Links posted in May 2007
May 31, 2007
Gary Parker takes portraits of people, some of them quite special. I stumbled on the Little People Galleries, and found the photos wonderful in their treatment of the subjects, their bonds with family and others, and in the case of Brad Jordan, the breaking of bonds with the earth. [more inside]
May 30, 2007
Hey Everybody! Toy Commercials From the 1970s!!! [more inside]
Performance artist and activist Mark McGowan ate a corgi last night. He was protesting a January hunt where Prince Phillip apparently beat a fox to death with a stick and kicked it. I don't see the connection, personally. The RSPCA found that the fox did not suffer unnecessarily, but McGowan is presumably claiming favouritism toward the Royals.
Wine scandal leaves Sausalito with a bad taste. Report on the arson cited in the article here.
Curious George: music recommendations by genre: Is there a good site to ask real people for music recommendations, or might I pick the brains of monkeyfilter? I have been wanting to stretch out my listening lately, but I'm disatisfied with many of the usual community-music recommending sites. [more inside]
Stinky 18th Century England.
And again 100 years later.
via
May 29, 2007
Citing Frustration With Peace Groups and Politics, Cindy Sheehan Goes Home
In a piece posted to Daily Kos, the famous Anti-war Mom declares,
The most devastating conclusion that I reached this morning, however, was that Casey did indeed die for nothing. . . I have tried every since he died to make his sacrifice meaningful. Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives.
Previously, on MonkeyFilter
[more inside]
What happened to those 1,000 monkeys with 1,000 typewriters? Well, things have turned ugly. [more inside]
On writing well. At the beginning of his 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell made clear that he thought the language had become disheveled and decadent. Intending shock, Orwell offered five examples of subliterate prose by known writers. But these selections don’t look as ghastly to us as they did to Orwell, because language is so much worse today.
"To the Person Sitting in Darkness" by Mark Twain. [more inside]
Don't you put it in your mouth
May 28, 2007
Photos from the air. Michael Collier takes pictures from his single engine plane. A slideshow from NPR.
The Unofficial Kids Incorporated Show Music/Video Page Warning: This may destroy you. [more inside]
Boy kills giant boar. [NewsFilter] I don't know what's more amazing: the way this eleven year old has been brought up with a killer's instinct to chase down this pig with a pistol and finish it off point blank, or the sheer size of the beast.
Thunderbird?
An elaborate hoax, or a cryptozoologist's dream?
Eiter way, the analysis is an interesting read, especially when Darwin is brought into it.
May 27, 2007
Leonard Cohen, happy at last? A nice little feature from Saturday's Globe. Features a small video of him at home in Montreal, discussing his art.
Sacha Feiner's Alien Costume
Reverse engineering at its most oddly obsessive.
Great work here!
Bill Maher on the French. (Some NSFW-type language.)
May 26, 2007
"Eventually, the universe will appear static," said Krauss. "All evidence of modern cosmology will have disappeared." Physicists Lawrence Krauss from Case Western Reserve University and Robert J. Scherrer from Vanderbilt University predict that trillions of years into the future, the information that currently allows us to understand how the universe expands will have disappeared over the visible horizon. (via slashdot.org) [more inside]
May 25, 2007
The King of the Dutar. The Dutar is a two stringed lute found in Central Asia. Meet Abdurehim Heyit. Be sure to notice the track for downloading.
Brel's boat.
On February 28th, 1974, Jacques Brel buys the yacht Askoy II, and in July, sails from Antwerp. After some detours, medical and otherwise, he reaches Hiva Oa in November, 1975.
After some detours of her own, the Askoy II now rusts away on a New Zealand beach.
[more inside]
Pistol Shrimp!
A shrimp with the ability to stun prey via a super laser claw. Or something. (embedded YouTube video)
via linkfilter
A Sparrow Pooped on President Bush in the Rose Garden It didn't smell like roses, and while some folks think it was an operative working for Michael Moore, I think it's karma.
A Sparrow Pooped on President Bush in the Rose Garden It didn't smell like roses, and while some folks think it was an operative working for Michael Moore, I think it's karma.
