July 30

The Adam and Joe show ran on Channel 4 during the 90s. There are many marvellous memories from the late-night lo-fi bedroom fest, but most fondly rememberered are their re-enactments of popular films and shows using toys. Kids. This Life. Toytanic. Shine. Se7en. American Beautoy. Saving Private Lion. Furends. The Toy Patient. ToyTrainspotting.
posted by mippy at 9:13 AM - 7 comments

The Joking Computer: an algorithm that writes jokes. Have it make you a joke or learn how it works.
posted by jjray at 8:56 AM - 48 comments

Noted literary agent Andrew Wylie has made a deal with several of his authors - including Saul Bellow, John Updike and Phillip Roth - to release their e-books exclusively on Amazon. Macmillan's John Sargent and Tyler Cowen react.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 8:19 AM - 17 comments

It has applications in Economics, Biology, Pharmaceuticals, and is rooted in State Space Modeling, which with Kalman Filtering (paper, breakdown [warning: long]) was used in the Apollo program. Dynamic Linear Models are gaining in popularity. There exists an R package, and both a short doc and a really great (read: worth buying) book (sorry, not a download, but here's chapter 2) by Giovanni Petris, Sonia Petrone, and Patrizia Campagnoli with its own little website.
posted by JoeXIII007 at 8:04 AM - 3 comments

This is what it looked like then... Russian photographer Sergey Larenkov takes old WWII photos and go to exactly the same place it was taken, then combines the two. Some of my favorites
posted by ShawnString at 8:02 AM - 30 comments

Correctional Services Canada and the Harper Administration say they will close the Frontenac Institution prison farm. A group called Save Our Prison Farms in Kingston Ontario says they won't. Conflict at 11. [more inside]
posted by crazylegs at 7:53 AM - 9 comments

Final Kodachrome produced and processed. 13 months after (previous MeFi thread) Kodak announced they were discontinuing production of Kodachrome, the final Kodachrome roll made by Kodak has been processed by Dwayne's Photo Service, in Parsons, Kansas—the only Kodachrome processor left in the world. It was given to and shot by (NPR interview) Steve McCurry, of "Afghan Girl" fame, around New York City for a documentary by National Geographic. Just a reminder: you only have until December 30th, 2010 to get any rolls of Kodachrome developed before Dwayne's Photo stops processing Kodachrome.
posted by skynxnex at 7:44 AM - 15 comments

Daft Punk's Tron Legacy Score Leaked Online Youtube user alexdaft26 has uploaded the entire soundtrack in nine films on youtube.
posted by dabitch at 5:44 AM - 44 comments

Twaggies, turn your tweets into pics. Take random weird tweets and turn them into even weirder visuals. Twaggies, a website by Kiersten Essenpreis, features illustrations by the extraordinary @K_Essenpreis. (Essen is the German verb for “to eat” and preis means “praise.” So you better leave some nice comments for her or she’ll twag you most unfavorably.) The other half of the team is David Isreal, @resila, who can’t draw a stick figure much less a twaggie, but does all the other stuff for the blog and hit on the idea for it in the first place. Three additional twaggers have contributed in the past – @yaelbt, @mmbemer and @hsugene.
posted by Fizz at 5:36 AM - 8 comments

Weirdly wonderful illustrations from 70s Japanese children's books by Gōjin Ishihara, including much nightmare fuel from the Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 5:27 AM - 19 comments

And how did DVDs get commentary tracks? Let Bob tell you: You have to understand how much of this stuff is accidental. I knew the guy who was the curator of films at the LA County Museum of Art, and I brought him to New York to oversee color correction. He’s telling us all these amazing stories, particularly about King Kong, because it’s his favorite film. Someone said, “Gee, we’ve got this extra sound track on the LaserDisc, why don’t you tell these stories?” He was horrified at the idea, but we promised we’d get him super stoned if he did, and he gave this amazing discussion about the making of King Kong, which we released as the second sound track.... [via snarkmarket] [more inside]
posted by cgc373 at 5:00 AM - 18 comments

