April 6, 2014
Why Don't More Poor Kids Get to See Art?
Increasing the accessibility of cultural capital: "In New York, a place whose cultural institutions attract people from around the world, there are residents who not only have never visited those institutions but also some who have never even been uptown."
RTMFA
RIP the Number One Box Office Draw from 1939 to 1940
Mickey Rooney the former child star, who made his stage debut at the age of 18 months and was in show business for over 8 decades, died Sunday, aged 93.
He was known for his relationship with MGM where he played such roles as Andy Hardy and starred in several pictures with Judy Garland. For a period of two years, he was considered the top star in Hollywood. [more inside]
Homer's Iliad Happens.
"I'm mostly gluten"
They sometimes sound a little bit drunk.
Like, Degrading the Language? No Way
We may not speak with the butter-toned exchanges of the characters on “Downton Abbey,” but in substance our speech is in many ways more civilized....
We are taught to celebrate the idea that Inuit languages reveal a unique relationship to snow, or that the Russian language’s separate words for dark and light blue mean that a Russian sees blueberries and robin’s eggs as more vibrantly different in color than the rest of us do. Isn’t it welcome, then, that good old-fashioned American is saying something cool about us for once?
- John McWhorter on colloquial American English (SLNYTIMES) [more inside]
Decaying London properties of the rich, and otherwise.
In 2013, 85% of new houses in London were sold to non-UK buyers. Many stand empty and decaying, held as investments instead of homes. On the other end of the scale, desperate renters turn to leaking barges on the Thames.
The Simpsons = 11 days, 13 hours, 30 minutes. D'oh!
# of seasons × # of episodes per season × runtime of episode = total for 1 TV show. Repeat for more TV shows = total time. Tiii.me lets you select the name of a tv show, the number of seasons you've watched, and tells you how much of your life you've spent watching that show. Add more shows and it will keep a running total for you. [more inside]
"...said to be the messianic leader of an apocalyptic Islamic sex cult."
Step inside this surreal world where religious piety meets psychedelic softcore porn, led by the world’s foremost Islamic creationist. "Followers of Harun Yahya (1, 2, 3) wear drag make-up and practice a “sexed-up, Disney version of Islam” that helps promote conservative Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s vision of a modern, Muslim Turkey."
Slothified
The woman who lost a dog and gained 200 sloths. 'Monique Pool first fell in love with sloths when she took in an orphan from a rescue centre. Since then many sloths have spent time in her home on their way back to the forest - but even she found it hard to cope when she had to rescue 200 at once' a Sloth Armageddon. [more inside]
History Philosophy Without Gaps podcast
It has been more than a year since Peter Adamson's The History of Philosophy without any Gaps podcast has been on the front page of metafilter. Since then he has been plugging away at a podcast a week. Previously. [more inside]
"The Silly Walks Song"
As a preview of their upcoming Monty Python Live (mostly) shows this summer, the Pythons have released a brand new song called "The Silly Walks Song". The video that accompanies it is a frenetic mashup of Python bits from TV and film over the years and is certain to warm cockles of any Python fan's heart (Full story here).
Turn that camera OFF
The Jon Spenser Blues Explosion was (is) a groundbreaking rock and roll band (not a blues band) well known for its live performances. Not much video footage of their concerts is extant, but this performance on an Australian TV show in 1994 is pretty typical, if the word "typical" is suitable for someone trying to incite a riot. [more inside]
"What would work even against an infosec guy? Linkedin invites."
Unrecognized state continues to exist anyway
Somaliland is an odd land. In global limbo since its birth, it continues to develop economically and socially in a reasonably stable and secure environment. Recently, the British town of Sheffield was the first to recognize its very existence as an independent country. In the meantime, the capital Hargeisa city, which has only one paved road, recently installed streetlights for the first time, and an enterprising entrepreneur returned home from Australia to start a familiar city service - the yellow cab. Investors and businesses have started paying attention while the major powers still prefer to pretend it doesn't exist. Even while experts debate whether their model can be utilized in far more volatile Somalia, Hargeisa's residents want you to know they are Happy.
Blair Disease
"At a reception recently I met the former president of a small post-communist country. I know that’s what he was because he told me so immediately. He then began dropping names of London-based ex-Soviet oligarchs – his friends and business associates, he implied.
This man had Blair Disease, named for ex-prime minister Tony Blair: the growing propensity of former heads of government to monetise their service. Blair Disease is damaging but easily cured." -- From Simon Kuper in the Financial Times
This man had Blair Disease, named for ex-prime minister Tony Blair: the growing propensity of former heads of government to monetise their service. Blair Disease is damaging but easily cured." -- From Simon Kuper in the Financial Times
But who plays the wacky neighbor?
Dave Lamb is Home
Dave Lamb of folk duo Brown Bird (previously), husband of bandmate MorganEve Swain, died yesterday at the age of 35 after a year-long fight with leukemia. [more inside]
Jon Hopkins, "Immunity"
'Collider': bleakly euphoric music by Jon Hopkins; harrowing video - perfectly married to the music - by director Tom Haines. Hopkins says 'Collider' is the best track he's ever written. It's the centrepiece of his critically acclaimed and Mercury-nominated 2013 album Immunity. [more inside]
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