October 13
Tubular Bells, arranged for Commodore 64: Part 1, Part 2. (Tubular Bells for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum has been on MeFi previously, but this has far more ring modulation.)
posted by Wolfdog at 5:04 AM - 1 comment
posted by Wolfdog at 5:04 AM - 1 comment
"Project Euler is a series of challenging mathematical/computer programming problems that will require more than just mathematical insights to solve. Although mathematics will help you arrive at elegant and efficient methods, the use of a computer and programming skills will be required to solve most problems."
Started in 2001 as a sub-section of Maths Challenge, it has since grown large enough to become its own entity. It now boasts over 200 problems, many of them insanely difficult. [more inside]
posted by mystyk at 3:34 AM - 5 comments
Started in 2001 as a sub-section of Maths Challenge, it has since grown large enough to become its own entity. It now boasts over 200 problems, many of them insanely difficult. [more inside]
posted by mystyk at 3:34 AM - 5 comments
Afraid to read the daily news? Need some broader perspective on The Credit Crunch? There are lots of different ideas by lots of different authors floating about ... [more inside]
posted by Mutant at 1:29 AM - 18 comments
posted by Mutant at 1:29 AM - 18 comments
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (QT). The words of the Declaration are brought to life in honor of its 60th anniversary (also on YouTube). [Via Cool Hunting]
posted by homunculus at 12:00 AM - 15 comments
posted by homunculus at 12:00 AM - 15 comments
October 12
Contemporary architecture in India, a little look: Odd and unusual buildings l Mumbai 1, 2, 3 l Kerala backwaters l Kolkata l Architectural renderings from the Indian Skyscraper blog. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye at 11:32 PM - 3 comments
posted by nickyskye at 11:32 PM - 3 comments
A $3million dollar, 3-year project by IBM to create a virtual tour of China's Forbidden City was released Friday. It is a large download, but there is support for Mac, Linux and Windows. Unlike most virtual tourist projects, this one seems to foreground actual human beings, and not just artifacts (architecture, art). It is based on gaming software but with an emphasis on historical authenticity and "a sense of decorum", meaning "you can't run and you can't fly," in the Forbidden City.
posted by stbalbach at 8:38 PM - 22 comments
posted by stbalbach at 8:38 PM - 22 comments
The iconic photographer William Claxton has died at the age of 80. His unforgettable shots of Miles Davis, Steve McQueen,Chet Baker (the book of his Baker photos here), Bob Dylan, Charlie Parker, Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Bill Evans, Lenny Bruce, Frank Sinatra and so many others are legend. His books "Jazz Life" and "Photographic Memory" are great collections, but his official site is probably the best way to appreciate the amazing legacy of work he left behind.
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 8:37 PM - 7 comments
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 8:37 PM - 7 comments
Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans have been enjoying Rifftrax for a while now [previously], but the movie riffing experience just isn't the same without Mike and the 'bots at the bottom of the screen to watch the movie with us. Now a MST3K and Rifftrax fan has brought the 'bots back in this ten minute "proof of concept"-type video of a MSTed Plan 9 From Outer Space.
posted by Servo5678 at 5:45 PM - 19 comments
posted by Servo5678 at 5:45 PM - 19 comments
Colin - no relation to Conor - Oberst won the Hockey Night in Canada new anthem challenge with his entry Canadian Gold, beating out 13-year-old Robert Fraser Burke's Sticks to the Ice and (somehow) Logan Aube's Hockey Scores. (previously)
posted by mannequito at 5:00 PM - 24 comments
posted by mannequito at 5:00 PM - 24 comments
AssaultCube is a free first-person-shooter. Set in a realistic looking environment, it's fast and arcade-like. Available for Windows, OS X, and Linux (via)
posted by blue_beetle at 3:43 PM - 22 comments
posted by blue_beetle at 3:43 PM - 22 comments
Recurring science misconceptions in K-6 textbooks: CLOUDS REMAIN ALOFT BECAUSE WATER DROPLETS ARE TINY? Wrong! SOUND TRAVELS BETTER THROUGH SOLIDS & LIQUIDS? No it doesn't. GRAVITY IN SPACE IS ZERO? It's actually strong. THE SKY IS BLUE BECAUSE OF COMPLICATED PHYSICS. No, it's simple. And many more.