With the climate bill dead and blame portioned, Ezra Klein asks what happens when congress fails? He concludes that "regulations to reduce carbon emissions are alive and well. The Environmental Protection Agency can attack carbon as a pollutant, and the Obama administration's announcement that efforts to hamstring the EPA will be vetoed suggests that they mean to do exactly that." [more inside]
posted by kliuless at 3:45 AM - 13 comments

Look, I just like guitars. And I think this is the best guitar blog I have ever seen. For example, this great story about a punk rock bass from New Zealand. And this one about the Maton Phil Manning Custom Stereo. And it's always nice to find some good Antipodean content.
posted by awfurby at 3:42 AM - 7 comments

July 29

Davis, California is a small town by almost any measure, yet is home to one of the busiest local wikis in the world. The Davis Wiki chronicles the mundane and the bizarre, but also serves more practical information, such as lunch specials, housing guides, news events, and the hours of the local bike collective. In recognition of the outstanding success of the Davis Wiki, the founders were recently awarded a $350,000 grant to develop their Local Wiki software for more general application, including intensive development of wikis in a number of pilot communities. Many communities already have a wiki, though only a few have really taken off; with luck and a bit of a kickstart, the experience of the Davis Wiki founders can be applied to make this invaluable resource available in more cities.
posted by kaibutsu at 11:59 PM - 23 comments

Seattle's newest transportation system.
posted by loquacious at 11:43 PM - 36 comments

Vintage Series Books for Girls
posted by Joe Beese at 10:18 PM - 30 comments

Youth Jail Chronicles. [more inside]
posted by serazin at 9:29 PM - 7 comments

Between Two Ferns ep. 9: Steve Carell sits down to talk with Zach Galifianakis about "Dinner for Schmucks" but they never quite get around to it. (Previously. nsfw language.) [via]
posted by Hardcore Poser at 7:57 PM - 49 comments

In 2009, New Orleans, Louisiana learned that it had the unwelcome distinction of once again being the murder capital of the United States according to the FBI's homicide data. New Orleans' newspaper The Times-Picayune even has a special map for keeping track of murders (with associated twitter account). [more inside]
posted by komara at 7:28 PM - 17 comments

"Kids, a film about a bunch of hard-living New York City kids, premiered 15 years ago today. It seems that in many ways the city seems to have forgotten the film, just as many of those involved in the film also seem happy to forget it." Proof that 80s New York was Hella Real (courtesy TMN).
posted by geoff. at 6:50 PM - 97 comments

The Longest Photographic Exposures in History
posted by brundlefly at 4:39 PM - 37 comments

The Gilded Age: China 2013 - The dystopian novel that's turning China upside down
posted by Artw at 4:39 PM - 16 comments

Reason.tv heads to the set of Atlas Shrugged Part One to offer viewers a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of this most anticipated film. Previously. Previouslier.
posted by chavenet at 4:19 PM - 75 comments

Portraits by Richard Dumas; a page (one of many) of actors and directors; a Brooklyn gang (photographed by Bruce Davidson) in 1959; photographs by Ernesto Bazan. Clive Limpkin. Some Warhol Polaroids. Film set photographs and portraits by Brigitte Lacombe. Photographs by: Dennis Hopper [nsfw], Weegee [nsfw], Jeff Bridges, Julia Calfee [nsfw], Ed Templeton [nsfw], Lauren Dukoff, Robert Frank, Sid Grossman and Allen Ginsberg. A Princeton Dance Weekend in 1960, an American family vacation in 1950, Los Angeles, Coney Island, et cetera. A diverse livejournal collection of photographs.
posted by xod at 3:35 PM - 12 comments

This November, California citizens will decide whether or not to legalize the possession, buying and selling of, and recreational use of marijuana. Early polls concerning proposition 19, also known as the "Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010", reveal a slight majority for legalization, as well as an interesting case of status quo bias. (Previously) [more inside]
posted by Taft at 2:26 PM - 72 comments

