Doomstead Diner Newz Channels => Surly Newz => Topic started by: Surly1 on July 17, 2015, 07:00:03 AM
Title: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on July 17, 2015, 07:00:03 AM
Check this out.
I suspect most Diners who choose to play will check in with very "strong minds."
http://www.youtube.com/v/sLAp3PMDIQY
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Eddie on July 17, 2015, 07:33:20 AM
In the 1970's we developed a much better test of who has a strong mind, which was to drop a hit of blotter acid and then see who could still drive home in four or five hours. Those who passed don't need to take this test. The ones who didn't aren't with us anymore.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: jdwheeler42 on July 17, 2015, 12:51:38 PM
I suspect most Diners who choose to play will check in with very "strong minds."
http://www.youtube.com/v/sLAp3PMDIQY
Nice test... I didn't say any wrong, but on the final stage I missed some completely....
Generally avoid these things like the plague, but this one appealed to me. Which is why I posted it. I got the same results. I couldn't even get my mouth open for some of the ones in the last round.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on July 17, 2015, 01:33:23 PM
In the 1970's we developed a much better test of who has a strong mind, which was to drop a hit of blotter acid and then see who could still drive home in four or five hours. Those who passed don't need to take this test. The ones who didn't aren't with us anymore.
:icon_mrgreen: :emthup:
Title: Hulk in Brazil? Cyclist lifts car out of bike lane with bare hands (VIDEO)
Post by: Surly1 on July 28, 2015, 07:25:07 AM
Hulk in Brazil? Cyclist lifts car out of bike lane with bare hands (VIDEO) (http://www.rt.com/news/310951-brazil-cyclist-lifts-car/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS)
A video of a Brazilian cyclist lifting a car out of the bicycle lane with his bare hands is rocking YouTube. The car blocking the cycle lane apparently got on the man’s wrong side, and he wasn’t going to just ride around and leave. The footage titled “O homem mais forte do mundo” (“The strongest man in the world”) was uploaded by YouTube user Joe Loreto on Monday. By Tuesday it had been viewed over 710,000 times.
When the man calmly lifts the car, the crowd starts cheering in amazement. Autoevolution website identifies the vehicle as a Fiat Uno, a supermini-car produced in Italy, whose curb weight ranges from 711 kilograms to 910 kilograms.
http://www.youtube.com/v/luNGjffDjCs
After the stunt, the man goes back to his bike and nonchalantly rides away.
“I like the fact that he just casually rides away,” one user wrote in the comments under the video, while another said: “I wish I had the strength.”
It is yet not clear in what location the viral footage was recorded, but some social media users suggested that it was taken somewhere in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on August 06, 2015, 02:47:11 AM
Just when you thought it was nigh on impossible for a Republican to do anything more ridiculous, along comes Ted Cruz. It’s a gift! I can imagine Cruz and his team sitting around, thinking of ways to make people sit up and take notice. After all, he’s going up against The Donald and the days of presidential gravitas. Imagine: Tedd-o's team is sitting around the table, deep in thought about what would get the attention of the electorate AND illustrate what a great POTUS Cruz would make. Hmmm. What do people like? Well, in Texas, they like bacon. Doesn’t everybody? Yeah! And they like guns! People like guns, right? Double yeah! We’ve got it, guys! The perfect presidential campaign video, sure to go viral and show that Trump guy a thing or two!
I give you Making Machine-Gun Bacon with Ted Cruz.
http://www.youtube.com/v/EaZGaJrd3x8
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: jdwheeler42 on August 06, 2015, 07:35:09 AM
Just when you thought it was nigh on impossible for a Republican to do anything more ridiculous, along comes Ted Cruz. It’s a gift!
Not if you work at The Onion... they're hard-pressed to come up with things more ridiculous than what's actually happening.
Some years ago, the news outstripped the normal capacity for satire. I have to admit, the above story got me looking for the characteristic "The Onion" device at the end of the story. Not there.
As Doc Thompson was wont to say, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Eddie on August 07, 2015, 11:53:14 AM
The fact that Cruz was elected to the Senate at all is a testament to the effects of Republican gerrymandering in the State of Texas.
And it probably didn't help that hispanic voters in Texas really aren't that sophisiticated. I really wonder how many marked his name because he sounded like he might be Mexican.
Hunter's words keep coming back to me too:
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: Not necessarily to Win, but mainly to keep from Losing Completely…. The Swine are gearing down for a serious workout this time around.
Title: Re: Just for fun: The NEW Devil's Disctionary
Post by: Surly1 on August 10, 2015, 10:33:30 AM
This is well worth reading: Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary updated for a modern age. Not going to post the whole thing. Suffice it to say it will reward the visit.
The New Devil’s Dictionary (http://www.theverge.com/a/new-devils-dictionary) “DICTIONARY, n. A malevolent literary device for cramping the growth of a language and making it hard and inelastic. This dictionary, however, is a most useful work.” — Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary Published August 5th, 2015 Ambrose Bierce’s last words were found in a letter he sent to an intimate friend in the winter of 1913. “As to me,” he wrote, “I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination.” Then he disappeared in Mexico and was never heard from again.
A famed journalist and essayist of the late 19th century, Bierce was also one of America’s sharpest cynics. His legacy was entombed in The Devil’s Dictionary: a satirical lexicon originally published in 1906. The dictionary is a collection of comic definitions that he wrote over several decades as a columnist for the San Francisco News Letter and other publications.
As with all dictionaries, Bierce’s work was a comment on his own time, though some of the best Devil’s Dictionary entries are timeless:
APOLOGIZE, v. To lay the foundation for a future offence.
KILL, v. To create a vacancy without nominating a successor.
YEAR, n. A period of three hundred and sixty-five disappointments. With a penchant for piercing aphorism, Bierce would have felt right at home on Twitter. (His nihilistic motto, “nothing matters,” has found new life there, at least among bitter writers such as this one.) If reviewed today, his dictionary would be considered a masterwork in trolling.
Over the past century, Bierce’s work has been extensively borrowed and reprinted. Many “unabridged” versions of his dictionary have been published. Following that tradition, we have updated The Devil’s Dictionary for an age that desperately needs it.
— T.C. Sottek, editor
Excerpts:
Amazon Prime (n.) A parasite used by an apex predator to sedate its human host.
car (n.): A suit of armor that grants its wearer delusions of invulnerability while depriving them of social graces.
earnings (n.): A quarterly report on a company’s success in squeezing its customers and paying its employees just enough to prevent them from dying.
eyeballs (n.) The round parts of the eyes of a vertebrate, traditionally amputated and shipped to advertisers upon the viewing of content.
librarian (n.) A vestigial crypt keeper who may be useful if they possess a Wi-Fi password.
Kickstarter (n.) A contemporary take on the marketplace wherein people exchange money for lies.
See the rest here: http://www.theverge.com/a/new-devils-dictionary
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: azozeo on August 10, 2015, 02:30:32 PM
Enjoyed this... Thanks for posting
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Eddie on August 10, 2015, 03:45:44 PM
“I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination.”
Great epitaph.
Ambrose Bierce is a fascinating subject. I think maybe I'll write my thesis on him when I go for my PhD. in American Lit. Maybe compare and contrast him to HST. There are some similarities...they both lived in San Francisco before rent got so outrageous, for instance...
Many fine quotes. I like this one:
War is God’s way of teaching Americans geography.
— Ambrose Bierce
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on August 12, 2015, 06:03:39 PM
http://www.youtube.com/v/NXuQnDeIyY8
Kinetic Rain is a moving sculpture that was installed in early July 2012 in the Departure-Check-in hall of Terminal 1 of Singapore Changi Airport
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on August 17, 2015, 07:48:08 AM
You see these very so often: a reminder of how far literacy has fallen in several generations.
Below is a test that was administered to eighth graders in Bullitt County Schools (Kentucky) in 1912. Many children that passed the examination would receive scholarships to go to high schools. In those days it was not easy as many high schools were sometimes another county away. Farm kids could rarely afford to go.
The test is rather difficult. Comparing the curricula of many schools today, it is evident that these kids were much more prepared not only in national geography and history but world geography and history, something that is lacking today.
While many may think with the advent of computers, the internet, TV, radio, and other high tech equipment that Americans would be more intelligent, sadly, the American educational system has been allowed to degenerate into very substandard levels.
Many recent studies have indicated that American education has been lagging those of industrialized countries. The subliminal war on education via austerity and transfer of public dollars to for profit education (vouchers) makes the degeneration of the American education a continued slide to mediocrity.
There are some questions on the test that are a bit dated and may justifiably stump many. Questions like the 3 largest states would have a different answer today than then. A question like the number of presidents who died in office is different today than then. Also the names of some countries is different today than then. Most of the questions however apply today as it did then so there should be no excuse that if students could successfully do the test then they should now.
Try the test. Don’t use a calculator or the internet. How did you do? The answers are here (http://bullittcountyhistory.org/bullitthistory/bchistory/schoolexam1912ans.html).
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: agelbert on August 17, 2015, 01:12:17 PM
You see these very so often: a reminder of how far literacy has fallen in several generations.
Below is a test that was administered to eighth graders in Bullitt County Schools (Kentucky) in 1912. Many children that passed the examination would receive scholarships to go to high schools. In those days it was not easy as many high schools were sometimes another county away. Farm kids could rarely afford to go.
The test is rather difficult. Comparing the curricula of many schools today, it is evident that these kids were much more prepared not only in national geography and history but world geography and history, something that is lacking today.
While many may think with the advent of computers, the internet, TV, radio, and other high tech equipment that Americans would be more intelligent, sadly, the American educational system has been allowed to degenerate into very substandard levels.
Many recent studies have indicated that American education has been lagging those of industrialized countries. The subliminal war on education via austerity and transfer of public dollars to for profit education (vouchers) makes the degeneration of the American education a continued slide to mediocrity.
There are some questions on the test that are a bit dated and may justifiably stump many. Questions like the 3 largest states would have a different answer today than then. A question like the number of presidents who died in office is different today than then. Also the names of some countries is different today than then. Most of the questions however apply today as it did then so there should be no excuse that if students could successfully do the test then they should now.
Try the test. Don’t use a calculator or the internet. How did you do? The answers are here (http://bullittcountyhistory.org/bullitthistory/bchistory/schoolexam1912ans.html).
I did not do well. But not because I don't know English, history, math, geography, anatomy and physiology or civics.
I always hated word problems but I did okay with them. ;D
What's a liver? ;)
I hated poetry and grammar viscerally! (http://www.pic4ever.com/images/www_MyEmoticons_com__burp.gif) I did like to read, however. I still do. ;D
Rockefeller and friends owned the racist oligarchy we call government back then so the questions on that are pure puff piece propaganda. I would have flunked that part. :emthup:
The Native Americans discovered and settled all those places so I guess I flunked that part of the test. And the REAL reason for the war of 1812 was NOT available to the public at that time. (http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-280515145049.png) (http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-051113192052.png)
And question 10 in history is MORE pro American, flag waving propaganda. The Cotton Gin DID NOT work until a fellow (African American, by the way) named McCoy INVENTED some refinements to make it work. That's why farmers always asked if a Cotton Gin being sold to them was the "real McCoy".
Tesla was the real inventor of many inventions attributed to Edison. The Telegraph and the telephone have some VERY interesting back stories of conniving, patent stealing and credit claiming fun and games.
HOWEVER, in defense of that time period, taking certain hero worshipping teachings with a cynical grain of salt was taught in all American homes back then. Too bad that tradition has been lost. :emthdown:
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on August 18, 2015, 08:31:34 AM
You make some good points. As the article said,
Quote
There are some questions on the test that are a bit dated and may justifiably stump many. Questions like the 3 largest states would have a different answer today than then. A question like the number of presidents who died in office is different today than then. Also the names of some countries is different today than then. Most of the questions however apply today as it did then so there should be no excuse that if students could successfully do the test then they should now.
Even given that, your statement that US history has largely always been propaganda is quite true, and the truth can be seen in the vigor with which the forces of reaction attack and dismantle history curricula where they hold sway. Apparently now even AP US history.
I only took part of the test. The straightforward arithmetic is easy enough, and seems to test really whether you know how to think about the problem or not. Which is pretty basic. Although given changes in the teaching of math, I wonder if a new generation could do the computation part, which is the easiest part of the problem.
For my money, the part about civil government is most telling. Few adults today and probably fewer young people could answer more than three out of ten correctly.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: agelbert on August 18, 2015, 01:02:51 PM
There are some questions on the test that are a bit dated and may justifiably stump many. Questions like the 3 largest states would have a different answer today than then. A question like the number of presidents who died in office is different today than then. Also the names of some countries is different today than then. Most of the questions however apply today as it did then so there should be no excuse that if students could successfully do the test then they should now.
Even given that, your statement that US history has largely always been propaganda is quite true, and the truth can be seen in the vigor with which the forces of reaction attack and dismantle history curricula where they hold sway. Apparently now even AP US history.
I only took part of the test. The straightforward arithmetic is easy enough, and seems to test really whether you know how to think about the problem or not. Which is pretty basic. Although given changes in the teaching of math, I wonder if a new generation could do the computation part, which is the easiest part of the problem.
For my money, the part about civil government is most telling. Few adults today and probably fewer young people could answer more than three out of ten correctly.
The contribution that a certain (former African slave) military General from Haiti made in convincing the conniving English that the time was right for them to try to give the American upstarts "what fer" is absent form American History books, even in Academic circles. They just don't want to go there. Had that General not defeated the cream of Napoleon's armies sent to crush the Haitian revolution, England would not have dared attack the USA due to the alliance between France and the USA. There are a lot of details in that story. White Europeans close ranks when the Africans get "uppity", so to speak ;).
Thomas Jefferson violated he U.S. Constitution by authorizing money for the bastard white French Plantation slave owners that fled to New York so they could buy weapons to fight the slaves. Instead of cheering the FACT that Haiti was doing to France EXACTLY what the USA had done to England, the racist Jefferson got his drawers in a bunch worrying that the slave profit gravy train in the USA might get compromised. So he promptly discarded all his high flying constitutional rhetoric for the holy purpose of white supremacy.
