"Drink when ambivalence haunts you."

the man of twists and turns — Sun, 27 May 2012 05:35:42 GMT

I just wanted us to be safe

Drexen — Sun, 27 May 2012 17:36:10 GMT

Spoiler.

The zombie apocalypse happened -- and we won.

But though society has recovered, the threat of infection is always there -- and Los Angeles coroner Tommy Rossman is the man they call when things go wrong.

We're watching your comments for correct comma usage.

hypotheticole — Sun, 27 May 2012 04:55:58 GMT

"Who knew people were so interested in commas?" Ben Yagoda has written three NYT pieces on correct comma usage: Fanfare for the Comma Man, The Most Comma Mistakes, and Some Comma Questions.

Nocturne

xod — Sun, 27 May 2012 19:53:23 GMT

Siouxsie and The Banshees, Royal Albert Hall, October 1983.

Louisiana Inc. arcerated

painquale — Sat, 26 May 2012 20:26:12 GMT

"Louisiana is the world's prison capital. The state imprisons more of its people, per head, than any of its U.S. counterparts. First among Americans means first in the world. Louisiana's incarceration rate is nearly triple Iran's, seven times China's and 10 times Germany's. The hidden engine behind the state's well-oiled prison machine is cold, hard cash." Louisiana Incarcerated is a tour de force eight-part series on the Louisiana prison system.

Via this NYTimes op-ed.

The Hippy and the Expressionists

netbros — Sat, 26 May 2012 23:42:58 GMT

Confessions of a Genius Art Forger — In one of Germany's greatest art scandals, former hippie and talented artist Wolfgang Beltracchi forged dozens of paintings over a period of 35 years, earning millions and fooling top collectors and museums. In a SPIEGEL interview, he reveals how he did it and why he eventually got caught. Photo Gallery. Background...

Investigators Zero in on Massive Art Forgery Scandal — Over the past 15 years, the art world has been amazed at the number of lost expressionist masterpieces from the early 20th century that have found their way to auction. Investigators now believe that many of them could be forgeries. An ex-hippy, his wife and an art fan from Krefeld may be behind the scandal.

Germany's Mega-Forgery Scandal Gets Even Bigger — It was already thought to be the biggest art forgery scandal in Germany since World War II. Now, documents show that Wolfgang Beltracchi may have been copying early 20th century expressionists since the mid-1980s. He may even have sold one forgery to the artist's widow.

German Art Forgery Scandal Reaches Hollywood — The scope of what is believed to be Germany's biggest art forgery scandal since World War II has reached as far as Hollywood. American actor Steve Martin bought one of the fake paintings in 2004 and later sold it at a loss of some 200,000 euros.

Forgery Scandal Embarrasses International Art World — More details are emerging about what is thought to be Germany's biggest postwar art forgery scandal. The affair casts an unflattering light on a leading German art historian who authenticated a fake artwork supposedly painted by German surrealist Max Ernst. The piece was sold for $7 million to Daniel Filipacchi, a top New York art collector.

Art Forger All Smiles After Guilty Plea Seals Deal — The trial in the most spectacular case of art forgery ever seen in Germany is over -- and ringleader Wolfgang Beltracchi can be happy with the outcome. Because of his confession, the millionaire fraudster has been given a virtual slap on the wrist, while the truth has been sacrificed for a deal.

Ringleader Reveals He Faked Many More Works — In one of the most spectacular art forgery cases in German history, fraudster Wolfgang Beltracchi was sentenced to six years in prison last autumn. Set to begin doing time in March 2012, he tells SPIEGEL the scope of his counterfeiting was far greater than previously known, including works by some 50 artists.

Does TED even understand it's being mocked?

oneswellfoop — Sat, 26 May 2012 19:50:49 GMT

Reggie Watts gives the Ultimate TED Talk which means deconstructive, meaning-free, musical and far more entertaining than most.

