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GIF: John Keats, 1785-1921. Enjoy this beautiful, creepy, ethereal short ambient ambient video loop by Bill Domonkos, a filmmaker, GIF maker and stereoscopist. 'Limbo' brings to life 20 animated masks from the Laurence Hutton Collection of Life and Death Masks. This video is silent. [Vimeo Link]From the artist:LIMBO is an ambient video of 20 animated death/life masksfrom the Laurence Hutton Collection of Life and Death Masks.This video loop is designed for exhibition on a wall mounteddigital display or projection. This video is silent.Animation, editing and compositing by Bill DomonkosFor best experience view fullscreen.List of masks as they appear in the video:Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832John Keats, 1785-1921Giacomo Leopardi, 1798-1837L'Inconnue de la SeineJohn C. Calhoun, 1782-1850George Washington, 1732-1799Queen Louisa of Prussia, 1776-1810Ben Caunt, 1815-1861Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542-1587Felix Mendelssohn, 1809-1847Jean Paul Marat, 1743-1793John Lawrence Sullivan, 1858-1918Henry George, 1839-1897Edward Kean, 1787-1833Abraham Lincoln, 1808-1865Elizabeth I, Queen of England, 1533-1603Ludwig van Beethoven, 1779-1827John James Audubon, 1785-1851Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821 Read the rest

Chacalall Orozco is a graphic designer from Mexico. “All of my work comes from self-exploration, pure expression, and intuition.”Here's his Tumblr, and his Behance. [via crossconnectmag.com] Read the rest

I've played enough of Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2.I didn't remember much of the first Red Dead Redemption. RDR was a massive "open world" western game. You could wander all over the map and do whatever you wanted.I found Red Dead Redemption kinda boring.I know I played it! The game was a big deal at the time. Friends in my small community of life-long video game aficionados were super excited to see this new installment: a modern massive "open world" western game.Red Dead Redemption 2 depresses me in the range of 2000's dreary movie Requiem for a Dream. Everything in the old west goes to shit for everyone. Nothing is working out well for you, or any NPC you meet.Life super sucks in the old west.You start the game as a grizzled and worn Old West bandit. Apparently your character is the #2 in a gang of broken down heist pullers who are on the run. Your leader, Dutch, really screwed up your last job, got some people killed or captured, and lost the loot. You are destitute and hunted by the law.Things don't get a lot better. The nature of western gunslingers is that death can come at any moment, so in RDR2 you are surrounded by it. Most encounters, even if you are working incredibly hard to be a nice guy and move through your world without too much violence, turn into murder.Roaming around the open world resulted in some dark adventures:I went to help a young journalist collect some research and ended up killing most of the people he needed me to interview. Read the rest

I'm writing a book (a how-to book) and I'm making a lot of measurements, taking notes, and making sketches. These Miliko 8.27" x 5.67" spiral notebooks of grid paper are perfect for the task, and inexpensive, given the quality of the thick cover and the paper. They are sold in a set of two. Read the rest

Most military underwater surveillance systems filter out whale calls along with other ambient ocean noise. This inspired researchers from China's Tianjin University to create a form of "bio-inspired steganography" in which recordings of whale songs can be edited to contain secret messages and then electronically transmitted underwater. From Newsweek:In research published in IEEE Communication Magazine, the team said there are two ways to hide signals in whale pulses—changing the signal to include encrypted information or making the signal weaker.The former is problematic because it would stand out from other naturally occurring signals, Jiang told SCMP. However, the second method holds promise. Researchers could build a coding system around the whale sounds. They could then edit whale sounds so they are indistinguishable from other whale calls. When they are received by the coding system, they can be deciphered. The main drawback for this approach is that it would be difficult to send a message over a long distance."Bio-Inspired Steganography for Secure Underwater Acoustic Communications" (IEEE Communications)Image: "A mother sperm whale and her calf off the coast of Mauritius" by Gabriel Barathieu Read the rest

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has submitted his letter of resignation to the White House. "Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. President," he closes.Here is the letter."At your request, I am submitting my resignation."It is not dated.Where this leaves the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller is anyone's guess. This, as others have noted, is the moment of maximum danger for the probe.From NPR:Jeff Sessions, the president's earliest and most fervent supporter in Congress, stepped down as attorney general Wednesday after brutal criticism from the president, bringing an abrupt end to his controversial tenure as the nation's top law enforcement officer.Sessions, 71, lasted not quite two years in the job. But in that brief period, the former Alabama senator managed to usher in a new era at the Justice Department.Sessions threatened so-called sanctuary cities with the loss of federal funding and announced a "zero tolerance policy" for people who cross the southern U.S. border illegally.He decried a looming wave of violent crime across the country, even though criminologists maintain murders and assaults remain near historic lows in most places.He ordered federal prosecutors to seek the most serious charges and stiff prison sentences against drug criminals, a stark reversal of former President Barack Obama's most prominent and bipartisan justice policy.He presided over a rollback in investigations of local police. He rescinded policies that directed federal prosecutors to go after only the biggest cases involving marijuana in states where the drug is legal. Read the rest

