"What if beachgoers were as lax about sharks as they are about coronavirus?" asks Stephen Colbert's amusing shark-horror-movie meets spring-breakers-who-don't-give-a-fuck music video mashup. Of course, in real life, we're comparing apples to oranges. If when the shark bit into a beachgoer it was a painless affair while some random elderly person a mile away felt the bite as they bled to death, then we'd be comparing apples to apples. But what would be the fun in that? Read the rest
Florian Schneider, the co-founder of Kraftwerk, has died at age 73. Schneider's influence on all forms of electronic music, from disco to new wave, hip hop to techno, is his legacy. He moved culture. From The Guardian:Born in 1947, Schneider was the son of Paul Schneider-Esbelen, a noted architect who designed Cologne’s airport. Schneider first played music in various groups while studying in Düsseldorf, beginning in a band called Pissoff. Operating in the experimental, open-minded rock scene dubbed “krautrock” in the British press, he formed the group Organisation with Ralf Hutter, the pair later forming Kraftwerk in 1970.Schneider played the flute, violin and guitar, though often filtered through electronic processing. His interest in electronic music grew. “I found that the flute was too limiting,” he later said. “Soon I bought a microphone, then loudspeakers, then an echo, then a synthesiser. Much later I threw the flute away; it was a sort of process.”After three albums with Hütter in the mid-70s, Kraftwerk released Autobahn and expanded to a quartet. The album was composed primarily on synthesisers, and its highly original sound and witty lyrics made it a hit, with the title track reaching No 11 in the UK and No 25 in the US.top image: Daniele Dalledonne (CC BY-SA 2.0) Read the rest
Moonward Expansion has always been the inevitable future of the map-making Western world. And now that unsustainable extraction of natural resources is closer than ever to reality. As Reuters reports, the Trump administration has begun drafting the Artemis Accords (named after NASA's moon program and definitely not the kind of thing a comic book supervillain would come up with) to strategize internationals drilling and colonization efforts on our lunar neighbor:The Trump administration and other spacefaring countries see the moon as a key strategic asset in outer space. The moon also has value for long-term scientific research that could enable future missions to Mars - activities that fall under a regime of international space law widely viewed as outdated.The Artemis Accords, named after the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s new Artemis moon programme, propose “safety zones” that would surround future moon bases to prevent damage or interference from rival countries or companies operating in close proximity.The pact also aims to provide a framework under international law for companies to own the resources they mine, the sources said.Once again, the President Who Builds A Space Force And Has Sex With Porn Stars is fulfilling all my 12-year-old fantasies in all the absolute worst ways possible. Speaking of Space Force, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that the creation of that new military department is directly linked to the Artemis Accords, to protect potential future corporate assets once all the oil is sucked out of the Middle East.I suppose it's worth noting that Reuters' only source for this news is "people familiar with the proposed pact." Read the rest
BREAKING: As @GovAbbott reopens the state in the midst of a rising infection and death rate, leaked audio from a call with Texas Legislators reveals that he knows reopening puts more Texans at risk. #txlege pic.twitter.com/kTK4M8gpSY— Progress Texas (@ProgressTX) May 5, 2020On a leaked call with state lawmakers Texas governor Greg Abbott was heard saying he knows his decision to end the lockdown in his state will make the pandemic worse. "It's almost ipso facto," he told lawmakers, "the more that you have people out there the greater the possibility there is for transmission."When it comes to abortion, Governor Greg Abbott says he's pro-life.When it comes to actual people, not fetuses, he says he's willing to kill thousands.— Max (@fatalmocking) May 5, 2020 Read the rest
Eric Barone is the creator and lead developer of Stardew Valley, the indie farming and life sim RPG that’s enchanted millions around the world. He’s a 32-year old game developer based in Seattle, Washington, who grew up in a semi-rural area of the Pacific Northwest with dreams of one day being a musician.A digital meditation on what’s truly important in life, Stardew Valley resonates with themes of joy, magic and connection. This interview, undertaken on Friday, March 20, 2020, began with a single question on the theme of communicating, encouraging and sharing happiness. Jeffery Klaehn: La dolce vita. How is “the sweet life” or “the good life” represented within Stardew Valley, and what does it mean for you? Is it the same as success, or different?Eric Barone: For me, a good life involves self-actualization (finding my own purpose and fulfilling it), contributing positively to others (family, friends, community), and feeling like I’m part of something important that is bigger than myself. I guess I’d call achieving those things “success”! JK: Stardew Valley released to universal critical acclaim in 2016 and since then you’ve continuously given players free content updates, providing new content and features, improvements and experiences. Why has this been important for you?Eric Barone: I am very grateful that I’m able to make a career of this, but I’d say the most meaningful thing to me is that people love the game and are finding happiness, peace and magic in it. I've always wanted to capture a special magic with Stardew Valley. Read the rest
