firehose

The more the days go by, the more I feel that Japan might quickly be becoming the mecca for fine footwear and amazing shoemakers. It is known that when the Japanese culture takes ahold of something, whether it be blades, yo-yo-ing, technology or shoemaking, that once they go for it and immerse their culture into it, they don't stop until it is perfected and they become the best at doing it. Kanperkina/Perfetto is proof of that perfection as well as the fact that they continuously sell out when their shoes go on sale.... And because of this brand (among the many others), it just might be that in reality, they have simply started to conquer the shoemaking industry and I say that wholeheartedly. I will admit that my favorite makers (of which you probably know, but I won't name) are still from Europe, but the more and more that I see Japanese shoemakers and the beautiful creations that they make, the more that I think that Japan is the place where  term 'exceptional shoemaking,' should now be synonymous with. That may be a bold statement, but I am not exaggerating when I say that they deserve it.








While one would look at these shoes and think (due to their aesthetics) that they were made in England (by Edward Green if I were to make an educated and naive guess) it is actually the fact that they are made locally in Japan. If this is truly the case (which I presume that it is as they state it on the website), then man, do I tip my hat to the factory, as this type of making is hard for any factory, even the ones that have been around for over 100 year's. Spat boots, for those that don't know, are probably the hardest pattern to get right, and be executed well. And one can tell when looking at these, that they did a brilliant job at it. Hopefully soon, I will suss it out completely and find out exactly where they are made, and then take a trip to the factory, as I would love to see these in production, and more so just factory itself, especially if it is in Japan!! Nevertheless, I will say that these boots are simply amazing and while not entirely practical for the average person, still a treat to see and even more so, to own. If I could afford it, I would have them all!!

Look at the last shape of that brown check boot on the right.....to die for!!!!

It is truly exciting to see where the shoe industry is heading, particularly when brands like this come out and are so popular that you have to be on a waiting list just to get their shoes. That's true success and makes me happy to know too, as it shows the progress that we, as humans, are having with our personal styling when it comes to footwear (while we have been free in our attire for many years -- hence people not being embarrassed to wear bell-bottoms/square toes etc, I do believe that in our footwear, we have been far behind and are only now really starting to break out and be truly creative and daring -- in a good way). These boots are probably among the coolest shoes that I have ever seen, truly....And I can only hope to one day own a pair....as soon as I figure out how to get on that list!!

Pictures Courtesy of: Dress Like A, En Grande Pompe & Upper Shoes

Batman: Year One was supposed to be Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky's, big superhero project. Unfortunately the project got scrapped in favor of Nolan's Batman Begins. But new concept art shows the Lincoln Continental Batmobile that never was. UPDATED.

Read more...

	rachel shared this story from Christian Science Monitor | All Stories:
	your local public library may not be able to afford Hachette's ebook rates, however

---

Hachette, the last holdout among America's "big six" publishers, will make its full e-book catalog available to nonprofit public libraries and school libraries across the nation on May 8th.

Radio figures Ira Glass, Sylvia Poggioli, Neda Ulaby, and others have inspired restaurants, pets' names, license plates, and songs.

“Mont-Sat, a satellite company based in Jelenia Góra, Poland…The inappropriately over-excited satellite logo is still in use today…”

Business Pundit has gathered together a slew of company logos that are blissfully, yet unintentionally, lewd. See all the logos at their site and heed their professional advice on how not to make the same mistake for your company.

Relying on passing fads, cheap clip art, and your cousin the budding designer just isn’t going to cut it. After all, if your business goes to great lengths to market a particular brand and logo, the last thing you’re going to want to do is start from scratch because a certain design element isn’t hip any more – or, heaven forbid, could be interpreted in a lewd or phallic way.

“Does this logo look more like a pair of breasts or a giant phallic symbol?”

“…what kind of message is Kostelecké uzeniny actually trying to send?”

images via Business Pundit

via The Presurfer

robespierressister:

Sarah Bernhardt as Hamlet

Thanks to Bjornwild for notifying me about this picture

Several people have sent us this story. I’ve seen it everywhere. A lot of people are upset, on several sides.  A gun has been 3d printed that can actually fire a round.