posted by vronsky at 3:25 PM - 64 comments
posted by vronsky at 3:25 PM - 64 comments
The Places We Live is a new project by photographer Jonas Bendiksen from Magnum. Jonas (portfolio) is the author of the book Satellites [previously]. Interview (youtube) [+]
posted by ig at 3:24 PM - 5 comments
posted by ig at 3:24 PM - 5 comments
Ten years ago today gay college student Matthew Shepard died after having been savagely beaten, left alone for 18-hours and found tied to a fence five days prior on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. America was stunned by the vicious hate crime. As his mother, Judy, pushes for passage of the Matthew Shepard Act, advocating for federal hate crimes legislation, and directs the Matthew Shepard Foundation, folks in Laramie ask: "...how has the town changed since 1998? ...how do we measure that change?" And yet 10 years after Matthew's death the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law has not been expanded to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability due to a veto threat by President Bush. [more inside]
posted by ericb at 12:43 PM - 138 comments
posted by ericb at 12:43 PM - 138 comments
Dalkey Archive conversations with William Burroughs, Angela Carter, Robert Creeley, William Gaddis, William H. Gass, Danilo Kis, Harry Mathews, Richard Powers, Raymond Queneau, Hubert Selby, William T. Vollman, David Foster Wallace, and many other writers.
posted by Iridic at 11:46 AM - 8 comments
posted by Iridic at 11:46 AM - 8 comments
Studio visits with artists Cynthia von Buhler, Joyce Pensato, and Ida Applebroog, all set to music.
posted by stagewhisper at 9:38 AM - 3 comments
posted by stagewhisper at 9:38 AM - 3 comments
Sequoia Capital presentation on the bleak scenarios for the economy and how start-ups should prepare. Last week the famous (the firm funded Apple, Oracle, Cisco and Google, among others) venture capital firm Sequoia Capital held a meeting for the firm’s portfolio companies. There, partners presented their views on what went wrong with the economy, what the prospects are for a quick recovery (Hint: the presentation is called 'R.I.P. Good Times' ) and what startups can do to survive. Here are the PowerPoint slides used in their presentation. I suggest a stiff drink before viewing. VIA [more inside]
posted by mojohand at 7:53 AM - 55 comments
posted by mojohand at 7:53 AM - 55 comments
Have you heard the one about the deaf comedian? John Smith is Britain's only BSL (British Sign Language) stand-up.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:44 AM - 19 comments
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:44 AM - 19 comments
How will the financial mess affect you? Will you still have a job? Will your mortgage go up or down? Will your bank account pay more or less? What if you want to buy a house? Or a car? Or have a child? College? Insurance? What if you are dying?What about Religion? And what if you want to get a credit card? First time things get hard? If it is tough, there is always bartering. So, who is winning? [more inside]
posted by bystander at 5:19 AM - 51 comments
posted by bystander at 5:19 AM - 51 comments
October 11
Witches of Cornwall. "Macabre evidence of age-old spells surfaces in an archaeologist's front yard." [Via]
posted by homunculus at 11:25 PM - 39 comments
posted by homunculus at 11:25 PM - 39 comments
When Man on Wire won a Grand Jury Prize: at Sundance this year, many could hazily remember Philippe Petit's high-wire walk between the World Trade Center Towers in New York in 1974 (previously) but few knew the extent to which the entire endeavor was a wacky multinational caper. [more inside]
posted by jessamyn at 7:55 PM - 30 comments
posted by jessamyn at 7:55 PM - 30 comments
People sleeping, gently vulnerable and evocative, vintage photographs. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye at 6:08 PM - 47 comments
posted by nickyskye at 6:08 PM - 47 comments
My New York : artists, writers, professionals, and New Yorkers of all stripes talk about what they look forward to seeing in the city this fall.
