August 22, 2009
One in 8 Million
One in 8 Million "New York is a city of characters. On the subway and in its streets, from the intensity of Midtown to the intimacy of neighborhood blocks, is a 305-square-mile parade of people with something to say. This is a collection of a few of their passions and problems, relationships and routines, vocations and obsessions. A new story will be added weekly."
A photo and audio series from the New York Times. [more inside]
when you need that unusual gift ...
Galaxy Zoo 2
Galaxy Zoo 2: Help astronomers sort through 250,000 galaxies! The Sloan Digital Sky Survey found hundreds of thousands of galaxies which needed to be accurately classified; the original Galaxy Zoo project was a collaborative effort by tens of thousands of volunteers around the world to sort these galaxies into spiral and elliptical categories. Now, it's entered its second phase: describing the details of these galaxies. Read the tutorial, and then you can jump in and start classifying. [more inside]
Barabus TKR: Vaporware?
The world's new (allegedly) fastest production supercar. But does it exist? The Barabus TKR is an Italian supercar with a British powerplant which goes from 0-60 in 1.67 seconds. Looks like a Saleen S7 from the front, a Pagani Zonda from the rear. Designed to compete with the Bugatti Veyron ("the fastest, quickest, best handling, most luxurious grand touring [car]"), it costs nearly half as much and outpaces the Veyron by a significant margin.
But, is it real? [more inside]
Extended Range Instruments
Sure, every band geek has heard of the mythic contrabass sax. But I bet you didn't know there were contrabass clarinets and french horns or subcontrabass recorders, flutes, and... uh... this thing.
On the other end of the spectrum you've got the sopranino recorder, saxaphone, clarinet, and ukulele.
Noepe: "Land Amid the Streams."
This weekend the Obama family arrives on the Massachusetts' island of Martha's Vineyard for a week-long vacation. While known as a summer colony/destination for New Englanders, tourists and the famous1 the island has a storied history from its early pre-colonial days to today. The Obamas' visit highlights the island's proud connection to its deep African-American heritage as a "well integrated" community (especially Oaks Bluff)2 from the days that freed slaves and retired black whalers settled and established homes and businesses on the island. [more inside]
A Sense of History
Springtime for Slash
Inglourious Basterds looks promisingly offensive, but it certainly doesn't appear to be the most offensive thing that could possibly be written as a comedy about World War II. No, for that, you'd have to have -- no, not Jerry Lewis, that won't do. Say it was based on a comic that was originally a webcomic. Say it was produced in one of the former Axis countries. And that it featured all of the major players as anthropomorphized stereotypes of those countries. And that these stereotypes were all young, attractive men who spent a lot of time with each other. Call it "Useless Italy" -- or, in Japanese, Hetalia: Axis Powers. [more inside]
The Stupid History of Health Insurance Regulation in the US
fxgillis at the League of Ordinary Gentlemen tells "the stupid history of how the stupid Supreme Court and a stupid Congress wound up saddling us with such a stupid system for regulating the insurance market." [more inside]
Ukeleles'R'Us
Regular mefites will know that The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain are renowned for having their wicked way with any piece of music that takes their fancy: from Smells Like Teen Spirit to the theme from The Good, The Bad and the Ugly nothing is sacred.
On 18 August they played the 45th Prom of 2009 at the Royal Albert Hall: 6000 people were in the audience, of whom 1000 brought their own ukuleles — lessons provided by the BBC online for novice players — for a massed rendition of Beethoven's Ode to Joy. [more inside]
Greatest Tree House Ever!
Who has the greatest tree house ever? Architect Terunobu Fujimori in Chino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Or Jacob, from Nowheresville, USA?
Hurry! Cash For Clunkers Ends Monday
What’s so special about the super cars that make people spend cosmic sums on a single car to buy it? Here are the Most Expensive Supercars: Exotic Showcase. Looking for cheap wheels? Here they are — the ten least-expensive 2009 cars on sale in America. But sticker price insn't everything; here are the 10 most and least expensive cars to insure.
Calley Apologizes for My Lai Massacre
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported today that William Calley spoke to the Kiwanis Club of Greater Columbus on Wednesday. During his remarks he apologized for his role in the My Lai massacre.
“There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai,” Calley said. “I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry.”The Kiwanis gave him a standing ovation, the first time the club secretary recalls that happening. (Previously)
"The little girl with the big voice."
Timi Yuro, an Italian-American singer born in Chicago (where, the story goes, her nanny snuck her into clubs to watch singers like Dinah Washington and Mildred Bailey), was arguable the greatest blue-eyed soul artist of the '60s. [more inside]
With whom it starts
Healthcare reform has agitated right-wing extremists and moneyed interests in the United States for some time — during the presidencies of FDR and Truman as well as Clinton and Obama, most recently — but where do the objections originate from, and particularly those which are known to be based on complete untruths? Some of these lies start with or are repeated by well-known right-wing media personalities, but there are other people who get the ball rolling, who are perhaps less well-known. Elizabeth "Betsy" McCaughey originated one of the current myths more commonly known as "death panels", but despite her attempts to market herself as a folksy voice fighting for the well-being of senior citizens, she has been an effective advocate for the interests of private health insurance companies since the early 1990s. [more inside]
« Previous day | Next day »