Enviropocalypse Now
For Gulf Coast residents concerned about the massive, floating blob of toxins headed towards their shores, President Obama’s Sunday assurances may have rang a bit hollow.
Time Travel Complications
The issue of Earth’s movement along its orbit is something flux capacitor- obsessed sci-fi authors and screenwriters rarely acknowledge. Perhaps in some future sci-fi story, the author will restrict time travel to events that happened on the same calendar day as the departure, to prevent the Earth movement problem.
For more on the geographical aspects of time, see Claytonian Time.
Glenn Beck Futures Crash on News of Buffoonery
Media matters is reporting that porky pundit Glenn Beck’s stock has dropped precipitously this year. The website attributes the crash to an episode in which Beck made made the error of attempting to engage in actual journalism.
Can We Persuade Congress to Bite the Hand that Feeds It?
The thought that Congress serves not the interests of its constituents, but those of its corporate benefactors, used to be reserved for cynics and conspiracy theorists. Now this line of thinking is so banal, so obvious, that it goes without saying. A huge majority (roughly 4 out of 5 Americans) now believes that the game is rigged, and there is virtually no real institutional reform possible without the complete overhaul of our campaign finance system.
Robert Reich Still Kicking Butt
Given the coming political kerfuffle over financial regulations, our former Brandeis Professor, Robert Reich is as relevant a commentator as ever. Here’s a recent piece of his on the unholy relationship between Congress and the Giant Vampire Squids of our times.
And here’s an unrelated video of Reich taking his tough talk to the streets with partner in crime, Coco.
Cable Gal
This wiry broad (band) was created by digi-artist Kasey Mcmahon. If she were mine, I would call her Anne of Green Cables.
Kasey is more well known in Mep land for having given birth to the Compubeaver.
ESPN’s 30 for 30 Conjures Fantasy Baseball Mythology
This week, ESPN’s groundbreaking “30 for 30” series explored the origins of one of the most popular internet activities – outside of Facebook and LOLcats. It attempted to re-enact the conditions under which “Rotisserie” baseball was created.
Formulaic Claptrap
An excellent demonstration of our vulnerability to certain combination of notes. Perhaps not to the level of a brown note, but still, an eye-opening display…
OCD Gamer’s Simcity 3000 Megalopolis of the Future
Initially popularized on Reddit, this video depicts the creation of “Magnasanti,” a Simcity 3000 metropolis that, in terms of game mechanics and incentives, is a model of perfection.
Entitled “Simcity 3000 – ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM,” the creation video relays tales of a three-year construction period executing Da Vinci-like designs scrawled on reams of parchment. Magnasanti sports a population of over 6 million, a crime rate of zero, no roads (mass transit only), and a flawless integration of commercial, industrial, and residential zones modeled after the Bhavacakra, or Tibetan wheel of life.
A Dose of 8-Bit Reality
This Double Dragon/Super Mario protagonist ventures beyond the typical 8-bit endgame to find an even more harrowing challenge — keeping the affections of a rescued princess.
Link via BoingBoing