CandyBuffet

Paper City Paris

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

Made by Joel, carries this, "Paper City Paris," set that you can download, color (if so desired) and put together yourself. He's got other cool printable toys, too, like a little paper dollhouse you can make using magazine covers and a super-neat Memory Game.

Why are you just stiting there? Go download! Download now!

P.S. Dear Joel-- Ahem. Paper City London? Thanks.

The Social Networks of Superheroes

2012-01-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

In two great articles by Samuel Arbesmans, "The Inbreeding Coefficient of Superheroes," for Wired and the Social Networks of Superheroes for The Atlantic, Sam compares the statistics of relationship making in fictional worlds to the real-world ones.

The result? Surprisingly not so different from the dynamics of our own mating habits and social interactions. (Though, I really would like to take a closer look at a Facebook for Superheroes. Why was no one created this alt?site Get to work nerds!).

Kudos to Sam, for including an annotated version (above) of the X-Men Family Tree (Joe Stone's original here).

The Nerdy Dozen: 12 Must-Hear Songs of 2011

2012-01-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks GeekDad, for "The Nerdy Dozen: 12 Must-Hear Songs of 2011" a lyric-slanting collection of Star Wars worshiping, vowel slurring, rap-spouting, musical-high inducing, geek guzzling off-the-hook robot rock tunes.

Also, I learned the meaning of nerdcore. You can you, too.

Dude. Where IS my AT-AT at?

Every city should have a Washington Monument

2012-01-19T19:37:00.000-05:00

The 2011 east coast earthquake did significant damage to the Washington Memorial in DC, including cracks and chipped corners. Sadness!

Repairs means closing my favorite obelisk for a year. I sure hope the pick pretty scaffolding like Clinton did.

So in honor of its cracks I present a poem.

Every city should have a Washington Monument

I find my eyes searching the skyline,
Scanning for moments from childhood,
For a ghost, a memorial towering in clouds,
Which in every city I expect to find,
Yet strike no sun-limned figure,
This pillar familiar, this tribute to humanity,
In marble rainment, blinding white,
It's vast trunk a work colossal,
Forever imprinted upon my mind,
Absent, yet still, commanding sky.

--Anika Ismel, August 16, 2010

Drops of God

2012-01-18T07:00:00.001-05:00

What, I ask you, what combines the two best-est things in the entire world? If you said comic books and wine tasting, you'd be right. Right? Because nothing could be better than comic book about wine tasting.

Nothing.

Shin and Yuko Kibayashi's manga, Drops of God, follows the education of hero Shizuku, who after snubbing his family by working in the beer industry, stands to lose the hefty wine horde inheritance from his recently deceased father, a world-renowned wine critic.

Wines mentioned in the manga have had sales shoot through the roof and the July 2009 issue of Decanter called it "arguably the most influential wine publication for the past 20 years". GiltTaste has a great review.

However, what is telling and interesting is that in Japan, the comic reached popularity because it was an easy and entertaining way to learn about tasting and enjoying wine.

The US translation is published by Vertical. Remember to read the panels right to left, people.

King of the Cosmos

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

Carl Zimmer's profile of Neil deGrasse Tyson, "King of the Cosmos," appears in the new issue of Playboy. I know, I know. But the profile is almost as awesome as Neil deGrasse Tyson (I love you!), himself. Thankfully, Zimmer has posted the proflie in its entirety at CarlZimmer.com. You should also check out Zimmer's blog, the Loom, at Discover magazine and his book, "Science Ink: Tattoos of the Science Obsessed," but that's another post.

Meanwhile, is it any surprise that Neil deGrasse Tyson is quickly eclipsing Uhura and Geordi La Forge on my secret list of science role models? He's even a real person!

Also, I'm really terrible at keeping secrets.

Marching band plays Rage Against the Machine

2012-01-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

There is nothing not cool about being in a Marching Band. Nothing! Boing Boing posted this completely effing awesome and totally Marching Band justifying youtube video, "Marching band plays Rage Against the Machine," of George Mason University's Green Machine marching band playing Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name,"

To quote Boing Boing: they crush it.

Enjoy. Especially at 0:11 where the flute section screams their heads off.

When Star Wars droids suffer from low self-esteem

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

io9 posted " When Star Wars droids suffer from low self-esteem" under their concept art section. It's a most excellent series of wallpapers from PaperBeatsSciossors.

Guess I finally found something as cool as my StuntKid chicken-man wallpaper.

USC Film Students Practice Artistic Craft Through Games

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Read, "USC Film Students Practice Artistic Craft Through Games," Wired's overview of the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts' intriguing method to introduce freshman an active learning environment through an immersive alternate reality card game, called 'Reality'.Yes, the idea of a card-trading game with real-life stakes is intriguing. And Nerdy. Even nerdier? The recognition by the game concept designers that, "A face-to-face mechanic, that prompted casual discussion and ramped up to collaboration was what was needed," and that's why they built a card-game instead of solely a web portal in the first place.

However, the best part of this article is the super project collaborated upon by rival competing teams. The students learned that success was more probable under "forced collaboration", because in real life there is no such thing as winning. That's right, I'm going on the record to say that Donald Trump and Lord Sugar are wrong and Dr. Phil is right. Winning is a paradigm concept. It's a moment. And you can't win life because life is an infinite collection of moments. You can't win them all. You can't even win most of them. It's classically forbidden at the quantum level. Things show up where they are not supposed to be all the time.

So why not collaborate with some friends, or enemies, and build something. Build something then play with it. Than let other people play with it. And let them build on it. By continually adding energy to the system you can give entropy the middle finger.

Win.

Too geeky?

Learn more about the projects the students created as a result of Reality by checking out the game’s online archive of deals, where highlights (suggested by Wired) include a special effects-ridden science fiction trailer, a satiric dramatization of students’ experiences with the project, and a game of live-action Minesweeper at IndieCade.

Faster-than-light neutrinos impossible?

2011-12-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

Had another conversation last weekend over those damn neutrinos. Have I been talking myself blue that there are possibilities that these so-called super-luminal neutrinos can arrive at their destination faster than light without traveling at a velocity greater than light? Yes. Didn't anyone watch Dune?

However, I feel that the press (and certain scientists) are jumping to a sensationalist, provocative conclusion (even if it is damn sexy) without exploring alternate interpretations of the findings. io9's "Final Proof that Faster-Than-Light Neutrinos are Impossible," focuses on the pions produced as a results the OPERA team's CERN experiment, which decayed into the sub-luminal neutrinos. Specifically, the article explains how a Washington University team pointed out that the pions did not possess the extreme amount of energy to create faster-than-light neutrinos.

Scientists should be duplicating the experiments and checking and rechecking the results, but not in frenzied some attempt to save a pillar of physics that seems to be crumbling like a chocolate-cookie foundation, but because these findings would introduce and incredibly exciting time into physics and space-time topography (Hey, just in time for the new-cycle year 2012 on the Mayan calendar).

Don't get me wrong, if these results stick, that would be cool. So mind-bogglingly cool that it could be the first step in proving the existence of string theory, quantum foam and other wibbley-wobbley, timey-wimey stuff that Doctor Who probably knows all about. Jason Palmer's BBC News article, "Light speed: Flying into fantasy," outlines some of these exciting possibilities. For instance, the neutrinos could be taking a shortcut through another dimension, a theory, which while not mainstream has been around since 1935. And that'd be wormholes, ya'll.

The He-Man/She-Ra gender divide

2011-12-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

I was always a Transformers and GI Joe kind of girl. Voltron, Dungeon and Dragons, Robotech, Thundercats and (somewhat embarrassingly) Jem and the Holograms, which, in reflection, were serials that overplayed romance and tragedy rather than humorous situations that taught life-lessons.But on a recent late-night date with a bottle of ice-cold muscat and Qubo's Night Owl I watched the Masters of the Universe shows He-Man and She-Ra for this first time. Wildly disdained by my discerning eye in the 80's, this viewing lead me to a few realizations why people (still!) love these Filmation productions:

He-Man is an attractive metaphor for a boy-child's transition into adulthood. Who wouldn't want a magical sword to change you from a frightened, sheltered, indecisive coward to a self-assured natural leader who is the most powerful man in the universe? And Prince Adam's lack of confidence didn't seem just due to laziness and pampering; his misgivings seemed pre-pubescent. He-Man's voice even transitions from tenor to baritone.

But has anyone else noticed that He-Man is not afraid to be kind and considerate? When things don't go his way in battle, he laughs at himself. A far cry from what we're taught by the Apprentices and Katie Prices of reality TV. He-Man's fairness to the misfortunate who'd fallen upon hard times and his merciless to the evil-doeers who begged for sympathy were equally appealing. What could be more rewarding for a man than for his friends to need his help and for him to be able to readily satisfy them? (By the way, the evil-bunny dude in the episode 'Quest for He-Man', was ripe with passive aggressive homo-erotic overtones. I'm just saying is all.)

But the metaphor doesn't come across one-to-one for his sister She-Ra does it? Unlike Adam, Adora is never cowardly, but is instead gentle, mild-mannered and mildly submissive. She is also intelligent and helpful, but is somehow unable to effect change or fight for what she knows is right without becoming She-Ra. For heavens sake, She-Ra doesn't even say "I have the power", she screams "I am She-Ra!" as if finally remembering her identity. (Why does Bo resemble Adam more than He-Man? Even He-Man has sharp-tongued Teela to pine after. And who, who, I ask you, made Bo wear that ridiculous cravat?).

Even as a child I recognized that She-Ra lacked part of the attraction of He-Man. The transformation of her personality is less substantial, and I'm not just talking about a change in voice-timbre, here.

Although, sure, who wouldn't want a bitchin' rainbow-winged unicorn to ride?