No more lab monkeys The U.S. National Institutes of Health, which supports a variety of biomedical studies using animals, will stop breeding government-owned chimpanzees for research - a step animal rights advocates lauded on Thursday
"Woman Goes Bananas After Pet Monkey Is Taken"
Shoes. Old shoes. Bespoke shoes. Shoes for cat lovers.
May 24, 2007
SUV Sales are Up.
The bigger the guzzler, the better the numbers. Sales of GMC's Yukon XL were up a whopping 72 percent last month, and the totals for its Chevrolet sister, the Suburban, rose 38 percent. Topping off the tank on either one can cost as much as $120.
via SUVfilter
American Idol Shocker! Sanjaya was a fraud!!!ONE!!11eleven!!1
May 23, 2007
A German zoo has hired a local clown to entertain their monkeys. The poor chaps were bored with poo-flinging and banana-eating, and what with the series finale of "Gilmore Girls" being over and all that, they needed something to perk them up a bit.
Need a hug? Amma Tour is coming near you soon! The "Mother of all Huggers", Amma, gives hugs (not drugs) in her Darshan ceremonies. Who needs a neti pot anyways... [more inside]
Best Visual Illusion of the Year Contest
- quite a collection. The visual illusion community includes visual scientists, ophthalmologists, neurologists, and visual artists that use a variety of methods to help discover the neural underpinnings of visual illusory perception. First place went to The Leaning Tower Illusion, submitted by McGill University. *preen*
Via FmH
Shark Virgin Birth confirmed. A Bonnethead shark has given birth by parthenogenesis. It's not the first time for sharks, a Bamboo shark has done this before.
May 22, 2007
The Secret History of the Potato
Awww baby . . I love the sexy, sexy subjects of history and the sensual hot-buttered passion of the potato.
Also, it's interesting. 'Cause taters is good eatin'.
see also. via linkfi
[more inside]
UAE Builds New Deathstar Convention Center
A photo essay showing the aftermath of the Chernobyl Incident.
[Flash VIA Slate] Here are disturbing and hopeful pictures of Belorussian children in asylums, orphanages and hospitals. Here catatonia, terror, cancer and deformity coalesce in playground laughter. Here are their distraught, melancholic and grief-wracked parents and the nurses that care for them.
While the narrative borders on that sort of armchair ego-pith that normally brings out the misanthropist in me, the naked humanity presented overpowered the man behind the camera and brought tears to my eyes.
WARNING: Many of these pictures show deformed children.
May 21, 2007
A book a fortnight
- in which award-winning Yann Martel (Life of Pi) sends Canada's Prime Minister suggested volumes to read, along with quite fascinating letters.
The response from Mr. Harper has been underwhelming.
Flickrvision : Real-time(approx) flickr images shown on a google map of the posters location. It's kind of relaxing. (Though you do need a decent connection.)
Pirates! Scans of all sorts of goodly resources. Anyway, can't stop, off to ride the monk.
The Cutty Sark is ablaze. Right now. You've heard of the Cutty Sark, right?
Lloyd Alexander
died a few days ago. Washingon Post obituary, NY Times.
The author of many books, I kept my (well thumbed) set of The Chronicles of Prydain alongside my Narnia series.
[more inside]
May 19, 2007
Peach pit carving. The pit heads, from cherry, plum and other fruit pits. A carved elephant peach pit on a base. More complex carving.
Crocheted Shween (Somewhat NSFW) I'm not too sure what to make of this. And as far as
May 18, 2007
No Pine Tar Incident This time it's much more serious, and George Brett's not involved. This time it's about the right to pee without cooties lurking nearby. (and I thought Billy was dead.)
Al Gore book excerpt: The Assault on Reason. Also, a look at Gore as a stealth candidate in the 2008 presidential race.
