
One unexpected side effect has been the recent emergence of "dark pools of liquidity", or the secret stock market. [more inside]
New Yorkers and their quirks
Why do New Yorkers seem rude? A quirky and interesting article about the culture of New Yorkers.
Insane cockroach vs. frog football game
Australians celebrate their national football championships with a bloody frogs vs. cockroaches football game online! (The cane toad is a symbol of Queensland football...)
he's up there... operating beyond the pale of any decent merchandising procedures
Ernie Fosselius, writer/director of Hardware Wars and more recently creator of the Mechalodeon, also created a brilliant parody of Apocalypse Now: Porklips Now. YouTube: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
Dollar for Dollar?
Stemming from a lawsuit that has gone on for several years, a recent Court of Appeals ruled that the U.S. government must make bills with distinguishable tactile features to benefit the blind. While the U.S. government disagrees, the judges say: "The government might as well argue that, since handicapped people can crawl on all fours or ask for help from strangers, there's no need to make buildings wheelchair accessible." Not all blind people agree with the decision. [more inside]
A post that pops
Ever notice how some words just sound like what they mean? Like how a distant star really does seem to sparkle. Words like mumble, twist, and squeamish. Jospeh Bottum describes them well: "They taste good in the mouth, and they seem to resound with their own verbal truthfulness... More like proper nouns than mere words, they match the objects they describe. Pickle, gloomy, portly, curmudgeon--sounds that loop back on themselves to close the circle of meaning. They're perfect, in their way." But he tries to coin a new term for them when some already exist. [more inside]
The Affairs Of Men
What makes married men want to have affairs? A provocative look at an age-old question from New York Magazine.
It's always a race condition.
When programmers kill. [pdf] In 1982, Atomic Energy Canada, Limited, introduced the now-infamous Therac-25, a solely software-driven successor to its earlier medical linear accelerators. Six patients received massive amounts of radiation, and three died, before AECL was compelled to supplement the (faulty) software-only error-checking with hardware interlocks to prevent overexposure. [more inside]
Eurovision 2008 semi-finals are tonight
6 hours til Eurovision 2008 begins (well semi-final round 1 begins in 6 hours). After last year's extensive Eurovision discussion, let's see how 2008 does. There are a number of Eurovision blogs and many of the bloggers are hanging out in Belgrade. Not in Europe? You can watch online as well. [more inside]
Awesome Animation
Amazing Animations: Morphing, Graffiti, Mixed-Media, Sand (also from Ilana Yahav and Ferenc Cakó), Paint-on-film, Paint-on-glass, Pinscreen & The Greatest Stop-Motion Movie of All-Time.
(Some reposting, but it's worth watching again. trust me.)
Ich bin ein Berliner
Do you like Berlin? The hippest city on the planet has some interesting video blogs. My personal favorite is First We Take Berlin which is pretty off-beat and covers a lot of not so hip areas of the city. In their current episode they go to the annual may riots in Kreuzberg (after a weird little mouse story). Then there is Mayda3000 which is the longest running video blog about Berlin. Watch Berlin is a sort of compilation of many different video blogs most of which are in german but there are some are in english as well. And last but not least there's Verbundstoff which is in german only and takes a look at the very underground Berlin electronic music scene.
May 19
Best Experienced with Headphones On
Leslie Low is an indie improv-based musician singer/songwriter. This site has songs from his two solo albums, Volcanoes, moody instrumental music mixing striking melodies, organic sounds, odd rhythm structures and laptop noise elements; and Worms, with solo guitar and voice delivering haunting intense acoustic numbers about death, retreating from the world and seeking refuge in a quiet place behind the woods. [more inside]
3 to 10 classroom hours
16% of US science teachers believe human beings have been created by God within the last 10,000 years. 25% of science teachers spend some time teaching about creationism or intelligent design. 12.5% teach it as a "valid, scientific alternative to Darwinian explanations for the origin of species". 2% say they do not cover evolution at all. Teachers who have taken more science courses themselves devote more time to evolution - "This may be because better-prepared teachers are more confident in dealing with students' questions about a sensitive subject."
Fusing the electric boogaloo with the (samoan) sasa
Urban Pasifika, a sub-genre of hip hop which combines American style hip hop or R&B rhyming and beats with Pacific Island or Māori instrumentation.
While older artist covered topics like polynesian heritage, the disconnect from immgration to another land and support for Māori sovereignty. [more inside]
The Slap
The Jihad Will Be Televised
NewsFilter: Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID - Conn.) strikes a decisive blow against another Islamic terror front group: YouTube.
IBM's next 5 in 5
IBM's the next 5 in 5 "forecasts the five innovations that will change the way that we live, work and play in the next five years." [more inside]
Everything you think you know about inequality is wrong.
Everything you think you know about inequality is wrong. This guy disagrees. But it's not that bad, honest. And free trade with China is a good thing for poor Americans. But are these guys the next Yugo?
The Dirtbombs
"It's been nearly three decades since Dirtbombs leader Mick Collins first picked up a guitar with the sole intention of "murdering the Eagles." Since then, the tall, bespectacled, deep-voiced rock 'n' roller from Detroit has been scorned, worshipped, categorized and just plain misunderstood — sometimes simultaneously — by a music world often more interested in labeling than listening." [NOTE: see hoverovers for link descriptions] [more inside]
"I wish cake had velocity to it. That way I could travel at the speed of cake."
INNER FEELINGS FROM OUTER SPACE: An anonymous Maxis dev pairs the bizarre creatures of Spore (pre vi ous ly) with an assortment of deep and not-so-deep thoughts in this oddly amusing little video blog. [more inside]
Favrd
Favrd is a list of the best Twitter posts, based on a few simple principles, the most interesting of which is probably "by any means necessary, web-strategy, social-media, online-marketing webcocks - unaware as they are of how toxic their presence is in the arenas they cannot shut up about - must and shall be filtered out of view." That filter results in a surprisingly entertaining subsection of Twitter, a sort of super-short story collection. Original announcement from creator Dean Allen.
Griefing comes to First Life
That's just strange...
Guide 25 Strangest Collections on the Web includes items such as a collection of navel fluff, 700 artistically decorated toilet seats, a scratchcard collection, 2,500 unique aol disks and cds, and much more. [more inside]
A google a day?
Gyminee!
Gyminee is a truly excellent web app that lets you track workouts, nutrition and fitness goals. Prints grocery lists, lets you find workout buddies, etc. Very aesthetically pleasing, too. Considerably easier to use than Fitday, which a lot of people swear by.
Obama/Prime in 08
Canadian freelance writer and comic-book vandal Chris "MGK" Bird surveys the field of Obama's potential running mates.
Keeping it simple, voluntarily
"We want to be in clean country with like-minded people with access to clean food. . . . The question is, Do I have Internet access in the woods?" The New York Times has the story of an Austin family that has decided to give away almost all of their worldly possessions in exchange for a simpler more sustainable life. Could you do it? [more inside]
Cute but foreboding
Superstitious bloggers explain the recent earthquake in China by suggesting that the official Olympic Mascots of the Beijing Olympics foretold of disaster. [more inside]
Peel off the colors.
If you've ever wanted to peel back the corners of your browser window again and again to reveal different colors, then colorflip is for you.
William Butler Yeats
"Chicken Fat" art? Ja, Boss!
Wolf William Eisenberg died this past Thursday, May 14. Comics fans may know him better as Will Elder, one of the original MAD artists who, along with Wally Wood and Jack Davis, et al, worked with Harvey Kurtzman to make "furshlugginer" and "potrezebie" household words in the 1950s. No one could pack a cartoon panel with more gags than Elder, the exemplar of the "chicken fat" school of art. [more inside]
Too pissed to drive?
Too pissed to drive? ("An interactive urinary experience - not to be mistaken with the Wii.") Those naughty but practical Germans have come up with a way to discourage men from driving drunk using a video game embedded in a urinal. I don't know how successful it's been in the real world, but it did win a silver Clio award for Innovative Use of Technology. If you don't plan to be in a Frankfurt bar any time soon, or if you lack the necessary equipment to play, you can try the wee-free simulation here.
Three Giants of Brazilian Guitar
Three of the giants of Brazilian guitar were Laurindo Almeida (1917-1995; wiki here), Luiz Bonfa (1922-2001; wiki here), and Baden Powell (1937-2000; wiki here). Here is Laurindo Almeida w/the MJQ playing One Note Samba; here is Luiz Bonfa playing the theme from Black Orpheus (which he composed); and here is Baden Powell playing Samba Triste. [more inside]
Serpent Handling Practice and History
The Ediwina Church of God in Jesus Christ Name. Pastor Jimmy Morrow's spelling is often non-standard and this isn't the world's best designed web page. But it's remarkable for what it is: an insider account of the history and practice of a serpent-handling sect by a current practitioner. [more inside]
Chinese Poems
Chinese Poems is a simple, no frills site with over 200 classical Chinese poems, mostly from the Tang period. The poems are presented in traditional and simplified chinese characters, pinyin and English translation, both literal and literary. Here's Du Mu's Drinking Alone:
Outside the window, wind and snow blow straight,
I clutch the stove and open a flask of wine.
Just like a fishing boat in the rain,
Sail down, asleep on the autumn river.
Among other poets featured are Li Bai (a.k.a. Li Po), Du Fu and Wang Wei. As a bonus, here's the entire text of Ezra Pound's Cathay, most of whom are from Li Bai originals.
Outside the window, wind and snow blow straight,
I clutch the stove and open a flask of wine.
Just like a fishing boat in the rain,
Sail down, asleep on the autumn river.
Among other poets featured are Li Bai (a.k.a. Li Po), Du Fu and Wang Wei. As a bonus, here's the entire text of Ezra Pound's Cathay, most of whom are from Li Bai originals.
Hot or not? No, Pos or not!
Greening the DNC
This summer in Denver, at the 2008 Democratic National Convention fried foods will be forbidden at the committee's 22 or so events, as is liquid served in individual plastic containers. Plates must be reusable, like china, recyclable or compostable. The food should be local, organic or both. It's all part of Greening 2008 Convention. [more inside]
'Roid Writer
Canadian writer Craig Davidson is pretty intense (read mad) when it comes to research and promoting his work, entering into an officially sanctioned boxing match to promote The Fighter. But even he thinks he went a bit too far when he went on a full 'steroid cycle'.
Brittlestar Galactica
Tens of millions of brittlestars have been discovered inhabiting the peak of a sea mount in the Macquarie Ridge south of New Zealand. Strong currents are believed to be responsible for sweeping their predators away, more or less recreating their home 300 million years gone....
Luke Kelly: The Performer
Casual fans of Irish folk-punk bands like The Pogues, Flogging Molly and the Dropkick Murphys rarely take the time to investigate the sources of their inspiration. Those who do, cannot avoid coming across the The Dubliners. [more inside]
May 18
Love comes arranged
Wealth creation, economic growth and rising employment and salaries are among the factors changing some of India's most ancient social and cultural practices, writes Jason Overdoff for Newsweek. [more inside]
Not Andy Warhol
15x15 is viewable artwork consisting of 15 individual screens displaying a random video clip stored within the database for 15 seconds. Anyone can contribute, from the banal to the bizarre.
Beautiful pictures of toxic sea slugs
National Geographic has a really neat photo gallery of nudibranchs. These are very colorful, very cute sea slugs. Enjoy.
Original Rush drummer John Rutsey is dead at 55.
Original Rush drummer is John Rutsey dead at 55. Rush was one of the most successful prog rock acts of the 70s and 80s. Much of this success can be attributed to Neil Peart, whose airy, transcendent lyrics and virtuoso drumming in large part defined the band. But there was another drummer--more in the heavy style of John Bonham--who gripped the rhythmic helm on their first album: one John Rutsey. Mr Rutsey left the band early after a diagnosis of diabetes. This month he succumbed to a heart attack, a common complication. Unfortunately, a discursive look at youtube revealed no live footage of Mr Rutsey in action. Here is a pic from his heyday.
Albert Kahn's Autochromes
The Archive of the Planet was the brainchild of the millionaire French banker and philanthropist Albert Kahn.
BBC Book
BBC Documentary
A Little Part of the BBC Documentary on Youtube
Some of the Autochromes
Some Words on the Kahn Foundation Travelling Fellowship
See also: Autochromatica on Flickr
BBC Book
BBC Documentary
A Little Part of the BBC Documentary on Youtube
Some of the Autochromes
Some Words on the Kahn Foundation Travelling Fellowship
See also: Autochromatica on Flickr
"We made up worlds as dirty as our minds."
The Doll Games emerged in Berkeley, California, at a time when race, gender, politics, and sexuality were fiercely and publicly debated... The Doll Games held up a funhouse mirror to their times, and what survives of them are historical documents of a wobbly, comical sort. But the Doll Games transcend their epoch. Intricate, obsessional, moral, violent and sexual, funny and tragic... Obedient to no rules except those its practitioners invented for themselves, completely collaborative, the Doll Games defined a truly interactive art form. In this theater of two, every audience member was a co-creator. [some text and pics NSFW]
Bah!
And remember, always use the word "sugartits"
We've all seen scary mugshots on The Smoking Gun, but who cares about the famous and infamous when we can celebrate mugshots of the average joe?
As the author of 21 Best Mugshots Evar wrote:
"When you go to jail, remember that your mugshot belongs to the ages. And in today's world, once you get it taken, it belongs to the Internets. Be sure to make it one worth remembering."I'll keep that in mind should I ever be arrested. So sit back, ignore the screwed-up numbering layout, titles and comments (though a few are amusing), and <>enjoy the mugshots as is.> [more inside]
Building a wolf in 9 minutes
Portland artist R. J. Travis Pond sculpts recycled steel into animals. Daniel Wiancko documents and shrinks the process using time-lapse photography. A Wolf = 9:11, Three Birds = 9:35. [more inside]
That's just insane!