No one, that's who. Even He-Man is itching to trade Battle-Cat in for Spirit, I bet.

ilovecatparty

2011-10-26T14:03:00.007-04:00

Had this discussion on Sunday about the ownership of female sexuality and whether it had been irreparably interpreted through the lens of the patriarchy. This was inspired by my first visit to CandyBar in London (1996? London I thought you were liberated). What was this girl-power bupkis on the walls? Not. Sexy. What were these videos of male fantasies, which primarily featured women? Not. Sexy. What were these multi-colored pinpoint lights on the dance floor that made the patrons look as if they'd been glitter-bombed? (Okay, those were sexy-fun. GirlPower!)

So where was the sexy, I ask you? The unfiltered sexy as interpreted by a woman through her own eyes? Well, enter ilovecatparty written by Chelsea Fairless and Megan Hart. Their blog is unabashedly feminine and equal parts fashion, quirk and pink fluff (plus Elisabeth Moch's illustrations look like the island of Dr. Moreau was inhabited by Josie and the Pussycats).

Need convincing of its awesomeness? Check out posts 'Watch the Throne', Mermaids, and 'The Company of Wolves'.

And at the end of the day, what endeared me these two forever? Their post celebrating Gothic Romance. Long live paperback pulp covers.

The Psychopath Test

2011-06-14T08:31:00.000-04:00

The team at NPR's 'this American Life' conduct a show on the so-called Psychopath Test. They also take the test themselves with hilarious results. Do not miss the interview at the end, in the mansion of an everyday psychopath who runs an extremely successful business of firing people. Yes, that is a snap-shot of some truly hysterical decor.

And let's not confuse psychopath with psychotic, folks. Psychopath and sociopath mean the same thing (due to some PC mumbo-jumboing in the 50s by the American Psychiatric Association). And while many sociopaths are serial killers, even more are simply your everyday, run-of-the-mill controlling backstabbing office mates. Chances are you know a sociopath, since researchers estimate about 4 percent of the general population constitute unfeeling jackasses. Your mileage may vary if you live in New York.

This subject matter is also very telling and timely. Reflective, even of our modern society of casual, reality-TV driven narcissism, winning obsessed game-showism sprinkled with a Ferengi bartender-like self-deluded entitlement to wealth and fame. I can make up other words if need be, until then, enjoy.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/436/the-psychopath-test

The Period Table of Awesome

2010-11-23T08:00:00.006-05:00

Presented without comment because - other than an undignified "SQUEE!" - what more can be said about The Boy Who Lived singing Tom Lehrer's "The Elements Song?"

The guest on the far right may be rolling his eyes, but you know Rhianna wants to muggle that.

via Nerdist

We are all made of stars

2010-11-09T15:34:00.000-05:00

It's Carl Sagan Day! Happy birthday Carl!

The Kepler spacecraft site is featuring winning entries from their Sagan Day essay contest.

Sponsored by Kepler and the SETI Institute, the contest honors, and was inspired by, Sagan's work and legacy.

At the site you'll find original music composed for the day, a remembrance by son Dorion Sagan, and the winning entry by Professor Renee James who shared this personal observation:

Carl Sagan was not an inspiration because he left everyone behind as he explored the farthest reaches of this universe. He was an inspiration because he invited us to accompany him on his journey, so that we could all get a small glimpse of that great cosmic ocean. And he convinced me that being a cosmic tour guide is as important as exploring a distant corner of the universe.

Image from Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener's Atomic Robo & The Shadow From Beyond Time #4

Nerd Boyfriend

2010-11-08T08:25:00.005-05:00

I've had a fashion intervention with a male friend or two. And I must admit, a lot of time and consideration is needed to develop one's personal style. But Nerd Boyfriend's stripped down site with clean lines and extraordinarily timeless portraits is like an effortlessly cool Tim Gunn just gave you the 411 on fashion know-how over coffee cups.

Taking delectably fashionable iconclasts from across the decades, this self proclaimed shopping guide and style blog is filled with yummy professor types like Carl Sagan and Albert Einstein, incorrigible artists such as Peter O'toole and Miles Davis, and ne'er do well forget-me-nots like James Dean and Ford Prefect (so what if he's fictional? It's poetic license and Mos Def).

Then he tells you where to buy their clothes in mainstream retail stores. Perhaps that last part was not loud enough. He tells you where to buy their CLOTHES. 'Nough said.

Go my nerdy brothers and take your naughty librarians with you.

John Stewart speech at Rally to restore Sanity

2010-11-01T12:23:00.004-04:00

Herein lies the full text of John Stewart speech at the "Rally to Restore Sanity," as brought to you by the Examiner. Why do you care? Because he skewers the press without political motive:

"The press can hold its magnifying up to our problems bringing them into focus, illuminating issues heretofore unseen or they can use that magnifying glass to light ants on fire and then perhaps host a week of shows on the sudden, unexpected dangerous flaming ant epidemic."

Then decries sensationalism as the real evil in America:

"There are terrorists and racists and Stalinist and theocrats but those are titles that must be earned. You must have the resume. Not being able to distinguish between real racists and Tea Partiers or real bigots and Juan Williams and Rick Sanchez is an insult, not only to those people but to the racists themselves who have put in the exhausting effort it takes to hate."

The examiner also carries darn good pictures. See above.

Just Sayin Is All

2010-10-22T09:32:00.004-04:00

So, I like thinking about science and words and pin-ups and how if I'm careful and articulate they will change the world. But perhaps you like thinking artfully about new music. JustSayinIsAll lays a palette of musical selections over poetic text strewn with an illumination of cutting edge images. Whether your visiting for the music samples or to find yourself a new avatar, just go. Go now.

"This track is as cold as the slick on the sidewalk. The words are as plain as translucents and whites. The chorus tapers and repeats like the drifts. The hope is rigid and melts like lonely delusions. And tonight when I lick it, it sticks to my tongue as I sleep."--December 12, 2008

Really? I mean, goddamn. Or try this one:

"Dwayne scratches his voice like a skipping vintage record over a freeform jazz riff to tweeze Macy Gray out of Louis Armstrong. Practically acapella, his voice is stretched and flailing at :48 when "CAPture what I say" tapdances his words against the floor in trip-a-let."--December 14, 2008

Kyle Pfister is the genius behind this wonderment. He makes videos on Vimeo too. Enjoy!

Real Pictures of Alien Worlds

2010-10-20T08:53:00.002-04:00

Imaging exoplanets (the term for planets outside our solar system) have come a long way since I brought an article discussing the first evidence of their existence into my "Current Problems in Astronomy" course in 1997. Phil Plait's, Bad Astronomy blog updates our ability to capture these elusive giants in his "Gallery of Exoplanets: Real Pictures of Alien Worlds." Don't expect details of planet surfaces and orbiting moons, for now we'll leave that to the matte painters of Star Trek, but do be prepared for spectacular spectrometry, Hubble images of multiple exoplanet solar systems and evidence of cold, cold worlds, some over 50 billion kilometers from their stars.

The pain of inter-web email technology

2010-10-15T13:30:00.008-04:00

The Oatmeal recently posted a collection of email archetypes, loosely based on the idiocy brought forth by the human-keyboard matrix, i.e., the inability to envision consequences when faced with an internet connection and a send button during the hours of 9am and 5pm, roughly speaking of course. Because there is no way that mere timing could inhibit the impulse to load your colleagues with unintelligible bullshit or useless, time-wasting responses to an email that wasn't even meant for you. Wax Wendy has an actual life experience that documents the latter for you, which is so intensely ridiculous, it induces rapid-fire wheeze-snort responses. The Oatmeal's hilarious send-ups of our daily "You've got mail" kind of pain are scary, insightful, and funny enough to make you spit out your coffee. "I hate your email signature" is my particular favorite. I wish I could append it to all my messages.

Ten-Ten-Ten

2010-10-10T10:10:00.000-04:00

A most auspicious day

Heather Champ is encouraging people to document today, 10/10/10, in photographs. Your pictures can be shared at the tententen flickr group; you have 10 days to upload them and join in the tengasm with the rest of tenopedes. Random images will also be displayed starting tomorrow at her site - here.

So what's so significant about today, other than a randomly cool symmetry that won't happen again for another gigabillion years? Well, if you look closely through your lens, you may just discover the meaning of life.

Heather Champ via laughing squid

Io9 Movie Mondays

2010-04-26T09:07:00.000-04:00

Io9 has launched Movie Mondays, A live-tweeting event that involves selection of a sci-fi gem from Netflix's watch instantly library. Fans start the flick or their own DVD of a movie at the same time, all around the and then tweet the heck out of it.

It's kinda like watching a movie in your living room with all your geeky friends, except they can all talk while it's on. The inaugural event cued up the theatrical release of David Lynch's Dune. Followed by Christian Bale's lackluster performance in Reign of Fire the following week.

Taking part is easy, all you have to do is follow I09commentary on twitter or visit Io9, to find out the movie selection, then at Monday, 9:00 PM EST, fire up your DVD/Movie platform of choice and proceed to tweet your heart out using the @io9commentary reply tag or #io9moviemonday index tag.

Ahh, the things we will do to re-live MST3K.

It's funny because it's true

2010-04-20T07:25:00.002-04:00

Presented without comment ...

via

Star Wars: Uncut

2010-04-16T09:09:00.000-04:00

Casey Pugh is the mastermind behind Star Wars: Uncut, the geekiest, home video inspired homage a cult movie could ever aspire to.

The entire length of George Lucas's fetish inducing opus, Star Wars: A New Hope, was first broken up into 473, fifteen second clips. Fans were then invited to recreate any scene they chose in any style they chose. 905 fans submitted their finished recreations via vimeo using pets as stars, clunky animation and, my personal favorite, the tried and true self video which were strung together, edited and overlaid with the original John Williams Score by Pugh's team.

It's the kind of home-cooked awesomeness that can only spawn babies. Indeed, more Uncut movies are in the works. And thus a new form of rabid, pop culture devotional is born. You can vote for your favorite submitted scenes a the the Star Wars: Uncut website and watch the entire movie any way you want.