Original Robocop actor Peter Weller is returning to the role after 30 years. He'll voice the character in an upcoming video game in the Mortal Kombat franchise that guest-stars the man-machine as a combatant.PETER WELLER IS DOING THE VOICE FOR ROBOCOP IN THE GAME OH MY FUCKING GOD IM GONNA CUM pic.twitter.com/4mHCbdLpRj— ???? (@LucidlyJess) May 6, 2020Sorry if you were expecting a movie! Dr. Weller, as Robo, makes his appearance two minutes in on the trailer video below. Read the rest
My Irish ancestors all came to America between 1847 and 1849 — during the time of An Gorta Mór, the Great Hunger, when the British Empire hoarded all the food they were producing on colonized Irish land and left the native people with nothing but diseased potatoes to survive. This plight resonated with the Choctaw Nation, who lived in and around modern-day Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and of course had had their own experiences with a systematic genocide at the hands of a land-greedy colonizing force just a decade earlier. So the Choctaw rallied their resources, and sent $170 over the Atlantic to the starving people in Ireland — the equivalent of either $5,000 or $20,000 dollars today, depending on your calculations.To commemorate this generous act, a statue was erected in Midleton, County Cork in 2017.But solidarity is even better than a statue. Which is why, as Native Americans have disproportionately suffered from the impacts of COVID-19, Irish people rallied to the cause, raising more than a million dollars for the Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund on GoFundMe in just a few days. The effort was largely spearheaded — or at least publicized — by Irish journalist Naomi O'Leary, who also spoke about the historical relationship and the legacy of colonialism on the Irish Passport podcast:More than $1 million has now been added to the Navajo & Hopi relief fund since it began going viral in Ireland.I explain the history of solidarity between Irish people and Native Americans and the legacy of colonialism in this new @PassportIrish episode: https://t.co/YQZliigGSi Read the rest
My friends John J. King and Ramona Rose King have spent their quarantine creating a new weekly web series called Home Office. Riffing on the confessional style of the original Office, each 5-ish-minute episode details the trials and tribulations of a newly married couple trying to learn how to turn their tiny apartment into a shared office space (While John and Ramona are both playing caricatures of themselves, I personally feel it's a little too-close to my own life). Even the Boston Globe has celebrated its delightfulness.In the episode above, the Kings tackle the very important topic of workplace diversity. Maybe their experience can help you bring some new perspectives to your own home office.With Home Office, a Boston couple concocts a workplace comedy from their tiny apartment [Terry Byrne / The Boston Globe] Read the rest
They blasted “Live and Let Die” while Trump walked around a Honeywell plant today in Arizona without a mask. It’s hard to believe this clip is real. pic.twitter.com/M1dMe8KaMK— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 5, 2020Republicans broadly agree that mass deaths are an acceptable sacrifice in the effort to "reopen" an economy savaged by the coronavirus pandemic. This approach got its media moment yesterday as Trump toured a mask factory to Paul McCartney's classic hit Live and Let Die."They blasted “Live and Let Die” while Trump walked around a Honeywell plant today in Arizona without a mask," writes Aaron Rupar on Twitter. "It’s hard to believe this clip is real."71,000 dead as of today.I keep seeing liberal folks accusing the right of hypocrisy, especially with respect to abortion. This is pointless, because they don't care. We're at the threshold of a sea change, where many right-wingers ditch pro-life rhetoric in favor of blunter, more sectarian weapons. "All life is sacred" was a lie its own proponts hardly pretended to believe in the first place, so why honor it after they abandon it? The post-Roe political reality of "it's not her body anyway" is coming. Read the rest
Thanks to the TreeTalk map of trees in London, I laearned that the maple across the road from my college halls of residence in 1996 is in fact an American Sweetgum. [via Ian Visits]The map is obviously incomplete, but its existence hints at how London is made of trees thusly spaced. Greater London has almost as many trees as people and qualifies as a forest under UN rules, notwithstanding that a third of it is concrete. Read the rest
