Juliawmartin
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MIT's Robotic Cheetah Can Now Run And Jump While Untethered
“Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I...
JuliawmartinI really don't get this.
“Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can.”
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
Marching Band Transforms Into Giant TV Set And Plays Classic TV Tunes
JuliawmartinI'm now obsessed with the ohio state marching band
Five domestic violence survivor organizations worth your time and money
You can help Safe Horizon help out domestic violence survivors. via Facebook A recording released earlier this week of Ray Rice knocking out his then-fiancee highlights the serious but rarely discussed issue of domestic violence. While our screens separate us from a survivor’s pain, we must remember that domestic violence happens everywhere. Even though abuse often occurs behind closed doors, you can still support survivors by giving time, money or your voice to any one of these life-changing organizations. Safe Horizon: A big swinger that attacks abuse on all fronts by providing physical, emotional, and legal support to survivors. They do everything from changing locks to advocating policy changes. You can donate here or fundraise with Team Horizon. Center Against Domestic Violence: This group takes to heart the idea that knowledge is power by running educational programs for elementary, middle and high school students. They also run three domestic violence shelters. Get involved… Read More
Junk Press squeezes useless junk mail into handy bowls & plates
JuliawmartinWANT!
In Which We Take Anyone Who Speaks Our Language
JuliawmartinI got to this line of the review "You want something to fall from the sky into your lap, like a plotline, or perhaps a conflict, or maybe a free pizza. You want somebody to come up to you and speak in English and lead you to your bed, where you will be able to dream of jokes that are actually funny and dialogue that actually sounds like people speaking to one another."
and decided it was a must share.
Good Americans
by KARA VANDERBIJL
The Cosmopolitans
creator Whit Stillman
Aubrey (Carrie MacLemore) is having a rough day. Her bedheaded French boyfriend, for whom she recently left Alabama to live in Paris, has banished her to the maid’s quarters. When he tells her that she can’t use the kitchen in his place anymore, either, she straps on a pair of heels and trudges along the Seine.
But that’s not the worst of it, because Aubrey is about to sit down at a sidewalk cafe with the only people in Paris who are more deplorable than her boyfriend: Hal (Jordan Rountree) and Jimmy (Adam Brody), fellow American expats who lounge around, complaining about French women.
And that’s about all there is to say about The Cosmopolitans. Oscar Wilde once said that good Americans go to Paris when they die, but according to Stillman, you’ve just got to be bored. Paris is the bright pair of shoes or the clever joke you bring to a party to differentiate yourself from everybody else, a word that means nothing anymore except for culture, pleasure, and wealth.
Hal, Jimmy and Aubrey have come to Paris in search of friendship and romance, which, even after watching the pilot, is still the only thing we know about any of them. They have no jobs, no roots, no ambitions: they flit from cafe to house party, glass of wine in hand, seemingly directionless.
Watching them is a little bit like trying to find your way around a foreign city at night when you’ve just spent the past twenty hours on an airplane, not sleeping. You want something to fall from the sky into your lap, like a plotline, or perhaps a conflict, or maybe a free pizza. You want somebody to come up to you and speak in English and lead you to your bed, where you will be able to dream of jokes that are actually funny and dialogue that actually sounds like people speaking to one another.
Expatriatism is all about imagination. We wouldn’t travel at all if visiting other lands didn’t mean exploring the alternate facets of our own personalities. Immature travelers spend most of their time differentiating their new experiences from ones they’re familiar with, asking, “Why isn’t this like what I’m used to?” These people are incapable of imagining the world, or themselves, differently. Seasoned expatriates create a third culture in which aspects of both their native surroundings and their new ones are integrated.
Aubrey, the token fish-out-of-water, is meant to lure us into Hal, Jimmy and Sandro’s territory, the third culture that they’ve created. Normally it’d be hard to believe that a woman on her own in a foreign country would comfortably sit with three strange guys at a sidewalk cafe. These things seem to happen naturally when you’re abroad: it’s like your ears have been fine-tuned to hear your language from hundreds of yards away, that you’ve been outfitted with an internal GPS that leads you to others like yourself.
Still, it’s Aubrey’s willingness to hang out with them that propels The Cosmopolitans into the far reaches of fantasy. Within a few minutes, Hal, Jimmy, and Sandro insult her drink order (sangria) and launch a smear campaign against Hal’s ex, Clemence, who, for all intents and purposes, seemed like a pretty decent person, just not into weird entitled creeps like Hal who are only capable of one facial expression.