First, we have people scared that this will bring undetectable guns to people who wouldn’t have had access before. Then we have the gun fans that are reacting to the others with shouts of freedom and liberty and stuff.  The 3d printing community has had mixed reactions, but many are concerned that this will harm 3d printing in general.

I simply don’t care.

It isn’t that I’m apathetic to people who are victims of gun violence. It isn’t that I’m apathetic about “gun rights”. I just think that this specific event makes no difference at all.  It is intriguing in the aspect that it is yet another “First!” for the 3d printer community, but beyond that I don’t care, keep the “firsts” coming.

Here are the different points that I have heard brought up.

1. Accessibility: People are concerned that guns will now end up in the hands of people who couldn’t have gotten them before.

I really don’t think this is a legitimate concern. You’ll note the machine that printed that gun. It wasn’t your average reprap. It cost as much as a small house. If you can afford that printer? You could afford a gun.  Lets just pretend your average reprap could print that gun though. Again, you’re going to have to either buy or build one. At this point, you would have been capable of just buying a gun or… building one.

I guess you could go use a friend’s printer to print your gun, but would that really be any more common than taking another person’s gun?

2. Printing restrictions and Legislation: 3d printer fans are scared that laws will be made that will stop them from printing things.

Do you own a lathe? A mill? You know you can make BETTER guns with those? That’s how the gun companies make them! It’s like you have a gun factory in your home! Actually, now that I think of it, they’re using .22 rimfire which can be fired in a pipe with a cap and a nail! How are hardware stores not illegal?

Listen, if they tell me I can’t print gun shaped things, I’ll probably print one just for spite. They aren’t going to enforce such a silly law, it would be impossible.  They can’t even build anything into the system like scanners that can’t scan money. Guns are too diverse and can be made from basic geometry.

3. Anti-Gun legislation: This may be used to push laws that limit firearms in some way.

Anti-gun legislation has so much gun violence to use as a foundation that a slight change in manufacturing really is a drop in the bucket. This won’t change their ability to restrict things. At least, I don’t think it will.

4. A legitimate concern: Detectability.

The only real issue I see here is that a 3d printed gun wouldn’t be detectable by metal detectors. Bullets are though aren’t they?

 

These are my opinions on the 3d printed gun. I’m not delving into gun control in general. Since these are opinions, they will most likely be ill-informed and incomplete. Feel free to participate in a civil discussion on the topic.

If you’re curious about whether I personally have a gun, I do not. I think I’m too clumsy to own a firearm. I am fairly sure I’d accidentally shoot someone when I did something stupid. Don’t get me wrong, I do dangerous things. Stupid, dangerous things.

Filed under: 3d Printer hacks, rants, weapons hacks

If F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a commentary on the American Dream, Slate's The Great Gatsby: The Video Game continues that narrative in the most straightforward, nihilistic manner. In short, you're on a boat and there's a green light at the end of the screen, mimicking the green light at the end of Daisy's dock in the novel. Largely, that light is regarded as representing hope.

Using minimalist controls - right and left arrows on the keyboard - in The Great Gatsby: The Video Game, guide Gatsby across the rocky waters and to the green light. If you can. Spoilers: You can't. Pippin Barr would be so proud.

This is not to be confused with the Great Gatsby NES-inspired game, the Baz Luhrmann movie coming out in May, or anything on Sparknotes.

The Great Gatsby: The Video Game offers hopeful 8-bit commentary originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 May 2013 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

A newly published study out of the University of New South Wales concludes that men and women find bearded faces more attractive than shaven ones. WHO'S THE DISAPPOINTMENT NOW, MOTHER?

Read more...

Just under two years ago authorities in the United States busted one of the most important movie piracy release groups on the planet. In recent months its members have been handed some of the harshest copyright-related sentences on record but immediately after the raids something interesting happened. Instead of running for cover, pirates regrouped and the piracy situation actually got worse.

Tip for all my student readers: if you’re too lazy to use a bibliography creator like NoodleBib or RefWorks, let Google generate your bibliography entries for you. All you have to do is google the article/book title in Google Scholar, click “cite” at the bottom of the search result, and copy either the MLA, APA, or Chicago cite into your word document. 

