firehose

The Supreme Court Justice came back to the Bronx for the unveiling of a mural by famed graffiti artists TATS CRU that features her. 

Jurassic Park, The animated series

Godzilla is love

Case (Inrō) with Design of Cherry-Blossom Viewing

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Unfortunately for many, this Deez Nuts is not eligible to become president.

This week we’re taking a look at designing an Icosahedron for the Talking D20 project. Using a series of golden rectangle sketches, we can use the planes as a guide for creating the face triangles. We can tweak the vertices of a cube to make custom triangles by using the points of the golden rectangles as a reference. We’ll use the project sketch and loft features to create one half of the Icosahedron.

D20 Tutorial:
https://learn.adafruit.com/talking-d20-20-sided-gaming-die

Project Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klmxXRzAuSU

STLs on Thingiverse:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:955433

Golden Ratio Calc
http://www.blocklayer.com/GoldenRatio.aspx

Making an icosahedron in Google SketchUp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TWRvqVgCEI

Layer by Layer Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjF7R1fz_OOVsMp6nKnpjsXSQ45nxfORb

Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

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Rasmus Hauschild shared on Thingiverse:

Portable Raspberry Pi game console

This is my Portable Raspberry Pi game console. It’s 3,6 cm thick, 9,6 cm wide and 13,6 cm long. Inside is a Raspberry Pi 2 running Retropie OS which allows it to emulate games from pretty much every single game-system from 1977 to 2003. It has both Raspbian and Kodi installed too.

Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

Think Geek has created a clever set of Doctor Who themed Weeping Angel string lights that humorously blink repeatedly at one another.

Ten angels. Does a set of ten angels count as a swarm? Er… it looks like the collective noun for angels is “chorus” or “choir.” *twitches* That’s a song you never want to hear. This set of Doctor Who Weeping Angel String Lights contains 10 angels: 5 with their faces covered and 5 attacking. But wait. There’s more! Or there can be. Multiple strings can be plugged into each other, so you can basically have as many Weeping Angels in one place as you’d like. Honestly, one is too many for us. And yes, like we said above, the you can set the lights themselves to blink. We’re not entirely sure what that means in terms of quantum locking, but with Weeping Angels it’s pretty safe to assume it probably isn’t good.

photos via Think Geek

If you’re anything like us, you see the words “Swedish Chef and The Seventh Seal mashup” and think to yourself, “That sounds idiotic.” And you’d be right. But it also turns out to be one of those rare cases of something being so stupid, it passes through the looking glass and becomes delightfully absurd. Sure, we could pretend we didn’t giggle out loud in the office, drawing blank stares from our co-workers, but that would be a lie. The dour solemnity of Ingmar Bergman’s classic turns out to be just the right setting for an injection of the gibberish-spouting Muppet‘s random mélange of vaguely Scandinavian-accented silliness. The goofy music in the background of all of Death’s new dialogue is just the icing on this Swedish cake. Thank you, Youtuber Jon Lefkovitz, for today’s unexpected gift. We will now sit back and wait for ...

catnippackets:

i thought you’d like this?? i found it @ CuteEmergency twitter page

I know I’ve heard characters on sitcoms refer to women as “a 10″ or “a 5,” but do any actual human men ever do that? To be fair, Donald Trump is less “human man” and more “nightmare made flesh.”

During an interview with The New York Times last weekend, Trump mentioned Heidi Klum and his thoughts on the supermodel’s looks: “sadly, she’s no longer a 10.” Klum was supremely indifferent to the sad clown’s opinion:

During an interview on Tuesday with Access Hollywood, Klum also asked why her (or any woman’s) appearance would be acceptable to bring up in the context of a political race:

Firstly, I have no idea what I have to do with the election. Why do I come into play with this election, that doesn’t make sense to me to be honest with you. I was just making light of the situation because it was kind of funny. But really, the whole entire situation about women is not really funny, you know, to put a number on a woman. We juggle so many things and I feel that, you know, women who support their families, who have children, who make their lunches, drive them all over the place, work at the same time, I mean, we do so many things, so in my book, every woman is a 10.

