October 12, 2010
Logical literacy is essential to mathematical fluency.
My So-Called Face
"Do you hear that, Marcus? Do you hear it?" I yell. "You know what that is? That's Hollywood, baby. Hollywood's calling. You gonna answer the call?"
"I will never forget the first time I paid a player." Former sports agent Josh Luchs confesses to paying 30 college football players early in his career.
Roman de la Rose Digital Library
The Roman de la Rose Digital Library intends "to create an online library of all manuscripts containing the Roman de la Rose poem." The site currently offers illustrations, transcriptions, and bibliographical data for over one hundred manuscripts. One of the most influential poems of the Middle Ages, the Roman de la Rose was authored in part by Guillaume de Lorris, in part by Jean de Meun (who stepped in four decades later to finish it). Depending on which author is at work, the poem offers very different takes on its allegory of courtly love. The Roman de la Rose soon crossed the Channel as The Romaunt of the Rose, which may or may not be a translation by Geoffrey Chaucer. Notably, the poem's attitude to women spawned what came to be known as the "Quarrel of the Rose," led by Christine de Pizan (in French). In its long afterlife, the poem's influence has been felt everywhere from tapestry to pre-Raphaelite painting to allegorical gardens.
Canada’s Boswell?
Rae Fleming's new book about the Canadian broadcaster, Peter Gzowski (who died in 2002, of emphysema) should appeal to many Canadians, fans of ‘This Country in the Morning,’ and ‘Morningside,’ among his many Boswellian ventures. He sometimes brought his personal issues of smoking (up to 80 a day) and his drinking to the table (so to speak), and ‘covered’ them as the journalist he was. Fleming brings news of a son w. another woman, the telling of which raises questions about biography (and biographers).
War Light
rebellion and music on the west coast of Canada
Bloodied but Unbowed "... chronicles, for the first time anywhere, the late 1970's/early 1980's Vancouver punk rock scene. The documentary tells a tale of rebellion and music — a fiercely independent scene created from nothing."
The full documentary can be seen here.
Cake book, fake book or sexy warrior pages?
This is the magazine that shut down 70,000 blogs...
Back in July we discussed the feds shutting off 70,000+ blogs for links to Al-Qaeda...
The link? A magazine for the would-be Al-Qaedian, INSPIRE. It's a pdf, but it is a sexy pdf. [more inside]
Walking the Rope at 4074 Metres
SKYLINER: A short documentary about highlining in the French Alps.
" Orcs are mammals and therefore do not spawn."
Got a question about old-school Dungeons and Dragons? Perhaps you should consult this database of questions and answers from Dragon Magazine's "Sage Advice" column.
The fine art of surfacing
Live coverage of the rescue operation of the 33 Chilean miners who have been stranded underground for the last 68 days. NASA are helping in more ways than one but it isn't over yet.
You are a chord
10 things you didn't know about sound. Among them: "You are a chord." A TED talk by Julian Treasure and responses by him to some of the opinions about his talk.
Girl Hitler, Yoko Ono and an Honorary Jewish Mother walk into a bar...
Writing a work of fiction? Want to know if the female character in it is a strong one? There's a flowchart for that. (more info) Though you'll want to go through the flowchart at least twice if you want any hope of passing The Bechdel Test (bonus link)
Are You Sure? The Video Footage Says Otherwise.
Software, and Instant Real-Time 1-Click Commissar Removal: In the old days, photographic purges were laborious and time-consuming. Modern software has of course made this process much faster, and now this important task can be applied to video, and in real-time. Of course, if you don't want to actually remove someone or something, but instead simply want to turn ordinary men into Heroes of the Revolution and vixens into forgettable faces in the crowd, well, that too is an option.
Judge Ends Don't Ask Don't Tell
A federal judge has issued a worldwide injunction on the enforcement of the U.S. military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, "ending the military's 17-year-old ban on openly gay troops." [more inside]
Chokeville.
Traffic Jam 101
Colorfully magnified
Computer defeats women's shogi champion
Four different shogi-playing software programs combined forces to "aggressively pursue" and defeat female champion Ichiyo Shimizu in 86 moves. (previously)
There's Always Steady Work for the Steady Worker
Don't Make Excuses - Make Good! Between World Wars I and II, the U.S. economy was booming - workers had choices and employers competed for their time. How to motivate and gain loyalty from a labor force that knew it could walk out the door and find more work soon? Charles Mather, head of a family printing business in Chicago, offered employers a solution: the first motivational posters for the private workplace market. Printed between 1923 and 1929, Mather's "Work Incentive Posters" used strong imagery and short, clear messaging to encourage workplace values like teamwork, punctuality, safety, and loyalty. Today, some of his 350 designs can be seen in traveling exhibitions and poster galleries, and Antiques Road Show - or you can soak up some motivation from his modern-day successors at Successories - or generate your own. [more inside]
the creative internet circa fall 2010
The world (internet) is full of interesting (creative) things... a slideshow created by Google. [via]
First of all, gay sexuality is not a threat.
That's a Wrap
Gosh!
Fox orders Napoleon Dynamite toon series. The original cast has signed on to voice the animations.
