Russian Sledges

FacebookEveryone has heard the old saw about bands having “a lifetime to write the first album, a year to write the second”. Similarly, most people can think of an instance or two of “sophomore slump” being more than just a clever bit of alliteration. London’s Veronica Falls seem set on not letting the former be any kind of obstacle and sidestepping the latter entirely. Their self-titled debut came out just over a year ago, but they’ve just announced the follow-up.

Waiting For Something To Happen will be out on February 12 of next year and the first teaser track from it has been made available to stream, and as expected/hoped it’s another slice of deliciously retro, garage-punk-jangle-pop that might sound a bit sunnier with more major key wistfulness than you would have found on the debut, but it’s only one song of thirteen – there’s surely at least some of their trademark darkness still lurking in the corners. Exclaim has the full tracklisting, album art, and other bits and bobs announced about the record.

Stream: Veronica Falls – “Teenage”

A Music Blog, Yea runs some questions by guitarist Paul Rains of Allo Darlin’.

The Joy Formidable have released a new video from their own sophomore effort, Wolf’s Law. It’s out January 23 and they’re at The Sound Academy on November 25 supporting The Gaslight Anthem.

Video: The Joy Formidable – “The Ladder Is Ours”

Natasha Khan of Bat For Lashes talks about her experience in the music industry with Exclaim. A new track from The Haunted Man has also been made available to download.

MP3: Bat For Lashes – “Oh Yeah”

MXDWN and Los Angeles Magazine talk to Laura Marling.

NPR welcomes Neil Halstead for a World Cafe session.

Johnny Marr has released a video for the title track from his solo debut The Messenger, due out February 26. Hear that, son? That’s the jangle.

Video: Johnny Marr – “The Messenger”

DIY has some updates on the next album from Primal Scream, targeted for release in Summer of next year.

Atlanta Music Guide has a short interview with Ash; they’re at Lee’s Palace this Saturday night, November 17.

The Fly interviews Trailer Trash Tracys.

One of the tracks from Charli XCX’s new Super Ultra Mixtape has been made available for download, if you prefer things in sub-three minute chunks.

MP3: Charli XCX – “Glow”

Rolling Stone talks to Richard Thompson about his new album Electricity – due out February 5 – and also have a stream of one of the new songs on it.

Stream: Richard Thompson – “Good Things Happen To Bad People”

Blurt reports that Dutch indie-rock veterans Bettie Serveert have targeted a February release for their new album Oh, Mayhem! and released a first video from it. Here’s hoping they take this opportunity to make up that 2010 Toronto show canceled at the eleventh hour due to visa issues.

Video: Bettie Serveert – “Had2Byou”

Sambassadeur have made the flipside of their forthcoming single “Memories”/”Hours Away” available to stream, helping to tide you over until the single is out November 20 and the new album is out sometime next year.

Stream: Sambassadeur – “Hours Away”

Under The Radar talks to Carl and Adam of Shout Out Louds about how work is progressing on their fourth album. They hope to release it near the end of February 2013.

Much Sigur R&ocute;s to report; they’ve premiered another video from the Valtari Mystery Film Experient over at Nowness, this one set to four of the songs from Valtari. Maybe it will be one of those screened at The Bloor on December 8. Further, the band have announced another North American tour for next Spring. The band made a total triumph of their last visit to Echo Beach in August, but instead of returning to their former home of Massey Hall for indoor digs, they’ll be setting up at the Air Canada Centre on March 30, albeit in the more-intimate theatre configuration. And lest you worry that arenas in any configuration are acoustic nightmares, know that The National made the same setup sound amazing last December and the magical elves that work sound for Sigur Rós did wonders with Echo Beach’s PA, so I have full confidence that this will sound incredible. Ticket details still forthcoming but public on-sale is this Saturday, so they’ll be available soon. And on top of all that, they will release a new EP to go with the tour on March 22. Hoo-rah.

