January 4, 2011
The once and future e-book
Nothing is Forgotten
Nothing is Forgotten, a lovely little wordless comic about loss, fear, kindness, and memory.
Homeless man with perfect radio voice
Writemare at 20,000 feet
Richard Matheson—Storyteller - To mark the publication of a book of tribute stories writer and editor Richard Bradley has been blogging about the author's 60 year writing career- covering I Am Legend, Duel, and The Incredible Shrinking Man, not to mention Somewhere in Time (full index here). Of course Matheson is probably most famous for his contributions to the Twilight Zone, being one of it's three major writers and scripting Nightmare at 20,000 feet. Twice.
Tudei will make you sleep for two days
Kava: "a slightly bitter, slightly frothy, aromatic, resinous brew capable of inducing tranquility and an ultimate sense of wellbeing" [more inside]
Yer tryin' to eat me, eh?
Coyote repeatedly attacks a Canadian's boot (only because his stuff from ACME hasn't arrived yet). SLYT; 4.55
What's a swimsuit?
First Leslie Nielsen, and now Anne Francis. Fortunately, Robbie the Robot will live forever.
While probably best known as Altaira Morbius, the Miranda character in the Shakespeare-inspired sci-fi classic "Forbidden Planet", Francis had a long career in film and TV. She co-starred with Spencer Tracy in the thriller "Bad Day at Black Rock", which took a stand against the racism of Japanese internment during WWII, and played a private detective in "Honey West." An Aaron Spelling copy of Great Britain's "The Avengers," "Honey West" was more notable for the lead's pet ocelot than compelling writing, though Anne's charm and good looks kept the show afloat for two seasons.
Francis first appeared in film in 1947 and continued to work up until the last decade, when she was slowed by a battle with lung cancer. She died Sunday at age 80.
While probably best known as Altaira Morbius, the Miranda character in the Shakespeare-inspired sci-fi classic "Forbidden Planet", Francis had a long career in film and TV. She co-starred with Spencer Tracy in the thriller "Bad Day at Black Rock", which took a stand against the racism of Japanese internment during WWII, and played a private detective in "Honey West." An Aaron Spelling copy of Great Britain's "The Avengers," "Honey West" was more notable for the lead's pet ocelot than compelling writing, though Anne's charm and good looks kept the show afloat for two seasons.
Francis first appeared in film in 1947 and continued to work up until the last decade, when she was slowed by a battle with lung cancer. She died Sunday at age 80.
Never-before encountered aliens that just happen to speak English and laser guns.
The NASA list of "silliest" science fiction films outlines some complete horseshit offerings but is sci-fi meant to be realistic? Fans of hard sci-fi might argue it is the core of that place where dreaming and science combine, but shouldn't the dreaming part allow an amount of creative freedom in the hopes of getting at some larger truth? Some would say there is a point where you've gone too far. But what if our current impossible dream later becomes plausible, possible or reality?
It's a Small World After All
A 24 hour observation of all of the large aircraft flights in the world, condensed down to just over a minute. Similar videos are created by NASA's Future ATM Concepts Evaluation Tool (or FACET), like this one of a day in the life of air traffic over the United States.
Always Retain Your Data
Measurements separated by decades can yield a wealth of knowledge. Old Weather is a citizen science project (part of the Zoouniverse initiative for crowdsourced analysis) to transcribe the weather logs of Royal Navy ships from WWI in order to gather data on climate change; analysis of the data on punch cards from 1967 were recently used to form one of the longest retrospective studies ever on cholesterol.
Ghosts
Dylanesque pop bubble-gum favourite
RIP Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer songwriter best known for the 70s hits 'Baker Street' and 'Right Down the Line', and as part of Stealers Wheel, 'Stuck In The Middle With You' which was later immortalised for new generation in the film Reservoir Dogs.
In Systems Thinking, A Slinky Does Its Thing.
Why do we continue to make so little progress in addressing our many, very pressing social concerns? My answer is that the way we think, communicate, and learn is outdated.... it is the premise of this Chapter (and Systems Thinking) that it is possible to evolve our thinking, communicating and learning capacities. (pdf) [more inside]
Dr. Radical
Fond of Dr. Pepper, but don't like to pay for the big name on the can? Chances are, you've stood in a store beverage aisle and seen one of these awaiting your purchase. Want a bit more information about each brand? Whatever you do, don't confuse the Dr. with Mr. PiBB.