Aubrey can’t see these red flags because she’s still convinced that her bedhead boyfriend wants to be with her. Perhaps she believes she’s living inside Beauty and the Beast.
It’s a pity because Adam Brody, of The O.C. fame, is genuinely funny, and he brings his open Seth Cohen face to this role. Unfortunately, this only serves to make the other characters, especially Hal, look like stock photography someone from Yale might use in an admissions brochure.
Of course, one might concede that in a foreign country, when you’ve just been dumped by your beast of a boyfriend and you’re all alone, you’ll take anyone who speaks your language or shows a sign of friendliness. In which case I’d like to tell Aubrey and anybody else considering this as a new fall show: stick to singing candlesticks and talking clocks. The Cosmopolitans may look good, but really, it’s positively primeval. Plus, Gilmore Girls just landed on Netflix.
Kara VanderBijl is the managing editor of This Recording.
"Hard To Love" - The Drums (mp3)
"If He Likes It Let Him Do It" - The Drums (mp3)
Dear Photograph,We took the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty...
Juliawmartinum, holy shit.
Dear Photograph,
We took the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and missed visiting the twin towers. The next day (Note the timestamp on the original photo) will be forever etched in our hearts, as we drove further and further away, watching the skys unfold with so much heartache. Freedom… that word has never meant so much to us.
Love to the families, -Stephanie
The Week In Pop: So, What Else Does “All About That Bass” Singer Meghan Trainor Have To Offer?
Juliawmartincatchy as hell
“All About That Bass” is a great song. It is not a cool song, but hopefully by now we all realize cool is not the same thing as great. Meghan Trainor’s breakout single, which celebrates the sex appeal of larger women, is also not quite as smart or important as Trainor thinks it is — but again, neither of those are prerequisites for greatness. That bass, as it were, is a big part of the tune’s appeal, so effectively does it pivot across the beat and groove against the syncopated handclaps. As demonstrated in Trainor’s unfortunately trebly Tonight Show performance, the low end is, appropriately, what holds the rest of the song together. Still, there’s more to like about it, not least of which is the pleasant swagger in Trainor’s deadpan delivery, a playfulness that also manifests itself in the tuneful wordless ad-libs that dot the outro. Purposeful details like the “Sexyback” reference and the pitched-down, echoing “bass, bass, bass” at the end of the chorus mark the song as a smart modern update on the doo-wop hits that were its obvious inspiration. And the video, for all its foibles, is both cute and effective. As a pop song designed to infect your consciousness and delight the masses, it’s great. You will dance to it at weddings, and you will love it.
Watch Janelle Monáe Sing On Sesame Street
Juliawmartinyes please
Back in January, Billboard went behind the scenes of Sesame Street while Janelle Monaé was filming a guest spot, and the episode she was set to appear in has finally aired. She sang a song called “The Power Of Yet” that’s all about learning from your mistakes and trying again. Feist and Tilly And The Wall have also made appearances on the show, and Cookie Monster did a memorable version of Icona Pop’s “I Love It” last year. Watch below.
The Foods That Are Popular In Each State -- And Only In That State
Juliawmartinprunes! way to go NY
"-Wait, are you a Fresh Prince connoisseur? -Well, I try to be."
Juliawmartinthis is one of my favorite things that harith has ever said.
-Well, I try to be.”
- Nate and Harith
“Intelligent, thinking people could take things like this in...
Juliawmartinthis quote is a solid example of why I've never read this book. CLOSE TO THE BONE
“Intelligent, thinking people could take things like this in their stride, just as they took the larger absurdities of deadly dull jobs in the city and deadly dull homes in the suburbs. Economic circumstances might force you to live in this environment, but the important thing was to keep from being contaminated. The important thing, always, was to remember who you were.”
― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road
Burrito Bracket, Questioned: Earlier today, FiveThirtyEight concluded its ongoing...
JuliawmartinI've been to La Taqueria, though did not have a burrito. The tacos I had moved me to tears, seriously. it was so fucking good. Those of you who follow me on instagram know that I posted a rare food pic of it. SO FUCKING GOOD>
Earlier today, FiveThirtyEight concluded its ongoing quest for America's Best Burrito, crowning San Francisco's La Taqueria the burrito bracket winner. In response, Vox offers its counterpoint as to way the choice is "fatally flawed," arguing "the best burrito is the burrito you actually want to have in real life, a burrito that is both tasty and available. In other words, a Chipotle burrito." [FiveThirtyEight; Vox] [Photo: Facebook]
London's Best Cocktail Bars App: An iOS discovery tool featuring the top places for mixed drinks in the ever-evolving city
Juliawmartinflagged for future relevance
Discovery-based apps aren't just for tourists. Case in point: the new iOS application London's Best Cocktail Bars. Fit for any appreciator of mixed drinks in the city of London, the...
