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"I assume capes aren't functional because they can get snagged on things." A fascinating article by Jon Ronson profiling costumed avengers in the real-life superhero movement. Also: Why Doesn't Batman Kill? and Teaching Philosophy With Spiderman.
comment posted at 4:36 AM on Aug-13-11

8 Reasons Young Americans Don't Fight Back: How the US Crushed Youth Resistance
comment posted at 2:35 AM on Aug-12-11

The Traveling Hungryboy: A Californian now based overseas in Singapore but regularly on the road all over the world. I am in neither the F&B nor travel industries (and I'm horrible at cooking - so don't expect recipes in my blog), but I love food and will literally go the distance in search of it. (I plan vacation itineraries around food rather than sightseeing spots.) Although I can appreciate fine dining from time to time, I find that those places are usually a bit too snobby and overrated. More often than not, I'll prefer a hole in the wall or a street vendor instead - as long as the food is tasty and authentic. I hope you enjoy reading about some of my findings, and please feel free to browse the Archives too - there's lots of stuff in there.
comment posted at 5:18 AM on Aug-9-11

In August-September 1965, India and Pakistan went to war for the second time since their independence in 1947. On September 19, a civilian aircraft (Beechcraft Model 18) carrying the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat (bordering Pakistan) was shot down by a Pakistani Air Force pilot (flying an F-86F). Now, 46 years later, the Pakistani pilot has written a condolence letter to the daughter of the pilot of the Indian civilian aircraft.
comment posted at 5:33 AM on Aug-9-11

NASA May Have Discovered Flowing Water on Mars Dark, finger-like features appear and extend down some Martian slopes during late spring through summer, fade in winter, and return during the next spring. Repeated observations have tracked the seasonal changes in these recurring features on several steep slopes in the middle latitudes of Mars' southern hemisphere.
comment posted at 8:18 PM on Aug-4-11

SATOR
AREPO
TENET
OPERA
ROTAS
comment posted at 1:32 AM on Jul-27-11

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na naaaaaa
comment posted at 10:01 PM on Jul-23-11

Blogger BirdAboard discovers not one, but three fake Apple stores in Kunming, China.
comment posted at 8:12 AM on Jul-21-11

Borders is liquidating as soon as this Friday, closing all 399 stores, ending 40 years of business, and 11,000 jobs. Brought down by e-books and Amazon. Scenes From A Borders Liquidation Sale. Map of (soon to be vacant) Borders stores.
comment posted at 1:29 AM on Jul-19-11

A computer scientist teaching at a business school decides to go after students who cheat in his class. He’s come to the conclusion that it’s simply not worth his time. [via]
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Los 33: Chilean miners face up to a strange new world "The rescue of 33 miners from Chile's San José mine after 69 days trapped underground was a triumph shared with the whole world. But the transition back to normality is proving difficult for both the men and their families."
comment posted at 11:34 PM on Jul-17-11

Given the material abundance made possible by the replicator, how would it be possible to maintain a system based on money, profit, and class power? Towards an Anti-Star Trek.
comment posted at 10:31 PM on Jul-15-11

He has won more Wimbledon singles titles than Martina Navratilova, Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe combined, and yet you have probably never heard of him. Because you don't care about croquet.
comment posted at 7:44 AM on Jul-13-11

After spending years and millions of pounds settling civil lawsuits, seeing their royal editor and an investigator jailed, and insisting that only a few rotten apples knew about the phone hacking, the 168 year old News of the World is to publish its last issue and close this Sunday.
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comment posted at 3:52 PM on Jul-28-11

India's vultures are vanishing. Populations of three species on the sub-continent have plummeted since the 1980s from 50 million to less than 60,000. Their disappearance could lead to widespread increase in human diseases.
comment posted at 1:49 AM on Jul-6-11

"Kumar Sangakkara delivered an exceptional speech in his 2011 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture, touching on the history, culture and opportunities for Sri Lankan cricket as well a moving recounting of the terrorist attack on their team bus in Pakistan."
comment posted at 11:54 PM on Jul-5-11
comment posted at 6:49 AM on Jul-6-11

A court-mandated opening of some secret chambers at the Sree Padmanabhaswami temple in Kerala - family temple of the ruling royals of the former Kingdom of Travancore - has led to the discovery of a treasure estimated to be worth billions of dollars.
comment posted at 7:41 AM on Jul-4-11
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comment posted at 8:36 PM on Jul-8-11

Google WebFonts - 184+ open-source webfonts from Google.
comment posted at 8:32 AM on Jul-1-11

If you like dance but are stuck in a computer chair all day, you could do worse than watch some of these on-location videos showing people dancing for the sheer love of it. Folks from Brooklyn and India made BollyBrook (short for "Bollywood-meets-Brooklyn"), a music video featuring dancing in Mumbai. A 9-year-old girl dances in Tiananmen Square (don't miss her pas de deux with her father near the end of the video). A kid with the handle iTr3vor dances in the Apple Store (one of many videos in his series). And yes, Matt Harding probably helped start it all with his "dancing badly around the world" videos last decade.
comment posted at 8:45 AM on Jun-30-11

Everybody calm down: Nobody wants to have sex with your fiancé anyway. Kat, a stripper and co-founder of Tits and Sass, demystifies the bachelor party experience.
comment posted at 7:01 AM on Jun-30-11

"Track trespassing is the largest everyday cause of unnatural deaths in Mumbai." Every day, an average of 7 million commuters ride the Mumbai Suburban Railway. Every day, an average of 10 people are killed crossing the train tracks. Can the lessons of Cognitive Neurology and Behavioural Economics change this? The results of a pilot public safety project seem promising.
comment posted at 6:50 AM on Jun-20-11
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comment posted at 3:38 AM on Jun-22-11

"I had to stand in front of 92 people and say 'Not only do you not have a job anymore, you don't have a house anymore'". On June 20th, the United States Gypsum Corporation will shut down its plant in Empire, Nevada, the last Company town in America.
comment posted at 8:54 PM on Jun-19-11

Owls Dance To The Beat.
comment posted at 6:05 AM on Jun-19-11

Memory Implants Have Now Been Successfully Applied to Rats: Is an artificial enhancement arms race among humans visible on the horizon? Culturally-favored appearance and intelligence have often been associated with social mobility; a future in which the rich can readily purchase dramatic enhancements to both sex appeal and cognitive ability at least raises the possibility of deeper and more permanent social stratification.
comment posted at 7:32 PM on Jun-18-11

Malaysian performer and social activist Fahmi Fadzil was sued for defamation by media company Blu Inc after a Tweet in January alleging that the company maltreated a pregnant friend who was an employee. His punishment? To tweet 100 times over 3 days:

I've DEFAMED Blu Inc Media & Female Magazine. My tweets on their HR Policies are untrue. I retract those words & hereby apologize.

Responses from other Malaysian Twitter users, mostly on Fahmi's side, have been interesting.
comment posted at 9:49 PM on Jun-2-11

Faiz for Dummies. Worth a read even if you don't know Urdu.
comment posted at 2:49 AM on May-31-11
comment posted at 4:12 AM on May-31-11