I appreciate Klum pointing out that, although elements of Trump’s behavior are amusing, “the whole entire situation about women is not really funny.”

It’s pathetic to a comedic extent for someone to feel so threatened by powerful women that he resorts to period jokes, harassing tweets, and insults about appearance, but it’s not funny at all to think that Trump could normalize misogyny for some of the electorate; or that his antics might make the more insidious sexism of other Republicans seem harmless by comparison.

Attention, Men of America: women do not care where you think we fall on a 10-point scale. Considering how this race is shaping up, we have way bigger things to worry about.

(via Business Insider and Mashable, image via Andrew Cline / Shutterstock.com)

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Known as one of the most important pioneers in 20th Century Syrian archaeology, Khaled al-Asaad has reportedly been executed by ISIS militants near the ancient city of Palmyra.

Read more...

Where would you even start if you had to begin describing the current state of video games? For many people, this question would be answered by turning to the voices fighting to make video games a more inclusive, progressive, and safe community to be a part of. Others would answer by looking at the games that push boundaries, be they technological, sociological, or cultural. For others still, this could be a question of pure financial viability, demographic shifts, and market growth.

There are many answers to this seemingly simple question, and all of them are worthy of discussion in their own right. Obviously, there isn’t one single answer to the question of, “What is the video game industry like now?”

This is where The State of Play: Sixteen Voices on Video Games, edited by Daniel Goldberg and Linus Larsson and published by Seven Stories Press, enters the picture. It tackles this question by providing a multi-faceted response to it. To put it simply, there is a lot going on in video games right now.

Goldberg and Larsson are names to know when it comes to critically examining the cultural impact of video games. Their English-language debut was the bestselling book Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Markus “Notch” Persson and the Game That Changed Everything. In their new book, The State of Play, Goldberg and Larsson compile different chapters written by sixteen prominent and respected voices in games criticism and tackle a much wider scope than a single video game and its creator. As its name suggests, The State of Play attempts to show just what is being talked about and happening in video games right now.

The State of Play has a heavy progressive bent, because it believes that the discussion around video games should be more than just conversations on escapism and technology requirements and advancements. To answer the question of what are video games like now, The State of Play offers a nuanced and challenging view on just how video games—and the culture surrounding them—have grown up in its relatively young history. It isn’t a very large book, and for its size, it takes on the way we view and discuss video games in a big way.

Each chapter, written independently of the ones preceding or following it, addresses a certain aspect of video game culture that the respective author deems worthy of discussion. The overall book doesn’t really offer a unifying argument but rather is content to let the authors discuss their chosen topics however they see fit. At times, this is seamless and the flow of ideas is logical and enjoyable to pursue.

However, there are a few instances where the roughness of the approach shows through. Notably, this occurs when one chapter in the latter half of the book presents an argument for why we should even be discussing games in the first place (a point that, while important, would be better served in an introduction and not halfway through a book that is proving this very point). If anything, the book suffers from a lack of strong organization that leaves it feeling uneven at times—but only slightly.

But as a book that includes some critical heavy hitters and thinkers in video games, such as Leigh Alexander, Evan Narcisse, Cara Ellison, Brendan Keogh, and many more, these few moments of roughness are forgivable; the writing and ideas presented by each chapter are so strongly argued that it’s a delight just reading well-written essays on both video game culture and video games themselves.

Perhaps one of the best, or at least my personal favorites, is “Ludus Interruptus: Video Games and Sexuality” by merritt kopas. This chapter is kopas in full form and consistently on point, discussing a topic that’s hard to talk about when it is talked about at all: how is sex presented in games and why is it this way? kopas offers a witty, earnest, and open discussion about why sex has been so awfully portrayed in major games and where we can look, in both AAA and indie circles, to find alternatives to these otherwise bland examples of sex.

Beyond this, though, kopas asks a question that I think is near the core of major conversations surrounding video games. That is, why are we so willing to accept non-consensual violence in shooters and other games as the norm, yet freaked out and pushing away from consensual violence in games that look at positive representations of BDSM? Rather than providing concrete answers, kopas invites the reader to be challenged by these ideas and grapple with them in their own way.