Whether you're working from home, playing from home, or cheers-ing from home, your webcam is getting a hell of a lot of use these days. And it's likely that you've run through your bag of tricks to liven things up on your video calls. That was, until now. Take your Zoom sessions from tired to wired with this best-selling webcam software that enhances even your most boring department stand-up.With a subscription to YouCam 9 Deluxe for Windows, you'll be able to turn your boring-ole webcam into what's pretty much a live studio that integrates seamlessly with a number of popular video call, broadcasting, recording, and live-streaming services. We're talking Twitch, Facebook Live, YouTube Live, OBS Studio, XSplit, Wirecast, Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom, and more. Rated as "Excellent" by Softpedia, this super-fun software provides you with loads of awesome effects and features, including the ability to apply real-time skin enhancements and makeup plus lighting, sharpness, and noise adjustments, so you'll never have to try to avoid turning on your video feed again. In addition, it's got a bunch—over 200—of augmented reality effects, frames, scenes, customized titles, filters, particles, distortions, animated emoji, and other goodies to help you add some life to your virtual gatherings.On a somewhat more professional note (unless you're into these kinds of parties), you can record business presentations and even boost the entertainment value of PowerPoint slides via PIP video and side-by-side display options and layouts. As a bonus, you'll be able to edit webcam photos using a range of brush sizes and colors or even your fingers if you're using a touchscreen. Read the rest
An incredibly dedicated art project from the very talented @madebyedgar, of Jersey City NJ. You can purchase Edgar's art here.I will never recover financially from making this print View this post on Instagram ? . ⏹ Speedball Rubber Block: @speedball_art ? VeraFine Clair Inkpad: Amazon ? Arches Text Wove Paper: @talasonline ? Matt Large- These Days: @epidemicsound ? Sony a6300: @sonyalpha . #speedball #rubberstamp #stamp #stampaddict #blockprinting #stationary #handcarvedstamp #linocutprint #craft #crafty #stampcarving #stampaddict #stampmaking #handcarving #handprinted #linocut #versafine #printmaking #illustration #handmade #makersgonnamake #artvideos #tigerkingA post shared by Made by Edgar (@made.by.edgar) on May 4, 2020 at 10:03pm PDT Read the rest
They want to drill the Moon.The Trump administration is drafting a legal blueprint for mining on the moon under a new U.S.-sponsored international agreement to be named the Artemis Accords, Reuters reports, citing people familiar with the proposed pact. The Artemis Accords, named after the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s new Artemis moon program, propose “safety zones” that would surround future moon bases to prevent damage or interference from rival countries or companies operating in close proximity.The pact also aims to provide a framework under international law for companies to own the resources they mine, the sources said.In the coming weeks, U.S. officials plan to formally negotiate the accords with space partners such as Canada, Japan, and European countries, as well as the United Arab Emirates, opening talks with countries the Trump administration sees as having “like-minded” interests in lunar mining.Russia, a major partner with NASA on the International Space Station, won’t be an early partner in these accords, the sources said, as the Pentagon increasingly views Moscow as hostile for making “threatening” satellite maneuvers toward U.S. spy satellites in Earth orbit. Read more:Exclusive: Trump administration drafting 'Artemis Accords' pact for moon mining - sources Read the rest
Simon Chandler writes on Forbes:Gun advocacy and conservative groups are responsible for astroturfing the reopen America campaign that has swept the US in recent days, according to research from cybersecurity experts.Since April 15, protests against coronavirus lockdown measures have been sweeping across various American states. Informally unified under the ‘Reopen America’ slogan, they seek an end to measures intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus. They’ve arguably been flared up by tweets President Donald Trump posted on April 17.But according to new research from cybersecurity researchers, many of these protests are neither spontaneous nor organic. Cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs and researchers at DomainTools have separately analysed web addresses including the word "reopen." And interestingly, they’ve found that many of these can be linked to domains associated with gun advocacy groups, lobbyists, and other conservative organizations.Read the rest.[H/t Alberto Gaitán]Image: Lorie Shaul, CC BY-SA 2.0 Read the rest
The numbers are stark. The global cost of data breaches is expected to rise from $3 trillion this year to over $5 trillion by 2024. However, the numbers are just as eye-popping for those who want to defeat current unemployment trends and get hired as a cybersecurity expert. Cybersecurity job postings have nearly doubled since 2013, all while the average salary of an information security analyst is circling six figures.Students who want to get a huge leg up on that vital cybersecurity training can get started for under $30 with a subscription to the CyberTraining 365 Online Academy. With over 3,800 up-to-date modules covering all the latest and most important information on cybersecurity technologies and procedures, learners can explore every facet of the industry at their own pace.With over 660 hours of video content available (and growing), students will find coverage on virtually any topic that strikes their interest, including malware analysis, penetration testing, threat assessments, reverse engineering, and more. No matter where an Academy members wants to turn their focus, courses are all taught by industry-recognized cybersecurity specialists and infrastructure experts, each with years of teaching experience to help bring coursework to life.All the training is created to align with the National Cybersecurity Workforce Framework developed by the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE). If you want to find out what it takes to be an ethical hacker, the training is here. If you want to study vulnerabilities to make sure they don’t find their way into your company’s data systems, you’ll find it here. Read the rest
