A Summer with Stanley Kubrick
File under: how to profit from OCD
Aide to Kubrick on ‘Shining’ Scoffs at ‘Room 237’ Theories
The Shining doc is in theatres now, and Leon Vitali doesn’t buy any of the readings presented. I remember the early, 90s internet was primarily a source of tech news, Area 51 rumours and theories about The Shining. I don’t buy them either, but I love hearing about them, so I’m looking forward to this.
Plumbing Stanley Kubrick
Excellent long memoir of working with Kubrick, from a SF writer who worked on AI. (I’d provide a via link except I have forgotten – this has been held in Instapaper without trial for months. Sorry, source!)
I Hope Your Bag is Comfortable, Asshole.
Tumblr for public shaming of TTC seat hogs.
The Battle We Didn't Choose
Simply devastating photo essay about a woman’s battle with breast cancer. (via)
The Internet finally reaches its apex as man marrying My Little Pony character writes angry email to erotic pony artist
Classic Sean O’Neal. “And thus, having used the Internet to its absolute fullest potential, there is inarguably nowhere left for it to go. We must shut it down. It’s presumed that within the week the entire infrastructure will be dismantled.”
I'm Google
Via Boooooom –
<blockquote> <p>I’m Google is an ongoing tumblr blog in which batches of images and videos that I cull from the internet are compiled into a long stream-of-consciousness. The batches move seamlessly from one subject to the next based on similarities in form, composition, color, and theme. This results visually in a colorful grid that slowly changes as the viewer scrolls through it.</p> </blockquote>
How Beer Gave Us Civilization
“Current theory has it that grain was first domesticated for food. But since the 1950s, many scholars have found circumstantial evidence that supports the idea that some early humans grew and stored grain for beer, even before they cultivated it for bread.”
Last time, you didn't have holes in your feet!
“My father passed away this morning. I’m going through his file, and I came across JOKES.TXT … which contains only the punchlines. Can the Mind please tell me the jokes?”
The Mind means MetaFilter’s Hive Mind and yes, it could.
London mayor’s ambitious bike plan a lesson for other cities – especially Toronto
Boris Johnson is awesome:
<blockquote> <p>His plan promises a staggering $1.4-billion over 10 years to build bike paths, create bike parking lots and re-engineer intersections for bikes. To put that in perspective, Toronto is spending $90-million over the same period. […] The flagship of his plan is a 24-kilometre bike “superhighway,” separated from traffic and running from west to east through the heart of the city. It is expected to be the longest of its kind in Europe. Part of it will take over a lane of an elevated highway, the Westway. As Mr. Johnson puts it, “the ultimate symbol of how the urban motorway tore up our cities will become the ultimate symbol of how we are claiming central London for the bike.”</p> </blockquote>
The rise, fall and death of Boris Berezovsky
meant to post about this. Russian politics are a shady business.
Rob Ford: ‘Intoxicated’ Toronto mayor asked to leave military ball
Do we have scandal fatigue yet? This will not end until our mayor eats a bike courier’s heart while running over a streetcar-boarding old lady in his Escalade.
HBO Go Considered For Non-Cable Subscribers
Certainly a step in the right direction:
Plepler suggested that HBO GO possibly could also be packaged with a monthly Internet service for a lower cost. Customers could pay $50 a month for their broadband and an extra $10 or $15 for HBO.
I guess they’re afraid if they just charge that $10-15 for an internet subscription service, all the cable companies will drop them. Would that matter though? Wouldn’t their existing customers sign up for the net service, with new business from internet cheapos making up for any old-schoolers who can’t figure it out? But of course the cable companies are also the internet providers for most people, and they have the power to block HBO altogether. (via)
Pretty crazy live performance from the Thom Yorke supergroup
•How One Man Turned Himself Into a Publicly Owned Company
(via waxy)
Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
confused critics seem unwilling to commit either way: “Is it art? Is it trash? Does it matter?”
Bell Media’s Space gets a new look
did I not mention this? Also, some cursory mention on Brand New.
Barack Obama Just Gave A Historic Speech In Israel
“No US president has ever spoken like this to Israelis”. Here’s the video.
Awkward Chatbot
What Is the Business of Literature?
Astounding take on the history and future of the book, copyright and authorship. I was trying to figure out a quote to pull, but there are too many.
Brent Returns
Ricky Gervais brings his Office character back for a ten-years-later update:
And here is the music video:
Red-light distress
Interesting article in The Grid about traffic light synchronization. The accompanying map shows that 5 of the 10 most congested intersections are on Sheppard. Also, the whole article raises the question of transit mode bias in light patterns: why exactly would downtown lights favour cars over streetcars, buses or pedestrians?
Toronto Board of Trade Advocates New Revenue For Transit
Steve Munro:
<blockquote> <p>This is not some wild-eyed, pinko-commie, downtown bunch of granola-eating, pot-smoking, tree hugging, tax-and-spend radicals — it’s the Board of Trade, and they claim wide support from their members. Congestion and the lack of good transportation options within the <span class="caps">GTHA</span> are strangling business and making the region uncompetitive. That’s the kind of effect businesses notice, and they recognize the effect of decades of disinvestment in the transportation network.</p> </blockquote>