April 18, 2013
Around the World Circuit
An effortless melding of Malian and western styles topped off by the gorgeously smoky voice of Fatoumata Diawara.
The infectiously brisk tempo, chiming guitar artistry and tight, rapid fire harmonies of Shirati Jazz.
The warmly grounded choral expression of South Africa's Black Umfolosi. The delicate, calmly unfolding wellspring of melody (starting off with a classic Morricone spaghetti-western quote!) of kora master Toumani Diabate. The loping, balafon-driven groove over which the majestic, declamatory voice of Oumou Sangare soars. The classic, Cuban-inspired rhumba (but with the distinctively African feel and sound) of Orchestra Baobab... all these modern treasures of African music and much, much more from Africa and beyond at the World Circuit Soundcloud page. Enjoy the ride!
The cars catching on fire probably had something to do with it
While Tesla Motors expects its first profitable quarter (despite some bad press),
the electric car competitor it unsuccessfully sued for stealing its technology, Fisker Automotive,
teeters on the brink of insolvency. How did Fisker, a company valued at over $1 billion
dollars at the beginning of 2013, end up in this sitation? A Timeline of Fisker's Rise and Fall
We are all individuals
Siphonophores are colonial organisms—they are composed of zoöids, specialised individuals that live together collectively, each performing a function that is essential to the other members of the colony. One well-known example is the Portuguese man o' war, which is actually composed of four separate types of zoöids despite resembling the individual organism otherwise known as the jellyfish. Turns out they are also remarkably beautiful. [more inside]
Doomed Planet. Desperate Scientists. Last Hope. Kindly Couple.
The 75 greatest Superman stories of all-time: 75-26, 25-1
- celebrating the 75th anniversary of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's debut of the character in ACTION COMICS #1. Everything you need to know about Superman in four panels. The Actual Best Superman Writer Ever Happy Anniversary Lois Lane. The $130 Check That Bought Superman.
Don't freak out. This will only take a few minutes!
The obvious choice? The obvious choice to oblivion? Let's see...(SLYT)
Turn up the volume, kick up your feet, and take a relaxing glide with Alexander Polli Warning: The part where he attempts to thread the needle may cause involuntary clenching.
This MLYT Post Provides Suction
MeatLifter
Sober homes: $500 a bed per person, $10,000 a month per house
A growing new real estate market. Many homeowners are frightened by the prospect of transitional housing in their neighborhoods. But the operators of sober living facilities argue that the homes don't violate zoning regulations because the Americans with Disabilities Act includes recovering addicts.
"Ring it Out"
Last fall, the Canadian Space Agency asked students to design a simple science experiment that could be performed in space, using items already available aboard the International Space Station. Today, Commander Chris Hadfield conducted the winner for its designers: two tenth grade students, Kendra Lemke and Meredith Faulkner, in a live feed to their school in Fall River, Nova Scotia. And now, we finally have an answer to the age-old question, What Happens When You Wring Out A Washcloth In Space? [more inside]
I am plastered across movie screens; a best-selling caricature.
Found: unused space shuttle
No big deal, just found an abandoned space shuttle.
"I'm yours again. I always enjoy seeing what happens to me."
After years of silence, enigmatic programmer/musician/surrealist why the lucky stiff is publishing to the web again (temporarily). Five days ago he released a number of short collages; today, his site is outputting a number of stories and essays, which are being collected in several Scribd repositories. _why writes about a strange old Oprah show starring guests who've removed themselves from society [parts 2 3 4 5 6], discussing M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening with a friend [2 3 4 5 6], and suffering a personal crisis after reading the complete works of Kafka [2 3 4 5 6 7]. (One final story, "Dentist", has been uploaded to a public Dropbox account [2 3 4 5 6 7 8].) There's also this somewhat ominous web site. [more inside]
Storm Thorgerson Has Died
Storm Thorgerson, famous graphic designer, has died of cancer age 69.
As a member of Hipgnosis and later Storm Studios, Thorgerson created or assisted in creating some of the most iconic album covers in rock history. [more inside]
I'm all man, baby.