Steely Dan - The Making of "Peg"
Y'know I'm starting to see the benefit of this whole U-2be thing. Here's a great 10 minute video with solo'ed tracks and commentary from the Steelers about the making of one of the hippest "13-bar blues" songs, "Peg". Also, The Dissection of "Deacon Blues".
via Fagenfilter
[more inside]
May 17, 2007
Pursue the Passion - Three recent college graduates dealt with the post-college "What now?" freak out by touring the country and interviewing professionals who are passionate about what they do. [more inside]
Rudy Giuliani. Yankees fan. Selfish (and possibly criminal) hypocrite. Back in the days after 9/11, many seemed to think he walked on water. This, even though he had a long history of pecadillos. While folks are now looking at Giuliani's 9/11 performance more critically, he continues to lean on the "Rudy Giuliani, 9/11 hero" spin.
I HAS A NETI POT
Allergy season is here in the worst way and I recently was hit hard enough that I had to stay out of work for a day to recuperate. I've been miserable for four days and a visit to the doctor offered the same remedies as it always does: antiallergins, steroids to lower swelling and a promise of antibiotics when the inevitable sinus infection comes. I'm making an appointment to get an allergist and I will take the battery of medicines but it's time for something new.... something... neti...
[more inside]
May 16, 2007
Do we "coddle" the severely mentally ill? (The New Republic, free registration req'd)
Gravitas - Supercomputer generated simulations of intergalactic interactions. Looks like it could be quite a ride.
Tiny, gothic Japanese girl throws mighty chokeslams
Please to be excusing and deleting if I am double posting. I'm sorta new here. Again.
Oh, that poor ottoman... Aah, bless the internets, for bringing such hilarity into our lives. WARNING: Video is of such awesomeness it shouldn't be watched without the occasional pause to prevent gut rupture. Possibly NSFW. (Via Defective Yeti, others.) Merry Christmas.
May 15, 2007
A Real Christian Lion Unfortunately this one is dead, too. But what a swinging life he had, between King's Road in the swinging 60s, and Nairobi in the go-go 70s.
The Rev. Jerry Falwell found dead in university office. Cause uncertain. DEVELOPING... [newsfilter]
Phew! TV Station uses homebrew rinkydink fake IDs to board planes. But is the threat to us coming from the TSAs ineptitude? Or is it something more sinister [more inside]
Genesis 19: Total Insanity (video)
Launderous George: Get the Funk Out So my favorite hoodie has got the funk. I don't want the funk. [more inside]
Stroll while you work... The workstation, which is designed to be used for two to three hours a day, comprises a computer, keyboard and treadmill. [more inside]
Interview with Christine Daniels. Christine Daniels is the Los Angeles Times's newest sports columnist. Well, she's not exactly new. As Mike Penner, she joined the Times 23 years ago to write about sports and became one of the paper's most respected columnists. But on April 26, Daniels told readers that Mike Penner was going on vacation and would return as Christine Daniels. Fascinating. [more inside]
May 14, 2007
Curious George: Heave-ho hovel - does anybody have experience with selling a house without a realtor? Any words of warning or hot tips? [more inside]
Curious George without a green thumb. I need help with shubbery. [more inside]
Drastic culling of badgers (to the point of extinction in places) has not reduced Bovine TB in Ireland, according to a report published by Badger Watch Ireland and the Badger Trust. (full version - pdf) The NFU favours a targeted cull in the UK and there are signs that it will soon get its way, although there are good reasons to think a selective cull does more harm than good.
I'm coming up so you better get this party started.
Everything you ever wanted to know about Brood XIII. And then some.
May 13, 2007
Bare hand live line work [video] is not a job for the squeamish. Power companies have found that it's cheaper to put workers directly on high-voltage lines, rather than shut off the power for repairs. The result -- a new high-adrenalin and hair-raising occupation. [idea via] [more inside]
Jiggaboo Jones
(NSFW-language in most of these links.)
Cheating at dice, cheating at cards, mugging, and hotwiring. Jiggaboo Jones is an urban legend.
May 12, 2007
The people who make these decisions for the internet
have announced new top-level domains for next year, including .tel, .jobs and .CAT
Can you imagine the battle next year to get the domain name "LOL.CAT"?
DO Try This At Home! (youtube) Mr. G is not exactly Mr. Wizard but he will teach you to make a strike-anywhere match gun, defy gravity with forks and a drinking glass, and build a 9V "tazer".
