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An Ingenious Blend of Airplane and Helicopter

veedubya — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:28:00 -0800

What does an aircraft company do when military contracts dry up? Fairey's answer was to reinvent the helicopter and revolutionize the short-haul airline industry. After 15 years of effort, its unique project, the Rotodyne, came within an inch of achieving that goal. The Fairey Rotodyne, which first took to the air more than 50 years ago, was billed as the world's first vertical take-off commercial passenger aircraft. Fairey talked up expressions of interest from BEA in the UK, New York Airways and the US Army, but the crucial launch order never came. British government policy to rationalize the industry saw the end of the Rotodyne and Fairey as an airframe maker in 1962.

Photo Real

dersins — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:16:54 -0800

The American Image: The Photographs of John Collier Jr. at the University of New Mexico. "In 1941 to 1943, Collier worked as a photographer with the Farm Securities Administration and the Office of War Information under Roy Stryker and documented many areas around the eastern U.S and northern New Mexico." The full photoset is at flickr here.

The quiet goalkeeper: Robert Enke (1977-2009)

starzero — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:41:28 -0800

Yesterday evening, Robert Enke, goalkeeper of Germany's national soccer team, committed suicide. At a press conference today, his wife revealed, that he had been suffering from depression for 6 years and had been in therapy. He covered it up out of fear to lose custody of his adopted daughter and his career as a professional footballer.
Despite being the favorite candidate for the goalkeeper position in the German national team at the upcoming World Cup 2010, Enke's hit several professional and personal setbacks in his life.

The popular keeper was also a prominent supporter of animal rights and appeared in a PETA campaign.

Enke is another recent victim of depression in German professional football, a condition that already forced Germany's rising star, Sebastian Deisler, to end his career in 2007.

The Guardian's Raphael Honigstein reminds German football, that sometimes you cannot go back to business as usual and Sweden's retired Patrick Andersson writes a personal tribute to his friend and former teammate.

Levi Johnston in 'Playgirl': Not quite a triumph of sexual liberation?

joeclark — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:41:07 -0800

Alaska's most famous hockey player, Levi Johnston, is set to pose nude for Playgirl (previously). But didn't Playgirl – the magazine – close up shop last year, going online-only? And wasn't it ultimately run by straight guys in the first place? Jessanne Collins, Playgirl's former managing editor, debunks some myths about the magazine that was to the nude-male pictorial what Marky Mark was to hip-hop.

Global warbling is real

WPW — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:03:14 -0800

In September, Jade Ewen replaced Keisha Buchanan in the line-up of the British pop group Sugababes. Buchanan was the last original member of the group, making the Sugababes the pop equivalent of the Ship of Theseus, an ancient philosophical paradox. The switch caused acrimony, heartache and legal wrangles. But Popjustice now reveals that it also has terrifying implications for the future of human civilisation. Sunday 30 April 2265: Mutyageddon.

Next stop... your bedroom.

adamms222 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:02:40 -0800

Underground Signs is a company in Brooklyn creating customized NYC subway signs. Other products have horned in on the distinctive look of the MTA's designs, including the map, the train line logos, and the neighborhoods serviced. But this is the first I've seen of the option to create a replica from the NYC underground with one's own name, street, etc. (the site allows you to generate a"Create Your Own" image).
Notwithstanding questionable trademark issues that may arise with NYC's transit authority (others have tussled with the MTA over similar matters), this looks like a great idea for transit enthusiasts and others looking to bring a little of the Big Apple into their own home.

Kreuzberg can suck it.

quoquo — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:25:25 -0800

Architect Jakob Tigges plans to erect a 1,000 meter tall artificial mountain in the middle of Berlin.
Romantic revanchism or urban penis enlargement?

Tiggens doesn't actually want to build it, he rather wants his idea to act as a placeholder in the minds of Berliners, to make sure that plans for new developments on the precious site of former Tempelhof Airport won't be made without active participation of the locals.
While Berliners already know their gentrification very well, fresh ideas for the redevelopment are still rare.

