firehose

"Behind The Seams," a new show at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris explores how undergarments have been used to alter the human form.

Almost impossible to find because they are both extremely clever and shy, wild New Guinea Singing Dogs have so far eluded every expedition to find them, including one that stretched over a month 20 years ago in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

There are certain issues with wearing slippers that can arise in some situations. Some people also find slippers to be a type of safety footwear if they are the large overstuffed novelty variety because the stuffing can preclude injury from stubbing one’s toe while walking in a dark room at night. Another form of safety can come in the protection from pathogens on the walking surface. Wearing slippers can be used as a way to keep feet clean.

Link

India’s government is embarking on an ambitious program to make food a legal right for two-thirds of its 1.2 billion population. The Food Security Bill, which was passed by ordinance but needs to be ratified by parliament, is being promoted by the government as India’s best shot at combating chronic malnutrition and hunger. Critics argue that the program is designed to gain favor with rural voters ahead of national elections in 2014. Here’s a rundown of the mind-boggling scale of what could be the world’s largest food-subsidy system:

• Two out of three Indians, or around 810 million people, would get five kilograms of subsidized food grains every month. The program would offer food subsidies to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population.
• The government believes the program would push India’s food subsidy bill by 45% to 1.3 trillion rupees ($21 billion) a year. Critics estimate the cost could be as high as two trillion rupees a year.
• The plan would dent India’s fiscal credibility. The program is projected to push up India’s fiscal deficit to 5.1% of GDP in the current fiscal year. The government has promised to keep that deficit under 4.8%.
• Another big worry is that the plan will be implemented via the inefficient and corrupt public distribution system. About 10% of India’s food rots in warehouses before it is distributed.
• But the plan could be a boon for the poorest Indians hit hard by rising inflation. The plan could cut expenses of households by up to 8%, according to Crisil Research.
• Despite the economic boom over the last decade, India ranks 65th out of 79 countries on the Global Hunger Index. Nearly half of India’s children under five are chronically malnourished.

Legal | Palestinian cartoonist Mohammed Saba’aneh was released from an Israeli prison on Monday, as scheduled. Saba’aneh, who was originally held without charges and eventually sentenced to five months for “contacts with a hostile organization,” drew several cartoons while he was in prison and plans to do a show of his prison drawings, focusing on [...]

[J. Benschop] is teaching his nine-year-old son electronics by giving him a few wires, LEDs, and batteries. Eventually, the son looked over at his dad’s workbench and wondered what the little bug-shaped rectangles did. Microcontrollers and embedded programming are just a bit too advanced for someone who hasn’t hit a double-digit age, but [J] figured he could still have his son experience the awesomeness of programming electronics by building a custom electronic Lego microcontroller system.

This isn’t as complex as a Lego Mindstorms system. Really, it’s only an ATMega and a 2.4 GHz wireless transceiver. Still, that’s more than enough to add a few sensors and motor drivers, and an awesome introduction to electronics development. The enclosure for the LegoDuino is, of course, compatible with every Lego brick on the planet. It’s made from a 6×16 plate, three blocks high, with enough room for the electronics, three AA batteries, and the IO headers.

Programming an ATMega, even with the Arduino IDE, is a little beyond the capacity of [J. Benschop]‘s nine-year-old son, so he made a few changes to the Minibloq programming environment to support the newly created LegoDuino. It’s a graphical programming language that kids of just about any age can pick up quickly, and with the included RF transceiver inside the ‘Duino, it can even be programmed wirelessly.

It’s an amazing piece of work, and much, much simpler than even the noob-friendly Lego Mindstorms. Not as powerful, though, but when you’re just teaching programming and electronics, you really don’t need much.

 

Filed under: Arduino Hacks, toy hacks

The New Yorker

There's a pernicious myth that says women aren't as good at math as men. And disturbingly, reminding women of this stereotype just before they write a math test will have a detrimental affect on their performance. So what would happen if a woman could pretend to be someone else while writing the test?

Read more...