MP3: Sigur Rós – “Hoppípolla”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Valtari”

Björk has also rolled out a new video from last year’s Biophilia.

Video: Björk – “Mutual Core”

Tame Impala have released a new video from Lonerism; The Chicago Tribune also has an interview.

Video: Tame Impala – “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards”

A coffee maven—and Frappuccino inventor—attempts a comeback in the cafe business.

Janelle Nanos | Boston Magazine | Dec 2012 [Full Story]

The next generation of America’s most controversial (and likely most despised) church.

Dugan Arnett | Kansas City Star | Jan 2010 [Full Story]

08 December 2012

US Navy image with GPS data embedded

Military photographers sometimes forget to turn off the camera GPS.  The Navy caption for this electric image is found on Flickr:

Lightning flashes near USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (Nov. 19, 2012) Flashes of lighting are seen over the horizon as the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) operates in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. Dwight D. Eisenhower is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions for Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Greg Linderman/Released) 121119-N-DO751-004

Flickr LINK to this image

The aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower is the lower red pin.

The Navy uploaded the image to Flickr using a Mac.

Using my iPad, I tapped the photo on Flickr to download the image.  Tap “Places” (under Photo button), and the map displays.

It took five taps and about ten seconds to find the location of the aircraft carrier.  This is convenient for the Iranians, providing them with snippets, including a partial inventory of the aircraft on deck.

The military posted this image on Flickr.

Five taps on my iPad, and the GPS shows that the jets are the upper red pin.  Lower pin is the Eisenhower.

That is all.

Andrew Rice | Businessweek | Nov 2012

The market for Hirst’s work is in a tailspin. Why?

[full story]

1 ¼ cup granulated sugar, divided 2 tsp light corn syrup 2 cups cream, preferably organic 2 cups whole milk 10 large egg yolks* ½ tsp fleur de sel, plus more for serving

“I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed.”

There Will Be Blood (2007)

John Seabrook | New Yorker | Feb 2011

Why people stampede, and what can be done to prevent “crowd disasters.”

[full story]

Since most of the Niños Héroes are too young to appropriately crush on, my history crush is Saint Patrick’s Battalion (Batallón de San Patricio). Originally soldiers serving in the US Army as it marched into Mexico during the Mexican-American War, these soldiers defected to the Mexican side.

Why desert the US Army? Although some say that the money and land offered by the Mexican military was better, I like to think that these brave men understood the plight of the Mexican people better than anyone. See, Saint Patrick’s Battalion consisted of many Irish and German immigrants, not to mention escaped US slaves and immigrants from everywhere from Canada to Poland. They had come to America (or escaped to freedom) under duress, only to find a society that thought “No Irish Need Apply” was an appropriate way to welcome its immigrants. And don’t think that that anti-immigrant attitude didn’t extend to soldiers serving in the US military. Sources say that the Army often denied Catholics the right to practice their religion freely.

If you ask me (which nobody did), every last soldier in the US military should have deserted during the Mexican-American War. This was a war of aggression against an already struggling nation. America swiped Texas right from Mexico, and, like a petulant child, refused to give it back. Instead, President Polk decided that the US would strike back at that nasty Mexico for deigning to ask to have its own territory back. It was an unnecessary and ugly war (see Niños Héroes).

Also, just look at those moustaches!

Cambodian Trees is a digital projection work by French artist Clement Briend who traveled to Cambodia to photograph these sculptural representations of deities and spirits from Cambodian culture overlaid on trees in several urban areas. Of the series Briend says:

It’s a beautiful surprise when the projected spirits awaken and reveal themselves at night as though they are made of the towering trees themselves. The photographic light installations echo the spirituality of the few sprouts of nature in the predominantly urban landscapes. It is a visual imagining of the divine figures that inhabit the world, as seen through an environmentally aware spiritual eye.

