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Trans Justice Funding Project 2014 Grant Cycle | Indiegogo
Ars Technica System Guide: Bargain Box, April 2014
Since the early 2000s, the Ars System Guides have been helping DIYers to become system-building tweakmeisters. This series is a resource for building computers to match any combination of budget and purpose.
The Bargain Box is the most basic box in the hierarchy of Ars System Guide rigs. It has no intent beyond a minimalist goal—creating a solid, affordable, basic computer. Think of it as the basic "office" box or "mom/dad/grandparent" box, if you will.
Unfortunately, this places it squarely against the cheap, pre-built boxes from the big OEMs. Dell, HP, Lenovo, and their ilk all benefit from vast economies of scale that the individual builder could never hope to emulate. By the time the big OEMs add up hardware discounts alone, building a cheap computer yourself is at best a so-so idea in terms of value. Add in the cost of the operating system, and this really goes out the window.
Read 59 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Now, Americans can give money to as many politicians as they want
firehoseaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
If there’s anything Americans love, it’s money in politics.
(They probably wouldn’t admit it, but revealed preference—like the $7 billion spent on the 2012 federal elections—suggests as much.)
Now, the US Supreme Court has decided (pdf) to eliminate the aggregate cap on contributions to political candidates and parties. Currently, donors can give $2,600 per candidate, to a maximum of 18 candidates, and additional $75,000 to party committees and traditional political action committees, for a maximum spend of $123,200 in each two-year election cycle. Now, unless US lawmakers change the statute—unlikely, since they all benefit from it—there are no limits on the number of candidates a donor may contribute money, and perhaps more importantly, it will allow party committees to raise significantly larger sums from donors.
The ostensible justification for this is that political spending is speech, and the First Amendment guarantees guarantees free (as in unrestricted) speech. More pragmatically, the court appears to be taking the logical next step after its last major campaign finance decision, Citizens United, which allowed independent political groups (so-called Super PACs) to spend unlimited amounts on ads in support of political candidates as long as they don’t “coordinate” with them, a rule more honored in the breach than in observance. Still, it didn’t make sense to the majority of the court that a donor could spend as much as she wanted supporting candidates indirectly but give only $48,000 to them directly.
Campaign finance reform advocates fear this will give the wealthy even more influence in the US political system and make politicians spend even more time spent courting rich donors, especially at a time of rising economic inequality.
For an example, the Koch brothers, billionaire industrialists who are among the most active political donors in the United States, raised some $407 million during the 2012 election. Now, rather than just spend such sums on independent advertising, they can also donate significantly more directly to candidates and parties. The average winning senate campaign spent just over $10 million in the last cycle; with only 36 senate seats are contested this year, you can bet the 2014 figure is going to be higher.
The conventional wisdom is that Republicans will benefit more from this ruling than Democrats, since they are more popular with wealthy voters and the business lobby.
But predicting the results of campaign finance rules can be a mug’s game. The Citizens United ruling meant an additional $850 million was spent in 2012 compared to the previous presidential election, but the main targets against whom the money was spent—president Obama and vulnerable Democratic senators—managed to win, in part thanks to spending by their own unfettered allies using the same change in rules.
In setting the stage for today’s decision, however, its impact may turn out to be much greater, because today’s decision embraces the logic its critics feared: That it will dismantle the entire structure of campaign finance regulation put in place since the campaign finance scandals of the 1970s.
Bunnie Huang's Novena Open Source Laptop Launches Via Crowd Supply
firehosemeanwhile, in Portland (the wood case on the $5,000 "heirloom" edition is naturally Portlandian)
'You can purchase a version of the machine, including the aluminum case, high-definition display, and motherboard for $1,195. For $1,995, you also get a battery and a 240 gigabyte solid-state hard drive. And the heirloom version sells for a whopping $5,000. “The heirloom version is for people who are ready to invest in something they would use for years and years,” Huang says. You can also buy just the motherboard for $500 and use it with your own case.'
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Scarlett Johansson is a telekinetic superhuman in the trailer for 'Lucy'
firehoseLuc Besson, ever the innovator, is just remaking all of his movies at the same time into one film
meanwhile Scarlett Johansson suddenly can't pass up a genre role
Even with Captain America: The Winter Soldier hitting theaters, Scarlett Johansson isn't taking a break. In the movie Lucy, written and directed by acclaimed French filmmaker Luc Besson, Johansson plays a woman working as a drug mule for the mob. But when some of the drugs she's carrying start to leak into her system, she turns into a "metahuman" with telekinetic powers and the ability to absorb intelligence instantly. The first trailer promises a wild ride with Johansson rendering people unconscious with a flick of her wrist — and that's just for starters. Lucy is scheduled to hit theaters August 8.