To exhibit his photography at large scale, Chris Engman builds rooms with interiors wrapped with his stunning photos of forests, deserts, and other landscapes. They beckon the viewer inside where, of course, the perspectives warp and shift. From Colossal:Engman explains that once one enters the work its believability as a singular landscape becomes penetrated. Each step deeper inside the work makes the photographed landscape appear increasingly warped and unreal.“Even so,” says Engman, “compared to a singular framed photograph the experience of this installation for the viewer is much more physical and immersive. The structure is a room, not an image of a room. The photograph is an object, in addition to being an illusion. It has weight, and volume, and changes as you walk around it. Making this installation has been a thrilling process, and this new way of working seems to afford many new possibilities.”(photos by Tony Walsh, courtesy of the artist, and Luis De Jesus Los Angeles) Read the rest

I watched the election results on TV last night with my family. As it became clear that the Democrats were going to win the House, some of the talking heads said the results of the evening overall did not indicate a "blue wave." I disagree. Despite Russian meddling, voter intimidation, voter suppression, and gerrymandering, the Democrats managed to overcome these obstacles and win.It's not surprising that Democrats didn't win the Senate. That system is rigged to favor conservative states with tiny populations. Why should Wyoming (pop. 573,720) get the same number of senators as California (39 million)? That's how we end up with the kind of minority rule situation we find ourselves in now. Look at this graphic from Huffington Post that someone screenshotted last night: Voters placed 36 million votes to win 41 Democratic senators, and only 29 million votes to win 51 Republican senators. It's a form of cheating that's been legalized.The good news is that in the House, 313 districts moved to the left, and only a few dozen moved to the right. The New York Times has a good infographic that makes the Blue Wave evident:Here's more: "But the swing districts don’t tell the whole story — they represent the crest of the wave. The average district nationwide moved 10 percentage points to the left this year."So not a Blue Tsunami. A Blue Wave. I'll take it.Image: Brett Allen/Shutterstock Read the rest

An Australian locomotive engineer is very embarrassed.Via Newsweek:For around 50 minutes, the 1.2-mile locomotive sped along with 268 wagons in tow until authorities decided to remotely derail it from BHP's operations center almost 1,000 miles away in Perth.The locomotive got free when its driver stepped out of his cab to check on one of the wagons. However, before he could get back in, the train had already set off on its unplanned journey. "While the driver was outside of the locomotive, the train commenced to run away," the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) explained.No one was injured in the accident, though the ATSB said the train was badly damaged along with around a mile of track, The Guardian noted. Read the rest

Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH Super-Fun-Pak Comix does feature The Year Christmas Was Canceled, Science Facts for the Misophonic, Ah Life, and quite a bit more!

I recently tore through JN Chaney's Variant Saga, a four novel series that starts as dystopian sci-fi and turns into a fantastic first contact adventure.Once I started reading JN Chaney's The Amber Project I could not put it down. When I finished I immediately launched into the next book in the series. Chaney's post apocalyptic dystopia contains so many interesting facets, I was constantly in a state of needing to read what comes next.The Amber Project starts the series off focused on Terry, the star genetic experiment of a last ditch project to save humanity from Earth's environmental collapse. 200 years prior something caused the planet to be overcome by a toxic gas that killed everything it did not mutate horribly. A small group of humans have managed to survive in an underground city, but slowly the systems have failed beyond their ability to repair and without access to new resources the end is near.Science may have hit a home with Terry and his pals, but you can trust teenagers to make things interesting. Naturally, epic self involvement, and epic self sacrifice are involved.As the series progresses it changes from silo based doom-and-gloom dystopia to trans-dimensional traveling first contact story. As Terry's society begins to discover what happened to the Earth, and who did it, a wild tale spanning at least two universes spins out. I was initially caught a bit off guard, as I didn't expect Avatar to suddenly spring up in the middle of Das Boot, but that is what happens and it is actually pretty good. Read the rest

Many thanks to New James+, who shared his recent joyful discovery on twitter: "Today I learnt about donkey nannies, which are donkeys that are used to transport newborn lambs from high pastures to the plains when the lambs can't make that trip themselves. They're taken out after the day's journey for food and nuzzling with their mothers."Check out more photos of trans-species love here.Today I learnt about donkey nannies, which are donkeys that are used to transport newborn lambs from high pastures to the plains when the lambs can't make that trip themselves.They're taken out after the day's journey for food and nuzzling with their mothers. pic.twitter.com/GwIWxiaQOW— New James+ (@iyagovos) November 5, 2018Image: Shutterstock/Adriano Frisanco Read the rest

Welcome back. This second installment of The Bureau has you out of your Morning Meeting. It is now 10:03am.Listen carefully to the AB6700 Broadcast System for an important announcement, followed by instructions for administering your compulsory joy to the GB12-B Sincerity Monitor.

