Today On The Interwebs

US Soldiers Remake Telephone

2010-05-02T05:17:00.000-07:00

Troops stationed in Afghanistan make their own cover version of Lady Gaga's "Telephone". No kidding, it's the best video on the interwebs today.. tomorrow and yesterday

As described on Salon.com:

Strapping soldiers in combat boots and fatigues clapping their hands and wiggling their hips in a meticulous recreation of Gaga's bizarre dance moves. This isn't the begrudging performance of a bunch of tough guys who lost a bet; these dudes are letting loose and having fun, and it is a lovely sight to see. My favorite moment comes at the 2:48 mark -- you just try not to smile at this man's jolly gyrations. My only complaint (purely in the interest of accurate artistic recreation): Fellas, where are the diamond-encrusted thongs?

As the video's description on YouTube says: "Prepare yourself for a fantastical journey."

Dirty Sounding

2010-04-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

DirtySounding.com is a website with a collection of names that sound... dirty. It's totally juvenile to laugh at this sort of thing. Good thing I'm completely juvenile!

From the obvious (anything with Anita, Neil or Dick) to classics (like Jack Goff)- it's worth a giggle to stop by!

(From someone on Facebook)

notMensa Society of Idiots

2010-04-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered just how stupid you are? notMensa might be just the Society for you!

notmensa - because inside ever stupid person there is a genius trying to find their way out

By joining notmensa you will become an integral part of an interplanetary group of witless individuals who each have an IQ of less than 78.2. With hundreds of thousands of members, ranging from Demi-Gods to Part Time Alcoholics there is sure to be many who share your particular pointless hobbies and pastimes.

I opted to take the IQ test to see if I could qualify for membership.

The notmensa online IQ test for dummies.

After you complete the following I.Q. test we will provide you with a complete and accurate assessment of your intelligence quotient and a complex analysis of your personality and character.

Provided your IQ meets our stringent entry requirements you will be offered free lifetime membership of notmensa and access to all the benefits and privileges that this elitist interplanetary society provides.

According to my test results... well, I think you should head over and take the test yourself!

(From webupon.com )

Write for TOTI

2010-04-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

Dear Loyal Readers,

I hope you have been enjoying TOTI. If you want to see it continue, you should strongly consider writing for TOTI.

I have 3 final exams in the next week and a half, and am going slightly batty. After my final final (of my entire life, I hope), I have to study harder than it's humanly possible. For 6 weeks straight. I am strongly considering going on a coffee IV, catheter, and TPN so that I never have to get up from my desk. Yes, it's that serious. :)

The other option is, I may have to take another hiatus until June 12th, 2010, the day after I am scheduled to take the most important exam of my life. If I re-start then, expect the first post to be non-sensical and full of spelling atrocities.

Write for TOTI like our hero contributors. You too, can make a difference. Sign up by emailing garbagestored[at]gmail.com.

(From WEB du Blag)

Hateris

2010-04-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

"hey, have you seen this game? it's basically tetris, but you always get the exact piece you DON'T want. at first it's humorous, but then you want to break your computer.

http://qntm.org/files/hatetris/hatetris.html

enjoy!"

(From W.D. )

Robert Sinclair: Christ, What An Asshole

2010-04-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Robert Sinclair: Christ, What An Asshole is a collection of comics re-captioned with the punchline, "Christ, what an asshole." The author explains:

"It was recently theorized that all New Yorker cartoons could be captioned
with “Christ, what an asshole” without compromising their comedic value.

I discovered this is true of virtually all comics, old and new:"

(From the buzzfeed )

Chan Ho Park Answers His Critics

2010-04-18T00:01:00.001-07:00

Chan Ho Park is a relief pitcher for the NY Yankees. After performing horribly in the first game of the 2010 season, he pitched 3 innings of score-less relief in Game 3. Reporters asked him what was the difference, and he answered with brutal honesty.

I'm trying to assure myself that's it's okay to laugh at cultural mis-understandings, but I think to be honest I feel guilty and racist laughing at this. I will entertain thoughts in the comments section.
(From emails)

I Ate This

2010-04-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

I Ate This is a Flickr group.

It's a new hobby- people who snap a pic of everything they eat.

Flickr has various rules about sharing pics- so you will have to click over to view the pics. It's oddly entertaining. Some are pics of dishes prepared at home; some are dishes from restaurants; some are quick snacks.

Just for kicks, I tried this on my own blog. So I have my own pics of what I ate to share with you instead! It is still strange to me that people enjoy taking a pic of everything they eat... but at the same time, taking those pics is an easy food journal and sharing those pics is a form of accountability and a strange kind of intimate sharing.

(From NY Times article)

Movie Title Stills Collection

2010-04-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

Movie Title Stills Collection s a strangely enchanting site by Christian Annyas to archive the title sequences of many, many movies. In his own words, "

I've seen a lot of movies over the years, and to prove I've sat through at least the first ten minutes of them I started making screenshots of the titles. Then my computer crashed and I almost lost them all. To save them for future generations I created this little website."

There you go.
PS: The site is very graphics-intensive and requires a fast internet connection.

(From metafilter)

ENEMY CAMP 2010

2010-04-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

ENEMY CAMP 2010 is an episode of This American Life that focuses on people working behind enemy lines, or against former allies. It is very interesting. Sometimes TAL can be hit or miss, and this time, I thought Act I was definitely a hit. In their own words:

"PROLOGUE.
Behind enemy lines, sometimes people get confused about whose side they're on... and how to fight the enemy. (2 minutes)

ACT I. CONFESSION.
Patrick Wall was a special kind of monk. He was a fixer. The Catholic church sent him to problem parishes where priests had been removed because of scandal. His job was to come in, keep events from going public and smooth things over until a permanent replacement priest was found. But after four different churches in four years, after covering up for pedophiles and adulterers and liars and embezzlers he decided to make a change. Carl Marziali tells his story. (21 minutes)"

If you listen all the way through, I thought the line about how to have a very long conversation with an 8-year-old was delightful.

(From my iPod's auto-downloading podcasts)

Haik U Glenn Beck

2010-04-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

In case you missed this last week, Haik U Glenn Beck was a website set up to reprimand talk show polemic commentator and human asshat Glenn Beck for instructing viewers to leave churches that preach social justice.

The Twitterstorm protest was orchestrated by New York-based philanthropy group Jewish Funds for Justice. Beck's Twitter account was bombarded with haikus like the ones below. These are the top 3 rated haikus:

And Jesus said to
All his hungry disciples
"Hands off my fish, chumps"
Submitted by drugdevo.

Bend it like Beck - and
Kick the words around until
Justice is "Just-Us"
Submitted by sam slate.s

Give me your fearful
Your easily influenced
Oh- and a chalkboard
Submitted by Laura Silverman.

Enjoy!

(From KB)

TED Talk: Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world

2010-04-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

Jane McGonical: Gaming can make a better world is a TED talk by this lady wants you to save the world by playing games. She takes a while to ground her far-fetched ideas (20 minutes), but in the end makes her point. Gamers, unite.

(From my iPod Subscription)

Five Great (and Still Lost) Treasures!

2010-04-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

We've all visited the beach and inevitably there's those two or three souls searching for their big find: buried treasure. Now, I'll admit I've gone out with a friend and found a few random pieces of metal, but I've never fallen victim to the illusion that I would find a secret chest of gold.

Apparently, the illusion may not be. A Whole Lot of Nothing is a blog that has put together five secret caches that are still missing and can be yours for the taking.

From a hidden gold and silver cache in the hills of Ohio to Captain Kidd's hidden treasure chest located somewhere on the Connecticut River, if you're willing to put in the work, the payoff promises to be quite rewarding.

While there may be something to these wives' tales, the best part for me are the hilarious stories of treasure hunters' schemes for getting the treasure. So, don't lose too much sleep dreaming over your treasures.

