The recently launched Spaceprob.es site tracks all actively operating, human-made, space probes in our universe. Each probe has a summary of its activities, its distance from earth and a handful of links and recent news about the probe. Also stickers! My kids are gonna love those.
SXSWTorrent.com has music showcase torrents going all the way back to 2005 – 11 years worth of torrents with over 11,000 songs.
If you’re not interested in downloading/seeding but still want to listen to the music you might want to try this SXSW music page. Also, somebody has been trying to create a Spotify playlist of this years showcase artists as well.
we who are
your closest friends
feel the time
has come to tell you
that every Thursday
we have been meeting
as a group
to devise ways
to keep you
in perpetual uncertainty
frustration
discontent and
torture
by neither loving you
as much as you want
nor cutting you adrift
your analyst is
in on it
plus your boyfriend
and your ex-husband
and we have pledged
to disappoint you
as long as you need us
in announcing our
association
we realize we have
placed in your hands
a possible antidote
against uncertainty
indeed against ourselves
but since our Thursday nights
have brought us
to a community of purpose
rare in itself
with you as
the natural center
we feel hopeful you
will continue to make
unreasonable
demands for affection
if not as a consequence
of your
disastrous personality
Greg Rutter has once again created a definitive list of the 99 things you should have already experienced on the internet unless you’re a loser or old or something. Once again, it is a little YouTube heavy, me thinks. But it still a great way to burn an evening. There are a bunch on this years list that I haven’t seen yet. Maybe I really am getting old or something.
On the heels of “Too Many Cooks”, comes Adult Swim’s horrifying, disturbing and genius “Unedited Footage Of a Bear”. It begins with candid footage of a bear, as promised in the title. The bear footage is interrupted by a fake infomercial for a side-effect-prone nasal spray called Claridryl. It then rapidly devolves into chaotic violence. It aired for the first time on Adult Swim this week in their 4am infomercial slot. It’s dark, uncomfortable and brilliant.
The video’s “Skip Ad” button will take you to the promotional website for Claridryl. Let the website play all the way through or click the house about 10 times. The video was directed by Alan Resnik of Alan Tutorial fame and Memime fame.
Some side effects effects may may occur. If side effects occur occur please form a second opinion. Your inside affects your outside side effects; Claridryl affects your insides effects on your outside. Please choose sides before consulting Claridryl. Claridryl is not responsible for switched sides, insides or out. What were you thinking? Claridryl is not related to that.
After months of playing, I’m finally winning at Lowest Discrete Auction. The game works sort of like a reverse auction where you attempt guess what you think is the lowest distinct number out of all the players (currently there are 232 players). Creator Nick Berry describes describes the rules like this:
At the end of every day Multiple times a day (currently four scheduled, and some ad-hoc), out of all entries, the lowest distinct number is selected as the winner. When a new competition starts, all previous entries are automatically re-entered. If you win auction, others might guess the same number as you on later auctions, duplicating you and invalidating your low distinct status. Similarly, players who guess lower than you and have been blocked out, might move into the winning position by another player changing their guesses!
For the past few years, during Banned Books Weak, I have put together a list of the top ten most banned books of the previous year. Out of 307 challenges (a decrease from the 464 challenges reported in 2012) as reported by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, here are the top ten:
In light of the recent events in Ferguson, Lauryn Hill released her powerful song “Black Rage” on SoundCloud last week. She has been performing the song live for years now but it is only recently that she has released a recording of the song. Lauren Hill describes the emotional song as an old sketch that was recorded in her living room (you can hear the voices of children in the background).
Modeled after “My Favorite Things” with with lyrics that cut deep, the piece bring to the forefront not just of the depth of Ferguson’s injustice, but its context. The lyrics can be found below.
BLACK RAGE is founded on two-thirds a person
Rapings and beatings and suffering that worsens,
Black human packages tied up in strings,
BLACK RAGE can come from all these kinds of things.
BLACK RAGE is founded on blatant denial
Squeezed economics, subsistence survival,
Deafening silence and social control.
BLACK RAGE is founded on wounds in the soul!
When the dogs bite
when the beatings
When I‘m feeling sad,
I simply remember all these kinds of things and then I don’t fear so bad!
BLACK RAGE is founded: who fed us self hatred,
Lies and abuse while we waited and waited?
Spiritual treason, this grid and its cages,
BLACK RAGE is founded on these kinds of things.
BLACK RAGE is founded on draining and draining,
Threatening your freedom to stop your complaining.
Poisoning your water while they say it’s raining,
Then call you mad for complaining, complaining.
Old time bureaucracy drugging the youth.
BLACK RAGE is founded on blocking the truth!
Murder and crime, compromise and distortion,
Sacrifice, sacriï¬ce who makes this fortune?
Greed, falsely called progress.
Such Human contortion.
BLACK RAGE is founded on these kinds of things.
So when the dogs bite
And when the ceilings
And when I’m feeling mad.
I simply remember all these kinds of things and then I don’t fear so bad!
Free enterprise, is it myth or illusion?
Forcing you back into purposed confusion.
Black human trafficking or blood transfusion?
BLACK RAGE is founded on these kinds of things.
Victims of violence both psyche and body
Life out of context IS living unGodly.
Politics. politics
Greed falsely called wealth
BLACK RAGE is founded on denial of self!
Black human packages tied in subsistence
Having to justify very existence
Try if you must but you can’t have my soul
BLACK RAGE is made by unGodly control!
So when the dogs bite
When the beatings
And when I‘m feeling sad,
I simply remember all these kinds of things and then I don’t fear so bad!