- Source Movies Coming Soon (YouTube)
- Related Items lucy scarlett johansson luc besson metahuman sci-fi trailer
Mike Judge Skewers Silicon Valley With The Satire Of Our Dreams
firehose'In the spring of 2012, Judge and his King of the Hill collaborators, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, met with Scott Rudin, who produced The Social Network, Moneyball, and The Newsroom. Rudin was interested in developing a new show about indie gamers and thought Judge would be a perfect fit. But Judge demurred, saying he wasn’t familiar enough with the culture to pull it off. He was worried he wouldn’t get the details right. “That’s something that if you get wrong, you just get fried,” Judge says.
But Rudin’s suggestion got Judge thinking: Earlier Altschuler had had an idea for a farcical Dallas-style show about tech money in Silicon Valley. “Programming and engineers—that’s a world I know. I know the personality types,” Judge says.
In fact, the timing couldn’t have been better. Though much of the country was still crawling out of an economic pit, Silicon Valley was booming. Ambitious people were flocking in, and Valley stars like Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin were pop culture icons. For a satirist like Judge, it was an environment rich with targets.'
'Judge rewrote several of the characters in Silicon Valley based on the actors’ personalities and their on-set improv. (When I visited the set, three of the leads were legitimately embarrassed to be caught playing Magic: The Gathering on the floor in their dressing room.)'
'Martin Starr, the spectacled deadpan from Freaks and Geeks and Party Down who plays a bearded LaVeyan Satanist and system architect'
'His production designer has faithfully re-created TechCrunch Disrupt, the San Francisco startup conference, on a Culver City soundstage on the same lot where Citizen Kane was shot. The scene is packed with 82 tech startups—24 of which are real. The companies have brought their own banners, T-shirts, tchotchkes, and pitch decks and set up shop next to the fakes. When tech journalist Kara Swisher arrives for a cameo, many of the real CEOs pitch her—for real.
Scenes From Silicon Valley
Pied Piper Kumail Nanjiani, Martin Starr, Thomas Middleditch, Zach Woods, and T. J. Miller play the underdogs of Silicon Valley. Their startup, Pied Piper, has something tech giant Hooli wants.
Hooli In this scene, the Hooli CEO (played by Matt Ross) offers Pied Piper’s founder $10 million for his company. The founder flees and ultimately pukes in a trash can.
“There have been so many life-imitates-art moments,” Judge says, rocking slowly in a black executive chair in his production office, munching on a bag of Cheetos. While he was researching the script, he sent Dotan to present his fake company’s fake pitch deck to real VCs for feedback. “They said, yeah, we would invest in that,” Judge says.'
David Ortiz's selfie with President Obama was an ad, just like everything else
firehose"Here, I put together a guide to Brand Content on the Internet. http://pic.twitter.com/lxfKzyESNz "
Everything cool on the Internet is an advertisement or a hoax (except for this, which is good and real).
Here is the selfie David Ortiz took at the White House on Tuesday.
What an honor! Thanks for the #selfie, @BarackObama pic.twitter.com/y5Ww74sEID
— David Ortiz (@davidortiz) April 1, 2014
39K+ retweets! Plus, here are 14 publications, including SB Nation, that embeded the tweet in an article.
This is a real statement from a real human on behalf of Samsung, via Boston Globe:
"We were thrilled to see the special, historic moment David Ortiz captured with his Galaxy Note 3 during his White House visit. It was an honor to help him capture such an incredible and genuine moment of joy and excitement."
Of course. This photo of genuine happiness is a genuine LIE.
(Photo via Getty Images)
Here, I put together a guide to Brand Content on the Internet.
Helpful guide for smart Internet #content consumers. pic.twitter.com/lxfKzyESNz
— Michael Katz (@KatzM) April 2, 2014
Lifehack: Become an unfeeling cynic and never be hurt by Big Brand again.
