Clothing for the year 2000AD... as seen from 1930...

Designers from the 1930s were asked to design their predictions of what clothes will be like in the far-off future of AD2000... (from haha.nu)

Watching marbles move through hoops

The little theme "ga-donka-donka-deet'zee" gets a bit old by about the middle of this clip, but it's well worth watching these crackpot contraptions. It's interesting to think that somebody thought up, and then put together, these marble-runs. (haha.nu)



And another, called Pipe Dreams...

Daily Shizu... neither a Daily, nor a Shizu...

A "cute" story from Nedroid Comics, about a Deathkiller and his search for somebody to love. (nedroid)

Benchilada started a post he called The Big Shill... which was a call to artists to post their art (which could be anything, even, as he puts it, "poop sculptures"), for sale, into the comments section. Quite the selection. (benchilada)

Real Life Comics has a good description of the perfect working environment for men. (RLC)

Interlude: 50 Jokes in 4 Minutes:



Canada Reads has announced the books and panelists for the 2009 competition. (CBC) The books are announced in November so everyone has a chance to read them, before the decision process March 2-6, 2009 on CBC Radio One.

Lifehacker describes a book-suggestion service called Whichbook, that uses a series of "sliders" to determine your interests, rather than having to enter in previous books that you've read. Great idea, which will quickly be moved on to movie-selection, I imagine. Anybody seen that yet? (whichmovie.net doesn't...) (lifehacker)

Lifehacker also suggested an interesting webapp called GreatSummary that looks at other sites and summarizes the content for you into a few sentences... so those "too long, didn't read" moments don't have to happen. (lifehacker)

Just for fun, here's Alt|Text Video's "5 Lame Things in Star Wars Canon."



Check out this review of The Doors Live at the Matrix, which was recorded in the pre-Light-My-Fire days of 1967. (guardian.uk)

And this great rant from Lefsetz Letter about why the music industry is on the decline. One of many such fantastic posts. If you're into music, as an artist or a listener, this is a blog worth following. (lefsetz)

And an amazing video by Francois Macre, who performs Michael Jackson's "Thriller" a cappella... using 64 tracks of himself making all the parts... my favourite is his French-accent Vincent Price toward the end. Brilliant!



Dapperstache has released their Periodic Table of Awesoments, which I found through kottke. Needs to be seen. Awesome. (dapperstache)

Speaking of awesome, it turns out that Canadian internet users are alone, but not lonely. Good news for my Born-to-Be-a-Recluse community! As the study summary says: "Canadian Internet users tend to have large personal networks and frequent interactions with friends and family, although they tend to spend less time face-to-face with others, and more time online. Many are using the World Wide Web in ways that facilitate social and civic participation, such as making contact with others and finding out about their communities. Internet users, particularly those who spend more than one hour online per day, spend less time on traditional social activities, including time with family members and socializing over meals. However, they are at least as socially engaged as non-users." (StatsCan) (CBC)

More good news: studies indicate that "the elderly" can improve their cognitive skills by playing games. The study had forty 60+ year-olds play (one of my all-time favourite games) Rise of Nations from Big Huge Games. (wired)

And another of my favourite game studios, Spiderweb Software, has released the fifth and final installment of the Geneforge series. (InsideMacGames) And an update. (IMG) And another update. (IMG)

Jeff Vogel, founder of Spiderweb Software, talked to Inside Mac Games about a bunch of stuff, including the game I'm particularly fond of, the Avernum series. (IMG)

From cool games to cool animation: kottke.org pointed out a post that shows the Futurama direct-to-DVD release of Bender's Game shows Planet Express to be in New York's Hell's Kitchen area. (chrrrharrr)

And a PSA: buy the Starbucks(Red) product this season, and they give a little to the needy.

Volcano eruption in HD...