Conservative congressman Dana Rohrabacher (left) will likely lose his job serving the interests of the Kremlin in Congress. In office since 1989, he's known for his strong social conservatism, and for espousing pro-Russian ideas like, "If the majority of people legally residing in Alaska want to be part of Russia then it's OK with me." Interestingly, he was one of the few GOP congresspeople to support the legalization of pot.Rohrabacher represented Orange County, California, which has long been a GOP stronghold. But changing demographics have weakened the party's control of the southern California area.From the Sacramento Bee:Rouda is leading Rohrabacher 50.7 percent of the vote to 49.3 percent, with 100 percent of precincts reporting, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office. However, mail-in ballots can be received until Friday, and the final vote likely won’t be certified until December.Rohrabacher earned his appellation for his dogged opposition of the Magnitsky Act, which barred members of the Vladimir Putin regime allegedly involved in the death of Russian whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky from entering the U.S. or accessing American banks, according to Politico.Rohrabacher even says he once drunkenly arm wrestled with Putin in the 1990s, according to ABC News.Democratic House candidate Harley Rouda discusses the influence of money in politics and in his bid to unseat Congressman Dana Rohrabacher in the upcoming midterms.Rohrabacher, a 15-term congressman, was so important to Russian interests that the Kremlin gave him his own code name, according to The New York Times. Read the rest

Beto O'Rourke was always a long shot running against incumbent Ted Cruz for Senate in the blood red state of Texas. But with a narrow loss of 51-48, O'Rourke kept it real and went out with a bang during his concession speech, telling his fans, “I want to thank this amazing campaign of people. Not a dime from a single PAC. All of you showing the country how to do this. I am so fucking proud of you guys.” MSNBC later apologized for the not being quick enough with the censor button. "Sorry for the F-bomb. We have no control of what’s in the concession speeches,” anchor Brian Williams said. Via Uproxx Read the rest

Thanks to savvy hackers, desperate ad companies, and increasingly lax government oversight of the internet it's a good bet that even your nana knows what a VPN is by now. In the best case, Virtual Private Networks are essentially an underground railroad, whizzing you from destination to destination through a secure server that hides your ISP from advertisers and malcontents. Users in China and other areas that restrict internet content are using it to bypass those restrictions, and there's nothing to stop international travelers from using VPNs to access (for example) cheaper local rates on things like hotels and attraction tickets.Of course, your mileage may vary. Setting up the infrastructure necessary for that kind of security is no mean feat, and user experiences are going to differ based on where you are, which VPN you choose and what you choose to do with it. Based on user chatter and reviews, two services have arisen as popular favorites: NordVPN and Private Internet Access. Let's break down the highlights:NordVPNSince its release in 2012, NordVPN has steadily grown a fan base of satisfied users that include reviewers at trusted tech sites like CNET, TrustPilot and PC Mag, the last of whom gave them a rare 5-stars, or "outstanding" rating. With a somewhat higher price point, it's the Cadillac option of VPN - but with features that make the extra scratch well worth it.CompatibilityNordVPN wants to be your across-the-board security guard. It's compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS or iOS and Android smartphones, and you can connect to six devices simultaneously. Read the rest

Scott Edelman writes, "I devoted my World Fantasy Convention Guest of Honor speech to talk about my 48 years of attending convention, and about what they’ve been, what they are, what they could be, and what they should be."My first cons, and those recent cons, were one, are one, a continuation of what began when my grandfather drove into Manhattan to take me to that first convention in 1970. I hope you get to experience that sort of feeling in your own futures. But most important, I hope you decide you want to hang around these rooms long enough to experience those wondrous moments when decades can vanish.I can understand, though, why some of you might not want to, understand that some of you are not feeling welcomed, or embraced, or wanted, and might be thinking, what’s the point? Why am I banging my head against the wall? Is it really worth the effort?I have heard too many stories about moments like those, filled not with the feelings of welcome I experienced in my privilege, but the feeling of exclusion. And I believe those stories, all of them.I believe N. K. Jemisin, who in a moving acceptance speech earlier this year when she won her third consecutive Best Novel Hugo Award for The Stone Sky — a speech much better than anything you’re going to hear out of me today and one of the best I’e heard in a lifetime of con-going — spoke of the naysayers who told her to tone down her allegories and anger, who didn’t believe anyone but black people wanted to read about black people. Read the rest

Size doesn't really matter, at least not for this feisty rat. Watch how it doesn't take any guff from the cat who thought it could bully a much tinier creature. Turns out the rat is the bully, and doesn't let up as it chases the cat out of town. Read the rest

NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) released the first 8k ultra high definition (UHD) video of life and science inside the International Space Station. From NASA:The Helium 8K camera by RED, a digital cinema company, is capable of shooting at resolutions ranging from conventional HDTV up to 8K, specifically 8192 x 4320 pixels. By comparison, the average HD consumer television displays up to 1920 x 1080 pixels of resolution, and digital cinemas typically project in resolutions of 2K to 4K....Delivered to the station in April aboard the 14th SpaceX cargo resupply mission through a Space Act Agreement between NASA and RED, this camera’s ability to record twice the pixels and at resolutions four times higher than the 4K camera brings science in orbit into the homes, laboratories and classrooms of everyone on Earth. “We’re excited to embrace new technology that improves our ability to engage our audiences in space station research,” said David Brady, assistant program scientist for the International Space Station Program Science Office at Johnson. “Each improvement in imagery fidelity brings that person on Earth closer to the in-space experience, allowing them to see what human spaceflight is doing to improve their life, as well as enable humanity to explore the universe.” Read the rest

Ryleigh is a teenager with Tourette Syndrome who makes absolutely wonderful videos like the one below that she hopes will "spread awareness about Tourettes as well as joy and laughter." See more of her clips at Tourettes Teen! Read the rest

Made famous by her refusal to issue marriage licenses to Kentuckians she disapproved of, evangelical darling Kim Davis has lost her bid for re-election.Via Kentucky.com:Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk made famous by her refusal to sign marriage licenses for gay couples, lost Tuesday in her reelection bid for the Rowan County clerkship.Davis, a Republican, lost to Democratic challenger Elwood Caudill Jr. by about 700 votes. Read the rest

The problem with "privately-owned public spaces" is that the right of access and enjoyment is easy to subvert or poison by the owner, making clear that they're really just publicly-zoned private spaces. Read the rest

For the Dems, what's a 9% lead in the vote good for? Seven governorships, a 20-seat House majority and losing 3 Senate seats. Despite voter suppression efforts, there's much to love in the details, even if the big picture offers conservatives, if not Trump himself, another chance to trot out the old canard that America is "a Republic, not a Democracy." Read the rest

InvaderZ is a Space Invaders variant that incorporates a genetic algorithm that mutates the invaders as you shoot at them, with survival for a fitness function: the longer an invader lasts before being blasted out of the sky, the more its behaviors are carried over into the next wave (here's a playable live version). (via Kottke) Read the rest

It's been five years since America's super-concentrated telcoms sector announced their "voluntary Copyright Alert system" (AKA Six Strikes), a system that said that if your someone in your household was accused of six acts of copyright infringement, everyone in your house would get the internet death penalty, having your net connection terminated.The years of inaction after the policy was enacted, lulled a lot of us into thinking that the telcos and cable companies had thought better of playing judge, jury and executioner for people's internet access, but as the years ticked by, the sector has become even more concentrated, and what was once unthinkable is now reality.This year, AT&T was allowed to buy Time-Warner, creating a second Big Telco/Big Media chimera (the other being Comcast/Universal), whose priorities are now split between providing access and taking it away (compare with what happened when Sony bought Columbia and went from being a company that provided new ways to listen to music to a company whose mission was to restrict how you listened to music).AT&T has now begun to disconnect customers accused of infringement -- that is, accused of watching TV or listening to music in ways that are suboptimal for media companies' shareholders. The customers who are being disconnected have never been able to face their accusers or have a day in court. The people they live with are not accused of any wrongdoing. The internet they are losing is likely the only option they have for broadband -- or one of two options, with the other one likely being a cable company like Comcast who may now join AT&T in a race to the bottom. Read the rest

Once we were great, then we committed some unnameable sin and now we endure eternal punishment, fallen from grace. Proof: this long-departed Master of the Universe wrapping paper, the pinnacle of the great Earl Norem's career. (via Super Punch)MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE wrapping paper from the 1980s. Exactly as brilliant as it sounds. pic.twitter.com/DXbZZ6opih— Tales from Weirdland (@WeirdlandTales) November 6, 2018 Read the rest

Once, the 8-9pm time slot was plagued with violent TV shows like All in the Family. This was before the onset of 24 hour news channels offering a live feed of missile strikes or freeway chases with the Juice. Unjustifiably, the FCC issued a policy demanding prime time television be family friendly! For two years, 1975 and 1976, adult themes were banned from "The Family Viewing Hour."Courts didn't let this stand for very long. The prime time slot was back under advertiser control by 1977.Wikipedia:Indeed, many television series suffered from the Family Viewing Hour mandate. All in the Family, which was the runaway top-rated show in the U.S. since 1971, was moved to 9 p.m. on Mondays after five seasons leading the Saturday night lineup. Producer Norman Lear, citing an infringement on creative freedom and on his First Amendment rights, mounted a lawsuit. With the support of varying guilds, including the WGA, he won the case.[1] The show's cast responded by recording a satirical, never-aired rendition of the show's theme song, retitled "These Are the Days".[3]On November 4, 1976, United States district court Judge Warren J. Ferguson declared the Family Viewing Hour null and void, starting with the fall 1977 season. Ferguson stated while the idea was good in theory, the FCC had overstepped its bounds in having it instituted; the FCC privately lobbied the three major networks to adopt the policy instead of holding public hearings on the matter, and Ferguson ruled on those grounds that the Family Viewing Hour had no binding merit. Read the rest

