5 November 2010
[comics] Modern Men Don’t Know Enough About Comics, Complain Women …‘Hair-stylist Helen Archer said: “My last boyfriend was rich, sensitive and hung like a pack mule, yet completely out of his depth in Forbidden Planet.”‘
[tv] Vatican confirms Simpsons as Catholics … ‘Of course, this is the Vatican we’re talking about, and the devil is of course in the detail. In praising Homer, Rome is effectively dissing other characters in the series – notably the happy-clappy and neighhourly Ned Flanders. Indeed, back in December, the Vatican referred to “the naive radicalism of Flanders and his sons (sic) manic biblical scholars.”‘
4 November 2010
[archive] A Paper InÂterÂnet … how to archive the internet … ‘The makeup of our capsule is simple: cellulose, carbon, polymers, and distributed information. You print a bundle of paper, place it inside a box, stick a label on it, then drown it in translucent epoxy resin.’
3 November 2010
[people] Is Margaret Thatcher Dead Yet? … possibly the only single serving site hated by the Daily Mail so I feel compelled to link to it … ‘She’s out of hospital. Put the kettle on.’
2 November 2010
1 November 2010
[funny] Go Look: A Small Tribute To The Mandlebrot
31 October 2010
[blogs] Luv and Hat … new blog project from Orbyn and Stuart Heritage disagreeing over things they love and hate … Orbyn on Alien³: ‘What happens in the first few minutes of Alien³? Ripley’s lovely new family are killed by a rubbish plot device. But don’t worry, Ripley, because then you get to shave your head, do a sex on creepy skeletoid Charles Dance, get menaced by lots of English rapists from the Hovis adverts, find an alien in your skull and then top yourself.’
29 October 2010
[mobiles] The Most Popular Phone In The World … Gizmodo looks at the Nokia 1100 and mobile phones in the third world … ‘This phone was meant to survive and to do; its only jobs are to call and to text and to create convenience for as long as possible, as cheaply as possible.’
28 October 2010
[comics] Garry Trudeau: ‘Doonesbury quickly became a cause of trouble’ … ‘As [Trudeau] wrote on the 25th anniversary of Doonesbury: Satire is unfair. It’s rude and uncivil. It lacks balance and proportion, and it obeys none of the normal rules of engagement. Satire picks a one-sided fight, and the more its intended target reacts, the more its practitioner gains the advantage. And as if that weren’t enough, this savage, unregulated sport is protected by the United States constitution. Cool, huh?’
27 October 2010
[twitter] Inference … interesting look at how to passively geo-stalk your friends … ‘I just wanted to document this for future reference. Certainly not as some impressive moment of Holmesian deduction, or some dire warning about the leaking of personal information. Just as a moment of oddness. That choosing to give away one piece of information publicly, allows accurate inference of other things. Something that has always been true, but for which a new dimension has been introduced.’
26 October 2010
25 October 2010
[space] The Worst Part of Going to Space? Your Fingernails Come Off … ‘Astronaut gloves are designed to simulate the air pressure on Earth, so they’re made of a pressurized rubber layer embedded in a thick, space-proof shell. Spacewalking astronauts must constantly fight against the bulky pressurized glove to do their work – imagine gripping a wrench while wearing skiing mittens, and you get the idea. This constant bending and flexing causes chafing, blisters and, apparently, fingernail loss.’ [via jwz]
22 October 2010
21 October 2010
[comics] Comics Time: Batman and Robin #14 … a review of Grant Morrison’s latest Batman comic. On Frazer Irving’s art: ‘To rely this much on subtle shifts of figurework and coloring to convey both vital plot information and to enhance our understanding and appreciation of the physical combat that is superhero comics’ bread and butter, to have the chops to pull it off and the confidence to even try…well, it’s pretty much unheard of outside of some really titanic stuff, Dave Gibbons on Watchmen/Frank Quitely on All Star Superman-type stuff. And while Irving shares with Quitely a genuine, contemporary sense of style and art that allows for neon-bright colors to really pop, his work (perhaps because he does all the color and texture himself) feels fuller.’