The premiere of Star Wars: Uncut is being screened in Copenhagen at the CPH:PIX Festival on Monday, April 19. Pugh will be traveling to the festival and speaking about his unlikely collaboration with Lucas Film during his project. You can keep tabs on the film's reception, interviews and news bites on his website caseypugh.com

Are you listening New York? If you build it, they will come.

A book is a dream that you hold in your hands

2010-04-15T07:49:00.000-04:00

This is National Library Week in the US, and Neil Gaiman is serving as the honorary chair. Euan Kerr of Minnesota Public Radio interviewed the writer and self described "feral child of librarians" about his love of libraries. His thoughts on their importance warms the heart of this librarian, and will likely ring true to any lover of the printed word. He reiterates the point that the institution and its stewards are more relevant than ever, acting as trusted guides through the wilderness of digital information. They're also stalwart and hysterical defenders of freedom of speech, and the privacy rights of patrons.

Highlighting the issue of censorship, the American Library Association has released its list of the ten most frequently challenged books for 2009. There are both new and classic titles on the list, and the most frequently cited reasons for requesting their removal from shelves are offensive language, sexual content, or religious viewpoint. “Protecting one of our most fundamental rights – the freedom to read – means respecting each other’s differences and the right of all people to choose for themselves what they and their families read.”

I recommend exercising your rights, and picking up a copy of a challenged book. Or you can join One Book, One Twitter, a "big read" project that aims to use the power of social media for good, and get people reading and talking about the same book this summer. Vote for your favorite from Wired's list of ten candidates.

Enhance the Everyday

2010-04-12T09:19:00.000-04:00

Stylist, photographer, and author Pia Jane Bijkerk's blog, "Enhance the Everyday," especially her homewares tag, is an aesthetics worshiping gem worth its little hand-made buttons. Why shouldn't we shamelessly pursue our ideas of beauty and relentlessly apply them to our daily rituals? Pre-packaged ideas about our homes and our bodies have become the sad after effect of a reality television driven nation. Too often I forget to just acquire what I really, really like and hang other ideas. What makes me feel fabulous (And you know, I've found a million uses for that top hat) makes me look fabulous and therefore the world a little more fabulous because of it.

Visit Bijkork's blog and revel in that which is a little bit retro and a little bit modern and a little bit everyday.

Brad Neely

2010-04-09T09:00:00.000-04:00

I have to admit, this post was inspired by wax|wendy's St. Patrick's day post.

You've probably already seen a Brad Neely cartoon. Perhaps it was his cult classic "Cox & Combes Washington Washington" cartoon that debuted on the now defunct Super Deluxe website (which was subsumed by the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim). Or maybe one was included in a viral e-mail sent around the office that made you laugh so hard, your co-workers sprinted over to your cubicle to find out what was causing your debilitating nose snorting.

Neely, an comic book artist from Austin and purveyor of Creased Comics, was made infamous by the New York Times for his insouciant, unauthorized, alternative film soundtrack to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone called Wizard People, Dear Reader (not unlike a brilliant one off Riff Trax). He and his hilarious knock-off was also featured in the documentary film "We Are Wizards," (the "Trekkies" of J.K. Rowling fans). His irreverent cartoons are akin to watching a seventies tootsie roll commercial on acid. Therefore, they should not be missed.

Cleverest Women Drink You Under The Table

2010-04-07T07:55:00.009-04:00

The Telegraph article, "Cleverest Women are the Heaviest Drinkers," reports on a comprehensive study carried out by the London School of Economics that followed thousands of 39-year-old women. The study determined that the more educated women are, the more likely they are to drink alcohol on most days. Similar trends were spotted for men, but in the case of women, their alcohol consumption could even be predicted from their scores in school tests taken when they are as young as five. "Women who achieved "medium" or "high" test marks as schoolgirls are up to 2.1 times more likely to drink daily as adults."

The scientists reasoned the women tended "to have children later, postponing the responsibilities of parenthood" and also, "may have more active social lives or work in male-dominated workplaces with a drinking culture."

Obviously, the blogosphere has more entertaining speculation. Everything from "college being a four-year pub crawl" and acclimatizing educated women to drinking cultures (*cough*, not my college) to the pleasure women derive from delving in the sense of entitlement drinking provides and the availability of such commodities dependent on the larger size of their pocketbooks. One of my personal favorites, expounded on the amount of alcohol it takes a smart person to deal with how retarded the world is.

But borrowing an example from the Cokie Roberts, Don Imus, and Chris Wallace scandal, "No, We're Not Going to Shut Up," Michel Martin from NPR illustrates how there is a strong historical impression that women should sit down and shut up in the workplace.

"It used to be that men with a shred of power could say whatever they wanted about women and women had to put up with it, or get a man to duel for them or something...I cannot help but think that what the fury is really about is the loss of entitlement."

Studies show that women who are as assertive as men at the office are struck by a Double-Bind Dilemna. From the New York Times article, "Feminine Critique,":

"...women who act in ways that are consistent with gender stereotypes...are considered less competent. But if they act in ways that are seen as more “male” —“act assertively, focus on work task, display ambition” — they are seen as “too tough” and “unfeminine.”

And if you are damned if you do and damned if you don't without cultivating a suitable outlet for your rage, any wonder why that glass of chardonnay is looking a little less frisky? [via the Gothamist, thanks Maria].

Periodic Table of Sci-fi Film and Television

2010-04-05T09:32:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Steph (and those crazy, crafty artists at Gawker) for the above Periodic Table of Sci-fi Film and Television. 'Nough said.

No Rest for the Wicked

2010-04-02T09:35:00.000-04:00

Had a chat on Saturday regarding the general creepiness and horror genre overtones inherent in fairy tales. The verdict on Rumpelstiltskin? It doesn't really have a good guy. Even the princess tries to welch out on her deal.

Enter, Andrea L. Peterson's No Rest For the Wicked, a clever, darkly moody, brilliantly penned webcomic based on a mash-up of the grimmest fairy tales. Exactly what type of girl did Little Red Riding Hood grow up to be? What kind of creature tempts children too near an oven? And exactly what is inspiring about a girl with no hands?

It's a fun romp, deliciously laced with dark moments like bitter chocolate sprinkled in cookies. Enjoy.

Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes

2010-03-29T09:01:00.008-04:00

Daina Taimina's book mixing math and crochet won the UK's 'Odd' Prize, the Diagram Award with a non-euclidean tribute to home economic arts. "Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes" is filled with over 200 color photograph's and Taimina, a mathematics professor at Cornell University, also gives you a delightful crash course in curvature and differential geometry using examples like pears and kale to represent complex forms.

The pictures are so awesome I don't know what to do with myself. The images are organic, futuristic and (dare I say) a little bit steam punk in application. Why, why aren't all of our clothes made with hyperbolic planes?

For a more in-depth explanation of hyperbolic geometry including an interview with Taimina, "Crocheting the Hyperbolic Plane: An Interview with David Henderson and Daina Taimina," by Cabinet Magazine contains vivid examples. For more about Taimina, the London Times article, "How crochet solved an age-old maths problem," has an interesting (if albeit overtly patriarchal) overview on how this traditionally feminine handicraft was initially dismissed by Taimina's friends and family but went on to fuel her breakthrough in modeling impossible mathematical forms.

The London Mathematical Society called it a coffee table book of the highest quality and the images should inspire mathematicians and crafty fingers alike. Math is delicious!

Take me out to the black

2010-03-25T07:25:00.002-04:00

200 miles up, and armed with an 800mm lens, astronaut Soichi Noguchi is able to capture amazing, abstract views of the Earth from his vantage point on the International Space Station. The station only got web access this year, but Noguchi is taking full advantage, posting his pictures to Twitter several times a day. Think about that the next time you're updating your foursquare location.

Follow him @Astro_Soichi. photo: Arabian sand dunes

Rise of the Flapper

2010-03-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

So I've been known to glorify a pin-up or two., fancy a burlesque show and traipse myself off the a 20's themed fancy dress party. Some of these highly estimable obsessions could use some context. Mental Floss has a lovely article, "The Rise of the Flapper," that describes the movement of post World War I women to kick up their heels and roll down their stockings. Early pioneers of feminism, flappers followed the suffragettes in flaunting patriarchal authority by putting on trousers, throwing caution to the wind, and making their own decisions about how they wanted to live their lives. Well-done, sister suffragettes.

Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School

2010-03-23T07:25:00.002-04:00

At the intersection of studio art and cabaret you will find Dr. Sketchy. These twice monthly salons give artists the chance to exercise their life drawing skills and become part of the show. The models don't just pose - there are skits, dancing, and contests throughout the evening. It's life captured in ink and paint while it's happening. The focus is on the models, talented performers from the burlesque and drag stages, and other beautiful people with "unusual physiology, insane costuming, or extreme physical skills". Dr. Sketchy is headquartered in NYC, and can be found in 80+ cities worldwide.

photo credit: Andras Frenyo / NYT

Style Rookie

2010-03-22T09:19:00.001-04:00

It has occurred to me that I'd never even heard of Tavi Gevinson till a few weeks ago. This Chicago-based fashion blogger, known for her unique yet-edgy, Chanel-like drive, witty commentary, and razor-edged style dissections is not yet fourteen. I want to dis-like her. There has to be some weird, exploitative, pop-culture catch. But the idea that this pubescent wearing "awkward jackets and pretty hats" started blogging quietly and invisibly underneath her parents noses and was only outed because she needed their permission to appear in a New York Times magazine article is too smooth a reticent dork/geek, drama/in-your-face combo move not to admire. Target's new Rodarte line for their Go International series is said to be inspired by her personal style.

Stuff like this should be happening to clever pre-adolescents who are too young to know better than to dream big and conquor the world. Remember 11th grader, Daniel Burg solved the plastic bag recycling problem in three months.