(From A Whole Lot of Nothing via Neatorama)

Growing Up Gaga

2010-04-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

To close out fabulous women week, Growing Up Gaga is a New York Entertainment magazine article by Vanessa Grigoriadis that explores the origin of the hottest new pop star.

Love the article, love the pictures, hate the multi-page set-up.

(From Kottke)

Snorg Tees

2010-04-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

I'm really not one to provide free advertising for a company. But Snorg Tees is just a lot of fun to spend time perusing. First, the tees are frakin' hilarious. Second, I giggle at the everyday models in their faux-Abercrombie-esque poses. With everything from nerd humor to references to TV shows and movies... there is something for everyone at Snorg Tees. And I, personally, end up spending a nice chunk of time perusing and guffawing whenever I stop by for a visit.

(From )

TED Talk: Cindy Gallop: Make love, not porn [NSFW]

2010-04-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

Cindy Gallop: Make love, not porn is a TED talk by entrepreneur Cindy Gallop on the detrimental effects of hard core porn on heterosexual interpersonal relationships. In it, she launches her site, Make Love Not Porn, a site that redefines normal.

The commentary on the Ted talk includes a lot of annoyingly mis-informed and un-enlightened internet trolling, but don't let that detract from the experience: skip it altogether. Enjoy!

(From yesterday's TOTI)

Bold Color, Small Space: The Black Apartment | Cindy Gallop

2010-04-08T16:36:00.000-07:00

Bold Color, Small Space: The Black Apartment | Cindy Gallop is a vimeo video by Gary Nadeau for for Dwell magazine. This lady is nuts. I love her.
(From random online clicking)

超級星光大道 20100402 pt.18/24 林育群-I will always love you

2010-04-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

超級星光大道 20100402 pt.18/24 林育群-I will always love you超級星光大道 20100402 pt.18/24 林育群-I will always love you is a youtube video showing a Chinese contestant tackling Whitney Houston's signature ballad. I don't care if it's fake, it's like watching a hippo land a perfect 10 on the uneven bars. You can't NOT watch.

Skip to the minute mark and enjoy!

(From SG)

Caitlyn can rock a todo list.

2010-04-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Caitlyn can rock a todo list is an mp3 blog for busy people. She regularly posts zip files that are the equivalent of a mix CD, with short to-the-point impressions. Consider it your indie-music cocktail chatter cheat sheet.

One metafilter poster called it a music blog for busy people.

Enjoy!

(From Metafilter)

Candidate for a Pullet Surprise!

2010-04-05T00:25:00.000-07:00

Candidate for a Pullet Surprise is a poem written by Jerrold H. Zar, Professor Emeritus at Northern Illinois University. However, Dr. Zar has had quite a time keeping his name attached to this wonderful bit of poetry, especially in this digital age.

The poem will fit through any spell checker just fine without throwing up red flags, but then, that's the beauty of this little piece of genius. Enjoy it, don't forget to proofread, and remember: Jerrold. H. Zar.

Stanzas 1-3:

I have a spelling checker,
It came with my PC.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea.

Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your sure reel glad two no.
Its vary polished in it's weigh.
My checker tolled me sew.

A checker is a bless sing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right awl stiles two reed,
And aides me when eye rime.

Full Text

(From Eric Shackle's ebook, prompted by postsecret)

The Two Dollar Tattoo Project

2010-04-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

The Two Dollar Tattoo Project is a challenge to tattoo artists where all artists participating will be expected to create unique works of tattoo art executed with only a single needle and whose final product size is expected to fill the space of a "toonie", a Canadian two-dollar coin.

Example: Chibi Chthulu. How can you not love this?

PS: Happy Easter!
(From Metafilter)

Not In Our Town

2010-04-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

Not In Our Town is a national movement that started with a PBS documentary and has grown since then. It caught my attention when I came across some YouTube videos of high school students demonstrating in favor of love and diversity and acceptance when faced with Fred Phelps and crew coming to protest their school or community center.

(From )

Flame

2010-04-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Flame is an online java-based drawing tool by peter blaškovič that lets you make spectacular drawings with very little knowledge. Try it out!

(From Kottke)

Itamar Franco's Punk Bangs

2010-04-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

Itamar Franco's Punk Bangs, as evinced in this wikipedia entry, is the best thing on the Interwebs today. By best I mean worst. I mean look at that thing. It's so big. And standing straight up. I would say they found the worst picture of Brazil's former president in order to embarrass him, but actually, as I recall he actually ran around like that. Oh the early 90s were such a wacky time.

It's bold, and it will survive a hurricane. No joke.

(From random clicking )

Number Quotes

2010-03-31T23:59:00.000-07:00

Number quotes is a site that helps you beef up your arguments with numbers. Five out of seven imaginary people agree that it sounds more impressive when you punctuate arguments with made up fractions.

(From Wilmar)

Boyfriend Doesn't Have Ebola. Probably. UPDATED

2010-03-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

Boyfriend Doesn't Have Ebola. Probably. *UPDATED* is a blog entry on Hyperbole and a Half, which proposes a new medical pain rating pictorial chart.

I totally want to cut this out and place it over the standard-use one. I hope the kids aren't too scared. Sigh.

(From Buzzfeed)

That's using your dipstick!

2010-03-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

We've all seen the Castrol commercial where the Scottish man goes around whacking people with an oil dipstick. Well, oil is about the only thing this post has in common with that commercial. Oh, and the stick part.

Here are some great and odd food from around the world you can find a la kebob!

How about Goat Lungs or Seahorse?

No? Maybe you'll enjoy some delicious tentacles!

Not for you, then maybe just a lovely Smore? Or some Hot chocolate? Mmmm...yummy!!

(From Neatorama)

Taberinos

2010-03-28T23:59:00.000-07:00

Taberinos is a simple-yet-addictive online flash game set to a demure tango. It's a cross between a pool table, spiderwebs, and a load of heroin. Basically every time the ball knocks into a white line, it disappears. Your goal is to make them all disappear. However, you have a limited number of shots, and regular nodes, angry nodes, and more to deal with.

I'm not sure why exactly, but the physics of this game seems ever-so-slightly off to me. It wants you to do things like hit tight corners right away.

Seriously, I wasted all afternoon on this already, and I'm only up to level 12. OMG I hope I don't have to drop out of school because of AN ONLINE FLASH GAME. And BTW... how do these people score HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of points on this thing? How?! Clearly I'm not using the angry nodes to their full potential.

Enjoy!

(From Kottke)

TubeGuitar

2010-03-27T04:39:00.000-07:00

TubeGuitar is a website dedicated to helping people learn to play the guitar. I don't play the guitar. At all. And I would need at least some guitar playing knowledge to really use this website. However, I still find the videos fun to watch and if I had any clue how to play, I know I could use this resource to help me learn some cool songs!

(From me! )

Nine surprisingly useful single serving sites

2010-03-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

Nine surprisingly useful single serving sites is a list article on Royal Pingdom describing the best single serving sites. I like how wholly visual and useful these sites are. Examples include "What time is it there?" "Stopwatch" and a site very similar to previous TOTI winner "Umbrella Today?." A+.

(From researching single serving sites)

That's What Bea Said

2010-03-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

That's What Bea Said is a single-serving site that feeds you quotes by recently deceased LGBT icon, actress, comedienne and singer Bea Arthur. Bea is perhaps best known for her role as Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls.

Also, I think you're supposed to pronounce it BEE like the insect. Buzz buzz.

Also, that's it.
(From random interwebs searches)

Reality Check

2010-03-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

Reality Check is an allegedly user-generated ad for tampon/pads/liners. It mocks the soft-focus, spinning-women-frolicking-on-the-beach current motif that is used to hawk feminine hygiene products. Quite artfully executed too, I must say. Good work.

