November 25, 2011
Waiting for justice
Today is the third anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. And India, tired of waiting, wants answers. [more inside]
His name is Paul
A progressive Australian political advocacy group have produced a 2-minute advertisement showing their support of Marriage Equality Down Under. Warning: May pull heartstrings. [more inside]
New Blood on Late Night
As part of the "Live On Letterman" webcast series, Peter Gabriel arrived with a full orchestra backup to perform many of his best-known songs in their new settings as found on his recently released New Blood album. You can watch the entire 68 minute performance online.
Papa Jesus is passed out drunk again...
Horowitz in Moscow
In 1986,[Vladimir] Horowitz announced that he would return to the Soviet Union for the first time since 1925 to give recitals in Moscow and Leningrad. In the new atmosphere of communication and understanding between the USSR and the USA, these concerts were seen as events of political, as well as musical, significance. [more inside]
Never believe any copyright over five
Amelia Andersdotter of Sweden's Pirate Party (Piratpariet) will finally become the youngest ever member of the European Parliament this December. [more inside]
Lest We Forget
"Almost 1,500 people from Royal Wootton Basset [Wiltshire, England] have taken part in a music video filmed on the same high street that they once lined to pay their respects to Britain's fallen soldiers."* They hope to raise £1 million for military charities with their cover of Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends". [more inside]
"..to get a medallion from a sofa where there's a pterodactyl which pushes a shopping trolley..."
World Memory Champion Ben Pridmore can memorize a deck of playing cards in under 30 seconds. Sometimes he imagines elaborate, on-the-fly tales of absurdity to aid his memorization. One such story was brought to life by DJ Shadow (way previously) and a cast of thousands: Scale It Back (bonus, helpful recall of entire story at end of video)
From The Great State of...Cook County?
"Downstate families are tired of Chicago dictating its views to the rest of us." Two Downstate Illinois state legislators, Rep. Bill Mitchell (R-Forsyth) and Rep. Adam Brown (R-Decatur), have proposed a bill to make Cook County its own state. Of course, this is a lot easier said than done.
Pardoning Thanksgiving Turkeys
Oh sugar!
It's that time of year again... the contenders for the Literary Review Bad Sex Award have been announced. [more inside]
We're From The Government That Makes It Legal
Federal Prosecutors Are Allowed To Break Laws and Ethical Violations U.S. Senator from Alaska, Ted Stevens was charged with and convicted of corruption in 2008. The prosecutors were admonished by the judge for their actions during the trial such as sending home to Alaska, a witness who would have helped Sen Stevens. Furthermore in direct violation of Brady v Maryland, the prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense. The DoJ decided that the DoJ did nothing wrong with such violations because they were not explicitly told not to break the law. Because the judge took the government at their word, that they would obey the law, he did not issue a court order demanding that they do so, therefor allowing the attorneys carte blanche.
Antibiotics
The US Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy runs a non-profit, Extending the Cure, which conducts policy research to extend antibiotic effectiveness, and ResistanceMap, which generates interactive analysis tools and maps regarding antibiotic use in Europe and the US. The most recent ResistanceMap visualizations indicate that the US Southeast overprescribes antibiotics at a high rate compared with the rest of the country. Science journalist / "Superbug" blogger Maryn McKenna speculates (while acknowledging that correlation ≠ causation,) that the map might also indicate a link between overuse of antibiotics, obesity, diabetes and stroke. [more inside]
Penderecki + Aphex Twin
Although Aphex Twin has not been releasing much music recently, he still plays frequent live shows. At a recent show in Poland he reworked two pieces by Krzysztof Penderecki, with Penderecki conducting the original versions prior to Aphex's versions. [more inside]
Flipping the bird.
Jell-O Turkeyfest - the turkey-shaped Jell-O mold annual competition. David Byrne is a returning participant.
(Past winners/entries: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, and where it all began: 2005.)
"I don't like the sound of all those lists he's making - it's like taking too many notes at school; you feel you've achieved something when you haven't." ~ Dodie Smith
Arnold commenting on Total Recall
Here's me Arnold Schwarzenegger riding towards the screen... You asked, and now you've got it: dvd commentary on Total Recall - Arnold giving you his insight into everything that you can see happening on the screen in front of you. ("Ow. That hurt.")
The Worst War Movies Ever
Danger Room, the tech magazine Wired's section for covering military and security matters, have compiled The Worst War Movies Ever, From Delta Force to The Empire Strikes Back for your Friday list viewing pleasure.
GameToilet - a whole bowl full of wonderful game ideas
"One for my Baby and one for my BRAIN"
"The Last Flight of Onan V"
"And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Bread" -
GameToilet collects and illustrates one man's game ideas. It's Friday Flash Fun - in your imagination! (Warning: illustrations, imagination may be NSFW.)
Leaves left
It started with your name' '@byleaveswelive', and became a tree.…
This was followed by dragons, coffins, lost sinners and, 10/10, ‘Gloves of bee’s fur, cap of the wren’s wings’
but there were only 8?
A dinosaur was found in the museum, but what of the last? [more inside]
A Month In Music
A Month In Music - "There are 10,513 MP3s on my hard disk. According to iTunes, that’s nearly 30 days worth of music. It has taken half my life – 15 years – to build this collection but I decided to listen to them all in one go. One continuous concert, playing songs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I wanted to revist all the songs I'd once loved, and the memories and places they called up. The only choice I made was the first track. After that, the computer randomly decided what was going to play. No stopping. No skipping. No changing the volume. Music, all the time, for a whole month. The Month In Music blog charts the progress of the playback project, updated once a day with original writing and photography."
[via mefi projects]
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