A Texas poll worker was charged with assault today after yelling racist remarks at a black voter who she didn't think should be voting, then shoulder-checking her."The lady questioned my residency," Rolanda Anthony wrote on Facebook. "When I explained that the address was completely correct, she told them to check it again because it couldn't be. When I finally challenged her she declared 'maybe if I wore my black face make up today you'd be able to understand me.'"The Houston Chronicle reports that Barnes' fellow poll workers tried to get her to back off, and that one of them walked out in disgust.Barnes walked up to her and shoulder bumped her and said, "I'm white. Have you seen the news?""If you call the police, they're going to take you to jail and do something to you, because I'm white," Barnes told her in front of several witnesses.Barnes told Anthony she was loitering and she was going to call the police on Anthony.Things are going to get worse before they don't get better.Photo: Gabrielle Banks/Houston Chronicle (crop) Read the rest

Even on outdated models, smartphones have imaging technology that puts the compact cameras of just a decade ago to shame. If you really care about the pictures you take, stop treating your smartphone camera like just another app. It can shoot cinema-quality video and photos with the right tools, and the Rigiet Smartphone Gimbal might just be at the top of that list.For the uninitiated, a gimbal is to a selfie stick what a smartphone is to a rotary dial. The Rigiet brings movie-making tech to your next photo shoot. Just for starters, it allows you to rotate your phone smoothly to a variety of positions - overhand or underslung - without changing your phone's orientation from landscape to portrait. Thanks to a control panel on the handle, you can quickly toggle between front and rear camera, photo or video mode, or zoom in and out. All this while keeping your phone steady as a rock, even on the move.For full functionality, you'll want to connect to the Rigiet app. With that, you can automatically track objects in motion - just highlight them on the phone with a swipe, and the Rigiet follows along. Great for kids in a recital, dogs at play or zeroing in on your favorite player at a football game. Set the panorama mode, and the gimbal will rotate just the right amount, taking 5, 9 or 12 photos that can stitch together seamlessly into the proverbial scenic vista. It'll even make it easier for you to live stream your videos. Read the rest

During boarding, a Delta passenger noticed that he'd just sat in a seat covered in shit. The shit was all over his leg. Delta's stewards gave him a paper towel and a mini bottle of gin to clean himself with, and made it clear they wouldn't be cleaning the shit off the seat. The gate agent called a manager, who [passenger Matthew] Meehan described as confrontational, while he was trying to remain calm and “not get kicked off the plane.” “I tell her what happened and she said, ‘If the cleaning crew didn’t do their job, that’s not my problem. What do you want me to do about it?’” Meehan alleges. “Very confrontational, like, so what? So I said, ‘Can we get that cleaned up so I can sit down?’ So she says, ‘Sir, it’s almost time for that plane to leave. You can sit in your seat or you can be left behind.’”Meehan and the manager realized he wasn’t the only passenger upset about this. “At that point, four or five other passengers had gotten up and out of their seats as well, standing at the flight attendant area in front in protest and wouldn’t sit until it was cleaned,” he says. To avoid causing a commotion, the manager had someone clean that area with paper towels. “To my knowledge, they did not use any kind of sanitizing solution, and I was supposed to be OK with that because she quote unquote, cleaned it.”A whole new meaning to the term "Business Class". Read the rest

The world is full of places of wonder. Some of them are physical places; others are places of the imagination. The College Of Extraordinary Experiences is both. Once a year, the Czocha Castle in Poland (a real 13th century castle), becomes a most unusual and peculiar college, much like Harry Potter’s Hogwarts. Only this one is real — and it’s not for kids. In order to try to convey the nature and the spirit of such a one-of-a-kind place, allow me to provide a bit of framing and context. Welcome to the Experience EconomyIn 1998, consultants and authors B. Joseph Pine and James H. Gilmore published an article in the Harvard Business Review, introducing the term "Experience Economy" for the first time. The following year, the authors expanded their ideas into a successful and widely influential book of the same title. Thus the Experience Economy was officially born, and the word “experience” gained new meaning in the business world. Broadly retracing the history of economy, Pine and Gilmore identified four main developmental stages of “economic offering.” This progression goes from early human societies, mainly concerned with "Commodities," to the Industrial Revolution and large-scale production of consumer "Goods," followed by a steadily increasing demand for "Services," and finally, in the present day, the latest form of economic offering: "Experiences." Amply corroborated in the past two decades, the book’s thesis is that in a world saturated with largely undifferentiated goods and services, the greatest opportunity for value creation (and revenue growth) lies in staging experiences. Read the rest