Even the British, who HATED the French, sent some troops to Haiti to "help" the French crush the Revolution. The British tried to use "diplomacy" (money, intrigue and treachery to fool the "monkeys") more than open warfare, however.
The bottom line is, NO Revolution in Haiti would have meant NO War of 1812.
Haiti later gave Simon Bolivar the inspiration, sanctuary, and help to organize South America in order to kick the Spanish out. :emthup: :emthup: :emthup:
The empathy based portion of the world owes a LOT to Haiti. But good luck trying to convince 90% of Americans of that. :(
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on August 20, 2015, 02:15:27 PM
The contribution that a certain (former African slave) military General from Haiti made in convincing the conniving English that the time was right for them to try to give the American upstarts "what fer" is absent form American History books, even in Academic circles. They just don't want to go there. Had that General not defeated the cream of Napoleon's armies sent to crush the Haitian revolution, England would not have dared attack the USA due to the alliance between France and the USA. There are a lot of details in that story. White Europeans close ranks when the Africans get "uppity", so to speak ;).
Thomas Jefferson violated he U.S. Constitution by authorizing money for the bastard white French Plantation slave owners that fled to New York so they could buy weapons to fight the slaves. Instead of cheering the FACT that Haiti was doing to France EXACTLY what the USA had done to England, the racist Jefferson got his drawers in a bunch worrying that the slave profit gravy train in the USA might get compromised. So he promptly discarded all his high flying constitutional rhetoric for the holy purpose of white supremacy.
Even the British, who HATED the French, sent some troops to Haiti to "help" the French crush the Revolution. The British tried to use "diplomacy" (money, intrigue and treachery to fool the "monkeys") more than open warfare, however.
The bottom line is, NO Revolution in Haiti would have meant NO War of 1812.
Haiti later gave Simon Bolivar the inspiration, sanctuary, and help to organize South America in order to kick the Spanish out. :emthup: :emthup: :emthup:
The empathy based portion of the world owes a LOT to Haiti. But good luck trying to convince 90% of Americans of that. :(
Just seeing this.
I consider myself pretty good on my history, but this entire episode is news to me, especially the Bolivar link. Any sources you could point me to?
Fascinating.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Eddie on August 20, 2015, 03:35:30 PM
If you've never read Michener's Caribbean, I heartily recommend it. Although it's fiction, Michener tells the early history of Haiti particularly well in it, at least I thought so.
There was a brief period when the future looked bright for Haiti, but the guillotine's arrival from France, and the people who came with it, killed Haiti's chances, along with some of it's best citizens, and things have really never recovered.
Michener did not cover the roles of Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, FDR in Haiti, which is another untold story somebody should write about in more detail.
The contribution that a certain (former African slave) military General from Haiti made in convincing the conniving English that the time was right for them to try to give the American upstarts "what fer" is absent form American History books, even in Academic circles. They just don't want to go there. Had that General not defeated the cream of Napoleon's armies sent to crush the Haitian revolution, England would not have dared attack the USA due to the alliance between France and the USA. There are a lot of details in that story. White Europeans close ranks when the Africans get "uppity", so to speak ;).
Thomas Jefferson violated he U.S. Constitution by authorizing money for the bastard white French Plantation slave owners that fled to New York so they could buy weapons to fight the slaves. Instead of cheering the FACT that Haiti was doing to France EXACTLY what the USA had done to England, the racist Jefferson got his drawers in a bunch worrying that the slave profit gravy train in the USA might get compromised. So he promptly discarded all his high flying constitutional rhetoric for the holy purpose of white supremacy.
Even the British, who HATED the French, sent some troops to Haiti to "help" the French crush the Revolution. The British tried to use "diplomacy" (money, intrigue and treachery to fool the "monkeys") more than open warfare, however.
The bottom line is, NO Revolution in Haiti would have meant NO War of 1812.
Haiti later gave Simon Bolivar the inspiration, sanctuary, and help to organize South America in order to kick the Spanish out. :emthup: :emthup: :emthup:
The empathy based portion of the world owes a LOT to Haiti. But good luck trying to convince 90% of Americans of that. :(
Just seeing this.
I consider myself pretty good on my history, but this entire episode is news to me, especially the Bolivar link. Any sources you could point me to?
Fascinating.
Sure. but it's been a while so let me look around and get back to you. 8) The chain of historical events starting with the American Revolution all the way to the FACT that the US Government refused to recognize Haiti as a sovereign nation until 1862 has been TOTALLY distorted.
Climactic events played a significant role as well. There was a huge volcanic eruption in Iceland (a long one that began in 1783) that severely limited England's ability to crush the new American Nation while it undermined the English "We are doing God's work" resolve (remember, in those days, bad stuff was interpreted as God's punishment. That eruption was a BAD one). Yeah, you do read that it was a bad one BUT, while you do read the connection to the French Revolution, the severe effects visited on England, that kept the English from going back to the Americans and kicking their asses right away, is not mentioned.
In fact, THAT eruption kept England busy taking care of it's own people (forcing them to plan to get back at the Americans later) AND set the stage for the French Revolution as well!
We already know about the way the famine in France contributed to the French Revolution. The Eruption had a LOT to do with that famine. But most people don't get the fact that Haiti saw the French Revolution as a golden opportunity to get out from under the French yoke. At the same time, England saw the same French Revolution as a crack in the French willingness to help defend the new American Nation. :evil4:
I'll get back to you. As you know, I do my homework. ;D
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: agelbert on August 20, 2015, 03:49:02 PM
If you've never read Michener's Caribbean, I heartily recommend it. Although it's fiction, Michener tells the early history of Haiti particularly well in it, at least I thought so.
There was a brief period when the future looked bright for Haiti, but the guillotine's arrival from France, and the people who came with it, killed Haiti's chances, along with some of it's best citizens, and things have really never recovered.
Eddie, The French Revolution debilitated French Planation Slave owner power in Haiti. The Haitians saw the French Revolution as an opportunity. It was. Many of those Plantation owning bastards fled to New York City where the racist President Thomas Jefferson violated the U.S constitution to give them money for weapons. Anyone claiming the French Revolution wasn't an opportunity for Haiti is wrong.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on August 20, 2015, 05:54:42 PM
Climactic events played a significant role as well. There was a huge volcanic eruption in Iceland (a long one that began in 1783) that severely limited England's ability to crush the new American Nation while it undermined the English "We are doing God's work" resolve (remember, in those days, bad stuff was interpreted as God's punishment. That eruption was a BAD one). Yeah, you do read that it was a bad one BUT, while you do read the connection to the French Revolution, the severe effects visited on England, that kept the English from going back to the Americans and kicking their asses right away, is not mentioned.
In fact, THAT eruption kept England busy taking care of it's own people (forcing them to plan to get back at the Americans later) AND set the stage for the French Revolution as well!
We already know about the way the famine in France contributed to the French Revolution. The Eruption had a LOT to do with that famine. But most people don't get the fact that Haiti saw the French Revolution as a golden opportunity to get out from under the French yoke. At the same time, England saw the same French Revolution as a crack in the French willingness to help defend the new American Nation. :evil4:
I'll get back to you. As you know, I do my homework. ;D
Damn.
Take your time. I'll be here. :) You will, of course, not be surprised to know that not a bit of this is whispered in the conventional histories.
:icon_mrgreen: :icon_mrgreen:
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on August 20, 2015, 05:57:51 PM
If you've never read Michener's Caribbean, I heartily recommend it. Although it's fiction, Michener tells the early history of Haiti particularly well in it, at least I thought so.
There was a brief period when the future looked bright for Haiti, but the guillotine's arrival from France, and the people who came with it, killed Haiti's chances, along with some of it's best citizens, and things have really never recovered.
Michener did not cover the roles of Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, FDR in Haiti, which is another untold story somebody should write about in more detail.
Your point is well taken. Although fiction, Michener's The Source is as good a history of Israel and the Middle East as any reasonable person would need.
Title: Banksy's Dismaland
Post by: Surly1 on August 21, 2015, 02:34:32 AM
Clandestine street artist Banksy opens a theme park like no other. Inside a derelict lido in Weston-super-Mare, Dismaland features migrant boats, a dead princess and Banksy's trademark dark humour.
It’s an extraordinary, shocking and funny experience from the moment you step through the gates of Dismaland.
A fake security check underlines the fabricated threats Banksy and his collaborators believe we are being guarded against.
Once inside, every piece from more than 50 international artists is a twist on what you’d find in a seaside theme park.
Banksy himself has moved away from graffiti and street art in this exhibition, and instead his pieces are Banksy images rendered in 3-D - from the carousel with a passenger making lasagne from one of the horses, to a distressing piece about the current crisis off the seas of southern Europe, in which remote controlled boats have been taken over by migrants.
I seem to have reached the point where an art show is more interesting the less I'm in itBanksy
Banksy doesn't do interviews, so we asked him by email why he departed from street art?
He told Channel 4 News "for this show I didn't deliberately set out to snub street art. I just found other stuff a lot more interesting.
"I mean, we have a lady from a Lithuanian village who does traditional floral embroidery but with a power drill into the sides of cars.
"I seem to have reached the point where an art show is more interesting the less I'm in it."
The artist has described Dismaland as "a festival of art, amusements and entry level anarchism",
And the centrepiece of the Dismaland castle will not just outrage the nice people at Disney, but no doubt the legions of fans of Diana, the late Princess of Wales.
Banksy has taken two iconic pieces of imagery and turned them into something that is shocking, evocative and emotional.
Disney’s Cinderella carriage has crashed and is upturned, leaving the princess hanging lifeless from a window. The whole scene is illuminated by a blizzard of flash photography from the surrounding group of paparazzi photographers who were apparently in pursuit on their mopeds.
"It's a theme park whose big theme is - theme parks should have bigger themes" said Banksy in a press release.
Dismaland opens to the public on Saturday. There will be 4,000 £3 tickets available every day until end of September for this "family theme park unsuitable for small children."
Title: Re: Banksy's Dismaland
Post by: RE on August 21, 2015, 03:11:34 AM
Everything that’s bleak about the modern world is wrapped-up like a perfect, little package with these illustrations by London-based artist and animator, Steve Cutts. Rampant consumerism. Shitty jobs. Environmental devastation. Disinformation. Nonsense. Billionaire psychopaths. Overcrowded cities—all present and accounted for. We’ve featured Cutts’ work here on DM before with his dark animation about thecurrent lives of ‘80s cartoon characters.
If a picture paints a thousand words, these pieces are Molotov cocktails for the mind.
Regular readers might recognize the work of Steve Cutts, who'se work formed the basis for the video, "Man" featured in the past in these pages.
THE SAD TRUTH: NAUSEATINGLY PROFOUND ILLUSTRATIONS OF WHAT THE WORLD IS TURNING INTO
<p>THE SAD TRUTH: NAUSEATINGLY PROFOUND ILLUSTRATIONS OF WHAT THE WORLD IS TURNING INTO</p> <div id="clear"> </div> <div id="catinfo"><strong>08.21.2015</strong> 09:03 am
<strong>Topics:</strong> Art (http://dangerousminds.net/categories/category/Art) Class War (http://dangerousminds.net/categories/category/class_war) Current Events (http://dangerousminds.net/categories/category/current_events) Economy (http://dangerousminds.net/categories/category/economy) Environment (http://dangerousminds.net/categories/category/environment) Idiocracy (http://dangerousminds.net/categories/category/idiocracy) Politics (http://dangerousminds.net/categories/category/politics) Stupid or Evil? (http://dangerousminds.net/categories/category/Stupid_or_Evil) U.S.A.!!! (http://dangerousminds.net/categories/category/u.s.a)
<strong>Tags:</strong> Steve Cutts (http://dangerousminds.net/tag/Steve-Cutts)</div> <div id="text"> <p>(http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/bleak1sdfdfdfsdfsdf.jpg) Everything that’s bleak about the modern world is wrapped-up like a perfect, little package with these illustrations by London-based artist and animator, Steve Cutts (http://www.stevecutts.com/). Rampant consumerism. Shitty jobs. Environmental devastation. Disinformation. Nonsense. Billionaire psychopaths. Overcrowded cities—all present and accounted for. We’ve featured Cutts’ work here on DM before with his dark animation about thecurrent lives of ‘80s cartoon characters (http://dangerousminds.net/comments/where_are_they_now_bleak_animation_about_the_current_lives_of_80s_cartoon_c).</p> <p>If a picture paints a thousand words, these pieces are Molotov cocktails for the mind.</p> <p>(http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/bleak2jhjkhkhkhh.jpg) (http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/bleak3jhkjhkhkjhkh.jpg) (http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/bleak4hjhjhkhkh.jpg) (http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/bleak5jjkhjkhkhkh.jpg) (http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/bleak6kjhkjhkhkh.jpg) (http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/bleak8jnjkhkhlhkhkh.jpg) (http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/bleaksd9fsdfsdffffffffffff.jpg) (http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/bleak10dfsdfsdfsdf.jpg) (http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/bleak11sdfsdfsdfsdfdsf.jpg) (http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/bleak12sdfsdfsdfsdfsdfsd.jpg) (http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/bleak13sdfsdfsdfsdfsdf.jpg) (http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/sfdsjkdfjsdjfsjdfkjlkljsdjfjsdjlfjksldfksdfs.jpg) (http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/bleak14sfsdfsdfsdfsdfsdf.jpg) via Bored Panda (http://www.boredpanda.com/modern-world-caricature-illustrations-steve-cutts/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=BPFacebook)</p> </div>
Yep. We degrade the biosphere we cannot live without with our polluting industries and then we have the nerve to call ourselves "apex" predators. Apex idiots is more like it.