Also, Reggie as a starship pilot is one of the highlights* of Hot Chip's very silly Peter-Serafinowicz-directed new video "Night and Day"
*along with Terence "Zod" Stamp lipsync-rapping and rhyming "Abba" and "Zappa"

Les Mains Noires: Tempero Brasileiro

Tom-B — Sat, 26 May 2012 20:07:13 GMT

Tempero Brasileiro (mp3) is a collection of rare Brazilian tracks originally issued on 7″ vinyl. Compiled by Edson Carvalho, one of the top São Paulo crate diggers.

Les Mains Noires is a blog by an expat French DJ/crate digger currently living in São Paulo. Check out his DJ mixes page.

Some favorites:
Postcard for Sofrito
Salsita con Swing
African Hip Hop
Dirty Caribbean Jazz Vol.1
Dirty Caribbean Jazz Vol.2
Dirty Caribbean Jazz Vol.3
Angola Dancefloor Shakers

A year later

skilar — Sun, 27 May 2012 20:31:31 GMT

One year after the apocalypse. What happened to Harold Camping's followers.

(via The Millions)

That smile will come, sooner or later. But I promise you, it will come.

Guy Smiley — Sun, 27 May 2012 00:59:18 GMT

For Memorial Day weekend, at TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), Vice President Joe Biden talks about grief, and loss, and how "there will come a day, I promise you, and you parents, as well, when the thought of your son or daughter or your husband or wife brings a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye."

Olivier Messiaen's organ music

Trurl — Sun, 27 May 2012 13:54:16 GMT

The irony in a way is that Messiaen used this great romantic organ for his most modern experiments. For Messiaen, this was a great sort of sonic paintbox, if you like, and he would come here and experiment with the extraordinary sounds that he could conjure out of this amazing instrument.

In addition to L'Ascension (1934), Messiaen's major works for the instrument are La Nativité du Seigneur (1935) - whose "Les Anges" can be heard performed by the composer here - Les Corps Glorieux (1939), and Le Livre du Saint Sacrement (1984).

Latry's performances in the Deutsche Grammophon 32 CD box set of the complete Messiaen - available by torrent - have received positive reviews. But I find greater profundity in the renditions by British organist Jennifer Bate.

Cyberwar: China's move discovered

scalefree — Mon, 28 May 2012 02:38:29 GMT

Revolutionary hardware backdoor discovered in China-made military-grade FPGA chips. Claims were made by the intelligence agencies around the world, from MI5, NSA and IARPA, that silicon chips could be infected. We developed breakthrough silicon chip scanning technology to investigate these claims. We chose an American military chip that is highly secure with sophisticated encryption standard, manufactured in China. Our aim was to perform advanced code breaking and to see if there were any unexpected features on the chip. We scanned the silicon chip in an affordable time and found a previously unknown backdoor inserted by the manufacturer. This backdoor has a key, which we were able to extract. If you use this key you can disable the chip or reprogram it at will, even if locked by the user with their own key. This particular chip is prevalent in many systems from weapons, nuclear power plants to public transport. In other words, this backdoor access could be turned into an advanced Stuxnet weapon to attack potentially millions of systems. The scale and range of possible attacks has huge implications for National Security and public infrastructure.

SHABANG!

flex — Wed, 23 May 2012 01:23:42 GMT

The Disappearing Double Chin Trick for Portrait Photography: "The key to looking good in photos? It's all about your jaw, as photographer Peter Hurley explains in this video." (YouTube, ~15 min.) Hurley's quick tips for better portraits in the NYT; Hurley's helpful headshot tips for actors. (~8 min.) Want more? FStoppers behind-the-scenes video (10 min.); an excerpt (from his DVD) of one headshot session (20 min.); a 2-hour seminar on "The Basic Headshot". An SLR Lounge interview with Hurley. (~40 min.) (main link via laughingsquid + lifehacker)

Banding Peregrine falcon chicks...while Peregrine falcon parents defend the nest (MLYT)

zerobyproxy — Sat, 26 May 2012 23:56:01 GMT

"That is why you wear a hardhat. 2012 banding."

2010 banding

More brave hard-hatted folks looking at the chicks.

2010 check up.
Schmaltzy newscasters talking about the falcons.

