Extreme sheep LED art
Posted in animals, birds, insects, etc, dogs on Aug 24th, 2009
This justifies the existence of the internet, Youtube, and border collies, all in one fell swoop.
Monthly Archive for August, 2009
Playing the building
Posted in unusual musical instruments on Aug 17th, 2009
From roundhouse.org.uk: Playing the Building: An Installation by David Byrne.
Imagine an old pump organ, set at the heart of the Roundhouse, with a series of low-tech cables and wires attached to the building’s pillars, pipes and beams. Then imagine the ping, rattle and blow as they vibrate and resonate in response to the organ keys, [...]
New grade for academic dishonesty
Posted in education on Aug 14th, 2009
From the Globe and Mail: A new low for cheating students.
Summer may mean slow times on campus, but instructors at Simon Fraser University have already had reason to contemplate slapping students with a new, failing grade: FD, failed for academic dishonesty. (…)
Faculty members must consult with department heads before assigning the grade, which would remain [...]
Squirrel is surprise star of holiday photo
Posted in animals, birds, insects, etc on Aug 13th, 2009
From the Telegraph: Squirrel is surprise star of holiday photo.
The couple had set the timer on their camera while posing at a lakeside in a national park in Canada.
Just as they were about to be captured on camera the cheeky squirrel popped up in the foreground and stole the show. [continue, see photo]
Study identifies first ancestor with a grasping hand
Posted in animals, birds, insects, etc, science on Aug 13th, 2009
From the University of Toronto: UTM study identifies first ancestor with a grasping hand.
Elongated fingers, an opposable thumb and a grasping tail — a new fossil study by researchers at the University of Toronto Mississauga suggests that a small plant-eating mammal relative is the oldest known tree-climbing vertebrate.
The tree-climbing lifestyle of Suminia getmanovi, a Paleozoic [...]
Legion Of Terra-Cotta Mouseketeers found beneath Disney World
Posted in fun on Aug 11th, 2009
I love the Onion. One of their recent articles is Legion Of Terra-Cotta Mouseketeers Found Beneath Disney World.
ORLANDO, FL— A Disney World maintenance crew performing routine electrical work below Cinderella Castle last week accidentally stumbled upon a mysterious underground chamber believed to contain more than 8,000 terra-cotta Mouseketeer statues dating back to 300 B.C.
Within days [...]
Two thousand year-old remains of Emperor Vespasian’s house discovered
Posted in history & archaeology on Aug 7th, 2009
From the Telegraph: Two thousand year-old remains of Emperor Vespasian’s house discovered.
A team of British and Italian archaeologists have discovered the remains of a lavish villa belonging to the emperor Vespasian, exactly 2,000 years after his birth.
The archaeologists have unearthed reception rooms, colonnades, mosaic floors and traces of a hot bath complex at a site [...]
The idiotic joys of idioms
Posted in language on Aug 6th, 2009
From the Guardian: The idiotic joys of idioms.
Why do we say I’m not pulling your leg? Or he kicked the bucket? I don’t mean etymologically, I mean logically. Why do we use idioms?
I became fascinated by that question when I discovered that Russians say I’m not hanging noodles on your ears when they’re not pulling [...]
The history of the Times New Roman typeface
Posted in history & archaeology on Aug 4th, 2009
From the Financial Times: The history of the Times New Roman typeface.
In his apartment overlooking the fishing docks of Portland, Maine, Mike Parker was putting the final touches to a font, thinning a few obstinate serifs and thickening some delicate stems. The typeface he was working on was instantly recognisable, even to those with no [...]