Title: Re: Just for fun/Banksy
Post by: Surly1 on September 02, 2015, 02:47:04 PM
A couple weeks ago... or sometime in the recent past... I posted an article about Banksy's new "art installation,"called Dismaland.
here is the trailer.
Banksy Releases An Official Trailer For ‘Dismaland’ (http://designtaxi.com/news/379130/Banksy-Releases-An-Official-Trailer-For-Dismaland/)
We previously brought you information and an inside look at Banksy’s sinister new theme park.
The mysterious street artist has now released an official trailer for ‘Dismaland’, highlighting artworks in the “bemusement park” from over 50 artists from around the world.
Watch the trailer below. The exhibition will be open for five weeks, and close on 27 September 2015. Visit their website for more details.
Title: AN INTERACTIVE GUIDE TO AMBIGUOUS GRAMMAR
Post by: Surly1 on September 05, 2015, 09:58:22 AM
AN INTERACTIVE GUIDE TO AMBIGUOUS GRAMMAR. (http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-interactive-guide-to-ambiguous-grammar)
The story will not properyl reproduce here. To see it as it should be seen, go here: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-interactive-guide-to-ambiguous-grammar (http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-interactive-guide-to-ambiguous-grammar)
McSweeney's is a good and interesting blog.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on September 18, 2015, 03:05:38 AM
Hookers, kidneys & nose jobs: New map shows most searched cost obsessions by country (http://www.rt.com/news/254609-google-obsessions-cost-world/)
Published time: 30 Apr, 2015 16:38Edited time: 2 May, 2015 08:20
The cost of flying a MiG fighter in Russia, buying kidneys in Iran, prostitutes in Ukraine and rhinoplasty in S. Korea are just a few of the most popular Google requests worldwide, a new map shows. It does give some weird insights into the countries.
Fixr.com, a cost-estimating website has put together a map of the world with the most-Googled things in each country,using the autocomplete formula of “How much does * cost in [x country]."
The search results turned out to be hilarious and informative, and gave a peek into humanity’s cost obsessions per country.
“Looking at some of the most popular Google searches throughout the World reveals some cultural differences, but also many key similarities. It also provides insights into the sometimes strange things people think about when they are alone,”says fixr.com website.
Russians are most interested in “How much does it cost to fly a MiG [military aircraft] in Russia?”
Iranians are eager to sell or to buy kidneys, while the South Koreans are obsessed with their appearance and fixated on rhinoplasty (nose plastic surgery) costs.
The Chinese, Apple's biggest iPhone market, desire iPhones, of course. On Tuesday, Apple said it sold more iPhones in China than in the US.
The cost of a prostitute is the most Googled demand in a range of countries, such as in Brazil, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Colombia and Latvia. Slaves crop up in Mauritania, diamonds shine in Sierra Leone and cocaine fires up Honduras, Chile and Taiwan – these are some of the most Googled and weird demands in each of these countries.
Why Japanese people want watermelons or Armenians are obsessed with carpets is as yet a mystery.
Citizens of some countries Google simple ‘tradable’ things, such as cows (India and Bangladesh) or camels (Egypt, Israel and Afghanistan), and apparently, the most devoted McDonald’s fans are Big Mac-loving Serbians.
Ceremonies are another passion worldwide. And not only weddings (Cyprus, Greece) and honeymoons (Maldives), but funerals (Ireland) and divorces (Trinidad and Tobago).
Venezuelans desire “A Gallon of Gas,” while Australians long for babies - IVF (In vitro fertilization) is one of the most Googled searches down under.
The results are not considered to be a scientific report as Google autocomplete results are based on the searcher's history, and the time and place of search.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: agelbert on September 18, 2015, 12:46:46 PM
Interesting. ;D
You might have a little fun at Poodwaddle. They have all the serious stuff. (http://www.pic4ever.com/images/www_MyEmoticons_com__smokelots.gif) (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-scared002.gif) The clock on population growth must certainly give monsta heartburn. ;D
The one on religions drives the nominally "Christian" Republicans to distraction! (http://www.pic4ever.com/images/245.gif)
Are there really that many atheists out there? :icon_scratch: If so, that just might explain the egocentric attitude the world is gripped in. After all, if this is IT, then you have to "go for it now", so to speak. :evil4: Don't expect anyone here to believe that stat is evidence of a FUBAR society. I'm certain a breakdown of where EXACTLY, all those atheists are will show a massive correlation with the 20% of the planet's population doing 80% of the damage. But we all know that correlation ain't causation, don't we? (http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-280515145049.png) (http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-051113192052.png)
But there is a fun stats section you will find interesting, as well. (http://www.pic4ever.com/images/128fs318181.gif):icon_sunny:
FUN STATS: (I have the clock set to events year to date. If you set the clock to "NOW", you get a quick idea of what is happening more often. :o :icon_mrgreen:). Look at all those First Kisses! The incrementing count of US Divorces. Marriages, US Cheaters, Wine and more for all eyes to feast on!
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on September 28, 2015, 04:06:02 AM
The area of the world in which I live was under a tidal flood watch this weekend, as a slow moving Atlantic storm sat off the cost, blowing from the northeast and piling up tides. The promised rainfall was sporadic and failed to deliver, and the whole started to blow off last evening. The temps were pleasant, and the prevailing winds blew away the scudding clouds in time to behold the lunar eclipse. This was celebrated as a rare event- a "supermoon total lunar eclipse" — and a really big deal.
Built a fire in the firepit, mixed a cocktail (or two) and Contrary and I took in the show. Outstanding way to spend an evening.
Some pix from around the horn.
(http://i.space.com/images/i/000/049/876/i02/total-lunar-eclipse-april42015-dean-hooper-australia-virtual-telescope2.jpg?1441058461) Looks very much like the view from SE Virginia.
(http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/recon_pproc_img_0288-285_backoff_flats_bias_ps-curves-despecle.png) NASA pic
(http://i.space.com/images/i/000/050/525/i02/total-lunar-eclipse-sept-27-2015-john-melson-escondido.JPG?1443420458) Skywatcher John Melson of Escondido, California captured this jaw-dropping view of the eclipsed moon rising over nearby hills during the total lunar eclipse of Sept. 27, 2015. He compared the moon to the Death Star from Star Wars. Credit: John Melson
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CP-tv9nU8AAfFdh.jpg) Super Moon Rising #SuperBloodMoon #MaroubraBeach #Sydney #FullMoon
(http://i.space.com/images/i/000/050/509/i02/NASA-Ingalls-eclipse-1.jpg?1443410005) NASA photographer Aubrey Gemignani captured this stunning view of the perigee moon lunar eclipse over the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 27, 2015. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03455/supermoon-cologne_3455462k.jpg) The perigee full moon, or supermoon, appears red besides a spire of the Cologne cathedral during a total lunar eclipse over Cologne, Germany
(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03455/supermoon-paris_3455458k.jpg) The so-called supermoon is seen near the Eiffel Tower, during a total lunar eclipse, in Paris, France
After Sunday, the next supermoon eclipse will occur in 2033.
Title: Add Moon
Post by: Surly1 on September 28, 2015, 08:31:22 AM
(http://esq.h-cdn.co/assets/15/40/1280x853/gallery-1443444097-092715-supermoon-0025-2.jpg) San Francisco
(http://esq.h-cdn.co/assets/15/40/1280x788/gallery-1443414410-gettyimages-490376740.jpg) Las Vegas
(http://esq.h-cdn.co/assets/15/40/1280x826/gallery-1443446546-ap-407200187257.jpg) Orange County
(http://esq.h-cdn.co/assets/15/40/1280x853/gallery-1443446959-gettyimages-490378150.jpg) Israel
(http://esq.h-cdn.co/assets/15/40/1280x1812/gallery-1443447203-gettyimages-486103662.jpg) Ankara
Title: Cats In Kimonos Are A Thing In Japan
Post by: Surly1 on October 06, 2015, 04:34:03 PM
Cats In Kimonos Are A Thing In Japan Read more at http://museperk.com/cats-in-kimonos-are-a-thing-in-japan/#ilh8lIqR9oRusHfE.99 (http://museperk.com/cats-in-kimonos-are-a-thing-in-japan/#ilh8lIqR9oRusHfE.99)
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on October 18, 2015, 08:45:33 AM
Conclusive proof that Donald Trump is actually your drunk neighbor.
http://www.youtube.com/v/cRly-0wwl_g
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on October 28, 2015, 09:33:45 AM
Automechanics Recreate Classical Paintings In Their Garage (http://www.demilked.com/renaissance-paintings-recreated-auto-mechanics-photography-freddy-fabris/)
If you want to pay a tribute to great artists of old, why not get help from mechanics? That’s what Freddy Fabris did to get a unique twist on the works of Renaissance painters. The mechanics, clad in overalls and tools in hand, posed in an auto-shop. The result is interesting and instantly recognizable.
“For many years I wanted to pay homage the great Renaissance masters,” Fabris wrote on Huffington Post.“Translating painting into photography was a challenge I looked forward to. I wanted to respect the look and feel of theoriginals, but needed to come up with a conceptual twist that would create a new layer to the original. To take them out of their original context, yet maintain their essence.” Freddy Fabris was born in New York, raised in Buenos Aires, and has worked with the advertising industry for 16 years.
Title: Dick Cheney VP Library Opens In Pitch-Dark, Sulfurous Underground Cave
Post by: Surly1 on November 09, 2015, 02:47:09 AM
Dick Cheney Vice Presidential Library Opens In Pitch-Dark, Sulfurous Underground Cave (http://www.theonion.com/article/dick-cheney-vice-presidential-library-opens-in-pit-32278)
Dick Cheney Vice Presidential Library Opens In Pitch-Dark, Sulfurous Underground Cave
The Richard B. Cheney Vice Presidential Library and Museum, which sources say is impossible to escape from.
SUMNER, NE—The Richard B. Cheney Vice Presidential Library and Museum officially opened to the public on Wednesday, housing a variety of exhibits honoring the legacy of the former vice president on display in a vast, dark, sulfurous cave thousands of feet below the surface of the earth.
According to officials, the subterranean library will permanently house the archived records and artifacts of Cheney’s vice presidency and will include more than 2.7 million photographs, thousands of razor-sharp stalactites, 4 million documents offering a legal basis for torture, scalding-hot green smoke wafting out of the cave walls, an original manuscript of the Patriot Act, hundreds of sick and hungry cave bears, and 15,000 audio recordings from Cheney’s private meetings.
“The Cheney Museum offers a firsthand look at the life and work of our nation’s 46th vice president,” said head curator Jonathan Luddom, a 7-foot-tall blind cavern dweller with third-degree burns on his face and limbs. “From the Hall of Obfuscation, to the Pit of Yellowcake Uranium, to the interactive waterboarding exhibit for kids, this library is a stirring tribute to who Mr. Cheney is and what he believes in.”
“Now I must go and search for food and moisture,” continued Luddom, moments before being devoured by a swarm of ravenous bats.
The museum, which officials confirmed is under constant and comprehensive video and audio surveillance at all times, from all possible angles, will feature ceaseless cackling heard in the distance, noxious fumes, and a preserved recreation of Cheney’s office, including the former vice president’s desk, reportedly made from the skulls and femurs of over 4,000 dead Iraqi civilians.
Sources also reported that the library’s Quagmire Wing contains an endless, unannounced chasmic drop into total nothingness.
“The exhibit on how he created a sprawling security state is amazing—I learned so much,” said visitor Emma Moser, 29, as Black Ops agents tracked her every movement. “And it was so cool reading about what a huge part he played in destabilizing the Middle East for generations to come. What a fascinating life!”
“And I can’t believe that’s his original heart preserved in a glass case in the atrium!” Moser added. “It was neat how it was all charred and blackened.”
In addition to covering Cheney’s long and esteemed career in government, museum officials told reporters the infernal, cavernous library will contain a number of revealing glimpses into his personal life, including pieces from his personal collection of drones and a number of original oil paintings by the former vice president depicting empty eye sockets, various torture implements, and rotten meat hanging from hooks.
“And once you’re done perusing the library, don’t forget to grab a hot lunch of eviscerated detainee tongue in the Cheney Cafe,” read a leaked CIA memo from an anonymous source. “Stop by the gift shop, too. In fact, all are required, by the provisions of the Patriot Act, to stop by the gift shop. Those who don’t will be prosecuted by the federal government.”
At press time, the library is currently in an undisclosed location.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on November 14, 2015, 07:41:35 AM
A classic beatdown by a put-upon musician. It's never about money, but priorities. (h/t Harry)
Whitey Explains to a TV Producer Why His Music Isn’t Free… (http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2013/11/06/whitey/)
Whitey Explains to a TV Producer Why His Music Isn’t Free…
UK-based electro-rock artist Whitey, aka NJ White, has had his music on shows ranging from CSI, The Sopranos, Entourage and Breaking Bad. Here, he explains to a TV producer why he insists on being paid for all of those arrangements.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on November 16, 2015, 04:08:31 AM
A clip from my new favorite journalist, a Brit named Jonathan Pie.
http://www.youtube.com/v/KBack7EN1i0
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on November 17, 2015, 03:33:26 AM
Now for something different--
This Kid has got some hops! #Parkour
http://www.youtube.com/v/oqMNr5sROf0
That there are people who can actually do this with such balance, power and grace, and distribute the force of hard landings so skillfully, is simply amazing.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: RE on November 17, 2015, 04:07:00 AM
That there are people who can actually do this with such balance, power and grace, and distribute the force of hard landings so skillfully, is simply amazing.
These guys have their round-offs, back and front tucks and single twists down pretty good and can do them from a variety of take-off types, but they are very sloppy. I taught this stuff for over 30 years. Watch Darebot the Trickster at Visa National Championships.
http://www.youtube.com/v/_r1ow2jsTBY
Darebot was one of the 5 or so of the most coordinated kids I ever had the good fortune to train. Not only was she fearless, she worked CLEAN, and she could take pain too! Darebot was as tough as they come, although not quite as resilient as Chelsea Memmel, who was simply off the scale on this. I did not train Chelsea, but I was friends with the fellows who did train her. Chelsea simply never could be hurt, she was like the Wolverine. Nobody could do more reps than Chelsea.
