February 15, 2006
Torture
Lust's passion will be served; it demands, it militates, it tyrannizes-Marquis de Sade
(tyannizes NSFW)
(MI)
Les Stroud is a ninja
Survivorman. An incredible show of one man surviving all alone in some of the harshest conditions for 7 days without a camera crew. He has to not only survive but carry 50 pounds of camera equipment he uses to film the show. Don't be fooled by the 30 minute abbreviated shows being aired on the US Discovery Channel, the good stuff is the meaty hour-long episodes available on The Science Channel.
It's Valentine's Day and your restaurant workers go on strike...
A model for mapping personality awareness
The Johari Window was invented by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingram in the 1950s as a model for mapping personality awareness. By describing yourself from a fixed list of adjectives, then asking your friends and colleagues to describe you from the same list, a grid of overlap and difference can be built up. To start, pick the five or six words that you feel best describe you. Your results will be saved, under a name of your choosing, so that you can send your friends and colleagues directly to your Window.
Mad scientists
A scientist is... Before and after drawings of scientists by seventh graders. Discussed at Cosmic Variance.
Stupid, but I liked it.
Lost Rhapsody Lost according to Weird Al.
Look at the mekons on that one!
Sports Illustrated's infamous swimsuit issue has taken to featuring naked models with the swimsuits painted directly on their shameful nakedness in recent years; for this year's entry they feature Heidi Klum in a tribute to the bathing suits of the 1940's. Full gallery online here.
One stop drag queen shop
By the book
HarperCollins is the first major publisher to give away an entire version of a new book online, revenue being raised through Yahoo! ads. But they don't seem to be 100% committed - if you go to their website you can pay $18.26 for the e-book and no mention is made of it being available free at the author's own website.
[Appropriately the book, "Go it Alone" by Bruce Judson is about entrepreneurial ideas]
global romantic blogger pain
The Dumpster is "an interactive online visualization that attempts to depict a slice through the romantic lives of American teenagers. Using real postings extracted from millions of online blogs, visitors to the project can surf through tens of thousands of specific romantic relationships in which one person has "dumped" another." Launched yesterday at the Whitney. Frenetic social data browser with voyeuristic blog-sniffer available here
Welcome To IOTA NA-178 Mission Control
Welcome To IOTA NA-178 Mission Control On behalf of IOTA Ham operators WorldWide, the SouthEast Farallon Island - Project NA-178 HAMS HELPING HABITATS project (conducted by K6VVA & K9AJ) will assist the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge ("The Refuge") by transporting materials and equipment via helicopter from the mainland for an important habitat restoration project on SouthEast Farallon Island ("SEFI"), as well as the return of old unwanted infrastructure water pipe from the Island for disposal.
If you thought Eco-tourism was passe, try a DX-pedition! Of course hams have also put their personal concerns aside for other things, such as helping provide emergency communications during natural disasters. One thing you might not realize is our penchant for broadband Internet via BPL (Broadband over Power Lines) may interfere with this hobby of radio enthusiasts.
If you thought Eco-tourism was passe, try a DX-pedition! Of course hams have also put their personal concerns aside for other things, such as helping provide emergency communications during natural disasters. One thing you might not realize is our penchant for broadband Internet via BPL (Broadband over Power Lines) may interfere with this hobby of radio enthusiasts.
We've Got Questions. Got some answers?
We've Got Questions. Got Some Answers? The guy selling you batteries at RadioShack may be better educated than the company's CEO who fudged his resume and claims his diploma was lost in a fire. OK, it's not Enron, but still.
Znort!
RanXerox is a science fiction graphic novel series by Gaetano 'Tanino' Liberatore and Stefano Tamburini. "Ranxerox in New York" ran in the magazine Heavy Metal back in 1982. The series follows the adventures of the intensely violent robot named "RanXerox" and his pre-teen girlfriend Lubna. Still somewhat underground in popularity despite the game, the desktop theme, the t-shirt, the podcast (there were rumblings of a movie). The stories are dark satire. The adult artwork made it sophisticated enough to ban in some countries. (Some images NSFW, babelfish can help translate pages)
picnic by the motorway
50% off for Iranian Olympic skiers
In the Muslim world, the major argument against punishing European governments for the cartoon scandal is that it was not caused by those governments, but by private newspapers. Italy's Reform Minister tries to put things right.
Couch dress!
Pantalaine has been making plural clothing since 1950? Imagine sweatpants with arm attachments, or even better, a couch dress.
