January 27, 2011
Spencer Tracey, Kirk Douglas, and introducing Warren Hsieh in...
Machaut, Ravel meet Tolkien, Tesla
The first thing I was told about Arcanum was the central conflict of the game: magic versus technology. This idea was so interesting and unique that I considered carefully how to best reflect it in the music. […] We finally settled on a sort of musical anachronism: a score centered around the styles and textures of Renaissance, medieval, and early music, but performed by a characteristic ensemble of the Victorian era, the string quartet.
Composer Ben Houge and his choir-on-strings score for Troika Studios' (buggy, beloved) steampunk step-child Arcanum (letsplay), in mp3, lossless pcm, and full sheet music. [more inside]
Big Coach in the Little Gym
Big Coach in the Little Gym Scott Lang was 41 years old when he died last month. He was not married. He had no children. He spent almost all of his adult life as the basketball coach at La Roche College, a tiny Division III school in the north hills just above Pittsburgh.
Is a revolution at hand?
In preparation for massive protests after Friday prayers, it's being reported that Egypt has completely shut down access to the internet and most text and MMS messaging. [more inside]
You'll Put Someone's Eye Out
Badass Lego Guns, a short YouTube video (1.55) showing five working guns built from instructions from the book of the same name by Martin Hudepohl. [more inside]
Gladys Horton, Marvelette, RIP
Gladys Horton, a founding member of the pioneering (yet undervalued by Berry Gordy and Motown) girl group The Marvelettes, who sang lead on their 1961 classic Please Mr. Postman has passed on. [more inside]
I Was Teenage Hockey Message Board Jailbait
Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie
Female tech influencers and their ... hairstyles?
"The most notable women in technology probably don't spend all day thinking about hairstyles and dinner parties. But according to a bright pink infographic making its way around the web, you can tell a lot about some of the world's most tech-savvy women based on their hairdos and extracurriculars. In hopes of inspiring people, Wpromote ... created "Which Female Tech Influencer Are You?" -- an infographic reminiscent of a teen magazine quiz."* [more inside]
David Kato killed in Uganda
Nortje Vol
7 Abandoned Breweries “Open” for Exploration
Kotatsu Cat is watching you
A kotatsu is a piece of furniture used in Japan, consisting of a short table, a heating element attached to the underside of the table, a blanket or light futon to cover the table to the floor, and a flat surface on top. As Japanese houses are usually poorly insulated and not centrally heated, kotatsus are considered a cost-saving alternative to space heaters. • Example: five people sharing one. • It's called a korsi in Persia. • How to make a kotatsu. • Cats seem to love them, as do dogs. • Kotatsu vs. Stepladder.
Girl Scout Cookies to be cut in half
Did Thin Mints make the cut? Girl Scouts of America has announced they are cutting the number of flavors in their iconic cookie assortment, which earns the bulk of the organization's regional operating budgets, because of a lack of demand. Don't go near the freezer! Video of a dude screaming about his addiction to Girl Scout Cookies here. Ted Nugent's Girl Scout Cookies. An adorable old ad for cookies.
"The Authoritarian Challenge to Democracy"
On January 13, 2011 Freedom House released ts findings from the latest edition of Freedom in the World, the annual survey of global political rights and civil liberties. According to the survey’s findings, 2010 was the fifth consecutive year in which global freedom suffered a decline—the longest period of setbacks for freedom in the nearly 40-year history of the report. [more inside]
Run for your Life
Snow, and its diabolical cousin Thundersnow, once again has paralyzed the East Coast of the United States. This we know. What we don't know is the answer to the question: Why Is This Dude Running Through A Snowstorm Holding An Ice Cream Cone? [more inside]
Predictions for Publishing, from Thomas Edison and some Minds of Today
On June 23, 1911, The Miami Metropolis published predictions about the year 2011 from Thomas Edison, including his visions of transmuting metals, a world of light-weight steel products, and writings printed on leaves of nickel that would be "so light to hold that the reader can enjoy a small library in a single volume." In Edison's future of today, five authors and an editor/publisher envision the world of publishing in the year 2021. Spoiler: nickel is not mentioned once. [more inside]
The Metamorphosis
A look behind the surprising amount of CGI used during the production of Black Swan. [slyt] [nsfw] [spoilers]
Natalia Fabia: sexy girls
Natalia Fabia Inspired by light, color, punk rock music, hot chicks and sparkles, Fabia is fascinated with “hookers”, which fuels her paintings of sultry women. (A bit NSFW)
Lutheran hymn of the Minnesota Mother?
Why Minnesota mothers are doing pretty good. Cripes we all know about Tiger Mothers already, but what the heck can we learn from Minnesota Mothers?
Weed-Mart
Two years ago, Mann says, he had never seen a pot plant. Today, he envisions weGrow becoming the "Wal-Mart of Weed", a vertically integrated chain of big-box stores perfectly positioned to cash in on California's booming marijuana industry as it moves from the shadows to the mainstream. In this "green rush" for semi-legal weed, Mann and his partner Derek Peterson, a 36-year-old investment banker, seek to be the modern equivalents of Levi Strauss and Samuel Brannan—the Gold Rush entrepreneurs who made a killing not from mining, but from selling pans, pickaxes, and victuals to the forty-niners.
Failboat is Full of Win
Debtris
Debtris. From Information is Beautiful.
predicting civil unrest
Professors' global model forecasts civil unrest against governments - With protests spreading in the Middle East (now Yemen - not on the list) I thought this article and blog on a forecast model predicting "which countries will likely experience an escalation in domestic political violence [within the next five years]" was rather interesting. [more inside]
"Our Shooter's A Military Man"
The Case of the Missing o.b. Tampons
Over Christmas, Johnson & Johnson decided to stop carrying their popular brand of o.b. tampons. This elicited an immediate and frenzied response from women who used the product.
Told that their tampon of choice was permanently discontinued, ladies took to eBay and other outlets to get the last few boxes.
In a turnaround, however, J&J is now claiming they were experiencing a "temporary supply interruption". To everyone's relief, the product will soon be back in stores.
Not your typical SLYT post
High school student "comes out" to entire school on MLK Day. Extraordinary.
Liu Zheng
Peking Opera :: The Chinese :: Dream Shocks :: Four Beauties :: Under The Sun :: Revolution :: Uniform Series (click to enlarge, nsfw)
Art and Europe's Last Dictatorship
Fascinating and inspiring interview with playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard by Riz Khan on the subject of Belarus, a country ruled by the dictator Alexander Lukashenko, and whether artists can have an impact on the world of politics. Recently, the troupe Belarus Free Theatre has been touring the West with Being Harold Pinter, to rave reviews. Stoppard himself was a child refugee, escaping with his family from Czechoslovakia in 1939.
No Swearing in Utah
The United States of Swearing -- a map of profanity on Twitter.
16 seconds is the moment
Slushee, anyone?
Trade Union Poster Design: A Very Mini History
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