vagabondscrawl

Introduce Your Child to Lovecraft's Horrors with Lil Cthulhu [Lil Cthulhu]

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:54:20 -0600

Introduce Your Child to Lovecraft's Horrors with Lil Cthulhu [Lil Cthulhu]:

Halloween may be over, but you can still enjoy some child-friendly terrors with the animated short Lil Cthulhu. After all, it’s never too early to introduce a child to Dagon, Nyarlathotep,…

The Revolution Will Not Be Hand-Made: A Quick Sunday-Morning Rant

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:54:20 -0600

The Revolution Will Not Be Hand-Made: A Quick Sunday-Morning Rant:

(A first stab at articulating some ideas. Thoughtful feedback welcome.)

We’re nearing an inflection point in our discussions about sustainability and building a bright green future.

Mainly,…

special services tea party: Shot by Antonine’s daughter,...

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:35:42 -0500

special services tea party:

Shot by Antonine’s daughter, whose name I don’t know how to spell.

Pulp Fiction Remixed

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:25:38 -0500

Pulp Fiction Remixed:

This is the sort of thing that YouTube was seemingly made for. User knoertz takes the mid-nineties Quentin Tarantino, pop-culture touchstone Pulp Fiction and chops and slices, copies…

How to Convert an Ordinary Suit Coat into a Tail Coat

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:04:14 -0500

How to Convert an Ordinary Suit Coat into a Tail Coat:

Materials:
Suit Coat
Piece of Chalk
Scissors
Pins and/or Safetypins
Needle & Thread or Fabric Glue

[Now we’re ready to get started!]

Step I: Finding a Coat
Finding a suit coat free…

The Academy Produces More PhDs than the Academy Needs, and That's Just the Way the Academy Likes It

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:38:22 -0500

The Academy Produces More PhDs than the Academy Needs, and That's Just the Way the Academy Likes It:

Average time to an MBA: 2 years. Time to a law degree: 3 years. To an MD: 4 years. Average time to a humanities PhD? 11.3 years. Then there’s only a 50% chance you’ll get a job somewhat related to…

How habitable is the Earth?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:38:22 -0500

How habitable is the Earth?:

(Pay attention at the back: this is a trick question.)

We H. Sapiens Sapiens appear to be an infestation on this planet. After the slow-burning evolution of hominins in Africa, our ancestral…

Five years from now, this post will appear in a sideblog with posts from five years ago

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:25:52 -0500

Five years from now, this post will appear in a sideblog with posts from five years ago:

Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google talks about what the web will look like in five years. The internet will be dominated by Chinese-language content… content will move towards more video… today’s…

Transition Towns or Bright Green Cities?

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:29:08 -0500

Transition Towns or Bright Green Cities?:

What can any of us do in the face of planetary catastrophe?

Staring into the ecological abyss, it’s easy to feel small and unimportant. Edward Abbey wrote truly, “Sentiment without…

Anarchy In The U.P.? [Afternoon Reading]

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:13:36 -0500

Anarchy In The U.P.? [Afternoon Reading]:

If you’re feeling that science fiction is just a little too organized for your tastes, NWSFS has the recommended SF reading list from this month’s Seattle Anarchists Book Fair for you. If…

Ancient Paths: The Way Forward

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:36:46 -0500

Ancient Paths: The Way Forward:

This is what the LORD says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.

Jeremiah 6:16

…

Airing China’s Dirty Laundry

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:43:43 -0500

Airing China’s Dirty Laundry:

A Prisoner being paraded through the streets before his execution

The last boyfriend I dated in China, before I left to attend graduate school in the US, was an army…

Goodbye, "Leih Hou Ma," Hello "Ni Hao Ma!"

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:47:09 -0500

Goodbye, "Leih Hou Ma," Hello "Ni Hao Ma!":

“Chinatown” communities across the United States (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco) are undergoing a shift in linguistic identity, as recent immigrants are more likely…

Why Minds Are Not Like Computers

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:24:30 -0500

Why Minds Are Not Like Computers: Conceptions of the Computer

Before any useful discussion about artificial intelligence can proceed, it is important to first clarify some basic concepts. When the mind is compared to a computer,…

Beautiful Scientist Auto-tune Jam Will Make You Smile, Possibly Sing [Scientist Autotune]

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:24:30 -0500

Beautiful Scientist Auto-tune Jam Will Make You Smile, Possibly Sing [Scientist Autotune]:

Check out this amazing collection of autotuned scientists from past amazing series and old cosmic sermons remixed and put into beautiful melody. Sing with the mental giants and TV…

Escalante

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:09:47 -0500

Escalante:

ESCALANTE: Matt Webb for BERG gave the keynote at Web Directions on 8 October 2009. A 50-minute mp3 at the link.

The long run to the turn of the millennium got us preoccupied with conclusions….

Theremina

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:04:19 -0500

Theremina:

Don’t live here.

Don’t stay too long, don’t look too hard, don’t invest too much in the internet curator’s mode of life/thinking/doing/being.

Because if the internet becomes one of your main sources…

Where To Start With Young Adult Science Fiction [Booklist]

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:04:19 -0500

Where To Start With Young Adult Science Fiction [Booklist]:

Where’s the best place to start your kids with reading Science Fiction? Here’s a booklist of some of the best Sci-Fi for the discerning young adult, because it’s never too early to teach them…

BackTalk: Let Them Steal Books

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:04:19 -0500

BackTalk: Let Them Steal Books:

To advertise his yippie brand of anarchism, the late Abbie Hoffman famously wrote, in 1971, a book titled Steal This Book. Bookstores and libraries stocking it had to know they were taking a risk.

Liu Bolin - The Real Life Invisible Man

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:39:40 -0500

Liu Bolin - The Real Life Invisible Man:

Liu Bolin, also known as the Invisible Man, is a Chinese artists who manages to blend into any surroundings, like a chameleon