Thursday, July 31, 2008

Where's the outrage? (WSJ)

Should you pity your extremely progressive friends -- after all, they're more miserable than you, aren't they? Maybe not. In fact, anger does not translate very well into lower levels of happiness. In fact, extreme liberals were more likely than moderates in 2008 to say they were "very happy" about their lives (28% to 25%). This is of a piece with a growing body of political research which finds that people on the extreme left (and extreme right) tend to be quite a bit happier than those with more moderate views.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Disturbing video of a NYC Cop attacking a bike rider this week.
There's Something About Mary: Unmasking a Gun Lobby Mole
But these two Marys share a lot in common—a Mother Jones investigation has found that McFate and Sapone are, in fact, the same person. And this discovery has caused the leaders of gun violence prevention organizations to conclude that for years they have been penetrated—at the highest levels—by the NRA or other pro-gun parties.
(mojones)

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The Bush Administration Scandal Map! (Slate) browsable by implicated villain or crime.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Mike Tyson's abandoned Ohio mansion.
"Yes, that is a sundae bar"
Radiohead just released a video for "House of Cards". In this video, 64 lasers rotating and shooting in a 360 degree radius 900 times per minute produced all the exterior scenes. They're sharing the capture data on google code for people to make their own animations using the same data.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Salon has uncovered new evidence of post 9-11 spying on Americans
"If we know this much about torture, rendition, secret prisons and warrantless wiretapping despite the administration's attempts to stonewall, then imagine what we don't know," says a senior Democratic congressional aide who is familiar with the proposal and has been involved in several high-profile congressional investigations.

"You have to go back to the McCarthy era to find this level of abuse," says Barry Steinhardt, the director of the Program on Technology and Liberty for the American Civil Liberties Union. "Because the Bush administration has been so opaque, we don't know [the extent of] what laws have been violated."

I wonder if Obama will proactively move to pardon these criminals as well?
E-Z Bake DNA

The scientists say the artificial DNA acts like the real thing, and even forms right-handed duplexes with complementary artificial strands. They hope to one day use their discovery to create a new biological information storage system that functions outside the cell. Artificial DNA could be advantageously used instead of natural DNA due to its stability against naturally occurring enzymes and its structural diversity

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

An Obsessive Compulsion toward the Spectacular
Dutch Architect Rem Koolhaas interview in Spiegel
The expression ["junk space"] describes the effect commerce has on architecture, how it affects the beauty, authenticity and acceptance of a building. The irony is that in the West, of all places, an overemphasis of the economic forces us into permanent chaos. In the past, an airport could be proud of the fact that its paths, from the airport entrance to the gates, were short and direct. Nowadays the large numbers of shopping areas have turned airports into labyrinths. In other words, starting at the paradigm of clarity, it has taken us only 20 years to end up in a paradigm of chaos.


Architectural Jelly (Jello) competition
Frank Gehry interview in Gabion: It's Not Just Plop
As for keeping the weather out - summer storms traditionally greet the unveiling of the Serpentine pavilions, and they usually leak, sometimes spectacularly - well, Frank asked about that. "I said - what about keeping the rain out? Julia (Peyton-Jones, director of the Serpentine) said, no problem. Then she phoned me later and said - 'but Frank, I have one little problem. It rains a lot'". He raises his eyes heavenwards and makes a strangulated noise of frustration. "This one is meant to leak. Everyone should bring an umbrella."

ChicagoType
(via Coudal)
So that's what $300 Million looks like.
Foxes kick off Henhouse protection campaign
Health insurance plans kick off Health Care Reform Campaign

Probably one of the most unintentionally hilarious headlines ever.
The Jive is back from a short summer break.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

WTF?!
This jerk isn't getting another dime from me. Telecom execs who authorized illegal, unconstitutional wiretapping against law-abiding American citizens should be doing hard, long, soul-destroying prison time. There is no excuse for this.

John Doe still has an amazing voice


The ball, bubble, and egg chair gallery. I need one.
A nice youtube letterpress piece
Jim Denevan makes sand drawings at low tide with a stick
(via coudal)
20 Most Fascinating prehistoric paintings

World's most interesting bridges (Part 1) (Part 2)
(darkroastedblend)

Sunday, July 06, 2008


A nice collection of flickr letterpress ornaments
(via bibliodyssey)

Thursday, July 03, 2008

The God of Fountain Pens.
Is it really justified that Fox is allowed to use the word 'News' any longer?
More on the same.

"It wasn't a hit piece," Sifton told E&P. "It was straight news. This was a hit piece by Fox News. It is beneath comment." Asked if the paper planned to respond to Fox's actions, he said no: "It is fighting with a pig, everyone gets dirty and the pig likes it."