August 31, 2017
The Rebel is in full meltdown mode.
Inside Rebel Media by Richard Warnica [The National Post] “Levant, who is 45 years old, founded The Rebel Media from the ashes of Sun News Network in 2015. In the two-plus years since, he has built it from a tiny niche website operating out of his home into a global brand with correspondents on three continents and a footprint in major controversies around the world. The site is a natural climax for Levant’s checkered career. It presents a seamless mix of far-right activism and commentary, the same two-feet-in-two-ponds balance Levant has managed himself for decades. But The Rebel is also something decidedly new. It represents an evolutionary leap for Levant. Free from the limits of broadcasters, of publishers and parties, his already unfettered id is now truly boundless. Levant can say whatever he wants, to whomever he wants, in whatever way he decides. He has the freedom to deride climate science, to embrace Donald Trump, to attack George Soros. He can indulge any conspiracy. Attack any foe.” [more inside]
Not Just Another Reunion Concert
(Single link New Yorker review) The Shaggs have been linked to twelve times on Metafilter. But not since 2015. Recently, they had their first reunion concert in forty years. And, perhaps, their last.
Exuma, the Obeah Man
"I came down on a lightning bolt / nine months in my mama's belly. / When I was born, the midwife scream and shout / I had fire crystals coming out of my mouth. / I'm Exuma, I'm the Obeah Man!" Being an introduction to the unclassifiable Bahamian musician Exuma (1942-1997). Read a Downbeat Magazine profile from shortly after his death, or a slightly less easy on the eyes profile from
Perfect Sound Forever. Or listen to some music after the jump. [more inside]
AI, as in neural nets
Massive "Wooden" Roller Coaster Built from 90,000 LEGO Pieces
Inspired by the El Toro wooden roller coaster at Six Flags New Jersey, YouTuber Lunatic Sekai has put together a pretty impressive LEGO roller coaster using a reported 90,000 pieces. While watching the thing in action is pretty fun, it's also worth looking at the pictures on Flickr to get a sense of both the detail and the scale of this creation. [more inside]
Four hundred thousand ravens, his own torsos
The Winds of Winter as written by a neural network (all chapters here). Also why are a there no female White Walkers? (Game of Thrones spoilers if you're not quite up to date).
Sprinkle, sprinkle little star
...when it was my turn, I put in my default order: vanilla ice cream in a sugar cone, with chocolate sprinkles.
"You have chocolate sprinkles, right?" I asked the kid behind the counter.
"We do!" he said.
"Chocolate ones?" I asked.
"Well, no," he admitted. "They're rainbow sprinkles. Is that okay?"
I told him to forget it. What was the point when, in my world, an ice cream cone without chocolate sprinkles isn't an ice cream cone at all? -- Where Have All The Sprinkles Gone? by Keith Pandolfi, Serious Eats. [more inside]
"This is also our fault. Look what we made us do."
"Just as we reached the final, dregs-and-leftovers phase of summer, the first pure, truly emblematic, undeniable piece of pop art of the Trump era landed right in our laps. Two nights before the fight, Taylor Swift unloaded her new single 'Look What You Made Me Do,' and although Trump still seems wedded to 'You Can’t Always Get What You Want' as his signature rally-closer, he really should consider an update. Swift’s tour de force of deflective petulance is amazing: It’s essentially a catalogue of every public feud she’s had that, without naming them, manages to extend, mock, and, most important, commodify them." (Mark Harris, Vulture)
The Mystery of Why Uber Gave Me 77 Free Rides
"For about two and a half years, Uber kept sending me free ride credits. I just went through my receipts and counted 77 free rides in total, averaging one every couple weeks. Then they suddenly stopped. All that time, I never knew why I was getting them — why look a gift horse in the mouth? — but once they stopped I put on my detective hat and did a little digging. I’m pretty sure I’ve solved the mystery."
. . . . . . . . .
