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shortformblog: We don’t know about all of you fleshy readers...

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 16:49:44 -0400

We don’t know about all of you fleshy readers but, if robots had an “inner child”, ours would undoubtedly have short-circuited trying to process all of this awesome. College football fan or not, anyone that loves classic video games should take a few minutes to watch this performance.

Oh my. :D

shortformblog: reuters: The Reuters Elections 2012 portal has...

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:59:00 -0400

shortformblog:

reuters:

The Reuters Elections 2012 portal has relaunched just in time for Wednesday evening’s presidential debate. View campaign ads, the latest polling figures, a look back at how we voted over the past few decades, opinion and analysis and the latest news from the campaign trail.

Tonight’s Presidential Debate will be live blogged on the portal

REUTERS ELECTIONS: The latest news and analysis from Reuters.com

Awesome stuff. Awesome timing.

"If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself."

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:54:24 -0400

“If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.”

- Albert Einstein (via politicalprof)

breakingnews: Health care remains No. 1 topic ahead of Obama,...

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:54:06 -0400

breakingnews:

Health care remains No. 1 topic ahead of Obama, Romney debate

The issue of health care has consistently defined the presidential campaign as Obama and Romney head into their 1st debate tonight, according to NBC Politics’ computer-assisted analysis of more than 3 million comments on Twitter and Facebook.

Photo: A composite image of President Barack Obama, left, and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Photos taken July 24, 2012.

Presidential debate tonight at 9pm EST.

On the Alleged Deterioration of Language

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:53:02 -0400

Many people are concerned about the so-called ‘deterioration of language’ caused by the increased prevalence of shorthands and nonexistent ‘IM’ grammar. But is this really as problematic as it seems?

I am not saying that literature is worthless - far from that. What I am suggesting is that this shift in culture may not necessarily be bad, and that, taking into account the environment today’s youth with be projected into, the long-acclaimed virtue of being cultured and well-versed may not be as essential as it was before.

Students constantly complain of academics being useless when they go out into the world. If they are competent in the necessary languages and can meet the relevant requirements of their desired jobs, why is it that they have to be ‘cultured’ and preserve the beauties of ancient lore in their day-to-day conversations?

Moreover, who is to say what ‘beautiful language’ is and isn’t? Yes, Dickens and Austen have more complex sentence structures and arguably more elegant descriptions, but that is all based on an arbitrary definition of what beauty in language is. Can the simplicity of ‘brb’ not be a form of beauty as well?

Again, I must stress that I am not an advocate of the scrapping of literature. I myself am quite keen on literary studies and look up to the authors mentioned in this post, as well as many others. It is just the perception that everyone should be ‘cultured’ that irks me - can we not leave this role to those who love the language and enjoy it, instead of forcing the stereotype on most everyone else? That way, we can all maximise our potential in benefiting society through different means, andpave the pathway to a better future for us all.

newsweek: 20 years ago today. <3 Aww. And today’s a...

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:50:41 -0400

newsweek:

20 years ago today. <3

Aww. And today’s a big day for Obama too!

37 Dead in Hong Kong Ferry Crash (by FinancialTimesVideos)

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:50:05 -0400

37 Dead in Hong Kong Ferry Crash (by FinancialTimesVideos)

veritae: TTTTrends by Robert Wilson. Note from the...

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:40:22 -0400

veritae:

TTTTrends by Robert Wilson.

Note from the Designer:

During this project I aimed to identify, explore and challenge the continuously emulated trends showcased on the wealth of design blogs and image aggregators. Employing the visual devices of each trend, I wanted to ask why, in a community that praises originality above all else, are certain elements and styles constantly regurgitated.

A personal goal is for the images to be absorbed back into the blogosphere to sit beside the content it strives to question.

‘Hipster’ and perceived beauty come to mind. A fresh look at some stuff we come into contact with almost every day.

shortformblog: mittvennandnow: That One Where Mitt Romney...

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 01:51:32 -0400

shortformblog:

mittvennandnow:

That One Where Mitt Romney Appears To Be Having An Existential Crisis.

When you screw up Venn diagrams, you open yourself up to responses like this one. Just an FYI.

artandsciencejournal: THE ART PROCESS: Psychedelic Art - Part...