Wow.Zeke Miller, White House reporter for Associated Press, tweets from a Very Trump Coronavirus Visit to Arizona:The president is wearing safety goggles but no mask on his tour of Honeywell PPE manufacturing lineYes, peak Trump, all day, every day, until as many Americans die as possible of COVID-19.The president is wearing safety goggles but no mask on his tour of Honeywell PPE manufacturing line pic.twitter.com/e6RD3BXu3n— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) May 5, 2020? @ZekeJMiller Read the rest
Twitter is reportedly testing a prompt for iOS users that will ask them to consider editing a tweet they are writing if the system detects that they are using “harmful” language.When things get heated, you may say things you don't mean. To let you rethink a reply, we’re running a limited experiment on iOS with a prompt that gives you the option to revise your reply before it’s published if it uses language that could be harmful.— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) May 5, 2020From reporting for Verge by Nick Statt:Twitter describes it as a limited experiment, and it’s only going to show up for iOS users. The prompt that is now supposed to pop up in certain situations will give “you the option to revise your reply before it’s published if it uses language that could be harmful,” reads a message from the official Twitter Support channel. Who asked for this?No one.Prove this is being applied to Donald and Elon or gtfo with this bs https://t.co/ohu90LqsEg— wearing jeans is for outsiders. (@JGfromOC) May 5, 2020Read more:Twitter tests a warning message that tells users to rethink offensive replies[via techmeme.com] Read the rest
Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong recorded this rocking cover of Kim Wilde's "Kids in America" (1981). It was a birthday gift to Armstrong's bandmate, bassist Mike Dirnt, who turned 48 yesterday. It's the latest in Armstrong's "No Fun Mondays" series of cover songs that also includes his duet, below, with Susanna Hoffs on "Manic Monday," penned by Prince and made famous in 1986 by Hoff's band The Bangles. Read the rest
Apparently this thing is called a Roebling device, and is used to calculate wire resistance per foot based on wire diameter.A very interesting little engineering device, for a highly specialized use. Just looks really cool, too.From IMGURian @silvercatbob.Roebling device used to calculate wire resistance per foot based on wire diameter Read the rest
The United Kingdom now has the most deaths in Europe from the coronavirus pandemic, recording more than 29,427. It surpassed early Covid-19 hotspot Italy on Tuesday, according to figures released by the government.The latest total for Italy, previously the highest in Europe, now stands at 29,315.Experts say it could be months before full global comparisons can be made... BBC head of statistics Robert Cuffe said Britain reached this figure faster in its epidemic than Italy. But he said there are caveats in making such a comparison, including the UK population being about 10% larger than Italy's.The BBC is really hammering on this idea that the UK's larger population makes this somehow inevitable. It's such absolute horseshit. Germany's population is much higher than the UK's, and they've only recorded 8,000 deaths. Read the rest
Journalist and novelist Sally Quinn's bestselling 1991 novel of romance and intrigue, Happy Endings, is about fictional presidential widow Sadie Grey who falls for a sexy medical researcher working for the National Institutes of Health on a new AIDS treatment. Yes, the alluring government scientist with the "low, melodious, sexy, almost hypnotic” voice, as Quinn described the character, is none other than Dr. Anthony Fauci. From Benjamin Wofford's article in Washingtonian:Part searing romance, part roman à clef, “Happy Endings” made the bestseller list during a year when HIV-related deaths were then the highest ever recorded in the United States. By then, Fauci was the government scientist best known for combatting the virus’s spread as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.It was around this time that Quinn first encountered the real-life Fauci, at a Washington function where the two were paired as dinner partners. With his tie askew and from behind enormous glasses, Fauci left an impression of earnest brilliance, enough to inspire the main character of Quinn’s upcoming novel.“I just fell in love with him,” Quinn told me recently, recalling their evening together. “Usually those dinners, you make polite conversation, and that’s it. But we had this intense conversation, personal conversation. I though, ‘Wow, this guy is amazing.'”[...]“He was so different from most Washington people, because he’s so self-effacing. He’s not in it for the glory or the name recognition,” Quinn recalled. She decided to have Grey “fall in love with this doctor who does this amazing work, and doesn’t get a lot of publicity.” Read the rest