Vancouver round-up

Here's an excellent review of Lisa Smedman's new book Vancouver: Stories of a City. (re:place)

And a story about Joe Rimmer and his hand-made limited-edition copies of Tom Sawyer, mostly talking about growing up in a Vancouver that resembles the Mark Twain classic. (VanSun)

Francis Bula writes in Vancouver Magazine about how cities around the world are trying to emulate our city. (VanMag)

The Urban Dweller on VanCity Buzz talks about Vancouverism. (VCBuzz)

Speaking of Vancouver, what about Electoral Area A...? A failed-candidate has asked for a referendum on becoming a municipality. (straight)

Gordon Murray created a parody copy of the Vancouver Sun newspsper in 2007, to highlight his opinion towards the Canwest-owned paper's apparent pro-Israel/anti-Palestine position. He was taken to court, of course. Judge Alan Donaldson, of the B.C. Supreme Court, decided that freedom of expression could not be used as a defense in a copyright infringement case. (straight) [Personally, I see this as setting up for all those "copyright infringers" that use any Olympic icons for parody or satire, or some other unwanted-by-VANOC bad-press.]

Francis Bula talks about her friends' photo blog. (bula) It's called Splinter In Your Eye, and is about Vancouver in transition (mostly). (SiYE)

Another good read is the summary from re:Place magazine about their re:Connect event. (re:place)

Here's a tip for drivers: know where the unregulated parking areas are. (CTV) There's also a great link on the right-hand side that shows the frequency of parking tickets across the city that's fascinating!

Check out this link to Bob_2006's flickr stream with a good write-up about the Vancouver Museum. (flickr)

And there's an even better idea than my "tent city on vacant lot" idea from before. "Stop Gap Housing." (tyee) The problem? Finding land...? Maybe those vacant lots I was mentioning...?

Before I forget, check out the rest of Penny Coupland's awesome paintings of Vancouver scenes, like this one of Kits Beach. My personal favourite is one she did of our favourite watering hole, the Wolf and Hound, but it was unfortunately taken down from her Flickr photostream.

Mats Sundin signs with Canucks

This just off the wires: Mats Sundin has signed with the Vancouver Canucks, since the NY Rangers couldn't clear their salary cap.

Province
Team 1040
VanCity Buzz

Daily Shizu... neither a Daily, nor a Shizu...

It may just be an old-fashioned link-fest, but for me it's a round-up of all the interesting tidbits of information that have caught my attention. They pile up.

Here's a list of the bloodiest one-day battles in history. (economist)
20 great photos of the US Civil War. (ListUniverse)
The migrations of the Atomic Bomb. (NYT)
And a look at what all the fighting is about in today's world. (good)
And the Future of War. (wired)

Life Magazine released their photo archives onto Google for searching. (g.img)
And the New York Public Library goes on flickr. (NYPLflickr)

Marijuana may be good for memory. At a dosage equal to one puff. (wired)
And the Swiss are giving out free heroin. (CTV)
Fantastic photos of a polar bear playing with dogsled huskies! (noimpactman)

Rummy begins the revision of history, according to Slate. (slate)
Five physics lessons for Obama. (foreignpolicy)
US influence continues to wane in the world. (CBC) (NIC)
And how now looks like the new middle ages. (good)

Michael Moore on the auto bailout. (mm)
And Stiglitz wants them to go bankrupt. (good)
Maybe we can make our own cars: do it yourself factories. (good)

The Great Depression in British Columbia. (tyee)
What will Depression 2009 look like? (bostonglobe)
Warning signs you are in financial diffculty. (CTV)
And it's never too early to plan ahead. (finpost)

Is your attitude for work a Ninja, Pirate or Zombie? (PtB)
It's still better to be an oblivious narcissist. (CanBusi)
And here's the place to work: Perfect, Inc. (good)
Or turn your hobby into revenue. (CanBusi)
Start the planning habit early: teaching kids to plan. (OH)

Slate asks if we should resurrect the Neanderthal. (slate)
Tyrolean Iceman may have treated his own wounds. (NatlGeo) (wired)
Dogs show envy. Or want justice. (CBC) (wired)
Meteors may have sparked life on Earth. (wired)
The Antikythera mechanism was rebuilt and restarted. (wired)
An ancient mass grave from Punic War times was found in Italy. (NatlGeo)

Book review of The Superorganism. (NYT)

Muppet Beaker sings Yellow by Coldplay

REM encore

Pro-shot video of REM's encore in Mexico City.

Explaining ten-dimensional concepts...

Crazy Artist alert!