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Why would people hang their babies out the windows in cages?
JuliawmartinI was just talking to someone about this and getting it for their cat.
Old Timers: Junior's, a Brooklyn Mainstay, Is Not Moving After All
Juliawmartinwooooooooooooooooo
[Photo: Junior's/Facebook]
Millions of dollars isn't quite enough to convince restaurateur Alan Rosen to move the original location of his legendary Brooklyn restaurant Junior's. According to Eater NY, Rosen was given several offers on the space, including one for $45 million or $450 a square foot. Initially, Rosen was going to allow developers to build atop the restaurant and "open a temporary outpost during construction," but some of the contracts would not have let the restaurant return to its original location.
Even though the offers were some of the highest Brooklyn has seen for a space, sentimentality trumped a plush pay day: Rosen, whose family has owned Junior's since 1950, tells the New York Times that the restaurant "has such a heritage and such a tradition for so many people here in Brooklyn, that it just can't be replaced."
· Junior's Won't Sell Its Original Brooklyn Location [Eater NY]
· Legendary Restaurant Is to Stay in Brooklyn [NYT]
· All Brooklyn Coverage on Eater [-E-]
Floating Neighborhood for NYC: How to Hover a Whole Megablock
Juliawmartininteresting
How do you fit an entire new neighborhood for 65,000 people, complete with offices, schools and streets, into the already congested and overdeveloped island of Manhattan without knocking anything down? Hover it. That’s the plan for Hudson Yards, the largest private development project in U.S. history, which will be erected on a super-strong platform over an existing active rail yard between Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen.
The whole massive, incredibly heavy thing will barely touch the ground, resting on 300 concrete-sleeved steel caissons inserted 40-80 feet into the bedrock. Borrowed from bridge-building techniques, these supports will hold up a slab that will serve as the foundation of six skyscrapers, 100 shops, 20 restaurants, a school and 14 acres of parks.
The 26-acre West Side Yard over which this development will be built is a critical part of New York City’s transit system, serving overflow Long Island Railroad trains during rush hour with 30 tracks and space for storage and maintenance. Luckily, its original developers in the 1980s realized that one day the space would be prime for redevelopment, and left a gap around the edges of the yard just big enough for structural members to be installed without interrupting traffic.
Since the trains will still be active while Hudson Yards is under construction, actually getting everything into the ground will be a bit of a challenge. The builders plan to sink the caissons in sections and then attach them to 100-foot trusses whenever there’s a window of opportunity in between moving trains.
Gizmodo got an early look at the plans and has a series of mesmerizing gif images of exactly how everything will come together. It’s an interesting example of developers finding space for something new in a bustling metropolis without disturbing existing functionality, and even arguably improving a lot that many find an eyesore. The final phase of the city’s High Line park, set to open later in 2014, will connect directly to Hudson Yards, which should be complete by 2024.
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How-To: Knit a Cable without a Cable Needle
JuliawmartinI have never mastered the art of the cable, but this seems like it might help.
Brooklyn Public Library has money, is hiring librarians and other staff
Juliawmartinwell blow me over.
This could be you! The librarian, not the kids. via Facebook Hey, have you heard the good news? The library has more money in their budget than they had last year, according to a very excited press release. What it means for you is extended hours and more libraries open on weekends, if you’re the type of person who wants to hang out in the library on weekends. Having money though also means that the library is doing a bunch of hiring. Want to be a librarian? Want to be handle the library’s social media? Want to be a custodian? Well today is your lucky day, bub. Proving that if you give them $2.8 million, the Brooklyn Public Library will spend it, the library is hiring about 25 to 30 staff positions, according to a library representative, with all of the jobs available listed on their website. While you might be a… Read More
Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Billy Wilder
JuliawmartinThe Apartment is one of my top ten all time favorite movies.
My book, The Internet Police, now out in snazzy paperback edition
JuliawmartinI still want to read this.
I'd like to thank Ars readers for making last year's publication of my first book, The Internet Police, a hugely rewarding experience. You bought copies, sent me encouraging e-mails, and even supported my oldest daughter's quest to become a professional bookmark designer. Related opportunities, such as appearing on NPR's Fresh Air and getting a one-page review in the New York Times, might well be once in a lifetime events, and I savored them.