Some of the most insane journeys in recent time include Harry Lee 'The Hawk' McGinnis' walk around the world, Helen Thayer's 4,000-mile trek across the Sahara, Andrew Thompson's speedwalk across the Appalachian Trail (2000 miles), and others. [more inside]
Biodiesel in Sierra Leone
A story in three parts from a volunteer in Sierra Leone about the begins of a small homegrown biodiesel industry: getting their vehicle, making fuel for it, and scaling it up. For those curious how it's done, they got their recipes online here.
Eeek!
Tips for getting ahead in the increasingly competitive low cost small laptop market: When you go to Getty Images, grab some stock photography of smiling kids in a classroom and photoshop in your product, you better make sure your competitor hasn't used the exact same image.
"So, you're saying you surrendered for a cigarette?"
They Chose China is a documentary about the 22 western POWs who chose to defect to China after the Korean War armistice.
Revolt of the Lab Rats? Or Voyeur Caught Watching?
When your research subjects notice you watching.... The fine folks over at Little Green Footballs discovered "a pile of results and code" from an observation of their on-line discourse on a server at Carnegie Mellon. That led to a heated thread of sometimes paranoid speculation that eventually calmed down (somewhat) when the researcher's academic advisors posted a good-natured mea-culpa (wea-culpa?) and explanation.
Download - Print - Cut - Fold
Cubecraft - Stormtrooper, The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, Iron Man, Mario etc. More (Sonic, Ninja Turtles etc) here.
May 17
Warhammer 40K meets Hello Kitty
The Most Civilized Country.
The Most Civilized Country. Fascinating article challenging conventional notions of how best to have a society. [more inside]
My Critter's Better Than Your Critter
Paper Critters is an online application for creating and sharing paper toys. Make your own, or view an interactive gallery of the competition. Uses the open source Papervision3D engine.
Why so purple?
The Museum of Corporate Neckties. Corporations and neckties: two great tastes that &c.
Pepsi Catbreath
Get down with the Kersal Massive
As previously mentioned on Metafilter, in 2006, the Kersal Massive, 3 English chavs from Kersal near Manchester made a 44 second rap video on a cell phone (click this one first).
Once it hit YouTube, it inspired parodies and mashups ranging from heavy metal to alternative to dancefloor, an acoustic cover version, a conspiracy theory video, a Kevin Powder interview , and best of all this version. But this one is my favourite. [more inside]
Once it hit YouTube, it inspired parodies and mashups ranging from heavy metal to alternative to dancefloor, an acoustic cover version, a conspiracy theory video, a Kevin Powder interview , and best of all this version. But this one is my favourite. [more inside]
They're all beautiful inside. Maybe.
It's that time of year again, folks... don't forget to put in your vote for the World's Ugliest Dog. [more inside]
The Yellow Shark [NOT MUDSHARK-IST]
In 1993, we said goodbye to Frank Zappa, fallen victim to prostate cancer. A 1993 Today Show interview with Frank. A 1993 BBC documentary about Frank. {Parts 2, 3, 4.} "Outrage at Valdez," from 1993's The Yellow Shark. [Zappa mega-post previously on MeFi]
Jalopnik Ad Watch
Feeling nostalgic for cheap gas and and a "poke-through air cleaner that jumps when the engine cries"? The Mustang Mach I was the way to swing in '69! But 9 years later, the Cougar XR-7 was the 1978 choice of Cheryl Tiegs for her midnight driving. Speaking of women, what if your wife has to drive alone? It's a shocking concept, sure, but when a woman's at the wheel, you need Polyglas tires. Yep, crazy things used to happen. Heck, Pontiac even sold this thing for a few years. All that and more at Jalopnik's classic ad watch.
3.14159265... and 99,992 digits to go!
Exercising your brain makes you smarter, and there is no better gym for it than the MentatWiki. [more inside]
RIP Travis N. Twiggs, USMC PTSD Sufferer
PTSD: The War Within. A Marine writes about his PTSD experience. This article from the January issue of the Marine Corps Gazette was written by USMC Staff Sergeant Travis N. Twiggs. Twiggs killed himself and his brother after a long police chase in Arizona earlier this week.
Should we worry?
Mercedes Allen looks at who's in charge of deciding the fate of Gender Identity Disorder in the DSM-IV. The APA (American Psychological Association) has announced it's intention to revise the DSMV (Diagnosis and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). The expert they've named to chair revisions on sexuality and gender is Kenneth Zucker. Zucker is the major remaining proponent of Reparative Therapy for LGBT folks. [more inside]
The Is The Life: the most important period of hip hop you never knew existed (NSFW audio throughout)
The year is 1989, the world of hip hop in mainstream America is dominated by the street hard, in your face West Coast Gangsta Rap genre headed by NWA. And an army of increasingly forgettable imitators as well as genuine ingenuity coming from the opposite coast The pop music market is dominated by the sugary sweet vaguely hip-hopish pop of The New Kids On The Block. And on the corner Crendshaw and Exposition in South Central Los Angeles a group of kids at a health food store called The Good Life Health Food And Resource Center take a weekly Open Mike and turn it into an ongoing hip hop workshop where lyrical prowess, performance, and positivity instead of battling and trash talking was encouraged. In fact, swearing was strictly disallowed at The Good Life. [more inside]
The Paleolithic.
Well, young folk, there was a time, y'know, when bands would put their band name on the kick drum head, so the audience could see the name of the band, y'see? Why, best as I can recall, the The Yardbirds did it, and The Zombies, too. And The Hollies. Oh, and did I mention The Yardbirds? Well, my memory's not what it used to be... oh, and there was those boys from Liverpool, used to sing about Kansas Cty so well, why, you'd think they'd actually been there! Now, there was this one band called themselves the Spencer Davis Group, but I never could figure out why, cause it was that little Winwood fella just outta knee pants who was the star of that show! [more inside]
Reportret: what did historical figures physically look like
Reportret: What did they really look like? Charlemagne "..was a large man, with light coloured hair, a long nose, a thick neck, and a quite prominent belly."
"Four-Pronged Performance Review"
May 16
Graham Siebe Alaskan Photoblog
PhotoGrahambo.com ― Alaskan photoblog by Graham Siebe. Where, what, and how.
15 bits of crypto should be enough for anybody
On May 13, security advisories published by Debian and Ubuntu revealed that, for over a year, their OpenSSL libraries have had a major flaw in their CSPRNG, which is used by key generation functions in many widely-used applications, which caused the "random" numbers produced to be extremely predictable. [lolcat summary] [more inside]
The blah story.
Bill vs. Dave 1982
A very, very funny Bill Murray guest stars on the first episode of Late Night with David Letterman -- 1982
The end of Rice-Boy
The end of Rice-Boy. T.O.E, Angel Eye, Calbash (alas we hardly knew ye) and Rice-Boy have ended their adventure. 2 years 1 month and two weeks after the start.
Evan Dahm produced one of the most engaging and beautiful webcomics over the past two years and it has concluded. A moment of silence.........
Ok now, the good news. Rice-Boy is done, but further Overside stories are likely. YAY. [more inside]
Beyond the Torture Debate
Beyond the Torture Debate On May 6th the American Strategy Program hosted an event with Philippe Sands, Professor of International Law at University College London and Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff for Colon Powell. Mr. Sands was in DC to testify to the House Judiciary Committee about the findings in his new book, Torture Team, which examines the legal implications of the Bush administration's policy of torture. Col. Wilkerson was on hand for commentary on the subject. The event was moderated by Patrick Doherty, deputy director of the American Strategy program.
The event was recorded and posted by the New America Foundation to YouTube.
It is 1 hr 31 minutes long, but well worth it. [more inside]
The Crazy Raspberry Ants are coming! The Crazy Raspberry Ants are coming!
“They’re the ant of all ants...and are moving about half a mile a year.” Crazy Raspberry Ants! (And you might want to check your computer....)
Does Africa Need Wealthy White Celebs to help her Survive and Prosper?
There is something creepily colonialist in Madonna’s attitude to Africa. First we had the White Man’s Burden -– now we have the White Madonna’s Burden. More and more celebrities are treating Africa as a wide-eyed child that needs a Hollywood hug -– or as a wicked devil that needs a Hollywood hammering. [more inside]
Telectroscope
They're Red Hot!
...even after five agonizing years of the Iraq War, a summer blockbuster isn't prepared to say that not only is its action hero is corrupt, he's corrupt because America has become corrupt.
Iron Man, who represents an imperial America, can only win Pyrrhic victories. Spencer Ackerman of Tapped Online has a nice history of the Iron Man comics that reads the character's alcoholism, Civil-War overzealousness, and persistent blundering "into a hell of unintended consequences" as a symbol and subtle critique of American exceptionalism and what Jonathan Schell among others has called "impotent omnipotence".
ToC
Some readers will appreciate their typographic form, while others will see further strategies at work — informational, strategic, philosophical, literary. There are odd, even anachronistic cultural references, gestures that date these books in a manner oddly soothing.
The Next Page: Thirty Tables of Contents [more inside]
The Next Page: Thirty Tables of Contents [more inside]
The Black Cab Sessions
Death Cab For Cutie. Live, in a Black Cab. One Song ("No Sunlight"). One Take. One Cab.
Also: Daniel Johnston, Bill Callahan, The New Pornographers, The Raveonettes, Okkervil River, Spoon, & The Futureheads.
Also: Daniel Johnston, Bill Callahan, The New Pornographers, The Raveonettes, Okkervil River, Spoon, & The Futureheads.
A really high shine
This thread will end well. Buy at 61.7; sell at 60.1.
The Promise of Prediction Markets (full text link; .pdf here). A group of distinguished economists and other scholars has published a call to exempt prediction markets (previously on MeFi: 1, 2) from American laws that restrict internet gambling. [more inside]
"It took 1.1 milliseconds!" Yao exclaims. "Yeah, that's me!"
China's All-Seeing Eye. Naomi Klein's piece in the May 29th edition of Rolling Stone details how China is building the prototype for a high-tech police state with the help of U.S. defense contractors. And it's a growth market!
The 10 best beer names ever
Analog textual clocks
The veena, turned up to 11.
With a pickup mounted on the body of the instrument just below the strings, Revathy Krishna, KP Sarada and Sivanandam and Jayanthi Kumaresh get an unexpectedly fat sound out of their veena. Rocking! The instrument is more often amplified with a microphone, in which case it sounds more like this performance by D. Balakrishna, who, as you'll hear, ain't no slouch, neither. And here Pichumani gets his groove on, no doubt about it. So, hey, two more raags for the road, courtesy of Rajeswari Padmanabhan. The second tune on her clip, by the way, has got some deep blues in it, so I'm thinking maybe Rajeswari might've been down to the crossroads at midnight... [NOTE: see hoverovers for link descriptions] [more inside]
May 15
The laws of your world don't apply, mortals!
Fine Lampwork Beads by Kim Neely
Kim Neely has enjoyed a very rich professional life already. A writer for Rolling Stone for fifteen years, she also penned the Pearl Jam biography. These days find Kim involved in an entirely different pursuit. Lampworking is a type of glass work that uses a gas fueled torch to melt rods and tubes of clear and colored glass. At her mom's unused workshop Kim created Bluff Road Art Glass. [more inside]
"NIXON-AGNEW", in red and in blue.
Guernica
Takashi Murakami
The tastiest looking severed limbs I've seen all day
Kittiwat Unarrom is a baker with a unique passion- sculpting delicious gourmet bread treats in the likeness of human body parts. Think bread sculpture meets BodyWorlds. If that's not quite gruesome enough for you, you can feast like a cannibal! (NSFW, no real cannibalism involved)
Building a bow
Arnold Smit shows, step by step, the crafting of a bow. More of his beautiful bows here. (Also available in Dutch.)
Awesome Foo Fighters rider: "Bacon. I call it "god's currency." Hell, if it could be breathed, I would."
In the wake of Iggy Pop's high-larious tour rider, Foo Fighters have updated their 2008 rider (earlier rider here.) Full of jokes about Dio and bacon witticisms, you've got to admire these hardworking young men, for, as they say, "We are just another bend trying to make enough money to fuel our private jet. Please help."
Charged
Lori Drew was charged today for her involvement in the MySpace-related suicide of Megan Meier last fall.
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy is an excellent resource for matters philosophical. There you can be enlightened on such diverse subjects as paradoxes existential or logical, Greek or American philosophers obscure to the wider world, philosophers whose names have resounded through the ages, both well-attested and possibly mythical, Buddhist thought and Western mysticism and definitions of thorny and difficult concepts. And that's just a small sampling of the letter P section. All articles are written by specialists on the subject and the editors of the IEP are all academic philosophers. The encyclopedia is far from complete, so if you think you can help out, they have a list of their 100 most desired articles.
Alaska's Capitol City Cuts the Power
While Alaskan senators get mopey about polar bears and climate change, the capitol city is busy cutting their power use... even if it is a bit against their will. The Snettisham Hydro plant suffered a massive avalanche this Spring, taking out the main source of power for Juneau. Some more info
Showing the horror of war
People can handle the truth about war. Veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas reflects on how the media's willingness to show the horrors of war has changed since Vietnam.
WOW Lovers
WOW is the largest role-playing game in the world. Monster Camp is a new documentary that follows the folks that participate in a real life role playing camp/organization. A WOW camp. For some, this might be heaven. Here are some reviews: Variety, Rotten Tomatoes. [more inside]
God Emperor of STFU
Goin' to the chapel and we're / Gonna get ma-ha-harried!
NewsFilter: The California Supreme Court has just overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriages. Read the decision.
Isidore-of-Seville and Metrum and Elbruz
Spying on our animal friends
We're all used to animal cams at the zoo. You can watch animals in the wild or in captivity. But how about a live animal cam at...the library!
The Whitburn Project: 120 Years of Music Chart History
120 years of Billboard data. Eternally curious blogger Andy Baio starts a three-day analysis of the data in the Whitburn Project, "a huge undertaking to preserve and share high-quality recordings of every popular song since the 1890s. To assist their efforts, they've created a spreadsheet of 37,000 songs and 112 columns of raw data, including each song's duration, beats-per-minute, songwriters, label, and week-by-week chart position." It all happens on good ol' Usenet--here's a FAQ.