Toads teach evolution
... before the toads evolve into even more dangerous adversaries. So read up. Know the enemy. Consider biological warfare which may be in violation of one of those Geneva Convention thingies.
Just how important are law clerks?
David Garrow reviewed Justice Blackmun's papers, released to the public in 2005, and concludes that towards the end of his career, Blackmun's clerks all but signed his opinions. In an interview, discussing senility and Supreme Court Justices, Garrow argues that there has been "a dramatic increase over the last 35 or 45 years in the amount of the justices’ work that is performed by their law clerks," and recommends a "reduction to two or, even better yet, one clerk" from the four clerks available per Justice now. Garrow also comments on the now-deceased Chief Justice Rehnquist, who suffered from an addiction to painkillers in the 1980s. Garrow's view is controversial, though, and Legal Affairs published several responses in the same issue. Other law professors have weighed in, including Dan Markel, Mark Tushnet, and some of the folks at the Volokh Conspiracy. So how large is the impact of law clerks?
Irie Takako: Establishing Oneself and Entering the World
In the Twilight of Modernity and the Silent Film (.pdf) Irie Takako was the most popular actress in 1930s Japan: film scholar Tanaka Masasumi locates the turning point of Japanese modernity in 1933, the year Kenji Mizoguchi's The Water Magician was made, arguing that Irie's transformation from radiant embodiment of moga(modern girl, the Japanese version of the flapper)-hood to suffering beauty in a kimono (.pdf) epitomized modernism's (modanizumu) defeat by nationalism in 1930's Japan. (via Camera Obscura; more inside)
Detroit Demolition Disneyland
The "D" stands for Demolition. In an attempt at building awareness of Detroit's rotting, decaying neighborhoods(as if one needed further awareness), the Detroit Demolition Disneyland project finds long-abandoned, neglected structures that the city has failed to demolish and paints them with Tiggerific Orange paint.
Choice of Law; Conflicts of Law
The 2005 Annual Survey on Choice of Law in American Courts. [pdf] The survey on Choice of Law looks at the recent controversial Supreme Court ruling dealing with conflict of laws. See Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line, Ltd., 125 S.Ct. 2169 (2005).
(Kennedy, J., writing the opinion of the Court) (Ginsburg, J., concurring) (Scalia, J., dissenting) (Thomas, J., concurring in part, dissenting in part). At issue in Spector was whether disability statutes applied to ships that depart from Texas and travel through domestic waters but fly under the flag of the Bahamas. Other 2005 Supreme Court conflict of laws cases included Small v. United States and Pasquantino v. United States.
Batman kicks al Qaeda's ass
Batman kicks al Qaeda's ass Frank Miller is working on a Batman vs. Al Qaeda comic. At least he's being honest that it's utter propaganda.
Married to the Wrong Sex
Married to the Wrong Sex. A short, poignant article on a gay man's decision to marry heterosexually, because it's what his family and society expect.
Jungle love
"This is the most tacky, tasteless, smutty, down-in-the-gutter tour ever created," Tollini told the 80 or so adults who piled onto two trams and devoted three hours to tales of fornicating felines and hermaphrodite ostriches. Big thanks to Tizzie at 9622.net.
Ice vs. toilet water
Jasmine Roberts, a seventh-grade student: "I found that 70-percent of the time, the ice from the fast food restaurant's contain more bacteria than the fast food restaurant's toilet water."
Sony uses interns to promote its artists on blogs
Out of touch with today's 'yoof'? Fire your marketing team and get interns to do it for free. Sony's cynicism knows no bounds as they pollute the blogosphere with intern-generated progaganda for their artists, hot on the tails of launching their gay record label, to better plunder the pink pound. It's a shame they couldn't take the lead from the other parties burnt in the rootkit scandal and promise more transparency.
Would you like benzene in your soft drink?
FDA re-opens probe into benzene contamination of soft drinks US food safety authorities have re-opened an investigation closed 15 years ago into soft drinks contaminated with cancer-causing chemical benzene, following evidence the industry has failed to sort out the problem.
Friendly monsters in LA
Three Legged Legs animation & directing collective bring friendly monsters to LA (quicktime) based on the art of Jeff Sotto. They also blow up people (quicktime) pretty good.
New Lara Croft announced
Eidos announces a new Lara Croft (of Tomb Raider fame) to take over from Angelina Jolie. Her name is Karima Adebibe, and she is a completely unknown shop assistant from London. She has some big ... boots ... to fill.
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