Though I’m generally not a fan of digital projection, I really enjoy Briend’s utilization of tree branches to lend volume to the photographs of sculptures, in essence giving them life. To see several more images from this series, head over to his website. All images courtesy the artist. (via empty kingdom)

Since 2002 artist, dancer and choreographer William Forsythe has traveled with his audio/visual installation Scattered Crowd, created with thousands of suspended balloons in galleries, museums, banks and other architecturally significant spaces. Though the photos clearly do the work visual justice I think it’s hard to truly appreciate the full sensory experience without walking through the space itself and hearing the accompanying music by Ekkehard Ehlers, though the video gives you some idea. Forsythe refers to the work as being “an air-borne landscape of relationship, of distance, of humans and emptiness, of coalescence and decision”. The piece will next appear at Bockenheimer Depot in 2013. (via boingboing)

A BOX of ten Twinkies typically sells for around $5 in American supermarkets—but that was before its maker, Hostess Brands, began closing its bakeries and liquidating its business (as an article in this week's issue explains). Yet consumers in search of revolting cream-filled sponge cakes can still buy them from eBay for anything ranging from 40 cents to $100,000 apiece. The mean price on offer is around $2,000 (though we don't know how many have actually been sold or at what price), while the mode—ie, the most common price on offer—is $3 (see chart). Although some sellers are using the limited supply as an opportunity to raise money for charity, the majority are hoping to profit from the iconic American brand’s collapse. For those who can not live without the golden cakes, eBay also lists Twinkies "bake sets" for as little as $30; together with the recipe for $1.49, consumers can simply bake their own. With such outpouring of affection, the "Twinkie" brand (along with Hostess's other food-like snacks) might yet find a buyer.

[All links lead to Chinese-language websites unless otherwise noted.]

On November 24, 2012, the number of self-immolations since February 2009 committed by Tibetans in protest of Chinese rule of the Tibet Autonomous Region reached [en] 79. Even though United Nations human rights chief has finally spoken out and urged [en] the Chinese government to address the grievances of Tibetans, discussion about the religious and cultural oppression of Tibet as well as the the rash of self-immolations by Tibetans continues to be banned in the online and offline public sphere by the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) [en] because of its political sensitive nature.

Dissent writer Woser, who reports on the human rights situation in Tibet, has collected 19 last wills and testaments of Tibetans who self-immolated to help people understand their grievances.

Nyankar Tashi's last words. Image from Woeser.

1. Songye Tsering (桑德才让), a 24-year-old herdswoman, self-immolated outside the local government in Zeku County, Qinghai Province on November 17, 2012:

西藏没有自由，达赖喇嘛尊者被禁止返回西藏，班禅喇嘛被监禁在狱中，另有无数个西藏英雄相继自焚牺牲，因此，自己不想活在这个世上，活得也没有意义。…我们是雪狮的儿子，红脸藏人的后代，请铭记雪山的尊严。

There is no freedom in Tibet, His Holiness Dalai Lama is forbidden to return home. Panchen Lama [the second highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama] is in prison. Numerous Tibetan heroes have made the sacrifice of self-immolation. I don't want to live anymore, there is no meaning in living… We are the son of Snow Lion, the offspring of red face Tibetans. Please remember the dignity of Snow mountain.

2. Nyankar Tashi (娘尕扎西), 24 years old, self-immolated on November 24, 2012 in Tongren County, Qinghai Province. He left a letter to Dalai and Panchen Lama as well as to six million Tibetans:

西藏要自由、要独立。释放班禅仁波切，让嘉瓦仁波切返回家园！我自焚抗议中国政府！父亲扎西南杰为主的人，不要为我悲痛，随佛法，行善事，我的希望是，六百万藏人要学习母语、讲母语，穿藏服，团结一致。

Tibet needs freedom and independence. Release Panchen and let Dalai return home. I self-immolate to protest against the Chinese government! Father, please don't be disheartened because of me. I follow the Buddha and Goodness. My wish is that six million Tibetans will learn their mother tongue, wear Tibetan clothes and be united.

Tingzin's portrait. Image from Woeser.

