The Psychopath Test

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

       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

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

Presented without comment ...

via

Star Wars: Uncut

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

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

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

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.