My friend Joshua Glenn is a voracious reader of adventure novels. He's turned me onto tons of great books, and he recently compiled a list of 250 great adventure novels from the 20th century. Many of these books are available on project Gutenberg and other public domain book and audiobook websites. I really appreciate that josh found cover art from early editions of the books, rather than the usually terrible art found on contemporary editions. I want to read them all, starting with Black Magic: a Tale of the Rise and Fall of the Antichrist! (audiobook | e-book)Marjorie Bowen’s supernatural fantasy adventure Black Magic (1909). In medieval Flanders, Dirk Renswoude, a lonely craftsman of noble birth, meets Thierry, a young scholar who shares Dirk’s fascination with the black arts. Against a background of violent storms, mysterious comets, and a Walpole-esque mood of gothic horror, the two experiment with mystic circles, arcane incantations, and the summoning of demonic visions. Although Thierry is afraid of blasphemy, Dirk is ambitious — and has sworn allegiance to the Devil in return for worldly power. In fact, Dirk aims to become the Antichrist and Satanic Pope! Nevertheless, Dirk is not entirely villainous — he risks everything for Thierry, with whom he has fallen in love… and his backstory reveals a surprise twist that makes us sympathetic to his desire for the agency and independence denied to him by his family. Ysabeau, a cold-blooded schemer and murderess character, also becomes a sympathetic and even heroic figure; and Jacobea, the novel’s tormented heroine, is also well-portrayed. Read the rest
If you always thought you'd be, like, really good at making music as a producer or maybe even a DJ, you've probably wished you knew the ins and outs of Ableton software—and that you had the time to learn them. Well, lo and behold, here you are with all the quarantime in the world and a chance to check out this 6-part online Ableton Live 10 training.Led by certified Ableton instructor J. Allen, these top-rated classes (none come in under 4.5 stars) offer all the techniques and tricks to producing and performing great music. Over 16.5 hours, the Complete Ableton Live 10 Music Production Bundle takes you on a musical journey that starts with the basics, making it perfect for beginners.You'll learn how to work the Ableton Live interface and how to use it with some standard audio and MIDI recording, which is a great place to start. After that, lessons (220 in total!) cover things like hardware needs and setup—pretty key to getting this whole thing down—plus advanced recording techniques like warping; all kinds of producing and editing tips and tricks that you'll learn through the use of drum samples to edit, arrange, and create unique beats; a deep dive into all of the Ableton Live Instruments; how to incorporate synths and samplers; and more.And if you're seriously into the idea of hosting your own DJ set (or, perhaps, battle) on Instagram live, you won't want to miss the final two courses that are dedicated to the art of the modern grandmaster. Read the rest
Police procedural novelist Michael Connelly is a connoisseur of jazz music so it's no surprise that his most famous character, LAPD detective Hieronymus 'Harry' Bosch, is also a deep enthusiast of the genre. (Connelly has a page on his personal Web site all about the "music in the novels.") Illustrator Russell Walks took those cues and his own penchant for Los Angeles noir and mid-century design to create a terrific series of imaginary Michael Connelly albums released by Blue Note Records. "Most of these pieces were influenced or inspired by the work of Reid Miles, the designer who created somewhere around 500 covers for Blue Note Records in the mid-twentieth century," Russell writes. "I’m not breaking new ground here; Miles’ work has been the launching point for a thousand other designers and artists. Still, there’s something about the way these mid-century colors & typefaces just seem to fit Harry’s L.A., a place where shadows and sadness are as common as sunshine.""The Bosch Series" (Russell Walks Illustration) Read the rest
I tried to start Adobe Acrobat today, part of the Creative Cloud suite, and it wouldn't start unless I agreed to new Terms of Use. But to read the Terms of Use, I had to agree to the Terms of Use first. This video shows me haplessly clicking the "Terms of Use" link only to be prevented from reading them because, of course, I had not agreed to the Terms of Use.Few people read these documents, but there's a difference betweeen didn't read the agreement and can't read the agreement. It's surely just sloppy work from the masters of rented software, but also seems to have disturbing implications. Can Adobe hold me to a contract I could not read before agreeing to it? After all, I have agreed not to sue them!14.1 Process. If you have any concern or dispute, you agree to first try to resolve the dispute informally by contacting us. If a dispute is not resolved within 30 days of receipt by us, any resulting legal actions must be resolved through final and binding arbitration, including any question of whether arbitration is required, except that you may assert claims in small claims court if your claims qualify. Claims related to the Terms, Services, or Software are permanently barred if not brought within one year of the event resulting in the claim. Read the rest
America's ultrarich recently trotted out talking puppet Chris Christie to make the case that allowing as many people to die from coronavirus every day as were killed in the 9/11 attacks is a good bargain for United States economy.From Complex:[On CNN] Christie was also asked specifically about the fact that a Trump administration model is now projecting an estimated daily death count of up to 3,000 people by the start of June. Asked if the American people "would be able to accept" the reality of reopening following such news, Christie said, "They're gonna have to."(Image: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0,modified) Read the rest