Get your wand off my lawn
Kevin Colvin may have gotten busted, but his generation is taking over. Millenials are everywhere -- and while some people welcome our bright-eyed, tech-savvy overlords, Gen-X is steadfastly unimpressed
That works pretty well.
10 optical illusions in 2 minutes - SLYT, Samsung promotion.
God-Man
"A range of about 15 feet"
Two Buddhist teachers live a purportedly celibate life together as they strive for new heights of intimacy. But Tibetan Buddhist leaders and scholars are alarmed; the Dalai Lama refused a birthday offering. His teachings on yoga and business are controversial; so is the matter of his three-year "silent" retreat. More on Geshe Michael Roach. (Wiki.)
The very angry caterpillar
The very angry caterpillar is a film made by the previously discussed Lichtfaktor for UK children's television programme Blue Peter. It stitches together light paintings using stop-motion (frame-by-frame) techniques.
Sell in May and go Away but buy back on St. Leger Day
Academic discussions of stock markets frequently reference The Efficient Markets Hypothesis; an idea that share prices are fairly valued, their prices reflecting all available information. However folklore such as "Sell in May and go away", which proved prudent in 2007, clashes with this theory. [more inside]
RIP John Phillip Law
Decrucify the Angel! John Phillip Law, star of Danger: Diabolik, Open Season, Death Rides a Horse, and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and, of course, Barbarella, has died at age 70. [more inside]
Runaway Box
I Guess You'll Do - Runaway Box is my new Funnyordie - It all started with Honest R&B. OMG, look at John's Erection.
"the latest issue to arise for the McCain campaign involving aides' ties to foreign interests"
We'll Do It Live! F*ck It!
This recently-surfaced tape of Bill O'Reilly flipping out on the set of Inside Edition has inspired a dance remix, meltdown compilation, and parody by Steven Colbert (first three links NSFW).
Every Simpsons Couch Gag ever... Well, not qui-i-te, but gettin' there
Towers of Babel
P.S. My safty [sic] hint is Don't eat anything unless you know what it is!
Let's Pretend With Uncle Russ. From 1948 to 1952, kids at American military bases all over the world tuned in to Let's Pretend with Uncle Russ on Saturday mornings to hear a variety show of stories and music. Although the majority of listeners were the children of U.S. military personnel who received the program through the Armed Forces Radio Service, "Uncle Russ" also had a worldwide fan club of listeners from faraway places who tuned in to hone their English skills. The site is maintained by "Uncle Russ" himself, Russ Thompson, who wrote, directed and produced the 30-minute show, as well as providing character voices. The site features photos, fan letters (the most popular reason for writing was to join the "Around the World Safety Club"), celebrity guests and more from the show's run.
May 14
What a bunch of quack.
"This listing will not stop global climate change"
“I can’t express how extremely disappointed I am that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has chosen to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act," Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski said in a statement issued today. [more inside]
The Day There Was No News
The Day There Was No News is moving in its simplicity. The music is from Ben Frost's Theory of Machines, which is pretty good in its own right.
Womb Quake
Womb Quake! Follow along as mefi's-own gomichild drops her bundle, live via satellite!*[via mefi projects] [more inside]
Tyranny in Two Dimensions
How to land at the Martian north pole.
Seven minutes of terror. A short video on describing how the Phoenix probe will land at the North Pole of Mars on May 25th. Follow updates to the mission via Twitter and the blog. Previously
Absolutely Not.
“I would say ‘No, Hillary.’" The 97 U.S. Senators who are not currently running for President reply to the question: “If you were asked, would you accept an offer to be the VP nominee?”
Dust to Dust
Buried in a beer can. As an appealing bonus, the coffin doubles as a beer cooler before it's needed for the stiff. With baby boomers getting ready to pop their clogs, many are looking to alternative ways to recycle their remains. A book and radio interview on green burials and some interesting figures on the quantities of wood, steel, copper, bronze and embalming fluid buried each year in the US in conventional funerals.
Anonymous American in Rangoon
A week in Burma after the storm is the second of two anonymous eyewitness reports at danwei.org of the impact and aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. It is the most gripping and tremendously sad report I have read yet on the human tragedy that is Nargis and the Myanmar Junta's non-response. [more inside]
Spongebob Rectal Thermometer
Best rectal thermometer ever? And yes, it does play the theme song while taking your temperature.
What am I, chopped liver?
Geese are on the run once again in Chicago, as the City Council overturns its recent ban on foie gras, which had been prompted in part by prodding from animal rights activists. Many chefs (although not all) were furious when the ban was enacted, missing the "exquisite taste, silky texture." They had threatened civil disobedience and even filed a lawsuit. And now epicurians as well as Jewish grandmothers rejoice.
LOL Manuscripts!
Keeping the meme alive, lolmanuscripts. Except they're really lolwoodcuts. Whatever.
More than just a sore taint?
Does riding a bike really help the environment? Mr. Green at the Sierra Club says don't over think it, but a couple of folks trying to measure the energy cycling uses aren't quite sure. There are plenty of excuses for not to riding your bike, but is there a rationale? If you want a go at calculating this yourself, here's a handy guide to the variables. [more inside]
The Essential Man's Library
100 Must-Read Books (for dudes) Men just have different ... needs ... than women, so apparently they need to read different books as well. However (as a chick myself) I tend to check this sort of thing out in a futile but ongoing attempt to figure out men. Hmmph. Men. Go figure ....
Oakley Hall (1920-2008)
Novelist Oakley Hall, most famous for the western Warlock, has died at the age of 87.
Here's a review of Warlock by Thomas Pynchon, a huge fan of the book.
Mulder's Big Adventure, aka Chris Carter presents: The Pointing-At-Each-Other Files, aka OMG ITS ALIENS
Mulder's Big Adventure is an exercise in awesomeness by Metafilter members Secretariat and Cortex. Join them as they endeavor to riff on all 202 episodes of The X-Files. To refresh your memory of the series, you can watch the original episodes here. [via mefi projects]
"The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses"
Cassette from My Ex
Cassette from My Ex is a project to "share the stories and the soundtrack to your earliest loves." Also features a great entry from Claudia Gonson of Magnetic Fields.
1024 Cheerleaders
1024 Cheerleaders! See what your favorite 32*32 icon would look like at a football game.
Now, Get Off of My Lawn!
Emory University English Professor Mark Bauerlein's new book, The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future posits that "[t]he dawn of the digital age once aroused our hopes: the Internet, e-mail, blogs, and interactive and ultra-realistic video games promised to yield a generation of sharper, more aware, and intellectually sophisticated children....we assumed that teens would use their know-how and understanding of technology to form the vanguard of this new, hyper-informed era. That was the promise. But the enlightenment didn’t happen. The technology that was supposed to make young adults more astute, diversify their tastes, and improve their minds had the opposite effect." Some beg to differ. An interview with Mark Bauerlein; Bauerlein on CBS News. [more inside]
Are the seams in your hose often crooked?
Ladies, before you go searching for love from one of those online matchmaking sites, be sure to tally up your merits and demerits on this Marital Rating Scale.
Non-lethal injections
The U.S. government has injected hundreds of foreigners it has deported with dangerous psychotropic drugs against their will to keep them sedated during the trip back to their home country [more inside]
Zed's zero carbon, baby: hydrogen-cell motorbikes
Google Maps now integrates with Wikipedia
Google Maps now integrates with Wikipedia (click "More" tab). Concharto is a geographic wiki for documenting historical events. Flick also has a map service.
Just One of Our Submarines
Thomas Dolby builds up his songs before your eyes layer by layer in a podcast. Leipzig is Calling. One of Our Submarines. I Live in a Suitcase. Flying North. She Blinded Me with Science. Hyperactive.
Grand Theft Auto IV graphical comparison with real life
“I went into teaching full of belief and idealism... After five years I realised that there was no place for idealism in teaching"
George Plemper's extensive photographic record of south London working-class life from the 70s and early 80s, in particular children at Riverside school Thamesmead, was left hidden away in carrier bags for three decades. Now he's put it on Flicker
Living large.
British artist Lucian Freud's painting of a rather... portly slumbering nude just set an art world record. Someone laid down a nice, fat 33.6 million dollars for it: the most money ever paid for any work by a living artist. [more inside]
Because It Is There
PBS's Frontline has just released Storm Over Everest, a new report that chronicles the 1996 Everest disaster. The story was most notably told by Jon Krakauer in his award-winning book Into Thin Air, which ignited a flurry of letters (pun definitely intended) about the roles of guides and Sherpas on the mountain.
Home for Sale: 100 Dollars, 500 Words
The $100 House Essay Contest. Write a 500 word essay on why you deserve to win the house. Submit it to James Mathias, along with $100. If he receives 2,500 entries... a winner will be chosen and awarded the home. If enough entries aren't received, he'll return the money. Finally, a chance to get that dream home in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Or... an extra $179,900.
Ladies in Waiting...
Before the advent of Cellular phones and the internet, cities around the world were entwined with a series of webs hanging precariously overhead. Their function: to relay messages from one part of town to the next. And the pioneers who were put in charge of this arduous task--the Switchboard Operators. The first choice for this new source of employment was a disappointing failure, not surprisingly, but then a new breed of worker emerged on the scene. These hardworking individuals were the epitome of good behaviour and gritty determination. Patient and understanding, they were always expected to fulfill their tasks, no matter what the cost. And, to their credit--they are still remembered today for the unique place they held in some peoples hearts.
Technological Darwinism
The Evolution of Computer & Video Games (Google video) The Evolution of Computer Commercials (video) The evolution of mobile phones (video)
Conjuror or Barbarian?
Monster's Den: Book of Dread might be the best free dungeon crawl RPG on the web. If it ain't, it's damned close. [more inside]
Unbelievable, Fantastic and Odd
The UK Ministry of Defence has just released previously classified documents detailing numerous UFO sightings and alien contacts from across the country. Report yours at UFO Watch.
The Alien is my Brother
Vatican's chief astronomer states that belief in alien life does not conradict faith in God. Fr. José Gabriel Funes, a Jesuit preist and chief astronomer for the Vatican, stated in an interview in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's official newspaper, that, "Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a brother,' and 'sister,' why should we not talk about an 'extraterrestrial brother'? It would still be part of creation." [more inside]
May 13
Canada's Russian Revolution
It stands as one of the more unusual turning points of the Cold War, thanks mostly to the surprise appearance of several naked middle-aged women. Taking The Cure: How a group of British Columbian anarchists inspired democracy in Russia. [more inside]
tl;dr
The Chroma Upsampling Error. This incredibly detailed explanation of a common bug in DVD players will likely either bore you to tears or be gripping and utterly fascinating.
Again and Again
OS X as music video. (SLYT) Dennis Liu's interpretation of "Again and Again" by the Bird and the Bee, using a particular operating system as inspiration. It does feel kind of like an Apple ad, but it's quite creative.
A completely revised edition of the Masseian corpus with all the flaws taken out
Masseiana - Containing the three major works of Gerald Massey and his minor work commonly titled: The Lectures. Published here in their entirety, fully revised and amended, with additional material by the editor.
Cover Vs. Original
Which do you prefer, the cover or the original?
GATTACA
The first ever, it is believed, has been produced at Cornell University. The feat was apparently much overlooked, and has many concerned over the lack of public debate of this field of research. Genetically modified human embryos.
Bush Branding
Worldwide disdain of Bush used to sell everything from newspapers to marmite to adhesive tape to cars to Scrabble, plus lots of advocacy ads for not-for-profit organizations.
"After being in the business for such a long time, I've done everything but rodeo and porno."
Oh happy day! It's Bea Arthur's birthday! Best Week Ever celebrates by posting her Top Ten Greatest Moments. [more inside]
Bush sacrifices
Bush interview with Politico: "For the first time, Bush revealed a personal way in which he has tried to acknowledge the sacrifice of soldiers and their families: He has given up golf."
Try not to go blind.
Chronotron is a Flash game in the same vein as the earlier Cursor*10, which was deliberately triple-posted. (Sadly, the mods didn't see the humor value....) This is a very clever game mechanic, in which you cooperate with yourself to try to solve puzzles. Lots of fun. (I also found it slightly depressing to realize just how predictable I am.) [via]
Cow Fighting Swiss Style
For the 2nd year in a row Tina is crowned la Reine des Reines (link & video in french). Le Combat des Reines is an annual event in the Swiss canton of Valais dating back to 1922. [more inside]
Convert Your Car to Run On Water
Do You Want To Know RIGHT NOW How You Can Drive Around Using WATER as FUEL and Laugh At Rising Gas Costs, While Reducing Emissions and Preventing Global Warming?
Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!
MUTO
Robert Rauschenberg, dead at 82.
Robert Rauschenberg (previously), painter, sculptor, perfomance artist, printmaker, photographer, theater designer, technologist, dead at 82. [more inside]
Wall stickers to stick on your wall
Wall stickers to stick on your wall (or furniture, or other stuff).
May 12
We're all blue from projection tubes
UK band The Get Out Clause made their newest video by performing in front of 80 of London's approximately 13 million CCTV cameras, and then requesting the footage via the Data Protection Act. The footage was then edited together into this music video. [more inside]
Look Out Below
Airphoto North America ― Jim Wark is an aerial photographer who specializes in capturing unusual landscape and cultural images of North and Central America. The plane used is a small high-wing, bush type (an Aviat Husky) with a large side opening for unobstructed shooting, and with the capability of operating out of small rough areas. A full complement of camping gear and provisions are always on board so that remote sites can be used as operating bases.
Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope
Microsoft's much anticipated WorldWide Telescope was released today (in the past hour actually). Article in New York Times and TED speech.
Martha's Daughters
A supportive blogging community of mainly women cross-linked on each other's blogrolls and leading an increasingly compelling marketplace of small-scale goods and handmade lives , green-living ideas , product promotion , and lifestyle-making suggest that the internet may be able to foster a localized economy model of living on an international scale--or at least gain the attention of that other idyllic-life icon. [more inside]
The name's Ronson, Jon Ronson.
