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Planned cities are not a new idea (Palmanova, Italy, 1593). From Washington, D.C. (1791), to Canberra, Australia (1911), to Brasilia, Brazil (1957), planned cities have long been an urban dream (from space), perhaps most frequently applied to national capitals. But they don't always work out as planned. [more inside]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:41 PM PST - 37 comments

If you're looking for about half an hour of unusual instrumental music, something that could possibly be classified in the mélange of a genre that is "post-industrial music," you might well enjoy Permutations, by Chrimères. I don't know anything about this beyond what is on Soundcloud, which is that this is a "work in progress" from sometime in/around 2012.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:47 PM PST - 13 comments

The creators of the popularly controversial comic book "Sex Criminals" (previously here), Matt Fraction (birthname Matt Fritchman, previously here) and Chip Zdarsky (birthname Steve Murray, previously here too), are bringing out the perfect companion volume for their saga of a couple whose sex stops time (giving them the opportunity to rob banks)... a sex manual titled "Just The Tips". This 23-page preview (PDF!) includes such advice as "Role playing can help spice up your sex life. Pretend to be someone who’s good at sex." and "Make love, not war, and never to Gwar." plus exotic new positions like "The Dutch Microwave", "The User Agreement" and, of course, "Brimping", as well as lots of other Dirty Talk (in very large type to make it totally embarrassing to read on the bus). Perfect for anyone who considers "tongue in cheek" one of the sexiest positions.
Available in non-respectable comic stores the day before American Thanksgiving, real bookstores early December.
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:17 PM PST - 24 comments

Tobias Frere-Jones (creator of the Gotham typeface) explores the history of font names. [more inside]
posted by Iridic at 3:25 PM PST - 3 comments

Locomalito describes himself as "a free developer of NEW TRADITIONAL VIDEO GAMES", and his games- all freely downloadable- bear that out. "I grew up with arcade gaming values", he says, and he wears his influences on his sleeve while creating his own style. From the horror platforming of Maldita Castilla to the autoscrolling shmup Hydorah, Locomalito's games have that old school feel- beautiful pixel art, music by frequent collaborators Gryzor87 or RushJet1, and a difficulty which is challenging, yet fair. Each game also has downloadable posters, trading cards, box art, and more to complete that old-school feel. [more inside]
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:30 PM PST - 12 comments

Iggy Pop delivers the 2014 John Peel lecture. Transcript here.
posted by goo at 2:28 PM PST - 23 comments

The Fall of the House of Usher (1928): [YouTube] a [silent] film version of Poe's story by Melville Webber and J. S. Watson Jr. [wiki]
posted by Fizz at 1:40 PM PST - 6 comments

Richard Posner last week issued a remarkable dissent destroying every rationale for photo voter ID laws. This is particularly notable because Judge Posner, a brilliant but conservative Ronald Reagan appointee to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, authored a 2007 decision later affirmed by the United States Supreme Court which upheld Indiana's voter identification law -- a decision he appears now to regret. Read Posner's powerful and persuasive dissent decimating the rationale for such laws here (beware, pdf format.) [more inside]
posted by bearwife at 1:19 PM PST - 256 comments

A brief history of the umlaut in band names.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:04 PM PST - 24 comments

Storms of doubt and change I expected as the parent of an adolescent, I just thought they would be hers, not mine.
posted by ellieBOA at 12:41 PM PST - 26 comments

Sure, highly paid tech workers often have to sign non-compete clauses when they hire on at a new firm, and some people think this is a problem. But what about when it's fast food employees? [more inside]
posted by selfnoise at 11:56 AM PST - 129 comments

Some of the world’s most powerful conservationists are giving up on wilderness. They are making a big mistake [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 11:54 AM PST - 37 comments

Do you have fond memories of afternoons spent making geometric patterns and designs with your Spirograph? If so, enjoy Inspirograph, a digital version. [more inside]
posted by jbickers at 11:46 AM PST - 36 comments

Today, October 14, 2014, is World Standards Day! Except in the USA, where it's celebrated October 23, 2014. (Canada splits the difference by celebrating it on October 15).
posted by GuyZero at 11:29 AM PST - 23 comments

The #Hashtag debate continues and it seems as though the only ones debating it are the ones who don't completely understand it.
posted by ourt at 11:20 AM PST - 108 comments

What is pork roll most people not from New Jersey/Philly might ask? Pork roll (also known as taylor ham, though this a matter of some contention) is a form of processed meat that is a breakfast favorite of the New Jersey and Philly region. [more inside]
posted by Ferreous at 10:51 AM PST - 68 comments