20 October 2010
[funny] First they came for the quangos … Diamond Geezer on the UK Government’s Spending Review … ‘Then they came for something fundamental,
And I did not speak out because “we simply can’t afford it”.’
[life] Grant Morrison Is On Twitter …
3.4 billion years of evolution to create this perfectly self-aware phone/flesh fusion. Are you there, Mother? 19 October 2010
[comics] Super-Hero Hoarders: The 7 Biggest Pack-Rats In Comics … ‘Some hoarders are marked not just by the objects they have stuffed away into their own personal Fortress of Hoarditudes, but also by the extreme lengths they’ll go to to acquire them, and nobody — nobody — goes quite as far as Superman himself. Dumpster diving is one thing, but actual diving to the bottom of the ocean so that you can retrieve the wreckage of the Titanic and rebuild it in your living room? Sure there’s nothing else you could be doing with your time there, Clark?’
11 October 2010
[future] A Radical Pessimist’s Guide To The Next 10 Years … many depressing predictions from Douglas Coupland … ‘You may well burn out on the effort of being an individual — You’ve become a notch in the Internet’s belt. Don’t try to delude yourself that you’re a romantic lone individual. To the new order, you’re just a node. There is no escape.’ [via Robot Wisdom]
10 October 2010
[funny] Go Look: This Painting Is Not Available In Your Country [via Unreliably Witnessed]
9 October 2010
[comics] Were The Wartime Beano And Dandy Editors On A Nazi Death List? … ‘Seventy years ago this year, the Nazi’s were working on the details of Operation Sealion, their planned invasion of mainland Britain. These plans included a list of people who were to be rounded up by, or handed over to, the Nazi security forces once they were in control of the United Kingdom. It has been said that the editors of the Beano and Dandy were included on this list due to the humorous, and therefore disrespectful, attitude that the two comics had towards Adolph Hitler…’
7 October 2010
[life] A single sperm has 37.5MB of DNA information in it…
A single sperm has 37.5MB of DNA information in it. That means a normal ejaculation represents a data transfer of 1,587.5TB. 6 October 2010
[funny] Go Look: Your Life Is A Joke.
[comics] What ‘Batman’ Taught Me About Being a Good Dad … ‘I am trying to build a good human being here, someone who will make the world better for his presence. Because I don’t know any other way to do it, that means I’m building a little geek. So he can’t know, yet, that death doesn’t really mean anything in comics. I want him to think that these stories have weight, that they mean something; they are our myths. I give my son comics and cartoons and episodes of Thunderbirds because I want him to understand right and wrong, and why it’s important to fight the dark side of the Force. The mantras spoken in this corner of pop culture are immature, but they have power: With great power comes great responsibility. Truth, justice, and the American Way. The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. No evil shall escape my sight.’
5 October 2010
[people] Tony Curtis goes to grave with iPhone … ‘The family revealed that Curtis was buried with a range of his favourite possessions, AP reports, including an iPhone, copy of his favourite novel, Anthony Adverse, a Stetson hat, an Armani scarf and a pair of driving gloves.’
4 October 2010
[history] 1915 Anti-Smoking Sign … ‘Cut It Out, You Fool.’ [via jwz]
3 October 2010
[art] The Do It Yourself Doodle Project … ‘A friend of mine gave me this old novelty doodle pad from the sixties. It consisted of 38 sheets that were blank except for some text and the woman with missing parts. I’ve decided to doodle on all of them.’
2 October 2010
[movies] Starring the Computer … a pretty comprehensive looking list of real computers shown in movies and TV … ‘NCIS – Season 6, Episode 13 (2009): McGee receives a parcel containing his old computers including a Mac Classic.’
1 October 2010
[cctv] Go Look: CCTV From A Cruise Liner During A Heavy Storm … ‘On August 1, the Pacific Sun ran into a heavy storm 400 miles north of New Zealand, hitting 25-foot-tall waves and 50-knot winds. Its 1732 passengers weren’t prepared to endure the madness that ensued. Absolutely crazy. The video seems like a slapstick comedy until you see people smacking against columns and walls…’ [click for video]
30 September 2010
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