Bloggers like Tavi have been heralded as the new "frontline of fashion." Well, I know it was no sensible person with an active imagination and sense of aesthetics who thought it was okay to bring the Eighties back to the market. That could have only been thought up by a hack-worthy adult. Enjoy Tavi's blog, Style Rookie and get yourself some learning.

'Find Me A Dodo' And Other Absurd Requests

2010-03-17T09:35:00.000-04:00

Read National Public Radio blog post, "'Find Me A Dodo' And Other Absurd Requests," which describes the journey of short film director, Laurie Hill as he created, "Photograph of Jesus," which won the 2009 McLaren Award for New British Animation at Edinburgh International Film Festival. Produced in response to a request to create a film using material from the Getty Hulton Archive for the Short and Sweet Film Challenge, the film follows archivist Matthew Butson through a short, magical, stop motion ride of the extremely varied, always unpredictable, and very often hysterical requests received by one of the world's oldest and largest archives of photography. The film uses cutout images attached to wires to illustrate the story and its better than a world of chalk drawings.

Architecture in Dinnerware

2010-03-15T09:03:00.002-04:00

On my wish list are the architecturally inspired "Palace Collection," designed by Alessandro Zambelli for Italian dinnerware geniuses Seletti. Each set of six cereal bowls, soup dishes, dinners plates and desert saucers stack to create a Renaissance era Florentine building when not in use. Serving dishes are inverted to make the roofs. When unstacked you literally eat off the floor, err, floorplan. These dishes will make it perfectly normal for adults to own dollhouses. As long as you can eat off them. The Palace Collection is available in April from A-R and the Conran Shop. New York Times article, "Architecture in Dinnerware," also has a nice review. Delicious.

Joan Paper Doll, Mad Men Season 3

2010-03-12T09:28:00.002-05:00

Dyna Moe, the talented artist, vintage enthusiast and Mad Men apologist behind the wildly popular Mad Men Illustrations on Flickr came out last Autumn with her Mad Men series 3 Joan Paper Doll kit. Moe has become the official unofficial artist de facto for the series, illustrating calendars, contests, Christmas cards and desktop wallpaper. Unfortunately, though you can download her creations from her "Mad Men Illustrated," page, she is unable to sell prints or merchandise
with any of the images due to a request from the Lionsgate affiliates who own AMC.

There is a lovely "Q & A," with her at the AMC Mad Men website.

PS Notice the blood stains on the "Tractor Dress"

Literacy, Curiosity, Education, And Being 'In Your Face'

2010-03-08T09:37:00.000-05:00

Called, "the Carl Sagan of the 21 Century" and "sexiest astrophysicist alive" by Time Magazine, the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, Neil Degrasse Tyson is not only the sometime guest of John Stewart's The Daily Show and Stephen Cobert's The Colbert Report. He's best known a that gutsy guy who took Pluto of the planetary guest list in 2006.

In NPR Interview "Neil deGrasse Tyson On Literacy, Curiosity, Education, And Being 'In Your Face'" he discusses the meaning of "science literacy", the importance of thinking for yourself, and why kids should be allowed to break things.

In high school, teachers warned me about spreading my interests too thin. The phrase "Jack of All Trades But Master of None," escaped one of their lips. So don't forget to read Linda Holmes epilogue, "Why Educators Need A 'Cultural Utility Belt," where deGrasse Tyson explains why that's just bunk. Hey, if it was good enough for Da Vinci then it should be good enough for grade schoolers.

You can catch deGrasse Tyson hosting Nova's Origins series and The Pluto Files on PBS.

Forest Park GIven Dark Sky Honor

2009-11-16T09:04:00.000-05:00

The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) holds the mission of preserving and protecting the nighttime environment and our heritage of dark skies. Their awesomeness is another post.

Today, the IDA has given Galloway Forest Park in Scotland their first "Dark Sky Award" outside the United States, declaring it one of the best places for stargazing in the world. A "Dark-Sky" Park is one where the darkness level reaches it’s lowest point on land, (defined as Bortle 2 on the Bortle scale John E. Bortle created and published in the February 2001 edition of Sky & Telescope. Darkness levels of Bortle 1 are only recorded on the ocean). A sky above Galloway Park can be seen in the above photograph: around 7000 stars are visible from Galloway Forest Park compared to the few hundred one sees from most cities enveloped in light pollution .

You can read more about Galloway Forest's Pitch Black sky and the selection process for the "Dark Sky Award" at the BBC's article, "Forest Park Given Dark Sky Honor," and Guardian article, "Scotland prepares to host Europe's first 'dark sky park'."

The Dark Sky Award selection process involves giving a rating via a sky quality meter, which measures the darkness of the sky overhead. Other Dark Sky Awarded parks are Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah; Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania; Geauga Park, Ohio; and now Galloway Forest Park, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

I want to go to there.

Questionable Content

2009-11-02T08:30:00.000-05:00

For some absurd readson, its seems I have never given Questionable Content its own post. Not, its not commentary on CandyBuffet. Questionable Content is the brilliantly funny, indie music oriented, slice-of-life web comic by Jeff Jacques. The main characters are sardonic roommates Martin and Fey, their anthropomorphized personal computers and slew of friends with deep and abiding personality dysfunctions. The strip also routinely carries such modern truisms as gay parents, loser jobs, fuck buddies, and alcoholic hallucinations (Keep an eye out for the purple tequila monster).

Also he sells shirts. Enter the "Robot Family Tree" Note the Zentradi/walker pod thingy on bottom left. Buy.

Transdisciplinary Approaches to the Work of Alan Moore

2009-10-23T08:56:00.004-04:00

As carried by the ever edgy, witty, and ultimately geeky io9, The University of Northampton is pleased to announce Magus: Transdisciplinary Approaches to the Work of Alan Moore. In their own words, "an interdisciplinary conference that will bring together not only appraisals of Moore's comic works, but also his wider cultural manifestations and their significance at the start of the 21st century". Phew. A mouthful.

Potential topics for papers or panels might include, but are not restricted to:

* Comic revisionism and the graphic novel
* Comics and literature
* The political philosophy of Moore's canon
* Moore's relationship to the mainstream comic industry
* Adaptations of Moore's work to screen and other media
* Psychogeography and place in Moore's work
* Magick and spirituality
* Site-specific events
* Pornography and erotica in Moore's work
* Fandom and reception
* The underground press
* Collaborations and networks
* Music and musical collaborations
* Intertextuality and referentiality

Also, the keynote speech will be given by Paul Gravett, lynchpin of the British comics scene and author of Great British Comics, Cult Fiction: Art and Comics, and Graphic Novels: Everything you Need to Know.

The important, interesting, CandyBuffet bit, is that the academic conference is soliciting papers and proposals for potential panels. That means you, average Joe, may submit insights, musings, convergent realizations and what have you as an abstract of no more than 300 words. Accompany submissions with a short biography of less than 100 words and submit to Nathan Wiseman-Trowse of the conference review panel at wiseman-trowse@northampton.ac.uk, by 4th December 2009.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to finish my panel submission, "Hyper-Sexualization of Female Vigilante Costumes: re-interpretation of traditionally oppressive vehicles in an exploration of sexuality, intelligence and capability in the Watchmen. That's copy-written you-know.

Minister's Tree House

2009-10-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

Horace Burgess had a vision directing him to build a treehouse. What he created defies description - 10 stories, 10,000 square feet, 80 rooms, and 7 trees. The house is open to the public (no smoking, clearly), and direction can be found here. Crossville is roughly halfway between Nashville and Knoxville, Tennessee.

Who's up for a road trip?

via

An insouciant little minx

2009-10-20T08:00:00.001-04:00

This is just brilliant, combining as it does a Betty Page-esque pin-up, colorforms, and booze. The 2007 Drink'n'Stick by Australian winery Some Young Punks features a plastic sheet of peel off clothes that can be used to customize the bottle.

Outside of Australia, SYP wines are distributed in Austria, Denmark, and Canada. In the US, you can find them at Vine St. Imports in Philadelphia. Otherwise, you may have to do some online sleuthing, or sweet talk your local wine shop into special ordering a case or two for you.

via

The Electric Birthday Cake

2009-10-19T08:47:00.001-04:00

On Sunday, the 10th of October, the Splendid Table carried a very splendid segment about the loose collection of engineers and creative minds that form the Hungry Scientist Society. Never heard of them? Well, in Lynne Rossetto Kasper's words, they are "techie science types that take on cooking". Examples of the activities they've engaged in range from single variable variation in recipe creation, testing the volume limits of a gravy fountain and yes, building an incredible, edible electric cake. A preview of the recipe of said electric cake, involves wrapping licorice sticks in super thin, candy foil called Varakh (available in Indian and Pakistani markets, it's the same stuff that's on silver almonds).

This means you can eat the wiring.

Listen to the entire segment at the Splendid Table's American Public Media page. Or buy their most excellent cook book, "The Hungry Scientist Handbook: Electric Birthday Cakes, Edible Origami, and Other DIY Projects for Techies, Tinkerers, and Foodies." And remember, the super-chilled martinis are not for children.

Washington National Opera Costume Sale

2009-10-16T08:43:00.002-04:00

All right. I admit wax|wendy, aka Whit had this up on her Facebook page and I could not resist. Run, don't walk, to this weekends Costume Sale by the Washington National Opera. Everything from accessories to fully formed costumes from the WHO's productions of the Mikado, La Boheme, Madame Butterfly and more will be up for sale in time for Halloween. They've also mentioned historic military and Knights of the Holy Grail costumes. That means (as evidenced by their web-site) pre-distressed vintage party dresses, uniforms, and period garments with accessories starting as low as $2.

To stress the importance of such an undertaking, I have printed out a costume closet necessities list below. Stick all your goodies in a Ikea box under your bed, and you'll be set for holidays to come. (sorry if its a bit female oriented, but I have thought about the lads a little as well).