But now, the most exciting moment in my book's journey from brain to page has arrived: it is available in paperback (direct Amazon link). Bright yellow paperback. And I think it looks terrific.
The Internet Police opens in the 1990s and early 2000s, when legislators, spooks, and police believed that the Internet was a "borderless," chaotic place in which the forces of order were at risk of losing all control. It chronicles the decade-long shift to the far more bordered, intensely surveilled Internet we have today, one in which the 'Net is often a cop's best friend. The book is packed with in-depth stories that show how online investigations work (and sometimes how they don't), including: the Cleveland man whose “natural male enhancement” pill inadvertently protected the privacy of your e-mail; the Russian spam king who ended up in a Milwaukee jail; and the Australian arrest that ultimately led to the breakup of the largest child pornography ring in the United States.
Bill Murray On His Personal Philosophy
Juliawmartin"You can do the very best you can when you're very, very relaxed, no matter what it is or what your job is, the more relaxed you are the better you are." I feel this way too.
Bill Murray showed up after a screening of Ghostbusters in Toronto yesterday, where he spent the better part of an hour answering questions from fans. His best answer was in response to a question about his penchant for weird, unannounced hangouts (crashing the above couple's engagement photoshoot , for instance).
Scientists agree that BPA is an "ovarian toxicant"
Juliawmartinwell fuck.
Guerrilla Kindness: Add-Ons Make Cities More Convenient
JuliawmartinI always like stuff like this.
Three designers sneak around Paris, quickly installing brightly-colored machine-fabricated objects onto public chairs, phones, vending machines and other urban surfaces to make them more convenient to city residents. They call it ‘Fabrique-Hacktion,’ taking extra steps beyond what city officials are willing to fund with tax dollars to create a more comfortable and welcoming place to live.
Little slides shoot coins out of the receptacles in vending machines to make them easier to retrieve. Coat hooks hang helpfully from rock walls near bus stops. Tension bands hold newspapers against the wall of the subway, offering them to each new rider in turn.
Highly recognizable in bright shades of orange, blue and green, these thoughtful conveniences even go so far as hand-crank phone chargers and reflectors on top of the red and green lights of metro ticketing machines so users can tell from far away which machines are working and which aren’t.
Beyond just installing these items themselves, the designers offer up an explanatory video, manual and all construction plans and files for download on their website so anyone can take the project to their own city.
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crownedrose: Today is so exciting for a ton of fellow...
Juliawmartinthis is the dinosaur we've been waiting for.
Today is so exciting for a ton of fellow palaeontologists, students, researchers, and myself… Dreadnoughtus has finally been published!
The video above gives you guys a bit of history to where this titanosaur was discovered back in 2005. Almost ten years later and it’s finally gone public! With a name like Dreadnoughtus, it’s hard not to want to run around saying its awesome name.
These fossils spent a lot of time being excavated out of the matrix they were found in; around 4 years with multiple labs working tirelessly to clean and repair them. We had to get it done at least in some sort of quick time, right? With such a huge specimen, a lot of man power is required!
I’m so proud and happy for everyone involved that we can now share this gorgeous dinosaur to the public! It’s MASSIVE. The fossils are just mind blowing to look at, and now we continue to move forward with its preservation, education, and further research. It’ll be going back to Argentina next year.
You can read the article about Dreadnoughtus here on Drexel University’s website, and the scientific paper on Nature.com (which some super awesome people I know worked on).
Behold, the behemoth!
Meet the new (and aptly named) dinosaur species Dreadnoughtus, the most complete fossil of a massive sauropod ever unearthed, a creature so large and formidable that it was essentially invincible to the predators of its time, a dinosaur likely heavier than a 12-pack of bull elephants (and well heftier than a Boeing 737), a titan whose femur stood as high as me (and I’m no shrimp).
Scientists aren’t ready to say that this was the largest land animal EVAR, but it’s definitely the most massive creature that we have good data for. The completeness of this skeleton is simply remarkable! Paleontologists rarely find this many bones from the same single specimen. Some other sauropods may have in fact been more massive than Dreadnoughtus, but those bigger estimates are based on just a handful of bones. Well, not a handful, more like a truckful, but you get the idea.
When you’re done with the video above, head on over to National Geographic to read Brian Switek’s great summary of the news. Just imagine, if we’re still uncovering new species like this giant after centuries of sifting through the upper crust of Earth, imagine what else lies undiscovered…
Keep digging!