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ANGLING FOR THE JOURNALIST: Concoct a well thought-out story. TV news producers, writers and reporters are greatly under the influence of Hollywood. Hollywood is equally influenced by what appears in the news. Our culture is reflected in both of these forms of media. So it’s important to combine the necessary theatrical elements to attract them. In essence, give them what they want! The Well Cooked Journalist: A traditional Joey Skaggs recipe (PDF). From "Cathouse for Dogs" and "The Fat Squad" to "Portofess," "Baba Wa Simba," "Metamorphosis: Roach Cure," and "Solomon Project," and more recently, Trump's Kool-Aid Marathon, artist, activist, educator, and notorious media prankster Joey Skaggs is a master in the Art of the Prank [trailer; full documentary; his own write-up on the docu].
comment posted at 10:26 AM on Apr-23-20

In 1995 some friends invited me to Burning Man. I thought it was an overnight rave, so I grabbed a backpack with a change of clothing and my Super8 camera. It wasn't until we entered Nevada that I realized I was going to a week-long festival in the desert. With no food or shelter, and minimal supplies, I lived off the kindness of friends and strangers. [...] The film [...] is unedited—straight from the camera. I only brought two 3.5 minute rolls of film with me (one color and the other black and white), so I preserved film by capturing scenes with short recording—like moving photos. I cut out some under-exposed night footage, but the rest is how I shot it. The music is from a favorite 1995 chillout album by Subsurfing called Frozen Ants.
comment posted at 6:13 AM on Apr-23-20

I spent twenty minutes watching this bonkers metatextual reinterpretation of Blade Runner, "The Lost Cut" so now you have to too.
comment posted at 5:49 PM on Apr-23-20

First, by leveling everything, social media also trivializes everything — freed of barriers, information, like water, pools at the lowest possible level. A presidential candidate’s policy announcement is given equal weight to a snapshot of your niece’s hamster and a video of the latest Kardashian contouring. Second, as all information consolidates on social media, we respond to it using the same small set of tools the platforms provide for us. Our responses become homogenized, too.
comment posted at 3:51 PM on Jan-16-20

In a recent analysis, we found that 53 million workers ages 18 to 64—or 44% of all workers—earn barely enough to live on.
comment posted at 4:14 PM on Jan-16-20

Comedian Sean Lock is reluctantly forced to play the holiday party game known as Carrot in Box
comment posted at 9:44 AM on Dec-24-19

When you hear the old WGBH techno-electronica station intro, does your mind immediately start "singing" the Sesame Street theme? When a classic rock radio station plays ELO's "Fire on High" do you recall weekend afternoons watching a CBS Sports Spectacular? Does the whistled version of "The Colonel Bogey March" remind you of The Breakfast Club or the film The Bridge on the River Kwai? Does this trumpet fanfare remind you of ABC's Wide World of Sports and the "agony of defeat"skier Vinko Bogotaj?
comment posted at 12:17 PM on Dec-15-19

Earlier this week a Cambridge University scholar announced an astonishing literary discovery: John Milton's annotated copy of Shakespeare's First Folio, hiding in plain sight in the Free Library of Philadelphia. If the identification is confirmed (and the scholarly reaction on Twitter, initially cautious, is now becoming increasingly positive), it will be only the tenth book (or eleventh, if you count his family Bible) known to survive from Milton's personal library.
comment posted at 6:09 PM on Sep-13-19

Peter Fonda, the son of Old Hollywood royalty who helped usher in New Hollywood with Easy Rider fifty years ago, died last week at age 79. In those fifty years, he worked mostly on the fringes of Hollywood, though he experienced a notable resurgence in the late 90's with The Limey and Ulee's Gold (for which he was nominated for an Oscar).
comment posted at 9:37 AM on Aug-21-19

Reason? “Desire to lease the unit at a higher rental rate” Musiy Rishin, 87, escaped Nazi bombs in Ukraine, re-settled in Uzbekistan, and fled political turmoil there in 1996, finally settling in Alameda. Now, a property management company wants him evicted so they can have higher-paying tenants in the goldmine that is the Bay Area housing market.
comment posted at 4:01 AM on Aug-19-19

Following a Twitter thread, Lifehacker asks, "What's the Most Basic-Ass Life Skill You Never Learned?"
comment posted at 4:10 PM on Aug-14-19

Let's try out the Apollo program's tool for defecating, shall we?
comment posted at 4:47 AM on Jul-26-19

Mourning The Impending Death Of The Communal Random Movie On Cable
comment posted at 5:49 AM on Jul-20-19

Happening right now, live: The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in 10 Acts. A cast that includes Annette Bening, Kevin Kline, John Lithgow, Michael Shannon, Jason Alexander and many more as they perform The Mueller Report.
comment posted at 3:14 AM on Jun-25-19