TMI: But can it make me switch from plastics to my least-favorite cotton-based variety brand? Only time will tell. Enjoy!

(From Buzzfeed)

The Indian Condom Song

2010-03-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

The Indian Condom Song is a Indian Bollywood dance about using condoms. Safe sex and bolllywood dancing.. what else could you want?

(From )

Fiverr

2010-03-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

Fiverr is the financial equivalent to "What would you do for a Klondike bar?" as what will people do for five dollars? The answer ranges from writing quasi-personalized love songs (be they ballads, Irish, hip hop, jingle, etc), giving medical advice, to answering any question on Dubai.

The Wall Street Jounal did a better job of explaining Fiverr than I ever could. But the quick run down is that all posting are fixed at five dollars so the bored/unemployed can make a quick buck while you receive some enjoyment for what's less than a movie ticket.

Fair deal, I say. And I'm incredibly tempted to buy "I will write and sing you a love song on youtube for $5." It's the narcissist in me.

(From Cam)

Stereomood

2010-03-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

Stereomood is a streaming internet radio site that, provides "music that best suits your mood and your activities." Click on the mood and listen away.

A playlist appears and you can click on any song to hear it. You can skip, pause, and register free. Enjoy!

(From Metafilter)

Pictures From A Taxi

2010-03-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Pictures From A Taxi is a blog that simply posts a daily picture- a cab driver shares a simple image from his journey around New York City. Some are simple, some are fun, some are touching.

What I love is that with a single picture, he really captures the moments that make NYC what it is.

I also recommend his other blog- Cabs Are For Kissing- for some great writing about the adventures of a seasoned taxi driver.

(From: random luck in a blog search )

Grammar Challenge!

2010-03-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Grammar Challenge! is a post on HTML Giant (the internet literature magazine blog of the future) by Amy McDaniel. It challenges the best English language readers and writers among us to find the errors in 10 seemingly correct sentences.

The challenge states, in screaming caps, "IF NO ONE HAS YET TAUGHT YOU HOW TO AVOID OR REPAIR CLAUSES LIKE THE FOLLOWING, YOU SHOULD, IN MY OPINION, THINK SERIOUSLY ABOUT SUING SOMEBODY, PERHAPS AS CO-PLAINTIFF WITH WHOEVER’S PAID YOUR TUITION."

Not going to lie, there are some toughies. Here they are:

1. He and I hardly see one another.

2. I’d cringe at the naked vulnerability of his sentences left wandering around without periods and the ambiguity of his uncrossed “t”s.

3. My brother called to find out if I was over the flu yet.

4. I only spent six weeks in Napa.

5. In my own mind, I can understand why its implications may be somewhat threatening.

6. From whence had his new faith come?

7. Please spare me your arguments of why all religions are unfounded and contrived.

8. She didn’t seem to ever stop talking.

9. As the relationship progressed, I found her facial tic more and more aggravating.

10. The Book of Mormon gives an account of Christ’s ministry to the Nephites, which allegedly took place soon after Christ’s resurrection.

Click through for the answers, and more.

(From More Kottke)

Jimmy Surprises Bieber Fan

2010-03-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

You might recall a little post about a 3 Year Old Crying Over Justin Bieber.

Did you catch the follow up?

Jimmy Kimmel surprised the girl and her family with a face to face visit from the dream boy himself!

(From my own awesomeness)

Accident Sketch

2010-03-17T20:44:00.001-07:00

Accident Sketch is a site that helps you explain what happened in a traffic accident via pictures. Unfortunately, it only works with Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer. Ostensibly you could use this to show your insurance company what happened with a little more sophistication than your usual stick-figure-cars-scrawled-on-a-paper-napkin. Not sure if anyone has done this, though. The site also seems geared to a European audience.

So okay, it's probably not that useful, but basically it's just fun to play with the equivalent of paper dolls online. Enjoy!

(From JKottke)

70 Million by Hold Your Horses

2010-03-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

The mostly male Swedish band Hold Your Horses dressed in drag to re-create traditional classical art for their music video.

70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

Feministing writes,

Seeing these men adopting the roles of both men and women in classical paintings really serves to highlight the Guerrilla Girls' points about how women frequently appear in art: naked. Another lesson in why drag can be so powerful. It really makes you see gender norms in a new way.

Plus, seeing semi-naked Swedes is just fun. Anyone remember this? (think of it as a 2-for-1 TOTI)

(From ) Lindsay

Papercraft: Simply Cut and Paste!

2010-03-15T00:03:00.000-07:00

I remember getting those plastic models of my favorite cars as a kid and spending the day or weekend clipping the pieces apart and either clicking or gluing them together. It was great fun and I always guarded those models with my life.

Well, those days may be gone for me, but sites like Tektonten Papercraft and Cubeecraft are bringing back some of that fun. The best part is that this time, I don't feel like I have to threaten the lives of family and friends as these models are made of paper.

A couple of neat projects from Tektonten:

A few of my favorites from Cubeecraft:

There are several papercraft sites out there, but the two mentioned previously are the first two where I discovered this wonderful crafting hobby. Below, I've listed a few other good sites. Some use the Pepakura Designer to create the cutouts, but you can download the Pepakura Viewer here.

(From Tektonten, Cubeecraft)

The 65 Sketchiest Easter Bunnies

2010-03-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

The 65 Sketchiest Easter Bunnies is a self-explanatory picture article of bunny costumes frightening little children or their viewers.

(From Buzzfeed)

Jeff Sheng Photography

2010-03-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

Jeff Sheng was recently a topic in the press when his "Don't Ask Don't Tell" series was released. There are 2 volumes to this series- a collection of service men and women who volunteered to be photographed in uniform with their faces hidden and their stories told.

I was drawn in to his other works when I visited his website.

The "Fearless" series highlights college athletes who are gay and live out.

Most moving for me was "Revolutions of Memory." Sheng chose several locations and takes a unique turn on the classic panorama. He really focuses on the perspective of the person connected to the place. I was deeply moved by "Where Matthew Lay Dying."

(From random online clicking )

Harmony

2010-03-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

Harmony is an online drawing java application by Mr.doob (Ricardo Cabello) that allows your sketches to look all tricked out with shading, and fur, and circles, and other odd brushes.

The metafilter post about it claimed it made your shitty drawings look less shitty. This is a controversial statement, but it did bring me joy.

Enjoy!

(From Mefi)

Wilbur Sargunaraj wants a Love Marriage

2010-03-11T00:01:00.001-08:00

Mr. Sargunaraj seems to be every hipster's dream; I'm not entirely convinced he's not the product of some snickering kids in Williamsburg (or Tamil Nadu's equivalent). But he's just so delightful and genuine you have to kinda go with it.

For added kicks, check out Wilbur's website (the amazingly titled http://www.wilbur.asia, I kid you not), where he gives you plenty of little life tips and fun self-descriptors such as "If you like something fresh in the music industry- this is it!! Guaranteed! "He further defines his music style as "vocal chanting" (isn't all chanting vocal?). That said, even Roger Ebert likes him, so it can't be all bad ;)

Second video highlight? Blog Song, below:

(From Teej)

Layer Tennis: Game, Set, Match!

2010-03-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

Layer Tennis sounds like playing tennis on several courts at once, right? Sounds difficult and nearly impossible, but that's not what it is at all. Layer Tennis is actually a competition, a live design project if you will, between two artists each week with each artist (usually working with Photoshop, hence the play on layers) vying for a spot in the final round. Two seasons have completed, and the third season just beginning.

Layer Tennis was started by Coudal Partners. What, or who, is Coudal Partners you ask? Well, in their own words, Coudal Partners is "a design, advertising and interactive studio in Chicago, as an ongoing experiment in web publishing, design and commerce."

