A daily miasma of frivolity by two wanna-be cultural critics. Or: just, like, some good links, dude.

Apr 12 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Egypt’s presidential race: An unexpected lineup

Egypt’s presidential race: An unexpected lineup

Hamza Hendawi and Sarah El Deeb, AP:

A year ago, anyone from the old regime seemed too tainted to ever hope for power. Though rising to political prominence, the Muslim Brotherhood promised it wouldn’t run for the presidency, wary of seeming too dominant.

Now, the two main contenders to rule Egypt are the Brotherhood’s top strongman and the most feared and powerful figure of Hosni Mubarak’s inner circle – marking how far the nation has changed from the heady days of revolution in the name of liberal democracy.

Good rundown of the current state surrounding the election happening next month.

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Apr 12 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Paintballing with Hezbollah

Paintballing with Hezbollah

Mitchell Prothero, writing in Vice Magazine:

We figured they’d cheat; they were Hezbollah, after all. But none of us—a team of four Western journalists—thought we’d be dodging military-grade flash bangs when we initiated this “friendly” paintball match.

This is one of the most fascinating pieces about the Middle East I’ve read, well, possibly ever — certainly this year. Read every word.

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Apr 11 2012
Mark Twain, probably

The New Aesthetic (or: Drones Don’t Wear Wayfarers)

The New Aesthetic (or: Drones Don’t Wear Wayfarers)

Dan Catt on the art movement that’s known as the New Aesthetic:

The New Aesthetics, or at least the aspect I’m looking at, is inspired by computer vision. And computer vision is at the point now that computer graphics was at 30 years ago. The New Aesthetics isn’t concerned with retro 8bit graphics of the past, but the 8bit graphics designed for machines of the now.

Make sure to click through the photos — this one is my absolute favorite. I’d seen some of this NA stuff go by on Twitter but until I read this essay, I thought this stuff was yet more retro-throwback. Don’t get it twisted: I love retro things as much as other 25 year-old, but ultimately “retro-everything” doesn’t really grab me at this point — I expect that most things are going to contain some throwback to the past. (Again, totally OK with this. “Great artists steal.”)

Robots, however are different. Machines don’t care about the 1980s. Drones don’t wear Wayfarers. We’ve discovered seemingly the last agents left in our culture that haven’t been taken in by nostalgia, and they can’t even walk. And more importantly than “four wheels good, two legs bad”, robots see the world in a completely different way from us. And that’s fascinating.

If you agree, or are just curious, I recommend clicking through on all the links in the Catt piece above; but make sure you end up on the New Aesthetic tumblr at some point — great stuff.

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Apr 11 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Remembering Mike Wallace, Legendary ’60 Minutes’ Interrogator

Remembering Mike Wallace, Legendary ’60 Minutes’ Interrogator

PBS NewsHour had a nice retrospective of the career of Mike Wallace on Monday. It also had a long interview by host Jeffrey Brown with two of Wallace’s 60 Minutes co-workers, correspondent Morley Safer and executive producer Jeff Fager. Good stuff.

R.I.P. (report in peace) Mike Wallace

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Apr 11 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Another lovely acoustic session produced by French music blog Le Cargo. This time, French band Cocoon has an adorable cover of Outkast’s “Hey Ya!”.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
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Apr 10 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Commodore founder Jack Tramiel dies at 83

Commodore founder Jack Tramiel dies at 83

Bonnie Cha, CNET:

Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore International and former CEO of Atari International, died on Sunday at the age of 83. He was surrounded by family at the time of his passing, according to Forbes.

Famous for saying that computers should be built “for masses, not the classes,” Tramiel played an important role in the early days of personal computing and video gaming, as his company introduced a line of powerful but affordable home computers, including the popular Commodore 64.

I was honestly not familiar with Tramiel by name at all until reading this, but the Commodore 64 was a legendary computer. My older brother even had one, although I was only a few years old at the time so I sadly don’t remember a thing about it.

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Apr 10 2012
Mark Twain, probably

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXhy7ZsiR50

Here’s Michael Jackson performing “Billie Jean” during the 1983 TV special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. This was the first time Jackson performed the moonwalk for an audience.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
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Apr 10 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Remember the NBA on NBC? Remember that awesome theme song? Well it’s called “Roundball Rock” and was composed by John Tesh (yes, that John Tesh) in a rather unusual way. I won’t spoil it; hit the video.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
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Apr 09 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Here’s the extended TV spot for JUSTICE COIN. Make sure to order it again and again. It’ll be a timeless heirloom for your children and their children.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
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Apr 08 2012
Mark Twain, probably

5 ex-cops sentenced in Katrina killings case

5 ex-cops sentenced in Katrina killings case

Last week, Judge Kurt Engelhardt sentenced five police officers for their roles in the Danziger Bridge murders of two men after Hurricane Katrina. This piece by Cain Burdeau for the AP quotes some of Judge Engelhardt’s unbelievably harsh remarks:

U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt expressed frustration that he was bound by mandatory minimum sentencing laws to imprison former Sgts. Kenneth Bowen and Robert Gisevius and former officers Anthony Villavaso and Robert Faulcon for decades when other officers who engaged in similar conduct on the Danziger Bridge — but cut deals with prosecutors — are serving no more than eight years behind bars.

“These through-the-looking-glass plea deals that tied the hands of this court … are an affront to the court and a disservice to the community,” he said.

…

During a scathing lecture that lasted roughly two hours, Engelhardt questioned the credibility of officers who cut deals and testified against the defendants during last year’s trial.

“Citing witnesses for perjury at this trial would be like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500,” Engelhardt said.

Yowza.

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