CandyBuffet's Costume Box Essentials

Boots white or black. fits villains and super heroes alike
Spectacles antique spectacles of all kinds will turn you into Harry Potter, Doctor Who, or the Baroness
Vests westerns, fantasy, Renaissance, Victorians and Edwardians all seem to love this staple. not to mention Dr. Simon Tam
Top Hat do I really have to explain? deliciously sexy on women, there is no substitute on men
Crinoline hey you can use it when you go square dancing, too
Corset
Trench Coat film noir and detectives of the Pink and Poirot persuasion, my friends. or is that fiends?
Floor length skirt for the gypsy/wench/princess in you
Billowy pants for the pirate/ninja/shah in you
Puffy Shirt see latter two entries above
Cape/cloak
Evening gloves elbows for the ladies
Hair-piece or Wig boys, you really need one to pull off a respectable pirate
Jesus sandals you Greek god/dess, you
And don't forget props. Think whips, swords, pistols, feather boas, necklaces, scarves and the like. Go with what speaks to you.

Cash, check and credit cards are being taken (so they say) and full and complete costumes are going from about $50 to $200. And I can tell you, that's just the cost of mid-quality corset on-line or at the Renaissance Fair (so I hear). So, scurry your little legs to the below address, October 17 – 18, 2009, 10:00 AM – to 5:00 PM:

Rehearsal Room C (3rd floor)
WNO Studio
6925 Willow St, N.W.,
Washington, D.C.
(Takoma Park)

Street parking is available or take Metro’s Red Line to Takoma station – turn left onto Carroll St., take a slight right at Eastern Ave, then a right onto Willow St. WNO Studio is on the left.

So go, my children, and remember, I wish I was there.

Hark! A Vagrant

2009-10-08T08:00:00.001-04:00

In a recent xkcd entry, it was suggested that if I wanted historical accuracy from my web comics I should be reading Hark! A Vagrant. I'm hooked. It's not history as you know it, but history as it probably happened.

Enter the Mind Map

2009-10-07T08:36:00.001-04:00

I've loved me some flow chart. Also, I've threatened quite a few conversations with a Venn diagram. And I've cruelly marked up a few cocktail napkins with bifurcation maps, in my day. My new love, the mind map, I barely know but she's a favorite with yogi gurus and scientists alike.

Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas. They beat a stack of notecards sprinkled over my writing desk. And in my book, one step closer to art. Selecting the right tools to symbolize words and ideas is more essential than every in this technological age. And whether you're corralling ideas for your next grand scheme or coordinating the details of your next work week, mind mapping can help you explore ideas quickly, and in-depth while performing as an aid in organization, decision making and problem solving.

As we enter a paradigm shift as great as the industrial age based on information and technology, it can be difficult to maintain clear focus on our princple intentions and problems (mindless google surfing trap, anyone?). Mind maps are becoming popular non-linear, multi-dimensional diagram to classify ideas. Look at innovative tools like Visuwords (graphical dictionary and word concept map), and LivePlasma (explore band influences in a star chart). And now,
Publisher Bloomsbury Academic is introducing a innovative search using mind maps to explore their content in 2010.

Get started with CollegeDegree.com. While sketchy in so many ways, they a very nice list of "99 Mind Mapping Resources, Tools and Tips," that, among other things, will introduce you to mind mapping software. Even more instructive, the Lifehacker recommended "Managing multiple freelance gigs with Mind Maps" from FreelanceSwitch will show you how to use mind maps to organize your week.

Just love information classification as much as I do? Start reading (and have a laugh) Indexed.

Instant conversation starters

2009-10-06T08:00:00.001-04:00

Learn Something Every Day is a fanciful new community art project. Submit a fact (truthiness optional), and if selected, the fine folks at Young will render it in poster form. Part of the fun is trying to decide which tidbits of information are real, and which are just made up.

via

If you only had five words

2009-10-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

What would you say while accepting your Webby award?

"Thanks for all the fish."

via

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

2009-09-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

Step away from the department store eau de toilet. Put down the celebrity branded smellum water. In their place, let the heady aroma of a Black Phoenix hand crafted elixir envelop your senses.

Inspired by a vast range of influences, from the passion and decadence of the Fin de Siecle movement to the ghastliest of Lovecraftian monstrosities, we specialize in eliciting emotional responses through perfume and creating unique, masterfully molded scent environments that capture legends and folklore, poetry, and the stuff of dreams and nightmares.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab has recently introduced a line inspired by the world of the Old Ones - A Picnic in Arkham. Why smell like JLo or Paris when you can answer the call of Cthulhu? "A creeping, wet, slithering scent, dripping with seaweed, oceanic plants and dark, unfathomable waters."

Ah, the smell of it ...

via

The Cocktail

2009-09-25T09:27:00.005-04:00

I've discussed manly drinks and their undeniable contribution to drinking culture. (Hey, a cabinet stocked with fine whiskey does much to elevate ones social lubrication IQ). But "The Cocktail," written by Jane Rocca, celebrates what is romantic and undeniably feminine about cocktails without the usual syrupy fruitiness and with all the glamour (and gorgeous evening gowns) of old world seduction. Think dark strangers and romantic glimpses. Think glittering champagne in vintage glasses. Think real babe bravado and risky infusions. And when you see the moody, mixed media illustrations by Australian Kat McLeod, you'll think of teasing and conquering and commanding attention as well.

Now you can keep Moet et Chandon in that pretty cabinet as well.

Wondermark

2009-09-23T06:02:00.003-04:00

Wondermark's "Genre-Fiction Generator 2000" insures I'll never have to outline a story again. I was always a pantser, anyway. Also, start reading Wondermark by David Malki. It's Steampunk, it used to appear in the Onion, and it's so biting you may walk away with tooth marks.

XKCD: Volume 0

2009-09-18T08:34:00.004-04:00

XKCD has produced their first book featuring selections from the first 600 comics including artist and fan favorites. (Gee, I seem to have developed tremors in my fingers, directly rated to overt anticipation). Assembled from high-resolution scans of the original (some of them confessed to be on the back of school assignments) with the often hilarious and insightful mouseover text is included, volume 0 has the extra bonus of additional doodles, notes, and puzzles by Randall Munroe included in the margins. You can read more about the production of Volume 0 at the xkcd Blag.

Published by BreadPig, a portion of the sales will go to the charity Room to Read, which will help build a school in Laos. And, hey, we're all into reading.

Run, don't walk, and buy xkcd: volume 0 direct from the source, available in the xkcd store.

Pig Essence

2009-09-16T07:38:00.008-04:00

Fluffy, curvy, wobbly, sqooshy. Rubenesque, gordita, ample-bossomed, pleasantly-plump. I have used so many words in service to the squashier side of humanity (see, I just used another one) but all of them tend to be empty euphemisms skirting around a present state. A state which has been bastardized to indicate sloth, laziness, greediness, unattractiveness with an underlying embarrassment which implies a lack of control or willpower. Very few words, and indeed conversations, discuss the often inevitable state of becoming (shall I say it?) fatter, the fear of becoming fatter and in general the process of adding meat to one's so called bones. Don't know what I'm talking about? Start watching Mad Men and sympathizing with Betty Draper.

Meanwhile, enter pinguescence, for which a mnemonic lies above. It is a rare and nearly out of use word for the process of growing fat. Adding it to conversation lends numerous ways of elucidating your fears of a state demonized throughout female culture, though rarely spoken of openly. For example,

Even though the scale has gone up since I've started working out, I know, my pinguescence is deteriorating.
French fries are a notorious catalyst of my pinguescent nature.

And my favorite

Curse my sudden but inevitable pinguescence!

Take back the language, my friends, take back the language.

No Strain for Andromeda: Galaxy is Cosmic Cannibal

2009-09-11T09:02:00.002-04:00

Our nearest, biggest and baddest neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy has a dirty secret. It's a big eater. Long considered a suspect as a space predator, early results of the
the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PAndAS) have found remnants of stars and smaller galaxies scattered around it like pizza bones after a college kegger. USA Today carries a layman's digest in their article, "No strain for Andromeda: Galaxy is cosmic cannibal," from the original Nature journal article.

Why should you care? Well, not only does cannibalism strip stars, over time re-arranging the night sky, but technically, Andromeda is moving toward us at a rate of 75 miles per second. That's an expected collision in about 2.5 billion years. While you may not need to start packing your bags, like the puppeteers of Larry Niven, plans for a galactic move take a millennia of planning.

"Reading Rainbow" Reaches Its Final Chapter

2009-09-07T09:15:00.000-04:00

This Is How the World Ends.

Obsessed with Department of Education policies that focus on learning fundamentals like phonics and spelling instead of comprehension, the joy of self-discovery and the value of making mainingful choices, neither PBS, nor the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will be renewing Reading Rainbow's broadcasting rights. As a result, NPR's report, "Reading Rainbow Reaches Its Final Chapter" details how the emmy winning 26-year-old program hosted by Levar Burton is coming to an end.

As a precocious child, I'd polished off the entire Chronicles of Narnia series by the age of eight. Twice. Reactions from my teachers varied from disbelief to outright irritation. With regards to educational programming, I was more interested in Yan Can Cook and Julia Child than the fantasyland iof Mr. Rogers or the ridiculous antics of the Electric Company (no disrespect!) which I thought insulted my tender intelligence.

Reading Rainbow was one of the only children shows I adored, especially because it was one of the precious few which treated children with dignity. Here were kids acting as tiny hosts, they liked books and they spoke on a face to face level about the ideas they fostered. The cancellation of a show which openly addressed adolescent escapism seems oddly draconian.

By the time I was in the fifth grade (and making my first run at the Lord of the Rings) my elementary school had put me aside to help teach other children how to read. Even at age ten I realized you can not teach someone how to read if they don't love to read, and Reading Rainbow epitomizes that learning fundamental (suck it NCLB!) by instilling a deep love of reading in learning in its audience.

