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When it isn't being fired at or around you, ammunition can be kind of beautiful. We've already seen the striking beauty of exploding bullets trapped in plexiglass, but photographer Sabine Pearlman found a different, but equally awesome bullet-photography approach: cutting them in half.

Her photo series AMMO, conisists of shots of the innards of over 900 different types of ammunition, showing not only how carefully engineered and unique every different kind of bullet is, but also just how damn pretty they are up close.

Of course, there are more themes at play here than just "pretty bullets." The work's official description puts it this way:

Pearlman’s photographs blur our preconceptions by humanizing the tools of the shooter, showing us their simplicity and aesthetic balance, their serene arrangement of part. Yet, Pearlman’s work also acts to disarm the shooter. Cloven in two and isolated from their context, they are rendered harmless. The viewer is forced to contemplate them as abstractions. composed of shapes and angles, flecks of color and texture, devoid of use.

But even with all that said, I just can't get over how some of the explosive material looks a whole hell of a lot like Cocoa Pebbles.

You can catch more of Sabine's work over on her Facebook page, or check out her portfolio over at her website.

Images © Sabine Pearlman | Ammunition cross-sections from the series "AMMO"

Thanks Niki M

 

Thanks Mike (from Spain)

 

Google Reader goes away forever on Monday, so this is your last weekend to prepare for the transition. We mentioned this earlier in the week, but it bears repeating one last time in case you've been procrastinating.

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(281): Vagic. Defined as a kind of magic one has over a girl's vagina. Used in a sentence... he's an accomplished vagician.

Chicken and waffles are a delicious flavor combination, but they're also a bit hard to eat...until now. Mom On Timeout has all the instructions you need to make your own tasty chicken and waffle ranch sliders at home.

Link

Thanks Jacques

And here we thought the only privacy risk with having a Wi-Fi network at home was someone figuring out our password. Researchers at MIT felt that a stranger having access to your wireless network wasn't scary enough, so they developed a way for someone to use Wi-Fi signals as a sort of x-ray vision to track a person's movements in another room.

Borrowing similar techniques as used with radar and sonar, the Wi-Vi system—as the researchers have called it—sends out a pair of inverse wireless signals as pings. When they hit something stationary, they cancel each other out, but when an object is in motion it creates an offset between the signals that can be processed to determine where and how fast it's moving.

In its current state it's far from Superman's x-ray vision, though. The system isn't precise enough to determine exactly what someone is doing in another room, but that doesn't mean its useless. Using a smartphone as the signal source, Wi-Vi could provide a cheap way for rescue workers to search for captives in a building, or even as a way to hunt for survivors trapped under rubble, as long as they're moving. Or, as a mobile version of Kinect that doesn't necessarily need to see you to detect your gestures. [MIT via SlashGear]

For months, you might have seen friends in LA posting images of the Stanley Kubrick Archive exhibit at LACMA (the Los Angeles County Museum of Art). The show looks wonderful, and has drawn high praise for presenting relics from Kubrick’s entire career. It closes this coming Sunday, but don’t fret if you haven’t seen it. There’s a video tour online that helps share the experience even if you haven’t been able to make the trip to LA.

The exhibit concentrates on Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, The Shining, 2001, A Clockwork Orange, and Barry Lyndon, though the rest of the director’s films are represented as well, if not as heavily. As a result the videos below feature similar concentrations. The archive is maintained by the Deutsches Filmmuseum, Frankfurt am Main, and will be traveling to a new location in the future. (The next stop in the tour has not been announced; it probably won’t be in the US.)

In addition to the videos, you can check out the free app created by LACMA to accompany the exhibit.

Not quite the same as being able to linger at the pieces you’d really like to examine, but it’s a hell of a lot better than not going at all. [Movies.com / OpenCulture]

• Read the Essential and Long Out of Print Book ‘The Making of Kubrick’s 2001′
• Glen Mazzara To Write ‘Shining’ Prequel Called ‘The Overlook Hotel’
• Christopher Nolan Briefly Discusses ‘Interstellar’ Influences
• /Film Interview: ‘Room 237′ Director Rodney Ascher
• ‘Room 237′ Poster Echoes Original ‘The Shining’ One-Sheet
• Steven Spielberg Developing Stanley Kubrick’s Passion Project ‘Napoleon’ as Mini-Series