Tahrir Square Selfie

Genius

CBS News

Russian official: Venezuela is Snowden's "last chance" CBS News An influential Russian parliament member who often speaks for the Kremlin encouraged NSA leaker Edward Snowden on Sunday to accept Venezuela's offer of asylum. Alexei Pushkov, who heads the international affairs committee in Russia's parliament, ... Three Latin American Leftist Leaders Offer Asylum to SnowdenVoice of America Edward Snowden is a whistleblower, not a spy – but do our leaders care?The Guardian Russian official says Venezuela is 'best' for SnowdenBoston Globe Irish Times -Financial Times all 1,057 news articles »

Artist Philippe Handford turned trees that had been illegally cut down in a forest in Northwest England into a pair of beautiful sculpture installations for the 2012 Pendle Sculpture Trail. In the sculpture “Reconnected 1,” Handford connected a tree back to its stump with a spine-like armature of cross-sectioned logs. In “Reconnected 2,” Handford connected a cluster of four tree stumps with two cross-sectioned log arches. The Pendle Sculpture Trail marked the 400th anniversary of the trials and executions of the Pendle witches.

photos by Philippe Handford

via Kuriositas

https://twitter.com/FelicityMorse/status/347236919127715840/photo/1

Original Source

China’s Rongsheng Heavy Industries—the largest private shipbuilder in the world’s number one shipbuilding country—is in a bad shape. Struggling with plummeting orders and soaring debts, on Friday the company appealed to Beijing and its shareholders for help.

Rongsheng reported a net loss of $93.5 million in 2012 and said—with no details provided—that it expects a further loss in the first half of this year. Its orders last year numbered just two, compared to 24 in 2011 and it recently cut 8,000 jobs, resulting in angry clashes with police. The most worrying news is that it did all this despite receiving over $207 million in government subsidies. Shares dived over 16% in Friday trading.

Yet all this bad news is not isolated just to Rongsheng. China’s shipbuilding industry as a whole is suffering a divergence of supply and demand—new orders fell 23% at the end of May from a year earlier and the ships that are being sold have fallen in price. To compound problems further, an ongoing liquidity crisis has diminished access to loans, squeezing shipbuilders even more.

China’s shipbuilding industry body said on Thursday that a third of the country’s yards could close within five years if the global economy does not pick up. “Because of the overall market, there’s no way out for the companies, so only the strongest will survive,” an analyst at Masterlink Securities in Shanghai told Bloomberg Businessweek. “Life for China’s shipyards will be tougher this year as any form of credit crunch is critical,” she said.

China’s mainstay has long been cargo vessels, but with global demand falling, it has attempted to break into other market segments, such as offshore rigs. But the about-turn has been slow, and not helped Rongsheng beat off its debts. South Korea, the number two shipbuilder, is trying to diversify into underwater pipes (paywall) and other similar segments, but some of its big companies are also foundering (paywall).

Watch this video on YouTube.

Original Source

chaztheweasel:

This was once the entire expanse of the Internet. I was six then, and connected to a Vax (PDP11? PDP8?) at the University of Toronto by teletype terminal, but it seems that it wasn't yet networked.

Arpanet Logical Map 1977 (via Bruce Sterling)

Holy smokes, Father’s Day is this Sunday! What a great excuse to share a new pattern with you all: a classic gentleman’s necktie brought to you by the lovely Kristina Angelozzi of Fischer clothing. We will hand the blog over to Kristina as she shows you the step-by-step process for sewing up a super special gift.

Hello Colette readers, I’m Kristina of Fischer clothing from Brooklyn and I’m thrilled Colette Patterns is giving me the opportunity to share a little tutorial with you!

Neckties seem like a pretty cliché Father’s Day gift, but they can definitely take on a whole new sentiment when you make them yourself. It’s so much more personal to hand pick a fabric you know he’ll love, isn’t it? I chose a multicolor madras pattern for my dad since he’s a pretty classic and casual dude.

When I first set out to add ties to my mens collections about two years ago, I searched high and low for a thorough tutorial on how to make them. I was unsuccessful and finally wound up buying a few ties at a thrift store and tearing them apart to see how they were constructed. I altered a few details to suit my style and have been hand-making them here in Brooklyn ever since.

I’ve replicated my patten in a downloadable version for you all to try at home. This tie is a standard 55″ length and 3 3/4″ Wide. It’s slim, and I find it looks good on a variety of body types.

Supplies Needed:

• Our free downloadable necktie pattern
• outer fabric: 3/4 yd of 45″ or 60″ wide fabric
• contrast lining fabric: 1/4 yd
• interlining (I use muslin): 1 1/4 yd
• thread to match the outer fabric
• iron & ironing board
• sewing machine
• scissors

Instructions:

Before starting, assemble the tiles of your necktie pattern pieces and cut out the pattern. Then follow the instructions below.

1. Cut the Necktie Front (A) and Necktie Tail (B) from the main fabric, cutting these pieces on the bias. Cut the Necktie Front Lining (E) and Necktie Tail Lining (D) from the contrast lining fabric. Cut the Necktie Interlining piece from the interlining fabric. Pay attention to the grainline, as all these pieces should be cut on the bias.