3. Tingzin (丹珍措), 23-year-old herdswoman living with her parents and her six-year-old son, self-immolated on November 7, 2012 before the 18th National Chinese Communist Party Congress in Tongren Province. She left her last words to her father:

阿爸，我们藏人真难啊，连嘉瓦仁波切（尊者达赖喇嘛）的法像都不能供养的话，那是真的没有自由了……

Father, being a Tibetan is so difficult. We can't even say our prayer to Dalai Lama's portrait. We have no freedom at all…

4. Lhamo Kyap (拉莫嘉), a herdsman in his 20s with two young daughters, self-immolated on October 20, 2012 near Bora Temple in Xiahe County, Gansu Province. A Tibetan friend of Lhamo recorded the details of a conversation he had with him on the date of Lhamo's self-immolation:

拉姆嘉“通过电话对他的一位好友表示，能否到博拉寺接他，而他的朋友回答说，因为自己没有摩托车可能无法接应后，拉姆嘉表示，哦，那没关系，今天下午或许你会听到一个消息。拉姆嘉还对他的好友提问说，中国的十八大会议什么时候召开？并最后叹气说，这中国（藏语：加）真不让我们过一个安心的日子后，挂断了电话。”

Lhamo Kyap asked his close friend in a phone conversation if he could pick him up at Bora Temple. His friend said that he did not have his motorbike with him and might not be able to help. Lhamo said, it's OK, today you may hear news. He asked if his friend knew when exactly the 18th Congress of the CCP would take place. He sighed, China does not allow us to live in peace. Then he hung up the phone.

5. Dhondup (頓珠), a 61-year-old herdsman, self-immolated on October 22, 2012 at Labrang Monastery in Xiahe County, Gansu Province. According to Voice of Tibet:

他“经常呼吁拉卜楞寺僧人和当地年轻藏人不要选择自焚，要留住生命，为民族未来事业作出努力和贡献。公开表示自己和老一代人在1958年和1959年期间，曾遭受中共政府的迫害和折磨，因此，他和其他年事已高的老一代人才应该选择自焚等。”

He used to tell other monks from Labrang Monastery and young Tibetans not to self-immolate. Live their lives and contribute to the future of Tibet. He said that his generation had been prosecuted by the Chinese Communists back in 1958 and 1959, so his generation should choose to self-immolate.

6. Gudup (古珠), a 43-year-old Tibetan writer, self-immolated on October 4, 2012 in Biru County, Tibet. He left his last words in an update to his QQ account, a popular Chinese social networking site. Below is an excerpt:

达赖喇嘛尊者提倡非暴力中间道路政策，努力争取自治权利，为此境内外600万藏人也一直遵从尊者的教言长期期盼，但中共政府不仅不给予支持和关注，反而提及藏人福祉的人都会遭到监禁和无尽的酷刑折磨，更严重的是污蔑达赖喇嘛，只要不承认西藏是中国的一部分，将会遭到暗杀或失踪，藏人的福祉利益根本置之不理，因此，为了见证和宣传西藏的真实状况，我们要把和平斗争更加激烈化，将自身燃烧呼唤西藏独立之声。

His Holiness Dalai Lama advocates for a non-violent middle-way policy for the right to Tibetan autonomy. Six million Tibetans have been following His Holiness' teaching. But the CCP shows no support. Instead, they arrested and tortured those who demand Tibetan's rights. They defame Dalai Lama and when anyone does not recognize Tibet as part of China, they will disappear or be assassinated. They don't care about Tibetans and in order to let the world know about the real situation in Tibet, we have to radicalize our peaceful action, voice out Tibetan independence by lighting up our bodies.