"I want to recreate a great Bond journey," I say. "I want to take a passage from one of the novels and assiduously match Bond car for car, road for road, meal for meal, drink for drink, hotel for hotel." [more inside]
Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy
Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy from the collection of The Library of Congress. 373 individual pieces from ranging in time from the 9th to the 19th Century, all explained and some translated. A few personal favorites (note that very high quality scans can be viewed by clicking the appropriate link after clicking thumbnail): marriage decree, verses on tragic love, practice sheet, verses 10-11 of the 48th chapter of the Qur'an, poetic verses offering advice, frontispiece of Qur'anic exegesis and quatrain by Rumi. There are also four special presentations: Calligraphers of the Persian Tradition, Ottoman Calligraphers and Their Works, Qur’anic Fragments and Noteworthy Items. This last presentation also features representational art, for instance images of The battle of Mazandaran and the Persian king Bahram Gur hunting.
Feudal Crime Lords of Japan
Among industrialized nations, Japan has a pretty low rate of violent crime, a relatively high number of police, and a virtually non-existent acquittal rate. Yet, somehow the Yakuza persists.
Phil Schaap, jazz aficionado
Phil Schaap has hosted a jazz program for the past twenty-seven years on WKCR, Columbia University’s radio station with unapologetic passion and a depth of familiarity that comes, in part, from the personal relationships he had with the musicians themselves.
The current talent pool is too small (get it?)
Looking for relatively-secure employment, decent wages, and the satisfaction of helping Planet Earth? There's a coming shortage of workers in the Waste Water Treatment industry! (via) [more inside]
Žižek!
"Žižek!" is a feature documentary exploring the eccentric personality and esoteric work of the "wild man of theory": the eminent Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek. Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7. [more inside]
The Comic Book Script Archive
A collection of comic book scripts from writers such as Brian Michael Bendis, Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis, Mark Millar, Grant Morrison and Alan Moore.
Flower art
The Origins of Cybex Space
The Origins of Cybex Space
Just in case you are in need of ...." a preventative against the evils engendered by a sedentary life and the seclusion of the office."
The Something Store
Why don't you get yourself a little something? It's only $10!
In bed with Captain Kirk
"We were treated like rock stars. I was told there were female Trekkies who kept lists of all the cast members with whom they'd slept. I was told this!" Extracts from 'Up To Now', the autobiography of William Shatner... from his time on Star Trek, where he comes over as the colossal jerk of legend, to his poignant recollections of the death of his third wife.
The most perfect specimen of a North American tree
The last standing member of the Council Oaks, a group of 14 oak trees located in what is now downtown Austin, Texas, the Treaty Oak has stood for more than 500 years. The Treaty Oak got its name from the (probably apocryphal) story of how Stephen F. Austin signed a boundary treaty with local tribes under its branches. In 1927 the Treaty Oak was called "The most perfect specimen of a North American tree". In 1937 the City of Austin (prodded by the Campfire Girls of Port Arthur and other schoolchildren) purchased the quarter acre of land upon which the Treaty Oak stood and believed that this ancient tree, and its 128 foot canopy, was safe. Of course, the did not know that in 1989 someone would dump enough of the herbicide Velpar around its roots to kill 100 trees. [more inside]
Off the Rails.
Is life on Mars a good sign for us?
The "Great Filter" is a hypothetical barrier to explain why civilisations are so unlikely to progress to the point of inter-stellar colonisation that we have not encountered any in 40 years of looking. Maybe humanity has already negotiated the filter - as some massive evolutionary improbability - or perhaps it lies in our future as an almost-certain threat to our existence? We should hold our breath as we look for evidence of life on Mars.
'I make it look like they died in their sleep'
Death's Midwife: Jon Ronson meets the Reverend George Exoo, controversial right-to-die activist. [more inside]
Writer, musician, polymath
Stan Kelly-Bootle began his career as a member of the earliest wave of computer programmers, who wrote prolifically about a wide range of computing issues. Back in his home town though, he's probably best known for his contributions to a lexicon of local slang, Lern Yerself Scouse, and for his canonical and not-so-canonical contributions to the British folk repertoire. [more inside]
Cliff Richard and General Franco: the 1968 Eurovision mystery
It's the story that has Britain in uproar*: Cliff Richard and General Franco: the 1968 Eurovision mystery. Did General Franco scupper the judging? Exhibit A: Cliff's UK entry, Congratulations. Exhibit 2: Spain's winning entry by Massiel, La la la. For added measure, exhibit iv: here's Cliff's 1973 entry, which believe it or not also did not win, Power to all our Friends (though Cliff's spectacular moves should not sway your opinion on the controversy* in any way).
[*not really].
Animal Rights History - source documents and more
Animal Rights History collects quotes and original source documents from historical figures concerned with animal welfare, animal rights and vegetarianism throughout history, including John Locke on kids' cruelty to animals, Voltaire on vivisecting dogs, the author of history's first protected species list, lots about Pythagoras, timelines, a survey of anti-cruelty laws and more.
Madonna (Not Was)
The story goes like this:
In the early 80's Madonna sat in with Was (Not Was) to record backing vocals (to Ozzy Osbourne's main vox) for their track Shake Your Head (Let's Go To Bed). Everything was peachy until Madonna's record label, Sire, refused to grant ZE Records permission to publish her recording. So other voices sang of things that cannot be done. Fast-forward ten years and the hits collection Hello Dad, I'm In Jail included the track and, again, the Madonna vocal was not released for use. (This time Kim Basinger's new backing track got the spot.) The new Basinger-backed single peaked at #4 on the UK charts and featured a b-side remix by producer Steve 'Silk' Hurley. However, a glorious blunder resulted in a recall of the single: ZE had sent Hurley Madonna's background vocals. The mistake wasn't caught until after pressing and lo! a very few copies of the record made it out into the world. And so, music fans, for a cool G you can lay hands on your own copy of Shake Your Head (Let's Go to Bed), featuring the b-side dub, the rarest of Madonna recordings. [Mouse over links for descriptions.]
The American Look, 1958
If you can make it through the glacially paced intro and can put up with the typically clunky, often laughable and jingoistic fifties-style narration, this 1958 film from Chevrolet, The American Look is worth viewing. Chock full of futuristic telephones, toasters, blenders, office machines, architecture and more, it's a mid-century design lover's dream. The film is visually striking and elegant, and presented in widescreen format. Here's part 2 and part 3. Or see it here in its entirety. [more inside]
Wasn't That Good?
Bop Bop a Doo Bop. Please Give Me Something. Mellow Saxophone. Let's Have a Ball. Ubangi Stomp. Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie. Be Bop a Lula. My One Desire. Wasn't That Good. What do these songs, of varying levels of obscurity and fame, have in common? The Stray Cats. In order: Fishnet Stockings. Crawl Up and Die. Wild Saxophone. Gonna Ball. Ubangi Stomp. Jeanie Jeanie Jeanie. Be Bop a Lula. My One Desire. Wasn't That Good. Thirty years since they formed, the Cats' farewell tour begins in August.
May 11
The Giant Pool of Money
The Giant Pool of Money. This American Life teams up with NPR News to explain the Housing Crisis. [more inside]
But Officer ...
The Unofficial Guide to the DMV ― This web site was created to provide easy-to-access information and resources for all your Department of Motor Vehicles needs for all 50 states. Details about driver’s licenses, driving records and ID cards, as well as vehicle registrations, title transfers, bills of sale and smog checks are available here. [more inside]
You are getting sleepy. . .
Contrary to what you probably think you know about hypnosis, it can be done very quickly and can be used to convince someone to do something they normally wouldn't--like, say, giving away their wallet, phone, and keys to a stranger (English mentalist Derren Brown). What's happening here is known as a handshake induction, a technique pioneered by American psychiatrist Milton Erickson. There are other methods of rapid induction hypnosis. These methods, along with techniques of verbal suggestion, are used by practitioners of Neuro-linguistic programming, a field which some have associated with Mr. Brown's performances, though he denies it. I wonder, though, how he manages to get a cashier at a dog track to pay out on a losing ticket? [more inside]
Home of the Brave
Laurie Anderson live in concert - 1984;
Sharkey's Night:
Language is a Virus:
Talk Normal:
Langue D'amour:
Sharkey's Day:
Gravity's Angel:
Radar:
Kokoku:
How to Write:
Late Show:
Excellent Birds:
Zero and One
least awful use of tag clouds ever
Brand Tags Tag a brand/logo and see what others have tagged it. Because "whatever it is they say a brand is, is what it is", depending on what your meaning of is is, I guess. Or play the reverse tag game and identify brands by their tags.
And now, there's Celeb Tags! This will not wendell. [more inside]
Vang Pao
Gen. Vang Pao’s Last War. "The U.S. government relied on Vang Pao and his Hmong soldiers to battle Communism in the jungles of Laos. Why is the Justice Department now calling him a terrorist?" [more inside]
How to talk to the dead
But remember, talking to the dead can be dangerous. "All peoples of earth posess this natural ability," says Nicole Zapruder, who has been communicating with the dead since she was 4 years old. People aren't disputing her ability to use the Grey Walter-Berger Neurophysical Construct for communicating with the dead. They're asking her not to share it online because the technique is too dangerous. [more inside]
The Emergency Party Button
Obama pushes forward while others continue to fight the battles of yesteryear
Party Like It’s 2008 [SLNYTOE] Almost every wrong prediction about this election cycle has come from those trying to force the round peg of this year’s campaign into the square holes of past political wars. That’s why race keeps being portrayed as dooming Mr. Obama — surely Jeremiah Wright = Willie Horton! — no matter what the voters say to the contrary. [more inside]
The White House Knows Best
Last week the second largest US physicians group endorsed medical marijuana. On Friday the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy issued a report which explains why they are wrong.
If you squint your eyes it could pass for a private jet
Is solar-powered flight getting any nearer? As noted previously on Metafilter, solar powered aviation has travelled a long way since the heady days of the Gossamer Penguin. But could it actually one day power commerical flight? [more inside]
Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия
Comrades! Glory once again in the display of Soviet Russian military might at the revitalized May Day Victory Day Parade!
Yellow sign on the line which is dotted
Delta Green - be part of the conspiracy. The latest sourcebook for Delta Green, the cult modern day Call of Cthulhu setting, is being financed via fundable. If the target for funding is not met it’s release will be delayed... if it is released at all. A niche setting within a niche system in a hobby in decline, Delta Green is still intensely well loved by those who know about it, making them a good target for the ransom model. Will thinking outside the usual publishing business models save pen and paper RPGs?
May 10
Koyaanisqatsi
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Songs that clearly and directly address or reference economic hardships and injustice in America, not to mention that do so in a bitter, regretful tone, don't often become enormous hits. Matter of fact, it's such a rare phenomenon that you could count such songs on... um, one finger? Yes, Yip Harburg and Jay Gorney's iconic Brother Can You Spare a Dime is that song. Covered by a surprisingly wide range of singers through the years, the song still resonates. [more inside]
De Rigeurmortis
Vale Tokin Blackman
"He always had the licks, just never the poses. James Paull – Jock to nearly everyone – was one of very few who could say "I spent a year composing in Amsterdam" and not sound like he was on Radio National. Ron Hitler Barassi ..
Some background on TISM for the uninitiated | Progressive Rock Wankers Interview | Noise Interview | Ron Hitler on Marilyn Manson | Wanker Video.
Gentlemen, start your periods.
"He always had the licks, just never the poses. James Paull – Jock to nearly everyone – was one of very few who could say "I spent a year composing in Amsterdam" and not sound like he was on Radio National. Ron Hitler Barassi ..
Some background on TISM for the uninitiated | Progressive Rock Wankers Interview | Noise Interview | Ron Hitler on Marilyn Manson | Wanker Video.
Gentlemen, start your periods.
An unbiased, informative site for heated issues
ProCon.org is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit public charity that has no government affiliations of any kind. On it, you can find unbiased information on the Pros and Cons of issues ranging from the the use of medical marijuana to whether milk really does do a body good. They use a system of theoretical credibility to give weight to cited arguments and opinions, and offer 1-minute overviews, top 10 Pro/Cons, Summaries, Little-known facts, and even extensive glossaries for each subject.
They are also following the 2008 election. [more inside]
But Mom, it's for science!
foldit is a new computer game scientists have created that lets YOU help them make science!! [more inside]
When CyberSquatting Laws go bad....
Nissan vs Nissan, or David vs Goliath Nissan, who used to be Datsun is alledging cybersquatting and suing Nissan, who has always been Nissan, for $10 MILLION in damages...
Dispatches from the edge
vagabondish "The Travelzine for Today's Vagabond" offers lots of tips for travellers. And if, like me, travel isn't really in your near future, you can check out the dispatches.
The Heartbreak Campaign
The Heartbreak Campaign. "Increasingly opposed to the Vietnam War, Robert F. Kennedy struggled over whether he should challenge his party’s incumbent president, Lyndon Johnson, in 1968. His younger brother, Teddy, was against it. His wife, Ethel, urged him on. Many feared he would be assassinated, like the older brother he mourned." [more inside]
$3 Trillion Shopping Spree
The $3 Trillion Shopping Spree. "The occupation of Iraq will cost $3 trillion, America's most expensive conflict since WWII. Can YOU spend that money better? Here's your chance to go on a virtual $3 trillion shopping spree and prove it!" [Via Gristmill.]
"Rendezvous With Yesterday"
Cheap Eats at Bloglander.com
Cheap Eats offers recipies and reviews of inexpensive food. (Make a Ghetto McMuffin and let us know how it tastes.) For dessert, generate an ice cream flavor. Well, a flavor name anyway. Crackling Rutabega Nebula Twist, anyone? (Part of Bloglander which offers some interesting but spottily updated content.) (Previously.)
New hope for Marfan syndrome
New hope for a deadly disease. Marfan syndrome strikes 1 in 5000. Did Lincoln have this disease? Previously discussed here.
Wadda Ya Mean I'm Powerless?
Zip, Zip, Zip, Zip
Look up any Zip Code here, get lots of cool demographic data by entering it here (make sure you enter a zip code, not just a town and keep scrolling down, down, down). [more inside]
Michael Bhatia Died in Afghanistan on May 8, 2008
Time Wasting Nirvana
An ever-changing collection of 220 flash games, perfect for your procrastination needs.
