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Yahoo is releasing inactive Yahoo IDs

TrolleyOffTheTracks — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 05:55:30 GMT

Yahoo, on June 12, announced that it is releasing inactive IDs. Yahoo says they are "committed and confident," while others think it is a "spectacularly bad idea" and a "dirty trick."

Ag Gag

homunculus — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 03:54:45 GMT

Gagged by Big Ag. "Horrific abuse. Rampant contamination. And the crime is...exposing it?"

And THAT happened!

pompelmo — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 03:40:50 GMT

Baseball, as called by someone who knows nothing about baseball

I do not know the backstory to this video. The game appears to be happening in Japan, and to include Dustin Pedroia, of the Boston Red Sox. The video was apparently posted by John Mayer--not sure if he may have been narrating.

A snuggle buddy of unusual size

not_the_water — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 02:52:46 GMT

Meet a Giant Rodent Who Hugs Cats

"In some ways capybaras are even more magical than unicorns," Melanie says, "because they are real."

ROUS previously on the blue in hot tubs and in song, poetry and literature.

Subjective Cartography

the man of twists and turns — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 02:16:13 GMT

If New York Were A Blank Slate, How Would You Fill It In? is a piece on Becky Cooper's book Mapping Manhattan: A Love (and Sometimes Hate) Story in Maps by 75 New Yorkers both famous and not. Cooper's Map Your Memories tumblr. Found from Brain Pickings, which has much more.

How Do You Navigate A City With No Street Names? which leads to mapping collected memory.
Seeing Differently - Cartography for Subjective Maps Based on Dynamic Urban Data -
Bangalore : Subjective Cartography at metamap.

Food in My Beard

Schadenfreudian — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 01:39:33 GMT

More or less what it says on the tin - some cute whimsical plate designs of men with beards.

Fuck Yeah Coelacanths!

stet — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 01:11:17 GMT

Fuck Yeah Coelacanths! "It's a Tumblr about coelacanths. For all your coelacanth needs." [via mefi projects]

While debating whether or not to post this, librarina said to me, "I am standing on my head and spinning slowly. Your argument is invalid." So, posted.

Two Mayors Away from Ruin

Suffocating Kitty — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:37:34 GMT

After the demolition accident caused the death of 6 people in Philadelphia in the beginning of this month, it was brought to light that a resident issued a complaint with Licenses and Inspections regarding unsafe working conditions at least two weeks prior to the building collapse. Tragically, the LNI inspector took his own life, feeling responsible for the accident. Now Philadelphia City Council is denying liability for the accident stating it is not responsible for the work of private contractors, despite the flawed LNI inspection of the demolition site as well as the laughable demolition requirements established by the city,

Don't Stop Believing

whyareyouatriangle — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:02:10 GMT

James Gandolfini, best known for his portrayal of Tony Soprano on The Sopranos, has died at the age of 51.

"I seek out good stories, basically — that's it," he told The Star-Ledger last December.

Gandolfini was 51 years old and is survived by a wife and two children. He became a household star for his portrayal of mob boss Tony Soprano on "The Sopranos," a role which earned him three Emmys on six total nominations.

A promising development

bookman117 — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:00:09 GMT

New software system from MIT could help people improve their conversational and interview skills "[N]ew software developed at MIT can be used to help people practice their interpersonal skills until they feel more comfortable with situations such as a job interview or a first date. The software, called MACH (short for My Automated Conversation coacH), uses a computer-generated onscreen face, along with facial, speech, and behavior analysis and synthesis software, to simulate face-to-face conversations. It then provides users with feedback on their interactions."

Slim Whitman, RIP

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:56:53 GMT

Country crooner Slim Whitman has passed away at the grand old age of 90. His gentle, relaxed and pristine voice (featuring an effortlessly soaring falsetto and a mighty fine yodel, friends) is the kind that, well, you just don't really hear anymore on the pop music landscape. Let's take a moment to revisit a musical aesthetic that now seems a million miles away... Cattle Call, Rose Marie, North Wind, Blues Stay Away From Me and Indian Love Call. So long and happy trails, Slim.

We Hate Movies

Charlemagne In Sweatpants — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:47:42 GMT

We Hate Movies is a hilariously nerdy and affectionate podcast about bad movies. Its sister show, Blame It On Outer Space, mocks conspiracy theories and paranormal tall tales.

Learn programming with grids!

Artw — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:39:39 GMT

'Lets Grid' is an online programming environment that is designed to get people into programming. I tried to strip away all of the complicated set-up that goes along with real-world programming and just give students the very basics they need to create cool things and share their creations with the world.

No more issues

klangklangston — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:48:50 GMT

Kim Thompson, of Fantagraphic and Comics Journal, dead at 57

In case, you know, you get bored on the internet

MartinWisse — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:13:06 GMT

The fifty best (public domain) classic movies that you can legally watch online for free right now, all neatly collected for y'all by Flavorwire (paginated version).

