March 2012
89 posts
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February 2012
103 posts
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We're all Bostonians now (well, at least the...
Everyone knows the dropped R’s of the Boston accent. It’s accepted wisdom that it started with Boston Brahmins trying to ape an English accent back in the 17th century to sound more ”English”. In his book, “Speaking American: A History of English in the United States”, Linguist Richard Bailey’ suggests that the R’s dropped here first then the practice spread...
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Beats the hell out of that little hibachi I used...
Using just a wood puck made of recycled scraps and a ventilation fan this $200 portable grill gets to 1,110ºF in five minutes. At least that’s what they promise.
The Cook-Air gains its power from a combination of a wood fire and a five-speed electric ventilator that literally fans the flames. Cata Marketing, Inc., the company that sells the grill, says that it only takes a small piece of...
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No, folks The Onion still isn't real
Sixteen years on since the website was launched and there are still people who don’t realize that The Onion is a fake news site. This website, Literally Unbelievable, is proof positive.
For example:
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Controversial building, good story
Boston City Hall doesn’t have a ton of fans. It’s a hulking, brutalist building surrounded by a sea of bricks. It’s worth knowing the story of how it came to be, though. How you feel about it says a lot not only about your feelings on modernist architecture but also on how architecture can change the way a city is viewed.
Yet it wasn’t aliens who brought it here. Surprisingly,...
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Scale model construction madness
This guy in Canada has been digging out his basement using only scale model sized, radio controlled construction equipment for the last 15 years. This is totally astounding.
A Canadian guy named Joe has been digging out the basement of his house using nothing but radio-controlled scale model construction equipment… since 1997. Yes, you read that right — he’s been digging out his...
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five episodes to get you hooked on "Community"
With the news that NBC is officially bringing back one of my favorite recent shows, Community, NY Mag’s Vulture blog has posted a rundown of five episodes to get newbies as hooked as I am.
Slate’s Brow Beat culture blog has a post, too.
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one of the oldest animals on the planet
Analysis of an amino acid in the tissue of bowhead whales suggests that they could live to be over 200 years old… making them one of the oldest animals on the planet.
Watch The Oldest Mammal on the Planet on PBS. See more from Nature.
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more on that Amazon.com-selling-whale-meat story
It turns out the early reporting on Amazon selling whale meat (including some sourced from Japan’s Antarctic “research” expeditions) had real legs. The Guardian reports:
Environmental groups are claiming a major victory after the online retailer Amazon removed whale meat products from its site in Japan.
Amazon was accused of hypocrisy by the UK-based environmental...
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The Clean is touring. Tickets on sale at noon today for a 6/4 show at Brighton Music Hall. Yes!
The Clean - Tally Ho by MergeRecords
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For you urban planning/design & architecture...
This is a really interesting Kickstarter project… I’ve given $25 so I can get a copy of the book when it’s done.
“I Want to be METROPOLITAN” is a research on mini-metropolises, using Boston as a case study to provide a different reading of the city. The study focuses on showing the efforts that the city of Boston has made in order to grow with metropolitan characteristics while...
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So, you want to be a movie poster designer?
Begin your education here with the six rules of modern poster design. I’ll get you started with the first two rules:
The rest can be found here.
A map that (I hope) speaks for itself
After the NYT piece last week that went in-depth into the paradox that Federal spending critics (largely Republican-represented states) tend to be the biggest recipients of those same Federal programs, TPM created this map that gives a pretty succinct description of this fact.
The map expands on that by adding to the story the amount of dollars each state gets for each dollar it pays into Federal...
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My OP-1 assignment tonight… teach myself how...
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Community is officially coming back next month. HUZZAH!
Electroshock
here’s a pretty cool French animated short
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c'mon get happy
If this page of pictures of corgis being happy doesn’t make you smile on a Friday afternoon you have no soul.
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maximum whimsy for minimal cash outlay
Hayao Miyazaki’s new film, The Secret World of Arrietty (Kari-gurashi no Arietti), is out this weekend. If this review from PopMatters is any indication it would seem as though he’s still got it.
“The only question left: Is Darrell Issa a mole that’s secretly working for...”
– Slate’s Double X blog commenting on today’s Republican hearings on contraception and “religious freedom” (which, with each passing day, would seem to be more and more of a red herring).
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Have stove, will travel.
Swiss guy installs a wood-burning stove in his Volvo 250. Hero of ingenuity… or a lunatic… hmm… probably a lunatic.
I love that it’s totally legit, too, and was certified OK by the Swiss DMV.
Fact for the day: three liters of water are required to bottle just one.
(linky)
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a little advice for dealing with coworkers
This primer on dealing with those in the workplace that we’d rather not was posted The Awl recently. It’s meant for young’uns newly entering the workforce. I think it’s good for anyone.
From time to time I am asked by young people for advice in matters of work and life, generally by people who have mistaken my age for seniority. I don’t really have any advice,...
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A New Vaccine Fight
This time it’s not the folks who are convinced—against all rationality—that vaccine additives cause autism. This time it’s folks complaining (and going to court about) their liberty is being violated because of a perceived lack of religious freedom in the form of two kids that were sent home from school because they weren’t vaccinated:
Obviously, this is not about...
The presidential endorsement we’ve all been waiting for has been awarded. Mustaine for Santorum. Yep.
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music can be like drugs?
In preparation for what ended up being a big night for Adele, the WSJ posted a story about why tear-jerkers, as a lot of her songs are, are so effective in bringing out emotion… and why we can’t stop listening.
An appoggiatura is a type of ornamental note that clashes with the melody just enough to create a dissonant sound. “This generates tension in the listener,” said...
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