To this day, I can not make it through the unreasonably, emotion-jerking theme without bursting into tears. It calls to mind an age before the internet when I thought I could learn how to do anything, to be anything, simply by going to the library. And when the snarky teachers couldn't believe I read the whole thing in a couple of hours, I could just open up another book and meet people who were just like me.

It's August (September), They're Coming For You

2009-09-02T09:09:00.005-04:00

Yes, it's September already. And yes, even though CandyBuffet is international, and I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea (I love you all!), it's funny, it's dangerously accurate and oh, so true. In light of the season and the recently published, "Host or Hostage, A Guide to Surving Houseguests," by Darlene Dennis, the New York Times article "It's August, They're Coming For You," is perfectly applicable all year round whenever house guests pop in. And if you're planning on doing some popping, make sure to read, "Confessions of a Horrible Houseguest," from the Nest for guilty revelations of unsportsmanlike behavior.

More of a visual learner are you? Well, just enjoy a hilarious viewing of, "The Man Who Came to Dinner."

This is an ex-parrot.

2009-09-01T08:00:00.002-04:00

Wired's GeekDad has compiled a list of 100 essential skills for geeks. I'm hopelessly lacking in the technical / technology department, but I know where my towel is and I do actually own a cricket bat. So at least I'm prepared for the zombiepocalypse. How many can you claim?

via

The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan

2009-08-28T07:44:00.001-04:00

I've often headed down to Wendy McClure's blog, the excellently named, Candyboots, when in need of a good laughed based on the hopelessly ridiculous struggle of restricting one's caloric diet (I'm looking at you Weight Watchers!). Not that restricting your diet is ridiculous (after all, Double Dubya was the first institution to teach me that portion control existed) but you can't help but lean back and laugh when you realize you plan to eat one-fourth of your cheeseburger in front of you friends in order to save up enough calories for another cocktail.

Anyhoots, after puttering around in her mother's basement, McClure stumbled upon some utterly fantastic and equally horrifying Weight Watcher's cards from the 70's. "Slender Quenchers" and "Cabbage Casserole Czarina" are some of the recipes that will help you eat (and look) like Weight Watcher's royalty. As long as you can ignore the wayward weenie sculpture and zany photo props (sadly, somewhere all those ceramic animals would have been put out to pasture).

Enjoy watching attempts at making some of the recipes (and some shocking finished products) on Flickr Group, "Make the Mackerel!" Internet down? Saving electricity so you can attend more WW meetings? Don't despair, these hysterical cards are also published in McClure's table book, "The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan". Which after purchasing, you can visit whenever you like, in the privacy of your own home.

I'm ashamed to file these under edible. But I guess, with a great deal of focus, they can be eaten.

You can't spell 'badass' without 'MLIS'

2009-08-27T08:00:00.002-04:00

Regular listeners of Weekend Edition will be familiar with the names Mary Glendinning and Kee Malesky. They're two of the reference librarians who provide invaluable information support to NPR's writers and reporters. These and other masters of the stacks take you behind the scenes with As a Matter of Fact:

As A Matter of Fact is a blog by and for the audio-loving, fact-finding, truth-seeking, pop-culture-fiending, news-addicted librarians of the world. Of course, you don't need to be a librarian to read it. But we're pretty sure you may secretly want to be one after you do.

How Fail Went from a Verb to an Interjection

2009-08-26T07:09:00.006-04:00

Uberfail, full of fail, made of fail, epic fail. When you're writing an e-mail, your spellcheck may never be the same. Ever wonder how "Fail" moved from a verb to a noun?" The New York Times article, "How Fail Went from a Verb to and Interjection," may shed some light on the etymology of a quickly grown grammar trend. Little surprise that they think it has roots in Japanese gaming where fractured English reigns king (but only if you shine ultimately) and the popularity of the Fail Blog whose snark quipping, web surfing fascination lies along the same lines as I Can Has Cheezburger and Photoshop Disasters.

Since we know "win" is traveling the same path, anyone want to brainstorm what the next verb will be to leave the ranks of verb virginity? Post in comments my friends.

Who says nerds can't be chic?

2009-08-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

The musical touch of Leonard Nimoy

Nerd Boyfriend is an austerely simple but endlessly entertaining site. It starts with a distinctive fashion point of reference, and then offers suggestions for recreating the look. With a few clicks and a credit card you too can be as impossibly cool as Lee "Scratch" Perry, Alain Delon, or Sir Alec Guinness.

Well, at the very least you can dress like them.

Make Butter in Under Five Minutes

2009-08-21T07:44:00.002-04:00

Lifehacker featured this post, "How to Make Butter in Under 5 Minutes," from the blog, Over the Hill and On a Roll about how to make fresh Homemade butter with nothing but Cream, salt and a stand mixer. The apocalyptic fanatic in me believes such a skill is fundamental, while the alchemist wannabe thinks it would be fun. Let me know of your own results in comments!

You lookin' at me? Taxi Gourmet

2009-08-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

It's such a simple idea, and I'm bittertoast with sad jam that I didn't think of it first. Each week writer Layne Mosler hops in a cab and asks the driver to take her to their favorite restaurant. She shares her experiences on her blog, Taxi Gourmet. It's a true insiders take on the best eats in NYC.

DIY: d20 Handbag of Holding

2009-08-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

Some things are so nice you have to post them twice - such as this fabulous bit of handcraftery.

credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenore-m/ / CC BY 2.0

When I was in 7th grade, a couple of my guy friends tried to teach me how to play D+D. Surprisingly, it didn't appeal to me and I never got into it. Things might have been different though, had they presented the game in a way that better spoke to me. I am fluent in accessorese.

Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories has detailed instructions for d20 and d12 bags, with patterns and pre-cut kits in the works.

via

I'll Go Crazy, If I Don't Go Crazy

2009-08-17T09:42:00.005-04:00

Today, U2's "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight," for their new album, No Line On the Horizon, will be released by Mercury records as a new single. Earlier this year on Candy Buffet we talked about David O'Reilly, the Irish animator whose animated short film, "Please Say Something" took home the 2009 Golden Bear award at Berlinale and whose stripped down animated style has been featured in movies like "the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Well, U2 asked this modern animation genius to design and execute the video and Boing, Boing is carrying the complete masterpiece on their website. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars but go directly there to feel a little more human. Well, go on.

Superior firepower is the other half of the battle

2009-08-13T08:00:00.002-04:00

Save your money. Watch this. The casting and costuming are better, and the story is more compelling. Not to mention this one has Lady Jaye!

The Ballad of G.I. Joe via io9

Christopher Eccleston and nanothingies? This is how it's done.

If you simply must spend your coin, let me recommend this DVD collection from Shout! Factory. Your childhood will thank you. GO JOE!

Lollyphile

2009-08-12T10:14:00.004-04:00

There's a good reason why lollipops permeate our society on all levels from wall-leaning cool kids to tootsie center chomping lawyers and even (or especially) sexual inuendo. Also, lollies taste good. Enter the queen of internet lolly fantasies, Lollyphile, a San Fransisco company with a huge sweet tooth who professes their hand-made lollipops are bigger, better, ship faster and have a longer shelf life then other candy competitors. It's hard to argue with them when you can buy flavors like absinthe, wasabi-giner, or maple and bacon from their website. And even though Lollyphile only offers five flavors (get excited, because they're working on a queue of other cool flavors!), they offer a service called Candyphile, a monthly club which sends delicious underground candies from miracle making confectioners all over the world, straight to your door and ready for you own gastronomical adventure.

So come on, admit it, candy IS all you think about.

We will know the place for the first time

2009-08-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

Ze Frank has been entertaining the online faithful for nearly a decade. In 2001 he unwittingly created one of the first viral videos when a birthday invitation meant for 17 friends was forwarded to millions. And in this way, a generation learned how to dance properly.

He's turning his talents to more thoughtful matters with a series of videos for Time.com called "That makes me think of ... " In these 3 minutes pieces he takes on the day's topics in a stream of consciousness style that can start with stoned wallabies and end with Robert MacNamara.

His personal site, Zefrank.com, offers hours - hours - of videos, interactive toys, games, and articles. The memory game is seriously addictive.

You can also follow him on twitter - @zefrank.

10 of London's best secret supper clubs

2009-08-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

The Times of London is bringing underground supper clubs out into the light. Think of them as speakeasies that serve gourmet food instead of bathtub gin. Often hosted in private homes by talented amateur chefs, it's a dinner party full of friends you've never met.

The direct link to the Times Online article is mysteriously no longer working. Clearly someone realized that a place isn't secret if everyone on the interwebs can find it. But we know you need to eat. Check out these links and start working on your secret handshake.

Green Onions

Salad Club

The Secret Ingredient

Savoy Truffle Supper Club

Ms Marmitelover's Underground Restaurant

Saltoun Supper Club

The Pale Blue Door

The Rambling Restaurant

The Bruncheon Club

The Loft

Yoshitomo Nara

2009-08-04T08:00:00.003-04:00

If you were watching Stage 18 of the recent Tour de France you likely noticed a wide eyed little girl riding along with Lance Armstrong. His time trial bike was designed by Japanese pop artist Yoshitomo Nara, and featured one of Nara's signature manga inspired tots.

His name may not be familiar, but his work is instantly recognizable.

Yoshitomo Nara's paintings and sculpture of stylized cartoon children and animals evoke a range of memories from childhood, "both sad and fantastic." [His] work is influenced by Japanese comic books (manga) but he is unique in the contemporary art scene here for bedeviling his typically cute and vulnerable figures with a horror like image ... Nara's work really instills the viewer with a juxtaposition of the innocence of children and the evil nature of humanity, or the fall from grace. -- via

Enjoy more examples of his work at the Stephen Friedman Gallery and Zink Galerie sites.

