http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39WCxyazy_A
Here’s the theme song from the TV show Taiyou ni Hoero! (occasionally referred to in English as Bark at the Sun), composed by Katsuo Ohno.
I’d never heard of it, but it’s aparently some Japanese cop show from the ’70s and ’80s. That should tell you pretty much everything you need to know about how the music is going to go.
Ninth Circuit rules Prop 8 is unconstitutional
Fantastic news. Here’s Jillian Rayfield of TPM on what’s next for the legal challenge to the 2008 California ballot measure which disallowed same-sex couples from marrying:
Supporters of Prop 8 now have the chance to petition for rehearing en banc — which, if granted, would mean an eleven-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit would hear the case — or to appeal straight to the Supreme Court. The Ninth Circuit can also vote to hear an en banc appeal either way.
Yes, you can really get Snoop Dogg’s voice on your Tom Tom. (Slightly) regretting not having a car right about now.
Skallops are the best way to build big!
They’re a construction toy that uses clever laser cut clips—Skallops—and regular playing cards to let you make anything that you can imagine. We’ve perfected the design so that it’s easy to connect playing cards in countless ways. The Skallops themselves are cut out of the highest-quality, sanded and finished birch plywood.
Yes.
They’ve already finished their Kickstarter run, but they should hopefully get general orders going soon.
Ice Cube Will Neither Confirm Nor Deny That January 20 Was the “Good Day”
All he had to say was “Nice try.” Stone cold, dude.
New Snub-Nosed Monkey Discovered, Eaten
Rachel Kaufman for National Geographic News on October 27, 2010:
A new monkey species in Myanmar is so snub-nosed that rainfall is said to makes it sneeze—but that’s apparently the least of problems.
The only scientifically observed specimen (pictured above) had been killed by local hunters the time researchers found it—and was eaten soon after.
An international team of scientists conducting research in the Amazon River Basin announced the discovery of a formerly unknown primate species inhabiting a remote jungle area roughly 300 miles from Manaus Monday. According to scientists in Manaus, the new species, Ateles saporis, is “an amazing biological find” and “incredibly delectable.”
“We couldn’t be more thrilled!” German researcher Dr. Jerome Keller told reporters Tuesday. “Very few scientists are lucky enough to discover a new species, let alone a mammal with a palatability on par with a tender, juicy steak.”
“This is a seriously tasty creature,” Keller added.
Yes. This is a real, official variant of the Oreo sold in China. Planet Money has the full story, which features green tea oreos and long, rectangular oreos that are easier to dunk — just goes to show how much of our perception of the world is shaped by our culture.
(Via Mikey-san.)
Treasure hunter claims to have found $3 billion wreck
Clarke Canfield, the Associated Press:
A treasure hunter said Wednesday he has located the wreck of a British merchant ship that was torpedoed by a German U-boat off Cape Cod during World War II while carrying what he claims was a load of platinum bars now worth more than $3 billion.
…
Treasure hunter Greg Brooks of Sub Sea Research in Gorham, Maine, announced that a wreck found sitting in 700 feet of water 50 miles offshore is that of the S.S. Port Nicholson, sunk in 1942.
He hasn’t brought up any platinum yet, though, and if he does there’ll surely be some kind of ownership dispute.
Fungi discovered in the Amazon will eat your plastic
Michael J. Cohen, writing for Fast Company’s Co.Exist blog:
The common plastic is used for everything from garden hoses to shoes and truck seats. Once it gets into the trash stream, it persists for generations. Anyone alive today is assured that their old garden hoses and other polyurethane trash will still be here to greet his or her great, great grandchildren. Unless something eats it.
The fungi, Pestalotiopsis microspora, is the first anyone has found to survive on a steady diet of polyurethane alone and—even more surprising—do this in an anaerobic (oxygen-free) environment that is close to the condition at the bottom of a landfill.
If this pans out, it could be a huge deal. Of course, now I’m imagining this fungi getting lose and dissolving plastic everywhere, forcing us to invent a new type of plastic that’s impervious to it. AND THE CYCLE CONTINUES…
This is a photograph by Chinese artist Don Hong-Oai.
Wait, did I say “photograph”? What I meant to say was… no actually, this is totally a photograph. From Utata Sunday Salon’s bio by Greg Fallis:
Long Chin-San, who died in 1995 at the age of 104, had developed a style of photography based on the long tradition of landscape imagery in Chinese art. For centuries Chinese artists had been creating dramatic monochromatic landscapes using simple brushes and ink. These paintings weren’t intended to accurately depict nature, but to interpret nature’s emotional impact. …
Long Chin-San, who was born in 1891, had been trained in this classical tradition of painting. At some point in his long career, Long began to experiment in ways to translate that impressionistic style of art into photography. In keeping with the layered approach to scale, he developed a method of layering negatives to correspond with the three tiers of distance. Long taught his method to Don. Don, seeking to more closely emulate the traditional Chinese style, added calligraphy and his seal to the image.
Here’s a Flickr set of a bunch of other photos. Here are four other of my favorites: [1] [2] [3] [4].