The best Best of Best of
May 9
homemade film
Do-it-yourself film manufacturing. "Can't buy the film you want any more? Just make the stuff!
In this set you will find random photos and information on a project a friend has undertaken - a machine to make his own camera film.
Plastic and goop go in one end, and camera film comes out the other end. This is not a trivial undertaking."
"Half-Baked Theories and Misguided Essays!"
The Journal of Cartoon Over-analyzations. For all your cartoon-related, obsessive and critical-thinking needs. Recent over-analyzations include Bestial Sexuality in He-Man and She-Ra, Evil Mickey Mouse and A Freudian Analysis of Beavis and Butthead. For quick fixes, check out the Mini-Analyzations.[Via].
Who's on first? YOGURT IS!
"Bang, zoom, straight to the moon!"
NASA invites you to join this autumn's lunar exploration with the opportunity to send your name to the moon. Your name will be included in a database contained on a microchip and placed aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft. Submit your name here. [more inside]
In the Wake of the Floods
On Flooded Burmese Coast, the Smell of Rot and Death The situation in Burma (Myanmar) is deteriorating rapidly. Six days after Cyclone Nargis ripped through Burma, leaving untold devestation in its wake and flooding vast stretches of delta, it is estimated the death toll may climb to 100,000. Now, a Second catastrophe looms in Burma as the regime blocks aid shipments. Time is of the essence. The U.N. has launched an appeal to the Burmese government, who have thus far been slow to act. The news is truly grim: 'I stopped counting bodies on journey down river of death'.
640K ought to be enough for anybody
The History of Computing Project is a collaborative effort to record and publish the history of the computer and its roots. The site includes a chronological timeline, biographies of computing pioneers, a look at computing hardware through the years, as well as software and games. [more inside]
Warum nicht wir betrunken erhalten (und schraube)
Europeans Get Drunk to Have Sex. The UK has one of the worst reputations for binge drinking and underage sex but there are striking similarities between countries, a study found. A third of 16 to 35-year-old men and 23% of women questioned said they drank to increase their chance of sex. The study - of 1,341 young people in nine countries including the UK - is published in BMC Public Health. PDF available here. [more inside]
Now wait just a cotton-pickin' minute
"King Cotton" created a huge demand for land and (slave) labor that changed early America's borders, population, and economics. But just as cotton affected history, history affected cotton: the story of naturally colored cottons -- brown, green, yellow, mauve, and reddish cottons -- has almost been lost. [more inside]
Film is not dead it just smells funny
Film is not dead it just smells funny - Analog photography blog - a nice way to discover some new photographers - a few images NSFW.
Dangdut is the music of my country
Introducing Project Pop (Formerly Indonesia's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-suling metal-dangdut-comedy folk sextet).
Their hit "Dangdut is the music of my country" [youtube link--music starts at 0:58] code-switches between pop metal and dangdut, affectionately mocking the cheesy pop of their parents' generation. Here is a great play-by-play translation of the details of the video. [more inside]
"creating a hospital without walls"
In a pilot project with Canada's National Film Board, Katerina Cizek is Filmmaker-in-Residence at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital (Flash site with videos). She directed The Interventionists: Chronicles of a Mental Health Crisis Team, a film about a unique crisis team in downtown Toronto. A mental health nurse and a police officer ride the streets of the inner city together in an unmarked police car, responding to 911 calls involving "emotionally disturbed persons." The team is a partnership between St. Michael's Hospital and two downtown police divisions. Their mandate is to de-escalate crises and avoid unnecessary arrests and emergency room visits by providing referrals, services and resources within a patient's own community. [more inside]
Simulating a Simulacra- China does Orange County
Afternoon Thursday
Shake Girl
Shake Girl, a collaborative project by students in the Stanford Graphic Novel Project. [more inside]
Jonathan King Sings
Jonathan "King of Hits" King is a former pop impresario now best known for his conviction and imprisonment for having sex with teenage boys. He has turned his experiences into a satirical musical, Vile Pervert [NSFW], and released the film for free online. In one number, adopting the persona of Oscar Wilde, King asserts that "there's nothing wrong with buggering boys".
Presented In Supermarionation!
From The Adventures of Twizzle to the reboot of Captain Scarlet - for nearly fifty years - Gerry Anderson made television shows, but is still best remembered for the classic 'Supermarionation' period were, as this documentary shows (1, 2, 3, 4) he really was making the 21st century. [more inside]
And people say foreign film is inaccessible -- Toho Kingdom
Toho kingdom is a deeply obsessive website devoted to Japanese media company Toho.
Highlights include monster bios, failed projects (including Batman vs. Godzilla and Godzilla
vs. the Devil), in-depth articles, movie concept art and music tablature. You can also check out a few scholarly treatments/discussions of Toho's most famous creation here (MP3
version), here, and here (YT version). But if you'd rather just watch big rubbery monsters slug it out over a major metropolitan centers in a battle for world supremacy, well, take
your pick. Happy Friday everyone! [more inside]
The commutative property of Mans, Babies
Hazation without representation.
The unprecedented slaughter of over 1600 of Yellowstone's bison this winter (resulting in a 50% decrease in the overall size of the herd) will go down as the largest wild bison kill since the 19th century. Despite vehement protests and bold acts of civil disobedience instigated by the Buffalo Field Campaign, the slaughter will continue according to the tax-payer supported Bison Interagency Plan - the goal of the plan being to prevent economic losses from the unlikely spread of brucellosis (a cattle disease) from Yellowstone bison into Montana and Wyoming's livestock. TERRA aired a gripping three-part 'fly-on-the-wall' film series chronicling the story: ONE, TWO, THREE. [more inside]
Nigerian Scammers
It's Now Completely Impossible To Sell a Laptop on eBay. See also: A Few Thoughts About eBay's Decline
Which eye is the carb hole?
Reefer Madness. The Kingwood teenager's story of decapitating a corpse and using the head to smoke marijuana was so outlandish that at first Houston Police Department senior police officer Jim Adkins did not believe it.
Terror's Advocate
If you’ve been arrested by the police and the lawyer you choose to call is Jacques Vergès then you’ve probably done something bad. Very bad. There’s a film out about his extraordinary career and his strange 8 year disappearance.
"It was kinda like a black American Bandstand..."
The Scene. Detroit. Channel 62. One of the hottest TV shows in Detroit between 1975 and 1987. "Here for us with The Scene, you got to see people you knew from school or there was a chance you'd run into them at the mall." "It had a lot of impact on me as far as being a deejay and being exposed to music that I wouldn't ordinarily be exposed to." "I got two left feet; I'd just make a fool out of myself. And you'd have some people down there that would do that, but the energy was - you didn't care." [Previously on MeFi.]
Drug Bust at San Diego State
May 8
Snipers in Iraq
Killing by the numbers. "In 2007 elite U.S. snipers executed an unarmed Iraqi prisoner in cold blood. Have the insidious tactics that led to atrocities in Vietnam reemerged in Iraq?"
Thumbs down. No stars.
What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Movies by Armond White. Premiere.com critic and cineaste blogger, Glenn Kenny responds. Movie reviewers across America lose their jobs. Hachette Filipacchi follows suit at Premiere.com. Kenny blogs about The End of an Era - having written reviews for the site and the previously cancelled Premiere magazine for nearly fifteen years.
Gab Zamgrh?
Harmanz ha haz b bargan ahn za MMARBG Ahban Bahb [brahbazazzah ] ar zambahz. Zambahz haz AAGHZ g!bz gab azzar zambahz: a, b, g, h, m, n, r, z. Zambahz maz hab gab, za Zambahz zgrabbarh Zamgrh, a gab grh a gab bag, a grammah, n zhranzazzaz. Habganna barbaga zaarz grh za bra!nz?
“There is nothing quite as enigmatic as a platypus”
It turns out if it looks like a duck it's partly a duck. A bunch of scientist got together and set about to decode the platypus genome, and guess what!?! "What we found was the genome, just like the animal, is an amazing amalgam of reptilian and mammal characteristics with quite a few unique platypus characteristics as well". “You have got these reptilian repeat patterns and these more recently evolved milk genes and independent evolution of the venom. It all points to how idiosyncratic evolution is.” “We have microRNAs that are shared with chickens and not mammals as well as ones that are shared with mammals, but not chickens.” Also, apparently, male platypi have venomous spikes on their heels that can kill dogs! [more inside]
Encyclopedia of Transportation Planning Strategies
Too much traffic? Can't find parking? Choking on smog? Worried about climate change? Gas prices too high, but you still have to drive? Send your city planner a link to the Online Encyclopedia of Transportation Demand Management strategies. [more inside]
Planetary Pathogens
West Nile virus and Avian influenza and Chronic wasting disease, oh, my! (and Monkeypox...) Outbreaks of disease in
populations of wild and domestic animals, having such a heavy impact on human health, has led the United States
Geological Survey and the University of Wisconson to develop a way to track news of disease outbreaks around the
planet: The Global Wildlife Disease News Map.
Non-sucky web typography
15 Great Examples of Web Typography. Because 95% of web design is about typography in the first place.
Vault of McCarthite Terror
The pictures that horrified America - how comic books tipped 50s America into a moral panic. [more inside]
Web 2.oh-no-you-don't
CityTV to apologize for photos stolen from Flickr. The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has issued a ruling that CityTV must make a rare on-air apology for broadcasting pictures taken from Flickr without crediting the photographer.
Nothing Is Real, not even Real
Patrick Dangin on the work of a photo retoucher . Make no mistake about it: in this age, even Real Beauty is fake.
Bebe Barron, RIP
Bebe Barron, 82, Pioneer of Electronic Scores, Is Dead. Best known for the soundtrack to the 1956 sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet -- the first full-length feature to use only electronic music -- she and her husband Louis Barron recorded the film's pre-synthesizer "electronic tonalities" with electronic circuits of their own invention. She never scored another feature film, but remained active in the avant-garde music scene.
Flowers for Mom
With Mother's Day fast approaching, you may want to consider a gift of Orchidaceae. Orchids belong to the most diverse family of plants known to man. There are over 880 genera, 28,000 species and well over 300,000 registered cultivars currently documented. First, choose one you would like to cultivate. Then, learn how to buy your first orchid. Finally get the scoop on growing them yourself. Mom will give you a hug, 'cause everyone needs a hug.
How d'you like them apples?
Beyond the McIntosh. The apple whisperer of New England.
Drink your bacon, it's good for you!
Meatwater: A high-efficiency survival beverage. Don't worry; there is bacon water for your dog or cat, too.
High Sheriff on my heels. I better get on my way, yes!
The full length of Tom Davenport's "Born for Hard Luck" featuring Peg Leg Sam, the last of the great medicine show singers/dancers/musicians. [more inside]
Josef Hoflehner Hawaii Volcano photography
"It was relatively quiet along the shores of the Big Island in Hawaii for quite some time. But since early March of this year, lava from the Kilauea Volcano flows down again to the coastal plains - which produces new land for the island - and makes the Big Island even bigger. Now when the red lava meets the Pacific Ocean, giant steam plumes rise high in the sky - this makes it so magnificent and absolutely unique to Hawaii. I photographed the phenomenon from land, water and air. A white plume currently issues from the vent - and I was lucky enough to get some shots."
-Josef Hoflehner [more inside]
Nothiing Can Stop The Chuckleberry Handshake
"You know, there's something stirring about the peaceful transfer of no power"
"The Daily Show is no doubt entertainment, but it is entertainment, measurably, with a substantive point. It is, in its own way, another kind of No Spin Zone." The Project for Excellence in Journalism discusses what is and is not journalistic (PDF) about The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Eddy Arnold: After All These Years
Eddy Arnold, one of Country Music's all time greats died early this morning just days short of his 90th birthday. [more inside]
Who's going to break the news to Cory Doctorow?
Nothing signals the death of a trend like an article in the NY Times Style section. Steampunk: "The subculture that is the aesthetic expression of a time-traveling fantasy world..." [more inside]
Online Music & Performing Arts Films
Medici.tv is an online "television" dedicated to performing arts and music documentaries. Its current catalogue includes many classical concerts, documentaries by Johan van der Keuken and on the Kinshasa musical underground (previously), portraits (lots of Glenn Gould, Shostakovich by Sokurov, Maya Plisetskaya...), and plenty more. Launched April 30th, it's streaming its full contents in lovely quality for free until May 15th. [more inside]
Mugabe Attempts to Beat Zimbabwe into Submission
"'If voters fail to return Mr. Mugabe to office...Prepare to be a war correspondent.' Mugabe's party in Zimbabwe spasms into mass repression and political violence to prevent Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change from winning power. The African Union dithers, as does the UN (as it gives Zimbabwe leadership positions). Many Chinese rationalize their government's weapon shipment. According to the government-published Herald, everything's just fine. What are the options?
The eye of Mordor
Six days ago, the Chaitén volcano in Chile began a surprise eruption. So far, more than 8000 people have been evacuated, and NASA has tracked the results from space. Even more stunning however, are the images that occurred when a thunderstorm collided with the volcanic plume.
'People are machines of forgetfulness'
Heart Sutra, by Geshe Kunkhen
Here's a small representation of some of the culture that many Tibetan protesters hope to save from eradication in Tibet: Heart Sutra, by Geshe Kunkhen. [more inside]
Simsalabim, your oyster card shall be mysteriosly transformed into a chip and some wires.
Several websites have been trying to out do one another in the melt your oystercard using nail polish remover stakes. I like Skeptobot's idea of using an Oystercards RFID chip in a magic wand. But, so far, for me Chris Woebken is winning, not least because he ties it all in with an interesting discussion of e-money. Add a video of a magnetic glove being used to give Darth Vader like powers. And only one word remains - genius.
Why everything new in finance has already been new at least once before
The year was 1978. The US Dollar was collapsing, inflation was beginning to surge, the American economy was on the brink of recession and many warned of the perils of easy money. Needless to say, Arthur Burns, 10th Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, had a tough job. [more inside]
But it needs it, Kramer! It needs it bad!