Chelsea I think still holds the records on more TOPs tests than anyone else. She was the TOPs champ for all the years I brought kids to TOPs in her age group. Fucking amazing human specimen there, so far off the scale it is not even testable really.
RE
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: RE on November 17, 2015, 04:24:59 AM
That there are people who can actually do this with such balance, power and grace, and distribute the force of hard landings so skillfully, is simply amazing.
These guys have their round-offs, back and front tucks and single twists down pretty good and can do them from a variety of take-off types, but they are very sloppy. I taught this stuff for over 30 years. Watch Darebot the Trickster at Visa National Championships.
http://www.youtube.com/v/_r1ow2jsTBY
Darebot was one of the 5 or so of the most coordinated kids I ever had the good fortune to train. Not only was she fearless, she worked CLEAN, and she could take pain too! Darebot was as tough as they come, although not quite as resilient as Chelsea Memmel, who was simply off the scale on this. I did not train Chelsea, but I was friends with the fellows who did train her. Chelsea simply never could be hurt, she was like the Wolverine. Nobody could do more reps than Chelsea.
Chelsea I think still holds the records on more TOPs tests than anyone else. She was the TOPs champ for all the years I brought kids to TOPs in her age group. Fucking amazing human specimen there, so far off the scale it is not even testable really.
RE
What are TOPs?
I have no doubt that these trained athletes are quite remarkable; we generally get to marvel at them on TV every four years. But I took note of the fact that the parkour guys work without mats, spotters, coaches, and with mortal danger of life-changing injury with every dead sprint up a wall they take.
As I recall, concrete is very unforgiving, and at this age I do everything I can to avoid it.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: RE on November 17, 2015, 11:56:10 AM
I have no doubt that these trained athletes are quite remarkable; we generally get to marvel at them on TV every four years. But I took note of the fact that the parkour guys work without mats, spotters, coaches, and with mortal danger of life-changing injury with every dead sprint up a wall they take.
As I recall, concrete is very unforgiving, and at this age I do everything I can to avoid it.
TOPs is the Talent Opportunity Program of USA Gymnastics (USAG), the governing body for competitive gymnastics in the FSoA. It's the recognized governing body by FIG, the International Federation of Gymnastics and the IOC, the International Olympic Committee. TOPs runs from age 7 to age 12, starts with physical abilities testing and then a series of more difficult skills you have to master as you move through the program. It leads into what is now called HOPES, a modified version of the Elite Code of Points used for international competition. After that if you are on this track there is Junior Elite for age 13-15 and Senior Elite for 16 and up. In any given year, there are no more than 120 or so Elite gymnasts in the FSoA.
It is a different track than most of the competitive gymnasts take, which is the Junior Olympic Program also administered by USAG but it uses a different code of points. It has levels of difficulty from 1-10. Competitive levels start at Level 3. State competion is the highest to level 7. At level 8 you can go to Regional Competition, at L9 there Are Easterns & Westerns, and at L10 there is Nationals. No international competition. Generally speaking to get a full ride college scholarship you need to be a L10 or an Elite.
Not to let the air out of another bubble, but Parkour folks show up to train in gymnastics gyms all the time, they don't learn it all right on the concrete. Even those who don't go into gyms set up old mattresses or learn by flipping into local pools and such. They do have coaches, they coach each other and spot each other also. It gets passed down from one generation to the next this way. It's not that different from how gymnastics get passed down, just about all coaches of gymnastics are ex-gymnasts or acrobats themselves. The main difference is Parkour is more informal and more of a street perfomance art rather than a competitive sport.
It is difficult (and dangerous!) to perform the stuff on concrete, but in learning they do get spotted most of the time on the more difficult skills they do. There are a few "See-Do" kids with great kinesthetic awareness who can watch someone do a skill and then do it themselves on the first try. These are the kids you look for in gymnastics who have the potential to be Elites.
The difference here if you watch closely is the complexity of the skills, Parkour is all single rotations and half or full twists, nothing more complex than that. Gymnastics goes through Triple Saltos and (rarely) Quadruple Twists, Triple twists are common though. The free style skiers also go through this level of complexity and Divers also. Just about everyone including Parkour trains on Trampoline at some point.
Now you know everything you didn't need to know about Gymnastics and Parkour. lol.
RE
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on November 17, 2015, 06:00:18 PM
The difference here if you watch closely is the complexity of the skills, Parkour is all single rotations and half or full twists, nothing more complex than that. Gymnastics goes through Triple Saltos and (rarely) Quadruple Twists, Triple twists are common though. The free style skiers also go through this level of complexity and Divers also. Just about everyone including Parkour trains on Trampoline at some point.
Now you know everything you didn't need to know about Gymnastics and Parkour. lol.
RE
I actually found this explanation very interesting. Another reminder that the world is full of things I don't know.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on November 25, 2015, 03:20:26 AM
Title: In 1911, Thomas Edison Predicts What the World Will Look Like in 2011
Post by: Surly1 on December 21, 2015, 09:38:02 AM
In 1911, Thomas Edison Predicts What the World Will Look Like in 2011: Smart Phones, No Poverty, Libraries That Fit in One Book (http://www.openculture.com/2015/12/thomas-edison-predicts-what-the-world-will-look-like-in-2011.html)
The end of 2015 has been dominated by crises. At times, amidst the daily barrage of fearful spectacle, it can be difficult to conceive of the years around the corner in ways that don’t resemble the next crop of blow-em-up action movies, nearly every one of which depicts some variation on the seemingly inexhaustible theme of the end-of-the-world. There’s no doubt many of our current challenges are unprecedented, but in the midst of anxieties of all kinds it’s worth remembering that—as Steven Pinker has thoroughly demonstrated—“violence has declined by dramatic degrees all over the world.”
In other words, as bad as things can seem, they were much worse for most of human history. It’s a long view cultural historian Otto Friedrich took in a grim survey calledThe End of the World: A History. Written near the end of the Cold War, Friedrich’s book documents some 2000 years of European catastrophe, during which one generation after another genuinely believed the end was nigh. And yet, certain far-seeing individuals have always imagined a thriving human future, especially during the profoundly destructive 20th century.
In 1900, engineer John Elfreth Watkins made a survey of the scientific minds of his day. As we noted in a previous post, some of those predictions of the year 2000 seem prescient, some preposterous; all boldly extrapolated contemporary trends and foresaw a radically different human world. At the height of the Cold War in 1964, Isaac Asimov partly described our present in his 50 year forecast. In 1926, and again 1935, no less a visionary than Nikola Tesla looked into the 21st century to envision a world both like and unlike our own.
1. Steam power, already on the wane, will rapidly disappear: “In the year 2011 such railway trains as survive will be driven at incredible speed by electricity (which will also be the motive force of all the world’s machinery).”
2. “[T]he traveler of the future… will fly through the air, swifter than any swallow, at a speed of two hundred miles an hour, in colossal machines, which will enable him to breakfast in London, transact business in Paris and eat his luncheon in Cheapside.”
3. “The house of the next century will be furnished from basement to attic with steel… a steel so light that it will be as easy to move a sideboard as it is today to lift a drawing room chair. The baby of the twenty-first century will be rocked in a steel cradle; his father will sit in a steel chair at a steel dining table, and his mother’s boudoir will be sumptuously equipped with steel furnishings….”
4. Edison also predicted that steel reinforced concrete would replace bricks: “A reinforced concrete building will stand practically forever.” By 1941, he told Cosmopolitan, “all constructions will be of reinforced concrete, from the finest mansions to the tallest skyscrapers.”
5. Like many futurists of the previous century, and some few today, Edison foresaw a world where tech would eradicate poverty: “Poverty was for a world that used only its hands,” he said; “Now that men have begun to use their brains, poverty is decreasing…. [T]here will be no poverty in the world a hundred years from now.”
6. Anticipating agribusiness, Edison predicted, “the coming farmer will be a man on a seat beside a push-button and some levers.” Farming would experience a “great shake-up” as science, tech, and big business overtook its methods.
7. “Books of the coming century will all be printed leaves of nickel, so light to hold that the reader can enjoy a small library in a single volume. A book two inches thick will contain forty thousand pages, the equivalent of a hundred volumes.”
8. Machines, Edison told Cosmopolitan, “will make the parts of things and put them together, instead of merely making the parts of things for human hands to put together. The day of the seamstress, wearily running her seam, is almost ended.”
9. Telephones, Edison confidently predicted, “will shout out proper names, or whisper the quotations from the drug market.”
10. Anticipating the logic of the Cold War arms race, though underestimating the mass destruction to precede it, Edison believed the “piling up of armaments” would “bring universal revolution or universal peace before there can be more than one great war.”
11. Edison “sounds the death knell of gold as a precious metal. ‘Gold,’ he says, ‘has even now but a few years to live. They day is near when bars of it will be as common and as cheap as bars of iron or blocks of steel.’”
He then went on, astonishingly, to echo the pre-scientific alchemists of several hundred years earlier: “’We are already on the verge of discovering the secret of transmuting metals, which are all substantially the same matter, though combined in different proportions.’”
Excited by the future abundance of gold, the Miami Metropolis piece on Edison’s predictions breathlessly concludes, “In the magical days to come there is no reason why our great liners should not be of solid gold from stem to stern; why we should not ride in golden taxicabs, or substituted gold for steel in our drawing rooms.”
In reading over the predictions from shrewd thinkers of the past, one is struck as much by what they got right as by what they got often terribly wrong. (Matt Novak’sPaleofuture, which brings us the Miami Metropolis article, has chronicled the checkered, hit-and-miss history of futurism for several years now.) Edison’s tone is more strident than most of his peers, but his accuracy was about on par, further suggesting that neither the most confident of techno-futurists, nor the most baleful of doomsayers knows quite what the future holds: their clearest forecasts obscured by the biases, technical limitations, and philosophical categories of their present.
In 1911, Thomas Edison Predicts What the World Will Look Like in 2011: Smart Phones, No Poverty, Libraries That Fit in One Book (http://www.openculture.com/2015/12/thomas-edison-predicts-what-the-world-will-look-like-in-2011.html)
Obviously he missed the parts about resource depletion, pollution, overshoot and climate change. Didn't do too good with Poverty either. He did get the libraries in a book correct though. We did get Kindles. ::)
RE
Title: Re: In 1911, Thomas Edison Predicts What the World Will Look Like in 2011
Post by: Surly1 on December 21, 2015, 10:29:14 AM
In 1911, Thomas Edison Predicts What the World Will Look Like in 2011: Smart Phones, No Poverty, Libraries That Fit in One Book (http://www.openculture.com/2015/12/thomas-edison-predicts-what-the-world-will-look-like-in-2011.html)
Obviously he missed the parts about resource depletion, pollution, overshoot and climate change. Didn't do too good with Poverty either. He did get the libraries in a book correct though. We did get Kindles. ::)
RE
He got agriculture right, but was wrong on armaments, gold and poverty, having vastly underestimated the resourcefulness of the banksters and other servants of the .01 per cent to separate widows from their mites.
Title: The Auteurs of Christmas
Post by: Surly1 on December 21, 2015, 10:46:43 AM
This is very funny. GO, do NOT miss this.
The Auteurs of Christmas: Christmas Morning as Seen Through the Eyes of Kubrick, Tarantino, Scorsese & More (http://www.openculture.com/2015/12/the-auteurs-of-christmas.html)
Whatever our set of beliefs, most of us sooner or later unite in the same celebratory pursuit on Christmas Day: the watching of movies. Going out to the theater to catch a holiday-season blockbuster or two after you’ve opened your presents (or after other people have finished opening their presents) has become a kind of tradition in itself, and enough of a tradition to permit variations. Maybe you’d rather use film to free yourself of the burdens of the Christmas season, going instead to the art house and catching the least commercial film possible in this increasingly commercial time of the year.
But even if you stick with the auteurs, you can’t get away from Christmas entirely. A couple Christmases ago, “The Auteurs of Christmas” shot a series of versions of this most anticipated morning in the style of directors Steven Spielberg, Sergei Eisenstein, Wes Anderson, Woody Allen, Lars von Trier, Martin Scorsese, Michael Moore, Stanley Kubrick, Werner Herzog, and Baz Luhrmann.
More recently, the follow-up above expanded the project to envision Christmas as envisioned by Charlie Chaplin, Quentin Tarantino, Terrence Malick, Christopher Nolan, Jean-Luc Godard, Alfred Hitchcock, Morgan Spurlock, David Lynch, M. Night Shyamalan, and Michael Bay.
But just as the conclusion of one year’s Christmas can simply get you looking forward to the next year’s, so these two super-homages make you think about the possible auteurs for inclusion in a third: what would Yasujirō Ozu’s Christmas morning look like, shot just a couple feet off the tatami mat? Or Chantal Akerman’s, which, for proper pacing, might require a whole video by itself? Or a Coen Brothers Christmas? Gaspar Noé’s? Truly, this holiday keeps on giving.
Title: Drunken NYE Photo from Manchester is a Modern Day Renaissance Masterpiece
Post by: Surly1 on January 11, 2016, 04:12:57 AM
Drunken NYE Photo from Manchester is a Modern Day Renaissance Masterpiece (http://twistedsifter.com/2016/01/nye-photo-from-manchester-is-modern-day-renaissance-masterpiece/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Twistedsifter+%28TwistedSifter+%29)
And finally, the art critique (hover over image for annotations)
[Will not translate to SMS- go to original to view.]
Title: Here’s The FULL List of Wall Street Paychecks Hillary Collected
Post by: Surly1 on February 11, 2016, 12:08:46 PM
Here’s The FULL List of Wall Street Paychecks Hillary Collected (http://www.postnews.co/2016/02/heres-full-list-of-wall-street.html)
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has recently come under fire for three highly-paid speeches she gave to Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs in the years between the end of her secretaryship and the start of her presidential campaign in 2015. Clinton collected $675,000 for the speeches, and critics say the payments illustrate a cozy relationship between the democratic candidate and the Wall Street investment banks Clinton claims she will rein in as president.
