October 27, 2008
Clearly more study is required
One closer to 60
Sen. Stevens (R, AK) found guilty of of seven corruption charges. Stevens was behind in the polls before this point anyway, so it looks like a solid Dem gain at this point. Palin has obviously thown him under the bus.
Videos set to music
MTVMusic Music to your eyes.
Spanning centuries
Daughter of a slave casts vote for Obama. As the centenarian looks forward to turning 110 later this year, let's all take a moment to celebrate centenarians... and, of course, try to work out just how on earth they made it this far. High levels of vitamins A and E seem to play a role, or of course you could just be lucky enough to be from Okinawa or Sardinia. Whatever the reason, they sure know how to live. And as we've seen previously, they're fascinating people.
Free 'How-To' Tutorial Videos
MonkeySee provides free access to a large collection of professionally-produced and user-generated how-to videos. Some of the more interesting tutorials include How To Apply Heath Ledger Joker Makeup, How to Tell if Your Food Has Gone Bad, How to Build a Terrarium, How To Tell If Someone is Lying To Me and How to Get Out of a Speeding Ticket.
Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.
On Oct. 27th, 1915. Sir Ernest Shackleton gave the order to abandon ship, moving the crew and supplies off of the ice bound Endurance. The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition would never achieve it's goal of crossing the continent, instead Shackleton would become famous for somethings far greater: his masterful and amazing ability at leadership and survival for himself and his crew of 27 men under the harshest conditions imaginable. [more inside]
Plainview is a free full-screen web browser for your mac.
Plainview is a free full-screen web browser for your mac.
Until now, you had two options for showing Internet work: capture it all to Quicktime and throw it into Powerpoint or Keynote (looks nice but no interactivity as everything has to be canned) or show it in your browser (interactive but with ugly chrome distracting people from your beautiful sites).
So here's a third option. Fire up your full-screen browser and let your audience focus on the work. [more inside]
Tony Hillerman
The creator of Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn died last night. His books were enjoyed by many. Tony Hillerman was 83.
metaphors be with you
Link found between physical and emotional warmth l Metaphors of the Mind: Why Loneliness Feels Cold and Sins Feel Dirty. "Our mental processes are not separate and detached from the body". Sensory metaphors l The Metaphor Observatory, top 10 metaphors of 2007.
The Chainsaws Of November
How Much
Quantum of culture. Terminology from quantum theory shows up frequently in art, films, poetry and sculpture. Robert P. Crease gauges the impact of quantum mechanics on popular culture. [Via]
Cadle's Flag of the Earth
The Flag of Earth is often flown at locations doing SETI work in order to indicate that the search is the "work of humanity and not a specific country or organization." The creator of this flag of the Earth (there are others) James W. Cadle died in 2004, but he left the design in the public domain. The flag is now supported by the North American Astrophysical Observatory.
What to do if your vote is suppressed
Do you know what to do if your vote is suppressed?
GOODVOTE.ORG is a group of volunteers from the technology community and blogosphere who simply want the will of the voters to be reflected in the result of the 2008 election. Our only purpose is to make sure that when legitimate voters are challenged they know who to turn to for help.
GOODVOTE.ORG is a group of volunteers from the technology community and blogosphere who simply want the will of the voters to be reflected in the result of the 2008 election. Our only purpose is to make sure that when legitimate voters are challenged they know who to turn to for help.
Rauschenberg Memorial
As was noted previously, Robert Rauschenberg left us ealier this year at age 82. The webcast of a private memorial for Robert Rauschenberg’s friends and family will be viewable tonight for one time only at 9 p.m EST.