7-8. Tenzin Kedhup (丹增克珠), a 24-year-old herdsman and a former monk. Ngawang Norphel (阿旺诺培), 22 years old. They self-immolated together with the Tibetan national flag in Chindu County, Qinghai Province on June 20, 2012. They recorded their last words together:

对我俩来说，没有能力从西藏的宗教和文化上出力，在经济上，也没有帮助西藏人民的能力，所以我俩为了西藏民族，特别是为了达赖喇嘛尊者能够永驻世间并且尽快返回西藏，而选择了自焚的方式。告知和我俩一样的西藏青年们，我们希望而且也相信大家会立誓，永远不在藏人间进行内斗，要团结一致，守护住西藏的民族赤诚。

We do not have the ability to help Tibetan's religion and culture. We do not have the economic means to help other Tibetans. For the sake of our Tibetan race, in particular for the return of His Holiness Dalai Lama to Tibet, we choose self-immolation. We want to tell all the Tibetan youth, swear to yourself, never fight against each other, among Tibetans, we have to be united and protect our race.

9. Tamding That (旦正塔), a 64-year-old herdsman, self-immolated at Jainca County outside a military office in Qinghai Province on June 15, 2012. He left a short note:

皈依三宝，
祈愿世界和平。
祈愿尊者达赖喇嘛回归故里。
为了守护西藏国，
我将献身自焚。

Rely on three treasures [Buddha, Buddhist Law and Monk]
Wish for world peace,
Wish for His Holiness Dalai Lama to return home.
Protect the Tibetan State,
I self-immolate to contribute [to the wish].

Rechok's portrait. Image from Woeser.

10. Rechok (日玖), a 33-year-old herdsman with three children, self-immolated on May 30, 2012 near the Grand Lamasery of Dzamthang, Sichuan Province. The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights received his last words on August 18:

祈愿世界和平幸福。为了使尊者达赖喇嘛能够返回西藏，請不要纵容自己恣意地屠宰或交易牲畜，更不要偷盗；藏人要说藏語，不要打架。我愿为一切苦难的有情众生承担痛苦。如果我落到中共当局的手中，請不要反抗抵制。大家要团结一致，学习文化知识，家人不要为我的自焚感到伤心。

Wish for world peace and happiness. Please don't indulge yourself in killing and selling animal stocks, don't steal for the sake of His Holiness Dalai Lama to return to Tibet. Tibetans should speak to Tibetans and should not fight each other. I am willing to take up the pain and sufferings of all living beings. If I fall at the hand of the Communist Party of China, please don't resist. We have to be united and learn our culture. My family, don't be disheartened by my self-immolation.

11-12. Soinam (索南), a 24-year-old student. Choephak Kyab (曲帕嘉）, a 25-year-old student. The two self-immolated near the Grand Lamasery of Dzamthang, Sichuan Province, at different spots on April 19, 2012. Their last words was released on YouTube. Below is an excerpt:

藏民族是有着与众不同的宗教和文化、慈悲和善良、有利他之心的民族，但是，藏民族受到中国的侵略、镇压和欺骗。我们是为了藏民族没有基本人权的痛苦和实现世界和平而点火自焚的，我们藏民族没有最基本人权的痛苦比我俩自焚的痛苦还要大。

Tibetans have distinctive religion and culture. The nation believes in love and compassion, with respect to others. However, Tibet has been invaded, repressed and cheated by China. We self-immolated for our misery and lack of basic human rights, as well as for world peace. The suffering of Tibetans deprived of basic human rights is much greater than our self-immolation.

13. Sobha Rinpoche (江白益西), a 27-year-old exiled Tibetan from Dawu County, Sichuan Province, self-immolated in Delhi a protest against the Chinese president's visit to India on March 26, 2012. Below is an excerpt of his last will:

同胞们，为未来幸福和前景我们要有尊严和骨气。尊严是一个民族的灵魂，是寻找正义的勇气，更是未来幸福的向导。同胞们，寻求与全球民众同等的幸福，必须要牢记尊严，大事小事都要付出努力，总而言之，尊严是辨别是非的智慧；

自由是所有生命物的幸福所在，失去自由、像是在风中的酥 油灯，像是六百万藏人的趋向，如果三区藏人能够团结力量必会取得成果，请不要失去信心；

My fellow Tibetans, for the future of our happiness, we need to have dignity and courage. Dignity is the spirit of a nationality, the courage for justice, the compass leading to future happiness. My fellow Tibetans, to seek the same happiness that is shared by all people in this world, we have to remember our dignity and make an effort in all matters. Dignity is the wisdom to distinguish right from wrong.