Dogs groomed to look like things that are not dogs

mudpuppie — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:19:24 GMT

Dogs groomed to look like cows, giraffes, Queen of Hearts (??), bison, Pittsburgh Steelers, etc.

More here.

Video Game's Citizen Kane

Greg Nog — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:49:51 GMT

With this new video game coming out, we must finally ask: is this the Citizen Kane of video games?

Some context: Citizen Kane was a movie that came out a very long time ago.

Filip Topol of the Czech band Psi Vojaci dead

RandlePatrickMcMurphy — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:15:46 GMT

Filip Topol - lead singer of the legendary Czech underground band Psi Vojaci (Dog Soldiers) - is dead (translation) at the age of 48.

Their most famous song was Zhiletky ("razor blades") - here for a rough English translation of the lyrics - but also for the intensity of their live shows in which Topol (especially in his earlier years) played the piano sometimes until his fingers bled. More music here. Here. The song inspired a 1994 Czech-French film staring a young (and possibly wig-wearing) Topol.

Topol began performing in his early teens first appearing on stage at the age of 12 with czech avant-garde musical icons Plastic People of the Universe, with Vaclav Havel in the audience. He was one of the youngest signers of Czech dissident manifesto Charter 77, which was inspired by Communist government's efforts to shut down a Plastic People concert.

Topol was an alcoholic. He underwent surgery in 1996 and 1999, after which he quit drinking for some time. Cause of death has not been named but presumed to be alcohol-related.

Oh, here's a paragraph in English; scroll down.

Uh oh. The KKK's got death rays now!

saulgoodman — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:20:35 GMT

Did you hear the one about the KKK-member in NY who made a death ray? In a weird twist, he targeted Jewish Groups--for sales. "An industrial mechanic with General Electric Co., who is also allegedly a member of the Ku Klux Klan, designed a deadly, mobile radiation device that he tried to sell to Jewish groups and then to a southern branch of the Ku Klux Klan, according to a federal complaint unsealed Wednesday in Albany" (found via TPM)

Scotland's Young Fathers: modern moody mix of hip-hop, afrobeat and R&B

filthy light thief — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:12:28 GMT

Graham Hastings, Alloysious Massaquoi and Kayus Bankole are a musical trio from Scotland. They first met at a local hip-hop night for under-16 youth in Edinburgh, where the music scene is more focused on indie rock than beats and rapping. They started collaborating a few years ago, and now go by the name Young Fathers. They mix rap, grime, modern R&B, afro-beat, noisy samples and more, though they write music from a pop-perspective, and consider themselves "pop boys." They have two short releases that are something between EPs and albums, plus a handful of singles. Their primary releases, Tape One and Tape Two, have been (re)released on the US label Anticon, and they have a handful of official videos: Deadline, Sister, Rumbling and Romance are the first four tracks from Tape One; I Heard is the first video from Tape Two; The Guide is separate single to stream and/or download, for free on Soundcloud.

Eat the meat you are Fed: It's good, we guarantee it!

lalochezia — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:10:31 GMT

The last mystery of the financial crisis. It's long been suspected that ratings agencies like Moody's and Standard & Poor's helped trigger the meltdown. A new trove of embarrassing documents shows how they did it. by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone.

The politics of empathy

MisantropicPainforest — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:04:45 GMT

Having Daughters Rather Than Sons Makes You More Liberal In remarkable research, the sociologist Rebecca Warner and the economist Ebonya Washington have shown that the gender of a person's children seems to influence the attitudes and actions of the parent.

It's a Curated Group of Potato Chip Bags

xingcat — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:51:33 GMT

World's Smallest Museum Finds the Wonder in Everyday Objects "Tucked away in a lower Manhattan back alley, the freight-elevator-sized, generically named Museum is one of New York City's newest curiosities. While it's only open 16 hours a week, during the day on Saturdays and Sundays, the museum's contents are viewable 24/7, lit and sealed by glass doors."

Hat tip to Jason Kottke for this find.

Tell us what you think about human spaceflight

Brandon Blatcher — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:15:23 GMT

The Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB), on behalf of The National Academies, is seeking input papers on human spaceflight until July 9th, 2013. You can also read the current submissions.

From the website:

In addition to the many sources of focused input to this study, the Committee on Human Spaceflight recognizes the importance of reaching out to the communities interested in human exploration. This request for input papers is open to any and all interested individuals and groups wishing to submit their own ideas on the role of human spaceflight and their vision for a suggested future. In developing their papers, respondents are asked to carefully consider the following broad questions.

What are the important benefits provided to the United States and other countries by human spaceflight endeavors?

What are the greatest challenges to sustaining a U.S. government program in human spaceflight?

What are the ramifications and what would the nation and world lose if the United States terminated NASA's human spaceflight program?

Quinoa absolutely loves a juxtaposition. And irony. And gummi bears.

sweetkid — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:05:24 GMT

My Imaginary Well-Dressed Toddler Daughter. Pinterest collection featuring the high style exploits of "Quinoa," an imaginary stylish toddler with her imaginary stylish friends.