The fellow who posted this video said, “I wanted to get medicated, so I asked the driver if I could smoke. He clearly said ‘yes,’ so I did. In New Orleans, marijuana has been decriminalized, so I didn’t see the problem. But he did, so I got ejected.”
Day: September 27, 2016
The Coloring Book for Goths: because goths (and former goths) can take a joke
See sample pages from this book at Wink.
The Coloring Book for Goths: The World’s Most Depressing Book
by Tom Devonald
Atria Books
2016, 96 pages, 5.5 x 7.5 x 0.4 inches (paperback)
I wasn’t a big fan of high school, and my high school wasn’t a big fan of me. Weird, awkward, and music-obsessed, I was a concert-tee-clad speck in a sea of polo shirts and boat shoes. My 30th high school reunion was last July. A friend of mine from high school, who has a sadistic sense of humor, added me to the reunion Facebook page. One of the organizers for the event asked the group what songs they wanted to hear at the reunion. They all commented with one singular word, “Eighties.” The organizer tried their best to be diplomatic, and calmly asked which particular songs they wanted to hear, which then prompted the response of, “Eighties.” This went on for a while. Finally, someone commented with Starship’s “We Built This City.”
Needless to say, I didn’t attend the reunion. I try my best to avoid situations where I might accidentally hear one note of Starship’s “We Built This City.” In a strange coincidence, some of my friends who didn’t attend my high school organized a gothic/punk/industrial ‘club kid’ reunion the weekend prior to my high school reunion. During the early-to-mid ’80s, the midwestern city I lived in had a great alternative music club scene. We would spend most of our evenings dressed in black and coiffed outrageously, dancing to Bauhaus’ seminal track “Bela Lugosi is Dead,” Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” amongst other doomy, angsty, deep cuts and non-hits. Going back to my hometown and dancing with old friends to great music was one of the highlights of 2015. Yes, I dressed in black.
Well, let’s segue into the review. The Coloring Book For Goths is a humorous coloring book requiring only one color: black. Geared to the current coloring book fad, it has one joke. Once you color it in, the page turns completely, thoroughly black. Featuring crows, black widow spiders, pentagrams, coffins, and crypts, and making references to Edgar Allen Poe, Robert Smith, and Friedrich Nietzsche, the book often only makes a passing reference to the goth subculture.
Some pages are funny and clever – a page of Metallica lyrics, pages exploring oblivion, the unknown, and the unknowable – but there are just as many embarrassing pages that belie a rudimentary understanding of the culture. An insecure killer whale? A polar bear in witness protection? Embarrassing tattoos? Unfortunately, someone enveloped in the goth culture would probably never purchase this book, and tourists to the culture probably won’t come away with a better understanding of it. It both embraces and pokes fun at the culture. Still, it was cute and made me snicker, because while we may have a serious demeanor, goths (and former goths) can take a joke.
– S. Deathrage
Prince Ea puts the school system on trial
Richard Williams, aka Prince Ea, is an amazing spoken word artist who helps make people aware of their lives and surroundings. With his videos, he reminds us that we can make a difference. He has a new video about the modern school system and how, in his opinion, it needs to be improved. It shows that the school curriculum may not be as perfect as we thought. Does it need to change? Well, we’ll let you watch and decide for yourself.
Bad Little Children's Books
Bad Little Children’s Books by “Arthur C. Gackley” darkly reimagines innocent kids’ books from the mid 20th century.
John Park's PZ-1 Pizza Box DJ Controller
My friend John Edgar Park made this cool MIDI controller in a pizza box with a conductive ink surface.
“Somewhere Over the Rainbow” played on a 1929 Theremin
Dan Colman of Open Culture says, “Watch Peter Pringle perform on the theremin “Over the Rainbow,” the song originally written for 1939’s The Wizard of Oz.
Smithsonian scientist Harrison Dyar spent 20 years digging hidden tunnels under Washington D.C.
In 1924 a curious network of catacombs was discovered in Washington D.C. They were traced to Harrison Dyar, a Smithsonian entomologist who had been industriously digging tunnels in the city for almost two decades. In this week’s episode of the Futility Closet podcast we’ll describe Dyar’s strange hobby — and the equally bizarre affairs in his personal life.
We’ll also revisit balloons in World War II and puzzle over a thief’s change of heart.