Hearing Spooky Voices
Hearing Voices [prev, prev] has a devilishly viscera-soaked Halloween broadcast: Bloody Hell: The First Half is Bloody. The Second Half We Go to Hell. So, turn the lights out, press play, and grab your favorite token of comfort. (It won't help.) [more inside]
Historical Popular Vote Maps
Memes in Motion
Shifting the Debate. Track the movement across the blogosphere of the top 100 political videos on YouTube with this amazing Flash applet.
electric stimulus to face
Miss Frozen Face
Back in 1940, a young singer called Virginia O'Brien made her debut in the LA production of "Meet the People" when she was seized by a paralyzing case of stage fright. The policeman daughter nevertheless bravely kept on singing while the audience roared with laughter. Surprisingly, her frozen-faced delivery, far from cutting her career short, created a unique niche for her instead (her wide vocal range and stunning looks also helped). Within short, she'd be appearing as deadpan "featured singer" in a number of golden-age MGM comedies, such as the "In the Storehouse", "Panama Hattie", or, most memorably, "Du Barry was a Lady". It's a bit sad that such a singing and acting talent was reduced to a novelty act, but, damn, what an act!
Smithore for sale
Blotchmen and other comics by Kevin Cannon
Blotchmen is a short comic by Kevin Cannon that collides Watchmen with children's books. Other short comics by Kevin Cannon can be read on his site under Grab Bag and on his blog, Freshman for Life. His professional work is done through Big Time Attic which he founded with Shad Petosky and not-brother Zander Cannon.
The case of the disappearing Toff
The Bullingdon Club is an elite drinking dining club for members of Oxford University in England. Its alumni include the London Mayor, Boris Johnson; the leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron and the shadow Chancellor, George Osborne - in other words the three most powerful Tories in the UK. Photographs of the club are already extremely rare, but recently it surfaced that one of the two in wide circulation, might have been doctored. [more inside]
Flashed by Rorschach
Original character designs for Watchmen, including a (dropped) full body suit for Rorschach, by Dave Gibbons. (Also it looks like the movie version will have a different ending, so fears of a non-sucky Alan Moore film can be put to rest.)
Dream Diary
To get you in the Halloween spirit: Yume Nikki - a strange and sometimes scary game (that's free to download) where you play a girl who spends her days in a tiny room, but in her dreams goes exploring. Some rave about it, others find it overwhelming, while others still provide many helpful guidelines. Try it yourself - if you're lucky, maybe you'll see Uboa (3:26).
Experience the censored Chinese internet at home!
The Koln Concert remembered, and despised.
It is the most successful solo jazz album of all time, but Keith Jarrett wants to see each of the 3.5 million copies of "The Köln Concert" stomped into the ground.
Abu Nidal mystery solved
Remember Abu Nidal? The "Bin Laden" of the 70s and 80s, he mysteriously committed suicide in Baghdad on the eve of the 2003 invasion. New documents have come to light suggesting Nidal was working for the USA "trying to find evidence linking Saddam and al-Qa'ida." [more inside]
Syria's business
"US helicopter raid" in Syria. Could this be an October Surprise? Many have hinted this election's October Surprise will be the capture of Osama Bin Ladin or a resurgence of terrorist activity.
As we recall, news media had jumped on a McCain Aide who claimed a terrorist attack would benefit McCain in the Election.
Hip Hop's First Battle
Way back in 1984, when rap was still in its infancy, a now-obscure Brooklyn trio called UTFO released a record entitled "Roxanne, Roxanne". UTFO cancelled an appearance at a show promoted by now-legendary figures Mr. Magic and Marley Marl, and when a teenage girl named Lolita Shante Gooden overheard them discussing the cancellation and their anger over it, she offered to record a diss track as the titular Roxanne, and became Roxanne Shante. UTFO responded with their own "Real Roxanne", and thus began a ridiculously long series of answer records involving everyone from the fictional Roxanne's doctor to her grandmother. Now you can listen to them all without spending a fortune: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10 [more inside]
A Boy's Life
The November Atlantic on transgender children: "Since he could speak, Brandon, now 8, has insisted that he was meant to be a girl. This summer, his parents decided to let him grow up as one. His case, and a rising number of others like it, illuminates a heated scientific debate about the nature of gender—and raises troubling questions about whether the limits of child indulgence have stretched too far." [more inside]
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