Politico

FBI disrupts planned 'localized terror attack' Mohave Valley News MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — FBI officials said Monday that they foiled a terrorism attack that was being planned in a small western Minnesota town, but they offered no details about the exact targets of the attack — or the motive of the man accused of having a cache ... FBI: Minnesota raid disrupts planned terror attack - Beatrice Daily SunBeatrice Daily Sun FBI: Minn. raid disrupts 'localized terror attack' - Wink TVWink News Today in the news: FBI prevents 'localized terror attack' in MinnesotaMiddletown Transcript all 300 news articles »

The longrunning, controversial rumor that Microsoft's Xbox 360 successor would demand an internet connection for all aspects of its functionality has finally been put to rest. Ars Technica is today reporting that an internal Microsoft memo — sent to all employees working on the next-gen console — has dismissed the 'always-on' mandate. Referring to the hardware by its codename Durango, Microsoft reportedly wrote, "There are a number of scenarios that our users expect to work without an Internet connection, and those should 'just work' regardless of their current connection status. Those include, but are not limited to: playing a Blu-ray disc, watching live TV, and yes playing a single player game."

With that one, surprisingly informative line, the company has essentially confirmed two major features of the upcoming Xbox: it will utilize Blu-ray optical media and can also double as a cable set-top box. Though it stops short of mentioning an HDMI input, Microsoft's tidbits line up nicely with what we reported early last month. The Xbox 360 never quite made good on its live TV potential, but it seems that Redmond is determined to get it right this time. We'll be hearing much more about the next-generation Xbox at its public unveiling on May 21st.

Thanks, scrappejoe!

• Source Ars Technica
• Related Items xbox internet durango console next-gen always-on next-gen xbox

Adobe has announced the next major upgrade to its flagship digital editing tools, the Creative Suite, and the entire series is getting a new, but familiar name to emphasize what the company is focused on. Adobe Creative Cloud will be replacing Creative Suite 6, the version released last year. The product series has been on a yearly release cycle since 2011, and this latest upgrade includes new features for nearly every product in the suite, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro, all of which now have their name appended with CC, instead of CS.

This post is developing. We’ll update as Adobe announces more details during its keynote at MAX 2013.

• Source Adobe
• Related Items adobe creative suite creative cloud cs6 photoshop photoshop cs6 photoshop cc digital editing

Why does a car rated for 47mpg fall so far short? The Houston Chronicle features an article on just why EPA gas estimates can be so different from real-world drivers' experience at the pump (or in looking at the dashboard display), in particular for hybrid cars. From the article: "A geometric average of the FTP-75 and HFET results (with city driving weighted at 55 percent and highway driving weighted at 45 percent) produces a vehicle's CAFE fuel economy, which is then incorporated into a manufacturer's corporate average. CAFE is measured using these tests to the present day. In fact, this methodology will be 50 years old when it's used to gauge compliance with the forthcoming 54.5-mpg CAFE requirements in 2025. That kind of continuity is admirable in baseball, but not in transportation. These tests are irrelevant to contemporary real-world driving. For example, the maximum acceleration on either test is 3.3 mph per second. At that rate, it takes more than 18 seconds to hit 60 mph. Even in the horsepower-deprived 1970s, most people were driving harder than that. And the 60-mph maximum speed on the highway test does not accord with the 75-mph truth of today's interstate traffic."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

theodp writes "E-mails and other communications between employees,' explains Google in a newly-published patent application for its Policy Violation Checker invention, 'can implicate potential violations of company policy or local, state or federal law that can go unchecked by attorneys or other legal personnel.' So how can you avoid those embarrassing Goldman Sachs and Enron e-mail gaffes? Use Google's 'methods and systems for identifying problematic phrases in an electronic document'! From the patent application: 'Documents may be used as evidence in court, administrative, or other proceedings. It is in a company's best interest to minimize or eliminate policy violations and/or situations that could give rise to legal liability. It is also often in a company's best interest to be able to Pack [?] these situations. Problematic phrases include, but are not limited to, phrases that present policy violations, have legal implications, or are otherwise troublesome to a company, business, or individual.' So, if you can't Do-No-Evil, at least you can Do-No-Discoverable-Evil!"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