Corners of the world where women have yet to tread. Visuals of leadership positions and organizations that are currently and historically boys' clubs. Some of it surprising, some of it expected. All of it sad. [more inside]
"what kind of surveillance society we should be fighting for"
Practical Ethics: Enlightened Surveillance?
Surrendering on surveillance might be the least bad option – of all likely civil liberty encroachments, this seemed the less damaging and hardest to resist. But that’s an overly defensive way of phrasing it – if ubiquitous surveillance and lack of privacy are the trends of the future, we shouldn’t just begrudgingly accept them, but demand that society gets the most possible out of them.[more inside]
4 minutes of a sloth hugging a cat.
Tutorial: Geeky Photography with Space Invaders Flash Stencils
Clever camera trickery in the form of flash stencilling by enclosing the flash and creating a window of a specific shape to let the light through, and then ‘light painting’ for the camera. [more inside]
The Legend of Zelda: Clockwork Empire
Inspired by Anita Sarkeesian’s Video Game Tropes vs Women, internet cartoonist Aaron Diaz of Dresden Codak (Previously) wanted to pitch a Zelda game where Zelda herself was the hero, rescuing a Prince Link. The Legend of Zelda: Clockwork Empire is that pitch. [more inside]
Handmade halftones
Throughout the printing process the human printer assumes the role of the machine and is therefore controlled and restricted by the process of using CMYK halftones created on the computer.
Think Apple Store meets Colonial Williamsburg
240 year-old Menokin House was home to one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The Menokin Foundation would like to restore it, but all that's left these days are two broken walls and a pair of crumbling chimneys. Even the head of the foundation admits, "Virginia needs another house museum like it needs a hole in the head." So how to honor the home's owner colonial statesman Francis Lightfoot Lee while still trying to present something novel and worth seeing? The Foundation's answer: rebuild the structure, just as it was, but replacing all of its missing components with structural glass.
Talking about the Simpsons
Conan O'Brien recently reunited with some of the other writers of The Simpsons who he worked with during his tenure on the show. The panel touches on "... how Jub-Jub became the name of Selma's iguana, how Tracy Ullman always hated the cartoon, and how Conan was the only person in the show's history to have three episode ideas accepted in one story idea day."
Cory Nebacterium vs. Sally Staph
Microbiomes & Health "We conducted a study during a flat track roller derby tournament, and found that teammates shared distinct skin microbial communities before and after playing against another team, but that opposing teams’ bacterial communities converged during the course of a roller derby bout." [more inside]
Meet The Edwardians
"This video has been dramatically enhanced in quality, using modern video editing tools. The film has been motion stabilized and the speed has been slowed down to correct speed (from 18 fps to 24 fps) using special frame interpolation software that re-creates missing frames." Watch corrected and cleaned footage of circa 1900s London and Cork (5 min 35 sec). (via)
Fruit Flies at the Whole Foods
"Is organic produce better for you?" is a simple question asked by a middle schooler in a science fair. Using fruit flies fed organic vs. conventional produce, Ria Chhabra tracked the flies and saw improvements based on their diet. Now barely a sophomore in high school, the project lead to university research labs, science fair awards, publication in top-tier peer-reviewed journals, and quite likely, scholarships at her pick of top-flight universities.
Digital Public Library of America launches their beta today
Today at noon eastern time, the Digital Public Library of America launched its beta website... The Digital Public Library of America, having worked since 2010 to try and find ways to organize and group an array of disparate digital resources, finally launches it's beta today. While it's come under some criticism from parts of the library community, the DPLA is moving forward by providing both access to resources and an API upon which existing libraries can build their own tools.
Previously on the blue.
Generation Y
31 percent of employers involved reported parents submitted resumes on behalf of their offspring and 14 other things you should know about the Millennial genearation.