This challenging of the reader to engage and grapple with these concepts is also found in “What It Feels Like to Play the Bad Guy” by Hussein Ibrahim, who not only examines representation of Middle Eastern people in shooters but also introduces readers to how popular video games, particularly shooters, are in Lebanon. Ibrahim interrogates the way uninformed stereotypes operate in a context that may be unfamiliar to readers and shows how vibrant and viable non-Western markets are for games—and why many mainstream shooters need to step it up in fixing their lazy, stereotypical representations of both people and the Arabic language.

While The State of Play features eclectic and distinct voices, there are two major kinds of essay: those that look at how cultural epochs have historically shaped aesthetic aspects of games and those that look at how contemporary cultural discussions are currently fighting to change game aesthetics. What this looks like is that some essays are personal narratives on representation of race, gender, and sexuality in games (such as in kopas and Ibrahim’s respective chapters, “Your Humanity Is in Another Castle: Terror Dreams and the Harassment of Women” by Anita Sarkeesian and Katherine Cross) compared to less personal chapters that give video games the close reading treatment (such as “Game Over? A Cold War Kid Reflects on Apocalyptic Video Games” by William Knoblauch and “The Squalid Grace of Flappy Bird” by Ian Bogost).

While at first the shift in tone between some of these chapters is a bit jarring (going from a sociopolitical look at why we enjoy violence in games by Ellison and Keogh to an axe-to-grind chapter on the design of Flappy Bird by Bogost initially creates a disconnect in flow), all the chapters in this book share the same goal. Every chapter in The State of Play is, in some facet, arguing that we cannot view cultural paradigms as distinct and aesthetically and ideologically separate from video games. Whether it’s Cross and Sarkeesian discussing the violent harassment they’ve experienced as women in gaming or David Johnston explaining his methodology behind creating maps for Counter Strike competitions, there remains a shared ideology to be teased out—that video games are played by humans and therefore reflect and inform both our virtual and real interpersonal relationships. Once realizing this, the disconnect between confessional writing and close reading mentioned earlier seems less egregious.

This is what makes The State of Play so good to read. Knoblauch’s expert analysis of the reason why video games are so fascinated with the apocalypse and post-apocalypse illustrates the way video games can operate as a reactionary medium to real-world circumstances. And this is given the same weight and importance as Evan Narcisse’s personal testament as to why video games need to get better at representing black people both as fully-formed characters and in terms of visual representation. One way of talking about video games is not prioritized over another. Any way of looking at video games is valid in The State of Play—as it should be.

The State of Play is a brave book, not just in content that challenges what video games are capable of being and becoming, but also in its structure. As eclectic as the content is, so are the way the chapters are written. Anna Anthropy’s chapter on the importance of Twine is written like a traditional “Choose Your Own Adventure” print book, with directions provided for the reader to follow as they choose. Zoe Quinn writes about her experience making Depression Quest and the harassment she received in second person, an attempt at putting the reader in her position. Ellison and Keogh’s chapter is written as endearing and cheeky letters to each other, which simultaneously questions the prevalence and point of violence in games while also having fun with the discussion in order to disarm readers. Whether or not some or all of these writing styles are effective depends on the reader, but it presents a unique way to try and get readers to engage with the material on an intimate level.

The State of Play doesn’t just say that diversity of identities, content, mechanics, and ways of talking about games is important—it supports this statement by providing that very diversity. And as video games currently work toward including more voices, different stories, and greater variety in the ways we tell these stories, this kind of eclectic book matters. A lot.

The State of Play is available September 8, 2015 from Seven Stories Press.

Kaitlin Tremblay is a writer, editor, and gamemaker, whose work focuses on feminism, mental illness, and horror. You can find her writing, books, and games on her website, That Monster, and listen to her talk about old 90’s tactical RPGs on Twitter at @kait_zilla.

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Dyspraxia, a condition that affects a child’s motor functions, can sometimes affect a child’s ability to enunciate, making it difficult for them to communicate. That was the case for Josh Dunlap’s son, Sawyer, who recently shared a story on Facebook with James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy. In the story, he says that his son is affected with this condition, but after watching Guardians, he began to notice a few positive changes in his son’s behavior. More than that, he noticed that Sawyer latched onto a specific character whose odd manner of speech helped him communicate better: Groot.