May 11, 2007
"My cow has two noses." "How does she smell?" "Terrible." [more inside]
Zagat
the noted rater of upscale food, lowers its sights as it rates the major US food chains. No Cheesecake Factory or In and Out Burger though.
Another treasured childhood myth destroyed. Researchers officially debunk the five-second rule. If they come after the cootie shot, I'm going to get seriously ticked off.
New Computer Program to Reassemble Shredded Stasi Files Shredded documents are now deshreddable thanks to an ambitious young computer programme from the Fraunhofer Institute, adding another brick in the wall that holds back our civilization's ability to forget. Will there soon be no way to escape the data panopticon?
May 10, 2007
Taking the Local out of Local Reporting A Pasadena, CA website is now outsourcing their local news reporting to India. Apparently saving money by having people report from half a world away will raise the quality of their journalism?
A tribute to Gilles Villeneuve. It was twenty-five years ago that the racing legend was killed during qualifying at Zolder.
Save Pooky!
A charming adventure game - puzzles to solve and keys to find. From Wortel Drie, a Netherlands site that has lots of interesting stuff.
Via Ample Sanity
Mickey Mouse lookalike directs kids to fight the U.S. and Israel [more inside]
Gaelic psalm singing Yale music professor Willie Ruff thinks it might be the roots of gospel music in America. Whatever the truth of that, it's one of the most glorious sounds on God's good earth, a profound spiritual happening.
May 09, 2007
Harsh Words Die Hard on the Web
The US law-school-related blog AutoAdmit contains message boards that are reportedly "essentially, a massive toilet of racism and sexism". Said message boards are suspected in preventing some women, otherwise well-qualified, from getting high-profile legal jobs after they were allegedly maligned, objectified, and even threatened therein.
The message board's "Chief Education Director"also had a pending job offer rescinded, following publicity of these incidents. Defending the message board's activities as Free Speech proved ineffective relevant to the rescinded job offer. Some say, "Cry me a river."
What do You think?
via BlueAdmit
Map of online communities and related points of interest on genius webcomic xkcd. (previously) Kind of like the map you find at the beginning of a doorstop-sized fantasy book; maybe this should be the first page of the Web? [more inside]
May 08, 2007
Curious George: Newsfilter Horrific crime committed in Tennesee. For Monkeys who live out there, they may have heard of it, as it happened in January. I, for one, am honestly surprised that this hasn't gone national. [more inside]
Babies Watch Lots of TV
, so claims a new study from the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute.
. . by 3 months of age 40 percent of infants are regular viewers. (10-20 hours/week)
That number jumps to 90 percent of 2-year-olds . . .
"This study is important because it teaches us about the media diet of infants who are too young to speak for themselves."
via linkfilter
[more inside]
The Tomb of Herod the Great has been discovered at Herodium. [more inside]
Ah, Spring! The sun, the breezes, the corpse flowers in bloom.
Death Becomes Her. Bloody hell. The worst I ever did to MY Barbie was give her a 'Sanson haircut'.
May 07, 2007
Calling crane in the shade Author SJ Marshall's great resource on the 易经, or I-Ching. Use the Book of Changes to access profound insights from the ancients, perhaps add your own hippy claptrap, or even enjoy other surprising interpretations.
Poll: Americans love the queen
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Monday during the queen's six-day U.S. visit finds that eight in 10 Americans have a favorable view of the British monarch. This comes despite the fact that four in 10 believe Britain would be better off without a royal family.
Quite.
Hitler's moustache. His moustache is the most instantly recognisable - and sinister - in history. Yet, according to new research into Adolf Hitler's early life, the distinctive, toothbrush shape that adorned his scowling face was not his first preference.
International Klein Blue [more inside]
The Random Collections
is a collection of "images gathered from the internet, from free sites, via e-mail from our visitors." The collection contains many kick-ass time wasters such as porn bread(NSFW), a penguin church, how to make a tampon pistol(NSFW), or even amazing metal art
Warning! Dangerous to productivity! (Some entries NSFW)
May 06, 2007
psst. guess what's here. I give it 5 years. 10, tops.