Turn an original Mac mouse into a wireless one
YouTuber kipkay repurposed a vintage 30-year-old Mac mouse in this how-to video. Turns out there are lots of little items inside that can be salvaged for other projects, too. (more…)
What's inside toothpaste
Chemist George Zaidan makes homemade toothpaste using the same ingredients in commercial toothpaste. It includes abrasives, humectants, sweeteners, flavors, foaming agents, thickeners and binders, sodium fluoride, and a few other things. He uses chalk, xylitol, peppermint oil, and glycerine.
Colbert on last night's debate
Clinton “was so prepared my new name for her is Preparation H,” said Colbert about last night’s debate between Clinton and Trump. “It’s a compliment.” Trump’s strategy, as reported by the Washington Post, was to sit with his advisors “over bacon cheeseburgers, hots dogs, and glasses of Coca-Cola [and] test our zingers…”
Colbert also pointed out a few of Trump’s biggest lies, including his denial that he ever said that global warming was a hoax created by the Chinese. Here’s Trump’s actual tweet from 2012:
“Though, look, in all fairness there’s always the chance that tweet was created by the Chinese to make Trump non-competitive.”
What did Trump lie about at the debate, mondo-hugeo chart edition, Sept 27
A very special edition of of an ongoing series by weird chart-maker Scott Bateman; link to today’s edition.
Ex-Wells employees who were fired for NOT committing fraud launch $2.6B lawsuit
When four named whistleblowers came forward to reveal that they’d been illegally fired from Wells Fargo for reporting that the company was experiencing widespread fraud, it was deja vu all over again: Wells also punished whistleblowers who sounded the alarm during the subprime crisis, and was thus so totally compromised that they needed a $36B taxpayer bailout.
Avantree Powerhouse can recognize, charge and organize up to 4 of your smart devices at once
This scientist wants to crowdfund a cure to the common cold
The Rider Institute has launched an Indiegogo campaign to develop DRACOS, which are broad-spectrum antivirals. If it doesn’t work, Dr. Todd Rider (Ph.D. from MIT) could enjoy a great career as a charmingly nerdy YouTube star.
Currently there are relatively few prophylactics or therapeutics for viruses, and most that do exist are highly virus- or even strain-specific or have undesirable side effects or other disadvantages. We have developed a radically new, broad-spectrum antiviral therapeutic/prophylactic that has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of viral infections.Our Double-stranded RNA Activated Caspase Oligomerizer (DRACO) approach selectively induces apoptosis (cell suicide) in cells containing viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). DRACO should recognize virus-infected cells and rapidly kill those cells without harming uninfected cells, thereby terminating the viral infection while minimizing the impact on the host.
He is asking for $100,000 to fund his research.
This scientist wants to crowdfund a cure to the common cold
The Rider Institute has launched an Indiegogo campaign to develop DRACOS, which are broad-spectrum antivirals. If it doesn’t work, Dr. Todd Rider (Ph.D. from MIT) could enjoy a great career as a charmingly nerdy YouTube star.
Currently there are relatively few prophylactics or therapeutics for viruses, and most that do exist are highly virus- or even strain-specific or have undesirable side effects or other disadvantages. We have developed a radically new, broad-spectrum antiviral therapeutic/prophylactic that has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of viral infections.Our Double-stranded RNA Activated Caspase Oligomerizer (DRACO) approach selectively induces apoptosis (cell suicide) in cells containing viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). DRACO should recognize virus-infected cells and rapidly kill those cells without harming uninfected cells, thereby terminating the viral infection while minimizing the impact on the host.
He is asking for $100,000 to fund his research.
Spicy Paleo Pumpkin Muffins
Pumpkin pancakes and cinnamon rolls are well and good, but what about those of us who like something savory instead of sweet for our weekday breakfasts? These Paleo muffins prove that pumpkin plays just as well with cumin and paprika as it does with cinnamon and nutmeg.
These muffins make a great grab-and-go breakfast or a healthy afternoon snack. They are also grain-free and very nutritious!
This man who filmed himself annually for 35 years and made a video going backwards to 1977
This video from 2011 inspired a 2015 documentary called Sam Klemke’s Time Machine.
In 1977, Sam Klemke started obsessively documenting his entire life on film. Beginning decades before the modern obsession with selfies and status updates, we see Sam grow from an optimistic teen to a self-important 20 year old, into an obese, self-loathing 30-something and onwards into his philosophical 50s. The same year that Sam began his project, NASA launched the Voyager craft into deep space carrying the Golden Record, a portrait of humanity that would try to explain to extra terrestrials who we are.