(via Washington Post)
Obama to attend Fort Hood memorial service on Wednesday - USA TODAY
CNN |
Obama to attend Fort Hood memorial service on Wednesday USA TODAY WASHINGTON — President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will visit Fort Hood on Wednesday to pay respect to the victims of last week's shooting tragedy at the Texas military installation, a senior White House official announced Sunday. "It's a terrible ... President Obama and First Lady to attend Fort Hood memorial serviceAustin American-Statesman Obama to attend memorial at Fort HoodKilleen Daily Herald President Obama to attend Fort Hood servicemySanAntonio.com Toledo Blade -news9.com KWTV all 8,310 news articles » |
Exclusive Look Inside Dan Harmon's Dungeons & Dragons Game, Harmonquest
firehosePathfinder, actually
"Patton Oswalt, Danny Pudi, Paul Scheer, and Steve Agee are just a few of the talents that have stopped by to record and play."
The creator of Community, Dan Harmon, has been hosting a mashup podcast meets role-playing game with a collection of his friends. And now these hilarious podcasts have been animated, thanks to the series Harmonquest. And we have an exclusive look inside the fantasy world Harmon created.
    
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A Whole Bunch of Groan-Worthy Chemistry Jokes
firehosemany recycled, but shared because saucie loves this shit
“Never trust an atom. They make up everything.”
The Reactions YouTube channel, which is produced by the American Chemical Society, has created a video featuring a whole bunch of groan-worthy chemistry jokes.
submitted via Laughing Squid Tips
NASA must immediately cease contact with Russia [Updated at 19:30 CDT]
firehosegreat
A leaked memo from NASA HQ this morning instructs NASA employees and contractors to sever communication with Russian government representatives due to Russia's "ongoing violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity." NASA Watch notes that this move comes less than a month after NASA administrator Charles Bolden assured the public that the situation in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula wouldn't disrupt space cooperation between the United States and Russia.
The prohibition does lay out a specific exemption for International Space Station operational activities, which is important since the ISS can't function without some cooperation between US and Russian ground control. There's also the matter of the station's crew being composed of both American and Russian personnel who have to live and work together to keep the flying laboratory operational.
(Update: though NASA has yet to issue a statement, NBC and Fox News are both reporting that NASA has confirmed the e-mail's authenticity. Further, astronaut Chris Hadfield has linked to the e-mail on his Twitter account, emphasizing that ISS operations are exempt.)
Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Newswire: Courtney Love says the mid-'90s lineup of Hole has reunited
The classic mid-’90s lineup of Hole—Courtney Love, Patty Schemel, Melissa Auf Der Maur, and Eric Erlandson—has reunited. According to Love, the group’s been hanging out and playing new material—Love told The Quietus that the group “played like three or four times in the last week”—but there’s no confirmation as to where the group will go next. In the meantime, she’ll be releasing a solo single, “Wedding Day,” before touring the UK alone in May.
Amazon Game Studios hires Portal designer Kim Swift, Splinter Cell designer Clint Hocking
firehoseWHOA NOW HOLD THE FUCK UP
Amazon Game Studios has expanded its game developer ranks with two notable names: Portal designer Kim Swift and Far Cry 2 creative director Clint Hocking.
The Seattle-based hires, first reported by Kotaku, both show their new roles at Amazon Game Studios on LinkedIn. Swift lists her role as senior designer, "working on secret things for a secret amount of time that no one can know about." Hocking also names his role as senior designer, working on unannounced projects. Hocking says he's worked at Amazon Game Studios since February.
Prior to working at Amazon Game Studios, Swift worked as creative director at Airtight Games on titles Quantum Conundrum and Soul Fjord. She is perhaps best known for her work on the original Portal while at Valve, where she worked until 2009.
Hocking has previously worked at Valve, LucasArts and Ubisoft, where he contributed to Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Far Cry 2. Hocking confirmed his employment, and Swift's, in an email to Polygon.
Amazon announced the $99 Fire TV set-top box today, a diminutive device that plays movies, television shows and Android-based games via an Amazon-produced controller. Amazon Game Studios revealed its first Fire TV-exclusive game, the shooter-tower defense hybrid Sev Zero, today and teased a number of new Amazon-developed games in a highlight reel.
Great Job, Internet!: Laura Palmer is dead, but Twin Peaks is alive again on Twitter
When Laura Palmer cryptically told Agent Dale Cooper “I’ll see you again in 25 years” in the final episode of Twin Peaks, she wasn’t talking about Twitter. Or was she? As of March 25, “1989”, a group of Twitter users operating under the banner of Enter The Lodge have taken it upon themselves to give Twin Peaks a third season.