"I showed it to my two young sons, 9 and 12, who both immediately felt sorry for Aisha and asked why anyone would have done such harm to her." [WARNING: Graphic image.] Richard Stengel, managing editor of Time magazine, on why he chose to run on the magazine's cover a photo of a young woman whose nose and ears had been cut off at the insistence of the Taliban. It accompanies the article "Afghan Women and the Return of the Taliban."
posted by ocherdraco at 2:10 PM - 112 comments

Photographer Peter Tangen has been taking portraits and creating posters featuring self-declared real life super heroes like Geist, the Crimson Fist, and Life at The Real Life Super Hero Project. [more inside]
posted by Shepherd at 1:50 PM - 12 comments

Tired of not being able to find your luggage at the carousel? Whether you find them funny or twisted (or both!), luggage with these stickers will certainly stand out from the rest of the luggage. On the other hand, using them may also earn you a body cavity search. Will the lulz be worth it? CBC's and Jezebel's take on the stickers.
posted by deborah at 1:48 PM - 79 comments

Beans are bullets. Potatoes are powder. An exhibition of food posters from the National Agricultural Library.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:26 PM - 13 comments

Phytoplankton Population Drops 40 Percent Since 1950. Estimates are that the population of these little critters that form the base of the global food chain and that "also gobble up carbon dioxide to produce half the world's oxygen output" is declining by roughly one percent annually. One possible causal factor cited for the decline is global warming. The latest findings on that issue are out, too, and in case you were still wondering: Ten key indicators show global warming "undeniable". [more inside]
posted by saulgoodman at 12:48 PM - 54 comments

In the year 2182 -- 172 years time -- there's a 1 in 1000 chance that we might be hit by a very large asteroid. With two centuries advance notice, will we be able to develop effective asteroid deflection techniques? [more inside]
posted by zarq at 12:30 PM - 52 comments

"In a way I wish it did not require such a formidable technique, because I do not really enjoy sweating over this music." This is virtuoso pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin speaking of Charles-Valentin Alkan, the Romantic pianist said to have made even Liszt nervous, and whose exhilarating works fell into obscurity due to their rigorous technical demands. For a warm-up, here's Alkan's major etude "Allegro barbaro", as performed by Jack Gibbons. A machine recording of his piece Le Chemin de Fer in which you can see the keys being pressed. Recordings of Youtube exist of people attempting his near-impossible Scherzo focoso (and, for comparison, a mechanical rendition of the same). And for encore, here is Hamelin again playing Les Quatre Ages, frequently considered Alkan's most mature work, a sonata depicting the four ages of man.
posted by Rory Marinich at 12:04 PM - 20 comments

Proper opossum pedicure. Proper opossum dental hygiene. Proper opossum massage. Videos by ME Pearl!
posted by hermitosis at 11:50 AM - 27 comments

More women in the developed world are choosing not to have children. 'So why do friends, family, colleagues and even strangers think it's OK to question their decision?' 'A woman's fertility status is still very much considered public property. There are still assumptions about women's role in society, about families and about family size."''US Census Bureau says 36% of American women have no children.''Once this was considered insane or unnatural. Even today, it is viewed with suspicion - women with no desire to procreate say they sometimes face awkward questions and disapproval.' [more inside]
posted by VikingSword at 11:39 AM - 250 comments

On the morning of June 4th, 1942, US Navy Reserve Commander John Ford awoke to the sounds of a Japanese air raid. [more inside]
posted by TrialByMedia at 9:56 AM - 11 comments

Patterns for Personal Web Sites, a guide from 2002-2003 on making best-of-the-web personal sites. [more inside]
posted by domnit at 9:32 AM - 25 comments

A mystery man keeps appearing in the background of live news reports. But why? [more inside]
posted by mippy at 9:08 AM - 102 comments