Arlington Rap

2009-07-29T08:08:00.001-04:00

Comedian Remy Munasifi was hailed on an ABC interview with "Weird Al" Yankovic as a successor to the parody Czar. After you watch his absolutely brilliant rap, "Arlington" (praising the thug atmosphere of the Washington, DC suburb), you might be inclined to think the same.

Wanna know more? Check out the Washington Post Express interview, "From the School of Starbucks," or Remy's other offerings at Munasifi's hompage Goremy.com

Sweet showers of deliciousness

2009-07-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Please ignore the logo, and just enjoy the beautiful cascades of candy.

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Ain't That A Shame

2009-07-27T09:41:00.002-04:00

Author Justine Larbalestier writes Young Adult fiction and has written a letter to her fans regarding the outcry over the cover of her latest novel, "Liar". You see, the novel's protaganist, Micah, is a young black girl with nappy hair, while the the cover features a young white girl with straight hair.

Justine explains that, "Authors do not get final say on covers. Often they get no say at all." but goes on to lambast her puplisher, bloomsbury for whaite-washing its covers. Moreover, the book is about a pathological liar, and a cover with a girl looking nothing like how the protaganist describes herself, the meaning and truthfulness of the story is called into question.

You can read Larbalestier's entire response at her website, Justine Larbalestier: writing, reading, eating, drinking, sport.

Ursula Le Guin complained over the same white-washing of her covers in (one of my personal favorite responses to this kind of thing), "A Whitewashed Earthsea: How the Sci Fi Channel wrecked my books" on The Slate, where she describes publishing the orginal Earthsea trilogy thirty years ago:

I had endless trouble with cover art. Not on the great cover of the first edition—a strong, red-brown profile of Ged—or with Margaret Chodos Irvine's four fine paintings on the Atheneum hardcover set, but all too often. The first British Wizard was this pallid, droopy, lily-like guy—I screamed at sight of him.

Gradually I got a little more clout, a little more say-so about covers. And very, very, very gradually publishers may be beginning to lose their blind fear of putting a nonwhite face on the cover of a book. "Hurts sales, hurts sales" is the mantra. Yeah, so? On my books, Ged with a white face is a lie, a betrayal—a betrayal of the book, and of the potential reader.

I remember reading the trilogy in middle school and when I realized Ged was not white I scrutinized the cover fitfully. Ged was so small, I could have hardly been able to tell if he were purple.

Finally, I encourage you to take the time to read, "Shame," a short essay from Pam Noles about growing up black and loving science fiction and fantasy, while being black. One of my favorite tidbits is condensed below while she talks about Star Wars.

Then "Star Wars" came out. I was 11...I spazzed all the way through the screening, my first science fiction movie on the big screen and with everything so huge, it made a big difference...Han Solo had this ship that he flew upside down! Darth Vader even breathed scary!! And there were robots!!! And Luke had to fly into the canyon on the Death Star with the other ships shooting at him and he had to get the bomb into a tiny hole and then he turned off the machine thing and he prayed to Obi Wan and bomb went in. And then they got medals. Also there was a giant teddy bear with stringy hair and a gun.

He said it sounded as if I liked it. I said I mostly thought it was absolutely great. And it was, really. Don't get me wrong. But it was like most of the other stuff I had seen. I explained to him about the planet where Luke came from, a desert with two suns? And how here, where we only one sun, in the desert the people are black. I told him how there wasn't even one black person in the whole movie, even in the background, and I had looked.

Just reminding movie producers, book publishers and video game marketers that we are want our stories as stories. And we are watching, all of us, the black, white, yellow, female, male, straight, gay, Christian, Islamic, Jewish, martian all of us. And we don't like everyone in our heads to be white and male. Even the white males don't like it. So you got a lot of catching up to do. Bozos.

Giant Steps Are What You Take

2009-07-16T10:14:00.002-04:00

40 years ago, with computing technology that could barely run a gameboy today, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin strapped themselves into a tin can and turned their eyes to heaven.

We Choose the Moon is a very cool interactive site that recreates the launch and mission through digital graphics, stills, and archival audio from mission control.

NPR has the story of the search for the original footage of the moonwalk - footage which NASA most likely TAPED OVER sometime in the 80's. As a librarian, I'm dying a little inside. But all was not lost, as you can see from the restored clips here.

UPDATE! The National Geographic Society's library has compiled an exhaustive list of Apollo 11 links, articles, and blogs. It's one stop shopping for all your lunar needs. You know we bring you nothing but the finest time wasters.

Sars and Wing Chung are Places to Go

2009-07-13T10:39:00.006-04:00

Hey, sometimes wax|wendy and I overlap, basically because Whit and I share a brain. After spending s few hours on forums housed in UK sites it makes me long for the herculean moderation of sites like Television Without Pity. Even after they sold out to corporate skunks, their forums are still one of the best places to go on the web to discuss your favorite shows without the community descending into boring flamewars. My favorite places to (not) lurk? The Dr. Who and True Blood forums. (How I miss musing about Cylon religion! So long Battlestar Galatica forum!). And don't just peruse the community, several of TWoP's recappers run rockin' blogs of their own including Sars's Tomato Nation, currently in the middle of a serious cereal smackdown, and Wing Chung's Tara Ariano, where you can get links to her hilarious recaps of popular movies including Twilight and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Of Art and Laundry

2009-07-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

Jessica Dimmock for The New York Times

The lights of New York's newly opened High Line Park point directly at Patty Heffley's apartment. What would be an annoyance to most became for her a source of inspiration. Together with singer Elizabeth Soychak, they have created the Renegade Cabaret. Open nightly when the party lights are on.

The Cost Conundrum

2009-07-01T06:18:00.003-04:00

In Atul Gawande's article, "The Cost Conundrum," for the New Yorker, Gawande examines the peculiarities of McAllen,Texas a small border town just outside of El Paso which also happens to have the most expensive health care costs in the United States (sans Miami, a thriving, population gobbling metropolis). Kickbacks, pay days for more expensive tests, unnecessary procedures, unessential operations, anti-collaboration culture, all contribute to worsening health care in this example of the broken foundations in America's "health insurance" culture.

Gawande likens the current conventions of the industry to constructing a house with an independent electrician, plumber and carpenter, each paid by how many (respectively) outlets, faucets, and cabinets he puts in. Without a contractor to pull a team together and keep them coordinated, the house would be filled with unnecessary bits and pieces all unrelated to the house general well-being. Getting the country’s best electrician isn’t going to help, neither will changing the person who writes him the check (as certain members of congress would lead us to believe).

Hey, the last time I asked for a copy of my records from my endocrinologist the first thing she asked me was, "Is this to go to another doctor? Because there is a forty dollar fee." The "copying fee" mysteriously evaporated when I explained the GYN who recommended me never received a copy. The two doctors, by the way, have practices in the same medical office building, but have never spoken to each other. My GYN, in fact relies on me to relay information from the Endocrinologist.

NPR also covered the story in a broadcast, "Spend More Get Less, the Health Care Conundrum."

The speed of change - 140 characters

2009-06-30T08:00:00.003-04:00

Photo by Getty Images

Twitter has been around since 2006, allowing users to update the mundanity of life 140 characters at a time. 2009 may well mark the point at which it went from a toy to a powerful communication tool. Trendhunter has put together a list of 13 ways Twitter enables activism - whether it's fans trying to save their favorite TV show, or voters in Iran struggling to preserve their rights and make their voices heard. Tweet, tweet.

How to Be a Villain

2009-06-29T09:31:00.007-04:00

Well, birthday time is coming (as it inevitability does) and with it comes cupcakes stickers (thank, goodness, because my laptop was looking quite forlorn). Gifted with the cupcake stickers came a canary yellow book called "How to be a Villain," by Neil Zawacki. Somewhere between the warmly hilarious machinations of Austin Grossman's "Soon I Will Be Invincible," and the self-esteem building practicality of Marjorie Hillis's "Live Alone and Like It," Zawacki creates an entertaining, annotated, illustrated guide outlining the ways to develop your inner darkness, all the while reassuring us that "there is an aspect of evil that is right for you,". Read now and laugh. Laugh, your evil laugh.

The King is Dead

2009-06-26T09:54:00.004-04:00

Who can but watch numbly for hours the media frenzy that ensued after Michael Jackson's death. It seems that even this is but fodder for their gossip mills. Thank goodness for Boing Boing. I direct you to, "The King is Dead: Lefsetz on the passing of Michael Jackson," their article by music industry writer, Bob Lefsetz, showing the sympathetic side of a man who'd been on the world's center stage since the age of five.

Arcobelleno Farfalle

2009-06-22T08:30:00.006-04:00

My nature is prone to obsession, and rarely has that been so true or so quickly accomplished as when I caught sight of this picture of arcobelleno farfalle (rainbow, bowtie pasta) on FoodStories last Friday.

Hard to find, expensive, (around 19 American dollars a pound), I feel like I've been given a quest, not lightly undertaken and never forsaken.

Now, I just need to choose a magic user and a thief...

Readers of Boing Boing interview Michael Moorcock

2009-06-19T09:23:00.004-04:00

What else needs to be said about the awesomeness of this concept. Tachyon Publications recently coordinated an interview on their blog, "Saving the World, One Good Book at a Time", where "The Readers of Boing Boing Interview Michael Moorcock". Who best to explore the angsty, bedeviled history of the creator of Elric of Melnibone, now the fiery-eyed, white-haired, quintessential symbol of fiction's antihero. Such gems discussed are how Moorcock based Elric on himself as a teenager and the connection between fantasy and science fiction genres and heavy metal.

And if you don't know who Michael Moorcock or Elric is, I..just. can't. uh. What? I just don't know who you are anymore.

Look Around You

2009-06-12T06:55:00.004-04:00

I was first introduced to "Look Around You," at a random birthday party. The series consists of eight, ten-minute shorts parodying British school films from the 70s and 80s. Apparently, every country is subjected to learning films of ridiculous nature in their youth. I laughed so hard I wept. You can catch most of the episodes on You Tube, including my favorite, "Maths".