But the three Goldman Sachs speeches are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to questionable speeches Clinton gave over the past several years. In total, Hillary raked in $21,667,000 on the speaking circuit. In addition to Goldman Sachs, Clinton collected huge paychecks from other Wall Street heavyweights including Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Fidelity Investments, and Bank of America.
Below is the full list of speeches Hillary gave, most of which came with a price tag of over $200k.
Not bad money for flapping your gums while people eat rubber chicken.
Won't matter. Repeat after me. Hillary supporters are just not that sophisticated.
Sanders supporters knew going in that HRC has the superdelegates. Guess we'll run out the string, and deal with the existential challenge of holding nose while voting or going full retard to help elect Trump-Cruz.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Eddie on February 11, 2016, 12:55:23 PM
I expect I will vote for Bernie, but as you know from my long track record, any candidate I support always loses. I thought about voting for Trump in the primary to try to undermine Cruz, but I expect Cruz to take Texas by a large-ish margin, so why bother. I will vote for Bernie in the primary and watch Hillary win.
I'd vote for Idi Amin before I'd vote for Cruz or Trump in the general election.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: RE on February 11, 2016, 01:05:31 PM
Not bad money for flapping your gums while people eat rubber chicken.
Won't matter. Repeat after me. Hillary supporters are just not that sophisticated.
Sanders supporters knew going in that HRC has the superdelegates. Guess we'll run out the string, and deal with the existential challenge of holding nose while voting or going full retard to help elect Trump-Cruz.
Hold your nose and vote, or hold your nose and don't vote, it doesn't matter either way the outcome is the same. Even if Bernie miraculously got the nomination and was elected POTUS the outcome would be the same. The POTUS does not run Da Goobermint, the Shadow State does. It makes no difference whatsoever who is elected POTUS.
RE
Title: Re: Here’s The FULL List of Wall Street Paychecks Hillary Collected
Post by: K-Dog on February 11, 2016, 08:09:36 PM
What does this man have in common with Hillary Clinton?
Looking at Hillary's speaking fee history I do not see a Greenpeace or Sierra club or any organization connected to the public interest at all. I imagine this flying reptile no longer knows what poverty is or gives a shit. The air she breathes can't possibly allow it and by now her blood must surely be blue. That could explain her tons of makeup.
I could be wrong about the Jewish Synagogue. Or not; I don't know. In a list this long the fortunes of chance should show one or two organizations not totally dedicated to themselves but I'm not seeing any.
Hillary even might have Michael Jackson beat at living in an unreal bubble where everyone says you're wonderful and unicorns shit rainbows.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on February 12, 2016, 09:55:38 AM
Hold your nose and vote, or hold your nose and don't vote, it doesn't matter either way the outcome is the same. Even if Bernie miraculously got the nomination and was elected POTUS the outcome would be the same. The POTUS does not run Da Goobermint, the Shadow State does. It makes no difference whatsoever who is elected POTUS.
RE
Congrats, RE!
The Deep State has got you racked, stacked and powered! Disaffected, alienated and cynical is their objective. The more people like you sit out elections, the easier they are to steal.
And if you think elections don't matter, I put it to you thus: they are the ONLY thing that matters. Otherwise, the wealthy would not employ so many initiatives to restrict or make it difficult to vote via a variety of impediments and conditions, then write and then rewrite the rules for primaries, (remember what happened to Ron Paul in 2012) or otherwise restrict access to candidacy. To say nothing of the actual process of the COUNT of the vote, which is a whole different grift.
Not discounting the impact of the unelected Deep State, but elected office still counts for plenty, especially around the edges. Consider if you will, the implications of a Trump/Cruz ticket, with Trump one bullet away from elevating a fundamentalist psychopath to the briefcase with the nuclear codes.
No, just because you don't vote doesn't mean elections don't matter.
My two cents, anyhow.
Title: Donald Trump Meets the Honeymooners
Post by: Surly1 on February 12, 2016, 10:35:54 AM
http://www.youtube.com/v/3XriXDtfqCg
Title: Who is going to tell her what Bill Nye did before he got a TV show?
Post by: Surly1 on April 16, 2016, 06:45:27 AM
“Bill Nye is as much a scientist as I am”: Sarah Palin’s latest delusion is dangerous (http://www.salon.com/2016/04/15/bill_nye_is_as_much_as_scientist_as_i_am_sarah_palins_latest_delusion_is_dangerous/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow)
If you haven’t heard by now, President Obama is moonlighting as a television host this week, presenting five segments for the Science Channel’s “Science Presents DNews” in an effort to promote his final White House Science Fair.
And in an apparent protest against all of the fact-based fun coming out of Washington, D.C. this week, repeat political failure Sarah Palin has traveled to the district to provide her keen insights on science.
Attending a premiere for a climate denialism film on Capitol Hill hosted by the Republican Chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee on Thursday, Palin lashed out at the scientific community for its near unanimous consensus on climate change. Palin particularly took issue with one of America’s most recognizable “scientists,” Bill Nye, who is interviewed in the film.
“Bill Nye is as much as scientist as I am,” the former governor of Alaska told the crowd, blasting the man made famous by his show “Bill Nye the Science Guy.”
“He’s a kids’ show actor; he’s not a scientist,” Palin pointed out, before accusing Nye of using his position of authority to harm children by teaching them that climate change is real and man-made.
Of course, Palin is no scientist, and while she may technically be correct that Nye isn’t a scientist either, as the Huffington Post’s Paige Lavender points out, “before he was known as ‘The Science Guy,’ Nye worked as an engineer — a job firmly rooted in science — at Boeing.”
Still, Palin insisted that parents not allow their children to be indoctrinated by fact-based scientific research, urging them to “ask those questions and not just believe what Bill Nye the Science Guy is trying to tell” them.
Nye, who has been outspoken on the devastating impact of climate change, is a threat to Palin’s preference of head-in-the-sand denialism and while Palin blathering about isn’t a danger to anyone, that she was given a platform by the highest ranking Republican overseeing issues of science in the House is a dangerous indication of how anti-science the Republican Party has become.
On the Senate side, things weren’t much better on Thursday for science and the Republican Party either. The Huffington Post reports that a group of demonized researchers came to the Hill to put on a science fair, of sorts, to justify their research to Republicans who had not only targeted their work for defunding but also held it up as an egregious example of government waste:
In the Russell Senate Office building, a veritable all-star lineup of maligned researchers gathered. Their work would be familiar to anyone who has read the“wastebook” put together by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) or has watched Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) lead a House Science Committee hearing: In the back corner was that guy who watched shrimp run on treadmills; off to the side was the woman who pondered why fat girls can’t get dates; in the middle of the room was the person who studied cows in China; near the bar was the man who sent text messages to drunk people; and in the back was the scientist who started a fight club for shrimp (it’s always those damn shrimp!).
These researchers had come to Capitol Hill to make the case that their congressional tormentors had gotten their work profoundly wrong. Far from being taxpayer-funded jesters in the world of science, they were doing work of merit and promise. And while they had the resumes and wherewithal to withstand the scrutiny, their worry was that future scientists — the ones hanging out with Obama — would look at the crucible and decide to stay far, far away.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on June 16, 2016, 11:49:06 AM
No, but it is real enough...
No, That Donald Trump Ad Is Not Real (https://theintercept.com/2016/06/16/trump-not-big-japan/)
Robert Mackey June 16 2016, 1:29 p.m. This should go without saying, but the deliriously funny “Japanese Donald Trump Commercial” viewed nearly 8 million times since its release on Wednesday — in which a young woman joyfully imagines her hero, Donald Trump, becoming “World President” — is a work of satire.
http://www.youtube.com/v/ZbM6WbUw7Bs The reason that seems worth pointing out, even before @realDonaldTrump has the chance to retweet it by mistake, is that a surprising number of the first 24,000 comments on the video on Facebook and YouTube have come from people who took it to be genuine, despite the fact that it features a hopelessly love-struck young woman dreaming of a world in which Trump’s bust is atop every building, rainbows emanate from his mouth, and the candidate is able to transform into a mythical beast that is half dinosaur, half pony.
Here is a sample of comments that have already been liked hundreds of times on Facebook:
“No matter how cool this makes Trump, please don’t vote for him. Geez.”
“Trump sucks and so does this commercial. It glorifies him for most of it, while then showing him destroying the world. Obviously you have no idea about American politics.”
“So… Are we just going to ignore the fact that at the end, he destroyed the earth?? Please tell me that the people who are saying that this video makes you want to vote for him, please tell me you’re being sarcastic. Please, for the sake of humanity. Don’t do it.”
That has surprised the visual effects artist who shot the video in April, Mike Diva, and the wig stylist and cosplayer who stars in it, who goes by the name Sushi Monster on social networks.
Title: Hipster Finds Lifestyle Too Expensive, Reverts to Mainstream
Post by: Surly1 on July 08, 2016, 03:40:46 AM
“The ironic thing is if I didn’t make this change, I would have been close to living out of my van, which would have made me a god among hipsters.”
Hipster Finds Lifestyle Too Expensive, Reverts to Mainstream (https://lettucefold.com/2014/06/30/hipster-finds-lifestyle-too-expensive-reverts-back-to-mainstream/)
ASHEVILLE, NC — Derek Loy has been living the hipster lifestyle for the past two years, but after his bank account began to dwindle, he reverted to mainstream customs.
“I tried my best,” said Loy, “I really did. I was juicing regularly, eating local and organic, and was doing my best to only drink craft beer. Unfortunately, my bank account just couldn’t handle hipster living.”
Loy said the added stress on his bank account caused him to revert to a more conventional lifestyle, that he enjoyed in his pre-hipster years.
“All the stuff I was doing was great. Kale salads and IPA’s are delicious, but you know what’s also fantastic: cheap stuff. Bud light, frozen chicken and pizza, Coke. Was I saving a lot of money on clothes? Absolutely. I mean, I was buying stuff from thrift stores that homeless people probably wouldn’t wear. And, because I rarely showered, my water bill had never been lower, but those discounts pale in comparison to the money I save when I go to Kroger and buy a half gallon tub of ice cream, instead of chive and lentil flavored froyo from Whole Foods Market.”
Loy said he also has enjoyed hobbies that he wasn’t able to partake in the past two years including playing golf, and being able to talk about football with friends, as well as cleanly shaving his face.
“Do I miss hanging out at a brewery, drinking with a scarf on and talking about Radiohead tattoos? Actually, no. No I don’t. I’m finally free to go to a Buffalo Wild Wings and watch sports on Sunday, while drinking a giant Budweiser.” said Loy ecstatically. “The ironic thing is if I didn’t make this change, I would have been close to living out of my van, which would have made me a god among hipsters.”
After his profound endorsement of his common lifestyle, Loy proceeded to dip a corndog in chili and said, “This is the best I’ve felt in years.”
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on August 09, 2016, 02:27:19 PM
Allow me to recommend an obscure little website called The Rotting Post, offering what it describes as, "THE FINEST IN LITERATE SNARK." Sounds perfect for Diners, yes?
For the first serving, consider this:
STOPPING BY THE WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING – By Donald J Trump (https://rottingpost.com/2016/03/25/stopping-by-the-woods-on-a-snowy-evening-by-donald-j-trump/)
I have a pretty good idea whose woods these are, believe me. And let me tell you something, my people say he’s a complete nobody. This guy lives in the village. So what if he sees me stopping here? I dare him to sue me! I dare him!
And by the way, this snow is pathetic. These are by far, the least downy flakes ever! I hear they had to import them from Canada. I don’t know. Maybe they did. Maybe they didn’t. We’re looking into it.
My horse – he’s the most incredible horse, seriously, I have the greatest, the classiest horses – My horse doesn’t even know what the hell we’re doing here. The horses love me though. They do. They’re always shaking their bells at me, it’s very loving. It’s a beautiful thing.
Let me tell you something, these woods are an embarrassment. They’re not dark. They’re not deep. They’re nothing. They’re for losers. And I cannot wait to sue this guy. I cannot wait to sue this guy.
Was pretty funny earlier in the day...
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Eddie on August 09, 2016, 02:34:30 PM
That is fucking awesome.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: JRM on August 09, 2016, 03:12:15 PM
Allow me to recommend an obscure little website called The Rotting Post, offering what it describes as, "THE FINEST IN LITERATE SNARK." Sounds perfect for Diners, yes?
For the first serving, consider this:
STOPPING BY THE WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING – By Donald J Trump (https://rottingpost.com/2016/03/25/stopping-by-the-woods-on-a-snowy-evening-by-donald-j-trump/)
I have a pretty good idea whose woods these are, believe me. And let me tell you something, my people say he’s a complete nobody. This guy lives in the village. So what if he sees me stopping here? I dare him to sue me! I dare him!
And by the way, this snow is pathetic. These are by far, the least downy flakes ever! I hear they had to import them from Canada. I don’t know. Maybe they did. Maybe they didn’t. We’re looking into it.
My horse – he’s the most incredible horse, seriously, I have the greatest, the classiest horses – My horse doesn’t even know what the hell we’re doing here. The horses love me though. They do. They’re always shaking their bells at me, it’s very loving. It’s a beautiful thing.
Let me tell you something, these woods are an embarrassment. They’re not dark. They’re not deep. They’re nothing. They’re for losers. And I cannot wait to sue this guy. I cannot wait to sue this guy.
Was pretty funny earlier in the day...
That's him. Spot on!
Title: Squirrel Steals GoPro, Makes Greatest Film of Our Time
Post by: Surly1 on August 13, 2016, 10:41:08 AM
Squirrel Steals GoPro, Makes Greatest Film of Our Time (http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a47563/squirrel-steals-gopro/) (http://esq.h-cdn.co/assets/16/32/1470932419-30-red-squirrel-alamy.jpg)
Some rodents are more than scurrying little mammals. Some rodents are auteurs.