Kohath writes "Eighteen-year-old Justin Carter of Austin, Texas was arguing with a friend on Facebook about League of Legends back in February. After being called 'insane,' he responded with 'Oh yeah, I'm real messed up in the head, I'm going to go shoot up a school full of kids and eat their still, beating hearts.' Below that, he wrote 'lol' and 'jk.' He was arrested March 27, 2013 and has been in jail since that time. A hearing to review his case is scheduled for July 1, 2013. His parents have launched a change.org petition to convince the authorities to release their son."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Vera's famed barbacoa taco [Photographs: Meredith Bethune]

Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Que has a certain mystique among barbecue lovers. Although it seems like every taco truck in Texas sells barbacoa, Vera's is the last commercial vendor in the country selling the traditional version of this specialty from the Rio Grande Valley. It's the real thing—whole cattle heads smoked over mesquite in an underground pit. Today most health departments in Texas cities have banned this cooking method, which is rooted in ranching traditions, but Vera's has been grandfathered in.

Vera's does a brisk drive-thru business. The old sign on the back of the building still advertises "sesos", or brains. They used to be the most popular item, but they're no longer available since the Mad Cow scare.

What I had at Vera's was like nothing I've ever had before. Located in Brownsville, at the southernmost tip of Texas on the Mexican border, Vera's doesn't have a website or any Yelp review, which only adds to its legend. Over the years, I've asked for advice about visiting Vera's. Barbecue expert Daniel Vaughn told me to get there early—"the earlier the better" (Vera's famously opens at 4:30am), but others said "it's closed" or "the owner doesn't want people from out of town going there." I had no choice but to make the long drive to Brownsville to see for myself.

My fears evaporated as soon as I set foot in the door around 6:45am. The owner, Mando Vera, put me at ease right away with his warm welcome and friendly manner. When I asked, "Why do you open so early?" he shrugged and answered simply, "It's just a tradition, that's the way it's always been done." He's routinely gets up at 3:30am to face the day.

Born and raised in Brownsville, Vera has always worked at the business that his father established in 1955. His wife and children typically work there, too, but the day I visited, his assistant Beto was helping out. Although they're open only on weekends, Vera says Sundays are the busiest days.

Mando Vera

Holding court at his regular table, Vera can see his regulars as they exit their cars. He gives Beto a heads-up on their order before they even enter the building, calling out "dos libras y media de cachete" or "una libra de lengua." There's a sign apologizing to customers that the prices have gone up due to the drought: "The price of beef has gone up 90% in the last few years." "I'm hoping I can drop prices a little bit soon," Vera says, but still, $8.95 to $10.50 per pound for traditional barbacoa sounds more than reasonable to me.

After Vera cleans the heads and smokes them in an underground pit for 8 to 10 hours, he separates the meat into cheeks, tongue, eyes, and mixta, aka everything else that's leftover. "The eyes are the most popular. We usually sell out by 9 o'clock," Vera says. "We call it Mexican caviar," he laughs, noting its reputation as a delicacy.

BBQ eye socket

Vera sensed my interest, so he scooped an eye out of the steamer. It was even larger and more intimidating than I expected, but he assured me that they removed the eyeballs before smoking. I took a deep breath and bit into it. The texture was sticky, almost gluey. It was all muscle—not dry, but also not at all moist. The flavor wasn't so bad, but it still wasn't my favorite thing to eat before 8am.

"But me, I like the mixta the best." Mando says. I have to agree—the finely chopped mixta is the most flavorful of all the categories. I wouldn't call the meat gamey at all, but it was the most savory and flavorful, and I appreciated the crispy bits distributed throughout. In contrast, the smoked cheeks disintegrated into long shreds with a delicate smokey crust. The meat was firm and ultimately had the vague flavor of a good pot roast, without any of the heaviness that I usually associate with barbacoa.

Vera's makes four types of salsas in-house, including verde with tomatillo and avocado and two tomato-based salsas. They sell packages of fresh corn tortillas from Capistran Tortilla Factory a few blocks away.

Although I enjoyed some the larger pieces of tongue that were still intact, most of it turned to mush during the smoking process. All of the meat had an unmistakable mesquite flavor with a pervasive smokiness that was slightly sweet and metallic. If I were to eat this meat plain with just a fork, it would definitely need some salt. But eaten the way it's supposed to be eaten, in taco form with fresh salsa and corn tortillas, it's just about perfect.