If you'd like to see all of the past matches, which I highly recommend (they're amazing!), then
check out the Layer Tennis Archives.

Below are a few samples from the current season's matchups.

Hamid vs. Javanrouh: A Photographic Exhibition Match

Vinh vs. Felton: An Exhibition Match

And my favorite so far, Bruhn vs. Simonson: A Typographic Exhibition Match

(From Coudal)

Japan: it's Not Funny Anymore

2010-03-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

Japan: It's not Funny Anymore is a long blog entry on Kotaku.com about why all of the things you *thought* were cool about Japan. It reminds me of myself, when I write about London or the LSE. Everyone thinks it's a really great place, but after a while, it's just annoying.

My favourite part is reading about how everything in Japan has meat in it (even "vegetarian" soup), and crazy office culture. Apparently it's normal to shout and knock your hands on your knees.

An interesting read.
(From )Peterlo

Gary: Landlord of the Flies

2010-03-08T00:02:00.000-08:00

Gary: Landlord of the Flies, also known as Stranger than Eviction, is a blog chronicling Gabe's fight to get his security deposit back from his landlord and the exploits which take place during the struggle.

You see, Gabe was just your typical tenant living in a suburb of Chicago. He thought the landlord was a bit odd, but at $500 a month, the room was almost too good to pass up. Then along came Gary, but I'll let Gabe tell the story. Below is his very first post and overview of the blog.

"I am making this site to chronicle the craziest living situation I have ever taken part in. In the month that I subletted a room in this house in St. Charles (a suburb of Chicago), the police have come 5 times, my landlord has been handcuffed twice, and one roommate has been hospitalized. The focus is on my crazy landlord, Gary. Gary is a 63 year old, currently unemployed, overweight, homeowner who enjoys a frequent alcoholic beverage and cigarette. I believe he had bought this house with the intention of selling it for a quick profit. This did not work out, and last I’ve heard the house is going under foreclosure in September [2009]."

Upon finding the blog, I flew through the posts and finished them in one reading. It's a great mixture of humor, pity, cruelty, and includes a fair share of misspelled words and expletives. Below is my favorite post.

July 8: The Holy Grail
Finally, the Holy Grail of Gary correspondence: the drunken voicemail! I guess I slept through his call, but he was nice enough to leave a message. I’ll try to figure out how to get the actual voicemail on here in the morning. Having heard it, I think that it alone may catapult this blog to being bigger than google.

“Gabe… Gabe Dunn you little cunt, you little queer. If you think you’re going to get a uh a uh deposit refund from me…. kiss my fucking dick. I saw your little squirrelly ass… came in here today and didn’t have the balls to hand me your key, and I’m not sure it was your key, because I think you’re a little fucking … crook. I hope you rot in hell you cocksucker. (long pause) You little fucking dick. You little squirrelly bipolar dick…. I know you’re bipolar. You will not receive a refund of your stupid fucking deposit because you broke the contract you motherfucking little squirrelly dick. Take me to court you lying motherfucker. Remember…. Well, you don’t remember because you’re fucking queer. And you’re bipolar. You let the cops in my house you fucking dick. Take me to small claims like you threatened me. You DICK. You fucking little tiny fucking dick. That’s what you are. You’re a little tiny dick from… Fermilab. Call me if you dare… dick!”

Finer points of this voicemail:

1) “…you broke the contract….” I’m assuming Gary is talking about the part of the contract that read, “if the cops show up to arrest me, the tenant is responsible for keeping me out of jail.” I knew I should have read that thing more carefully.

2) “Remember…. Well, you don’t remember because you’re fucking queer. And you’re bipolar.” This part hit a little home because often times my queerness and bipolar disorder do cause me to forget things.

3) What could the purpose of this voicemail be other than to help me stockpile evidence for the ensuing court case?

There's a facebook page of the same name if you're into social networking or you can share your thoughts with Gabe at: StrangerThanEviction@gmail.com

(From reddit)

Accept Defeat: The Neuroscience of Screwing Up

2010-03-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

Accept Defeat: The Neuroscience of Screwing Up is a Wired article by Jonah Lehrer.

A few highlights:

Although the researchers were mostly using established techniques, more than 50 percent of their data was unexpected... It wasn’t uncommon for someone to spend a month on a project and then just discard all their data because the data didn’t make sense.
...
According to Dunbar, even after scientists had generated their “error” multiple times — it was a consistent inconsistency — they might fail to follow it up. “Given the amount of unexpected data in science, it’s just not feasible to pursue everything,” Dunbar says. “People have to pick and choose what’s interesting and what’s not, but they often choose badly.” And so the result was tossed aside, filed in a quickly forgotten notebook. The scientists had discovered a new fact, but they called it a failure.
...
There was a squirt of blood to the anterior cingulate cortex, a collar of tissue located in the center of the brain. The ACC is typically associated with the perception of errors and contradictions — neuroscientists often refer to it as part of the “Oh shit!” circuit — so it makes sense that it would be turned on when we watch a video of something that seems wrong.

And so forth. Very interesting.

(From Clayton M. )

Let Them Sing It For You

2010-03-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

Let Them Sing It For You is a website where you can enter text into a player and it will then play your text in various songs. You know those contests on the radio where they mash 6 songs together and you win if you know the songs? That's what this sounds like. It is fun to play with and waste a little time on! It was conceived by Erik Bunger as a sound art project.

If you come up with a really good set of lyrics, share it in the comments!

(From Eternal Lizdom)

9gag

2010-03-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

9gag is a simple microblog that features humorous, beautiful, or non-sensical images. Can we talk about how I hate starting sentences with numerical digits? It's an affront to grammar. But I didn't want to break tradition here.

Anyway, on 9gag you can navigate the blog with the keyboard letters k and j, as well as loving things with a quick L keystroke. Lots of hits and misses. Enjoy!

(From NB)

Lyrics Training Improves Your Foreign Language Skills Through Music

2010-03-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

Lyrics Training is an easy and fun way to learn a foreign language through son lyrics. You can choose a Youtube hosted video, select one of six possible languages (English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch) and a mastery level. As the song plays, you fill in words that you hear.
It's surprisingly effective, and much more difficult than you think.
The choices of songs is very limited- so far Spanish has the best selection.
French only has Aicha (no Yelle!!) and German has the most pathetic showing of all, featuring only Rammstein's Du Hast.

Still, it's worth a try!

(From ) Lifehacker/Fez

The Rumors Were True

2010-03-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Rumors Were True is a quality, quality site by Christopher R. Kinsella Jr. He started his first two years of medical school in the Caribbean, transferred to Drexel, and is now amidst a competitive residency.

Normally, medical students think of the Caribbean as community college for medical schools. He admits himself:

"Like most people I tried to get into medicine in the states and was rejected for perfectly good reasons. Chief among them were:

1) immaturity
2) poor scholastic performance in spite of the tools to excel
3) horrible recommendations from teachers aware of points 1 and 2."

The fact that Christopher was able to go from there, to contributing to First Aid Step 1 (the Bible of the first part of the medical boards exam), and is now in a competitive residency is a testament to his tenacity and intelligence. His writing skills are way above par. It's wonderful to have re-stumbled upon his blog and see that he has recently had much hard-won success. For anyone amidst medical school or thinking of applying, this is well worth a read.

Enjoy!

Select quotes:

"I took two months to study for the USMLE Step 1, a test that covers the first two years of medical school, and while in Cambodia on my 6 week tour of Southeast Asia, I found out that I scored a 240/99 (the goal I set for myself). [Ed. note: this ~82 percentile!] While studying for this test, I began editing a review book (First Aid for the USMLE) just for fun and submitting my corrections and suggestions to the authors. They contacted me and asked for my CV, and now I am working for them and credited as an author on the 2008 Edition of the book. During this time, I applied for transfer to several medical schools in the US. Drexel University in Philadelphia invited me for an interview. What follows is the story of that interview and the outcome."