This brazen little squirrel director steals a GoPro camera and makes a video shot entirely from its point of view, giving us a private tour of the trees from up above. After snatching the camera off the ground it takes off running and scales the tree, showing us a day in the life of the intrepid little explorer.
Thankfully, the squirrel also had excellent manners, and made sure to drop the camera back down where the owner could easily grab it and share this visionary masterpiece.
http://www.youtube.com/v/t6I_Zic29VQ
Looks like greedheads have disabled embedding. See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6I_Zic29VQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6I_Zic29VQ)
Title: NUDE DONALD TRUMP STATUE GLUED TO THE GROUND IN SEVERAL CITIES
Post by: Surly1 on August 19, 2016, 04:05:24 AM
NUDE DONALD TRUMP STATUE GLUED TO THE GROUND IN SEVERAL CITIES (http://dangerousminds.net/comments/nude_donald_trump_statue_glued_to_the_ground_in_several_cities)
NUDE DONALD TRUMP STATUE GLUED TO THE GROUND IN SEVERAL CITIES
Members of the anarchist artists collective INDECLINE have unveiled life-size statues of Donald Trump naked—and with no testicles and a teeny weenie—in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. “The Emperor Has No Balls” is the name of their multi-city guerilla installation.
What I like best about this is that clearly these wonderful pieces of ostensibly “public” art were made, really, for just one person’s dubious pleasure: Donald Trump’s! That the rest of us might find them amusing seems like a bonus.
The eyes scowl, the mouth pouts and the veiny, almost reptilian skin looks like it was torn off a human-size frog and dipped in bronzer.
The job of conceptualizing and creating the statues fell to a man who goes by the name “Ginger,” a Las Vegas-based artist. Ginger told The Post that he has a long history of designing monsters for haunted houses and horror movies.
In addition to doing makeup for a Busta Rhymes video, Ginger’s résumé includes another source of great pride for the artist: He’s a regular keynote speaker at haunted house conventions across the country. (We checked and, yeah, they’re a thing.)
“When the guys approached me, it was all because of my monster-making abilities,” he said, referring to INDECLINE members. “Trump is just yet another monster, so it was absolutely in my wheelhouse to be able to create these monstrosities.”
The statues were commissioned in April. The INDECLINE pranksters said they wanted Trump’s effigy to appear to have a “constipated look.” Each statue was glued to the ground using industrial strength epoxy.
Genius!
The “saggy old man butt” view from NYC’s Union Square.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: K-Dog on August 19, 2016, 01:35:18 PM
No big deal (literally) at all. I don't know how the statues were made but the thought of a coven of artists networking a project using 3-D printers has possibilities. If there was a big ring in the back you could pull to make the statue say 'Make America great again' that would be fine.
Having the statues crap randomly would also be an interesting feature. Perhaps it is good I'm not an artiste. I am about three miles away from this statue. I hope the ladies getting their jollies have cameras with telephoto lenses!
Title: First Car Designed and Built with Common Core math
Post by: Surly1 on September 05, 2016, 06:14:46 AM
(http://i.imgur.com/gsDdNVy.jpg) First Car Designed and Built with Common Core math.
Title: Banksy: Don’t Forget To Eat Your Lunch And Make Some Trouble
Post by: Surly1 on September 11, 2018, 02:08:49 AM
Banksy: Don’t Forget To Eat Your Lunch And Make Some Trouble (https://voxpopulisphere.com/2018/09/02/banksy-street-art/)
“We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime, we should all go shopping to console ourselves.” — Banksy
Banksy is an anonymous England-based street artist, vandal, political activist, and film director. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humor with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique. His works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world. Banksy’s work grew out of the Bristol underground scene, which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. Banksy says that he was inspired by 3D, a graffiti artist who later became a founding member of the English musical group Massive Attack.
Banksy displays his art on publicly visible surfaces such as walls and self-built physical prop pieces. Banksy does not sell photographs or reproductions of his street graffiti, but art auctioneers have been known to attempt to sell his street art on location and leave the problem of its removal in the hands of the winning bidder. Banksy created a documentary film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, billed as “the world’s first street art disaster movie”, which made its debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. In January 2011, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary for the film.
Banksy’s real name is widely believed to be Robin Gunningham, born in 1973 in Yate, twelve miles outside Bristol, England. However, other names have been put forward as well, including that of the British cartoonist Jamie Hewlett.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
For more about the work of Banksy, see “The Story behind Banksy”published bySmithsonian Magazine.
Title: Debunking the 6 biggest myths about ‘technology addiction’
Post by: Surly1 on October 21, 2018, 04:07:11 AM
Debunking the 6 biggest myths about ‘technology addiction’ (https://theconversation.com/debunking-the-6-biggest-myths-about-technology-addiction-95850)
Christopher J. Ferguson is a fellow of the American Psychological Association. He was one of 28 scholars who wrote an open letter to the World Health Organization criticizing their decision to create a "gaming disorder" diagnosis, due to concerns that research data could not support such a diagnosis.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under Creative Commons license.
How concerned should people be about the psychological effects of screen time? Balancing technology use with other aspects of daily life seems reasonable, but there is a lot of conflicting advice about where that balance should be. Much of the discussion – including the World Health Organization’s recent decision to declare “gaming disorder” an “addictive behavior disorder” –is framed around fighting “addiction” to technology. But to me, that resembles a moral panic, giving voice to scary claims based on weak data.
For example, in April 2018, television journalist Katie Couric’s “America Inside Out” program focused on the effects of technology on people’s brains. The episode featured the co-founder of a business treating technology addiction. That person compared addiction to technology with addictions to cocaine and other drugs. The show also implied that technology use could lead to Alzheimer’s disease-like memory loss. Others, such as psychologist Jean Twenge, have linked smartphones with teen suicide.
I am a psychologist who has worked with teens and families and conducted research on technology use, video games and addiction. I believe most of these fear-mongering claims about technology are rubbish. There are several common myths of technology addiction that deserve to be debunked by actual research.
Technology is not a drug
Some people have claimed that technology use activates the same pleasure centers of the brain as cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine. That’s vaguely true, but brain responses to pleasurable experiences are not reserved only for unhealthy things.
Anything fun results in an increased dopamine release in the “pleasure circuits” of the brain – whether it’s going for a swim, reading a good book, having a good conversation, eating or having sex. Technology use causes dopamine release similar to other normal, fun activities: about 50 to 100 percent above normal levels.
Cocaine, by contrast, increases dopamine 350 percent, and methamphetamine a whopping 1,200 percent. In addition, recent evidence has found significant differences in how dopamine receptors work among people whose computer use has caused problems in their daily lives, compared to substance abusers. But I believe people who claim brain responses to video games and drugs are similar are trying to liken the drip of a faucet to a waterfall.
Comparisons between technology addictions and substance abuse are also often based on brain imaging studies, which themselves have at timesproven unreliable at documenting what their authors claim. Other recent imagingstudies havealso disproved past claims that violent games desensitized young brains, leading children to show less emotional connection with others’ suffering.
Technology addiction is not common
People who talk about tech addictions often express frustration with their smartphone use, or they can’t understand why kids game so much. But these aren’t real addictions, involving significant interference with other life activities such as school, work or social relationships.
My own research has suggested that 3 percent of gamers – or less – develop problem behaviors, such as neglecting schoolwork to the point that grades suffer. Most of those difficulties are mild and go away on their own over time.
But it’s a very controversial decision. I am among 28 scholars who wrote to the WHO protesting that the decision was poorly informed by science. The WHO seemed to ignore research that suggested “gaming disorder” is more a symptom of other, underlying mental health issues such as depression, rather than its own disorder.
This year, the Media Psychology and Technology division of the American Psychological Association, of which I am a fellow, likewise released a statement critical of the WHO’s decision. The WHO’s sister organization, UNICEF, also argued against using “addiction” language to describe children’s screen use.
Controversies aside, I have found that current data doesn’t support technology addictions as stand-alone diagnoses. For example, there’s the Oxford study that found people who rate higher in what is called “game addiction” don’t show more psychological or health problemsthan others. Additional researchhas suggested that any problems technology overusers may experience tend to be milder than would happen with a mental illness, and usually go away on their own without treatment.
‘Tech addiction’ is not caused by technology
Most of the discussion of technology addictions suggest that technology itself is mesmerizing, harming normal brains. But my research suggests that technology addictions generally are symptoms of other, underlying disorders like depression, anxiety and attention problems. People don’t think that depressed people who sleep all day have a “bed addiction.”
This is of particular concern when considering who needs treatment, and for what conditions. Efforts to treat “technology addiction” may do little more than treat a symptom, leaving the real problem intact.
There’s little question that some people overdo a wide range of activities. Those activities do include technology use, but also exercise, eating, sex, work, religion and shopping. There are even research papers on dance addiction. But few of these have official diagnoses. There’s little evidence that technology is more likely to be overused than a wide range of other enjoyable activities.
Technology use does not lead to suicide
Some pundits have pointed to a recent rise in suicide rates among teen girls as evidence for tech problems. But suicide rates increased for almost all age groups, particularly middle-aged adults, for the 17-year period from 1999 to 2016. This rise apparently began around 2008, during the financial collapse, and has become more pronounced since then. That undercuts the claim that screens are causing suicides in teens, as does the fact that suicide rates are far higher among middle-aged adults than youth. There appears to be a larger issue going on in society. Technopanics could be distracting regular people and health officials from identifying and treating it.
One recent paper claimed to link screen use to teen depression and suicide. But another scholar with access to the same data revealed the effect was no larger than the link between eating potatoes and suicide. This is a problem: Scholars sometimes make scary claims based on tiny data that are often statistical blips, not real effects.
To be sure, there are real problems related to technology, such as privacy issues. And people should balance technology use with other aspects of their lives. It’s also worth keeping an eye out for the very small percentage of individuals who do overuse. There’s a tiny kernel of truth to our concerns about technology addictions, but the available evidence suggests that claims of a crisis, or comparisons to substance abuse, are entirely unwarranted.
Editor’s note: This is an updated version of an article originally published May 22, 2018.
Title: Coffee is Coming...
Post by: Surly1 on May 07, 2019, 10:34:53 AM
Coffee is Coming... or was. The compositors have been at work, and my favorite meme from yesterday is no more: "Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, the Mother of Dragons, the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains, and Drinker of Pumpkin Spice."
The "Game Of Thrones" Coffee Cup Is Gone Now (https://www.buzzfeed.com/crystalro/game-of-thrones-coffee-cup-gone-removed) Game of Thrones Cup: May 5, 2019 — May 7, 2019
Posted on May 7, 2019, at 10:59 a.m. Crystal Ro
Hi. Hello. In case you hadn't heard, there was an accidental coffee cup on Game of Thrones this week. Here's what it looked like:
Hi. Hello. In case you hadn't heard, there was an accidental coffee cup on Game of Thrones this week. Here's what it looked like:
HBO
A close-up for ~science~:
HBO
ADVERTISEMENT
Yesterday, after fans went wild over this accidental detail, HBO announced that it was in fact a mistake.
HBO
And today, the cup is now GONE. A PICTURE FOR PROOF:
HBO
RIP Game of Thrones coffee cup, you were good to us while you lasted.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on June 21, 2019, 07:20:03 PM
Artist builds wall around Trump's Hollywood star (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-36854572?SThisFB&fbclid=IwAR0UGULYmR2rOCXDhCaVpOLrF4WG8JXl5GpndoLPJeVJW4iyy99JhwccJbk)
22 July 2016
Image copyrightEPAImage captionPeople have come to see Donald Trump's 'walled' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles
Donald Trump's controversial call for a "great, great wall" on the US-Mexico border has yet to be realised but a tiny, tiny one has been built instead - surrounding his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The 15cm high concrete wall is topped with razor wire, miniature US flags and includes 'Keep Out' signs written in both Spanish and English.
It was created by LA-based street artist Plastic Jesus and was inspired by comments made by the Republican Presidential nominee last year when he outlined plans to build a wall along the US-Mexico border to stop illegal immigrants.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionIn June 2015 Donald Trump stated: "I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall"
Curious tourists snapped photographs of the Los Angeles structure, while a picture of the unusual artwork posted on the artist's Instagram account received more than 14,000 likes by Thursday morning.
One person called the wall "the most genius vandalism of the star yet," while another said it was the "best thing I've seen all day."
Image copyrightINSTAGRAMImage captionOne supporter of the artwork claimed to work for the LAPD
There were also those who were unimpressed by the Trump-attacking artwork, with one user exclaiming that "A Trump presidency is what the US needs."
Image copyrightINSTAGRAMImage captionTrump's supporters took to Instagram to defend him
In an interview with the BBC, Plastic Jesus explained why he had built the 'wall':
"I wanted to create a piece that drew attention to [Trump's] potential policies," he says. "I knew this week was the republican convention and I suppose I was capitalising on the momentum of the convention."
And so, on Tuesday afternoon he took his tiny wall made from wood and concrete, and placed it on top of Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
He says the response to his wall has been largely supportive. "I went to Hollywood Boulevard yesterday to take photographs and found myself in an absolute bottleneck of people taking photographs of the piece - it's been absolutely crazy."
The artist, who emigrated to the US from the UK nine years ago, says he's not a fan of Donald Trump, "In the US you'll interact with immigrants from all over the world and it's one of the things that makes the US so great. Donald Trump's policy proposals are a threat to all of the immigrants."
Image copyrightEPAImage captionThe 'wall' has a miniature US flag on each corner
Donald Trump received the 2,327th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007 for his work on America's The Apprentice.