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 10:56:51 -0400

artandsciencejournal:

THE ART PROCESS:
Psychedelic Art - Part I

The first time I laid eyes on Leif Podhajsky’s art, my pupils dilated so large that they may as well have gotten stuck that way because I’ve been seeing things hypersensitivly* ever since. (*not a real word)

I’m sure this man is considered a god in some type of alternate world and I’d certainly bow to him. His work is deeply concerned with nature to the point of creating within what I like to call a sub-nature or possibly a post-nature. I say this because nothing in his images feel like anything he’s showing us can be real, aside from the objects we have some previous relationship to. In short, he is bending our human relationship with what we’ve accepted as reality.

It’s mostly the geometry which controls the ease of these images, making them so to damn good to look at. Despite somewhat troubling or melancholic themes, there’s a comfort here with soothing tones and fluid lines. Some of Leif’s images feel like you may just fall into them, and others feel like you might become them; psychedelic art is like drugs without the drugs.

I’ve spent hours looking at his reality-altering images having read literally nothing about who he is and where he came from. His work speaks on so many frequencies that I didn’t feel the need to read into the human behind it, though for the informative value of this post, I’ll direct you to this interview by Flur magazine.

- Jess Petrella

I love art. I love the way it stimulates thinking and brings minds into new realms of possibilities, and with that into new ways of thought. I’m no seasoned art critic, but I like to think that ‘good’ art (i.e. my idea of good) speaks to every person in its own way. What I’ve continually struggled with, however, is how to analyse art, which is a horrible thing to struggle with, to be honest. Shouldn’t we analyse art however we want to, since there is no right and wrong in art? (AND analysis of art is likely considered an art in and of itself?) Oh well. But anyway, as the author of the post mentioned, geometry and various elements of art are always important to look at, in my opinion.

Take the first painting: The work is evidently extending from a focal point in in the centre. The shape in the centre is like that of a (?) concentric two-faced head, with each head alternating between white and black, or a similar duo of light and dark colours. I can see 19 such heads. And within the range of the first three outmost layers is an interesting contraption consisting of triangles, an eye, a crescent (moon?), two heads and two symbols that look like that representing females. Note that the eye is positioned seemingly on the line of symmetry of the work. Perhaps it is asking the reader to adjust his/her focus such that the two beige heads combine into something similar to the concentric heads at the centre?

The heads also produce a sort of three dimensional effect, which is strengthened by the light rays extending from the centre. These make the work seem like a creased piece of cloth. Oh, and did I mention it can look like a warped target?

But the beauty of it is that there are often no definite answers to art, and the meaning behind the eye, the crescent, and…well everything is still a mystery, really. We can only offer our explanations, but true understanding is typically reserved for the artist alone, sometimes not even for the artist who created the work in the first place.

Edit: Do bear in mind that such analysis may ruin the beauty of a work. It’s sometimes better to view it ideologically than mathematically, though mathematics need not be about statistical analysis and CAN be pretty abstract…oh well, you get what I mean. Just need to get out of the habit of going with assertions as to the nature of objects/subjects and hence often not allowing the entire train of thought to be fleshed out.

Lightning struck Hollande's plane this morning!

Wed, 16 May 2012 01:05:39 -0400

Lightning struck Hollande's plane this morning!:

A flash of lightning nearly derailed Hollande’s blitz diplomatic foray, striking his plane and sending him briefly back to a Paris area military airbase.

Rebekah Brooks to be charged with perverting the course of justice - Crime - UK - The Independent

Tue, 15 May 2012 08:27:10 -0400

Rebekah Brooks to be charged with perverting the course of justice - Crime - UK - The Independent:

Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks is to be charged with perverting the course of justice during the phone-hacking scandal.

Topical issues: the 'Grexit'

Tue, 15 May 2012 07:49:00 -0400

The ‘Grexit’ - talks of Greece exiting the euro continue. But is this option viable? Can the contagion be contained?

If you have access to Financial Times, this is a good article with analysis on the situation.
The BBC is doing a programme on this later tonight:

On air at 17/18gmt: Is the “Grexit” inevitable? As Greek politicians fail to agree on a coalitiion deal - we are asking what this means for the rest of the Eurozone and beyond. How would you feel if Greece left the Eurozone? How might it affect you? (from their Google+ stream)

Further update from FT: Greece to repay €450 billion bond in full.
BBC on talks in Greece
This week’s issue of the Economist also has analysis on the euro crisis in their Briefing section, as well as on their Charlemagne blog.