I want 2 debate issues

crayz — Sun, 27 May 2012 14:06:06 GMT

"You want to be a pitchman for warlords? You want to carry the Devil's water in Washington? Go for it. But just don't tell me how to fucking talk" - Jon Lovett responds to Lanny Davis, in the aftermath of the Corey Booker's comments defending private equity

Right wing folk music

stbalbach — Sat, 26 May 2012 19:27:54 GMT

While there were a few attempts at right-wing folk music during the 1960's, most notably The Goldwaters, Janet "anti-Baez" Greene was the darling of the conservative anti-communist right. Her songs include Fascist Threat, Commie Lies, and her most (in)famous, Poor Left Winger

"I'm just a poor left-winger, befuddled, bewildered, forlorn, duped by a bearded singer, peddling his communist corn. In the cafe, espresso, sounds of guitars could be heard, twanging a plaintive folksong, spreading the communist word..."

The young Greene was originally a local TV personality on a Columbus, OH kiddie program "The (Uncle) Al Lewis Show", where she played Cinderella. Through some bizarre events she was noticed and recruited by Dr. Fred Schwarz, a professional anti-communist from Australia. His organization, known as the The Christian Anti-Communism Crusade, sought to counter the liberal leftist folk movement with a Joan Baez of their own design. Dr. Schwarz's red-baiting tirades were converted into eight pithy right-wing folk-songs performed by Greene and released between 1964 and 1966. Greene's strange career as a right wing propagandist is interesting and worth a read. As CONELRAD says, "the most remarkable and puzzling element of the Greene story is the fact that she remains largely un-rediscovered. How is it that those tone-deaf kitsch stalwarts, The Shaggs, have achieved respectability and worldwide fame with a New Yorker profile, tribute album and rumored film, while Greene's equally fascinating career has been ignored?"

The Janet Greene Songbook has the rest of her oeuvre.

Your Arms Too Short to Post on Blog

benito.strauss — Sat, 26 May 2012 01:11:35 GMT

Excavations in Argentina have unearthed a new dinosaur with a short skull and tiny forearms: Eoabelisaurus mefi.

Officially announced in the journal Proceedings of The Royal Society, the dinosaur is a South American (Patagonian) version of Tyrannosaurus rex, whose range was restricted to the Northern Hemisphere (Laurasia).

E. mefi is getting press mainly because of its short forearms — shorter even than T. rex, already the butt of many cartoons.

Brian Switek's excellent Dinosaur Tracking blog gives more details.

[The dinosaur's genus name, Eoabelisaurus, means "early Abelisaurus", and its species name, mefi, disappointingly honors the MEF, the Museo Paleontológico "Egidio Feruglio" in Patagonia, where its main discoverer, Diego Pol, is active.]

Well Brutal

Artw — Sat, 26 May 2012 13:19:25 GMT

London's top brutalist buildings

Keeping the lights ON

VikingSword — Sat, 26 May 2012 21:29:57 GMT

At Clifton's Cafeteria, someone left a light on. For 77 years. A downtown Los Angeles landmark, the Clifton's Cafeteria, has a storied past. Recently sold, it was established during the Great Depression, with a mission to provide affordable coffee and food - a pledge that was honored for decades. While remodeling, the new owners made an astonishing discovery: hidden behind a partition, a neon lamp that was switched on during the Great Depression and it's been on, continuously for 77 years. The owner estimates it's generated more than $17,000 in electric bills. [LATimes - if asked to log in, turn on private browsing and you're good to go - on Safari at least].

""Neon lamps can last 20 to 40 years before the glass deteriorates or transformers go out," said Kim Koga, executive director of the Museum of Neon Art. "That this one has survived, lit, for as long as it has is incredible.""

Genital Banquet: A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

hugandpint — Sat, 26 May 2012 19:30:19 GMT

On Sunday, April 13th, Tokyo illustrator Mao Sugiyama publicly seasoned and braised his own genitals on a portable gas cartridge burner and then served them to five eager diners who each paid about $250 for the meal. Sugiyama self-identifies as asexual and appears to fall into the gender classification of male-to-eunuchs called "smoothies". (Warning: Consider all links in this post to be NSFW)

Some more information about the voluntary eunuch community.

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