Tank on empty -- how far can your car go on an empty tank? Basically a collection of statistics and stories from users on just how far they pushed their car on reserve fuel. (via) [more inside]
Simplicissimus
May 7
"The events of 1968 marked the birth of globalization."
1968: Lessons Learned. Dissent Magazine examines the transcontinental legacy of one of the most tumultuous years in world history. Essays from Marshall Berman, Robin Blackburn, Mitchell Cohen, Ralf Fuecks, Vivian Gornick, Michael Kazin, Enrique Krauze, Lillian B. Rubin, Christine Stansell and Michael Walzer.
The trials and musical triumphs of Mario
Some people like to make things difficult for Mario, but others like to make it easy (and musical!).
You won teh internetz!
A letter from the whole world: "Dear sir, you won the internet!" And more from Patrick Alexander and his Hilarity Comics.
"I want the... the Sonic. The Facebook. I'm sorry."
The hyena, "our favorite animal"
"With most animals, males duke it out and the winner gets the girls," says Holekamp. "But with hyenas, females have 100 percent say." They decide when and under what conditions they will tolerate deferential sperm donors. At age 2 or 3 a male leaves his natal clan and wanders off to beg acceptance into another clan. After vicious rejections, he eventually succeeds and reaps his reward: brutal harassment as the clan's nadir, one of the last in line for food and sex. This probation, which biologists call "endurance rivalry," is a test, Holekamp explains: "The guy who can stick it out the longest wins." The trial lasts about two years, after which some females may grant him access. "You do not want to be a male hyena," Holekamp says.-From an article in Smithsonian Magazine, Who's Laughing Now? Professor Holekamp's hyena site. Also, hyena pictures and The Hyena Pages, a fine site about this fascinating animal.
Waits for Nonsequitors
Tom Waits Press Conference (that is all)
A Methodologically Sound Hot Or Not?
FaceStat, a new startup from crowdsourcing consultants at Delores Labs bills itself as "market research for the individual." You upload a photo of yourself, and "within a couple hours, you will have detailed statistics about how people feel about the picture you provide." Oh, and it's powered by creepers like you, using Amazon's Mechanical Turk (previously posted about here). [more inside]
It's All Gone Pete Wong.
Chinese manufacturers are setting up shop in the U.S. due to a weak dollar, energy shortages, tax credits, and a desire to compete globally.
Then What's the Other Half of the Battle?
Animal Kingdom Odd couples
Cannabis reclassified Class B in UK
Jacqui Smith to reclassify cannabis - despite pressure from the UK Government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the Home Secretary has announced the reversal of Tony Blair's 2004 decision to downgrade cannabis. Critics see the move as pandering to tabloid scaremongering
The Tuynman Experiment
Art curators explain (on youtube) Luc Tuymans art and suggest how people on the street would respond to it. How correct are they?
Angel Of The South
Ebbsfleet? Never heard of it? Not even the new international railway station? A 50m sculpture is hoping to change that... the five short-listed designs have been revealed today.
Imagine It!
Teams of student entrepreneurs around the world had six days to add value to a stack of Post-It notes as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. The results are documented in Imagine It!, which aims to promote creative thinking. [more inside]
Playsforsuren't
The Day the Music Died The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) [...] has also been warning anyone who would listen that they should not “purchase” encrypted music from these services, since if these services go under then all that “purchased” music will no longer… what’s the word… “play”. But mostly people ignored them (and me), because, you know, Microsoft was at the center of it all, and nobody ever got fired for “buying” from Microsoft.
I feel pretty!
Gmail Redesigned is a really slick CSS makeover for - you guessed - Gmail. It uses the Stylish Firefox add-on. (So yes, this is something you would need a computer, firefox, and gmail to care about.)
What Gets Left Behind
Federal and state government officials and border activists say the garbage dumped in the Sonoran Desert by illegal immigrants and their smugglers is staggering. The cleanup is costing taxpayers millions. The Southern Arizona Project(pdf) is a multi-year program setup by the Bureau of Land Management to mitigate the impacts to the ecology by illegal immigration and smuggling. In 2006 alone, more than 1.18 million pounds of trash was collected along the southern Arizona border.
ZOMG flukes!
WTF, Nature? is a blog about natural oddities. Kinda like Cute Overload, but with a different adjective.
SKATE EVERY DAY
Not where he eats, but where he is eaten
Coming soon, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead, probably the first movie to combine Shakespeare, Tom Stoppard, and vampires. It is, however, not the first time The Bard and the undead have been seen together. [more inside]
Free the Amazon One-Click! Long Live Open Source Genes!
“I actually ran it by a number of colleagues who teach administrative law and constitutional law,” Professor Duffy said, recalling his own surprise at finding such a fundamental and important flaw. He thought he must have been missing something.
Law prof notices that every US patent approved since 2000 was approved unconstitutionally and thus are all probably invalid. Looks like he may be right. [more inside]
Construction Paper Feelings
"What the autistic 12-year-old can't express verbally or in social interaction he can show through his carefully cut out geometric shapes assembled into characters in a paper collage."
I have pubic lice in my mailbox
Like sea monkeys in your pants! Entomological blogger Bug Girl (previously) debunked a web site touting the benefits of giant Japanese non-biting genital lice as personal "pets" (they just live happily in your underwear. It’s so COOL! They grow, and have families. You can feel em living and crawling around!). She dismissed it as a hoax.
So the site's author sent her a sample.
Gary Snyder, Speaking for the Trees
Gary Snyder, sublime and seminal poet of ecological awareness and activism [YouTube link], Zen appreciation of "ordinary mind" and American speech, shamanistic intimacy with the natural world, and surviving member of the Beat Generation (West Coast posse) at age 78, has won the $100,000 Ruth Lilly poetry prize. "Gary Snyder is in essence a contemporary devotional poet, though he is not devoted to any one god or way of being so much as to Being itself," said Poetry magazine editor Christian Wiman. "His poetry is a testament to the sacredness of the natural world and our relation to it, and a prophecy of what we stand to lose if we forget that relation.” Previous recipients of the Lilly prize include Adrienne Rich, John Ashbery, and W.S. Merwin. [Previously mentioned here.]
The Mediocre Samaritan
The Mediocre Samaritan is a bittersweetly funny film fictionalization of an event that took place in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin on February 21, 2007. Produced by J. Elvis Weinstein of MST3K, Stinkburger Inc. and Cinematic Titanic fame. (Event detailed previously on Metafilter. Also, NSFW for a couple seconds of pasty, naked male butt and tactfully censored footage of Casa de Culo.)
"Some images of the spots that gave me the most tingles."
I though documenting my early sex life would be a perfect reason to use Polaroids to do something other than take naked pictures, yet to still play on the sexual identity of the medium. I lived in Alexandria from 1980 to 1999. These were my formative years and they determined the way I dealt with women.
A guy documents the spots in his old neighborhood (SFW) where he got kissed, dumped, laid or confused as a kid, and tries to work out "what went wrong." (via, via — both NSFW)
Courage to Refuse
Of forty participants in Milgram's first experiment on obedience to authority, fifteen refused to continue at some point. An insight into the thoughts of one man who refused to obey Milgram's immoral orders.
Finding Waldo
It's 15:00 UTC. Do you know where your Common Toads are...? World on the Move.
Medvedev Sworn in as new Russian President, names Putin as Prime Minister
Dino Run
Pixeljam (the folks responsible for the retro flash classic Gamma Bros) have just released a new game: Dino Run. Control your dinosaur and escape the wall of doom.
Are You Ready To Baroque
In addition to violins, violas and cellos, there are also Stradivarius guitars. Two still exist: one in South Dakota and one in the Ashmolean in Oxford (see a reproduction of the Oxford one here). These are Baroque guitars, strung a little like modern ones without the low E string and with the other five strings doubled. Instructions for Baroque guitar. [more inside]
Crank the beat. Place the beat. Glitch the beat.
You say you don't like drum machines? Well, here's one even the staunchest Luddite has gotta love. Or you might like some of the recent experiments in making the interfaces more physical. And surely you'll admit this one's really very charming. Wanna go non-Western? Get yer talas out with this tabla machine. It'll be only a matter of time, then, till you get into the whole classical Hindustani gitchtronica thing, which is what the cool kids are into. [NOTE: see hoverovers for link descriptions]
Canada, the final frontier of file-sharing?
FileSharingFilter: With the possible exception of Sweden, Canada is today's frontier upon which the war of file-sharing legality is waged, with the greatest number of file-sharers per capita, and a steady increase in the number of persons who partake (according to the OECD). Historically, the CRIA's own piracy campaign (2004) was given birth only one year after the RIAA began suing individuals (2003) for participating in peer-to-peer file distribution. Unlike the RIAA, the CRIA was shot down by the courts, establishing a sort of precedent in favour of the end-user which has been upheld ever since, and indeed even reinforced. However, we may be seeing the beginning of the end as QuebecTorrent now fights the good fight to prevent a legal precedent outlawing Canadian BitTorrent trackers.
May 6
Insect mating ritual porn
Green Porno, Sundance Channel's new series of short films. Isabella Rossellini singlehandedly re-enacts mating rituals of the dragonfly, spider, bee, praying mantis, worm, snail and housefly by getting it on with cardboard cut-outs. Wired video interview.
The System loves you for your money, not your soul.
In this way, Lu Yang became one of the "RMB gamers" she disdains. More than 10,000 RMB was quickly and nearly imperceptibly spent. In the game, the "queen" possessed fearsome power. She carried out vengeance for herself and her friends, she accepted entreaties, and she protected the caravans of the kingdom. At the same time, she went out with the heroes to invade other kingdoms. Her reputation spread far and wide. [...] "Long live the Queen!" People bowed to her in submission. That was the high point for Lu Yang on ZT Online, and for that one fleeting moment, she felt that the time and money she had spent was worth it.The System is a translated Chinese article examining ZT Online, an MMORPG that has taken fleecing gamers to a new level.
Lost and Found, $4 Million Violin
Lost and Found, $4 Million Violin. Philippe Quint, Grammy award winning Russian violinist left his loaned 1723 Kiesewetter Stradivarius violin in a taxi on the way back from the airport April 20th. Taxi driver, Mohamed Khalil, got in touch the next day to return it after unknowingly leaving it in the back of taxi, on a Newark, NJ street overnight.
NY Times Crossword Drawings
NYTimes Crossword Drawings. Emily Jo Cureton creates an illustration for every Times crossword, using a handful of clues to create odd little scenes. [via]
The story of the Democratic primaries so far, boiled down to seven minutes.
Will China find its voice?
The messy 3-way interaction between grassroots Chinese nationalism, foreign opposition, and the quiet hand of China's media censors continues.
Beyond Rape: A survivor's journey
Joanna Connors, a theatre critic, was raped on an empty stage. She tells her story in vivid, lucid detail-- then traces her rapist's twisted family history. One of the best pieces of journalism-- or writing, for that matter-- I've read for ages. Lots of resources for survivors and their families, as well.
Republican 1337
I was a Teenage Wares Freak? San Diego Republican Party chairman Tony Krvaric may have been Strider, co-founder of Fairlight. via Slashdot
Protection from the Atomic Bomb
Protection from the Atomic Bomb A 1950 pamphlet provided by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Neurotics in the north. Agreeable types in the south.
Is personality a factor in where you live? Yes, according to the guys who created these maps. The authors aren't making any claims about causality, but they do suggest it may be that "people migrate to places where their psychological needs are easily met." [more inside]
Woeser
A Lone Tibetan Voice, Intent on Speaking Out. Woeser (previously mentioned here) is a Tibetan writer and poet living under house arrest in Beijing, from where she blogs about the recent unrest in Tibet (there are English translations of her posts at China Digital Times). Last year she was awarded the Norwegian Authors Union Freedom of Expression Prize, but she was not allowed to travel to Oslo to collect the prize.
"For starters, I can drive that loader."
You know you want one. It's closer to being a reality than ever before. But how close exactly is that? Maybe closer than we think. [more inside]
Dave Sim is not... no, wait... actually he is.
Comic book author Dave Sim is shocked, shocked, that anyone might have gotten the impression from his own words that he is a misogynist. So he's sent out a form letter saying that he'll only talk to people who will sign an online petition or send him an letter affirming that it's not so. Hilarity ensues. [more inside]
FBI raids Special Counsel Buildings
(Big) Newsfilter: FBI Searches Office of Special Counsel Building "A multi-year investigation leads federal agents to search the Office of Special Counsel's building. Employees have alleged the agency was misused for political purposes. Neither Office of Special Counsel head Scott Bloch nor anyone else has officially been charged with a crime. But the FBI secured a separate subpoena for Bloch's home." [more inside]
"The excitement of the internet. The simplicity of Macintosh."
The iMac turns ten today. Unveiled on May 6, 1998 by a button-down Steve Jobs, the iMac personal computer was Steve Jobs' antidote to the countless boring beige models in Apple's product line. Offering "three easy steps to the Internet," the iMac proved to be a lightning rod for criticism (small "hockey puck" mouse, no floppy drive, no SCSI, the debut of USB, toy keyboard, no expansion possibilities), the first Bondi Blue iMac got people talking and sold by the truckload. Although the design may look a bit dated today, the candy-colored plastics influenced consumer product design for the next several years. Even if you don't enjoy using an iMac, there's no denying its contributions to computing and popular culture.
Take my arm, my love
Take my arm, my love. Don't write a check from a joint bank account. Hide all the photographs in your home and office which would identify you as a couple. Take off your wedding rings. Touch each other, and talk to each other, in public, in ways that could only be interpreted as you being "friends." A thoughtful post on "self-editing," homophobia, and the day-to-day experience of many LGBT folks, at Shakesville (aka Shakespeare's Sister), by Teh Portly Dyke.
Weirdest Stories in Car Collecting
Jerry Fodor, on Why Pigs Don't Have Wings
Rutgers professor of philosophy Jerry Fodor created a bit of a stir last October when he wrote an article for the London Review of Books arguing that natural selection may not be such a great theory after all, and that a "major revision of evolutionary theory... is in the offing." Not many fellow philosophers and academics agree, it seems. Fodor responds to his critics here and here. Six months later, it's still not entirely clear whether his argument is, as Justin E.H. Smith put it, "irresponsible and stupid or so subtle that none of his adversaries, defending a status quo interpretation of the theory of natural selection, have been able to get it yet."