“Twin Peaks Season Three” picks up with the events of Twin Peaks’ series finale, and is told through a series of Twitter conversations between the show’s main characters (with cameos from fan favorites like The Log Lady and FBI Regional Bureau Chief Gordon Cole). Users can follow the story by subscribing to @EnterTheLodge’s Twitter list, and catch up through daily Storify updates that collect each day’s tweets. A series of cryptic documents that provide insights into the story are also available on Enter The Lodge ...
Jaimie Alexander Will Guest Judge A Marvel-Centric Episode Of Project Runway: Under the Gunn
The Joker is straight outta Gotham in mc chris’ ‘Part Six’
firehosemc chris is still around
Proposed Map: Moscow Tram Network by nOne Digital & Branding...
Proposed Moscow Tram Map
Map in situ
Regional map
Colour palette for 48 separate routes
Map detail 1
Map detail 2
Proposed Map: Moscow Tram Network by nOne Digital & Branding Agency
Sent my way for comments by the agency, here’s a very slick proposal for a new map for Moscow’s tram network. As a westerner, I was only very dimly aware that Moscow even has a tram network (the Metro grabs the spotlight), but it’s actually the fourth most extensive such network in the world, with 181km of combined route length. The three larger networks are Berlin (190km), St. Petersburg (220km), and Melbourne, Australia (254km).
At first glance, the map looks a little spindly and hard to read, but the proposal makes it pretty clear that the full system map is meant to be printed BIG (see the second picture above), and will be supplemented by smaller, regional maps. The system is made up of two unconnected sub-networks, so this seems to make good sense.
With a staggering 48 routes to show, coming up with a colour palette that works is certainly a challenging task, but I think nOne has done a good job. They’ve basically run sequentially through the whole spectrum, but have cleverly modified the brightness of colours to provide the necessary contrast between adjacent routes. It does lead to some areas of the map taking on a more or less uniform colour – the second detail above is very pink/purple, for example – but the whole map passes the colour-blindness test surprisingly well, mainly because of that good contrast between adjacent routes.
Technically, the map is excellent, with smoothly drawn curves and consistently applied labels. There’s quite a few tight/unusual curves in the map, but they’re all handled very deftly, and the route lines flow really nicely from end to end. The treatment of terminus stops is lovely, with nice, big, easy to see route numbers and the direction of travel from that terminus indicated.
Interchanges with Metro stations are shown with both a bigger dot and the station’s name reversed out of the appropriate Metro Line colour. It might have been nice to also include the number of the Metro Line within the coloured box, just for that extra level of accessibility. Or would that cause confusion between Metro line numbers and tram line numbers? The decisions that designers have to make!
The Metro lines themselves are shown as a thinner line (lower down the information hierarchy), but I wonder if the map might be visually cleaner without them entirely: there’s a lot going on in this map! On such a schematic diagram, it might be enough to indicate where the tram routes interchange with the Metro without having to actually show the Metro’s path. Still, I can’t fault the technical execution!
Mention also of the proposed network logo, which is an even more stylised representation of the system combined with a bit of “heart” to make a distinctively colourful icon.
Our rating: More evidence that some of the best transit map design is coming out of Russia at the moment. Confident, technically excellent work that’s part of a larger, all-encompassing, rebranding proposal. Will be interested to see if this gets implemented. Four stars!
Recent quakes probably not related - USA TODAY
Recent quakes probably not related USA TODAY Recent earthquakes in Chile, Panama and Southern California have people wondering. ... Are they related? Expert say it's unlikely. "The odds are overwhelming that they're not related," said John Vidale, a seismologist with the University of ... and more » |
College student visiting Colo. for spring break falls from balcony and dies after ... - New York Daily News
New York Daily News |
College student visiting Colo. for spring break falls from balcony and dies after ... New York Daily News Levy Thamba, a 19-year-old exchange student, fell four-stories after eating the legally purchased cookies in what's believed to be the first publicized fatality linked to pot since its legalized sale in January. BY Nina Golgowski. NEW YORK DAILY NEWS. Student death is first linked to legal marijuana in Colo.Washington Post Legal pot cookie blamed for US deathNEWS.com.au Exchange student falls to death in Denver after eating marijuana cookieChicago Tribune Chron.com all 151 news articles » |
Dirtbag Anne of Green Gables
 |
Courtney
shared this story
from  The ToastThe Toast:
|
| SAY CARROTS AGAIN |
MATTHEW: Well now, I don’t mean to seem uncharitable-like, but you see as how Marilla and me was expecting a boy.