This is what the pieces look after they’ve been cut out:

2. With the right sides together, match up the flat, short ends of the Necktie Front (A) and Nectie Tail (B), as shown. Stitch together with 3/8 seam allowance.

3. Press seam open.

4. Fold the tie in half lengthwise, with the right sides together, as shown below.

Take a look at the ends of your tie and you will see a small flat tip. Stitch across the tip with a 3/8″ seam allowance, stopping 3/8″ from the diagonal edge. In other words, stitch this tip for a few stitches, but do not stitch into the seam allowance. Backstitch to secure.

This small stitched edge will allow you to turn the tip under later.

5. Unfold, then match right sides of the main fabric to right sides of the liner pieces.

6. Sew along the notched edge and one side of point, stopping at the tip before sewing over the small tuck.

7. Starting on the opposite side of the tuck, sew opposite side of point.

8. Repeat steps 6 & 7 on the other end of the tie. Trim away excess seam allowance.

9. Turn ends inside out and press. You can use a fancy point turner for this, but a simple knitting needle or chopstick will work just fine. Now you’ll see that the small tuck helped to miter the corner.

10. With your tie right side down, lay interlining along the center and tuck ends into the little pockets you created with the outer fabric and the lining. Try and weasel the points together on the inside as closely as possible.

Here, I’m showing the interlining above the lining, so you can see how it should be aligned. But you will want to tuck it inside of the lining piece.

11. Fold over one unfinished edge so the interlining is tucked against the crease.

12. Fold up the opposite unfinished edge.

13. Turn the exposed edge under about 1/2″, making sure to keep the folded as close to the center of the tie’s length as possible. This is your finished center back seam.

14. About 3″ from the bottom of the inside lining, slipstitch the center back seam to the other side of the tie. It does help here to have a few pins to keep it in place.

Also, if you fold the tie in half lengthwise as you sew, you get a better vantage point to catch both pieces of fabric.

15. Once you’ve completed your slipstitching, you’ll need to put a loop of some sort to hold the tail in place while being worn. I use my labels, but you could easily use a a piece of bias tape, grosgrain or just make a little strip out of fabric. My standard placement is 10″ from the tip.

Et viola!! That wasn’t so bad, was it?

Download the necktie pattern!

Red Robot has the best cookouts. Remember this one?

"The Lone Ranger" debuts in theaters in time for the July 4 holiday, and while Johnny Depp's decision to play Tonto--a fictional Native sidekick to the white cowboy--has drawn attention and criticism, the film's release means that all things Native are unusually relevant--and marketable. And that can be a good, bad, and very ugly thing, all at once.

Tonto action figures are already being sold as "Native American warrior spirit" caricatures. The Lego Corporation is pushing its "Comanche Camp" toys. And Subway is hawking plastic soft drink containers with Tonto snapshots that guarantee the image, which is offensive to so many Natives and non-Natives alike, will live on in consumers' kitchens for years to come. While "The Lone Ranger" film will come and go in theaters, and perhaps to be revived on DVD and in film awards, corporate promo deals will sustain the Tonto image for years to come--and will make millions off of retailing Native stereotypes while doing so.

But it's not just corporations that stand to make serious profit from the film. Just last week, Jezebel touted a $2,000 Lone Ranger belt created by an "actual Native American designer." Racked, meanwhile, reported on the same designer, stating that a "Native American chief" made the accessories. A project that features Native artisans would be a great thing (notwithstanding the problematic nature of dissolving all Natives into "chiefs"). Except the artist in question, called Gabriel Good Buffalo, is not a "chief," as Racked wrote. He's not "Lakota Sioux," as Jezebel wrote, either. In fact, Gabriel Good Buffalo is not even Native. Rather, he's a striking example of how the burgeoning market for Native appropriation and branding operates.

It might be easy to confuse Good Buffalo for a Native. The last name he uses is not uncommon among certain Natives. And his own website features "Cheyenne War Shield Yell" and "Sioux Turtle Clan" designs. In an email, Good Buffalo claimed that Will Leather Goods, the company that originally marketed him as a "Native American chief" did so without his knowledge. He said the company had informed him it would change that on its website (as of publication, it has not, and a phone call to the company store was answered by a clerk who explained that Good Buffalo is a "prestigious Native American craftsman.").

Individuals and companies marketing themselves as "Native American craftsmen" often make up clans, tribes, and nations that don't even exist--further fueling confusion. Journalist Simon Moya-Smith, who is Oglala Lakota, says he spoke with two elders; neither had heard of the "Sioux Turtle Clan" named in Good Buffalo's marketing. One of them, Maka Black Elk, is the great grandson of Holy Man, Black Elk. Moya-Smith affirmed, "none of us have heard of a Sioux Turtle Clan, and if anyone would know, Maka would." 