Danish Dynamite

reenum — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:20:20 -0800

The Guardian recently published a beautiful article about Danish Dynamite, the '80s Danish national soccer (football) squad. Rob Smyth and Lars Eriksen write about how the success and failure of the national team highlighted national traits that Denmark has. The writing about the matches is among the most inspired I have ever read.
In addition to the film, a documentary about the team has also been made.

Stem Cell Awareness and The Black Community

shetterly — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:17:06 -0800

Stem Cell Awareness and The Black Community "Due to genetic variance, 1 in 500 Europeans need to be on the registry, but 1 in 10 Africans should be on the registry worldwide..." 5 Fast Facts on Bone Marrow Registration and Donation. If you want to find out more about whether you can save a life, visit Be The Match (US), OneMatch (Canada), or the Anthony Nolan Trust (UK).

Python + C = Go. Google's Programming Language

FusiveResonance — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:06:37 -0800

Say hello to googles new concurrent programming language Compiles faster than c/c++ and runs just as fast. Garbage collection + concurrency included

We're gonna read DeLillo like it's your birthday.

geoff. — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:59:52 -0800

Nabokov, Meet 50 Cent: Zadie Smith's Changing My Mind. "Those who have been paying attention to Zadie Smith since her White Teeth debut likely already know about her affinities for E.M. Forster, Lil Wayne, George Eliot, Kafka, and Fawlty Towers. She's one of probably three working writers capable of smuggling a riff on the perils of "keeping it real" into The New York Review of Books."

Do you reason with the grue? Turn to page 19.

creeky — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:30:45 -0800

Beautiful data visualisations of the original Choose Your Own Adventure stories. A project by Christian Swinehart.

Voices from WWI speak again in British Library

jefficator — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:04:33 -0800

"It is the business of educated people to speak so that no-one may be able to tell in what county their childhood was passed." Despite efforts by Victorians to eradicate them, dialects of English in Great Britain continue to vary greatly, much to the consternation of many traditionalists. But a recently acquired archive is giving new insight into old dialects--some of which no longer exist. Recorded in a WWI prisoner of war camp on shellac disks, the archive was part of an effort by German linguists to study regional variation in the English language. A report by PRI's The World includes a brief synopsis--and a powerful rendition of a beloved Scottish ballad by a homesick soldier.

Military people in cute situations.

nobody — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:53:18 -0800

Soldiers return home after months abroad and are greeted by their very excited dogs. (A compilation of puppy-focused welcome-home videos for Veterans' Day.)

Please don't lose that Bundt

Horace Rumpole — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:22:01 -0800

I like big bundts and I cannot lie! In honor of November 15th, National Bundt Day, the Food Librarian is bringing us 30 days of Bundt cakes. (via)

Images of the Somme

verstegan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:00:36 -0800

On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, Lieutenant John Purvis risked court-martial by taking some snapshots of the battlefield. Now his photograph album has been put online. It gives an extraordinary insight into what it was like to be an ordinary soldier in the middle of the battle, marching up to the front, resting in the forward lines, taking cover as a bomb explodes, advancing into battle, watching a shell burst, digging into freshly made trenches, or moving forward over captured ground.

PERFECT LIVES

twoleftfeet — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:55:36 -0800

Peter Greenaway on Robert Ashley: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Illegal Samoan

sycophant — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:32:51 -0800

Samoan government Minister Hans Joachim "Joe" Keil is suing US immigration agents and the State Department.
In September 2008, while visiting relatives in Branson, Missouri Keil was arrested for being an illegal alien in what appeared to be a fairly well planned operation. He was charged with falsely representing himself to be a US citizen, and falsely using a US passport.

Keil, a US Air Force veteran, has held a US Passport since 1967, which had been renewed seven times.

