January 23, 2014
Uncle America
Blood Brother (2013) focuses on an American man who, after initially visiting as a tourist, moved to India to volunteer at the Arias Home of HOPE, a home for HIV-positive children in Acharapakkam, near Chennai. He eventually became an Indian citizen by marriage. [more inside]
The Slippery Slope of Video Game Sales
When Jason Rohrer's Castle Doctrine hits Steam later this month, it will be on release sale for 12 dollars. After that, it will be 16 dollars. Forever. Rohrer talks to Giant Bomb about why he thinks constant sales are bad for games. (previously)
Going Mobile with Google
Dusk by the Frog Pond
Marc Anderson, the winner of the Beautiful Now sound competition has a site called Nature Soundmap where you can listen to sounds from around the world. [more inside]
We Built This City On Rock And ROM
8 Bit Renditions: hear the classics as if they were composed for the NES!
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Fly Like An Eagle
We Built This City [more inside]
An Observer's Guide To Pony Fanwork
How much My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fan content is there out there? LET'S FIND OUT. A few highlights:
What I Learned Today, morals to episodes
Twilight adjusts to a Season 3 plot development
Apogee, random, catchy
Celestia and Luna play Resident Evil 4 (repurposed from Two Best Friends)
The best of Sweetie Bot, from Friendship is Witchcraft
Slice of Life, a very well done fan Tumblr
How much more could there be? Well.... [more inside]
What I Learned Today, morals to episodes
Twilight adjusts to a Season 3 plot development
Apogee, random, catchy
Celestia and Luna play Resident Evil 4 (repurposed from Two Best Friends)
The best of Sweetie Bot, from Friendship is Witchcraft
Slice of Life, a very well done fan Tumblr
How much more could there be? Well.... [more inside]
Lucy Likes Chicken Nuggets..a lot.
Hey Señorita, I'm hot as hell
About fifty years ago, the governor of Indiana received a letter complaining about obscenity in the lyrics of a rock'n'roll song, and passed that letter on to the FBI. For the following two years, FBI agents examined potential lyrics of the song (which were incomprehensible on the recording, partly due to the singer's braces) to find grounds for an obscenity prosecution. They ultimately failed, but produced a 140-page report, listing numerous possible obscene readings of what the lyrics could be, and in doing so, turned Louie Louie by The Kingsmen from a footnote into a bona fide rock'n'roll rebel anthem. [more inside]
Of Facebook, Feet, and Mouths.
Sheryl Sandberg, who has been a bit of a controversial figure in the past(Previously, Previously-er) has just rounded the bend on her fortune surpassing the 1 billion mark. Bloomberg reported on this, and included a quote of David Kirkpatrick; “Did she do a billion dollars-worth of work? I don’t know, She had the good fortune to land in the right place where her talents could really be applauded”. This of course begs a very valid question, Would anyone ask a man this?
Deep Dark Fears
or are you just happy to see me?
A newly unveiled, nine meter tall statue of Nelson Mandela turns out to have an unplanned bonus feature. A small rabbit perched in Mandela's ear. The South African government is not happy. And one has to wonder what it is about Nelson Mandela that the universe insists on doing weird things to him now that he's gone.
Thanks for trying...
"Recently, I applied for a retail job. Upon receiving my resume, the owner of the store emailed me asking for a full breakdown of my payment and benefits desires along with my availability. After sending her an email back explaining my negotiations, she then wrote me back asking for a video of me explaining my abilities and what skills I would be able to bring to her boutique.
...
This is when I realized that I have been going about applying for jobs all wrong! So here's my new resume."
"This book fills a much needed gap in literature"
Buzzfeed may think that if you can't say anything nice you'd better say nothing, but Kathleen Geier knows better. Sometimes a good old fashioned hatchet job is not just preferable, but necessary. She lists a baker's dozen of the best negative reviews to prove her point. Featuring all your old favourites, including Matt Taibbi flattening Tom Friedman, Katha Pollitt demolishing Katie Roiphe's victim blaming book on date rape, Molly Ivins vs Camille Paglia and of course the New York Times carpet bombing flavortown.
"The prettiest people are the blandest."
Greer Lankton, darling of the 1980s East Village art scene, made glamorous and grotesque dolls that reflected her struggles with anorexia and drug addiction as well as her fascination with sexuality and gender in all their mutable permutations. She died of an overdose only a month after completing her final masterpiece, a recreation of her Chicago apartment inside Pittsburgh's Mattress Factory. [more inside]
My game with Magnus Carlsen
My game with Magnus Carlson: On January 16, 2014, Magnus Carlsen, the newly crowned world chess champion and the highest rated player in history, paid a visit to Google headquarters in Mountain View, CA, to give a talk and play a ten board simultaneous exhibition.
Includes the annotated game. (via)
Includes the annotated game. (via)
EAT THE COOKIE!
Cleolinda and friends live-tweet Lifetime's adaptation of Flowers in the Attic.
Some stats behind the doom and gloom
Amid a number of recent articles (previously, previously, and previously) about the state of doctoral study in the United States, the NSF has released an interactive report compiling statistical analysis of broad trends about who earns a doctorates, which fields are attracting students, influences to obtain a degree, payment for that degree, and trends after graduation. The report is also available as a .pdf, with further explanation of what these numbers generally indicate.