With only two missions remaining as they wind down the space shuttle, NASA has a program to make countless dreams of space travel come (partially) true: Fly Your Face in Space. [more inside]
posted by audacity at 8:57 AM - 12 comments

In the wake of a deadly clash between Roma (better known as Gypsies) and police in the Loire Valley region of France, French President Sarkozy order the French government to “systematically evacuate” Roma illegal immigrants and dismantle their camps, citing "reasons of public order". [more inside]
posted by 2bucksplus at 8:33 AM - 164 comments

The Schoenberg Code is a serial novel in 12 chapters, a parody of Dan Brown’s novel, “The Da Vinci Code,” as retold from a musical perspective by Dick Strawser. And there is much more enjoyable musical reading on his blog, Thoughts on a Train. For example, this three-part article on the strange story of Alban Berg's opera Lulu.
posted by Wolfdog at 8:32 AM - 6 comments

This is a single-link YouTube post pointing to a TV commercial for a sports drink. The commercial is one minute of people doing parkour stunts with stubby ladders hanging off the sides of apartment high-rises and car parks somewhere in New Zealand. It may induce vertigo in some viewers. [more inside]
posted by ardgedee at 8:22 AM - 57 comments

Nick Cave brought in to rewrite the remake of The Crow. Nick Cave, named one of Variety's 10 Screenwriters to Watch in 2006, is rewriting the script for the remake of The Crow. Given his work on The Proposition and the sequel to Gladiator (as well as his first novel, And The Ass Saw The Angel), the results should be fascinating.
posted by Mountain Goatse at 8:12 AM - 56 comments

DuckDuckGo (previously) is a startup search engine with built-in disambiguation, Wikipedia integration, and a bunch of site-specific searches. It collects no data on its users by default. Founder Gabriel Weinberg blogs and tweets.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 8:12 AM - 32 comments

From 1945 to 1946, Leonard Rudoff served as Apprentice Seaman, 3rd Class on the troop transport USS Gen. H.F Hodge as it made its way to India, Egypt, NYC, and San Francisco. And he took photos along the way..[via mefi projects] [more inside]
posted by The Whelk at 7:18 AM - 6 comments

Screwworms, once the scourge of livestock (as well as pets and occasionally humans [link to VERY GRAPHIC slideshow]) throughout the Western Hemisphere, have been eradicated from the United States since 1966. In addition to constant vigilance by veterinary services and livestock handlers, who treated wounds immediately and set traps [link to 1920s informational film], the method which ultimately led to control of this horrifying pest is sterile insect technique. Maps showing the progress of the technique can be seen here. The USDA's National Agriculture Library maintains a special collection on the Screwworm Eradication Program. Here is a good overview of the problem and the USDA's solution, complete with (somewhat gruesome) pictures and videos. [more inside]
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:42 AM - 57 comments

Pampered pigs 'feel optimistic'
posted by memebake at 5:58 AM - 38 comments

His first recording of it from the late sixties. A video filmed in 1978 of Burnside playing Jumper on the Line outside his home in Independence, MS. It's part of the Alan Lomax Archive. R.L. plays it acoustic in 1984. R.L.'s son Duwayne plays it this summer with Kenny Brown, R.L.'s former sideman.
posted by zzazazz at 5:50 AM - 2 comments

Ricky Jay had a TV special in 1989 - Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women - based on the book of the same name, which featured magic, juggling, amazing feats, stunts, and performances, including a musical performance on wine glasses, a human calculator who could determine cube-routes of numbers in her head, and an antique acrobatic clockwork doll. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). (Previously and previously and previouslier)
posted by twoleftfeet at 5:32 AM - 17 comments

Global Broadband Statistical Porn (SFW) (via) [more inside]
posted by crunchland at 5:29 AM - 22 comments

RIP Trinity Square, Gateshead - a Brutalist car park made famous for it's appearance in the classic British crime drama Get Carter is being demolished this week.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:59 AM - 50 comments

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