July 29, 2007
The best time to post to MeFi is between 2 and 3 EST.
The best times to buy anything. The best places to do everything. The best seasons to eat everything. The best months to go anywhere or to go anywhere cheap. The best times of day to do anything. Also, the worst day to dine in New York, click delete without looking, fly, get arrested, and give birth.
SLIME IN THE ICE MACHINE!
Ándale! Ándale! Arriba!
Ándale! Ándale! Arriba! -- Step aside you rat! Speedy González (no relation to Alberto) debuted in 1953 as a Warner Brothers' cartoon mouse (The Fastest Mouse in Mexico). Originally voiced by the master, Mel Blanc, his time on screen has at times been controversial -- especially when paired with his cousin Slowpoke Rodriguez. Cartoon Network deemed his portrayal of Mexicans/Latinos to be offensive. "There evidently wasn't a problem with the Mexican caricatures at the beginning of Speedy's career. The 1955 animated short 'Speedy Gonzales' won an Academy Award [Best Short Subject (Cartoons)], and two other cartoons, Tabasco Road and The Pied Piper of Guadalupe, were nominated for Oscars in 1957 and 1961."
The Wire as Institution
One day someone will write a post worthy of The Wire. In the mean time, here's an article about and an interview with Felicia Pearson. Apparently there are a similarities between her and "Snoop", her character on the show.
Remember Slow Bob?
Anybody remember Slow Bob In The Lower Dimensions? Turns out the short video, once a mainstay of early 90s late-night MTV, was created by one Henry Selick, director of, oh, The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, Monkeybone, and the forthcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Coraline. A lot more on Selick; also, higher quality, alternate format (but slower loading) versions are available here.
Homo Sapiens Metaluecus
"This was what college students did before Facebook."
Hillary Clinton as Lisa Simpson!? Not sure if I put my finger on it, but that's my impression reading some excerpts from letters Hillary Clinton wrote to a high school friend whilst in college. I've been entertaining Barack Obama as Lincoln -- an impression he's actively cultivated (so, another Simpsons tie-in :) -- and I welcome uncanned glimpses into candidates' formative years to get a better idea of their 'character' (as if they're running on character and 'bio') so it was great to read her reminisce on her childhood: "I'd play out in the patch of sunlight that broke the density of the elms in front of our house and pretend there were heavenly movie cameras watching my every move."
Surprisingly, you can't buy the in-room robes
Tired after wandering the aisles all day? Want to get a head start on all those shoppers the next morning? An IKEA near Oslo has opened a free, 30-bed in-store dorm. The company says it's also equipped with "a bridal suite, a luxury suite, as well as family and tourist rooms". A company spokesman claimed that "guests stayed awake to watch the night workers refill the shelves", then went on to point out that many of them also stayed awake through sunrise, unsure whether the sun would come up otherwise.
Iraq scores!!
Iraq wins! When everything that could go wrong goes wrong, it is awesome to see that something like this happened.
Coulda used a little more cow...
Jennifer Lin Plays Piano
At fourteen years old, Jennifer Lin is a shade better on the piano than most eighth-graders. (video) [via]
“What you got back home, little sister, to play your fuzzy warbles on?"
The 2007 Mercury Music Prize Shortlist: Amy Winehouse - Back to Black; Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare; Basquiat Strings with Seb Rochford - Basquiat Strings; Bat For Lashes - Fur And Gold; Dizzee Rascal - Maths And English; Fionn Regan - The End of History; Jamie T - Panic Prevention; Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future; The View - Hats Off To The Buskers; Maps - We Can Create; New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom; The Young Knives - Voices Of Animals And Men [warning: several links auto-play]. Although The View claim that the prize is irrelevant, most British musicians view the award as the highest honour a musican can receive.
The Arctic Monkeys were victorious in 2006, winning with their album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. Dizzee Rascal took home the prize in 2003 for his album Boy in Da Corner. While both will be hoping to repeat their success, but no band/artist has ever won the Mercury Prize more than once.
Can't believe it's not Jesus!
The giant Jesus statue previously discussed here has been immortalized in song by the legendary Heywood Banks.
Don't bother robbing me, twit. I will cheerfully put up the stuff for free myself.
Books: The Opaque Market. Eric Flint (the author who set up the Baen Free Library) argues against using DRM in publishing and in favor of pirating yourself. (via Jay Lake)
She's got a real pretty mouth on her, don't she?
Tina Alberts, a dental assistant, raises pot bellied pigs. Knowing this, her wacky boss Dr. Woo decided to play a practical joke on her. When she was under anesthesia he temporarily gave her two boar teeth, leaving them in just long enough to stage a wacky unconscious photo. Later, he gave her the photo as a fun present. She freaked out. Everybody hired lawyers. Alberts got $250,000. Woo got $1,000,000. Yes, you read that right.
"We're gonna see some serious shit."
Every kid who grew up in the 80's wanted a DeLorean. Well, it seems that that dream may yet come true.
From Red to Green
"The model of economic development that we are currently pursuing is unsustainable. Our energy consumption per unit of GDP is seven times that of Japan, six times that of America, and even 2.8 times that of India. China’s labour productivity is less than 10 per cent of the world total, and yet our emissions are over 10 times higher than the global average." ~ Pan Yue - deputy director of China's State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). Part of a new generation of outspoken Chinese senior officials, Pan has given rise to a tide of environmental debate, attracting enormous attention and controversy.
Read his articles here : -
China: economic powerhouse, environmentally unsustainable - part one and part two
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