alancronin writes "Valve have released Portal for Linux through the Steam platform. If you have a copy of the Windows version you will automatically have a copy of it for Linux in your account. There are also rumors of Portal 2 coming soon."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

sfcrazy writes "In this exclusive interview MySQL founder Michael Widenius talks about the reasons of decline of MySQL, what Oracle is doing wrong and how MariaDB is fast replacing it. There are quite some interesting information in this interview. The take out of this interview is — '...there is no reason at all to use MySQL 5.5 instead of MariaDB 5.5. The same will be true for the next generation.'" Of course, he has an economic interest in getting people to use MariaDB. Hard to argue that Oracle isn't evil though.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Would-be serial killer Mark Twitchell has been given unlimited access to the blood-soaked television series that inspired his killing, despite being held in one of the country’s highest-security prisons.

I am proud to say I have never read the the Fountainhead, but I am aware of some of...

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Untitled by Santa Cruiser

In an attempt to captialize on the expanding mobile economy in China, Amazon has launched its Android Appstore in the country. The company launched its app marketplace quietly, separating it from the list of 200 countries — including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, India, South Africa, and South Korea — which will launch in "the coming months." While it offers both free and paid apps, Amazon's foray into the Chinese app market sees it become the first western company to offer paid Android apps, giving it a significant boost over its rival Google.

---

Over the past six months, Amazon has slowly expanded its presence in China — launching the Kindle Store and offering books for use on new Chinese Android and iOS apps. While the company has remained tight-lipped on when it expects to launch its Kindle range in the country, the expansion of its Android Appstore signifies that it will soon be ready to offer Chinese consumers devices that are capable of running its apps. Amazon has also opened a localized version of its developer portal, allowing developers to submit Chinese-language apps, which it says will soon be available to consumers across the world — setting it up to take on the hundreds of local app stores already available in China, and beat Google by offering premium apps to its customers.

• Via ReutersTechCrunch
• Source Amazon Appstore China
• Related Items amazon appstore android apps marketplace kindle kindle fire google

Google is set to introduce new paid subscriptions for specialist video channels on YouTube, as it looks to move beyond its main advertising revenue stream and deliver a wider range of content. According to the Financial Times, Google could launch the new service as early as this week, with up to 50 YouTube channels offering subscriptions to video content from $1.99 a month.

---

Reports of Google's subscription plans emerged earlier this year. In March, YouTube Vice President Robert Kyncl said subscriptions were "incredibly important" as a tool to create "additional revenue streams" for content creators, and the company has already included code references to the feature in its Android app. It has already invested $200 million in marketing cash to promote original content on YouTube, and subscriptions could help it make some of that back.

YouTube could be on a collision course with Netflix

YouTube subscriptions would put Google on a collision course with video-on-demand services like Netflix, allowing channel owners to finance the creation of new content but also bring in revenue from older shows and films. Google has already been linked with the launch of a music subscription service later this year, reportedly signing a deal with Warner Music Group, one of the three largest music labels. Although Google told the FT that it has "nothing to announce," it did confirm that that it was "looking into creating a subscription platform that could bring even more great content to YouTube."

• Source Financial Times
• Related Items google youtube original content subscriptions video music content tv shows films movies

by NiTRo

By Jenna Pitcher on May 06, 2013 at 5:22a

Discord Games' action role-playing game, Chasm, surpassed its Kickstarter funding goal of $150,000 with five days of the campaign to go.

At the time of writing, the campaign is sitting on $150,425, which is $10,000 shy if its first stretch goal that will introduce an extended soundtrack. The other nine stretch goals include achievements at $175,000; crafting at $225,000; a female character at $300,000; and a community choice mode at $400,000.

Windows PC, Linux and Mac demos of Chasm are available via its Kickstarter page and gamers can vote to see it released on Steam through Steam Greenlight.

For more information about the Metroid-like platformer, please read our interview with Discord Games' founder and producer James Petruzzi.

Israel has asked Google to reconsider its decision to list Palestine among its selection of localized search pages, accusing the company of implicitly recognizing a Palestinian state. In a letter to Google CEO Larry Page, deputy foreign minister Ze’ev Elkin said the search giant's move could undermine efforts for peace in the region.

