Saturday 29 September 2012

This is Friday's miscellaneous stuff!!

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Show the poor: returning to the art of the Great Depression
an article by Alice Béja published in Eurozine
Abstract
When Roosevelt insisted that photographers and writers document the Great Depression, they produced lasting, iconic work that allowed America to doubt its myths but also to get back on track. So where, asks Alice Béja, are today’s Dorothea Langes and John Steinbecks?
Full article (HTML)

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Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Nations are rich or poor because of government and social institutions. But the decay rate of organic matter plays a part, too... more
I plead guilty to reading this one – all the way through!

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Fort Blaster – Ahoy There
via How-To Geek by Asian Angel
In this game you and your pirate crew luck out and find a series of forts full of treasure waiting for you to claim in a campaign of high seas terror. So hoist the colours, grab your favorite cannon, and get ready to blast your way to fame and fortune!
Follow Asian Angel’s walk-through here or take your chances and go straight to the game here.

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Bookcase that cunningly stores a table and chairs
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow

Orla Reynolds’s “As If From Nowhere” is a bookcase with four removable chairs and a dining table cunningly worked into its frame. It’s basically a storage unit for an extra table.
As if from nowhere (via Bookshelf)
Watch it through to the end and then tell me what is wrong with the music credit, please.
Oh dear, embed code took some finding and then needed tweaking!


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Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
By speeding the change in middle-class courtship from parlour to public dating, the automobile did women no favour in the 1920s...more

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Seeing Beyond the Human Eye: Video of beautiful scientific and artistic photography
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder


The latest installment of the “Off Book” series from PBS and Kornhaber Brown is called Seeing Beyond the Human Eye and features microphotography, astrophotography, slow-motion video, and time-lapse video. My favourite part is Cameron Michaels’ time-lapse scenes of Manhattan.
This piece explores the beautiful imagery that has been uncovered thanks to modern technology. Because of advancements made in photomicrography, astrophotography, high-speed and stop-motion photography, we’re now able to see the world (and galaxy) as we never have before.
It’s our curiosity and thirst for the unknown that has driven us to uncover the beauty of the universe. Technology has allowed us to overcome the boundaries of human perception and explore beyond the limits of the naked eye. Told through the voices of scientists and artists, this video illustrates how size and distance are no longer barriers, and how through innovation we see the universe, time, and humanity in a new light.

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The Athletes: 1897
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive - Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
The Athletes: 1897
Circa 1897
“U.S.S. Oregon - the athletes”
8x10 inch dry plate glass negative by Edward H. Hart, Detroit Publishing Company
View original post

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Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Mixing perfumes, or “layering” them, as it’s said, is like going crazy with pizza toppings – you, of course, being the pizza...more

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Now *that’s* a “girls in science” video: “The Longest Time”, by the Barber Lab Quartet
via Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin

Miles O’Brien points me to this cute musical video written and performed by young female scientists at the Barber Lab. The video was discussed on a recent email thread of scientists debating the (lack of) merit of this EU PSA.
Commenters: before you say anything mean about the fact that their homemade Billy Joel cover ditty is a little off-key here and there, or the rhymes a little dorky... that’s the point. These women are actual researchers, who care passionately about the subject of their research, and they’re sharing that in an authentic way with the world.
Unlike this shit.
The Coral Triangle is one of the most threatened, yet understudied, ecosystems in the world. We are working to understand the processes creating and maintaining biological diversity in this region, while building the capacity of researchers and students to contribute to local conservation efforts. Terima kasih Pak Ngurah Mahardika dan Indonesia untuk menyambut kami! For more information please visit www.IBRCBali.org, or contact us at barberlabquartet@gmail.com.

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New Video Techniques for Monitoring Health
via The Scholarly Kitchen by Kent Anderson

A fascinating set of new video techniques being developed at MIT hint at how cameras might someday intervene in crib death, help diagnose heart disease, and more.


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