Another excerpt from the entry Pancakes Every Morning:

Looking at it now, I’m tempted to start the passive bragging of impossible odds. “You have no idea how hard it is,” I’d say. “Medical school is like trying to take a drink from a fire hose,” I’d brag.

And that’s total bullshit.
...
Medical school is like trying to eat five pancakes every morning for breakfast.

You know you can do it. A Premed advisory committee endorsed you saying, “He has the stomach for it. He’s committed.” And you prove them all right. Every day you show up with your first-year optimism and your annoying hunger for learning and you clean that plate (just kidding, it’s adorable). But you begin to notice that those pancakes are slowing you down a little each day and the sugar highs and lows are screwing with your sleep. Smart person that you are, you decide to pass on the flapjacks one day. You think to yourself, “Self, I’m going to eat ten pancakes tomorrow so that I don’t have to eat any today.”

But it never stops. Turns out that “self” isn’t the most responsible lender, and before you know it there are 40 pancakes in front of you and your plate needs to be clean by tomorrow. So yeah, at this point it looks impossible. But really, it’s your fault.

In the future, as I like to imagine it, I’ll be in charge of all medical school admissions. The process will be six weeks long and will consist of nothing more than showing up each morning to eat five pancakes, at which point you can then go about whatever you were going to do that day. At the end of the five weeks a few jaded, newly diabetic hopefuls will come to my office and, mixed with both pride and resignation say, “I did it. I finished those goddamn pancakes.”

“Wow,” I’ll say. “That’s very impressive. You must be very proud, and your parents must be very proud. Just one more thing.” They’ll reflexively clutch their stomachs, shifting their girth from one hip onto the next and groan, “What’s that?”

“Regurgitate it.”

Another final excerpt on how to write the perfect thank you letter, from the post entitled Embarrassment of Riches:

And with that, she asked if I had any questions. The night before, I had prepared six questions that sounded specific but were in fact broad and I figured this would cover me, but I ended up not using them. Instead, I asked about very practical things like, “Do Drexel students take advantage of international rotations?” I knew the answer to this, but asked anyway to bring up the fact that I understand the importance of being bilingual and have plans to do a rotation in Ecuador (with Aunt Lucy and Uncle Fred) and that I have already traveled and have stories to tell you that will kill some time and make you think that I am well-rounded and interesting.
I told her about Laos and how much I loved the people. I told her about filthy, filthy Cambodia and the Killing Fields. I told her about the motorcycle trip in Vietnam with Kelly’s heroics, our first stitches, and the pictures that I’d show her if only she’d accept me. The interview ended with her telling me that they would decide later that day (or possibly on Thursday) who would be accepted and that I would know either Thursday or Friday.

So the interview was split very much in two and while I handled myself as well as I could have in the first half, I think we both enjoyed the second half much more. After this, my day was over. I then went down to the bookstore, bought Drexel stationary, and wrote her the following letter.

"Dear Mrs. XXX,

As a writer, I depend on stories. There is something extra and hidden between the lines of a good story that would be harder to see if stated simply. You can imagine a much more interesting version of “he went to medical school,” for example. As an applicant, I notice when others have higher scores and I worry that someone might not see my stories tucked between my A’s and B’s. I wanted to thank you for inviting me to interview; it was my chance to show you some of the extra and hidden parts of my life that otherwise might have been missed on paper.

For Drexel, I hope to become a great story.

Sincerely, Me."

I would have mailed it, but as I said, the decision was being made later that day. I left the envelope with her secretary and caught the train back.

Voilá. That folks, is writing.

GREG RUTTER'S DEFINITIVE LIST OF THE 99 THINGS YOU SHOULD HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED ON THE INTERNET

2010-03-02T23:59:00.000-08:00

GREG RUTTER'S DEFINITIVE LIST OF THE 99 THINGS YOU SHOULD HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED ON THE INTERNET is an obnoxiously-titled, large-fonted list of links you should be aware of. Pretty self-explanatory.

(From I forget)

Thinking Outside the Box in the Digital Age!

2010-03-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Anything to do with digital art or graphics these days usually involves some sort of program similar to Adobe's Creative Suite, GIMP, or Inkscape, but thanks to the great team at Neatorama, the skills of the artist known as shukei01, and loads of patience, all you need to create beautiful artwork is Microsoft Excel,

or MS Paint.

(From Neatorama, shukei01)

Stop Motion T-Shirt War

2010-02-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

Stop Motion T-Shirt War - Watch more Funny Videos

Stop Motion T-Shirt War is an awesome video- 222 shirts. 2 days, 1 fire extinguisher. And a fantastic end result!! I don't think I have enough words for it- just watch and enjoy!

(From Break.com)

National Geographic Photo Tips

2010-02-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

National Geographic's Photo Tips is a section of the NatGeo website dedicated to helping photographers hone their craft. The site is broken down into sections- areas of photography like Portrait, Action and Adventure, and Landscape.

As an amateur photographer of sorts myself, I enjoyed perusing the pages of tips, the quick tips, and the videos.

And while you're on the site and enjoying the photography, be sure to check out some amazing collections of photos on the site like:

Ultimate National Parks

50 Years of Covers

Life in Color Series

(From National Geographic)

Babies with Laser Eyes!

2010-02-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Babies with Laser Eyes! is a self-explanatory tumblr site that features babies photoshopped with lasers coming out of their tiny, observant, precise eyeballs. Anyone can submit photos for laserification to laserbabies[at]thefrogman.me.

Which apparently means The Frogman is behind this latest of interweb memes.

Can you hear the sound effects in your head? "Pew Pew Pew!" There you go.

(From Facebook, Pew Pew sound joke from CW)

3 Year old crying over Justin Bieber

2010-02-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

I normally don't post things this late, that have this many hits, but I didn't want to be accused fo missing a huge phenomenon. 3 Year old crying over Justin Bieber is a Youtube video featuring a 3 year old girl who is deeply and emotionally moved by the saccharine tween tunes of Canadian Pop/R&B singer Justin Drew Bieber. She is held by her sister, who alternates between trying not to crack up and torturing the younger sibling with her fairly-in-tune and register-accurate immitations of Justin.

This is understandable because Justin is currently 15, but he looks about 4. She wails for about 4 minutes, until she is interrupted by the phone. The ringing phone triggers an inexplicably fast mood change in the girl. Amazing to watch an attention-seeking 3 year old. I love it. A+.

Embedding is disabled by request, so you'll have to click through for the video.
(From KW at the Greenhouse)

Booking a Flight the Frugal Way

2010-02-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

Booking a Flight the Frugal Way is a NYT article by Matt Gross on the latest sites you need to check to find the cheapest flights. If you aren't doing this, you're living in the past!

I've been using Kayak and Farecast for years, but they did drop in a few new sites I'll have to check out.

I like the sliders that Kayak has, we need a giant meta site with moar sliders!

(From The Kott, image from State Library and Archives of Florida)

Chat Roulette

2010-02-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

Chat Roulette is a website that randomly connects your webcam to others. As described in the Guardian, Chatroulette, is:

A new website that has been described as "surreal", "addictive" and "frightening" is proving a sensation around the world – and attracting a reputation as a haven for no-holds-barred, explicit material.

Chatroulette, which was launched in November, has rocketed in popularity thanks to its simple premise: internet video chats with random strangers.
When users visit the site and switch on their webcams, they are suddenly connected to another, randomly chosen person who is doing precisely the same thing somewhere else in the world.
Once they are logged in together, chatters can do anything they like: talk to each other, type messages, entertain each other – or just say goodbye, hit the "next" button and move on in an attempt to find somebody more interesting.