Freedom is the path to happiness for all living beings. Without freedom, we become a candle flame in the wind, the fate of six million Tibetans. If Tibetans from the three autonomous regions can be united, we will have won an accomplishment. Please don't lose your faith.

14. Tsering Kyi (才讓吉), a 19-year-old student, self-immolated in a market in Maqu County, Gansu Province on March 3, 2012. According to a reporter's account:

一月初，才让吉在与她的一个亲戚谈到一连串的自焚事件时表示，她很理解他们为什么要这样做。‘没有人可以像这样继续生活下去。’

Back in January, Tsering Kyi discussed self-immolations with one of her family members. She said she understood why those people had chosen to do so: “No one deserves to live like this”.

15. Nya Drul (朗卓), an 18-year-old student, self-immolated on February 19, 2012 in Camtang County, Sichuan Province. He wrote his will in the form of a poem:

昂起你坚强的头，为朗卓之尊严。
我那厚恩的父母、亲爱的兄弟及亲属，我即将要离世。
为恩惠无量的藏人，我将点燃躯体。
藏民族的儿女们，我的希望就是，你们要团结一致。
若你是藏人要穿藏装，并要讲藏语，勿忘自己是藏人；
若是藏人要有慈悲之心，要爱戴父母，要民族团结，要怜悯旁生，珍惜动物生命。

Keep your courageous head up, for my dignity.
My parents to whom I owe their deepest love, my dear brother and family, I have to leave this world.
For my compassionate Tibetans, I will light my body.
My wish for Tibetan sons and daughters, you have to be united.
If you are Tibetan, you have to wear Tibetan clothing and speak Tibetan. Don't forget you are Tibetan.
If Tibetans are compassionate, love your parents and be united. Treasure the lives of all living beings and animals.

16. Sobha Rinpoche (索巴仁波切), 42 years old, self-immolated in a square in Gade County, Qinghai Province on January 8, 2012. His last words, which are accessible here, reaffirmed his religious faith:

如佛陀当年舍身饲虎一般，其他牺牲的藏人同胞也是如我一般，为了真理和自由而舍生取义。

Like Buddha who gave his body to feed the tiger. Those Tibetans who sacrificed their lives shared my purpose - we give up our life for justice, truth, and freedom.

17. Tenzin Phuntsog (丁増朋措), a 41-year-old peasant and former monk, self-immolated in front of the district government in Qamdo County, Tibet, on December 1, 2011. He left behind four notes. Below is his last note:

想到整个西藏和今年噶玛寺的苦难，我无法继续活下去空等。

Whenever I think of Tibet and the suffering of Karma Monastery, I can't continue my life waiting.

18. Phuntsog (彭措）, a 19-year-old monk at Gulden Temple, self-immolated in Ngawa County, Sichuan Province on March 16, 2011. According to an interview with other monks in the Temple, he told them:

我无法继续忍受心中的痛苦，2011年3月16日我将向世人表现一点迹象。

I can't bear the pain in my heart. I will leave behind some trace for the world on March 16, 2011.

19. Tapey (扎白), a 20-year-old monk in Gulden Temple, self-immolated on February 27, 2009 in Ngawa County, Sichuan Province. According to an article published on June 2, 2012 [en] in The New York Times, Tapey left a note behind saying he would kill himself if the government stopped an important prayer ceremony that very same day.

Written by Oiwan Lam · comments (3)
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Otter Tries to Figure Out Human’s Camera Equipment

Via Beginners’ Blog Otter

Otter Pauses for a Happy Moment with a Piece of Fish Before Tucking In

Via Das Otterhaus

Edward Docx | Prospect | Oct 2012

In the Swiss town of Meiringen, where an obsessed group of ‘pilgrims’ painstakingly recreate the death of Sherlock Holmes.