Goodbye everyone, I no longer feel welcome here, or that kinship I was searching for. Well I tried pleasing everyone and it's just waisting my time. No, you mutated children, crossbreeds between hagfish and a puddle of babboon vomit, just FLAT OUT ASSUMED that I am some drugged-out fluffy who plays violent video games and names Deities after them. quidnunc, i sincerly hope that you hump a tree. Not looking for sympathy or anything either. Just pointing something out before I take my leave of this community. [more inside]
D.A.N.C.E. The coolest t-shirts ever. [video] More on Justice
MULLING IT OVER Hey now, you KNOW you want to be there!
May 05, 2007
Curious George: I really really want to read more books by author Keri Hulme. But how?? Hope me, Monkeys. [more inside]
May 04, 2007
Not a safe haven, eh?
U.S.A. army deserters run, can't hide.
Fookin' tory gubmint.
Facebook is being mined for your personal information. (flash movie) Yeah, Newsflash. Someone read the Terms of Service. It provides boatloads of marketing data on kids for free. The short animation claims venture money came from a very a conservative PAC. Plus some ties to "The Company". Apparently. [more inside]
Record Labels Stick Dick in Net Radio's Mashed Potatoes. Evidently unbalanced royalty fees weren't enough. Now the Land of the Free™ is determined to dictate whether there will be internet radio for the rest of the world, too. Pandora bids adieu to filthy foreigners.
Jott. Okay, it is the weekend. Few if any are going to post comments. But this, the Jott service, needs your attention. [more inside]
May 03, 2007
Hey Everybody! It's a link to a Youtube video!
Curious George: Firewire -> USB
Help me geekmonkey, you're my only hop.
I have a USB port (notebook) and a Firewire device. That's it. I need a Firewire-to-USB adapter. PCMCIA is not an option. Don't need a hub. Ack!
[more inside]
Do Penguins Fly?
- a fabulous, amusing bit of animation. See also Magik Circus at the same site, bearing a character reminiscent of Michigan J. Frog.
Note: you'll have to enter disguised as a French person, as 'twere, but it's worth the sacrifice. Heh.
He was one of those teachers everyone should have... At the beginning of last month, a Telegraph columnist wrote an article about the recent suicide of his son's teacher. Today, his wife, who has just given birth to their daughter, tells of Dr David Brunton's life, depression, and death.
Socially Responsible Design (slideshow)
Minimalist. Humanitarian. Environmentally sound. Invention-y.
You could do this, y'know.
via Mr. Bluejangles
[more inside]
The Illustrated Smiths A bunch of overly-literal illustrations to songs by the best band ever (official). [more inside]
May 02, 2007
Curious George: Violence - Are acts of violence committed by young adolescents a new phenomenon? Specifically, it seems that the frequency of attacks against homeless individuals has increased in recent times. Or is this something that has always happened, but was never reported by news outlets? [more inside]
The GUI from Minority Report Looks like it might be closer (although maybe clunky and counter productive) than some people think. [more inside]
Kangaroos, and squirrels, and hedgehogs, Oh MY!
Global Incident Map, reporting terrorist events and other suspicious activity. Don your tin foil, and set your local terrorist alert levels to 'Chernobyl Red', and live in constant fear! Act now and receive at no extra charge, real Chinese pirates!
Remember Monkeygifts?
I was wondering if anyone was interested in reviving our grand old tradition of exchanging presents, to express our mutual love and admiration for each other plus I have a bunch of stuff that I'm dying to give away coughcough.
Anyway, to those new(er) to this, see previous threads here, here and here.
Digg.com is facing a user revolution over the posting of DVD encryption key and cracking information. The mob is taking over.
May 01, 2007
White-On-White Violence Claims Life Of Accounts Receivable Supervisor.
Kent State Shootings May 4, 1970 - Days of protest and riots culminated in the shooting death of four students at by Ohio National Guard troops. An iconic image from that day and its events have made "Kent State" synonymous with violent reaction to protest. A recently discovered audiotape purports to document the order to fire on the students.
Curious George: MPD/DID
Does anyone know anything about Dissociative Identity Disorder? (Multiple Personalities).
The subject was part of a bit of a discussion recently and wonder what opinions folks here might have about it.
Popmash Genetically modified popular culture