The face of Johann Rehbogen, 94, is blurred by court order because he was a juvenile at the time of his alleged participation in mass murders at Stutthof.The former guard, who uses a wheelchair, faces a sentence of 15 years if convicted but is unlikely to serve any time in prison because of his advanced age.His court appearances will be limited to two hours at a time for the same reason, Dortmund prosecutor Andreas Brendel told AFP news agency.A strangely compelling application of due process. Read the rest

Last week, Carla and I attended Sou Fujimoto: Futures of the Future, a new exhibit of 100 architectural models at Japan House LA in Hollywood. Fujimoto is well-known in Japan and Europe for his striking architecture that explores the boundaries between simplicity and chaos (what science fiction author Rudy Rucker calls the "Gnarl"). The gnarl is the sweet spot where things are interesting and appealing.In this exhibition, Fujimoto's architectural models are arranged on small stands in a large room. Each model has tiny human figures in and around it to give you a sense of the scale of the structure. One of the models is a stack of potato chips. It comes to life with the human models gathered around it. Another building is just a bumpy dish sponge. The little people are standing in the bumps. It is surprisingly evocative. Other models are made from foam core and sticks. Fujimoto makes these models to try to answer questions like "What if the inside is also the outside?"The walls of the exhibition room are covered by floor-to-ceiling photographs of buildings designed by Fujimoto from around the world. I couldn't stop looking at Fujimoto's "House NA," a multi-level residence in western Tokyo. It's tiny, cozy, transparent, and full of surprises. Fujimoto gave a lecture that night and he said he wanted to make a house that made you feel like a monkey jumping from one branch to another. Some of the levels in the house are just big enough for one person to sit in. Read the rest

Although scientists already believed that drinking coffee could possibly reduce the risk of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, a new study by Krembil Brain Institute in Toronto, Canada suggests that the kind of roast you drink might determine how much protection your cup of joe might actually give you. The study has identified the set of compounds in coffee – phenylindanes, produced during the roasting process – that are responsible for protecting the brain. The darker the roast, the more phenylindanes are produced. This suggests that dark roasted coffee, with or without caffeine, is the most beneficial for your brain.According to Medical News Today:It is the phenylindanes, rather than any other coffee-related compounds, that seem to inhibit the amalgamation of tau and beta-amyloid. These are toxic proteins, of which the excessive buildup in the brain is a key factor in neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease."So phenylindanes are a dual inhibitor. Very interesting, we were not expecting that," Dr. [Donald] Weaver [co-director of the Krembil Brain Institute] acknowledges.It appears that a longer roasting time causes the coffee beans to produce more phenylindanes. This suggests that dark roasted coffee — whether regular or decaf — has the strongest protective effect on the brain."It's the first time anybody's investigated how phenylindanes interact with the proteins that are responsible for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's," says Dr. [Ross] Mancini.This study doesn't mean dark roasted coffee is a cure for Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, but it gives me a good excuse to drop the tea and start drinking espresso on a daily basis again. Read the rest

When I was young, my mom banned plastic wrap from our kitchen because it frustrated her so much when it would invariably cling to itself. Apparently you can avoid this problem though just by storing the plastic wrap in the freezer. The cold temporarily reduces its clinginess. From Mental Floss:The cold temperature alters the polyethylene at the molecular level, which helps to remove the static and stickiness...The freezer only temporarily changes the properties of the plastic wrap, giving you enough time to rip a sheet off and cover your leftovers with it while the material is still cool. Once the plastic wrap warms up, it will go back to its old, clingy self.Carolyn Forte of the Good Housekeeping Institute tried it out and gave the freezer method a thumbs up. "The plastic wrap was a lot easier to unroll and use," she tells Good Housekeeping. "It doesn't stick to itself when it's cold, but still works to cover up a dish. As it warms up, it goes back to being sticky, but it's definitely easier to handle when cold." Read the rest

For all of you in the U.S., no doubt your feeds are filling up with your friends showing off their "I Voted" stickers (and if they're not, uh, better get some new friends). But are their stickers as cool as the ones from Alaska? Artist Pat Race of Juneau was hired to design these little "I Voted" beauties for the State of Alaska Division of Elections. Race's pro-voting animals not only appeared on the Land of the Midnight Sun's stickers but also on their Official Election Pamphlets. At least one Alaskan is trying to collect all eight designs:I seem to have unintentionally started a collection of @alaskarobotics I Voted stickers and I haven’t even voted yet! Anyone have an Eagle, Raven, Walrus, or Caribou to help me round it out #gottacatchemall #teammoonlightbeaver pic.twitter.com/KvaDSfpXqb— Ruth Kostik (@RuthKostik) November 5, 2018Prints of the designs are available directly from the artist. Prices start at $10.image via Kyle Miller Read the rest