I played a couple of rounds, and did not talk to any weird sex people. I had a conversation about tuition fees and snow with a guy from Indiana, and a conversation in German with a Dutch guy about the Dutch language. It's a great place to waste time when Facebook is no longer cutting it.

(From ) The Internets

Government Prohibition Killings

2010-02-22T00:01:00.002-08:00

"It was Christmas Eve 1926...Before hospital staff realized how sick he was — the alcohol-induced hallucination was just a symptom — the man died. So did another holiday partygoer. And another. As dusk fell on Christmas, the hospital staff tallied up more than 60 people made desperately ill by alcohol and eight dead from it. Within the next two days, yet another 23 people died in the city from celebrating the season....The deaths, as investigators would shortly realize, came courtesy of the U.S. government."

Slate has an amazing write up on the now-forgotten "Chemist's War on Prohibition" written by Deborah Blum who found out about this war while researching for her book The Poisoner's Handbook. The article is pretty interesting and makes you worry a bit as to the lengths our government will go.

(From Slate)

The One Who Got Away

2010-02-22T00:01:00.001-08:00

The One Who Got Away is a photojournalism piece on Photory Magazine (which you can navigate through using the right and left arrows on your keyboard!). It's about the people in your life that have disappeared or faded out, and the re-editing we do of our own personal histories.

Light, nostalgic, brilliant. Here is an excerpt:

"Imagine studying abroad in a castle in Italy for three months, and falling in love with one of your friends while you were there. Locking eyes at the bar up the hill, sharing a tent in Verona because the hotels are full, hopping a train and heading south to the coast for a week with no itinerary at all, running around Venice in the rain. Imagine coming back home, and love fading back into friendship. Imagine what a disappointment that would be."

Apparently anyone can submit a captioned photo (very bottom of the page).
Enjoy!
(From Kottke)

The Pluto Files

2010-02-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

Pluto is no longer considered a planet (old news, I know).

Apparently, school age children have taken serious umbrage with this change.

The Pluto Files is a collection of letters from school age children who miss seeing Pluto among the other planets.

From the link:

"It's not easy being a public enemy," writes Neil deGrasse Tyson in his book The Pluto Files. When Neil's museum grouped Pluto not among the planets but rather with icy comets in an obscure region called the Kuiper Belt, he heard from thousands of outraged Pluto defenders. It's tough being called a heartless Pluto-hater, particularly by a dismayed eight-year-old. Below, peruse a few of the letters elementary schoolkids sent Neil, and see how their tone shifted over the years, as the public slowly came to accept Pluto's fall from planethood.—Susan K. Lewis

My favorite letter was one from Madeline, dated Sept 2006.

Power to the planet Pluto, Madeline. Power to the planet.

(Since I now have 2 posts collected because of Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, I guess this means I have to become a card carrying member of his fan club. )

(From PBS, Nova)

How To Report The News

2010-02-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

How To Report The News - Watch more Funny Videos

How To Report The News is a BBC video by reporter Chris Booker. We've all seen the "hard hitting" news stories that all follow the same formula- explained in detail here by Chris Booker.

With this as a guide, your future as a field reporter has never been brighter.

(From Break.com)

Third and Delaware

2010-02-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

Third and Delaware is a site dedicated to analyzing the monstrosities against fashion featured on the show Roseanne. I don't know what's worse, the bedazzling or the artist-formerly-known-as-prince-eing.

Enjoy?
(From CC)

Hipster Puppies

2010-02-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hipster Puppies is a site featuring puppies dressed up as hipsters. Sounds awful, and it is, but also super cute. How can you argue with the brilliance of this self-mocking caption?

"arlo says the bullshit “no taping” policy at bb king’s blues club is a “third reich thought police tactic” and that it’s a tragedy this ween show will go undocumented"

(From CC)

If Travel Worked Like Healthcare

2010-02-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

If Travel Worked Like Healthcare is a shockingly accurate portrayal of health care in the USA, complete with the hassle of arranging every portion of the trip via fax, calling numerous other providers, and being charged extraordinary amounts of money for simple procedures. Until Obama gets the reforms pass, I´m so glad to be living in Europe.

(From ) Youtube

Don't Play With Your Food... Or Do

2010-02-16T00:13:00.000-08:00

Don't Play With Your Food... Or Do is a nauseatingly cute photo essay on cuteoverload.com about a pair of cheetahs playing with a captured impala for about 15 minutes. It's rather impressive to see how gentle these two Cheetahs can be with such a tender, and presumably tasty meal.

(From Cute Overload)

Patrick Stewart is not a Gamer.

2010-02-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

So, I was tempted to save this beauty for my personal blog, but let's face it; everyone you know should see this side of Mr. Stewart.

Below is a video from Vimeo with actor-extraordinaire Patrick Stewart talking briefly about his likes, dislikes and thoughts on today's technology. Enjoy!

(From Vimeo, Neatorama)

How long could you survive chained to a bed with a velociraptor?

2010-02-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Tonight's main question could be "Will you be my Valentine?" But there's folly in that query as the true question should be "How long could you survive chained to a bed with a velociraptor?" I've been trying to answer this question since I saw the kitchen scene from Jurassic Park and concurred that I would have shamelessly wet myself. Then I saw The Land Before Time series and realized I could have taken on those sissy dinosaurs.

But since the days of LiveJournal and their myriad online personality quizzes, i.e. Which finger are you? What is your birth color?, people have been trying to figure out who they are when the critical question was "How long could you survived chained to the hip with a carnivorous dinosaur?

Two decades later, we have an answer. Finally.

(From Cam)

Selleck Waterfall Sandwich

2010-02-13T00:01:00.001-08:00

Selleck Waterfall Sandwich delivers exactly what you would assume from such an aptly titled blog. Tom Selleck. With a sandwich. By a waterfall. No gimmicks, no fine lines, no small print.

Enjoy the latest internet meme and Tom Selleck's sandwich of the day choice.

(From a friend of a friend of a friend)

Atul Gawande on the Daily Show

2010-02-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Atul Gawande
www.thedailyshow.com

Atul Gawande went on the Daily Show to promote his new book "The Checklist Manifesto. How to Get Things Right." The book includes basic recommendations like washing your hands and knowing all the staff's names, then backs it in numbers with how many lives it saves. Pretty awesome.

(From BW)

Vans and the Places Where They Are

2010-02-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Vans and the Places Where They Are is an art project by Joe Stevens depicting vans in lonely places in the Western United States.

It "documents surviving custom and conversion vans across the West and examines the dialogue which exists between a van’s design aesthetic and that of its surrounding environment." Joe's previous work has been exhibited at the Hammer Museum of Los Angeles and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

It's a lot of pretty vans in pale colors.

(From Kottke)

Unhappy Hipsters

2010-02-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

Unhappy Hipsters is a website devoted to picturesque shots of purported lonely hipsters. The photos seem to be ripped out of various architectural digests, but the captions is what makes them brilliant. You can send tips in to unhappyhipsters@gmail.com.

Enjoy!
It was unclear how her life had become so riddled with obvious metaphors.
(Photo: Paco Perez; Dwell, July/August 2004)

Everyone always leaves.
(Dwell, April 2009)

The octopus was full of judgment.
(Photo: Mark Compton; Dwell, October 2009)

(From TJ )

They Can't Turn the Lights Off

2010-02-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

They Can't Turn the Lights Off is "HitRECord's animated short about the Prop 8 trial, transparency, media, freedom and the future". And a "freaky computer spirit" and people who look like that guy from Pokemon. But the message is serious: transparency IS up to you and me and everyone deserves equal rights..

(From ) Youtube

What pregnant women won't tell you. Ever.

2010-02-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

I came across a great article from Skepchick on the less glamorous details of pregnancy that may not make it past the editor's desk for What to Expect When You're Expecting. The best part of this article is that it's just one of the many great reads at Skepchick.