On Sunday night Fox News interview Trump standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Trump pointed at the statue of President Lincoln and said, "I am greeted with a hostile press, the likes of which no president has ever seen. The closest would be that gentleman right up there. They always said Lincoln, nobody got treated worse than Lincoln. I believe I am treated worse.” (Worse than being assassinated? Trump is a strange person.)Broadcasting from his living room, Stephen Colbert dedicated 10 minutes to his show talking about the Fox interview, and explaining why Trump actually isn't like President Lincoln. For one thing, Colbert said, Lincoln's admirers followers did not wave confederate flags. Read the rest
In 1996, the wonderful outsider musician and artist Daniel Johnston, who died last year, recorded this lovely and moving cover of Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend." Johnston's childhood friend Dale Dudgeon, drummer Dave Jungen, and the Butthole Surfers' Paul Leary played on the track, produced by Johnston's friend Brian Beattie. They recorded the song for If, a still-unreleased Johnston album.According to a Vulture article from last year, Beattie said Johnston, who suffered from mental health issues and excessive fluid in the brain, "was an emotional wreck at the time and desperately wanted this reunion. A few days later, he was hospitalized."(via r/ObscureMedia) Read the rest
The Los Angeles Times has reported on a study out of Los Alamos National Laboratory that discovered a new strain of Covid-19 that is supposedly more contagious and spreads faster than the first version of Covid-19. It became dominant in the United States mid-march, and "may make people vulnerable to a second infection after a first bout with the disease." According to the LA Times:The new strain appeared in February in Europe, migrated quickly to the East Coast of the United States and has been the dominant strain across the world since mid-March, the scientists wrote.In addition to spreading faster, it may make people vulnerable to a second infection after a first bout with the disease, the report warned...Wherever the new strain appeared, it quickly infected far more people than the earlier strains that came out of Wuhan, China, and within weeks it was the only strain that was prevalent in some nations, according to the report. The new strain’s dominance over its predecessors demonstrates that it is more infectious, according to the report, though exactly why is not yet known...“The story is worrying, as we see a mutated form of the virus very rapidly emerging, and over the month of March becoming the dominant pandemic form,” study leader Bette Korber, a computational biologist at Los Alamos, wrote on her Facebook page. “When viruses with this mutation enter a population, they rapidly begin to take over the local epidemic, thus they are more transmissible.”Whether or not the new strain is actually more fatal wasn't determined in the study, "but it could still complicate efforts to bring the pandemic under control," says the Times. Read the rest
Alright, you've got our attention, Mattel.For their adult collector's market, they've created a Jean-Michel Basquiat X Barbie Doll.Barbie celebrates esteemed artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose prolific body of work played an essential role in elevating street art from the underground to gaining well-deserved acclaim in the upper echelons of the art world. His brilliant paintings are an infusion of graphic poetry, cultural dichotomies and compelling social statements that still inspire today. In a stunning tribute to the artist, this collectible Barbie doll wears a head-to-toe ensemble featuring many well-known elements from works spanning Basquiat's career. From the gleaming golden crown atop her head to the bespoke suit emblazoned with artwork, Jean-Michel Basquiat X Barbie Doll is a curated collaboration bridging two cultural icons.Love it or hate it, the doll sells for $50 (and has already sold out).(Hyperallergic)images via Mattel Read the rest
A 43-year-old store security guard was fatally shot in the back of his head after he told a 45-year-old woman that her daughter could not enter the store without a face mask, reports BBC.After the initial verbal altercation at the store, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton told a news conference on Monday, Sharmel Teague shouted at and spat on Mr Munerlyn before driving away in a red GMC Envoy.She returned a short while later with her son and husband before the fatal confrontation ensued, according to officials.It was the son who allegedly pulled the trigger.The prosecutor told reporters: "The death of Calvin Munerlyn is senseless and tragic, and those responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law."Image: Genesee county prosecutor's office Read the rest
“Semantic satiation is a psychological phenomenon in which repetition causes a word or phrase to temporarily lose meaning for the listener, who then perceives the speech as repeated meaningless sounds.” Read the rest