From France, With Love
Veuve Clicquot- oldest drinkable fizzy grape juice? A missing shipment of some fine French vino, that Luis XVI sent over to the Tsar of the Russias, may have been located, and are currently being confirmed by the home vintners.
The Art of Beautiful Strength
The Bar-Barians. The Calisthenics Kingz (and their Kiwi First Lady). Hannibal & Barilla. [more inside]
Things that are hard about not moving to Bolivia
Englishmen's homes are still castles, with prices to match
Depressing million-dollar London property. Even in the economic crisis, £635,000 doesn't get you much inside the M25: you can take your pick of a worker's cottage near a football stadium, an Australian backpacker-style apartment near Earl's Court, a 2-bedroom house right near the ring road or various other similarly dispiriting residences.
swissair
Evolution of the Swissair logo and Swissair posters. Many more logos and posters at the Swissair fan site. (logos/posters are direct links to frames at the fan site)
FB > GOOG ?
"A city becomes a world when one loves one of its inhabitants."
Stuck in an office this morning? Trudging through the downtown? Trapped in traffic? Time to reimagine your city. [more inside]
You must unlearn what you have learned.
Just in time for the 30th anniversary of the movie's release, The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back chronicles the complete tale—from pre-release to blockbuster success — of what’s become the fan favorite of the Star Wars series. Vanity Fair presents an excerpt from the book: rarely seen photographs from the Empire Strikes Back set, annotated with behind-the-scenes details. They also have interviews with the book’s author, J. W. Rinzler, and the man behind Boba Fett’s mask, actor Jeremy Bulloch." On a lighter note, how about a Wampa Throw Rug, new from the folks at ThinkGeek?
It just keeps going and going...
Eight miles of Minecraft highway, displayed in a hypnotic four minute time-lapse. It took 22 hours to build and 27 minutes to traverse in game time. [via]
Putting the Spring in Springfield
The Power Couple
The wife of Justice Clarence Thomas is a Tea Party activist. Together, they’re the right’s new power couple. 'It’s like a Hollywood movie. One spouse goes off to work at the Supreme Court, that most august of institutions, where formality and discretion reign. The other puts on her power suit—and occasionally, a foam Lady Liberty crown—and enters the raucous, chaotic world of Tea Party politics and Fox News pontificating.''A lawyer, former staffer for the Republican congressman Dick Armey, and a former director at the Heritage Foundation, she speaks of herself as a bridge between the Republican establishment and the crowds rallying out of anger and frustration.' [more inside]
The only way to get better at it is to keep doing it...
Game designer Raphael "Raph" Koster (Wiki) has republished his essay "The Fundamentals of Game Design." Koster was the lead designer for the progenitorial (and, in its time, wildly successful) MMORPG Ultima Online.
I mean, it's gotta end sometime, right?
"Eschatology" is, generally speaking, the study of the end of the world, but when most people in the US hear the term, they generally think of Christian eschatology.
Specifically, they tend to think of the barrels of ink and that one movie (previously) which have been devoted to the subject over the past couple of decades. Neither seems to have contributed to a wider understanding of the actual theology involved. [more inside]
Specifically, they tend to think of the barrels of ink and that one movie (previously) which have been devoted to the subject over the past couple of decades. Neither seems to have contributed to a wider understanding of the actual theology involved. [more inside]
You have nothing to gain but free time.
This Is Heavy!
Never-before-seen footage of Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly in Back To The Future Before Michael J. Fox could take the part of Marty McFly, producers cast Eric Stoltz and filmed for five weeks. The producers eventually decided to go with Fox, fired Stoltz, and locked the footage away in the vault. Now, twenty-five years later, we finally get to see the "other" Back to the Future.
Coming Out in the Sciences
"We realized we'd never seen a Coming Out Day feature dedicated to the experiences of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgendered persons in the sciences and engineering." Science journalist Steve Silberman interviews Neena Schwartz, and gathers personal stories from Eric Patridge (President of Out in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Tomlinson Holman (inventor of the THX Sound System), and others. [more inside]
The Boombox Project
Photographer Lyle Owerko's "The Boombox Project" is a visual timeline of the era of the boombox. [more inside]
Making the impossible possible
Chances are you've seen videos here in the blue of Norwegian Eskil Ronningsbakken performing acts of extreme balance. As a follow up, I offer numerous additional stills of Eskil in his quest to create art from balance. His official web site has more images, and he also has a Facebook page, from which I took this quote: "The vulnerable human being balancing between life and death is something I, among many others, consider art. The most important message that I signal with my actions is that ANYTHING is possible!" [more inside]
Gallifreya
Back in the 80s when Doctor Who was mired in a creative and ratings slump, the programme's creator Sydney Newman was asked how to revive it. His answer - regenerate the Doctor as a woman. [more inside]
He wore his fluffy white coat again. I think he looks nice in it.
"Kavus has got into an irritating habit of holding up his middle finger at you when you speak to him." In 2005, the Alphabet Business Concern announced that Cardiacs, its cult-favorite prog-punk outfit, would maintain an online diary chronicling the band's daily goings-on. The result is a surreal, hilarous interplay between the band's personalities — childish, whiny Tim Smith, pandering narcissist Kavus Torabi, contemplative Jim Smith, and the seemingly perpetually drunk Bob "Babba" Leith. [more inside]
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