Researchers calculate that life began before Earth existed
Put the Art In Your Mouth
Caitlin Freeman started out as a photographer, but along the way she fell in love with Wayne Thiebaud's work Display Cakes and it sent her in different direction. [more inside]
Building a Treadle Lathe
A nicely crafted video showing the construction of a treadle lathe, a foot-powered device for woodturning. The builder uses only hand tools and traditional methods; even the drill press is hand-cranked. Useful for those interested in constructing such a thing, mesmerizing for those who enjoy "how it's made"-type videos.
Wonder Woman
Cirque de Soleil performer Adrienn Banhegyi demonstrates her ridiculously amazing jump rope skills in this cool, short video. [slyt | via]
The limits of religious belieb
A Norwegian television comedy show recently staged a stunt where a street stall in Oslo offered Justin Bieber tickets to teenagers in return for ostensibly converting to Islam on camera. [more inside]
Real Madrid Fan's Good Luck
Grant Wahl tells the story of a devoted fan and José Mourinho, manager of Real Madrid. Abel Rodríguez, who works for the LA Metro system, has volunteered for Real Madrid soccer practices in Los Angeles. Last February, he traveled to see the Real Madrid-Barcelona Clásico, without a hotel reservation or even a ticket. The training facility's security guard wouldn't let him in, so he sat outside for 5 hours. What happened next sounds like a fairy tale.
The Missing Boy
An extraordinarily raw interview with Vini Reilly, guitarist with the Durutti Column. Recorded at the Manchester Town Hall on Sunday, March 3rd 2013, he discusses his violent upbringing, his lifelong struggle with depression, his friendship with Ian Curtis, and his determination to continue playing music despite suffering a series of debilitating strokes. The recording culminates with his first public performance in two years. Previously in MeFi
Dog wants a kitty.
A kitty!!!!.... or I'm going to chew this couch's arm right off.
Gold Crash
"Gold's crash this weekend is, as Oprah might say, a teachable moment. Crashes like this are a good way to find out how markets work. It's like a game of financial Clue, a way to keep sharp your skills of deduction. You don't have to be a stock investor or a math whiz to figure it out, either – you just have to have a good grasp of news and human psychology." - the Guardian on this week's crash in gold commodity prices.
Olga Ziemska
Olga Ziemska is a sculptor who works in Cleveland, Ohio. She also has a blog. [Some images may be NSFW]
Around the Beatles: a one-off TV variety show from 1964
In 1964, The Beatles put together a one-off variety show, with musical numbers specially pre-recorded for the show, presented in the style of theater-in-the-round. Around the Beatles was aired in the UK and later that same year in the US, but never commercially released. The show includes The Beatles performing a scene from A Midsummer's Night Dream, with Paul McCartney as Pyramus, John Lennon as his lover Thisbe, George Harrison as Moonshine, Starr as Lion, and Trevor Peacock (the only actual actor in the lot) in the role of Quince. A color clip of that was posted previously, but you can watch the entire (almost) hour-long show with The Beatles' segments accompanied by seven other musical acts, on Dailymotion or YouTube, though it's in black and white. [more inside]
The twentieth century started here
Psybient
Psybient or psychill is an chillout genre that combines elements of ambient with psytrance and world music, along with some glitch and dub sounds. Excellent examples are Land Switcher (more), Solar Fields (site), Euphorica, and Entheogenic. [more inside]
The Short Films of Louis C.K.
Top dog comedian, Louis C.K., has picked up a number of industry nods for the talented writing, acting, editing, and directing he does for his show Louie on FX. The highbrow aesthetics of the show might come as a surprise to anyone that remembers his Hollywood flop, Pootie Tang, but C.K. also created a number of indie comedy shorts during the 90s and 00s that may now merit closer attention: Ice Cream (1993), The Letter V (1998), The Legend of Willie Brown (1998), Ugly Revenge (??), Hijacker (1998), Hello There (1998), Brunch (1998), Searching for Nixon (2006), Persona Ne'll Aqua (1999). [more inside]
It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
The new Will.I.Am single sounded very familiar to trance producers Mat Zo (previously) and Arty.
But that's only one example of his serial plagarism of EDM artists: [more inside]
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