An Island within a Lake on an Island within a Lake on an Island
Vulcan Point in the Philippines is the world's largest island within a lake (Main Crater Lake) that is situated on an island (Volcano Island, aka Taal Island) located in a lake (Lake Taal) within an island (Luzon). It also happens to be one of the cones of the active Taal Volcano, so Vulcan Point is also the world’s largest volcano in a lake (Main Crater Lake) on a volcano (Taal Volcano). And Main Crater Lake also happens to be the largest lake on an island (Volcano Island) in a lake (Lake Taal) on an island (Luzon). Got that? If not, here's a series of images that provides a handy guide to the location of the nested parts of this complex volcano, which is a beautiful place, but still very much active.
London's Victoria line has a small problem
“Dangerous … an evil thing about an evil thing."
The Truths Behind 'Dr. Strangelove' Eric Schlosser, author of Command and Control (previously), celebrates the 50th anniversary of the release of Dr. Strangelove by looking into the plausibility of the movie's premise.
Bud & Breakfast
Sinsemil.la isn’t about getting high — it is about haute cuisine. Founded in New York City, this underground supper club highlights exceptional and locally-sourced ingredients according to season. Marijuana varietals are tested not just for their organic qualities, but specifically to balance the flavors of each dish and for their psychoactive properties throughout the flow of the dinner.
Only thing missing is a guy in his underpants
Uniforms for taxi drivers
Whose Policy: UKIP Or Monster Raving Loony Party? - Nigel Farage doesn't realise how terrible his own party's policies are
Maple Syrup Revolution: New Discovery Could Change the Business Forever
"In October 2013, Drs. Tim Perkins and Abby van Den Berg of the University of Vermont’s Proctor Maple Research Center, revealed the findings of a study at a maple syrup conference in New Brunswick, Canada that sent waves through the industry. In 2010, they were studying vacuum systems in sap collection operations. Based on the observation that one of the mature trees in the study that was missing most of its top was still yielding high volumes of sap, they hypothesized that the maples were possibly drawing moisture from the soil and not the crown. Previously, they had presumed that the sap dripping from tap holes was coming from the upper portion of the tree. But, if the tree was missing most of its crown then, they surmised, it must be drawing moisture from the roots. ... They realized that their discovery meant sugarmakers could use saplings, densely planted in open fields, to harvest sap. In other words, it is possible that maple syrup could now be produced as a row crop like every other commercial crop in North America." [more inside]
Where'd You Go, Thora Birch?
"I always wondered what happened to Thora Birch. So I went to LA to find out."
The Sami Yoik
The Yoik of the Sami People : "The yoik, a unique form of cultural expression for the Sami people, can be understood as a metaphor for Sami traditional culture itself ... A yoik is not merely a description; it attempts to capture its subject in its entirety: it's like a holographic, multi-dimensional living image, a replica, not just a flat photograph or simple visual memory. It is not about something, it is that something." (previously)
These are very calm pigs, and that’s the way we want them to be.
Danish Crown is the world's largest exporter of pork, killing approximately 100,000 pigs a week to cater to the growing global demand for meat. Alastair Philip Wiper visited the company's abattoir in Horsens to capture a behind-the-scenes look at the entire process, starting at the pens where the pigs arrive and moving through the spaces where the animals are slaughtered, butchered and packaged for sale.
Children have Reacted Viscerally to the Tests
For many students in New York, the approach of spring means getting ready for standardized test season. However, many parents, with the encouragement of their children's teachers and administrators, are opting out. [more inside]
From 3-D WorldRunner to Zombie Nation
What the heck is this thing? A Salp of course!
Pictures have been going around of a small jelly like creature a fisherman pulled into his boat off New Zealand. The creature has been identified as a salp most likely Thetys vagina Salps may look like jellyfish but they are more closely related to vertebrates. [more inside]
Have Yourself Photoshopped While You Wait. Er, Sing.
Starting out make-up free, looking tired and with her hair unstyled, the singer is digitally retouched in front of our eyes, transformed in just a few minutes into a glamorous beauty.
Hungarian singer Boggie, real name Csemer Boglarka, has posted her latest music video, for her song "Nouveau Parfum", in which she is Photoshopped in 'real time'. [more inside]
Free books from the Getty
The Getty has just opened its Virtual Library, where 250 book pdfs can be read online or downloaded.
Some titles of interest include Julia Margaret Cameron: The Complete Photographs, Between Two Earthquakes: Cultural Property in Seismic Zones and Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe.
They follow the University of California Press, which released 700 books online for free yesterday, including 28 art history books.
Mystery of the Lyubov Orlova
Experts say the ship, which is likely to still contain hundreds of rats that have been eating each other to survive, must still be out there somewhere because not all of its lifeboat emergency beacons have been set off.
The Library as an Economic Model in the Second Machine Age
Congress takes a casual look at the peer-to-peer economy - “Finding new ways to monetise used or existing assets has the obvious and immediate effects of raising their value and the wealth of their owners, while simultaneously reducing the value of comparable stuff owned by incumbent companies — for whom monetisation already wasn’t a problem, and who find themselves burdened by the newly competitive environment. The innovations also provide a surplus to those consumers who previously would have paid more to an incumbent. And all without any new stuff actually having to be made.” [more inside]
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