In January 1972, Aretha Franklin performed at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles' Watts neighborhood. The LP of those performances is an absolutely breathtaking celebration of soul gospel. It won a Grammy, became the biggest selling live gospel record in history, and remains the highest selling record of Franklin's career. Filmmaker Sydney Pollack documented the performance and the plan was to release the concert movie as a double feature with Super Fly during the summer of 1972. The problem though is that Pollack hadn't used a clapper board during the filming that would enable him to sync the audio and footage from the five cameras. With no way to properly edit the film, the project was shelved until about ten years ago. And in a few months, the world will finally see it. From the New York Times:(Alan) Elliott, who had been obsessed with the lost footage since working as a music executive in the mid-1980s, ultimately persuaded Warner to sell him the reels in 2007. (He mortgaged his house.) By 2010, digital technology had evolved to a point that syncing film and sound was finally possible....As a planned release date approached in 2011, however, Ms. Franklin sued Mr. Elliott for using her likeness without her permission. That started years of legal wrangling, with Ms. Franklin and her lawyers blocking Mr. Elliott and the Telluride Film Festival from showing “Amazing Grace” in 2015 and 2016, even after deals for her compensation seemed to have been worked out. Read the rest

Well played and certainly worth the effort:I like pranks which do not abuse or insult anyone pic.twitter.com/aiUSUDcC2H— Tyrantasorus (@tyrantasorus) November 2, 2018 Read the rest

Earlier this year, a 35-year-old gentleman speed-drove his car – a Nissan GT-R – down a public street in Osaka, Japan at 174 mph (280 kph) while filming himself. It's considered one of the worst speeding violations ever on a Japanese highway. He then bragged about it by posting it on YouTube, only to get arrested after the police tracked him down. When questioned by police, he said, "I wanted everyone to watch it." According to Digital Trends, "News outlets reported that the driver pushed the car to speeds faster than Japan’s famous bullet train, the high-speed rail service that runs almost the length of the entire country." But the news outlets aren't accurate, at least not according to Wikipedia, which says that bullet trains travel up to 200 mph. What's fascinating about this video is watching the speedometer almost hit its limit. Read the rest

Project Farm wanted to see if candle wax could be used as a penetrating lubricant to loosen rusty nuts, so he set up a rigorous test to find out. His conclusion - candle wax applied to a hot nut doesn't help loosen it. It just won't penetrate onto the bolt.He also tried special penetrating fluid designed to make it easier to loosen rusty nuts, called Seafoam Deep Creep, which really does do the job. Read the rest

Did you know you can buy many different kinds of animal urine on Amazon? Fox urine, bobcat urine, coyote urine, wolf urine, cat urine, peak estrus whitetail deer urine, and more. How is the urine harvested? This video doesn't answer that question. Instead it asks and answers the question, "Does predator urine repel rodents?"The guy who ran the test said the urine smells really awful, like a skunk. Even worse, after he tested the fox and wolf urine by squirting a circle of it around some grain, mice and rats didn't care one bit -- they walked right over the circle of urine to get to the food. Read the rest

Nothing says "What bullshit!" better than a perfect eye-roll. And 21-year-old student Harriet Ellis said just that to right-wing Nigel Farage, with a perfect roll of her eyes during a Brexit debate yesterday. She punctuated her eye-roll with a subtle "I can't believe this" shake of her head. Her tweet about it went viral, receiving 46,000 likes so far.How we ALL feel when cock head Nigel Farrage opens his mouth #c4brexit #brexit pic.twitter.com/UmCXd7WmJm— Kev (@kev1n1985) November 5, 2018There’s been a lot of competition this year, but this has to be the greatest eye-roll of 2018. pic.twitter.com/bB2stJh1Ku— Hannah Jane Parkinson (@ladyhaja) November 5, 2018Thanks for all the kind words, this is indeed me! pic.twitter.com/FsEfKo8LyF— Harriet (@harrietlucyel) November 5, 2018Via Mashable Read the rest

Californian vote-by-mail voters can check with their county to ensure their vote was received and counted. Read the rest

"Which is good," he added. "But it'll leave the bad parts behind."After the Republicans voted more than 60 times to repeal Obamacare, their president has a new lie to peddle: that they're its great defenders. It's a new variant of Poe's law: a position so ridiculous it's impossible to tell if it's comedy. Shame there's nothing funny about it: the truth is that for Republicans, killing Obamacare (and Medicare more generally) remains the first order of business. Read the rest