Naalagiagvik -- The Place Where You Go to Listen
The Song of the Earth -- New Yorker music critic Alex Ross writes on composer John Luther Adams, who has created an installation work at the Museum of the North in Fairbanks, Alaska in which geologic, astronomical, and meteorologic data are converted, in real time, into "a shimmering synthesized carillon." For a tiny hint of the experience, you can watch this Youtube video Hear more about the work from Living on Earth.
01010010 01001001 01010000
If you are reading this post on a computer attached to the Internet, you can thank Claude Shannon (1916-2001). It was his work, starting with A Mathematical Theory of Communication, that first enabled humans to extract digital perfection from the analog world by creating the field of Information Theory. Like most computer nerds of his day, who often had to program their computers by moving wires around or even mechanical linkages, he was also an electronics and mechanical whiz who could create a juggling robot and The Ultimate Machine.
Oxford Muse
Oxford Muse - "a foundation to stimulate courage and invention in personal, professional and cultural life". Browse the self-potraits (autobiographies), participate in projects, go universal, or just learn what the Muse is.
Pop Art in motion.
Clever! Peppy! Immensely entertaining! The opening sequence of the Dick Cavett Show was a little masterpiece of 60s pop graphics. A similar aesthetic is at work here in this 60s era PSA reminding you to vote. Here's some jazzy 60s animation: a commercial for Beechnut Gum. And lots more typically 60s animation and graphics on display here in this Animation Commercial Collection.
Draw Yourself as a Teenager
May 5
Now, thanks to the internet, we know this is not true
A Million Penguins, the wiki novel mentioned previously on MeFi, is complete, and a research paper about it has been released. [more inside]
magic places
50 Greatest Commercial Parodies
The 50 Greatest Commercial Parodies of All Time according to Nerve.com.
Cold War(ming)
The thaw of political ice has freed up data from impressive Russian research projects documenting and analysing the
accelerating thaw of real ice. A multi-generational study (Mikhail M. Kozhov, his daughter, her daughter...) of Lake
Baikal has unexpectly demonstrated that the lake is warming....At higher latitudes, Sergei Zimov has not just documented
the thaw of Siberian permafrost, he is attempting to mitigate it....
He got a stiffy for Cabbage Patch Kids
A most legendary find. Alex Handy likes to collect old video games. A few weeks at ago at a flea market, he bought what he thought were some old ColecoVision EPROMs for $2 each, got them home, and realized that some of them could contain the never published Cabbage Patch Kids Atari 2600 game. If the data on the chips had survived, it would be an unprecedented discovery. A friend helped him dump the ROMs, which you can download for free from Alex. Identifying the other games was an adventure in itself. [more inside]
Anatomical Photography
James Mundie is an artist and photographer whose work often includes sideshow themes. He recently returned from Europe having been allowed to photograph a number of anatomy museum exhibits. He has also contributed to a Flickr group entitled “Bottled Babies”, which , in a previous era, were known as “Pickled Punks”. (Probably NSFW)
Shakespeare and philosophy
Martha Nussbaum reviews three recent books on Shakespeare and philosophy. The essay offers an excellent analysis of love in Antony and Cleopatra and Othello, and an excellent discussion of the interaction between philosophy and literature. [more inside]
Ice Cream Man, On My [Friggin'] Street ...
"Are ice cream trucks sacred like fresh apple pie and high school football or are they unwelcome nuisances we tolerate?" You can weigh in here.
Bionic Dolphin. Contagious grin.
Fuji got a new fin back in 2004 but after two years of plans and new materials Winter the dolphin is inspiring other prosthetic wearers and has a brand new tail.
Smashing Magazine celebrates Pixel Art
A polaroid a day keeps on keeping on
MetaFilter's own dirtdirt has been taking a polaroid photograph every day since July 14th, 2002. That's 2114 images as of today. He has other cool sets on his flickr page, my favorite being his pictures of school lunches.
The Cramps and The Gun Club
Give it up for The Cramps and The Gun Club. Two of the greatest bands to come out of the late 1970s/early 1980s punk scene, they (wikis here and here) shared a few things in common: guitarist Kid Congo Powers as well as a penchant for re-invigorating the raucous, carnal, primal spirit of American popular music--i.e. early garage rock and rockabilly (what the Cramps dubbed "psychobilly") and blues. Start with this screamer from The Cramps, and this blistering classic from the GC's first LP. [more inside]
The Rise of the Rest
The Rise of the Rest. Fareed Zakaria's Newsweek article about a "post-American" world.
The Making of The Pentultimate
The Making of The Pentultimate - a beautifully obsessive documentation of modeling, casting, and assembling a "deep cut vertex turning icosahedron", or put another way, the path from 820 fiddly little bits to an elegant 32-piece mechanical puzzle.
The story of a post-bellum South family, through photos and letters
"Palmetto Pathos is an examination of a Southern family, from their 1684 arrival in Pennsylvania to Southern Spartanburg County in the present..." It's more than an examination; one might call it a narrative of one Smith family, spanning the 18th century to the mid-20th century. There's a little of everything: a recipe, a mysterious family photo, financial matters, even a few cuties. I could just post links but the best way is to just dive in.
Trying to rape the viewer into independence
17 Notorious Living, Working Cinematic Provocateurs. The Onion A/V Club strikes again.
RIP Mildred Loving
Burma Can't Wait
Burma: It Can't Wait is a month-long video campaign by the US Campaign for Burma to raise awareness of the plight of Burma (Myanmar) and Aung San Suu Kyi. There will be one video a day for 30 days from celebrities including Will Ferrel, Sarah Silverman and Eddie Izzard. [more inside]
Um, it's pinball promotional videos from the 1990s. No witty title required.
Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican?
Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican? is a documentary produced by Claire Andrade-Watkins about the gentrification of Providence's once-thriving Cape Verdean community of Fox Point.
Tho nail
A chance meeting between actress Tippi Hedren and 20 Vietnamese refugees over 30 years ago, sparked a Vietnamese American domination of the manicure business (80% of manicurists in California; 43% nationwide)
The Capp Photos
The Robert L. Capp collection is a group of photographs of the aftermath of Hiroshima that are probably more graphic than any other photos of the tragedy that you have seen. Taken by an unknown Japanese photographer, they were found by Capp in a cave outside Hiroshima in 1945 and given to the Hoover Archives ten years ago, with the stipulation that they not be published until now. Warning, these are seriously, seriously not for the faint of heart, and probably NSFW.
Paying For The 1%
Fiscal Pressures Lead Some States to Free Inmates Early, says the Washington Post. Across the United States, a financial crisis is brewing in our nation's correctional systems. California, which has the largest prison system in the nation, (housing 170,000 inmates with a capacity of only 100,000), plans to increase the budget for new prison construction by 7 to 14 billion dollars, on top of releasing 22,000 nonviolent prisoners on unsupervised parole. Other states, especially Michigan, face an even more dire situation... [more inside]
"the precious jewels of Jao-chou"
In 2006 in the Fitzwilliam Museum three enormous porcelain vases from seventeenth or eighteenth century China were smashed by a museum visitor who fell down the stairs. This presentation "follows the vases' progress from scattered fragments to their redisplay in the Fitzwilliam Museum. The site includes slideshows, film clips of the conservation process and a timelapse of one of the vases under reconstruction". [more inside]
A Man of Taste
Grant Achatz, chef and owner of Chicago's finest restaurant, Alinea, was diagnosed with tongue cancer last year. After aggressive chemo and radiation, his cancer is in full remission, and he is slowly regaining his palate.
Emotional twitter ticker
I love twistori.
I hate twistori.
I think twistori is awesome.
I believe twistori is pointless.
I feel uncomfortable reading twistori.
I wish I could stop.
From twitter, inspired by wefeelfine [previously], using summize.
I hate twistori.
I think twistori is awesome.
I believe twistori is pointless.
I feel uncomfortable reading twistori.
I wish I could stop.
From twitter, inspired by wefeelfine [previously], using summize.
Real Estate Links
You're familiar with the grand-daddy of (overhyped) real estate AVMs, or even some lesser known, but more accurate competitors. In this market, it can be tough to get out from under your current home before buying new. But did you know that you can also swap your home?
money can't buy happiness? well, actually it might.
Girl fight
Barbie vs Bratz: Mattel sues MGA, claiming the Bratz designs were created by a Mattel employee and smuggled to its rival.
Go to Your Room
Are you an older sibling? Did you feel unfairly treated compared to your brothers and sisters? Well, now you have science to back you up. According to Games Parents and Adolescents Play, a new sociology study published in The Economic Journal, the oldest kid in the family really does bear the brunt of parental strictness, while the younger brothers and sisters generally coast on through. [more inside]
Are US Inflation and Employment Underestimated?
"Hard Numbers: The Economy is Worse than You Know" [full article for Harper's subscribers, a different abridged version] discusses how the Consumer Price Index and other US economic statistics have been manipulated over time. Among other things, the article claims, these changes make Social Security checks 70% lower than they would otherwise be. [more inside]
Food cartels - haven't we seen these before?
Oil's got one. So does cocaine. There used to be one for light bulbs and another for uranium. While we know one currently exists for diamonds, some folks think the music industry has one. [more inside]
The stuff of nightmares ...
The video of German electrofunkmeister Michael Fakesch's On the Floor (via Daily Motion) might make getting to sleep difficult.
But it's awesome, and the guy sounds like a younger, angrier Prince. [more inside]
For those of you interested in physical products, fear not. we plan to make a version of this release available on CD and vinyl in july.
If you give Trent Reznor your email address, he'll give you a new 10-track, 43-minute long Nine Inch Nails album for free. The Slip is available in direct download in MP3 format and torrents are available for FLAC, Apple lossless, and WAV formats. The album is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike License.
Polcarstva
Polcarstva. Art game [Flash].
Deep in the shade
The Ergenekon Affair: - The Killer Elite that fuels unrest in Turkey.
On 22 January, Turkish police arrested 33 individuals, some connected with the military, in the largest concerted action against the "deep state" , which is heavily involved in Corporate Crime. This might resonate with some US observers.
May 4
Figures of Anachronistic Action
Sillof's Workshop features steampunk/gaslight versions of some pop culture's most-loved heroes, as well as dioramas based on Star Wars scenes.
University presses have podcasts
Invisible Handwriting is the blog of Heron & Crane Productions, who do podcasts for the MIT, Harvard, Yale and University of California presses. Heron & Crane link to every episode they produce from their blog. The Rutgers Press and University of Michigan Press do their own podcasts. All podcasts are almost exclusively interviews with authors of books recently published by the presses. Heron & Crane also does a business management podcast called The Invisible Hand.
The Little Aussie Bleeder
Garry McDonald, aka Norman Gunston, aka the "little aussie bleeder," may be well known out Australia way. For most Americans, however, Norman G remains far, far down under the radar. But he's the forefather of the UK's Ali G; he's Canadian Nardwuar thee Human Serviette's nerdier dad; he's America's Lazlo Toth (US) with a combover and a microphone; he's Jiminy Glick's Jack Sprat. Perhaps you saw Norman long ago in a segment on USA Network's Night Flight variety show. [bonus: many many youtubes of Night Flight segments, courtesy of this awesome website.] But I bet you didn't know he released a KIckaSS single (among others), jammed with Frank Zappa, and was at the right place and time to upstage a piece of Australian History. Not bad for someone whom Keith Moon dumped his drink on and called a "great pooftah." [more inside]
The Great White Way?
When Brad and Amy got married, Amy's "Man of Honor" got up to give his toast -- a musical toast. Other friends and family joined in, much to Amy's surprise, and the result, captured here on video, is pretty darned delightful.
Just call 'em slabs of joy.
Bacon caramel. Candied bacon and egg ice cream. Bacon lip balm. Bacon bra (NSFW). Bacon placemants. French-fry coated bacon on a stick. An overabundance of bacon cakes. Bacon cookies. Bacon and bourbon. And fifty other ways to use MeFi's favorite food--BACON.
Hollywood Chinese
Hollywood Chinese: The Chinese in American Feature Films (official site w/Flash) Filmmaker Arthur Dong covers the good (YT), the bad and the players (link to Flash video clips) in his latest award-winning documentary. Related MeFi post.
Walk of Flame
Blue, green and grey must have a calming effect. Elsewhere, discussions can be...ignited. Flame Warriors. via
Hmmmm...
The annual northward migration is in full swing. The first time you see one on your feeder for the new season is cause for a big smile (maybe a little waving of arms). These little guys can weigh as little as a penny, yet will consume nearly twice their body weight every day. Have you guessed? Yes, it's a hummingbird flight of fancy. (Attenborough video) [more inside]
Virtual Age and Life Expectancy Calculator
Virtual Age and Life Expectancy Calculator "Your Virtual Age is a reflection of your health and vitality. The lower your Virtual Age the better shape you are in. It is used to calculate the Life Expectancy of someone of your current physical age." [more inside]
Tales of the City
In 1974 - or 1976, depending who you ask - Armistead Maupin began writing "an extended love letter to a magical San Francisco” in the form of a serialized, fictional drama published originally in the Pacific Sun, the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner, originally called "The Serial" which then became collectively known as Tales of The City.
It is a suprisingly beautiful, deep, emotional, cosmopolitan and lasting tale about life in San Francisco in the turbulent, heady days of the 1970s and 1980s. Widely credited with and cherished for helping spread a little of the openess, tolerance and acceptance that San Francisco is now famous for. It then became a series of books - Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City, Babycakes, Significant Others, Sure of You - and lastly, the spin-off tale of Michael Tolliver Lives. Almost exactly twenty years after first publishing, it then became an excellent miniseries from the United Kingdom's Channel 4, which aired in the United States on PBS, but not without protest or limitations. [more inside]
Never Been
Never Been. A visual description of a year in the life of a fictional Eastern European village sometime around the early twentieth century. To explore "Never Been" click and drag the story. [more inside]
May 3
wrong, wrong, and terribly wrong.