Carnitas, a new menu addition.

After I'd eaten the barbacoa, Vera eagerly took me into the kitchen to show me a pot of simmering carnitas. He dropped a few of the golden nuggests, still dripping with lard, into a paper boat. I let them cool, and then bit into one—it was crisp on the outside, and oozing in the middle. I told him they were the best carnitas I've ever had, and he assured me the secret is completely immersing them in the lard. "That's what some of my customers told me, and we give them what they want."

Later this summer Vera plans to drive his daughter back to school in the Midwest. As his kids grow up and leave Brownsville, I can't help but wonder how long this unique operation will stay in business. The old smokehouse on the property is currently undergoing renovations, and barbacoa is being smoked off-site. Vera didn't seem optimistic that it would be completed soon. Should you find yourself in Brownsville someday, be sure to stop by Vera's before 9am. You'll want to try everything, because who knows when you'll have the chance again.

Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Que

2404 Southmost Road, Brownsville, TX 78521 (map); 956-546-4159

About the author: Meredith Bethune is a writer, blogger, and sausage and bacon maker. She is currently living in Austin and learning about the wonders of barbecue and chicken-fried steak. Follow her on Twitter (@MeredithBethune).

(YouTube link)

Fool your cat into thinking the odd vegetables are producing sounds, and you have instant entertainment. How could TV ever be this amusing? Now, if we could only get people to hold their phones correctly as they record…  -via Daily Picks and Flicks

Sid Meier's Civilization 5 enters a "Brave New World" of trade and culture when the expansion pack launches July 9. Similar to Civilization 4's Beyond the Sword, this new expansion is meant for the culture snobs, who believe in taking over the world with a LOLCAT wave.

Civilization 5's brave new launch trailer originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 28 Jun 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looking for a cool new home bar? Bombay Sapphire and design firm, AvroKO have teamed up to craft the limited edition Bombay Sapphire East Gin Wheel.

If you’re a gin lover, you know a thing or two about Bombay Sapphire. However, from the design side, AvroKO is responsible for several high-profile projects including LAVO, Beauty & Essex, Kid Robot, and Saxon & Parole in NYC. The firm uses storytelling as a way to create innovative designs and transformative experiences.

Inspired by the “Lazy Susan” turntable, the new Gin Wheel is handcrafted from exotic walnut. Its base – on which the main body spins on – is a plate made of brushed stainless steel. The Gin Wheel’s design celebrates the classic nature of the Gin & Tonic cocktail (of which it’s meant to celebrate!) while boasting an imaginative and refined aesthetic.

The main body opens to high quality bar tools, glassware, removable cutting boards, coasters and custom made aluminum tongs that double as a locking mechanism. There’s also storage for ice and garnish for your cocktails.

Starting next month you’ll be able to buy one of these from The Future Perfect. Bottoms up!

Toki Tori 2+ will launch on Steam on July 11, a week later than its original release date, Two Tribes recently announced on its blog. The expanded port will cost $14.99 and €14.99 in the US and Europe, respectively, while UK players will pay £12.99 for it.

Two Tribes also noted that the game will be discounted on launch day, and that players that own one or more games by the developer on Steam will receive a loyalty coupon that further discounts the game.

Toki Tori 2+ delayed to July 11 on Steam originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 23 Jun 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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(248): IF IT WALKS LIKE A MANWHORE AND QUACKS LIKE A MANWHORE, HE PROBABLY HAS VD.

Super Talent has released a USB 3.0-based RamDisk, which uses the system's free memory to achieve very high transfer rates.

Without fail, Etsy is a great place to find unique, handmade items. It's also a great for purchasing the mummified remains of dead animals

Taxidermy might not thrill everyone, but if you want to surprise a loved one on her birthday, giving the gift of a perfectly preserved rat tail will be remembered for years to come.

1. A dead guinea pig, for the little cousin who can't seem to keep his pets alive.

Image courtesy of Etsy, Asylum Artwork

Make sure to point out its zombie like appearance, zombies are super popular with kids these days. Read more...

2. A goat blood pendant, for you BFF who loves unique jewelry.

More about Lists, Pets, Animals, Etsy, and Wtf