Friday Ephemera

Dexter the baby duck tries to stay awake. // Bohemian Rhapsody in Blue. // Scientomology. // Lovely amphibians. // A visual history of meteorite impacts. // Crashed planes, the passengers of which survived. // Essential for new parents, the Huggies TweetPee. // Tiny goat rides horse. // Here is today. Context matters. // Music genre map. From baroque through chillwave to doo-wop and beyond. // “Delivering a dinosaur to the Boston Museum of Science, 1984.” // Some “affordable” apartments in New York City. (h/t, Rafi) // Records made of wood not entirely successful. // The sound of learned stupidity. // The sound of fartscroll. 

Comments

[JuliaM]

"Another American University student, who defined himself as an “anarchist,” said he rejected the concept of ownership altogether because social pressure alone would prevent individuals from taking more than their share of communal resources.

“The best way to deal with such things is shunning,” he said. “In small communities, when you have people that shun these people that have these really greedy and advantageous lifestyles, … they start to see, ‘You know what, look around, this isn’t really getting me anywhere.’”"

Excuse me? It's getting me the lion's share of the resources and - as an added bonus - idiots won't bother me with inane chitchat. Win/win!

[Joan]

Some “affordable” apartments in New York City.

That's the kitchen for me.

[David]

Julia,

Another American University student, who defined himself as an “anarchist,” said he rejected the concept of ownership altogether.

Yes, he’s a deep, deep thinker, our student warrior. And so practical too. Which is why, although he’s an “anarchist” who “believes in communal living,” he’s not quite sure that’s a feasible social blueprint. Not for everyone. Instead, says he, “communism is the answer.” And so a bohemian vision of bedsit squalor leads, ever so smoothly, to totalitarianism.

Joan,

That’s the kitchen for me.

On the upside, it is partly tiled.

[Steve]

"Another American University student, who defined himself as an “anarchist,” said he rejected the concept of ownership altogether."

For some reason I really want to steal his bike.

[Steve]

This is what Thomas Sowell has to say about rent control

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbPYedkDU8Y

But you probably knew that already

[David]

Just back from seeing Star Trek Into Darkness. It was a hoot.

[AC1]

http://www.landvaluetax.org/current-affairs-comment/winston-churchill-said-it-all-better-then-we-can.html

Winston Churchill as you probably didn't already know.

[Anna]

A degree in heavy metal.

"Students will learn how to compose and perform heavy metal songs."

[David]

“Students will learn how to compose and perform heavy metal songs.”

Skills that employers across the country have been demanding for years. But isn’t that rather like taking a degree in punk rock? I mean, if you have to get a qualification, even a joke qualification…

[Kevin B]

I was never a great fan of either Rhapsody in Blue or Bohemian Rhapsody but, amazingly, when someone mashed them together and played them on one of those tinny piano substitutes...

[Ted S., Catskill Mtns., NY, USA]

Just back from seeing Star Trek Into Darkness. It was a hoot.

Is that a hoot in a good way, or a "so bad it's funny" way?

[WTP]

Kevin B must be my anti-matter. In the highly unlikely chance that we should ever meet, we must not shake hands. The future of the galaxy depends on it.

[Spiny Norman]

Some “affordable” apartments in New York City.

WTF? None of those "apartments" would even be legal in California.

[David]

Ted,

Hoot as in fun. The plot doesn’t bear scrutiny but it moves along briskly, it’s very pretty to look at, and it’s fun. Which is something you can’t say about Star Trek films all that often.

[rxc]

The music genre map is intereresting, but I clicked on the sample for Pete Fountain, and although it was a cut from a song done by his band, it was a cut of a trumpet portion. No clarinet being played by Pete.

Not a complaint, but one wonders about the intelligence of the algorithm used to generate this. Maybe it is a work in progress.

[Tim]

Wooden records eh. Wood is a lovely material; I sometimes dream about polished wooden cars or trains.

[David]

I sometimes dream about polished wooden cars or trains.

Full sized wooden cars? [ Rubs chin, stares into middle distance. ]

[BackwardsBoy]

Fart-scrolling: the best thing to happen to the Intarwebz since cat videos.

[Jason]

Speaking of wooden cars: http://www.topgear.com/uk/morgan/aero

[AC1]

Massive Bird Flu http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=21&art_id=133722&sid=39663019&con_type=1&d_str=20130515&fc=2