ANNE: yeah well
i expected to have an alabaster brow and raven tresses down to my tits by the time i turned fifteen
but we don’t always get what we want, do we
old man
[MARILLA's neighbor RACHEL LYNDE comes to call]
RACHEL: Well, Marilla
I can’t say I think she looks like much, but you always did know your own mind
ANNE [lights a cigarette]: funny
i don’t recall asking you what you thought about a fucking thing
[ANNE meets DIANA BARRY for the first time. The ADULTS leave the parlor to gossip in the kitchen.]
DIANA: It’s awfully nice to meet you
ANNE: wanna get drunk
i know where Marilla keeps the good stuff
GILBERT: psst
psst
[Anne does not turn]
Hey. Hey, Carrots. Carrots.
[ANNE smashes her slate against the edge of the desk and holds a jagged edge to GILBERT's neck]
ANNE: say carrots again
go on
say carrots again
[GILBERT shakes his head ferociously, wide-eyed and silent]
ANNE [presses the tip of the shard into his throat]: no, come on
do it
GILBERT [whispered]: I don’t want to
ANNE: My hair’s red. You notice that?
[Gilbert nods carefully]
ANNE: ‘Course you did. You’re a smart guy. You know what else is red, smart guy?
[GILBERT is silent. ANNE twirls the tip of her slate until a single drop of blood appears at the pressure point]
you wanna tell me what else is red
DIANA: oh Anne you’ve got to come right away
Minnie May is sick and I think it might be the croup and Mother and Father are in Charlottetown and I don’t know what to do
ANNE: get me some cough syrup
DIANA: all right
ANNE [takes a swig]: all right let’s do this
[MARILLA stands outside the bathroom door and knocks nervously]
MARILLA: Anne, are you all right? You’ve been in there for an hour. What are you doing in there?
ANNE [o/s]: i told you
don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to
[MATTHEW collapses in the field]
MATTHEW: Anne, you’ve got to call for a doctor — it’s my heart — call for Dr. Meadowes –
[ANNE lights a cigarette and leans against the fence post]
ANNE: sorry what was that
MATTHEW: [gurgling]
ANNE: you’re gonna have to speak up
MATTHEW: please
ANNE: i want the dress
MATTHEW: what
ANNE: you know what dress i mean
the big sleeves
MATTHEW: Anything — anything –
ANNE: I want two.
MATTHEW: All of them, you can have all of them.
ANNE [runs towards the house]: Oh, Dr. Meadowes!
MATTHEW: Christ.
[The schoolhouse burns in the distance. Anne stands on the porch, face flushed and streaked with ash]
ANNE: IT’S ANNE WITH A GODDAMN “E”
A GODDAMN “E”
[The CUTHBERT's kitchen. Anne sits at the table with a pair of oversized headphones covering her ears, eating a raw carrot, and carving a circle-A into her forearm.]
MARILLA: Anne?
ANNE [yanks off her headphones]: what
MARILLA: Anne, Ms. Perkins just ‘rang — that schoolmate of yours, the Blythe boy? Gilbert? He’s gone missing since the picnic last Saturday.
[ANNE does not respond]
They were just wondering if anyone had seen him since then.
[ANNE takes a slow bite out of her carrot without breaking eye contact]
MARILLA: I’ll…tell them you haven’t seen anything.
ANNE: you do that
Read more Dirtbag Anne of Green Gables at The Toast.
Google's alleged Silver program would showcase the best of Android at carrier stores
firehoseppht
Google could have big plans in store for the way that it and other smartphone makers sell and advertise their best Android phones. According to a series of slides allegedly shown inside of Google and leaked to Android Police, Google is developing a program called Android Silver, which would find carriers dedicating a section of their store to some of the top Android phones, each of which would come with some significant advantages over phones that weren't offered as part of the Silver program.
Quick OS updates and 24/7 video chat support
Phones in the alleged Silver program would run the latest version of Android and feature limited software customization, if any. They would also include a support program similar to Amazon's Mayday service, allowing people to begin a video chat with a support representative who could help them solve problems and learn about their phone or tablet at any time of the day. Staff at carrier stores would also help customers set up their new devices and transfer data over from their old ones, much like Apple Stores current do.