After the his initial 8-days of imprisonment Joe detailed his experiences and bail conditions prevented Keil from returning to Samoa while the case was before the court.

There was a very strong response in Samoa, with hundreds marching on the US embassy, many more signing a petition in support of Keil. The event also caused concern for others holding dual-citizenship betwen the US and Samoa.

In December 2008 all the charges against keil were dropped and his US Citizenship reinstated. None of the agencies involved have made any statements about the initial prosecution or the lawsuit.

FOREVER begins when you say yes

deafmute — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:27:48 -0800

A LOVE LETTER FOR YOU is a series of 29 murals visible along the westbound El in Philadelphia.
A project of the (sometimes cheesy) Mural Arts Program.

In Defense of Jaywalking

aerotive — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:32:05 -0800

Interesting article at Slate, In Defense of Jaywalking, where the author describes how the media and others often slant coverage of pedestrian vs auto accidents--examples include San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe , and New York Post columns. Police, who are typically car-bound, are often biased in favor of other drivers. Not unexpectedly the Federal Highway Administration has curious language regarding walkers--"Still, almost no one can avoid occasional pedestrian status". Even the term jaywalking is commonly misused. Solutions? More money towards safer walking (including a reversal of funding policies that favor cars), better places to walk, pedestrian-friendly engineering, lower urban speed limits, harsher penalties for drivers that violate pedestrian's rights, and critical reading of the often selective and sensationalized media coverage of traffic crashes.

ACT Legalizes Same Sex Civil Unions

Talez — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:17:18 -0800

The Australian Capital Territory, the home of the Australian capital of Canberra, has passed a bill allowing same-sex civil unions. As marriage is a federal matter in Australia, this is the highest recognition of same sex unions that is constitutionally allowed in a state or territory of Australia. However, it does give political momentum to the movement looking towards the repeal of the "one man and one woman" Marriage Amendment Act of 2004.

Telling lies about Poliwood

philip-random — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:34:58 -0800

As I write this, I realize I am about to do something that, for the most part, is never done. I am going to criticize a critic. Filmmakers are never supposed to respond to a critic about their work. It's an unspoken rule of engagement. But in this case, I feel compelled.
Barry Levinson (film maker) versus Alessandra Stanley (TV critic for the New York Times) on the topic of her getting her facts WRONG about his latest film Poliwood an "essay" which looks at celebrity involvement in the 2008 Democratic and Republican national conventions.

Apparently, this is not the first time Ms. Stanley has got it wrong, wrong, wrong.

Geology Porn

I'm Doing the Dishes — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:54:21 -0800

In 1996, the Ocoee Whitewater Center challenged the paddlers in the '96 Olympics. The dam controlled Ocoee river remains popular with rafters, kayakers and leaf-lookers. Today, the mountain reclaimed a bit the Ocoee gorge.

a cloud of atlases

shothotbot — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:41:52 -0800

We love our maps here, so how about a map quiz thanks to our friends at The Morning News. Warning: the answer underneath each map is a simple link, and the URL sometimes gives away the answer.

Jazz in Azerbaijan

netbros — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:53:16 -0800

Jazz in Azerbaijan
Before the turn of the 19th century, Baku Azerbaijan was already known for its oil. Europeans gravitated to this city on the shores of the Caspian, and together with local entrepreneurs, they succeeded in producing more than 51 percent of the world's supply of oil.

At about the same time, America was giving birth to a new musical form-jazz. This mesmerizing new sound which originated in the restaurants and back alleys of New Orleans and Chicago drew upon many different cultural traditions, including African rhythms, Asian improvisations and abstract thinking, European classical music and even symbols borrowed from Native American tribes.

Soon afterward, this new musical synthesis found its way to other cities all over the world, including Baku. Newspaper archives indicate that bands were performing jazz in Baku restaurants. It's very possible that Robert Nobel and his brothers, Ludwig and Alfred, listened to jazz in Baku.