[full story]

Ben Paynter | Businessweek | Nov 2012

How a loathsome band makes gobs of money.

[full story]

God is our supreme leader

Sorry, Mittens.

Yes. It’s true. We can all breathe a collective sigh of relief that the most typographically-savvy presidential campaign ever has come to a close and Mr. B-Rock Obama will be in office for four more years. What better way to celebrate this than enjoying some ARTS? Therefore, I present to you #OnTheTown: The one where we still have federal arts funding!

(I so promise this is my last political #OnTheTown for a while—but come on, we only elect a President every four years!)

Tweet me @khemingway when you stick it to Mittens—pardon, I mean go out and enjoy art.

 

Mozart Jupiter @ Handel and Haydn Society

The upcoming program at H&H is a celebration of the symphony—in fact, it features the last symphony Mozart ever composed, Jupiter! It’s unknown whether this was performed during Mozart’s lifetime or if the program it was intended for was cancelled due to lack of interest (kind of like Mitt Romney’s presidential ambitions).

☞ After the November 9 performance, H&H kicks off its H2 Young Professionals program for the season with its Of Gods and Men afterparty at Lucca Back Bay, free to all ticketholders. Patrons under 40 always get $30 tickets to all concerts through H2.

Mozart Jupiter: Conducted by Bernard Labadie. At Symphony Hall; 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston; 617-266-3605; handelandhaydn.org. November 9 & 11 only. @handelandhaydn

 

The Midsummer Marriage @ Boston Modern Orchestra Project

Marriage! Religion! Guns! It’s like composer/librettist Michael Tippett was writing a song about the hot button issues of the 2012 Presidential election! This 1955 opera set in the present day surrounds two couples on the verge of marriage. Presented in concert at Jordan Hall under the capable baton of conductor Gil Rose, this is sure to be an evening of fantastic music!

The Midsummer Marriage: By Michael Tippett; Conducted by Gil Rose. At Jordan Hall; 30 Gainsborough Street, Boston; 617-585-1260; bmop.org. November 10 only. @bmopmusic

 

Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: Royalty on Paper @ Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Much the equivalent of today’s Fired Big Bird meme, this exhibit of works from the 16th century through 1900 deal with the representation of the aristocracy on paper. In several instances, the same subject is dealt with through various lenses (propaganda, criticism). What a timely exhibition—who wants to join me in visiting dressed as Big Bird?!

☞ Admission to the MFA is always free on Wednesday nights.

Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: At the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; 617-267-9300; mfa.org. Through June 16, 2013. @mfaboston

Somehow we’ve let the election season come to a close without thanking both parties for making this an All-H&FJ election. Continuing the signature voice of its 2008 campaign, Obama for America kept Gotham as its typographic keystone, this year adding our Sentinel typeface as a companion slab serif. The GOP chose fonts from H&FJ as well, the Romney campaign settling on Mercury for its serif and Whitney for its sans.

We’d especially like to thank the teams at Obama for America and Blue State Digital for making us a part of their outstanding work on Barackobama.com. Eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed that webfonts from H&FJ made their first appearance on that site earlier this year, an especially meaningful milestone for all of us. It’s not often that your first beta tester is the President of the United States.

