Machinery has its place; it has come to stay. But it must not be allowed to displace necessary human labour. An improved plow is a good thing. But if by some chances, one man could plow up, by some mechanical invention of his, the whole of the land of India, and control all the agricultural produce, and if the millions had no other occupation, they would starve, and being idle, they would become dunces, as many have already become. There is hourly danger of many being reduced to that unenviable state.
BURUNDI, Bujumbura : A protester wears a mask made from a leaf in the
Cibitoke neighbourhood of Bujumbura on May 5, 2015. Protesters in
Burundi dismissed a constitutional court ruling that cleared President
Pierre Nkurunziza to run for a controversial third term, as the
government offered to release activists if deadly demonstrations
stopped. AFP PHOTO / PHIL MOORE
The Robots Are Winning
You have to wonder what Her says about the present moment—when so many of us are, indeed, “in love” with our devices, unable to put down our iPhones during dinner, glued to screens of all sizes, endlessly distracted by electronic pings and buzzers—that in the latest incarnation of the robot myth, it’s the people who seem blandly interchangeable and the machines who have all the personality.
The good news is that everything that is said about muslims today, that they’re not american, that they’re fearful, that they’re foreign that they don’t belong here, everything that is said about muslims today was said about jews in the 40s and 50s, was said about catholics at the end of the 19th century, and those two religions, through the passage of time, through the slow building of relationships, through the integration of story became very much apart of the religious fabric of this country. The same thing is going to happen to Muslims. The bad news is, then we’ll find someone else to hate.
Reza Aslan
The Detail in Seymour Hersh’s Bin Laden Story That Rings True
Hersh’s scenario explains one detail that has always nagged me about the night of Bin Laden’s death.
After one of the SEALs’ Black Hawk helicopters crashed in Bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound, neighbors called the police and reported hearing both the crash and the subsequent explosions. The local police told me that they received the calls and could have been at the compound within minutes, but army commanders ordered them to stand down and leave the response to the military. Yet despite being barracked nearby, members of the Pakistani Army appear to have arrived only after the SEALs — who spent 40 minutes on the ground without encountering any soldiers — left.
This is pretty hard to argue with.
Artist Roman van der Haven says about his Jet Set Radio artwork: “Jet Set Radio is maybe my most favorite game and to be able to make a new piece under SEGA’s flag was one of my dreams come true. Jet Set Radio is such a rich world, full of character. We decided to go with the current design, a clear and iconic image of Beat running for the cops. I had to be respectful to the source material but also to add my own, unique style to it. Working with SEGA’s creatives on the composition and style was an interesting experience as well.”
This Is Your Brain On Tetris
Are there brainy benefits to being a blockhead? Tetris is one of the most classic, timeless, and addictive video games ever created, a true masterpiece of 8-bit entertainment.
In this video from BrainCraft, you’ll learn about some interesting effects that Tetris has on the brain, everything from cognitive efficiency to PTSD therapy.
And to take a fascinating deep dive into the game design behind Tetris and the mathematics of why it’s so unbeatable (***shakes fist at those pesky Z-shaped pieces***), be sure to check out this video from our friend Jamin at PBS Game/Show:
Relevant to my interests.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
“This is it. I’m never gonna wear a fancy dress on a talk
show again. It’s very hard work. I don’t know if you’re aware of the
contraptions under here — it’s almost medical. And I’m terrible in heels
… This is my last time wearing a fancy dress on a talk show and
conforming to gender norms.The next time you see me, I will be
playing charades in a Slanket.”Sending Dave off, Tina Fey
This is the first road-legal big rig that can drive itself
This is the first road-legal big rig that can drive itself
There are approximately 3.5 million professional truck drivers in the United States, according to estimates by the American Trucking Association.
One more nail in the coffin of another huge source of jobs.
Additionally, is a reboot of Duel where the truck is self aware too obvious? I bet it’d do pretty well.
Amazon Prime Video takes to the skies via JetBlue
Amazon Prime Video takes to the skies via JetBlue
Yessssssss.
This is how net neutrality dies. Not with a bill in congress, but with free streaming movies.
We play Mario Party and Mario Kart as a family. I play Disney Infinity and Skylanders with my kids. My wife and I have both spent time playing Minecraft. We do not limit “screen time” in our house. What’s more important to me is what is on the screen not just how long they have been looking at it. If Gabe is playing Project Spark on the weekend and building his own game then I have no problem with him doing that for hours. If my little one Noah wants to play ABC Mouse he can do that as long as he wants. Does Gabe just want to sit and play Clash of Clans by himself all afternoon? That I’m probably gonna stop after 30 minutes or so. Is he playing it with five of his friends though and they »
The entire internet needs to see this.
iconic
Perfect internetting right here.
(Source: http://vegitating.tumblr.com/)
Tragic Paradox
If you try to remove yourself from an Earthly perspective and look at this tragic paradox with the detachment of an extraterrestrial, the whole thing is totally irrational. Man now has the power in one mad, incandescent moment, as you point out, to exterminate the entire species; our generation could be the last on Earth. One miscalculation and all the achievements of history could vanish in a mushroom cloud; one misstep and all of man’s aspirations and strivings over the millennia could be terminated. One short circuit in a computer, one lunatic in a command structure and we could negate the heritage of the billions who have died since the dawn of man and abort the promise of the billions yet unborn – the ultimate genocide. What an irony that the discovery of nuclear power, with its potential for annihilation, »
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
Clive Owen on The Knick Finale, Cocaine, and the Plan for Season 2
…we shot the thing in 73 days. It was like the length of a really big movie. Apart from the amount we were getting through each day, which was an awful lot. We moved so quickly. I think our record was 13 pages of dialogue in one day.
A record of thirteen pages in a day is amazing in its own right, but a marathon of 73 days resulting in ~600 minutes of screen time is bonkers. To put it in perspective, the extended edition of the lord of the rings is about 650 minutes.
The feet are where you’re judged
Being able to do the feet extremely well with all the nuances and shifts – that separates the boys from the men. There are foley artists who’ve been doing this for 15-20 years who still can’t do it. It’s not something you can learn. It’s just a feel thing. The feet are where you’re judged as a Foley artist.
Gregg Barbanell