Daito Manabe is a Japanese composer that has started a series of experiments, using the electrical signals of music to control his facial muscles. (cdm)

Daito Manabe website.
Daito Manabe on youtube.

I Google You (music video), sung by Amanda Palmer, words by Neil Gaiman

Prepare for The Invasion!

Part of the hype for the new Keanu Reeves film, a remake of the already-classic 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still, involves beaming the film into space. I think I'm becoming increasingly jaded about the ideas that are pitched about in the name of marketing, because when I first heard about this I actually rolled my eyes.

One part of me, the Conspiracy Analyist, might be concerned with the thought of sending out the details of one of humanity's greatest fears to something that could very well be the fulfillment of those fears... but that train has already long-left the station. After all, we've already been advertising our celestial presence by leaking a constant stream of radio, television and radar signals for around a century. The cat's out of the bag, and we've already "stepped on the proverbial twig in the forest" if you get my meaning. (mail) Some even say we've actually already been contacted, and it's all a cover-up... but you already knew that. (mail)

In fact, the same Florida company that will be sending Mr. Reeves film to the aliens will beam any 5-minute message into space for U$299. This company has also already beamed out whale songs, and the entire Craiglist web site. (So if you're in Alpha Centari and want a used iPod, we on Earth have got you covered. But the shipping chrages are gonna cost you an eyestalk and a tentacle.)

Aside from the muddle of random broadcasts, here is my list of Ten Signals That Have Been "Beamed into Space."

10. The Beatles song Across the Universe. But is it DRM-free?! (wired)
9. An advertisement for Doritos tortilla chips. (New Scientist)
8(a). Messages (like Brit photos and such) from social network site Bebo users. (BBC) (skynews)
8(b). A time capsule from Yahoo Inc, transmitted from a Mexican pyramid. (CBC)
7. A live Paul McCartney concert. (NME)
6. Swedish poetry. (dublinka)
5. A creepy rendition of Gershwin music. (seti)
4. Harry Potter film. (BBC)
3. Your phone calls, for U$3.99 a minute. Cheaper than to the Philippines. (New Scientist)
2. Your blog. (imo.org) (bloginspace)
1. The debate on whether beaming stuff into space is smart on our part. (seed)

It all boils down to this, my fellow humans: Be Prepared.

Videos showing flights on Earth...

Wired.com has the full write-up on how this was put together, and a bunch of other video simulations that are interesting. (wired)

Here's every flight on Earth.



And here's a neat one with flights in Europe.

Timelapse Antarctica video by Jordan Manley

Seriously brilliant.

antarctic peninsula (2008) - jordan manley from raman on Vimeo.

The problem with Day of the Ninja

December 5th is the annual Day of the Ninja.

A couple of quick tidbits:
Day of the Ninja (Dec 5) started in 2003 by the guys at website Ninja Burger.
Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sep 19) started in 1995 by two guys in Oregon.

Why won't Ninja Day catch on like TLaP Day? Well, maybe it will. But right from the official ND site: Plague your co-workers with ninja-ness and wear a ninja mask to work! Got the day off? Run wild in the streets, or dress like a ninja at the mall! Just show the world that YOU ARE NINJA!

Let me put it this way: I may give an "avast, me hearties" while slipping past my co-workers in the lunchroom to grab another cup of coffee... but I am certainly not wearing a ninja mask to get to that cup of java. The first, a funny conversation-starter... the second... I see no potential but humiliation and embarrassment. And dressing like a ninja at the mall or on the street? How about International "Kick-Me-Sign-On-My-Back" Day instead?

And fine, maybe I ain't as free-wheelin' cool as others out there... but I like to think I likely represent the median attitude on this Ninja vs Pirate vs Zombie question, and it's my opinion that Ninja Day will only catch on with hardcore extremist ninjas, while Pirate Day will appeal to a wider audience. It boils down to the "ease of participation" and "potential humiliation limited to self-chosen situations" factors.

Satan alert!

Rachel Ann Lindsay

Rachel Ann Lindsay is an illustrator in Toronto with an interesting drawing style... each element of the drawing consists of a single unbroken line. The result is frenetic and sketchy, and fantastic.

Take a look at the work on her site.