January 15, 2010
You're gonna put somebody's eye out with that deuce.
Card Throwing. Can ordinary playing cards be used as deadly weapons? Well, no, that myth was already busted in 2004 (but it inspired some self-confessed nerds to build their own card-throwing machines and stage a contest). Even though it's not lethal, card throwing (also known as card shooting and card scaling) is still an interesting and multifaceted skill. Check out some YouTube videos of card throwing champs Ricky Jay and Rick Smith Jr., as well as other efforts.
Pink Piggy Walks Free.
Alan Ellis, ex-admin of OiNK's Pink Palace, was acquitted by a Teesside Crown Court jury yesterday. [more inside]
This Is Where We Live
Scholar of vodou on the tragedy in Haiti
An excellent response to Pat Robertson. "This Vodou priest is not speaking about divine retribution, as has Pat Robertson. God is not punishing us for disobedience. Erol is speaking about a giant natural rebalancing act, a reaction against human dealings with the ecosystem."
The Secret History Of Frank Farian
Boney M were a successful German disco group of the late 70s, known for wild onstage costumes, frontman Bobby Farrell's bass voice and signature dancing style, and their hits, which included Baby Do You Wanna Bump, Daddy Cool, Ma Baker, and Belfast.
However, it was an open secret that Boney M was masterminded by producer Frank Farian. Farian wrote Boney M's songs and performed all of the male vocals (and many of the background female vocals) in the studio. Farrell and the rest of the band merely mimed Farian's heavily manipulated vocals when appearing on television. Hmm, a German dance band lipsynching someone else's vocals...sound familiar? [more inside]
However, it was an open secret that Boney M was masterminded by producer Frank Farian. Farian wrote Boney M's songs and performed all of the male vocals (and many of the background female vocals) in the studio. Farrell and the rest of the band merely mimed Farian's heavily manipulated vocals when appearing on television. Hmm, a German dance band lipsynching someone else's vocals...sound familiar? [more inside]
I often think back to that magical summer when I was 13 years old
Kid Casting is a Tumblr-full of the same movie character as a child and an adult, courtesy of Dave Shumka, co-host of Stop Podcasting Yourself.
Denis Zilber illustrations
Artwork by Denis Zilber (NSFW) which will make you want to do some drawing.
Friday Flash Fun : Words Fail Me.
Friday Fun, this time it's.. err... REPLAYING: The Game. Including such classics as Sarah Palin: The Game, Cultural Imperialism: The Game, AIG Bailouts: The Game and Many Many More. [more inside]
Hey baby can you no see you baking sadness pie?
"That Would Be Awesome" is a song written by Bigfoot, the lyrics to which were published in the illustrated Bigfoot memoir Me Write Book: It Bigfoot Memoir. It has been arranged for ukelele and harmonica and posted to YouTube. It is awesome. [more inside]
Diving into the Jury Pool
On September 20, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear argument from a defendant convicted in 1993 by an all white jury in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The issue is whether the county's system of jury selection violated the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to be tried by a jury drawn from a fair cross section of the community. At the time of the 1990 census, African Americans composed 7.8% of eligible jurors in Kent County and 18.1% of eligible jurors in Grand Rapids. The defendant asserts, however, that they were routinely excused. All briefs can be reviewed here. Unless the Court chooses to decide the case on purely procedural grounds, it could set precedent with a significant impact on daily local jury selection.
Grindr: More than an iApp for instant gay trysts!
Grindr is an iPhone/iTouch app for that special kind of guy. Rather like bat sonar, Grindr pings nearby guys also using Grindr and shows your their pictures. Why, whatever for? “Turning those missed connections into real connections,” says the founder. (Keep it clean, boys! “We have censors who work 24/7 to review each profile.”) If all else fails, your augmented-gaydar app can block one of these “connections.” Enough fellas are doing so that the inevitable (Guys with iPhones–like) Tumblr has emerged: Guys I Blocked on Grindr (often NSFW; via).
Doesn't matter if you're black or white...purple on the other hand is right out.
Friday Flash Fun Puzzler: Grayscale is a puzzle game where you control a dot from one end of a route to another, manipulating wheels and other obstacles to get to the goal. Controlled by mouse.
Open source climate data and algorithms
Do you want to personally verify climate science? You can, with open source data and algorithms. OpenTemp.org: An Open Analysis of the Historical Temperature Record. Clear Climate Code: Python reimplementation of GISTEMP, the NASA GISS surface temperature analysis. EDGCM: a research-grade Global Climate Model (GCM) with a user-friendly interface that can be run on a desktop computer.
Suddenly My House Became a Tree of Sores.
He doesn't do metaphors. He doesn't make Postmodern references to other art. He doesn't even know what his own work 'means.' Richard Kovitch on the failure of the Tate Modern's recent symposium on David Lynch, which featured Gregory Crewdson, Louise Wilson, Chris Rodley, Parveen Adams, Simon Critchley, Roger Luckhurst, Tom McCarthy (edited remarks here), and Sarah Churchwell and Jamieson Webster (transcription here), among others.
Write-up on Paris retrospective of Lynch's painting here, which was collected into the book The Air is On Fire.
Survival
Osama Bin Commie
A Spanish newspaper has noticed that the State Department's identikit picture of Osama Bin Laden appears to have the hair and forehead of Spanish Communist leader Gaspar Llamazares.
Igor Presnyakov plays classical guitar
Classical guitar virtuoso Igor Presnyakov won't do what you tell him (NSFW/lyrics). But he will bring his unique style to an array of well-known songs: Bad Romance, Thriller, Beat It, Poker Face, Ain't No Sunshine, Isn't She Lovely. [more inside]
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