In which the girls continue to be girls. Sort of.
"Girls Will Be Girls", the hilariously tacky and tasteless story of a trio of women in Hollywood, earned Best Actress awards for its leads at both Outfest and the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in 2003. This was notable largely because the parts were played by three male performers. Now, thanks to the internet, you can watch the continuing adventures of Varla, Coco, and Evie in streaming hi-def. Oh, the gays and their wit.
Time Lapse Videos
Four fast motion videos. And two slow ones. (You might want to open these in new windows. A funky nav scheme may not bring you back here with the "back" button. And it might show another video after the linked one. They really want you to watch their videos.)
Save L.A.!
Living life after death
The Rule of Death. A comic about Pete Colby, a man who decides he doesn't want to be dead. Other episodes in the table of contents.
Our sustainers
Microsoft gives up on its bid for Yahoo!
There will be no MicroHoo!, for MS has pulled its offer for Yahoo!
According to a source close to Microsoft, Yahoo founder and CEO Jerry Yang had "unrealistic expectations."
n-Suit Playing Card Decks
Everyone knows hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds. So how do you extend this to more than four suits? Stars are a natural choice, although they sort of ruin the red/black symmetry. You could appeal to gaming history by making a six-suited deck with crowns and anchors. Or you could just double everything and come up with a whole four extra suits.
CeaseFire
Blocking the Transmission of Violence. "If gang violence was an infectious disease, how would you stop it? A Chicago epidemiologist thinks he has the answer."
driving six white horses
One man. Six horses. Together, they do crazy stuff.
Must be funny...
Even if you're one of the richest persons on the planet, there ought to be a limit to your ostentatiousness.
Is it Sweeps Week already?
Who (or what) is killing our college boys? Over the past decade the bodies of dozens American male college students have been found drowned, near their respective campuses. The victims were usually last seen drinking at parties or area bars before they disappeared. [more inside]
Choo Choo Boo Boo
The first National Train Day is this coming Saturday. There will be events all over, and concerts, special guests and lots of train related attractions in four main cities, Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. The day is May 10th to commemorate May 10th, 1869 when the “golden spike” was driven into the final tie in Promontory Summit, Utah. It joined two major railways, ceremonially creating the nation’s first transcontinental railroad. Except that it really didn't. That did not actually happen until August 15th, 1870, near Strasburg, CO. Colorado State officials list it (pdf) as Comanche Crossing, saying "An unpretentious white monument marks the spot". The "drab concrete pylon" was moved from the actual site and now sits in Lions Park. Next to the monkey bars.
Grand Theft Auto?
In light of being criticized as being too violent, there is a new version of Grand Theft Auto VI coming out. Previews: Video - Video
Scans of medieval and renaissance manuscripts
Columbia University's Digital Scriptorium is a database of high quality scans from medieval and renaissance manuscripts. The highlights section alone is breathtaking, but you can search and browse through over 5000 manuscripts and almost 25000 individual images.
Metronomic syncage enjoyability
Long Island's Gold Coast Ruins
Ruins and Remnants of Long Island's Gold Coast Mansions. Some still standing are in private hands, others are public. A surprising number of castles and moats.
This is a list of frogs.
This is a list of frogs. Look at pictures the frogs. Most importantly, listen (sounds like a fart) to (sounds like a baseball card in your bike tire) the (sounds like a sheep) frogs (classic frog sound). [more inside]
May 2
R Comics Gud?
The best movies of all time?
The top 100 films According to The Times (UK) Another film list? The same old Citizen Kane? No - this one’s different, says The Times’s chief film critic James Christopher [more inside]
Oil at the Top and Oil at the Bottom
Laverne Salmons, Adrian Turner, Stormy Spellman, Ruth Torres.....
Need to name a character? Use this random name generator. Hit refresh to, uh, refresh. Explanation here. [via]
Boris is GEIL
A meme is born
“Study without reflection is a waste of time; reflection without study is dangerous”
Alien Images Appear On Wall In Calgary "I looked out and I thought, 'Oh my gosh, I've lost my mind,'" resident Karen Henuset said of the first time she saw the specters. "So I asked our nanny to come and take a look at this, and the hair on her arms just stood straight up."(photo) (video)
The Brilliant Issue
I asked Nathan Myhrvold, C.E.O. of Intellectual Ventures and widely considered to be one of the smartest people in technology, if he is brilliant. "If you put yourself in that camp, you might be correct," he teased. "But then, you're also an asshole." The Brilliant Issue profiles Porfolio's picks for best game-changers, upstarts, rebels, connectors and other influencers. [more inside]
Dohink!
Flash Friday: Pa Doink! Psst! Turn the sound off.
Sorry, Alaska and Hawaii. Build more roads.
Two visualization projects: All of the streets in the lower 48 United States: an image of 26 million individual road segments. No other features (such as outlines or geographic features) have been added to this image. And zipdecode, a unique map of US zipcodes.
Kumeyaay Information Village
Kumeyaay.info welcomes visitors and indigenous peoples of all tribal nations and provides a casual village environment to share and network their culturally relevant creative work, information and opinions. (previously)
Friday flash fun
DWARF COMPLETE is a scavenger hunt in the world of Lineage. Cunning puzzles and frustration await you.
Livin' Like the Amish
Ready from Day One, 2001 Edition
"Only Nixon could go to China," and only ex-Republican ex-Senator Lincoln Chafee can explain how George W. Bush set out "to preempt the Congress... on every issue", "turned his back on (his) bedrock campaign pledges", and become simultaneously America's most powerful and least popular President (and why there could never be a "surely this..." moment). NOT just another OMGBUSH commentary, this should be required reading for anybody who honestly wants to know what went wrong.
Engaged...
La Cabina (The Telephone Box) 1, 2, 3, 4 Emmy winning short Spanish film. Saw this once as a kid and I’ve never forgotten it… There's no subtitles but that doesn't really matter.
Don't drink the Kool-Aid! Dye instead.
Dyeing with Kool-Aid basic how-to. The best thing is the color chart. A good idea for a party, maybe? As usual, the folks at Flickr have got the goods: Kool-Aid dyed yarns in the Hand-dyed pool [1], [2], and the Yarn Porn pool, [1], [2]. And if you're one of those people who just hates to do things the easy way? Multi-colored custom yarn with Kool-Aid tutorial part 1 and part 2.
The Last Stand 2
The Last Stand 2 is a Flash game in which you play the survivor of a zombie apocalypse. During the day you search for supplies and other survivors; during the night you must fend off the zombies. Make it to Union City in 40 days.
(via)
A long time on the lam
Will Rigby recounts meeting some pre-indie rock heroes.
A founding father of DIY indie rock, Will Rigby recounts the pilgrimages to locate underground rock legends
Alex Chilton, (during his wry Americana deconstructo anarchy phase), and the 'McCartney' to Chilton's Big Star 'Lennon', the Brydsian Chris Bell. Blogs on bands may not seem to rate but cats with these sensibilities, unlike today, seemed incredibly uncommon then . Also mentioned, the Dbs, Little Diesel, and Mitch Easter. Free Mp3s of the rare 45s included.
it tore me up every time I heard her drawl
100% is pure Dixie. Someone has taken the Harvard Computer Society Dialect Survey to task in a vital area.
Eck Robertson drew a mean bow.
Alexander "Eck" Robertson (1886 - 1975) was one hell of a fine fiddler, friend. He made, in 1922, what many country music historians consider the first commercial recording of country music. And now some kind soul has made ol' Eck a MySpace page where you can get a taste (five tastes, actually) of some of that bodacious bowing. Then head over to Ragtime Annie's place. What? She's Done Gone? She must've run off with the Arkansaw Traveler. Guess you'll have to make do with that Turkey In The Straw. [more inside]
They insist it is not a gimmick.
Are lice art? "Seven young artists from Berlin are trying to stretch the boundaries of art by living in an Israeli museum for three weeks with lice in their hair." Video.
Friday Flash Fun: Roller Coaster
This little game lets you learn about G Forces AND have fun. From the University of Cambridge's Centre for Applied Research in Educational Technologies.
You must build a roller coaster that thrills the occupants, but be warned - if they throw up your score gets reset, and making them black out is also frowned upon.
Men of Honour
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away--there lived men who dressed in suits of glittering steel... their purpose: to roam the lands in search of good deeds to be done in order to earn their salvation. The journey, although perilous, would be one of virtue and piety. Having to face down monstrous creatures and beastly men, they would sometimes take the help of other beasts in carrying out their conquests. (Of course, there were still others who may have been a bit misguided, but the myth endures, if not accurately portrayed.)
Photobombing
Photobombing n 1. The fine art of ruining other people's photographs. cf. n 2. The utterly pointless act of attaching printed photographs to public places, objects and buildings for random strangers to find.^ [Main link via, with cooler text commentary. This and first link NSFW.]
May 1
My boyhood, for instance, which no longer exists, exists in time past, which no longer exists.
Who can remember the color of a stranger’s belt, and the precise angle of the back corner of an old movie theater’s lobby, but not the number of his own apartment, or any of the movies he saw? What kind of memory is that?The Memory Addiction of Augusten Burroughs
Ruthless with Scissors
Augusten's Blog [more inside]
Kinetic sculpture in glass
Bandhu Scott Dunham makes kinetic sculptures out of glass, including the steam engines that power some of them. He discusses how they are made in this podcast. For videos of these sculptures in action, you can view the collection in his gallery or watch some home videos.
Second Life Twitter Typewriter
Giant Twittering Typewriter in Second Life. Type here (SLURL) and press the carriage return and it posts to here. Yay. [more inside]
What's the difference between Democratic and Republican congressmen? $55,000.
Want to live it up at the U.S. party conventions and get access to Senators and Congressmen? USA Today has posted the campaign committee price lists:
Democratic Senate and Congress
Republican Senate and Congress
If you've got the dough, you may conveniently request a convention package online from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The National Republican Congressional Committee and the NRSC have other price lists on their sites, but it seems like the DSCC and DCCC sites keep theirs under wraps.
Democratic Senate and Congress
Republican Senate and Congress
If you've got the dough, you may conveniently request a convention package online from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The National Republican Congressional Committee and the NRSC have other price lists on their sites, but it seems like the DSCC and DCCC sites keep theirs under wraps.
"Gravity pretty much is irrelevant"
Name that note
Perfect Pitch is a neat little game that lets you test your pitch recognition abilities. Previously.
Not available in any store, at any price!
Starting in 1979, late night TV viewers had their ears assaulted by hard-sell ads for musicians they had never heard of (or didn't know sang), such as Roger Whittaker (bio), Jim Nabors, Boxcar Willie (bio), Zamfir (master of the pan flute - bio), and yodeller Slim Whitman (bio), whose voice literally causes heads to explode. The ads made astonishing claims -- "sold more albums in Britain than the Beatles and Elvis combined!" And a lot of viewers -- some perhaps stoned -- called now. (Roger Whitaker -- 4 million albums. Slim Whitman - 4 million albums. Boxcar Willie - 3 million. Zamfir - 1.1 million). Others just watched, dumbfounded. [more inside]
People, places, things
Honoring Daumier
Honoré Daumier is one of the great French artists of the 19th Century, beloved of no less an aesthetic judge than Baudelaire. Most famous as a lithographer and caricaturist, over 5000 of his lithographs and engravings can be seen, in high resolution, at The Daumier Register. One of the best places to start are the many online exhibits of his work.
Amnesty International's waterboarding advertisement
Amnesty International recently staged a real waterboarding session to reinforce its campaign to get this type of torture stopped.
Amnesty claims its commercial is the "video the CIA doesn’t want you to see”.Starting this month the commercial will show in Britain in movie theaters during the previews. Possibly NSFW.
Must I Bank?
The Financial Services industry has seen it before; massive job cuts after the dot com collapse of 2001 forced many out of the business, some permanently. [more inside]
Kids These Days
A seven year old borrows his grandmother's car, hits a couple of mailboxes, two parked cars and two moving cars. And he's not sorry just one bit. (SLYT) [more inside]
Single-Note Solos
During the Spring of 1996, Neil Young and Crazy Horse were recording a new album at his ranch in the Santa Cruz mountains. To prepare for the forthcoming tour, they embarked on what has become known as ‘The Northern California Bar Tour of 1996’. If you want to learn how to sound like Neil Young, you need to study these three photos taken at one of the shows. They provide a glimpse of what Neil calls ‘the whizzer' (PDF interview about his equipment). It's a device that physically turns his amp's knobs via switches on his pedalboard. Of course, you also need to be playing an exact replica of Old Black through vintage amps that are ready to explode. If this all sounds too complicated, you can shell out money for the Crazy Horse pedal by Durham Electronics, which was designed to be 'Neil Young in a box’. Yeah, because that's totally possible.
Leaving Behind the Ragdoll
The Euphoria Engine allows for more realistic motion of game characters, and will be featured in a new Star Wars game due out this summer, and a football game, to be released sometime later this year.
Boeing 777 PTQ
Boeing 777 assembled in 4:13 (SLYT)
May Day strike protests Iraq war
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has announced that it will shut down West Coast ports today, to protest the war in Iraq. [more inside]
Ducks in Alberta died a crude death
Ducks die a crude death. Alberta's oilsands (previously) (map) have a new emblem -- hundreds of ducks coated and killed in oily toxic sludge. About 500 birds landed and died in an oil sands pond. The pond full of toxic sludge sits along a major flight path for migrating waterfowl. [more inside]
It's Easy Being Green
Lesbians vs. Lesbians
Winding the May Pole
The Countertraffickers
William Finnegan reports on rescuing the victims of the global sex trade. You can also listen to Finnegan talking about the research for the article. (New Yorker)
The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class
Keyboard calligraphy
Keyboard calligraphy "To produce such a typeface, Müteferrika knew he had to analyze Arabic script. Calligraphers might learn to make the correctly shaped letter combinations by practice, without conscious application of tens of thousands of rules, but for machine reproduction of the script, deciphering those rules was exactly what was essential."