?uestlove and Black Thought of The Roots are interviewed by Marc Lamont Hill of HuffPost Live. Highlights include how Boyz II Men cheated in the high school talent show (glitter) and the pros and cons of signing on as the house band with Jimmy Fallon.
posted by Drinky Die at 10:27 AM PST - 4 comments

White noise a little too stuffy? Nature sounds a little too outdoorsy? Wish Starbucks had a cricket infestation? Mix it up with a custom ambient noise generator!
posted by phunniemee at 10:26 AM PST - 27 comments

Presented for your delight: lovely photos of a Sunda Flying Lemur, also known as the Sunda Colugo or Malayan Flying Lemur. Despite their most common name, Sunda Flying Lemurs are not lemurs and do not fly. Galeopterus variegates, to give their Latin binomial, are arboreal, spending their entire lives gliding and perching among the treetops of tropical rainforests. This species "belongs to the mammalian order Dermoptera. It is now widely (if not universally) accepted that the Dermoptera, along with the Scandentia (tree shrews), are the closest living relatives of the Primates, although the precise relationships among these three groups remain a matter of some debate."
posted by ocherdraco at 9:04 AM PST - 14 comments

Electronic music pioneer and one half of LFO, Mark Bell, has died following complications after an operation his record label has announced. [more inside]
posted by jontyjago at 9:01 AM PST - 29 comments

In a Magic the Gathering unboxing video, when opening an alpha starter pack, the author is stunned by a Black Lotus.
posted by frimble at 8:29 AM PST - 134 comments

Zilpha Keatley Snyder, author of 43 books for children and young adults, died from complications of a stroke on October 7, 2014.She won three Newberry Honor Awards
posted by jeather at 8:28 AM PST - 53 comments

"The thought of someone releasing records to not make money always struck me as a fascinating example of how economics and music sometimes make for strange and uncomfortable bedfellows." For a couple of years in the mid-to-late 70's, a few strange record labels popped up with the sole purpose of taking advantage of a little-known loophole in the tax code that allowed record labels to take valuable tax write-offs for unsuccessful releases. These records were often released without the musicians' knowledge and either quickly destroyed, kept in a warehouse, or given in small quantities to a handful of record stores. [more inside]
posted by hadlexishere at 8:22 AM PST - 24 comments

A Field Guide To The True American Diner [via mefi projects]
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 6:55 AM PST - 130 comments

The Making of Ice Cube's AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, an excerpt from Brian Coleman's upcoming Check the Technique 2: More Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies (SLMedium)
posted by box at 5:47 AM PST - 11 comments

In 2001, long before he helped launch the Marvel Cinematic Universe juggernaut, Jon Favreau could reasonably be described as “that guy in Swingers”. But sometime between Swingers and Iron Man, Favreau used some of his clout to create and host a new show for the Independent Film Channel. It was called "Dinner for Five". [more inside]
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 5:47 AM PST - 47 comments

The role of game mechanics should not be the oppressive tyrant telling you to fetch and grind and be thankful for your crumbs of XP and DPS as the scenery blazes past. It should be an à-la-carte menu of options which is opened up for your benefit and at your direction. Slow enough that you can get familiar with each element in turn, but fast enough not to frustrate and limit. Unlockables and crafting should be a way to enable new abilities, not just busywork. Level ups should let you specialize in certain tactics, not just keep up with the Joneses who all bought new glass armor and plasma rifles overnight. Compulsion is just a stick, not the carrot.

Steven Wittens: the Cargo Cult of Game Mechanics.
posted by MartinWisse at 2:25 AM PST - 44 comments

Beethoven's bad influence - Alex Ross ponders if veneration of him stifled his successors.
posted by Gyan at 1:38 AM PST - 27 comments

ArsTechnica: "7 million Dropbox username/password pairs apparently leaked" Reports started to come in late Monday evening about the cloud file storage service Dropbox having been "hacked" by a group that was offering up the complete list of millions of email+password combinations for Bitcoin donations. Later reports, including a statement by Dropbox, point to the potential list being several million combinations culled from various third-party sites, and then tested against Dropbox. [more inside]
posted by Celsius1414 at 12:51 AM PST - 79 comments

BBC: Vatican family review signals shift on homosexuality - "Senior clerics taking part in a review of Catholic teachings on the family have called on the Church to adopt a more positive stance on homosexuality. A preliminary report written by bishops during a Vatican synod said homosexuals had "gifts and qualities to offer"."
posted by marienbad at 12:26 AM PST - 57 comments