So, what is Skepchick?

From their site: "Skepchick is a group of women (and one deserving guy) who write about science, skepticism, and pseudoscience. With intelligence, curiosity, and occasional snark, the group tackles diverse topics from astronomy to astrology, psychics to psychology." Below is an excerpt from the article.

"[W]hile the human-baking process has been going on for like at least 6000 years or so, it’s hardly a process that’s been perfected. And shockingly, a good portion of the process is not discussed. Really. If you think that being pregnant is anything like what you’ve seen in the movies or heard from your friends or co-workers, you might be surprised to hear that normal uncomplicated pregnancies can suck.

So I made a list of things no one tells you about pregnancy until you’re already sucked in. Not everyone experiences all of these. Some women experience none of these. Some women experience all of these and more. And these do not include any of the things no one tells you about complications, miscarriages, infertility or unwanted pregnancy. So this list is only for the lucky ones.

You’re pregnant with a baby you want and you and your husband planned for! Congrats! You must be thrilled! Everyone else is! Don’t you love being pregnant? Everyone else does! It’s magical! It’s wonderful!

Except… you’re not. Don’t try to talk about it with anyone. It’s like explaining mustard to a frog. Women who are already parents will explain to you that you’re just dealing with some stress, and that everything will be fine. Everyone who is not a mother will just be confused or think you’re joking."

(From Skepchick via reddit)

Illustrated Celebrity Tweets

2010-02-07T11:59:00.000-08:00

Celebrities are ridiculous, and celebrities on twitter even more so. Tweetmuseum offers graphic depictions of all the wacky things celebrities have tweeted. My favo(u)rite is Lidsay Lohan's comments of coining the phrase "self out" and the picture of Anderson Cooper sexual healing himself with strange forest animals.
(From ) Steven Neptune

What happens if you fall into a Black Hole?

2010-02-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson at The Richmond Forum - What happens if you fall into a Black Hole?
is a video of a talk given by astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. In it, he describes, based on known science of how Black Holes operate and how the human body responds to such conditions, what would happen to your body if you fell into a Black Hole.

For a few extra hours of science fun... check our Dr. Tyson's website. Besure to check out the video of Dr. Tyson on The Colbert Report- funny stuff! Or his appearance on The Daily Show.

I wish someone had told me how fun science can be back when I was required to learn it in exchange for grades that determined my future...

"Science is, in fact, interesting. It's just never been presented that way." - Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson

(From my friend, Daniel )

Poof! You're Now Using a Touchscreen!

2010-02-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, so maybe not right this moment, but soon, everyone with a computer monitor can have a touchscreen!

Displax is a Portugese-based company that has created a wonderful, paper-thin polymer film which contains a grid of nanowires which has the capacity to interact with up to 16 fingers, sense air movement over the film, and "can be applied on any non-conductive flat or curved surface including glass, plastic and wood with a thickness under 15 mm. It works in daylight or at night, indoors or outdoors, and isn’t affected by light conditions."

Apparently, the film is applied to the backside of the screen which protects it from all our grimy hands. Looks like we're one step closer to having interactive computers like those from Minority Report. Pretty groovy!

(From Gizmodo)

Man Eggs

2010-02-04T23:59:00.000-08:00

ManEggs is a webcomic by tom@tombland.net.

It's not very funny. Except the enclosed one. That one is funny. There you go.

(From Metafilter)

First Person Tetris

2010-02-03T00:01:00.001-08:00

First Person Tetris is a take on Tetris that I've never seen before!

When the game starts up, you see what appears to be Tetris playing on a TV- with a VCR on top and everything. When you flip the pieces... the TV and entire setting flip!

Try it out... it'll blow your mind!

(From Neatorama)

Letter Me Later

2010-02-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

Letter Me Later is a website that lets you send out emails at a specific time in the future. According to their self-description, the site "allows you to send emails to anyone you wish, with the ability to have them sent at any future date and time you choose. "

The basic service is free, and of course there is an upgraded service available for a fee.

Overall very useful for Gmail, which currently does not have the capability to natively schedule emails in advance--a feature necessary for large scale social organizing and general productivity. Sure, you can use Thunderbird, but your computer has to be on for the email to be sent at the future date.

This site is a decent but not perfect fix (are you hearing me, Google Gmail team?! Make my dreams come true!). (From my frustration with not being able to preschedule gmails)

Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky Discuss Lord of the Rings

2010-02-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Below is a sample from McSweeney's website which contains unused commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky from The Fellowship of the Ring. It's beautiful dialogue on a different take on the conflict in the book/movie series.

Chomsky: One of the problems with the perspective offered by the Man-Elf coalition is that you have to try so hard to get at the truth of the conflict, at what is really going on; it's so obscured by their propaganda and relentless militarism. I mean, here we have swords being distributed to the Hobbits by Strider so they can protect themselves against these "evil creatures." Now, in this case, it's probably warranted, though the "evil creatures" are looking for the ring in their own individual self-interest. They're behaving in a purely rational way.
Zinn: The Nazgul have been ordered to get the ring. So, that's what they're doing.
Chomsky: There are conflicts in rationality as well. Sometimes valid rationality is forced into conflict because of the structures of culture. But working through those cultural differences is where the peace lies. It doesn't lie in destroying some magical ring. This takes me back to the media's involvement in all this, and the way the media is being controlled by Gandalf, such as when he covers Saruman's palantir in Orthanc. This is the stone that allows one to see, and thus communicate with, different cultures.
Zinn: Right. "What does the eye command, my lord?" This is what the Orcs ask Saruman. In other words, what does the palantir say? Clearly the Orcs know a lot more about the people of Rohan and Gondor than the people of Rohan and Gondor have ever cared to know about them. They're curious beings.

(From McSweeney's Internet Tendency)

Do You Eat It?

2010-01-31T00:01:00.000-08:00

Do You Eat It? is a decision flow-chart posted by Andy Wright on the SF Weekly Food blog.

Finally, a guide to answer one of life's most difficult questions: when can you eat something you dropped on the ground? We all know the five second rule is SO third grade.

Based on my propensity to drop things, I figure this guide will eventually help me save hundreds of dollars... or cause me hundreds of stomach flues. Let's hope for the former.

(From ) swissmiss

Open A Banana Like A Monkey

2010-01-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

Open A Banana Like A Monkey is a video that has gone viral- teaching everyday folks a whole "new" way of opening a banana. Instead of struggling with the stick end- try this method of opening the banana from the bottom. A simple pinch, squeeze, split, pull. I've not witnessed an actual monkey peeling a banana... but this method certainly is easier!

(From YouTube )

Breakdancing Fingers

2010-01-29T00:01:00.001-08:00

Breakdancing Fingers is a self-explanatory Youtube video posted by IQCrash. You will waste 1 minute of your life watching this. Watch those moves!

(From Kian)

Posterous

2010-01-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

Posterous is a new blogging platform that Newsweek said is "...already making Tumblr seem archaic..." Indeed, it looks hot. I've imported TOTI over there if you want to check out what it would look like on there instead of blogger:

http://todayontheinterwebs.posterous.com/

From their FAQ:

"Posterous lets you post things online fast using email. You email us at post@posterous.com and we reply instantly with your new posterous blog.
...

Posterous is NOT a micro blog. There's nothing micro about it! There are no limits to what you can post."

The design is slick, the ease of posting masterful. It auto resizes picture, figurest out links and video-sizing. I would consider switching over except they don't yet have the ability to natively schedule posts in advance. Currently if I post there, it auto reposts here, but not vice versa. Unfortunately, I need posts scheduled in advance because I now live in CST and I'm not normally awake at 12:01 PST.