The company's Google.ps search page had previously been labeled "Palestinian territories," but was changed to "Palestine" on May 1st. Israel's foreign ministry had expressed concerns over the nomenclature, saying it "raises questions" about Google's intent. As the Jerusalem Post reports, Elkin has now adopted a more openly critical stance.

---

A threat to peace in the Middle East

"Such a decision is in my opinion not only mistaken but could also negatively impinge on the efforts of my government to bring about direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority," the minister wrote, adding that the move would embolden Palestinians to "further their political aims through one-sided actions rather than through negotiating and mutual agreement." Elkin asked Google to reconsider its decision, while urging Page to discuss the matter with Israeli representatives.

In an interview with the BBC last week, Google spokesperson Nathan Tyler said the company decided to change the listing after consulting "a number of sources and authorities."

"In this case, we are following the lead of the UN, ICANN [the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers], ISO [International Organisation for Standardisation] and other international organisations," Tyler said. The UN sent shockwaves across Israel late last year, when, by a vote of 138 to 9, it designated Palestine as a non-member observer state. Israel and the US were among those in opposition to the move, with an additional 41 countries abstaining from the vote altogether.

The Palestinian authority last week welcomed Google's name change, describing it as "a step in the right direction," but Elkin says the shift runs counter to the company's ethos of openness and communication.

"Google has brought about so many positive changes in the world by promoting connections between people and between peoples," he wrote. "This decision, however, is in contradiction to such aims, and distances the parties from real dialogue."

• Source The Jerusalem Post
• Related Items google politics israel middle east palestine larry page ze’ev elkin

Established in 2010 and hundreds of millions of photographs ago, Instagram is a "fun and quirky way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures". Obviously, that's an understatement. For its 100 million users, Instagram is as much part of life as texting and e-mailing and Facebook (who we all know paid a cool billion dollars to acquire Instagram in April of 2012 — who's laughing now?) and its filters have established a new lingua franca for documenting food, clouds, and POV of places you are not in. Point being: Instagram is big. And important. Small changes are big changes. And its latest update, version 3.5, brought along with it a redesigned wordmark crafted by Denver, CO-based Mackey Saturday.

It was always essential that the design maintained everything that we've all grown to know and love about Instagram while creating a logotype that was more refined, durable, and that positioned the brand for expansion. Looking to the past to inspire the future, the script connects with the nostalgia that Instagram was built from, maintains the important character of the original typeface, and places the brand in a unique and prominent position both in the current and future landscape.
— Dribbble shot

Mackey Saturday at work.

Vector-y details.

The previous wordmark was typeset out of the box using Billabong. Not the most horrible of 1950s script typefaces but also not necessarily the best one, especially that capital "I". I always appreciate a company dropping a stock font in exchange for a custom-drawn one. Even more so when it's well done. The change here is a wonderful evolution that transforms the well-known wordmark into something that feels similar but definitely looks (and reads) better, even keeping the quirkiness of the "I". The new upright script flows perfectly from character to character and then has enough for one last little kick in the flourish of the "m". This might seem like a small, meaningless change but it lifts Instagram from one-hit-wonder app to what it actually is, a lifestyle brand.

Testing the new wordmark with its own filters.

Thanks to Bradford Barron for first tip.

Don't forget to cast your vote about this post online

The United Nations, as of this moment, follows 537 people on Twitter. Most of them are international organizations or politicians. Some are musicians. One is a porn star.

The adult actress, known as Penelope Black Diamond, is a German porn star who tweets under the handle @BigBustyStar. The voluptuous 31-year-old has been in the business since 2003, and has accumulated more than 38,000 followers on Twitter. As first noticed by a forum member on Free Republic, she apparently has at least one fan at the UN, as well

It's worth noting that Diamond isn't the only "celebrity" on the UN's list of followers — Shakira and Ricky Martin are there, too — but she's certainly the most... curious.

---

• Via The Gateway Pundit
• Source Free Republic
• Related Items web porn star politics twitter social media un united nations pornography penelope black diamond