“Working- and middle-class people have a vested interest in infrastructure investment. They depend on good public roads, schools, and parks. Wealthy people don’t. If public services frazzle, they can opt out to private alternatives. And the more wealth concentrates, the more our political leaders tilt the wealthy’s way. The wealthy do not like paying for public services they don’t use. Political leaders don’t make them. They cut taxes and deny public services the funds they need to thrive.” The World Would Be a Better Place Without the Rich (Jacobin)
comment posted at 3:47 AM on Jun-11-19

This Old House (previously) is now in its 40th season, and served as vanguard to numerous other home renovation shows. What continues to set it apart though is its goal "to put skilled tradespeople and the work they do in front of the camera."
comment posted at 3:43 AM on May-23-19

In a world of crazy coffee-making contraptions (Espresso Made in Italy) the "cafetière-locomotive" or coffee-making train stands apart (Atlas Obscura), pairing railroad fever (Archive.org) and increased interest in coffee (PBS). First patented in 1861 (Early Tech) by an Italian architect living in Paris, Jean Baptiste Toselli, this bit of "domestic theatre" was reserved only for the very wealthy, as they were never mass-produced.
comment posted at 7:10 AM on May-19-19

TurboTax and H&R Block Saw Free Tax Filing as a Threat — and Gutted It: An internal document and current and former company employees show the companies steered customers away from the government-sponsored free option and made them pay. (SLProPublica by Justin Elliott and Paul Kiel)
comment posted at 4:58 AM on May-3-19

Kids:

My friend’s 5-year-old just saw a crow and called it a “Halloween eagle.”

Also kids:

He's 8 now, but when my son was 3, he stood in front of the meat section at walmart and said "Ah, the future of us all."

(Pleated Jeans, ad blocker recommended)
comment posted at 6:31 AM on Apr-13-19

From The Guardian: It sounds like something from Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s The Shadow of the Wind and his The Cemetery of Forgotten Books: a huge volume containing thousands of summaries of books from 500 years ago, many of which no longer exist. But the real deal has been found in Copenhagen, where it has lain untouched for more than 350 years.
comment posted at 11:47 AM on Apr-13-19

Give It Up - a song by Mal Webb
comment posted at 9:17 AM on Mar-10-19

What supports high housing prices when the market's in the toilet? Money laundries. A Twitter thread (unrolled) by @CZEdwards, found linked by @CStross (MeFi).
comment posted at 6:20 AM on Jan-27-19

Stan Lee is dead at 95.
comment posted at 6:10 PM on Nov-12-18

Commute Discrimination is a Thing
comment posted at 6:05 AM on Sep-8-18

The legendary Burt Reynolds has passed away.
comment posted at 6:02 PM on Sep-6-18

Enterprise™ is a non deterministic unnecessarily statically typed Turing-complete programming language. Following on the footsteps of Rockstar, if we make Enterprise™ a real thing, then recruiters and hiring managers won't be able to talk about 'enterprise developers' any more. On top of that, articles about the "Best Programming Languages for Enterprise Development" will lose their meaning.
comment posted at 1:00 PM on Sep-2-18

Are you a member of the Church of Interruption? How two conversational cultures collide very badly.
comment posted at 9:17 AM on Jun-11-18

Larry Harvey, founder of Burning Man, has died. Harvey, 70, had suffered a massive stroke a few weeks ago. He is remembered by many in the Burning Man community, including his official obituary and in this photo essay from his brother, as well as by news outlets including The New York Times.
comment posted at 9:48 AM on Apr-29-18

IDEA Instructions Common algorithms in the form of IKEA instructions.
comment posted at 10:53 AM on Mar-18-18

Japanese family crests are known for their tasteful design and simplicity, but what might surprise you is the incredibly simple geometric principles used to create even complex ones. (No English in the narration, but give it a moment and you won't need it.)
comment posted at 4:24 AM on Dec-8-17

The FCC voted 3 to 2 yesterday to eliminate the "Main Studio Rule," which requires local TV and radio broadcasters to maintain studios in the communities where they are licensed.
comment posted at 3:26 AM on Oct-26-17

In what has to be an announcement coming out of deep left field, Adult Swim and Production I.G. have released a trailer (Japanese version) for not one, but two new sequels to the legendary and surreal anime series FLCL, slated for release in 2018.
comment posted at 10:08 AM on Jul-3-17

"I thought [living in an RV] would be a perfect Instagram scenario -- I'd be naked, wrapped in an American flag with my hair blowing in the wind, with people taking my photo" "Justin, who lives in a tiny house in Portland, OR (of course), talks frankly about what he has to do without. "I really miss having a washer/dryer. That kills me," he says. And since he and his girlfriend cook all the time, not having a dishwasher or a ton of counter space is a real problem. "I see tiny houses with mini-fridges and a two-burner stove top with no oven. And I think, 'what the hell do you cook?'"
comment posted at 12:25 PM on May-27-17

Minority Neighborhoods Pay Higher Car Insurance Premiums Than White Areas With the Same Risk
comment posted at 10:49 AM on May-10-17