In the full Facebook post, Dunlap said:

He began to mimic him and he would use the word “Bah” for a lot, but after he saw the film, he would change the tone in which he said it to convey a different meaning. He would also start saying Groot for many things as well.

From there, they’ve moved on to speech classes, and he’s been slowly getting better at communicating. Gunn responded in a comment, saying:

I have many friends who get a lot of negative messages online – I’m very grateful for the huge, vast majority of positive and kind people who follow me here, on Twitter, and Instagram. I get to hear stories like this, and then read all the amazing comments [below]. Truly wonderful.

Saving the galaxy, one child at a time. You go, Groot.

(via Uproxx)

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Have you ever wanted to hear some Muppets do a dramatic reading of “It’s a Small World,” that incessantly earwormy song from the Disney ride? If so, you’ve got very specific wants, my friend. Also you should check out this video featuring Animal and Floyd Pepper (of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem fame) performing just that (with predictable results).

The videos and commercials from The Muppets keep piling up as we inch closer and closer to the September 22nd premiere of their television show, The Muppets. Are you excited for the show at all? Will you be tuning in?

(via Laughing Squid)

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The Duggar family just released a statement from Josh on their personal website in which Josh not only confirms the fact that he has been “unfaithful” to his wife, but he also confesses to having developed a “secret addiction” to pornography over the past several years.

We already had evidence that Josh had at least been seeking out some sort of extramarital affair, but this is the first time we’ve head any mention of Josh’s porn habit.

You can read the statement in full below:

Statement from Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar:

Please see the statement below from our son Josh regarding recent media stories about him. When we learned of this late last night our hearts were broken. As we continue to place our trust in God we ask for your prayers for Josh, Anna, our grandchildren and our entire family.

Statement from Josh Duggar:

I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife.

I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him.

I brought hurt and a reproach to my family, close friends and the fans of our show with my actions that happened when I was 14-15 years old, and now I have re-broken their trust.

The last few years, while publicly stating I was fighting against immorality in our country, I was hiding my own personal failings.

As I am learning the hard way, we have the freedom to choose to our actions, but we do not get to choose our consequences. I deeply regret all hurt I have caused so many by being such a bad example.

I humbly ask for your forgiveness. Please pray for my precious wife Anna and our family during this time.

Josh Duggar

A heartfelt apology that, unfortunately, sounds familiar to the ones we’ve heard before. But hey, maybe this time he means it.

Update 2:48pm:

According to the site Zap2It, Josh Duggar’s original apology had one extra line that has since been removed. This was the original fourth paragraph of Josh’s statement:

The last few years, while publicly stating I was fighting against immorality in our country, in my heart I had allowed Satan to build a fortress that no one knew about.

No definite word on why the Duggars decided to remove the reference to Josh’s Satan-infested heart, but I assume it has something to do with the fact that blaming your unfaithfulness and pornography addiction on anyone but yourself is, generally, not the best look.

Update 2:57 p.m.: Looks like Josh Duggar may have been a little hasty in his apology. The general idea is still there, but the letter itself has gone through several revisions since going up less than two hours ago. The first instance, as mentioned above, removed a reference to Satan, while the second revision removed any mention of pornography altogether.

It’s hard to imagine that the letter wasn’t vetted by anyone before the Duggars put it up on their website—but given the few typos in the original, it’s certainly possible. Either way, Josh of all people should know by now that the internet never forgets. You can see all the changes made to the apology thus far below.

Recently we took a look at the popularity of programming languages used on GitHub.com.

Below is a graph that shows the change in rank of languages since GitHub launched in 2008.

The rank represents languages used in public & private repositories, excluding forks, as detected by Linguist.

It should be noted that this graph represents each language's relative popularity on GitHub. For example, Ruby on Rails has been on GitHub since 2008, which may explain Ruby's early popularity.

Between 2008 and 2015 GitHub gained the most traction in the Java community, which changed in rank from 7th to 2nd. Possible contributing factors to this growth could be the growing popularity of Android and the increasing demand for version control platforms at businesses and enterprises.