posted by shivohum at 5:32 PM - 16 comments
posted by shivohum at 5:32 PM - 16 comments
Bill Moyers interviews George Soros on the financial crisis. Soros discusses market fundamentalism and the causes of the current crisis, as well as what can be done, and how this meltdown will change the global economy. (via The Big Picture) [more inside]
posted by [expletive deleted] at 5:24 PM - 42 comments
posted by [expletive deleted] at 5:24 PM - 42 comments
The myth persisted over the years until it became real even though the truth was known. Now thanks to wonder of the net, we find out that Mama Cass did not die from eating a Ham Sandwich. NSFW
posted by Xurando at 5:20 PM - 24 comments
posted by Xurando at 5:20 PM - 24 comments
The book artist Clifton Meador has dabbled in a few other projects, including I HV DRM, a version of Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic speech delivered at the 1963 March on Washington. Meador's edited out the words, leaving only the pauses and the audience response. "We can't remember the words anymore," he says. [more inside]
posted by liketitanic at 5:16 PM - 8 comments
posted by liketitanic at 5:16 PM - 8 comments
Climb Dance A short (and fast) film about a Pikes Peak International Hill Climb run from 1989. (Warning: Contains a small amount of jazzy piano sandwiched around about five minutes of very loud high RPM engine revving.)
posted by loquacious at 4:56 PM - 15 comments
posted by loquacious at 4:56 PM - 15 comments
John McCain served on the advisory board to the U.S. chapter of an international group linked to ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America in the 1980s. As the head of the IRI, he helped finance coups against democratic governments in Haiti and Venezuela. Were those governments fairly elected? The 1984 elections were perhaps the freest and fairest in Nicaraguan history. Aristide...won the first free and fair election in the country’s history with 67 percent of the vote. In Venezuela, all of Chavez's victories in elections were monitored and certified by a variety of observers including the Organization of American States, the European Union and the Carter Center.
posted by shetterly at 3:56 PM - 33 comments
posted by shetterly at 3:56 PM - 33 comments
Cormac McCarthy as “gay porn.†Literary site Bookninja holds a contest to rebrand literary classics with jarringly (but hilariously) out-of-place new cover designs. [more inside]
posted by joeclark at 12:43 PM - 48 comments
posted by joeclark at 12:43 PM - 48 comments
A man ambushed a stone. Caught it. Made it a prisoner.
Put it in a dark room and stood guard over it for the
rest of his life.
Russell Edson is an American poet. More of his work here (beware popups). An appreciation.
posted by generalist at 9:57 AM - 12 comments
Put it in a dark room and stood guard over it for the
rest of his life.
Russell Edson is an American poet. More of his work here (beware popups). An appreciation.
posted by generalist at 9:57 AM - 12 comments
Before it was a website, the Weather Underground[google video, 90 mins] was an off-shoot militant wing of the Students for a Democratic Society. It was responsible for a series of bombings of government buildings, banks and corporate HQ's, as well as Timothy Leary's breakout from prison. They eventually turned themselves in, but few were convicted of any crime, due to misconduct by federal authorities tasked with investigating them. [previously]
posted by empath at 8:30 AM - 81 comments
posted by empath at 8:30 AM - 81 comments
Paul is NOT dead. Paul goes into the studio, alone, no songs prepared at all. Thirteen songs in thirteen days -- one each day -- Paul playing every instrument, writing lyrics on the fly, ripping a line from a poem, the next spontaneous, off the cuff, really gutsy. The album, Electric Arguments, to be released next month. [more inside]
posted by dancestoblue at 12:26 AM - 110 comments
posted by dancestoblue at 12:26 AM - 110 comments
There is a litmus test that has predicted the winner and loser of every presidential election over the past 100 years. If the Dow has risen 3.3 percent or more in October, the incumbent party has never lost. If the Dow has dropped 0.5 percent or more, the incumbent party has never won. That is, until 2004. Perhaps a more reliable test is the relative popularity of halloween masks; track your favorite candidate at Amazon or BuyCostumes.
posted by twoleftfeet at 12:05 AM - 31 comments
posted by twoleftfeet at 12:05 AM - 31 comments
October 10
"Dear Mr. President-Elect, It may surprise you to learn that among the issues that will occupy much of your time in the coming years is one you barely mentioned during the campaign: food." Michael Pollan advises the next president on what he can and should do to remake the way we grow and eat our food. [Via]
posted by homunculus at 11:15 PM - 24 comments
posted by homunculus at 11:15 PM - 24 comments
Boy Tweets Girl Boy meets girl. Boy falls madly in love. Boy tweets marriage proposal. Girl accepts and suggests space pirate/ninja/zombie wedding.