A House in California
A House in California is a surreal, narrative game by Jake Elliott about four characters who bring a house to life. It's a finalist for the Nuovo award at the 2011 Independent Games Festival. Available for Windows/Mac/Linux download or play it in your browser at Kongregate. [more inside]
75 sci-fi illustrations
75 Sensational Examples Of Sci-Fi Illustration at Designer's Terminal. If you click on an image there are details of each artist.
"We are already experts at lying to ourselves"
Clancy Martin is the chair of the philosophy department at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. He's also an unabashed liar, a recovering alcoholic, and was once suicidal. He's surprisingly honest, and has written extensively about all three of these things. Prior to becoming a professor, he dropped out of grad school, made a small fortune in the murky world of luxury jewelry sales, and nearly became the world's leading dealer of counterfeit Fabergé eggs along the way. He occasionally writes an advice column about lying, and even wrote a few books about it. [more inside]
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
Hearing him discuss films one day in the Lake Street Screening Room used by Chicago critics, Ebert said, "I was struck by the depth and detail of his film knowledge, and by how articulate he was." After reading his work online, Ebert was sold.Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, 24, will co-host the revival of At the Movies with Christy Lemire. [previously] [more inside]
Site-seeing in Virtual Rome
Villanova University, who first made the VR Tour of the Sistine Chapel, have made more of the Vatican’s most sacred sites virtually available online: the basilicas of St. Peter, St. Paul, St. John Lateran, and St. Mary Major, as well as the Pauline Chapel. Bonus: smaller panoramas from other historic Roman sites, but you'll have to deal with tourists.
10 Year Anniversary Crying Edition
The Looming Cable Monopoly
Law professor Susan Crawford takes a moment to explain to all of us why we should be wary of Verizon's decision to suspend FiOS rollout across the country and the resulting likely domination of the high-speed internet access biz by the cable companies in a short (for a legal journal) paper in the Yale Law and Policy Review. [more inside]
It’s totally unknown to me what you just asked me, and also very boring.
This is what happens to blasphemers...
Salman Taseer has been assassinated in Islamabad. Why was he assassinated? Because he spoke in defence of Asia Bibi and against Pakistan's outdated blasphemy laws. Where do the justifications for death to those who insult Islam come from? Apparently not from the Quran...
On Top of the World
Politically Correct Huck
Who was that masked cat? (SLYT)
Can Google beat spam?
"[U]sers ... are beginning to find that when they try to do searches to evaluate or buy consumer items--such as dishwashers, or iPhone 4 cases--or to find a site that will give them some useful answers, that Google's results are awash with spam."
Is there "Trouble in the House of Google?" Is Google the next Yahoo? ... or worse?
Why we need a better Google, and how Facebook likes, Blekko, and Bing are "changing search." (Previously; more previously)
Comparison between Theatrical Version and Director's Cut and Unrated and German DVD and...
Movie-Censorship.com is a resource to provide amazingly detailed comparisons between different versions of movie releases. [more inside]
The Realist.
The Realist is a comic by Asaf Hanuka, originally serialized in the Israeli newspaper Calcalist and available in the original Hebrew as well as English translation by Hanuka's brother, Tomer Hanuka.
In search of the rococofish
In 1719, Louis Renard published Poissons, écrevisses et crabes, de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires, que l'on trouve autour des isles Moluques, et sur les côtes des terres australes. The book documented the newly discovered marine life of the East Indies in images of astonishing beauty, but dubious accuracy.
20 Years of the ADA
20 years ago, an amazingly comprehensive piece of civil rights legislation was passed in the United States. The law addresses several key pieces of rights and standards for people with disabilities, and laid the groundwork for inclusion as a federal protected class. [more inside]
Why not decorate an old twig with festive finger puppets?
Handy hints for your home. A selection of the best useful uses for your useless knicknacks. Even Viz magazine has household tips for the busy reader, as does lifestyle guru Peter Baynham. [more inside]
How to make a decent cup of tea.
How to make a decent cup of tea. by Christopher Hitchens. Single Link Slate Post. But it's all true, dammit.
Narrated by This Guy.
'The Lord of the Books of the 55 Arse-Hymens of Stone.' (SLYT) The Lord of the Rings gets the Dirty Potter treatment. Exceptionally NSFW
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