July 25, 2009
A shapely galaxy
There are many galaxies. The Sombrero Galaxy. The Whirlpool Galaxy. Lenticular galaxies. The occasional irregular galaxy. What types of galaxies do we find in the universe?
The politics of healthcare reform
Bill Moyers' discussion with two expert analysts of health care, Trudy Lieberman, director of the health and medical reporting program at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, and Marcia Angell, senior lecturer in social medicine at Harvard Medical School and former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Forgotten Bookmarks
Forgotten Bookmarks. "I work at a used and rare bookstore, and I buy books from people every day. These are the personal, funny, heartbreaking and weird things I find in those books. "
BA holders, rejoice.
What can you with an anthropology degree? Bust an illegal organ transplant ring, apparently. [more inside]
"Let people live in your heart"
Children Full of Life - grade 4 students in Kanazawa, Japan learn deep life lessons from their incredible teacher and from each other. I strongly recommend this as awesome, but one caveat: keep tissues handy. (5 parts, 40 minutes total, English)
Spınal Tap Art
You'll Be Surprised How Close One Is To You
Is it a long trip from your physician to the nearest approved cannabis dispensing station? Here's a solution. Get on your Iphone and download cannabisapps.
This game is made by a man who hates videogames
Takeshi no Chōsenjō: it came before the endurance test that is Desert Bus, and served as an inspiration for Janey Thompson's Marathon. In English it is known as Takeshi's Challenge. Released in December 1986 for the Famicom system, the game mechanisms include use of the Famicom microphone to sing karaoke for an hour. And that's after you drink to the point of blacking out, divorce your wife, quit your job, and learn to hang glide AND learn the Hintoba language, amongst other things. All of this takes place in lands populated with nothing but people that want to beat you to death. Of course, you can skip that all and complete the game in a mere 4 minutes by simply walking off the edge of existence, and magically ending at the final treasure room. [more inside]
Trying To Be Nice
A recent survey found that nice people are paid less. But as one Times reporter found, politeness can be its own reward.
The Poet's Obligation
Exit wounds: - It is the poet's obligation, wrote Plato, to bear witness.
With the official inquiry into Iraq imminent and the war in Afghanistan returning dead teenagers; Carol Duffy, recently elected UK Poet Laureate invited a range of her fellow poets to bear witness, each in their own way, to these matters of war.
More about the poets inside: [more inside]
John Barry comes to a screeching halt.
There's an old saying favoured by combat engineers, motorcyclists and technicians everywhere: If it moves and it shouldn't, gaffer-tape it. If it doesn't move and it should, WD-40 it. This week, John Barry, the guy who invented WD-40 on his 40th try (hence the name; Water Displacement, formula 40) met his demise.
Sometimes you have to dig for inspiration
Apes do it. Birds do it. Even educated elephants do it. But can a dog do it? Can a dog make art? Meet Tillamook Cheddar, an adorable Jack Russell Terrier who, after 19 solo shows, has made more than $100,000 in sales of paintings like these. (I believe she did not choose the titles.) Opinions on her work vary. [more inside]
Yasmin Ahmad (1958 - 2009)
Acclaimed Malaysian film and advertising director Yasmin Ahmad has passed away at 11:52pm Saturday night at the age of 51, after collapsing from a stroke at a media presentation the day before. She leaves behind a legacy of film that captures the modern multicultural spirit of Malaysia, winning international festival awards and local hearts while at the mercy of conservative censors. [more inside]
where the wild love is
We Love You So is a blog, hosted by filmmaker Spike Jonze (among others) which has been established to help shed some light on many of the small influences that have converged in the soon to be released feature film rendition of Maurice Sendak’s classic story, Where the Wild Things Are. Previously. [more inside]
It's a concerto with a cat. So it's a CATcerto.
Mindaugas Piečaitis has performed his "CATcerto," an original score written to accompany Nora The Piano Cat's piano improvisation. Here's the video of kitty with orchestra. [more inside]
Rhonda Forever.
Calculator calculator calculator calculator calculator
Scientific calculator. Graphing calculator. Fraction calculator. Unit conversion calculators. Inflation calculator. Fuel cost calculator. WPM calculator. Homework assignment timeline calculator. Stock valuation calculator. Distance calculator. Meteor impact calculator. Currency calculator. BMI calculator. BPM calculator. [more inside]
Greetings, prisoners of gravity. This is commander Rick.
"Prisoners of Gravity was the most thoughtful and creative television program ever produced anywhere in the world about the literature of science fiction, and it was a substantial Canadian success story. In first-run, it was one of the most popular series on its originating network, TVOntario, lasting for five seasons and 139 installments." Here are a few of them, with more being added every now and then. [more inside]
Real Hot Bitches set world synchronised dance record
Nationally famous (in New Zealand) dance troupe the Real Hot Bitches set the world record for synchronised dance. [SLYT]
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