When I was a teenager, I worked at the Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop in New Haven, Connecticut — which, as far as teenage work went, was pretty formative and fantastic. While the campus is based in Eli Whitney's original factory, the museum itself is more of an experimental learning workshop that uses alternative teaching methods to celebrate and explore the intersections of engineering, design, and innovation. And yes, that man above was my boss, who hopes to enjoy his well-deserved retirement soon, depending on how this pandemic plays out.On the weekends, we'd host birthday parties at the museum for younger kids, where they'd get to do some hands-on woodworking projects that also introduced them to simple machines or electricity (like a single Christmas light and a battery; we weren't monsters). We had a series of projects loosely based on the books of Leo Lionni, including one very simple project for 5-year olds that was based on the story of Frederick the Mouse. The basic idea of the story is that all the other mice accuse Frederick of being lazy while the rest of them are busy getting ready for the winter. They're all gathering wood and straw and nuts and stone so they can hide away in comfort when it gets cold out — and Frederick just sits there, insisting that he, too, is collecting things like colors and stories and sounds.This, understandably, irritates all the other hard-working mice. But when the winter finally comes, and they're all trapped in the cave together, going out of their little mouse minds, that's when Frederick finally pulls his weight. Read the rest
Universal Music Group is auctioning off a percentage of the royalties to three Michale Graves-era Misfits records: American Psycho (1997), Famous Monsters (1999), and Cuts From The Crypt (2001). The royalties include sales, streaming, and sync rights, and last for the life of the author + 70 years. According to the auction page:Earnings for this 20-year-old catalog grew year-over-year for the past four years. Last year’s total royalties increased by 27% compared to the prior year alone.This catalog collects royalties from three types of use, but mechanical earnings are the foundation with 83% of last year’s total. Public performance royalties follow with 16% of earnings. All three royalty sources grew by double digits or more in the last year, with mechanical earnings increasing by 27% and public performance by 17%.Royalties for the top three earnings tracks are also growing, by 30% or more in the last year. All were released in 1999 or earlier. The top-earning song “Saturday Night” (1999) — accounts for 38% of last year’s returns — an increase of 48% over the prior year.Last year, this chunk of royalties brought in more than $12,000. Bidding is currently up to $107,200 (as of this writing), and it ends today. So if you want to own a piece of (revivalist) Horror-Punk history, now's your chance.Misfits Publishing Royalties [Royalty Exchange]Image: Jonas Rogowski / Wikimedia Commons (CC 3.0) Read the rest
According to CNN 18% of Wendy's restaurants in the United States are no longer able to sell hamburgers or other meat-based items because of the national meat shortage. The restaurant chain is focusing it attention on promoting chicken sandwiches, wrote Stephens analyst James Rutherford. CNN asked McDonald's and Burger King whether they were experiencing shortages, but neither chain immediately responded. Read the rest
When asked to wear a facemask, this customer at a Dollar Tree Store in Michigan responded by saying “Here, I will use this as a mask” before wiping his nose on an employee's shirt.The Holly Police Department released this video on Facebook and has asked Public to help identify the gentleman with the runny nose. Read the rest
Trump complained about White House reporters Weijia Jiang and Paula Reid in a new interview, saying “It wasn’t Donna Reed, I can tell you that. ... Paula Reid, she’s sitting there and I say, ‘How angry. I mean, What’s the purpose?’ They’re not even tough questions, but you see the attitude of these people, it’s like incredible.“In response:The President told me to be “nice and easy” three out of the last four times I asked him a question. https://t.co/RfptoMczVG— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) May 5, 2020President Trump tells @nypost I am nothing like 50's American archetypal mom Donna Reed. Fact-check: True. pic.twitter.com/sUTgWwsNX9— Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCBS) May 5, 2020People are assuming that when he says "Donna Reed" he means demure and submissive, but it's just as likely he means dead. Read the rest
“I painted a happy little scene from Animal Crossing. Doomguy is there too!”This video is from Two Ruru Paints, IMGURian @tworuru's YouTube show in which he paints landscapes and scenes from video games and pop culture.“If you like the idea of watching a heavily-accented Kiwi-Aussie hybrid do paintings while making jokes, HIT THAT SUBSCRIBE BUTTON! RING THAT BELL! God, I hate myself for even saying it ironically, but seriously, please do it. It helps keep me in bread and electricity.”I painted Animal Crossing. And Doom Eternal. In the same painting. Read the rest
