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[MLYT] Drue Langlgois' courageous cartoon clean-up crew, The Dudes of Hazmat, have completed their latest weird adventure, Doorway of the Devourer. You can watch all four adventures (and three music videos) to date here. It's reminiscent of Sam and Max in that there's bizarre situations, a nonetheless strong character focus, and a Weirdly Specific Vibe (different to Sam and Max's). [more inside]
posted by BiggerJ at 5:58 PM PST - 9 comments

For about the next decade, the combined DMX/AEI Music would compete with Muzak. In 2011-2012, Canadian background music (now usually called "multisensory marketing") firm Mood Media bought both Muzak and DMX/AEI, combining them all into the Mood Media brand. This behemoth would enjoy nearly complete control of the background music industry, were it not for the cycle of technology bringing in IP-based competitors like Pandora for Business. Haha, no, I am kidding, Pandora for Business is also a Mood Media product. 3600 words from J. B. Crawford at Computers Are Bad.
posted by cgc373 at 4:46 PM PST - 19 comments

Cormac McCarthy, a critically acclaimed author with a singular voice, has died. McCarthy was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for The Road. [more inside]
posted by theora55 at 1:33 PM PST - 119 comments

From Ars Technica via the BBC, a new Beatles record will be released later this year—widely speculated to be the John Lennon-penned song "Now and Then". [more inside]
posted by vitout at 10:26 AM PST - 99 comments

killedbygoogle.com lists 285 projects, services and pieces of software that Google has terminated during its history. Let's look back at some of them. [more inside]
posted by JHarris at 9:54 AM PST - 96 comments

‘Mrs. Davis’ Versus AI: Here’s What Happened When ChatGPT Interviewed Damon Lindelof, Tara Hernandez and Betty Gilpin [more inside]
posted by sardonyx at 9:44 AM PST - 18 comments

For those under electronic surveillance, the walls of a detention center reproduce themselves through technology that is heavily intertwined with migrants’ physical bodies. Immigration authorities are ever-present in the form of a bulky monitoring device strapped to one’s ankle or a smartphone app that demands you take a selfie and upload it at a certain time of day. People enrolled in Alternatives to Detention must keep these technologies charged and fully functioning in order to check in with their supervisors. For some, this dynamic transfers the role of an immigration officer onto migrants themselves. Migrants become a subject of state-sanctioned surveillance — as well as their own enforcers of it. from When your body becomes the border by Erica Hellerstein
posted by chavenet at 8:17 AM PST - 6 comments

Atari announces the first official cartridge, since 1990, for the venerable Atari Video Computer System2600. [more inside]
posted by hanov3r at 8:09 AM PST - 28 comments

Capcom's 40th Anniversary Site Is An Incredible Digital Museum With Playable Retro Games [Capcom Town] “Capcom has launched a beautiful 40th-anniversary website which celebrates the company's history, as well as shares artwork and design docs, and acts as a hub for some of the developer's biggest titles. [...] The town is segmented into areas for certain franchises — Street Fighter has a dojo in the top right corner, for instance, while Monster Hunter occupies the space in front of the giant arcade machine. If you're an eagle-eyed fan, then you'll spot some other small references to Capcom characters throughout. [...] You can pop into the C.M.D Museum to look at artwork from many of Capcom's best titles — there is some never-before-seen concept art for some games, high-resolution artwork of characters we've never had access to, and design docs for the original Mega Man, Ace Attorney, and Street Fighter II. An archivist's dream, basically. Also, remember the arcade we mentioned above? Well, there are a handful of playable retro games over there — these include Mega Man, Mega Man 2, Mega Man X, Street Fighter II, and Final Fight, and you can play them in English or Japanese. You can also read through the game's instruction manuals and have a look at the cartridges for those titles.” [via: Nintendo Life]
posted by Fizz at 6:34 AM PST - 20 comments

Treat Williams, star of stage and screen, was killed in a motorcycle accident yesterday. He was 71 years old.
posted by Silvery Fish at 6:04 AM PST - 59 comments

Happy Pride Month! It probably feels like a lifetime ago when you last heard from Sophie B. Hawkins [Wikipedia]. Well, surprise! Sophie has a new album out, Free Myself [YT playlist], her first in over a decade. Here she speaks with Eric Dahl earlier this year about her new album and her career. [21m] Sophie B. Hawkins emerges from a 'personal tsunami' with new album 'Free Myself' [STL Today] Daily Beast interview with Sophie about the past 30 years. [more inside]
posted by hippybear at 5:27 AM PST - 4 comments