By Daniel Avis, BBC's UGC and Social News team
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: RE on June 21, 2019, 09:46:22 PM
Artist builds wall around Trump's Hollywood star (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-36854572?SThisFB&fbclid=IwAR0UGULYmR2rOCXDhCaVpOLrF4WG8JXl5GpndoLPJeVJW4iyy99JhwccJbk)
Title: Sickest burn of the year
Post by: Surly1 on July 25, 2019, 08:52:01 AM
Trump delivered a speech in front of a fake presidential seal that showed a Russian imperial eagle clutching golf clubs https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-speech-in-front-of-presidential-seal-with-russian-eagle-2019-7 (https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-speech-in-front-of-presidential-seal-with-russian-eagle-2019-7)
--President Donald Trump on Tuesday addressed the conservative youth group Turning Point USA in Washington, DC. --The presidential seal displayed on a giant screen behind Trump as he addressed the conference had been doctored to show what appeared to be a Russian imperial eagle clutching golf clubs. --A representative for Turning Point USA told The Washington Post it was unclear how the symbol came to be shown behind the president, blaming it on a last-minute audio-visual mistake.
After a 12-minute video extolling his virtues as a leader, President Donald Trump took to the stage at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Washington, DC, on Tuesday to deliver a speech to thousands of young, cheering supporters at the Turning Point USA conference.
But as Trump stood enjoying the rapturous welcome, no one seemed to notice that there was something subtly different about the presidential seal that was being shown on the screen behind him.
Instead of the bald eagle featured in the official seal of the president of the United States, the image featured a double-headed eagle, which bears a striking resemblance to the one on the official coat of arms of the Russian Federation.
The alteration seemed designed to poke fun at Trump over his administration's controversial ties to Russia, which US intelligence says interfered in the US election in a bid to aid Trump's candidacy.
And instead of clutching arrows in its left claw, the eagle in the altered image held golf clubs — most likely a not-so-subtle reference to one of Trump's favorite hobbies.
Here's a picture of the official US presidential seal.
And here's the mysteriously altered presidential seal that Trump spoke in front of Tuesday. The two-headed eagle is clearly visible, as are the golf clubs on the lower right section of the fake seal.
Also visible is a fistful of dollars held in the eagle's claw on the left of the image, and a series of hammer and sickle designs in place of the stars on the US flag in the middle of the seal.
(https://amp.businessinsider.com/images/5d397ba1100a24343223bf72-1334-1001.jpg) The circles show the parts of the presidential seal that were changed Reuters
The Washington Post first noticed the discrepancies. The White House told the publication that officials had not seen the image before Trump appeared onstage.
Citing a reader, The Post said the fake seal resembled one being sold online in which the US's Latin motto "E pluribus unum," which means "Out of many, one," has been replaced by the Spanish words "45 es un titere." This roughly translates into English as "45 is a puppet." Trump is the 45th US president.
A representative for Turning Point USA told The Post he didn't know where the image came from or how it ended up on a screen behind the president.
"It was a last-minute A/V mistake — and I can't figure out where the breakdown was — but it was a last-minute throw-up, and that's all it was," the spokesman told The Post.
"I can't figure out who did it yet."
Title: Archaeologists discover mysterious 'sorcerer's treasure trove' trunk at Pompeii
Post by: Surly1 on August 20, 2019, 02:39:07 PM
Archaeologists discover a mysterious 'sorcerer's treasure trove' trunk at Pompeii https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7349669/Archaeologists-discover-mysterious-sorcerers-treasure-trove-trunk-Pompeii.html?fbclid=IwAR0RPc4bG7_4hczwqNbLeTft_YjZUssRVMDSP7KwJkktvIVGGboXVhsUV2I (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7349669/Archaeologists-discover-mysterious-sorcerers-treasure-trove-trunk-Pompeii.html?fbclid=IwAR0RPc4bG7_4hczwqNbLeTft_YjZUssRVMDSP7KwJkktvIVGGboXVhsUV2I)
Published: 12:49 EDT, 12 August 2019 | Updated: 13:15 EDT, 12 August 2019
Archaeologists have uncovered a trunk at Pompeii containing a vast variety of fascinating objects that may have been part of a 'sorcerer's treasure trove'.
The objects include crystals, amber and amethyst stones, buttons made of bones, beetles from the orient, amulets, dolls, bells, fists, a tiny skull - and even miniature penises.
Experts say the objects may have been used in rituals for fertility, seduction, or to seek good omens for a birth or pregnancy, although they stress that this is just a theory.
Scroll down for video
Archaeologists have uncovered a trunk at Pompeii containing a vast variety of fascinating objects that may have been part of a 'sorcerer's treasure trove' (pictured)
The objects include crystals, amber and amethyst stones, buttons made of bones, beetles from the orient, amulets, dolls, bells, fists, a tiny skull (pictured) - and even miniature penises
Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year AD 79, burying the cities of Pompeii, Oplontis, and Stabiae under ashes and rock fragments, and the city of Herculaneum under a mudflow.
Archaeologists regularly uncover new finds at the UNESCO world heritage site that add to our understanding of the events of the disaster and the people who lived nearby.
'There are dozens of good luck charms next to other objects that were attributed with the power of crushing bad luck,' the site's director, Massimo Osanna, told Italian news agency , of the latest find.
He thinks that it is more likely that the objects belonged to a servant or slave than the owner of the house.
Indeed, the chest did not include the gold that the wealthy people of Pompeii customarily loved to wear.
'They could have been necklaces that were worn during rituals rather than being used to look elegant,' he added.
Experts say the objects (pictured) may have been used in rituals for fertility, seduction, or to seek good omens for a birth or pregnancy, although they stress that this is just a theory
'There are dozens of good luck charms next to other objects that were attributed with the power of crushing bad luck,' the site's director, Massimo Osanna, told Italian news agency Ansa
Mr Osanna thinks that it is more likely that the objects belonged to a servant or slave than the owner of the house. Indeed, the chest did not include the gold that the all the wealthy people of Pompeii loved to wear. Pictured: A view of archaeological artefacts on display
The objects were found at the Casa del Giardino, the same area where an inscription was uncovered in 2018.
It caused historians to reconsider when they think the Vesuvius eruption that destroyed Pompeii took place, shifting it from August 24 to October 24, 79 AD.
The writing came from an area in a house that was apparently being renovated just before the nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying Pompeii under a thick blanket of ash and rock.
Archeologists found the inscription in a house that was in the process of being renovated at the time of the eruption, so the writing would have probably been covered with plaster shortly.
'That could help explain why, next to rooms with frescoed walls and ceilings, and with cemented floors -- in some cases with tiles or marble slabs -- there were some areas with plastered walls or even without floors, like the atrium and the entrance corridor,' they said at the time.
The objects were found at the Casa del Giardino, the same area where an inscription was uncovered in 2018. Pictured: The charcoal inscription uncovered during the 2018 excavations backs the theory that the Mount Vesuvius eruption that destroyed the ancient Roman city took place in October of 79 AD, not August
Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year AD 79, burying the cities of Pompeii, Oplontis, and Stabiae under ashes and rock fragments, and the city of Herculaneum under a mudflow. The inscription found in 2018 was dated the 16th day before the calends of November - i.e. October 17.
The August 24 date derives from an account of the blast given by Pliny the Younger, who witnessed the eruption and wrote about it almost 30 years after the event in two letters to his friend, the Roman historian Tacitus.
The Roman author was 17 at the time of the eruption, which he observed from the other side of the Bay of Naples.
However, previous excavations have uncovered a calcified branch bearing berries that normally only come out in autumn.
The discovery of some braziers over the years also suggested the disaster did not strike at the height of summer.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT VESUVIUS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII?
What happened?
Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year AD 79, burying the cities of Pompeii, Oplontis, and Stabiae under ashes and rock fragments, and the city of Herculaneum under a mudflow.
Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of Italy, is the only active volcano in continental Europe and is thought to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.
Every single resident died instantly when the southern Italian town was hit by a 500°C pyroclastic hot surge.
Pyroclastic flows are a dense collection of hot gas and volcanic materials that flow down the side of an erupting volcano at high speed.
They are more dangerous than lava because they travel faster, at speeds of around 450mph (700 km/h), and at temperatures of 1,000°C.
An administrator and poet called Pliny the younger watched the disaster unfold from a distance.
Letters describing what he saw were found in the 16th century.
His writing suggests that the eruption caught the residents of Pompeii unaware.
Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year AD 79, burying the cities of Pompeii, Oplontis, and Stabiae under ashes and rock fragments, and the city of Herculaneum under a mudflow
He said that a column of smoke 'like an umbrella pine' rose from the volcano and made the towns around it as black as night.
People ran for their lives with torches, screaming and some wept as rain of ash and pumice fell for several hours.
While the eruption lasted for around 24 hours, the first pyroclastic surges began at midnight, causing the volcano's column to collapse.
An avalanche of hot ash, rock and poisonous gas rushed down the side of the volcano at 124mph (199kph), burying victims and remnants of everyday life.
Hundreds of refugees sheltering in the vaulted arcades at the seaside in Herculaneum, clutching their jewellery and money, were killed instantly.
The Orto dei fuggiaschi (The garden of the Fugitives) shows the 13 bodies of victims who were buried by the ashes as they attempted to flee Pompeii during the 79 AD eruption of the Vesuvius volcano
As people fled Pompeii or hid in their homes, their bodies were covered by blankets of the surge.
While Pliny did not estimate how many people died, the event was said to be 'exceptional' and the number of deaths is thought to exceed 10,000.
What have they found?
This event ended the life of the cities but at the same time preserved them until rediscovery by archaeologists nearly 1700 years later.
The excavation of Pompeii, the industrial hub of the region and Herculaneum, a small beach resort, has given unparalleled insight into Roman life.
Archaeologists are continually uncovering more from the ash-covered city.
In May archaeologists uncovered an alleyway of grand houses, with balconies left mostly intact and still in their original hues.
A plaster cast of a dog, from the House of Orpheus, Pompeii, AD 79. Around 30,000 people are believed to have died in the chaos, with bodies still being discovered to this day
Some of the balconies even had amphorae - the conical-shaped terra cotta vases that were used to hold wine and oil in ancient Roman times.
The discovery has been hailed as a 'complete novelty' - and the Italian Culture Ministry hopes they can be restored and opened to the public.
Upper stores have seldom been found among the ruins of the ancient town, which was destroyed by an eruption of Vesuvius volcano and buried under up to six metres of ash and volcanic rubble.
Around 30,000 people are believed to have died in the chaos, with bodies still being discovered to this day.
Title: Re: Archaeologists discover mysterious 'sorcerer's treasure trove' trunk at Pompeii
Post by: azozeo on August 21, 2019, 08:12:10 PM
Archaeologists discover a mysterious 'sorcerer's treasure trove' trunk at Pompeii
Great mud flood find Surly....
Title: Winning Sand Sculpture of the 2019 Texas Sand Sculpture Festival
Post by: Surly1 on August 28, 2019, 08:29:42 AM
The Winning Sand Sculpture of the 2019 Texas Sand Sculpture Festival https://twistedsifter.com/2019/05/liberty-crumbling-sand-sculpture-by-damon-langlois/?fbclid=IwAR398bkGyljl9IP7e1T1Y7dFGCmL6sEdiU1YmRt7QqwSGnhlNyjOvfyR4jo (https://twistedsifter.com/2019/05/liberty-crumbling-sand-sculpture-by-damon-langlois/?fbclid=IwAR398bkGyljl9IP7e1T1Y7dFGCmL6sEdiU1YmRt7QqwSGnhlNyjOvfyR4jo)
(https://twistedsifter.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/liberty-crumbling-by-damon-langlois-1.jpg?w=800&h=500&zoom=2) liberty crumbling by damon langlois 1 The Winning Sand Sculpture of the 2019 Texas Sand Sculpture Festival
Damon Langlois has been awarded 1st Place for his incredible sand sculpture, “Liberty Crumbling”, at the 2019 Texas SandFest. The 23rd annual Texas SandFest drew 35,000 people to Port Aransas, Texas and is recognized as the largest native-sand sculpture competition in the United States. Texas SandFest’s mission is to give back to the community by raising funds for local charities and scholarships for high school students. This year they raised $355,000 usd and have raised $1,261,750 usd for charities in the last 8 years.
To see all of the winners from this year’s competition click here. https://www.texassandfest.org/2019-results/ (https://www.texassandfest.org/2019-results/)
Title: The Secret Story of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’s Last Tango
Post by: Surly1 on September 02, 2019, 09:37:17 AM
The Secret Story of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’s Last Tango (https://www.thedailybeast.com/butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kids-last-tango?ref=home)
For six years they managed to elude the most powerful detectives on the planet and outrun their past across the wilds of South America.
Patrick Symmes
Everything comes to an end, even a tango party in Argentina. It was a perfect combination, that night in early 1904: a warm spring evening, a house full of the great, and a yard full of the good.
The great: That would be the new governor, Dr. Julio Lezama, accompanied by the chief of police, military surveyors, and various political functionaries. And the good: That would be the 80 or so people standing on the grass, almost the entire population of this remote valley in the Andes. Among the guests were families, local laborers, and misfits from many nations. Some were broke South American cowboys; others immigrants from Italy, England, Wales, and America. Some were indigent; others, like the hosts of the party, seemed to have it all: money, land, houses, and cattle.
The music was provided by the governor himself. He was a man of many accomplishments—a doctor, politician, and guitarist who could pick out most any regional favorite. Tonight it was the Brazilian samba, plus a new style that was just emerging in Argentina, the melancholy tango.
Somewhere in the party, mingling with ease and leading the festivities—because this was their house, their life—were three people, each with a $10,000 bounty on their head. Back home they were criminals, efficient and daring experts in the art of separating powerful people from their money. Here, under new names, they were upstanding citizens, free from the past.
One of the two hosts, James “Santiago” Ryan, had once worked as a butcher, and outside the cabin, he must have cast a critical eye on the men grilling the lamb and beef. The other man, Henry “Enrique” Place, spoke better Spanish than his friend and business partner, and would have spent more of the evening inside with Ethel, his wife. She was the one who made this frontier house sparkle, the social one, the music teacher who spoke Spanish well, whose elegant presence remade the lives of three criminal fugitives into something whole and wholesome-looking. Despite having her face on WANTED posters all over the globe, she took a turn around the cabin floor with Dr. Lezama.
