A lovingly curated scrapbook biography of the late Nick Drake
-When English singer/songwriter/musician Nick Drake tragically died in 1974 (ironically from an overdose of anti-depressant medication), he was not tremendously well-known.
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From Page to Screen: Joseph Delaney on The Last Apprentice Series
-Some people think that being a writer is glamorous. I know that I once did. I dreamed of finally getting published and all the amazing fun that would follow.
Read the restNevermind what Silicon Valley thinks of women, what the hell is Newsweek thinking?
- Guys. Sticking an arrow up her butt is one thing, but why does she have no eyes? Read the rest“Man can’t change climate,” only God can, says Senate chair of Environment & Public Works
Read the restHow to leak news safely in the age of total digital surveillance
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A solid roundup of advice from Micah F. Lee for sources in the age of digital surveillance: here's how to leak to The Intercept, as safely as possible.
Read the restDespite Sen. Burr's scheming, the ACLU's still fighting to get the entire Senate torture report released
Read the restGreece's new finance minister used to be Valve's games economist
-Yanis Varoufakis used to manage in-game economies in games like Counter-Strike; now he's finance minister for a Greek government that has set its sights on reforming the entire basis of austerity and debt service in the Eurozone.
Read the resta voice for men
A beginner's guide to the Redpill Right
- The gnostic paradox of young, tech-savvy traditionalists, who see through everything except their own conspiracy theories Read the rest
How to cut a bell pepper without getting seeds everywhere
-A good video that shows you how to prep a pepper for cutting.
Watch videoFCC to hotels: WiFi blocking is prohibited
- Megan Geuss: "Persons or businesses causing intentional interference to Wi-Fi hotspots are subject to enforcement action. Previously. Discuss
Custom "Feminist Killjoy" glitter banner
-If you don't need this banner, you're probably doing it wrong: $36 from Unicorn Parade of Vancouver. (via Mary Sue)
Read the restGoogle fought gag order over Wikileaks emails
-The company says that it fought the warrants and their gag orders, and the reason they weren't able to follow Twitter's suit by disclosing the warrants' existence was that prosecutors were furious over the public backlash when Twitter got to disclose.
Read the restA fake Harvard diploma costs $650
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Zack Crockett of Pricenomics looks at the fake diploma business.
Read the restWatch a video of people watching a VR porn video
-Here's a video of people wearing the Oculus Rift VR goggles and watching 3D VR porn. Language is NSFW.
Watch videoX-ray shows SpongeBob SquarePants inside of child
-A youngster in Saudi Arabi swallowed a SpongeBob SquarePants pendant and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Read the restRowlf the Dog covers Biz Markie's "Just a Friend"
-It's an amazing piece of video editing/lip-syncing, right up there with Sesame Street Sure Shot.
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Canada's spies surveil the whole world's downloads
-A newly released Snowden leak jointly published by the CBC and The Intercept documents Canada's Communications Security Establishment's LEVITATION program, which spies on 15 million downloads from P2P, file lockers, and popular file distribution sites.
Read the restVideo of what it was like at a massive underground UK rave in 1994
-New Year's Eve 1994, the Strictly Underground Rave, held at London's Wembley Stadium. Some 10,000 people attended.
Watch videoWatch Beachbot make large-scale sand drawings
-Disney Research teamed with ETH Zürich students to create Beachbot, a robot that creates pre-programmed sand drawing.
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Flowers in ice
-Azuma Makoto's "Iced Flowers" is a time-based installation of flowers in frozen blocks that "change themselves over time."
Read the restRed pandas get very excited about apples
- And apples are a perfectly good thing to get excited about. Watch video
Supermarket spaceships from the 1950s
-In the 1950s, massive model spaceships sponsored by food brands traveled the highways and byways of America between grocery stores and state fairs to delight a public excited about our spacefaring future.
Read the restBritish recipe evokes all the flavor of congealed deer pee
- Cuisine at its finest. via Discuss"When arts die, they turn into hobbies."
-Author Michael Lind weighs in with this thought-provoking essay about what happens when an art form shrinks to a niche market. Using literature and architecture as examples, he organizes major and minor arts horizontally, based on audience size:
Read the restJournalists! Activists! Nominate your worst FOIA horror stories
-Dave Maass at the Electronic Frontier Foundation wants to experience bureaucratic obfuscation and evasion—vicariously, though you.
This year, EFF is setting out to recognize the most outrageous responses to Freedom of Information Act and state open records act requests.
Read the restTemporary tattoos from your Instagram
-Picatoo is a new service that turns your Instagram images into temporary tattoos. According to the site, they last about seven days. It costs $15 for 12 tattoos.
DiscussRancilio Rocky Coffee Grinder, commercial quality grinder that fits on your counter
-In the eight years I've been grinding my own coffee, I've burned out the motor on three grinders: a cheap blade grinder, then a Cuisinart burr grinder, and finally a Capresso grind 'n brew.
Read the restIf Facebook is down, don't call 911
-When Facebook went down on Monday, five people (FIVE!!!) in the Easy Bay Area alone called 911.
Read the restDrone captures pod of dolphins surfing in unison
-“Huge pods of bottlenose dolphins cruise the shoreline and surf the crystal clear turquoise waves.”
Watch videoPet lizard greets man happily, like a dog would
-This video is tripping me out hard.