Relevant issues:

Francois Hollande sworn in today.
Might also want to read up on Greek politics - get to know the big players like Syriza led by Alexis Tsipras.

ShortFormBlog: Opinion: Mark Zuckerberg as a poor role model

Tue, 15 May 2012 05:37:18 -0400

ShortFormBlog: Opinion: Mark Zuckerberg as a poor role model :

nbclatino:

( File/Photo Courtesy dapd)

BY ESTHER J. CEPEDA

CHICAGO — My plea to Mark Zuckerberg: Please just grow up already — you’re messing with my ability to raise my sons right.

In case you haven’t heard, last week Zuckerberg showed up on Wall Street to sell…

Interesting article. Our take: Don’t like Zuckerberg’s style? Deal with it - it’s not like he’s taking marijuana or doing something else, and isn’t worth kicking up a fuss. For us, it’s a show of individualism, that you don’t have to lose it to win. It’s a show of different, and different may be exactly what our society needs, despite what many think about the need to maintain traditional values to go on.

shortformblog: newsweek: Here’s our cover this week, featuring...

Sun, 13 May 2012 11:40:07 -0400

shortformblog:

newsweek:

Here’s our cover this week, featuring a rainbow-haloed Barack Obama—America’s first gay president!

Needs more attachment parenting.

(EDIT: Did you know that Andrew Sullivan, the author of this piece, wrote the first major magazine piece advocating for gay marriage, way back in 1989? Think this earns him a little hubris?)

Hm what to think about this one? Dislike characterisation as gay simply because he supported gay marriage. (Yes, I agree it’s probably intended as a joke, but it’s still not my cuppa tea.) The article itself, or, more accurately, what has leaked of it, seems great though.

You tuck her to sleep, sweet smile on her lips, dare not leave...

Sun, 13 May 2012 06:03:00 -0400

You tuck her to sleep, sweet smile on her

lips, dare not leave her alone for fear

Another will take her heart and lift it to the skies

the way she did yours,

the way she stole yours,

the way you hope you stole

Hers.

Image credits: Miroslav Vajdic

Let Me Hook You

Sun, 13 May 2012 05:51:00 -0400

sleep-sweet:

Let me catch you;
This is an open pond,
and you deserve an open wound
before the park ranger
catches me
with this fishing rod
and these eyes.

Take the bait. You,
you might love it.
Your cold, clammy
lips will love it.
Take the bait
and let me catch you just
once.

Let me hook you, touch
your cheek, tear it open
like a bullet would but no,
this is just my finger, and
you would flap on the
pavement, you would burn
all the worse if I dropped you,
your lungs would burn,
so don’t struggle too much.

Cruel but lovely.

Some of my favourite authors / poets with their wise words.

Sun, 13 May 2012 05:47:06 -0400

Some of my favourite authors / poets with their wise words.

discoverynews: President Obama Becomes the First American...

Sun, 13 May 2012 05:37:00 -0400

discoverynews:

President Obama Becomes the First American President to Back Same-Sex Marriage

“I’ve just concluded, for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” Obama said in an interview with ABC News.

Obama, who had previously backed strong protections for gay and lesbian couples, said his position had evolved partly after talking to his two daughters Malia and Sasha who had some friends who had same-sex parents.

“It wouldn’t dawn on them that somehow their friends’ parents would be treated differently. It doesn’t make sense to them and frankly, that’s the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective,” Obama said in the interview.

keep reading

Bravo. Just bravo. It’s a bold move to make, one to be appreciated regardless of your stance on this issue. These people deserve someone like Obama to come out and stand for their rights, just as Hillary Clinton made her speech on LGBT rights last year.

Update: Economist blog post on how this does not aide the cause for gay marriage

Afghan peace negotiator Arsala Rahmani shot dead

Sun, 13 May 2012 05:29:16 -0400

Afghan peace negotiator Arsala Rahmani shot dead :

A senior Afghan peace negotiator has been shot dead in Kabul, officials say.

Arsala Rahmani was a former Taliban minister and a key member of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, which leads Afghan efforts to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban.

Another one gone after Burhannudin Rabbani was killed by a bomb hidden in the turban of a suicide attacker posing as a Taliban peace envoy last September.