Author Haruki Murakami is donating a large collection of his personal materials -- original manuscripts, letters, foreign language editions of his books, and 10,000 vinyl records -- to his alma mater Waseda University. From the Japan Times:The donation “is a very important thing for me, so I thought I should explain clearly” by holding a news conference, said Murakami, 69. “I don’t have any children, and it would cause trouble for me if those materials became scattered or lost..."Using the donated materials, the university in Tokyo is considering setting up an international study center featuring the author’s works. It also plans to create a space that will resemble a study room with bookshelves and music records...In the envisioned facility to house his documents, Murakami said if possible he wants to organize a concert using his collection of vinyl records, which total more than 10,000 copies.Murakami, who opened a cafe for jazz enthusiasts in Tokyo while still a student at Waseda University, has said music is an essential component of his career in literature.Previously: "A Murakami playlist" Read the rest

First discovered a year ago, Oumuamua is the strange cigar-shaped object of interstellar origin that flew through our solar system at 196,000 mph. Since it was first spotted, scientists haven't decisively determined whether it's a mildly active comet or something else. Now, astronomers Shmuel Bialy and Abraham Loeb of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have released a scientific paper asking if Oumuamua could be a "lightsail of artificial origin," part of a space probe developed by an advanced extraterrestrial civilization. Of course this is not a statement of fact but rather a question, albeit a very very interesting one. From CNN:"'Oumuamua may be a fully operational probe sent intentionally to Earth vicinity by an alien civilization," they wrote in the paper, which has been submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters.IThe theory is based on the object's "excess acceleration," or its unexpected boost in speed as it traveled through and ultimately out of our solar system in January 2018."Considering an artificial origin, one possibility is that 'Oumuamua is a light sail, floating in interstellar space as a debris from an advanced technological equipment," wrote the paper's authors, suggesting that the object could be propelled by solar radiation."COULD SOLAR RADIATION PRESSURE EXPLAIN ‘OUMUAMUA’S PECULIAR ACCELERATION?" (PDF)(image: artist's impression of Oumuamua, ESO/M. Kornmesser) Read the rest

Seventy-two people, many of them poor people of color, died in Grenfell Tower when the shoddily-maintained tower went up in flames last year. Five men were arrested today in Britain after putting a model of the building, complete with dark-skinned inhabitants, on a bonfire. A video shared on social media shows a cardboard model of the tower being set alight by a laughing crowd. The Metropolitan Police said the men - two aged 49 and the others aged 19, 46 and 55 - handed themselves in at a south London station on Monday night. Prime Minister Theresa May had called the video "utterly unacceptable". The footage shows a large model bearing a Grenfell Tower sign, complete with paper figures at the windows, being set on fire. Laughter can be heard off camera as the effigy is set alight, with onlookers shouting "Help me! Help me!" and "Jump out the window!". As the blaze takes hold, a voice can be heard to say "All the little ninjas getting it at the minute"Those "public order" offenses seem an English shame culture thing. The law is vague, so sometimes (as in the case of leering racist sociopaths burning effigies in public) an example must be made when shame fails in the absense of guilt. Read the rest

I want the new iPad Pro, which is in a league of its own but for one thing: iOS still can't be used for work unless your job has no workflow. Nilay Patel's review sums up why it remains a poor tool for professionals who have to deal with files....either you have to understand the limitations of iOS so well you can make use of these little hacks all over the place to get things done, or you just deal with it and accept that you have to go back to a real computer from time to time because it’s just easier. And in that case, you might as well just use a real computer.I had the last-gen iPad Pro and spent a lot of time trying to make it work for me, and eventually gave up. All the workflow problems seem to result from iOS's security model, where apps live in their own sandboxes and can't access the file system or other apps' boxes. The "Files" app acts as a bridge between apps but doesn't provide access to a shared set of genuinely-accessible local files and therefore leads inexorably to headaches. For me, this situation only got worse when I started adding third-party file system apps, because they were really just complicated clones of the "Files" app or cloud/network synching services masquerading as file systems. The more I squirmed, the more annoying and frustrating it got.If you want an iPad Pro, the sad fact is you probably need a Microsoft Surface, with its own mirror-world of compromises: complexity, slowness, pen latency, bloated OS features and general lack of fun. Read the rest

Evan Greer writes, "Hey Internet -- it's election time, and shills for Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T are going around telling our elected officials in Congress that no one cares about net neutrality anymore. They want our lawmakers to think they can just keep raking in campaign contributions and screwing over Internet users without any consequences. We need to prove them wrong. So we're flooding the Internet with short individual stories from voters who care about the free and open Internet. Can you add yours? Read the rest

It's election day. Your vote fucking counts. In. Every. Single. Race. Here's how to find your polling place. Remember this important phrase: "Give me a provisional ballot with a receipt as required by law when requested." (Image: Mrs. Gemstone, CC-BY-SA) Read the rest