The sort of isolation that gave us tall and short and light and dark and other variations in our species was no protection against the advance of language. It crossed mountains and oceans as if they werent there. Did it meet some need? No. The other five thousand plus mammals among us do fine without it. But useful? Oh yes. We might further point out that when it arrived it had no place to go. The brain was not expecting it and had made no plans for its arrival. It simply invaded those areas of the brain that were the least dedicated. ... What we do know—pretty much without question—is that once you have language everything else follows pretty quickly. The simple understanding that one thing can be another thing is at the root of all things of our doing. --Cormac McCarthy, "The Kekulé Problem"
comment posted at 3:02 AM on Apr-21-17

Michael Moreci looks back at The Fifth Element on Tor.com as it approaches its 20th anniversary. "The more I think about The Fifth Element, the more I realize it’s a movie that shouldn’t work nearly as well as it does."
comment posted at 3:30 PM on Mar-9-17

First of all, the city attorney wasn't sure if the case was civil or criminal. The professor definitely was not in his car when it was found to have been speeding, but he received a violation notice. He decides to challenge it and learns how little interest local attorneys for the city have in the law.
comment posted at 6:08 PM on Jan-13-17

Almost six months after she was hired, the shop had an opening for a full-time mechanic. Layton wasn’t moved into the position, as she’d been promised. Instead, the store hired a young man who hadn’t gone to bike school, and whose experience came from volunteering at the same bike shop where Layton had previously worked. “On his first day,” she says, “he overtightened a seatcollar on a carbon seatpost and cracked it, smashed it. I fucking would have known not to do that.”
comment posted at 8:32 AM on Jan-7-17

How do humans deal with and survive extreme cold? Your best defense is knowing how to dress. "The Protective Combat Uniform emphasizes durability and functionality and has been described as the best cold weather clothing system ever developed. The primary operational theory for how it works requires some understanding of physics, so buckle in."
comment posted at 2:25 AM on Dec-15-16

In November, a gentleman named Karim Sulayman was filmed in Central Park West, enjoying his day, thanks to many, many others in the park. Watch (and have your Kleenex handy): S/L Vimeo (3:14). (more inside)
comment posted at 10:05 AM on Dec-10-16
comment posted at 3:33 PM on Dec-10-16

Issur Danielovitch Demsky, aka Kirk Douglas, turns 100 today.
comment posted at 4:06 AM on Dec-9-16

The interval between the 2016 US election and inauguration of POTUS #45 continues. Donald likes an avid reader, but claims many bogus votes were cast and others believe it. Romney (previous, post title, transcript) emerges full of chocolate cake and glowing praise. The "swamp" continues to be filled, and despite 'leaving business' there are conflicts (multiple, many) of interest. There's recount news in Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin. Amongst voter suppression news (more, more, again), recent tactics arguably worked (more), Michigan is trying to pass tougher ID laws, legal issues continue in North Carolina, and the fight will be a hard and an unavoidable one.
comment posted at 1:38 PM on Dec-3-16

The writing staff of the comedy Workaholics has been compiling all of the worst lines you can possibly use in a show: How Many of These Joke Clichés Are You Guilty of Using?
comment posted at 6:46 AM on Nov-26-16

Time magazine presents what it believes to be the 100 most influential photos of all time, from Joseph Nicéphore Niépce's 1826 View from the Window at Le Gras (the first known permanent photograph) to Nilüfer Demir's Alan Kurdi (a three-year-old refugee from Syria washed up on a Turkish shore). WARNING: Many of the images are of violence, death, loss, and their aftermath.
comment posted at 7:26 PM on Nov-25-16

Three warships sunk in the Battle of the Java Sea in 1942 have largely disappeared from the sea bed.
comment posted at 5:19 AM on Nov-17-16

Hyperpartisan Facebook Pages Are Publishing False And Misleading Information At An Alarming Rate. The rapid growth of these pages combines with BuzzFeed News’ findings to suggest a troubling conclusion: The best way to attract and grow an audience for political content on the world’s biggest social network is to eschew factual reporting and instead play to partisan biases using false or misleading information that simply tells people what they want to hear. This approach has precursors in partisan print and television media, but has gained a new scale of distribution on Facebook...
comment posted at 4:53 AM on Nov-15-16

111 Games, toys, books, and apps for future engineers, reviewed by current engineers. This year's guide includes notes on diversity and teamwork.
comment posted at 9:58 AM on Nov-7-16

Bikepedia contains detailed bicycle specifications dating back to 1993, for all your bicycle building and selecting purposes. The site also has a broader catalog of related gear, and a stolen bike registry. But if you want a ton of information about bikes, which parts to pick and how to maintain them, Sheldon Brown's (memorial*) website is still a key resource, and it's being updated all the time.
comment posted at 5:15 PM on Oct-29-16

An artist named Christopher Shy has somehow managed to capture the swirling, amorphous feeling of a nightmare with his series of watercolor horror and sci-fi movie posters, and each is more terrifying than the last. For example: The Thing
comment posted at 5:26 PM on Oct-12-16