Google would largely have control over the purported in-store Android Silver kiosks. They would allegedly be designed and produced by Google, and the kiosks' staff would even have to be specially certified to work at them. Google would also promote the Android Silver brand to help drive demand for the selection of devices it offered. The slides also allege that anyone who bought and lost an Android Silver device would be able to receive a temporary phone on loan.
Google declined to comment on Android Silver. Android Police reports that the slides were made at the end of last year and hedges that it does not know the current status of the program, such as whether or not it is still in development.
The program certainly sounds ambitious — perhaps more so than Google can pull off with the support of many major carriers and device manufacturers — but it would be a marked and major change in the way that Android phones are sold if it can pull it off. This would give a robust support network to major Android phones that can't be afforded by individual manufacturers without working together. And perhaps most importantly for Google, it would also begin to put Android front-and-center, as it's started to do a bit more of recently, making Android itself more into a product that customers would specifically be interested in.
Holograms of M.I.A. and Janelle Monáe will perform two new songs together live
Audi will celebrate the launch of its new A3 tomorrow with a live collaboration between M.I.A. and Janelle Monáe — sort of. Each artist will play a separate set, Monáe from Los Angeles and M.I.A. from New York, but they will perform two brand-new songs together at the end of the night thanks to the magic of hologram technology. Pitchfork reports that "integrated video mapping" is making this happen: the set uses 3D projection mapping to "add layered depth of field perception with animated graphic content." It sounds impressive, but we'll have to see the results before we can say how effective it is. While putting on a bicoastal performance may not be as enticing to some as the holographic resurrection of 2Pac at Coachella in 2012, or a piano battle between a composer and his own hologram, it does present a peculiar trend that could change the meaning of "live" in live music.
- Source Pitchfork
- Related Items m.i.a. audi hologram live performance audi a3 janelle monáe
A Dystopian Sci-Fi Movie Filmed Completely under the Radar in China … Starring Ai Weiwei
firehosevia Bunker.jordan
Ai Wei Wei beat
Just announced today, The Sand Storm is a short film directed by New York filmmaker Jason Wishnow that was shot completely under the radar in China, starring none other than dissident artist Ai Weiwei in his acting debut. How such an audacious and risky endeavor came into being is pretty mind-blowing given the heavy amount of surveillance surrounding the artist. The movie takes place in a dystopian future where Ai Weiwei plays the role of a smuggler in a world without water.
The existence of The Sand Storm was kept heavily under wraps while shooting in Beijing. Ai Weiwei has been closely watched by the government since his 2011 imprisonment and authorities still have yet to return his passport. While the short film has already been shot beginning to end, the filmmakers are raising a bit of money on Kickstarter to finish the movie and recoup some costs as crowdfunding beforehand was too risky. Had this been announced yesterday I would have assumed it was a hoax.
Old people like to talk a lot about things I can't use for data
firehosevia willowbl00
meanwhile, in Portland
Environmental Studies, Portland State University
“Sense of Place and Stakeholder Involvement in Rural Environmental Management”
Frog Fractions 1.5: Kickstarter Simulator 2015
firehoseyesss
By Nathan Grayson on April 2nd, 2014 at 6:00 pm.
When I first heard about Frog Fractions 2′s Kickstarter, I immediately wondered, “Can Twinbeard get more meta? Can they really?” The original game of amphibians and (not any) arithmetic went so deep down the rabbit hole that it emerged on the other side of the universe and also in another dimension, so I’ll cop to having been slightly worried. But now Twinbeard has made a game about creating a Kickstarter while running a Kickstarter for a game that won’t be called Frog Fractions 2 even though it will technically be Frog Fractions 2 and, well, I’m not very worried anymore. The game in question is called Kickstarter Simulator 2015. Its genre? FMV lightgun shooter. I’m not even joking.
Yes, it’s real. Yes, you can play it right now. Yes, it is incredibly silly.
Basically, the absolute most crucial moments of the Frog Fractions 2 Kickstarter creation process play out before you, and you shoot people to stop them from messing everything up. But these aren’t, like, terrorists or bug monsters or bug monster terrorists or something. You are shooting the people responsible for creating and funding the Kickstarter. I know, I know, but this is how they learn.
I will say no more. Kickstarter Simulator is brief, free, and largely just a giant joke, but it’ll provide enough laughs to be well worth your while. And who knows? Maybe it’s chock full of easter eggs or the final piece(s) in Frog Fractions’ ongoing ARG puzzle or something.