What might surprise most readers is that Good Buffalo is in apparent violation of federal law. Congress enacted the Indian Arts and Crafts Act in 1990, which allows for the prosecution of anyone who sells any good in a way that fraudulently suggests it was produced by a Native, when it was not. Just last week, a man who went by the name "Redhorse," whose real name is Andrew Gene Alvarez, plead guilty to peddling jewelry that he knew was non-Native. Alvarez claimed to belong to different nations throughout his counterfeit career in Santa Fe, and was sentenced to two-and-a-half years probation, with the explicit agreement that he never again sell jewelry he makes as a Native product.

Santa Fe Indian Market remains New Mexico's biggest cultural event--showcasing more than 1,000 Native artists who represent more than 100 tribes and nations annually, drawing more than 100,000 visitors to the market for a week each summer*. As such, the city has become known as a Native arts place. But the city is also a magnet for non-Natives like Alvarez, who sell fraudulent Native goods; Gabriel Good Buffalo himself is listed as Lakota in galleries there. While Good Buffalo did admit he's not Native when contacted directly, his claims about Cheyenne and Sioux belts remain suspect under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act. As an individual, he risks a five-year prison term, with fines up to $250,000. Businesses like Will Leather Goods can be fined $1,000,000 for continuing to sell $2,000 belts made by a "Native American chief."

Adrienne Keene, a writer whose Native Appropriations site tackles the hijacking of Native culture by non-Natives, points out that what we're seeing isn't anything new--it's just on a bigger scale, from corporate promotions to boutique accessories. "'The Lone Ranger' is a Disney blockbuster, with big names," says Keene. "And that's changing the way the products attached to it are marketed."

For Keene, that's a result of a consumer society, where people expect everything to be for sale--and ideally, at a low cost. Along with Dr. Jessica Metcalfe at Beyond Buckskin, Keene has advocated for buyers to be prepared to pay good money for an authentic Native craft. And that, says Keen, is part of what makes Good Buffalo's marketing that much more insidious: well-meaning consumers will think they're paying $2,000 for a Native artisan's belt, when they're instead spending thousands on being duped.

And while the Indian Arts and Crafts Act exists to protect Native artists, Keene notes that, "it doesn't have a lot of teeth." That's because although President Obama signed an amendment to the act three years ago that allows any federal law enforcement agent the authority to investigate any violations, the number of breeches are far disproportionate to the number of agents that scrutinize them. "The Lone Ranger" provides an extraordinary chance to exploit consumer desire for something--anything--Native.

Still, Keene hopes "The Lone Ranger" can also be a learning opportunity. "Most people don't think about these things daily," says Keene. "But there are some exciting shifts happening in the ways that Natives are being represented in the media right now."

--

*An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that more than 500 tribes are represented at the Santa Fe Indian Market; it is more than 100 tribes instead. 

credit: Greent33

Historical Map: Société des Tramways de Constantinople Tram Ticket, c. 1920s

A very interesting early topological transit diagram from Istanbul. It’s tricky to date precisely: the best I can do is the range 1923–1939, based on the lines shown and the fact that the STM was dissolved at the latter date when transit in Istanbul was nationalised.

It’s probably roughly contemporaneous with other early topological maps like George Dow’s work for the LNER in 1929, although I actually see this map being born out of necessity, rather than being any great pioneering design work. That’s because the map is printed on a small ticket, and was used by the ticket seller/conductor to mark the destination that the ticket is valid to. Note the blue marks on “Aller" and “Bechiktache" — this was sold as a one-way ticket to that destination. Obviously, a geographical map couldn’t fit into this tiny space, hence the necessity for this simplified topological representation.

The other interesting thing about this map is that Istanbul is flipped along the axis of the Golden Horn. Destinations that should be on the left of that waterway (looking at it on a standard map, with north to the top) are shown on the right and vice versa. The tram bridge across the Golden Horn is clearly shown on the map (as “Pont", bridge in French). I know that Arabic reads from right to left: is this flipping of locations a concession to that?

Finally, I adore the little squiggly arrows that show how the lines connect between each stop.

Our rating: Amazing transit ephemera from the early 20th century. Five stars!

(Source: Ottoman History Podcast/Flickr)

We've heard from Dame Helen Mirren on the topic of Doctor Who, in particular, the casting of the new Doctor, a few times now. But she's not done yet (or at least people aren't done asking her about it yet) and we're totally fine with that. Hear who she suggested to take up the mantle.