The party lasted until 2 a.m. The governor himself stayed overnight as a guest of Place and Ryan. In another life, they had gone by other names. Many other names, in fact; the men put on aliases the way other people put on coats. In Argentina, they hoped to conceal forever the names history would remember them by: Butch and Sundance.
In the 1969 Oscar-winning film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the famous outlaws are shown escaping America to a decrepit village in Bolivia. According to the movie version, they died side by side, guns blazing, in the crosshairs of half a Bolivian regiment. It’s a great Hollywood ending that happens to be true, mostly: they left America… then died in Bolivia.
What Hollywood didn’t know is that Butch and Sundance escaped.
For six years they managed to elude the most powerful detectives on the planet and outrun their past across the wilds of South America. Hidden, for years, in the tranquil frontiers of Patagonia and the deep forests of the Andes, they started new lives as law-abiding citizens. They roped cattle, built ranches, and spent their ill-gotten gains on glorious living, including tango parties and cabin concerts where a governor—and even lawmen charged with arresting them—were honored guests.
They tried to let go of the past. But they were hounded for a crime which we now know they did not commit, and the past caught up with them. Found out, the Old West’s smartest robbers responded by going on an epic spree of bank jobs that filled their saddlebags and humiliated law enforcement in three countries. Given the real story of what Butch and Sundance pulled off in South America, it’s no wonder the authorities tried to forget those years.
Read the rest here (https://www.thedailybeast.com/butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kids-last-tango?ref=home).
Title: Someone Stole a Solid Gold Toilet From Winston Churchill's House
Post by: Surly1 on September 16, 2019, 07:26:02 AM
Someone Stole a Solid Gold Toilet From Winston Churchill's House (https://jezebel.com/someone-stole-a-solid-gold-toilet-from-winston-churchil-1838132876)
There is no right or wrong place to begin this tale of toilet thievery, so lets just (I’m going to do this, and I am very sorry) plop right in. A gang of thieves broke into a museum located inside the 18th century stately home where Winston Churchill was born and stole a golden toilet worth $1.25 million that was on display as an interactive art installation.
The piece, titled America, by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan is a fully functioning toilet made of solid gold. Previously on display at the Guggenheim, the toilet was once offered to Donald Trump in response to the White House’s request to borrow a Van Gogh from the museum. The famed toilet arrived at Blenheim Palace on Thursday. To hype its arrival, Blenheim invited guests to use the opulent toilet for up three minutes at a time. But due to the interactive nature of the exhibit, security was a bit complicated and perhaps also a bit lax:
“Firstly, it’s plumbed in and secondly, a potential thief will have no idea who last used the toilet or what they ate. So no, I don’t plan to be guarding it,” Blenheim Art Foundation Edward Spencer-Churchill told the Sunday Times back in August.
Less than a day after the toilet’s arrival, thieves who broke into Blenheim Palace were able to disconnect it from the plumbing, causing significant flooding and extensive damage in the process. A 66-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the theft but the commode has not been recovered. As always, the real victims of any art theft are a public denied the opportunity to shit on something beautiful.
Title: Internet Users Who Call For Attacking Other Countries Will Now Be Enlisted
Post by: Surly1 on January 04, 2020, 03:42:08 AM
Report: Internet Users Who Call For Attacking Other Countries Will Now Be Enlisted In The Military Automatically (https://babylonbee.com/news/people-who-tweet-in-support-of-foreign-wars-to-be-automatically-enlisted-in-armed-forces?fbclid=IwAR2OOYNWCWJ4HYd1cGJ0HKsLN0Drvd5uJlgRtJo7jgjhNxw3nDb5yxze9Aw)
U.S.—A new policy issued by the United States Department of Defense, in conjunction with online platforms like Twitter and Facebook, will automatically enlist you to fight in a foreign war if you post your support for attacking another country.
People who bravely post about how the U.S. needs to invade some country in the Middle East or Asia or outer space will get a pop-up notice indicating they've been enlisted in the military. A recruiter will then show up at their house and whisk them away to fight in the foreign war they wanted to happen so badly.
"Frankly, recruitment numbers are down, and we needed some way to find people who are really enthusiastic about fighting wars," said a DOD official. "Then it hit us like a drone strike: there are plenty of people who argue vehemently for foreign intervention. It doesn't matter what war we're trying to create: Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, China---these people are always reliable supporters of any invasion abroad. So why not get them there on the frontlines?"
"After all, we want people who are passionate about occupying foreign lands, not grunts who are just there for the paycheck," he added.
Strangely, as soon as the policy was implemented, 99% of saber-rattling suddenly ceased.
Title: Libertarian killed while protesting socialist snowplow
Post by: Surly1 on January 19, 2020, 06:13:19 AM
Libertarian killed while protesting socialist snowplow (https://stubhillnews.com/2017/03/16/socialist-snowplow/?fbclid=IwAR3Zq_kpkQDnyrA7xX-R-sxuMh8clsactxCc8KgSJ_iSCZRVXcpZlfgiyes)
A libertarian activist was killed this week while protesting against a government funded snowplow.
Ronaldo Paul, the deceased activist, died as he had lived: obnoxiously and on the internet.
Paul was livestreaming while he was run over by the very snowplow he had come to protest.
“If the market truly wanted this snow plowed, then it,” were Paul’s final words before he was run over, abruptly ending the livestream.
Earlier in the day, Paul had tweeted that he was “willing to die to end #snowcialism.”
When reached for comment, family and friends of the deceased asked if they were being detained.
At press time, something something statist, something something strawman.
Follow Stubhill News for the best news.
Title: Juan Guaido declared winner of Iowa Caucus
Post by: Surly1 on February 04, 2020, 01:42:29 PM
Juan Guaido declared winner of Iowa Caucus (https://telegra.ph/Juan-Guaido-declared-winner-of-Iowa-Caucus-02-04?fbclid=IwAR1mfTAKx-N3l4XThP8EvIZ8JUSq5U3Uhk0IJ0ov4JaQ_tlzbn7l4GIk4Q8)
Due to the immense rigging by the far left Democrat regime in control of the American government, the official results are illegitimate. Juan Guaido is the true winner of the Iowa Caucus. Congratulations to Juan Guaido!
Title: Iowa to Decide Caucus Winner on Penalty Kicks
Post by: Surly1 on February 04, 2020, 02:01:04 PM
Iowa to Decide Caucus Winner on Penalty Kicks (http://takomatorch.com/index.php/2020/02/04/iowa-to-decide-caucus-winner-on-penalty-kicks/?fbclid=IwAR0xzo1dbN_qjAXOspfkm_RHLul63JJSOaXHrlYV1913XlkNQTLNcKe_NNo)
DES MOINES, IOWA – After hours of being stuck in a hot, sweaty high school gym waiting for a six-way tie to be broken up, election officials decided to determine the 2020 Democratic Caucus winner by penalty kicks.
“This was the most boring game I’ve ever been to,” stated Joe Biden wearing uncomfortably short shorts and a sweatband. “And I’m, like, a hundred years old, so you know I’ve watched a lot of soccer.”
After ten hours of a blank scoreboard, it was clear something needed to be done to end the misery. Bernie Sanders got in the face of the officials, accusing them of fixing the game against him. “We should be winning because our team had the loudest fans,” Sanders stated.
Amy Klobuchar, seen yelling at her coaching staff and making several of them cry, was ejected by officials for throwing a chair onto the field saying “Let’s make it official!”
Team Warren decided to leave the match to head over to a more important one in New Hampshire. It’s unclear if she’ll return to attempt her kicks, but she’s already issued an 87-point plan of proposed structural changes to both game play and officiating for next cycle’s caucus.
Even though no results had been posted, Mayor Pete Buttigieg was seen wearing a pre-mature 2020 Iowa Champion t-shirt and hat, parading around in what appeared to be a life-sized 18-inch trophy of himself.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Eddie on February 04, 2020, 02:15:07 PM
The DNC is gonna make 'em do the caucus over......... until Biden wins.
"Get back in there and don't come out until Sanders is below 15%." lol.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: K-Dog on February 05, 2020, 12:23:55 AM
Biden could make me vote for Trump. He is enough to turn me to the dark side.
Title: Re: Just for fun
Post by: Surly1 on February 13, 2020, 01:09:57 PM
One of RE's neighbors?
Dick Proenneke: 30 Years Alone in the Alaskan Wilderness (https://theheartysoul.com/30-years-alone-in-the-alaskan-wilderness/?utm_source=TPBM&fbclid=IwAR2Lrzi0JWL78MU9AOn7is4kE4R1_efJRBe_ayUhhJ8xUwYs5gEAg0aTmqA)
In 1968, then 52-year-old Dick Proenneke (pronounced “prin-ecky”) moved by himself to the Alaskan wilderness and lived there alone for thirty years [1].
The former mechanic and heavy equipment operator found a shoreside spot in the area that is now known as Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, and began building a 12-by-16 foot cabin using only simple tools, local materials like trees, stones, and moss, and his own know-how [1].
He filmed the construction of the cabin with a small camera and a tripod, and documented much of the local wildlife along the way. He had no electricity, running water, telephone, or wifi, and relied on local friends to fly in supplies every couple weeks [1].
In a place where most people would find it difficult to survive, Dick thrived. He was always busy, hiking thousands of miles every year in the wilderness surrounding his cabin [2]. He was not the bitter isolationist you might expect from someone who lived the way he did, and was always happy to answer any letters he received [1].
Dick left Alaska in 1999 to live in California with his brother when he became too elderly to continue with his solitary lifestyle, and passed away in 2003 [1].
http://www.youtube.com/v/UWBOBQm3bFI
Lessons We Can Learn from Dick Proenneke Although he is no longer with us, there are many lessons we can take away from the life of Dick Proenneke, the first and foremost being that happiness comes from the simple things in life. In his book, One Man’s Wilderness, he wrote:
“I have found that some of the simplest things have given me the most pleasure. They didn’t cost me a lot of money either. They just worked on my senses. Did you ever pick very large blueberries after a summer rain Walk through a grove of cottonwoods, open like a park, and see the blue sky beyond the shimmering gold of the leaves? Pull on dry woolen socks after you’ve peeled off the wet ones? Come in out of the subzero and shiver yourself warm in front of a wood fire? The world is full of such things.” [3]
Proenneke was constantly writing in his journals about the things he saw and did, and this gave him a deep appreciation for the land upon which he lived. This simple act of writing things down can lead to greater levels of happiness. Psychologists have studied this phenomenon, and have found that people who regularly write down the things they are grateful for exhibit higher levels of optimism and satisfaction with their lives [4].
By today’s modern standards, Proenneke didn’t have much in the way of things, but he was extremely grateful for everything he did have, and this had a profound impact on his attitude toward life.
“Needs? I guess that is what bothers so many folks. They keep expanding their needs until they are dependent on too many things and too many other people… I wonder how many things in the average American home could be eliminated if the question were asked, “Must I really have this?” I guess most of the extras are chalked up to comfort or saving time. [3]”
We can also learn a lot from Proenneke about how to take care of our planet, and how to respect the environment that surrounds us. A formerly self-described “trigger happy hunter” [1], Dick’s views changed when he moved to Alaska. He detested the way hunters would take only the best cuts of meat from the animals they shot, and he would often scavenge those carcasses so they wouldn’t go to waste. He never shot large game himself, stating that it was “too much meat for one man” [1].
In a society that revolves around excess and produces massive amounts of waste every day, we could learn from the man, who only ever took what he needed – nothing more, nothing less.
The Legend Lives On <
Proenneke became famous for his alternative lifestyle, and his notoriety has lived on long after his death. A friend of his compiled his journal entries into a book titled “One Man’s Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey” in 1973, and since then his home movies have been turned into four one-hour documentaries that showcase his survivalist skills [1].
Upon moving to California at the end of his life, Dick left his cabin as a gift to the National Park Service, which you can visit in the summer at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve [1].
Title: The Best Rant of All Time
Post by: Surly1 on May 16, 2020, 10:27:15 AM
Part of the Diner Greatest Hits collection.
http://www.youtube.com/v/acLW1vFO-2Q
This legendary rant is even better when read-- a classic piece of polemical gold.
Transcript But there’s a reason. There’s a reason. There’s a reason for this, there’s a reason education SUCKS, and it’s the same reason it will never, ever, EVER be fixed.
It’s never going to get any better, don’t look for it, be happy with what you’ve got.
Because the owners, the owners of this country don't want that. I'm talking about the real owners now, the BIG owners! The Wealthy… the REAL owners! The big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions.
Forget the politicians. They are irrelevant. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice! You have OWNERS! They OWN YOU. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls.
They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying, lobbying, to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I'll tell you what they don’t want:
They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. Thats against their interests.
Thats right. They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly they’re getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago. They don’t want that!
You know what they want? They want obedient workers. Obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork. And just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shitty jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it, and now they’re coming for your Social Security money. They want your retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street, and you know something? They’ll get it. They’ll get it all from you sooner or later cause they own this fucking place! It's a big club, and you ain’t in it! You, and I, are not in the big club.
By the way, it's the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head with their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy. The table has tilted folks. The game is rigged and nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care! Good honest hard-working people; white collar, blue collar it doesn’t matter what color shirt you have on. Good honest hard-working people continue, these are people of modest means, continue to elect these rich cock suckers who don’t give a fuck about you….they don’t give a fuck about you… they don’t give a FUCK about you.
They don’t care about you at all… at all… AT ALL. And nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care. Thats what the owners count on. The fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red, white and blue dick thats being jammed up their assholes everyday, because the owners of this country know the truth.
It's called the American Dream,because you have to be asleep to believe it.
_LRG.jpg)
_LRG.jpg)
_LRG.jpg)
_LRG.jpg)