The Cartoon Network's, "Adult Swim" showed the entire series back in January (you can check "Look Around You" section to find out when they'll be back. Also, the BBC has a follow along site with bonus materials like bogus quizzes, text books and even a periodic table (check out the atomic mass of "wood").

Splitter - Fun with Physics

2009-06-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

Here at Candy Buffett we do enjoy smart, engaging time wasters. Designers Eugene Karataev and Artem Popov have come up with a winner called Splitter. Your goal is to get the smiley guy to the exit using physics and judicious slices. Levels get progressively harder, and you can restart a level as many times as you need to. Get stuck, and you can either click on 'Levels' and jump to the next screen, or take a peek at the solution. Both are thoughtful options to keep players from chucking their laptops across the room in frustration.

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The heady scent of childhood

2009-06-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

Release both your inner artist and inner fashionista with these fantastic Crayon rings by Timothy Liles. Available for sale at The Future Perfect, they're a little spendy at $50 a set, even if they do come in a cool wooden box. I might have to get in touch with my inner DIY, and try my hand at casting a set of my own. Imagine the possibilities.

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Semi-Civillized

2009-06-05T08:49:00.006-04:00

Just finished reading Sheri Tepper's "The Margarets" (Oh Sheri, why must your magnificent morality tales always peter out at the end) where future Earthians aren't passing muster as an intelligent or civilized species under the guidelines of interstellar trade organizations that classify newly discovered organisms, thusly in order to conserve the limited amount of habitable planets:

Civilized - Those who know, care about and protect their living environment to sustainability
Semi-civilized - Those who know and care about their living environment but are prevented (by public apathy, commercial interference, religious opposition, governmental corruption and the like) from protecting their living environments
Barbarians - Those who know but don't care about their environment (<-- Ann Coulter)
Animals - Those who do not know

It got me thinking (in a powerfully ruthless than mildy disconsolate sort of manner, thanks science-fiction, that I am wont to do), about all polices rooted in our regular life that we don't agree with but feel powerless about and therefore make ourselves powerless about (semi-civilized), or numbly pretend we can't do anything about until we no longer care (barbarian).

Thanks to Boing Boing, I found Skin Deep which is a non-profit database listing all the toxic ingredients in your cosmetics and personal care products (Hey start at the bottom, work your way up). Skin Deep is non-profit because the FDA doesn't require companies to test their products for safety (Barbarian? Semi-civilized?). Use their database, like I am, to horrify yourself on a daily basis, or perhaps to find out what you are allergic to in Maybelline's Great Lash. Now start composting.

You expect me to believe that?

2009-06-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

Tomas Mankovsky has created a fantastic, inventive stop-motion film entitled "Sorry I'm Late". It's similar in spirit to another Candy Buffet favorite, "Her Morning Elegance". Playing with perspective and found items from around the house, Tomas reminds us that it's the journey, not the destination that matters.

Check out the making of page for animation tests, story boards, and behind the scenes stills showing how they put it all together.

via

Bad Astronomy

2009-05-27T07:27:00.005-04:00

Phil Plait's "Bad Astronomy" Page is dedicated to pointing out popular misconceptions about our night sky why satisfying the common man's curiosity in the general workings of our universe. Check out the blog (hosted by Discover magazine) for current events gems, visit the "Misconceptions" page (bad idioms!) for nitpickin' goodness or hang out in the "Movies" section (um, try not to focus on the science in the new Star Trek movie) for hours of reading fun.

... leaves its impress upon the soul of man

2009-05-26T08:00:00.002-04:00

Herbert Glacier

I've spent the last week in Juneau, Alaska, and it is an immensely beautiful place. According to this recent New York Times article, global warming is affecting the area in an unusual way.

Relieved of billions of tons of glacial weight, the land has risen much as a cushion regains its shape after someone gets up from a couch. The land is ascending so fast that the rising seas — a ubiquitous byproduct of global warming — cannot keep pace. As a result, the relative sea level is falling, at a rate “among the highest ever recorded,” according to a 2007 report by a panel of experts convened by Mayor Bruce Botelho of Juneau.

Kristin White, a 28-year-old schoolteacher who grew up in Haines, a town north of here, is from another family in the area whose real estate grew as land rose. But for Ms. White, who has vivid memories of visiting the Mendenhall glacier as a child, the gain in acreage has been bittersweet. Seeing the glacier retreat, she said, is “as if you lived in the Smoky Mountains and you were used to seeing certain peaks — and they disappeared. It’s just totally, totally sad.”

Andy's Poem Planet

2009-05-25T06:14:00.003-04:00

Ha! You thought I only put my own sundry poems up here. Well, Andy's Poem Planet is a friend of mine and its a little bit Dr. Suess, a little bit Mother Goose, and a little screw loose. Enjoy!

Hulu Set for September UK Launch

2009-05-22T07:55:00.002-04:00

It's a little late since I purchased the last two episodes of the "Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles" from itunes, but better late than never. Hulu is flinging the barn doors open and giving international access in September 2009, according to the Telegraph's, "Hulu set for September UK launch".

Are you listening, music companies? I've always had the impression that not hooking international audiences on your shows to guarantee DVD sales was a huge miss for the networks, and I hope this means that they agree with me. Divided for just three weeks from my television, I was beginning to forget why I needed one in the first place. Oh well, back to the glass teat.

Why Anthony Hopkins May Be Playing Charles Nesson in Ten Years

2009-05-20T06:47:00.007-04:00

Doesn't he just look like like your cute, crocthety granpa? Harvard Law Professor Charles Nesson is set to argue on behalf of grad student and alleged file-sharing user Joel Tenenbaum. His defense alleges that file-sharing is within the bounds of fair use and that even when a file-sharer is convicted, statutory damages should be equivalent to actual damages and the statutory damages in such cases amount to zero because there is no provable harm caused by non-commercial file-sharing.

Even more worrying for record labels, Nesson plans to argue that non-commercial file-sharing satisfies the “four factors test” of fair use legislation on intellectual copyright. And, as zmogo reports in the article, "To the Rescue of File-Sharing Tenenbaum", the band and music innovators, Radiohead, are preparing to speak on Tenenbaum's behalf that file-sharing can be an asset to members of the music industry.

Geek.com has the in-depth story, "Harvard professor to testify P2P file sharing is legal under “Fair Use”" including Rick Hodgin's scintillating opinion. But as far as I'm concerned, its a thrilling David and Goliath story. Go, David, Go!

Late Afternoon, Alone in Harrods

2009-05-18T07:26:00.000-04:00

Poetry!

Materialism's temple is broad,
And colors every gallery bold,
Here, I pay for friends dear,
With the price of over-valued beer,
And as I wander on alone,
The galleries become mere tombs of stone,
Each tile beflecks a mausuleam,
Each face an hour away from freedom,
And I remain their foreign clown,
A beggin' friendship with money down.

Late Afternoon, Alone in Harrods -- Anika Ismel, 2009

Literal Videos

2009-05-15T07:25:00.000-04:00

It's a laugh. Its nostalgic. It's literal re-makes of popular eighties videos from Dustfilms.com. I particularly enjoyed the re-make of A-ha's "Take on Me."

There's Klingons on the starboard bow

2009-05-14T08:00:00.005-04:00

Trekkies and Wordies both will enjoy Akira Okrent's Salon article about the development of the Klingon language. Okrent is a linguist who began as an impartial observer, and ended up passing the first level certification exam. Who knew there even was an exam. With her academic background, she provides interesting insight into the complexities of this made up language.

Knowing that fans would be watching closely, Okrand worked out a full grammar. He cribbed from natural languages, borrowing sounds and sentence-building rules, switching sources whenever Klingon started operating too much like any one language in particular. He ended up with something that sounds like an ungodly combination of Hindi, Arabic, Tlingit, and Yiddish and works like a mix of Japanese, Turkish, and Mohawk. The linguistic features of Klingon are not especially unusual (at least to a linguist) when considered independently, but put together, they make for one hell of an alien language.

But Klingon isn't about practicality, or status, or even about love for the original Star Trek series. It's about language for language's sake, and the joy of doing something that's not easy, without regard for worldly recognition. Hence the Klingon Hamlet, which took years to compose and which maybe 100 people can appreciate. What a piece of work is man indeed. Or as Wil'yam Shex'pir would put it, toH, chovnatlh Doj ghaH tlhIngan'e'—"A Klingon is an impressive specimen."

via

Good day to you sir. I said good day!

2009-05-12T08:00:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite t-shirt purveyors is back in the game after a brief hiatus. Glarkware designs are smart and snarky and let people know you take your pop culture seriously.

If you're planning a trip to the cinema (I understand there's a new Star Trek movie out), may I suggest Expendable or KHAAAAAAAN!

New and classic designs will be added in the next few weeks, and keep an eye out for now or never specials.

Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film

2009-05-11T07:46:00.011-04:00

If I start talking about it, I'll only spoil the hells out of all of you, so I'll let the reviews speak for me.

New York Magazine (Spoilers!)
Boston Globe with video (Spoilers!)
JoBlo. (Minor Spoilers)

The interviews speak for themselves.

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci
Leonard Nimoy
Zachary Quinto
Zoe Saldana
John Cho
Karl Urban
Bruce Greenwood
JJ Abrams
Anton Yelchin
Eric Bana and Clifton Collins Jr.

And finally, the video news report, "Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film," from the Onion really says it all. It contains no spoilers, whatsoever. Also, I laughed so hard I spit up. Enjoy.

Staying In Touch Internationally on The Cheap

2009-05-06T07:35:00.001-04:00

Read the Frugal Traveler's article, "Staying in Touch Internationally on the Cheap," from the New York Times. The article expounds on the virtues of Skype internet calls and the magic of call forwarding for free "air" time. Now there is no need to worry about keeping in touch with friends and family in London, Berlin and anywhere in the world.

You know who you are.