The enigmatic Japanese group stylized as . . . . . . . . ., frequently referred to by fans simply as DOTS or Dots Tokyo, are not just a shoegaze band inspired by the likes of Slowdive and Lush - they’re a shoegaze pop idol group consisting of 9 members, all teenage girls. You can listen to a full EP here. They've just released a 70-minute single (?) called Tokyo (you can listen here). One listener explains that it "offers chilling ambient/shoegaze/idol music" that, at the 22:22 mark, "permanently turns into a cleansing, eternal Noise track." Here's a single from the single. DOTS has been rapidly gaining a cult following in the very different worlds of pop idol fandom and shoegaze fandom. [more inside]
When are we gonna get there? I'm hungry. This car smells weird.
I’m talking about real love. Lasting love. Eating leftovers out of Tupperware because you both agree that it’s madness to dirty another dish love. Lounging in sweats on a Saturday and flicking through basic cable together love. Landing on a movie about Nicolas Cage stealing the Declaration of Independence and deciding to stick with it even though it’s 45 minutes in and you’ve both seen it 15 times but, whatever, it’s not like either of you want to watch Manchester by the Sea right now love. [more inside]
Dear David,
Wanna get geared up for fall? In the mood to be spooked? This guy think his apartment is haunted, and he captured it all on twitter (SL Twitter compilation of tweets, videos, and pictures, hosted on a 3rd party site)
"wait this is the start of wonder woman"
Warner Brothers is planning a film version of Lord of the Flies that is--are you ready for this high concept? Are you? No, you only think you are--going to be all girls. And, stop me if you've heard this before, it's going to be written and directed by dudes. [more inside]
One herring to bring them all, and in the darkness fry them
What makes the land of J.R.R. Tolkien so distinct? Is it the sport? The music? The shopkeepers? The tea? The pubs? The manners? The landscapes? The culture? The coinage? Most likely the national dish. Fish and chips EAT ME is, like other staples, originally a food of immigrants. Buy it in a "chippy" (a shop) or a van (modern). Annual awards and previous winners (pictures), though some people pretending to be common may prefer these. Some facts, frying tips, a recipe and some correct chips. Lo! the Chip Butty, a sandwich of chips sometimes found overseas. The modern British (including Scotland; Happy Easter and previously) chippy can make other (healthy) meals and drinks. "Smack barm pea wet". And (previously), far beyond the rip-off Shire in the Grey Havens...
An unspeakable opinion about Ajit Pai
The Federal Communications Commission "regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable" and "enforces America’s communications law and regulations". Unfortunately they left a gaping hole in their public comment interface, allowing passers-by to upload documents, images, and even executable malware and have them all be hosted at an official fcc.gov address. And so the FCC is apparently hosting an official apology to the American people for inflicting Net Neutrality foe Ajit Pai (previously) on us. (Warning: Juvenile and crude language.) [more inside]
An abandoned resort like you've never seen before.
Abandoned States is a fascinating project by Pablo Iglesias Maurer, who found 1960s matchbooks with images from an idyllic resort in upstate New York. He revisited the condemned site and not only recaptured subjects of original illustrations exactly, but combined them into compelling animated GIFs.
Recreational Activity Vehicle 4-wheel drive
Because it's stupid to throw away that kind of brand recognition, the modern Toyota RAV4 is a bloated, anonymous, mall-going crossover. Things weren't always that way. The Original Toyota RAV4 Was Better And More Important Than You Think [more inside]
COMING TO RESCUE YOU, SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!
Everything's big in Texas, including trucks, especially monster trucks, and when it floods, they come to the rescue of stranded flood victims. "That's a redneck rescue, I do believe," said one woman rescued in 2016 floods. The trucks are back in action in 2017 in the wake of Harvey. When asked why they do it, well, "I have to make my mom proud." See the "more inside" for more trucks in action. [more inside]
Dante's 9 Circles of Hell (in a more square-like format)
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