From director Matthew Bate (Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure), Sam Klemke’s Time Machine follows two unique self-portraits as they travel in parallel – one hurtling through the infinity of space and the other stuck in the suburbs of Earth – in a freewheeling look at time, memory, mortality and what it means to be human.
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/samklemkestimemachine …read more
Blue Angels, EODMU 3, Constitution Sailors Visit Sacramento Students
Sailors from various commands visited Sacramento students at three locations during Sacramento Navy Week 2016, Sept. 26. …read more
David Bowie on cocaine in 1974
“I glit from one thing to another a lot,” said David. “It’s like flip, but it’s the 70s’ version. *sniff*” (Subsequently) (more…)
UNO, anime edition
What if UNO were rebooted? JelloApocalypse’s If UNO Was An Anime gives the mundane classic all the hackneyed tropes and stock characters of card game tie-in toons.
O'Reilly's holding a security conference in NYC, Oct 30-Nov 2
I’ve been going to O’Reilly conferences since the first P2P conference in 2001; for 15 years, they’ve been blowing my mind.
(more…)
How a Pythagoras Cup works
The legendary cup, designed to punish greedy drinkers, explained masterfully by Salad Fingers’ dad Sir Martyn Poliakoff. His YouTube channel is packed with similarly excellent videos wherein lab assistant Neil is persuaded to execute unnerving experiments. (previously.) (more…)
Lawn Jawas with solar-charged light-up eyes
Thinkgeek’s $80 Lawn Jawas are a weird mix of kitsch, bad taste, technology, and fandom.
(more…)
Sim Fed Chairman
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has released a simulator that challenges you to be the Chair of the Federal Reserve and “achieve full employment and low inflation.”
Social media site targeted at teen girls is leaking 5.5M+ passwords right now
I-Dressup is a social media site aimed at teen and tween girls, where users play and interact with fashion. Six days ago, Ars Technica’s Dan Goodin contacted I-Dressup to tell them that they were leaking more than 5.5 million cleartext passwords, and that a hacker had already downloaded 2.2 million of them.
USS San Juan Returns from Six-Month Deployment
Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS San Juan (SSN-751) returned to its homeport at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut, from a regularly scheduled deployment Sept. 23. …read more
Supercut of Donald Trump sniffing oddly at the first presidential debate
After a poor performance at his first chatfight with Hillary Clinton, millionaire presidential candidate Donald Trump’s claiming his mic was too quiet. Just imagine the nightmare of cocaine snuffles and wet smacking noises this video would be at double sensitivity!
Partnerships forged through UNITAS evident in Peruvian Navy Exchange Officer
He’s only been working in the United States for three months yet Peruvian Navy Lt. Eder Suclla has been a key figure in this year’s UNITAS 2016, a multinational maritime exercise hosted this year by Panama. …read more
Government and military officials visit USNS Spearhead during UNITAS 2016
High ranking civilian and military officials paid visit to the USNS Spearhead today during UNITAS 2016, an annual maritime military exercise involving 11 countries from the Americas focusing on strengthening valuable partnerships and security cooperation. …read more
Panamanian Naval Officer Leads Multinational Force Aboard U.S. Operated Flagship
With over 33 years of experience in naval operations, Panama Navy Capt. Jose Jesus Rodriguez took command of Combined Task Force 401 during exercise UNITAS 2016. …read more
Homemade shot-for-shot of Suicide Squad's trailer
After a long hiatus, CineFix revived its “Homemade Shot for Shot” series with this entry for the Suicide Squad trailer. (more…)
Emulator lets you turn NES games 3D
Impressive 3D projection mapping animation "Resistance"
Eugene Pylinsky (aka Pylik) put together this outsized 3D modeling animation to be projected on a pillared facade. The result uses the space in creative and surprising ways. (more…)
US, ROK Navies Demonstrate Anti-Submarine Warfare, Precision Strike Capabilities
The U.S. and Republic of Korea navies (ROKN) joined forces to conduct a combined maritime operation in waters East of the Korean Peninsula, Sept. 26. …read more
CNO Closes 22nd International Seapower Symposium at NWC
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson gave his closing remarks to bring down the curtain on the 22nd International Seapower Symposium (ISS) he sponsored at U.S. Naval War College (NWC) in Newport, Rhode Island. …read more