(From a link off a link off a link at Kottke)

30 Rock Lambasts Crimson False Modesty

2010-01-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

Famously, Harvard's noblesse oblige dictates that alumni cannot name-drop their own institution's name, and must thusly pepper speech with annoying euphemisms like, "I went to school in Boston." Tufer is a TGS staff writer who is stereotypically falsely modest and wants to desperately let everyone know that he attended Harvard. This 30 rock episode had not one but TWO occasions in which they lambast Crimson false modesty and sense of superiority.

Take 1
Take 2

If I were a betting woman, I'd guess a Tufts writer is on staff at 30 Rock.

(From CE)

The 4 Big Myths of Profile Pictures

2010-01-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

The 4 Big Myths of Profile Pictures is an article on the dating site OKCupid that takes their user data and analyzes which kind of pictures get the most responses.

Interesting photos get the most conversations, intimate flirty-face shots and showing off your bodies get the most responses. A lot of results fly in the face of what we want to believe about internet dating photos.

Maybe people hate these because they're so common... and they are common because they work? This article is pure fascinating social science.

(From Peggy's Buzzfeed)

Celebrities: A Look Into the Past

2010-01-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

Crack Two is a blog which presents various weird, funny, or historical nuggets from around the web, but the blog caught my eye when I found the collection of rare celebrity photos. Below are a couple of my favorites.

Alfred Hitchcock and children

Salvador Dali

(From Crack Two)

Auto-appendectomy in the Antarctic: case report

2010-01-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

Auto-appendectomy in the Antarctic: case report is an article on The BMJ (British Medical Journal) by Drs. Vladislav Rogozov and Neil Bermel. It describes the saga of Leonid Ivanovich Rogozov, who in 1961 while on expedition in Antarctica, performed a self-appendectomy. Exerpt:

"One of the expedition’s members was the 27 year old Leningrad surgeon Leonid Ivanovich Rogozov. He had interrupted a promising scholarly career and left on the expedition shortly before he was due to defend his dissertation on new methods of operating on cancer of the oesophagus. In the Antarctic he was first and foremost the team’s doctor, although he also served as the meteorologist and the driver of their terrain vehicle.

After several weeks Rogozov fell ill. He noticed symptoms of weakness, malaise, nausea, and, later, pain in the upper part of his abdomen, which shifted to the right lower quadrant. His body temperature rose to 37.5°C.1 2 Rogozov wrote in his diary:

'It seems that I have appendicitis. I am keeping quiet about it, even smiling. Why frighten my friends? Who could be of help?'
...
He chose a semi-reclining position, with his right hip slightly elevated and the lower half of the body elevated at an angle of 30°. Then he disinfected and dressed the operating area. He anticipated needing to use his sense of touch to guide him and thus decided to work without gloves.

This article begs the question, is the writer Rogozov related to the story's surgeon Rogozov? I could google it, but I'm kind of feeling lazy.

(From Kottke )

Astronomy Picture Of The Day

2010-01-23T00:01:00.001-08:00

Outer space is a fascinating place. From what we can see with the naked eye from our planet's surface to the images captured by NASA on other planet surfaces... it's a vast and relatively unexplored territory.

The image above is the surface of Mars. From the website:

Explanation: They might look like trees on Mars, but they're not. Groups of dark brown streaks have been photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on melting pinkish sand dunes covered with light frost. The above image was taken in 2008 April near the North Pole of Mars. At that time, dark sand on the interior of Martian sand dunes became more and more visible as the spring Sun melted the lighter carbon dioxide ice. When occurring near the top of a dune, dark sand may cascade down the dune leaving dark surface streaks -- streaks that might appear at first to be trees standing in front of the lighter regions, but cast no shadows. Objects about 25 centimeters across are resolved on this image spanning about one kilometer. Close ups of some parts of this image show billowing plumes indicating that the sand slides were occurring even when the image was being taken.

Be sure to check out NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day Archives to see the daily picture from previous days and years. It goes back to 1995 and it's amazing to consider the difference in what we could see then and what we can see now. Compare the picture of the surface of Mars shown above to a 1995 picture.

(From NASA )

The Denzel Washington Venn Diagram

2010-01-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Denzel Washington Venn Diagram is perhaps the most useless Venn Diagram ever made in the history of mankind. It's by Maxim magazine.

Also, a little bit awesome. It sums up various styles sported by the actor in various movies.

(From Lauren)

The First Fail

2010-01-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

The First Fail is comic on Collegehumor.com about what really went down between Adam and Eve. The Bible lied to you.

I hope this is acceptable stuff. It's my first time posting.

(From College Humor)

Video explains the world's most important 6-sec drum loop

2010-01-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

Video explains the world's most important 6-sec drum loop is a self explanatory video about the Amen Break.

Pretty convincing 18-minute lesson on the wonky copyright legislation, and how it unfairly crushes creativity.
It's very Lawrence Lessig. Enjoy!

(From Wilmar's friend)

Letter of the day: Haiti suffers, and Robertson sees the hand of Satan

2010-01-19T00:01:00.001-08:00

Photo: Pat Robertson, Sikh Times

"Letter of the day: Haiti suffers, and Robertson sees the hand of Satan" is a letter published in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

You may have heard some of the less-than-kind words Pat Robertson recently said regarding the devastation in Haiti, but you may not have heard the reply. From the Devil himself:

Dear Pat Robertson,

I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I'm all over that action.

But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I'm no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished.

Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth -- glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven't you seen "Crossroads"? Or "Damn Yankees"?

If I had a thing going with Haiti, there'd be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox -- that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it -- I'm just saying: Not how I roll.

You're doing great work, Pat, and I don't want to clip your wings -- just, come on, you're making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That's working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.

Best, Satan

LILY COYLE, MINNEAPOLIS

(From NPR/Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

Conversations About the Internet #5: Anonymous Facebook Employee

2010-01-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Conversations About the Internet #5: Anonymous Facebook Employee is an article by Phil Wong written for The Rumpus. It may or may not be fiction. The articled talks about the inner workings of Facebook, the company,

Some choice bits:

Rumpus: So in what other ways do you track behavior, that isn’t necessarily obvious to users?

Employee: We track everything. Every photo you view, every person you’re tagged with, every wall-post you make, and so forth.
...
Rumpus: You’ve previously mentioned a master password, which you no longer use.

Employee: I’m not sure when exactly it was deprecated, but we did have a master password at one point where you could type in any user’s user ID, and then the password. I’m not going to give you the exact password, but with upper and lower case, symbols, numbers, all of the above, it spelled out ‘Chuck Norris,’ more or less. It was pretty fantastic.

Rumpus: This was accessible by any Facebook employee?

Employee: Technically, yes. But it was pretty much limited to the original engineers, who were basically the only people who knew about it. It wasn’t as if random people in Human Resources were using this password to log into profiles. It was made and designed for engineering reasons. But it was there, and any employee could find it if they knew where to look.

I should also say that it was only available internally. If I were to log in from a high school or library, I couldn’t use it. You had to be in the Facebook office, using the Facebook ISP.

Rumpus: Do you think Facebook employees ever abused the privilege of having universal access?

Employee: I know it has happened in the past, because at least two people have been fired for it that I know of.

Oh Facebook. There is no quicker way to ignite the blogosphere than to juxtapose the words "facebook" and "privacy." Or maybe to write inacture details about computer science. Click through on "from" link to see what I mean about the raging discussion on metafilter.
(From Metafilter)

What sound can do.

2010-01-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

What sound can do. is a Youtube commercial for a sound effects and lighting firm in Milan. I'm not fond of posting commercials, I just like the idea of a smart typist baby.

(From Buzzfeed)

First Porn, Now Video Games!

2010-01-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

Here on TOTI, we just recently explored the world of porn with the help statistics and now, following in similar footsteps, we have video games!

Original Source: Online Education

(Found by Darc_Oso at Neatorama)