posted by m2002 at 10:42 PM - 67 comments
posted by m2002 at 10:42 PM - 67 comments
A Metatalk Post about someone's birthday included a sound file that made me think of the Stock Market Slide. Not this one, but rather, this one. [more inside]
posted by Rafaelloello at 10:17 PM - 7 comments
posted by Rafaelloello at 10:17 PM - 7 comments
A luminous dragon climbing the side of a building is almost certain to be fearsome; but, when executed properly, even a sculpture of a bunny rabbit can threaten.... Gargoyles and Grotesques. (some nsfw stonework) [more inside]
posted by Kronos_to_Earth at 10:16 PM - 5 comments
posted by Kronos_to_Earth at 10:16 PM - 5 comments
You can't tase me bro, no, seriously, you can't. The Thor Shield is handy for all your not getting electrocuted needs.
posted by Smedleyman at 10:14 PM - 30 comments
posted by Smedleyman at 10:14 PM - 30 comments
Many poor Haitians, driven over the edge by world rising food prices, are now eating cakes of mud, salt and shortening in order to survive. This article in the September issue of National Geographic describes how, thanks to history and other factors such as hurricanes, Haiti has lost its ability to feed itself; more than 90% of the country is deforested. The picture caption in the print version, not seen online, uses the word "clay" instead of "dirt". Bill Quigley wrote about the U.S. role in Haiti's food riots, which claimed six lives last spring.
posted by Melismata at 7:49 PM - 32 comments
posted by Melismata at 7:49 PM - 32 comments
Say 'Hebbo' to Tarvuism. Learn more at the Tarvupedia. It's SO easy to join!
posted by jack_mo at 7:39 PM - 21 comments
posted by jack_mo at 7:39 PM - 21 comments
We Have Lasers!!!!!! At one point in your childhood, maybe you did too?
posted by [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] at 7:16 PM - 16 comments
posted by [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] at 7:16 PM - 16 comments
Meet Andy Martin, aka Anthony R. Martin-Trigona, perennial losing candidate for public office and
posted by enn at 6:58 PM - 13 comments
one of the truly great vexatious litigators.[more inside]
posted by enn at 6:58 PM - 13 comments
Legislative panel concludes that Palin abused the power of her office. A Republican-dominated Alaska State Legislative panel voted unanimously this evening to release to the public the results of the investigation into Governor Sarah Palin's dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. (Full report PDF here) Among four key points released in the report, the most significant "concludes that Palin violated the state's executive branch ethics act, which says that 'each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.'"
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 6:00 PM - 405 comments
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 6:00 PM - 405 comments
The 150 Best Online Flash Games grouped according to theme: Action, Aim and Shoot, Arcade and Classic, Escape the Room, Graphical Adventures, Guitar Hero, Jewels, Logic, Multiplayer, Physics, Puzzles, Racing, Reflex, RPG, Shoot It Far, Shoot-’em-Up, Skill, Sports, Strategy, Weird. Includes a link to every game on the list, a visual and mini description and how each one is played.
posted by nickyskye at 5:34 PM - 20 comments
posted by nickyskye at 5:34 PM - 20 comments
Hitmen For Destiny: a weird, hilarious webcomic. Google suggests it's virtually undiscovered, but I think it's almost at Achewood level. The art seems crude at first glance, but with a little reading the distinctive brilliance becomes apparent. The plot appears to be something to do with monsters, alternate worlds, and destiny. Key features are odd humor and some insanely detailed taxonomy of imaginary creatures. There are many high points in the already long, convoluted story, but this installment may give as good an idea as any of the flavor. [more inside]
posted by misterzoo at 4:49 PM - 33 comments
posted by misterzoo at 4:49 PM - 33 comments
As of today, the truly excellent media filter & news digest Cursor.org is suspending publication. [more inside]
posted by jammy at 4:41 PM - 8 comments
posted by jammy at 4:41 PM - 8 comments
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