Watch videoFeatures
A beginner's guide to the Redpill Right
The gnostic paradox of young, tech-savvy traditionalists, who see through everything except their own conspiracy theories Read the rest
The surprising history of hippy crack
People have been having fun with nitrous oxide – even in the name of science – virtually since its discovery more than 240 years ago. Read the rest
United website breach let fliers see each others' private data
Alice Taylor could have requested a very expensive upgrade on your behalf. The airline isn't saying why. Read the rest
TOM THE DANCING BUG: A Patriotic Debate
In this week's comic, a Patriotic Debate breaks out. Read the rest
I love Kindle Unlimited
If you like self-published fiction or read more than a few books a month, and don't mind giving books up when you're done, Amazon's borrowing service is a great deal. Read the rest
Schoolly D: Inventor of Gangster Rap
This week's Hip Hop Family Tree covers Gangster Boogie by Schoolly D, an influential artist who inspired the west coast direction spearheaded by Ice T and NWA. Read the rest
Game of Thrones board game offers diplomacy, intrigue, and betrayal
Fans looking to get their off-season fix could do worse than setting aside a snowy Saturday for A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Read the rest
Barrett Brown’s sentence is unjust, but it may become the norm for journalists
Jailed, in part, because he shared a link to a stolen document that he did not steal, and despite the fact that this is not a crime. Read the rest
This week's best gadgets
This week Mark and Jason compare tea makers and Xeni talks about her Hario Japanese coffee products. Read the rest
Ninjas vs. Pirates
Angel City's streets explode when ninjas and pirates clash! Read the rest
Journalist Barrett Brown sentenced to 63 months in federal prison
He's already served more than two years in prison on charges related to sources within the Anonymous hacktivist entity. Read the rest
Bobcat Goldthwait does the impossible in his latest film — again
“Call Me Lucky” is a bold and moving documentary about volatile comedian and abuse survivor Barry Crimmins Read the rest
Gweek audio experience: How to 3D print your family
Our guest this week is Maggie Tokuda Hall. She writes books for children and stories for adults. Read the rest
Album covers of imaginary soul superstar "Mingering Mike" to be exhibited
Were it not for dedicated crate-digger and vinyl hoarder, Dori Hadar, his brilliant work might never have been seen. Read the rest
Self-Dissection: a conversation with satirical English author Will Self
Will Self suffers from “everythingitis.” Why aren’t we surprised? Read the rest
The God-Man Fan Club vs. … Clod-Man!
Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH the God-Man Fan Club must avenge the grave insult of… "Clod-Man!" Read the rest
President Obama's tech-centered State of the Union: full text, and digital rights concerns
Here's a good rule of thumb: Any time a president says new tech laws are to protect "our kids," you know something bad is on the way. Read the rest
Why animals eat psychoactive plants
Johann Hari, author of Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, learns about drunk elephants, the stoned water buffalo, and the grieving mongoose. Read the rest
Egyptian Lover: West Coast Hip Hop Pioneer
Taking things to Los Angeles during the early 1980's in this week's Hip Hop Family Tree by Ed Piskor Read the rest
Eradicate DRM within a decade!
The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Apollo 1201 will target it with code, law, norms and markets. Read the rest
I Think You'll Find It's a Bit More Complicated Than That
Over the past decade, pharma-fighting Dr Ben Goldacre has written more than 500,000 words of fearlessly combative science journalism. Read the rest
The invasion boards that set out to ruin lives
Internet harassment doesn’t just stay on the internet any more. Banned from 4chan, the 'net's worst trolls are making life hell for "social justice warriors." Read the rest
The ceiling that birthed a naked man
What happened when a naked man literally appeared out of thin air inside a couple’s apartment while they were getting ready for work? Read the rest
Invasion Angel City!
Cortez and his band of time-traveling pirates/Conquistadors hit the mean streets of Angel City! Read the rest
All Quiet on the Martian Front
It's not easy designing a fair and playable game of asymmetrical warfare. But that's what we have here as lumbering tripods armed with devastating heat rays take on puny human forces. Read the rest
Pacific Edge, the most uplifting novel in my library
This utopian story, about a world where people live together without the need for extreme haves and have-nots, is available as a DRM-free audiobook Read the rest
The curious case of the sweaty nipples
Duncan is unkempt, his hair greasy. His voice is monotone, with minimal facial expression, also called a flat affect. On top of our scratch paper, I write: "depressed?" But that's not why his parents brought him in. Read the rest
Are you smarter than a rat?
Meet the scientist who runs rats and people through mazes to find out how intelligent they are. Read the rest
Gadgets 022: RGB LED Lightbulb, KontrolFreek joystick extender, Photive 5 Port Multi-USB Charger
This week Mark, Xeni and Jason recap their holidays and current favorite gadgets — a remote controlled color changing light bulb, Xbox joystick extender, and a multi-USB charger. Read the rest
How crowdfunding helps haters profit from harassment
Meet the professional victimizer. Read the rest
KRS ONE meets his future DJ and doesn't know it.
Introducing Boogie Down Productions DJ Scott La Rock into the fold in this week's Hip Hop Family Tree by Ed Piskor. Read the rest
How to honor Aaron Swartz’s life
Today is two years and a day after the suicide of Aaron Swartz.
Aaron was one of my closest friends. That night was the worst of my life.
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Jo Walton's "The Just City"
Time-travelling godess Athena assembles on a volcanic island every man and woman in history who has ever prayed to her to live in Plato's Republic, and sets in motion a social experiment that shows just how heartrending, exciting, and satisfying philosophical inquiry can be. Read the rest
