Open Culture

Time Travel with Google Earth

Wes Alwan — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:31:49 +0000

Google Earth’s historical imagery feature now includes aerial footage of the aftermath of World War II, allowing users to comprehend the extent of post-war destruction by comparing photos of cities as they are today to those of bombed out cities immediately after the war.

Here’s Warsaw in 1935, devastated in 1943, and restored today. You can click here to see the pictures in a bigger size.

For more imagery, including pictures of Stuttgart, Naples and Lyon, see the Google Earth blog.

Wes Alwan lives in Boston, Massachusetts, where he works as a writer and researcher and attends the Institute for the Study of Psychoanalysis and Culture. He also participates in The Partially Examined Life, a podcast consisting of informal discussions about philosophical texts by three philosophy graduate school dropouts.

Time Travel with Google Earth is a post from: Open Culture, the home of Free Audio Books, Free Courses, Free Movies, Free Foreign Language Lessons, a Free iPhone App and other intelligent media!

What Are You Staring At?

Dan Colman — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:29:39 +0000

You stare. You get stared at. It happens countless times every day. But have you ever pondered what’s really happening here? Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, a professor at Emory University, has been giving it some thought. You can get a quick introduction above, and more extensive thinking in her new book, Staring: How We Look. Thanks Nicole for sending this along…

What Are You Staring At? is a post from: Open Culture, the home of Free Audio Books, Free Courses, Free Movies, Free Foreign Language Lessons, a Free iPhone App and other intelligent media!

F. Scott Fitzgerald Reads Shakespeare

Dan Colman — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:20:33 +0000

The University of South Carolina hosts a few gems, including F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby) reading lines from Shakespeare’s Othello. Or, more specifically, Othello’s oration to Venetian senators.

You can access the sound file in two formats here (aiff) and here (real audio).

This comes to us via Mike. Thanks to all who started sending good links our way. Whenever you see something good, please fire us a quick email. It will take one minute out of your day and make the day for many others.

F. Scott Fitzgerald Reads Shakespeare is a post from: Open Culture, the home of Free Audio Books, Free Courses, Free Movies, Free Foreign Language Lessons, a Free iPhone App and other intelligent media!

British Library to Offer 65,000 Free eBooks

Dan Colman — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:40:09 +0000

From the TIMES ONLINE:

More than 65,000 19th-century works of fiction from the British Library’s collection are to be made available for free downloads by the public from this spring.

Owners of the Amazon Kindle, an ebook reader device, will be able to view well known works by writers such as Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy, as well as works by thousands of less famous authors.

You can read the rest about this Microsoft funded initiative here. In the meantime, we’ve made it relatively easy to download major classics to your Kindle, iPhone, smartphone or computer. See our collection of Free eBooks (and Audio Books).

British Library to Offer 65,000 Free eBooks is a post from: Open Culture, the home of Free Audio Books, Free Courses, Free Movies, Free Foreign Language Lessons, a Free iPhone App and other intelligent media!

The Physics of a Quarterback’s Pass

Dan Colman — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:22:42 +0000

A lighter piece for Super Bowl Sunday. Yes, this clip isn’t exactly heady. And, yes, it botches some facts (archers apparently shoot from 70 meters, not 20 yards). But, nonetheless, it gives you the basic physics of Drew Brees’ passing game. Brees will be playing QB for the New Orleans Saints tonight, and, as you’ll see, his accuracy is remarkable. Hat tip to Mike.

via Discover Magazine’s Cosmic Variance blog

The Physics of a Quarterback’s Pass is a post from: Open Culture, the home of Free Audio Books, Free Courses, Free Movies, Free Foreign Language Lessons, a Free iPhone App and other intelligent media!

Learning Languages Online with The New York Times

Dan Colman — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:27:18 +0000

How can you learn foreign languages online? Last week, The New York Times outlined a good number of options for its readers. And, for days, the article remained one of the most widely read pieces on the NYT site. Today, the paper issued a followup post, highlighting yet more ways to learn languages digitally. And happily our collection of free language lessons got a small mention there. When taken together, these two pieces spell out the different educational opportunities fairly well. Some of the sites mentioned include LiveMocha.com, BBC languages, and Mango Languages.

Learning Languages Online with The New York Times is a post from: Open Culture, the home of Free Audio Books, Free Courses, Free Movies, Free Foreign Language Lessons, a Free iPhone App and other intelligent media!

The Beautiful Math of Coral & Crochet

Dan Colman — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:47:13 +0000

Our reader Garnet sets the stage for this video: “Mathematicians have long declared that geometrical hyperbolic space could not be modeled in the real world. Now it’s been done, through crochet! Watch TED video science writer Margaret Wertheim explain how the art of crochet emulates sea slugs creating coral structures in hyperbolic space, using art to bring attention to the disappearance of coral through global warming.” You can get more information about this presentation here. And, for more TED Talks, don’t forget to check out this handy online spreadsheet.

The Beautiful Math of Coral & Crochet is a post from: Open Culture, the home of Free Audio Books, Free Courses, Free Movies, Free Foreign Language Lessons, a Free iPhone App and other intelligent media!

Hitchcock Cameos (and Complete Films)

Dan Colman — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:04:49 +0000

Alfred Hitchcock loved making cameo appearances in his own films. Apparently, he made 37 such cameos over a 50 year period. The appearances can be tough to spot. So the video above helps point out many of them.

If you’re looking for complete Hitchcock films, then head over to our collection of Free Movies Online. There, you’ll discover 12 complete Hitchcock films from his early career, including The 39 Steps and The Man Who Knew Too Much. Now do you know what you’re doing this weekend?

via @EbertChicago

Hitchcock Cameos (and Complete Films) is a post from: Open Culture, the home of Free Audio Books, Free Courses, Free Movies, Free Foreign Language Lessons, a Free iPhone App and other intelligent media!

What Teachers Make

Dan Colman — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:55:55 +0000

Great message. Give it a minute to get going. Performed by Taylor Mali at the Bowery Poetry Club on November 12, 2005. Thanks Thomas for sharing.

This clip is now added to our YouTube favorites.

What Teachers Make is a post from: Open Culture, the home of Free Audio Books, Free Courses, Free Movies, Free Foreign Language Lessons, a Free iPhone App and other intelligent media!

An Open Invitation: Suggest & Contribute

Dan Colman — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:52:19 +0000

Somewhere during your day, you spot a great video, an enriching audio lecture, or an excellent free ebook. And you think, that’s perfect for Open Culture. So you shoot us a quick note, and the next thing you know, your personal discovery is live on the site, being shared with thousands of like-minded readers from across the globe — readers from London to New York, from Tehran to Bangalore, from Sydney to Sao Paulo and beyond. And our global village is happy … and better off for it. Sounds good, right? We think so.

So here’s what we ask: Whenever you see a great piece of intelligent media, please quickly send it our way. (We have a nice “Suggest a Link” button on the upper right side of the site.) And, assuming it fits with Open Culture’s general mission, we’ll share it with your fellow readers, give you full credit, and thank you warmly. Look forward to your suggestions, and, if you haven’t already, please join us on Facebook and Twitter.

An Open Invitation: Suggest & Contribute is a post from: Open Culture, the home of Free Audio Books, Free Courses, Free Movies, Free Foreign Language Lessons, a Free iPhone App and other intelligent media!