If the coming days bring a bitter electoral challenge, or the next four years bring the nation continuing deadlock on Capitol Hill, Americans will know exactly who to blame: typeface designers. According to this study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, bad typography may be useful in softening the stance of the politically extreme. The theory is that awkward or uncomfortable typography disrupts a reader’s “confirmation bias,” one’s tendency to only see things that are agreeable. What amateur typography might do for a candidate’s credibility is anyone’s guess, and whether the study’s choice of Times Bold really counts as an acceptable control for “good typography” remains an open question. But I look forward to the 2016 election, in which the honorable grunge candidate will face off against his esteemed colleague using Comic Sans. —JH

Using pencils, charcoal, and pastels artist John Pusateri creates near photo-realistic drawings of beautifully colored owls. Pusateri currently teaches in the Department of Architecture at Unitec New Zealand and currently has a number of works available through Seed Gallery. See more from this owl series in his portfolio. (via devid sketchbook, thnx jessica)

Whooooooooaa wait what? Welcome to the bizarre world of slit scan photography, a special effect created mechanically or digitally that results in warped and wobbly images. How does it work? Here’s my armchair filmmaker explanation: while regular photos and film give you a full frame image of a single moment in time, slit-scan photos and films capture the world just one line at a time. This results in a two dimensional image where one dimension is continuously (but still chronologically) displaced. Or something. This is by no means a new invention, slit scanning has been experimented with for decades and was even used extensively by Douglas Trumbull in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey back in 1968.

In this video by French filmmakers Adrien M / Claire B, two subjects engage in a surreal but highly entertaining dance through the warped fabric of space and time, made all the more wonderful with music from Beirut. (via the curious brain)

Luckily for some, Google has thing for dishing out free internet, which is probably why it's teamed up with Filipino carrier Globe to test out complimentary access to its services. Available now, Free Zone allows any internet-enabled phone to access Gmail, Google+ or Google Search without even having a data plan. Intended mainly for feature phones, you can even load up pages from those search results without paying a dime -- or should we say, peso. There's no usage cap, but clicking through to subsequent pages, accessing Gmail attachments, or opening links from within Google+ will incur charges, but you'll be prompted to accept them or sign up for a plan before that happens. The Philippines is the first market to try out Free Zone, but the wider scheme is "aimed at the next billion users of the internet, many of whom will be in emerging markets." Yeah, the catch is that you'll be exposed to some advertising while you're using it -- but there's no such thing as a free search, right?

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Google

Google Free Zone comes to the Philippines: access Google+, Gmail and Google Search without charge originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Nov 2012 12:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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 Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z in Ohio

Boston Public Library posted a photo:

File name: 08_06_021826
Title: Fire alarm fire, Boston & Maine, YMCA in zero weather
Creator/Contributor: Jones, Leslie, 1886-1967 (photographer)
Date created: 1920 (approximate)
Physical description: 1 negative : film, black & white ; 4 x 5 in.
Genre: Film negatives
Subject: Fire engines; Ice; Fire fighters; Boston (Mass.)
Notes: Title and date from information provided by Leslie Jones or the Boston Public Library on the negative or negative sleeve.
Collection: Leslie Jones Collection
Location: Boston Public Library, Print Department
Rights: Copyright Leslie Jones.
Preferred credit: Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

Midwestern blues

Then they disinterred the chieftain and gave him new clothes. In his grave, he received intoxicating drinks, fruits and a stringed instrument.

Artificial Fireworks, by John Maskall; 1785; (no publisher information). Beautiful hand-written and illustrated treatise on firework design and manufacture, including ‘blue-prints’ for the devices and explosive recipes. The book is housed at the Internet Archive, donated by the Getty Research Institute . Sign up to get our free fortnightly newsletter which shall deliver direct to your inbox the latest brand new article and a digest of the most recent collection items. Simply add your details to the form below and click the link you receive via email to confirm your subscription!

Portland Streetcar Strip Map

A first look at the new in-car strip maps for Portland, Oregon’s streetcar system. With the opening of most of the eastside loop, there are now two lines: the original route is now the North/South (NS) line, and the new track is the Central (CL) line.

Unfortunately, for a brand new service that the city desperately wants everyone to like and use, the design of this map is terribly dowdy and old fashioned. There’s some good information there — I particularly like the inclusion of all the bridges over the Willamette River — but it’s just all crammed in with no room for anything to breathe. It may be usable, but it’s definitely not pretty.

(Source: carrythebanner/Flickr)