Give it a go (or two, or three; “failing” produces some pretty funny results) here. Frog Fractions 2, meanwhile, still hasn’t quite hit its funding goal. It is close, though. There’s a week left on the clock, so sell your game collections, clothes, and children accordingly.
If you’d like to learn more and also watch a playthrough of the entire first Frog Fractions, you might want slap your slimy amphibian appendages against this episode of A Game And A Chat. Happy (HUMAN) hunting!
__________________
« First Look: Transformers Universe |
free, frog fractions, Frog Fractions 2, Kickstarter Simulator 2015, twinbeard studios.
The David Ortiz-Obama Selfie Was Set Up By Samsung
firehosenatch
'Captain Marvel' Artist Filipe Andrade Returns with 'Figment' for Disney Kingdoms Line
firehosesteampunk everything and slim down everyone, I guess
http://disfaninco.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Dreamfinder.png
The winner of the 2013 ComicsAlliance prize for Raddest Superhero Art, Filipe Andrade draws some of the coolest pictures we’ve seen in recent years. His drawing style is an uncanny blend of wild, kinetic line work and fine, intricate detail, which made his stint on Captain Marvel one of Marvel Comics’ best looking productions last year. We’d been wondering where Andrade would pop up next and got our answers when Marvel released its solicitations for books going on sale in June. The artist’s next big gig is Figment, written by Jim Zub (Skullkickers, Samurai Jack) and inspired by the Journey Into Imagination attraction at the EPCOT theme park at Disneyworld, starring a steampunky inventor called Dreamfinder and his dragon Figment.
I’m a pretty big fan of Disney lore with respect to theme parks. The story elements the imagineers build into every ride or other attraction are always interesting, even peculiar, and in many cases the deeper narratives behind the attractions have remained mysterious for decades. That’s why the Disney Kingdoms comics are a cool idea. The rides wouldn’t work if they were burdened with delivering linear plot points, but the tone and worlds are so well defined that visitors experience the adventures in that visceral way that only Disney parks can offer. But consequently, you want to return to those worlds and explore them further. Outside of a ludicrously budgeted filmic experience along the lines of Disney’s Tron sequel, the best way to immerse yourself in a fantastical world is in comic books.
That said, I’ve no familiarity at all with Journey Into Imagination. I gather it’s about an inventor called Dreamfinder who was part of the original attraction but hasn’t been seen in many years, and the Journey Into Imagination mascot Figment, a cute little dragon.
It doesn’t really matter; I know Andrade’s drawing it, and he is a fine choice to take the reader to unreal places. See, while Captain Marvel demonstrated the artist’s exaggerated, almost brazen style of drawing, the book took place in the contemporary world. What some Captain Marvel readers haven’t seen is Andrade’s illustration work, which take the observer into dark dystopias and hyper-colored dreamscapes. Marvel teases the book with questions like “What is the Academy Scientifica-Lucidus?” and “Who is Blarion Mercurial?” and “What is the Integrated Mesmonic Spark Convertor?” I have no idea what those are, but I want to see Andrade draw them.
Here are some never-before-seen pages from Andrade, along with the Figment #1 cover by John Tyler Christopher. The book goes on sale in June.
(click to enlarge)
A Composite Image of 8 Hours of Aircraft Departures at Los Angeles International Airport
Earlier this week photographer Mike Kelley photographed every aircraft that departed from the south complex of Los Angeles International Airport over an eight hour period. He then digitally composited each aircraft into a single image entitled “Wake Turbulence.” The photo is reminiscent of Cy Kuckenbaker’s composite time-lapse of San Diego International Airport.
photo by Mike Kelley
via reddit
Increasing Number Of Men Pressured To Accept Realistic Standards Of Female Beauty
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5 Things You Didn't Know About Vladimir Putin's Personal Life - ABC News
firehoseTIME's lede: "Single ladies of Moscow, keep an eye out on dating websites for images of a balding, shirtless man emerging from a tank, hoisting a gun, riding a horse, or engaged in other similarly macho pursuits. It could be your president, Vladimir Putin"
ABC News |
5 Things You Didn't Know About Vladimir Putin's Personal Life ABC News Calling all the single ladies! The Kremlin confirmed today that the divorce of Russian President Vladimir Putin from his wife of 30 years, Lyudmila, has been finalized. PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lyudmila Putina attend a service at ... Putin officially divorces his wife Lyudmila - KremlinReuters Putin divorce finalized, Kremlin saysDetroit Free Press Putin and Wife Officially DivorceDaily Beast all 109 news articles » |