Britain and the United States said on Tuesday in a joint warning that government-backed hackers are attacking healthcare and research institutions with the goal of stealing valuable information about the response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.The statement does not name which countries, but Russia, Iran, and China are widely blamed.State hacking groups “frequently target organizations in order to collect bulk personal information, intellectual property and intelligence that aligns with national priorities,” the statement from Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency reads.“For example, actors may seek to obtain intelligence on national and international healthcare policy or acquire sensitive data on COVID-19 related research.”From Reuters:In a statement, Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said the hackers had targeted pharmaceutical companies, research organisations and local governments.The NCSC and CISA did not say which countries were responsible for the attacks. But one U.S. official and one UK official said the warning was in response to intrusion attempts by suspected Chinese and Iranian hackers, as well as some Russian-linked activity.The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss non-public details of the alert. Tehran, Beijing and Moscow have all repeatedly denied conducting offensive cyber operations and say they are the victims of such attacks themselves.Read more:State-backed hackers targeting coronavirus responders, U.S. and UK warn[Jack Stubbs, Christopher Bing, May 5] Read the rest
In 2015, Charlie Brooker deconstructed economics news reports in this grimly amusing pastiche — a sequel to his earlier boiling-down of feature news reports. I'd like to see Charlie and Emily Surname do this for Covid-19 updates. Read the rest
One takeaway you may have discovered about your new WFH lifestyle is that you probably need a couple of new pieces of tech to get your home office running more smoothly.Since Zoom meetings and more VoIP (voice over Internet) communication is probably in your future, now’s the time to start taking this new workflow into consideration. If you’ve already got a sturdy set of headphones, the Antlion ModMic Business attachable noise-canceling boom microphone can be just the addition to take your presentation to the next level.The ModMic is a flexible choice for Skype, Google, or other VoIP calls with lifelike audio fidelity and noise cancellation. That clarity and performance make the ModMic perfect for professionals that require clear audio whether they’re on a conference call or in a noisy environment like a call center — or when the kids aren’t respecting the please be quiet rule.The ModMic includes a powered USB adapter for use with any computer or VoIP application. The USB input also actually improves the call quality without the need for dedicated sound cards, mixers, or other audio interface devices.The unit features a mute-switch, allowing you to quickly mute and unmute your microphone when on a meeting or just holding. It’s also adaptable, connecting via USB or an old school 3.5mm jack, depending on your headphone or microphone port.Speaking of adaptable, the ModMic attaches to most on-the-ear or over-the-ear headphones, turning your favorite headphones into a high-quality, comfortable headset especially suited to those longer than average calls. Read the rest
A man in Florida was filmed headbutting a guest in a restaurant and subsequently being restrained by another, larger guest. The clip did the rounds but, in a world beset by more ostentatious insanity and rancor, didn't quite reach the viral heights it might once have achieved.But it's gone viral now due to the Streisand Effect: someone attempted to get the video removed from social media with a copyright claim, ensuring that all eyes were immediately upon it. Torrentfreak reported it out:Last summer, Steve Heflin was on business in Fort Lauderdale [and] encountered “two guys in suits” sitting at the bar. Steve tells us that after one left the other was involved in a dispute and was asked by the management to leave. Things didn’t go well.Due to the apparent level of intoxication, the valet wouldn’t return “drunk guy’s” keys, informing him that his car would be safe where it was parked and he should get an Uber home instead. There was an altercation and the valet ended up hiding behind the manager. The confrontation escalated and as can be seen in the video embedded below, something pretty awful happened to the first person in line.The awful thing was an ineffective headbutt.The widespread assumption is that the copyright claimant is the headbutter in the video, as a publized depiction of the copyright claim asserts that this is the case. But something about this has me suspect that someone is identifying that person via the fraudulent DMCA takedowns in order to humiliate them. Read the rest
19世紀に作られたマウストラップ、ヤバすぎでしょhttps://t.co/3nSlFJGmbu pic.twitter.com/yzM0KIsuRj— いけさん ィェィㇴ太郎 (@is_ikesan) May 4, 2020Mouse trap expert Shawn Woods writes that this device is known as "the 1862 Mouse Killer". It is an uncompromising example of the genre. [via Brian Ashcraft] Read the rest
In 1957, an English doctor was accused of killing his patients for their money. The courtroom drama that followed was called the "murder trial of the century." In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the case of John Bodkin Adams and its significance in British legal history.Well also bomb Calgary and puzzle over a passive policeman.Show notesPlease support us on Patreon! Read the rest
“I'm my own best friend,” she says.A very cool cosplay by IMGURian @vudumommajuju.Today is the 4th of May, a special day for Star Wars fans -- May the Fourth Be With You!It's also a day when it's worth remembering the 1987 parody sci-fi film 'Spaceballs.''The Schwartz' was a play on 'The Force.' 'May the Schwartz be with you.' May the Schwartz be with you. Read the rest